description stringlengths 2.98k 3.35M | abstract stringlengths 94 10.6k | cpc int64 0 8 |
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BACKGROUND
The field of the invention relates generally to data compression, and more particularly, to data compression for images.
Image data compression techniques are typically used to reduce the storage requirements for image data bases, reduce the bandwidth required to transmit images, or to facilitate image analysis. Conventional image compression techniques include bit string encoding schemes, including linear predicitive coding or vector quantization algorithms, spatial filters including low-pass filter gradient filtering and median filtering, or temporal processing schemes including change detection algorithms. None of these conventional image data compression techniques simultaneously possesses the following characteristics: (1) they do not implement relatively simple processing for image compression, (2) they do not provide for highly compressed image representations that can be easily de-compressed into good fidelity images, and (3) they do not use a format that provides for automated image analysis.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to overcome the above-cited limitations, the present invention provides for an improvement in image data compression, using relatively simple processing to significantly reduce the amount of data needed to represent an image and to preserve the important features of the image. The advantages of the invention are achieved by partitioning an image into relatively small independent blocks of pixels, by matching and classifying each block with an orthogonal icon, and by extracting attributes associated with the icon. An output table of these orthogonal icons and attributes represents a data compressed image. A wide range of spatial frequency features are preserved with good fidelity by the orthogonal icons and related attributes. Data compression of up to 50 times reduction in the amount of data necessary to represent an image has been achieved while preserving the pertinent features of the image. The use of an optimum set of orthogonal icons and an optimum set of attributes for each icon further improves data compression and fidelity.
A preferred embodiment of a data compression system comprises an input memory employed to store an image, and a partitioning circuit is coupled to the input memory that is adapted to partition the image into a plurality of blocks. A principal axes processor is coupled to the partitioning circuit and is adapted to generate a principal axis angle parameter for each of the plurality of blocks. A projection processor is coupled to the partitioning processor and generating a projected signal for each of the plurality of blocks in response to the principal axis angle for the corresponding block. A curve fit processor is coupled to the projection processor and is adapted to generate a curve fitted signal for each of the plurality of blocks in response to the projected signal for the corresponding block. A classification processor is coupled to the curve fit processor and is adapted to generate a classification parameter for each of the plurality of blocks in response to the curve fitted signal for the corresponding block. An output memory is coupled to the principal axes processor and to the classification processor for storing the principal axis angle parameter and the classification parameter for each of the plurality of blocks as a data compressed image.
Accordingly, it is a feature of the present invention to provide an improved data compression system and method. Another feature is an apparatus and method for extracting of an orthogonal icon and related attributes representing a block of pixels. Another feature is an apparatus and method for extracting a set of orthogonal icons and related attributes that is particularly suitable for representing orthogonal features of images. Another feature is an apparatus and method for independently processing respective blocks of a plurality of blocks of pixels. Another feature is an apparatus and method for parallel processing of multiple blocks of pixels.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The various features and advantages of the present invention may be more readily understood with reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like structural elements, and in which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram representation of a data compression system in accordance with the principles of the present invention;
FIGS. 2A-2E comprise a detailed diagram of symbolic icon types and the related projected pulse signals; and
FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c comprise a detailed diagram of a block of pixels and the manner of principal axis rotation, projection, and pulse fitting.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A data compression system in accordance with the principles of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. An address generator 111 is connected to an image memory 110, which in turn is connected to data compression processor arrangement 102 in accordance with the present invention. The data compression processor arrangement 102 comprises a principal axis processor 114 that is connected to a projection processor 118, that is connected to a pulse fitting processor 122, that is connected to a classification processor 126. The image memory 110 is also coupled to the projection processor 118. The classification processor 126 is connected to a compressed data memory 134. The image memory 110 and the data compressed memory 134 are implemented as different portions of the same memory and the processors 114, 118, 122, and 126 are implemented as time shared operations partitioned between several stored program processors.
The image memory 110, operating under control of addresses 112 generated by the address generator 111, is implemented as a two dimensional memory map for storing a two dimensional image having 1,000 rows by 1,000 columns of pixels (1,000,000 pixels). The stored image is partitioned by the address generator 111 into 10,000 blocks arranged in a two dimensional memory map array of 100 rows by 100 columns of blocks with each block having a two dimensional array of 10 rows by 10 columns of pixels. The block partitioning is implicit in the accessing of each 10 by 10 array of pixels in response to block partition addresses generated by the address generator 111.
The address generator 111 performs the function of a partitioning circuit, generating addresses to access each block of pixels, shown as pixel intensity signals 113, from the image memory 110. The image is implicitly partitioned into an array of 100 by 100 blocks which are accessed in a raster scan form of 100 blocks per line of blocks on a line by line basis for each of 100 lines of blocks. Each block is identified by a block base address, which is the address of the pixel in the top left corner of the 10 by 10 pixel block. To facilitate principal axis alignment or rotation and projection, discussed in more detail hereinafter, an array of 14 by 14 pixels is accessed having a two pixel frame around a block of 10 by 10 pixels. The frame permits the block of pixels to be aligned or rotated to facilitate projection along principal axes of the block. Such rotation involves a factor of 1.4 associated with the ratio of the block side to the block diagonal. The two pixel frame overlaps between adjacent blocks while the 10 by 10 pixel block does not overlap between adjacent blocks.
The address generator 111 advances the block base address on a block-by-block basis (ten pixels at a time) for each row. As each row of blocks is accessed, advances, the block base address on a block row by block row basis (ten pixels at a time) to access each row of blocks. For each block, the address generator 111 advances the pixel address in the selected block on a pixel-by-pixel basis (one pixel at a time) for each row of pixels. As each row of pixels is accessed, advances the pixel address on a pixel row by pixel row basis (one pixel at a time) to access each row of pixels. Accessing of each block is accomplished by generating the same raster scan sequence of pixel addresses for each block and by indexing the pixel addresses with the block base address for the particular block. A block of pixels accessed from the image memory 110 by the address generator 111 is stored in a local buffer memory and processed by the processors 114, 118, 122, and 126. Because the present invention provides for processing of each block of pixels independent of each other block of pixels, the sequence of accessing the blocks from the image memory 110 is not critical and parallel processing of independent blocks is facilitated.
The principal axis processor 114 processes each block of pixel intensity signals 113 to generate an angle φ representative of the angle of the principal axis of the block, which is the axis of intensity symmetry of the block. The projection processor 118 processes each block of pixel intensity signals 113 to generate two orthogonal projected pulse signals 120 by projecting the pixels in the block 113 along the orthogonal principal axes rotated through the rotation angle φ generated by the principal axis processor 114. The orthogonal projected pulse signals are simple waveforms comprising ten intervals, each interval being a projection of the ten pixels in a row or in a column of pixels in the block. The magnitude of the waveform for a particular interval is calculated by summing the ten pixel intensities projected onto that interval.
The pulse fitting processor 122 processes the two orthogonal projected pulse signals 120 generated by the projection processor 118 to generate two ideal pulse signals 124. One of a set of ideal pulse signals (flat, single transition, and double transition signals) is selected as best fitting each of the orthogonal signals. A least squares fit is used to select the ideal pulse signal assigned to each of the orthogonal projected pulse signal. The classification processor 126 processes the two ideal pulse signals 124 to generate a symbol icon 128 and one or more attributes associated with the symbol icon 128. A CLASSIFICATION MATRIX is presented below that relates all combinations of the two ideal pulse signals to a particular orthogonal icon. The compressed data memory 134 stores the symbol icons and the related attributes generated by the classification processor 126 as a compressed image in the form of a table.
A plurality of orthogonal icons 128 in accordance with the principles of the present invention are shown in FIGS. 2A to 2E. FIG. 2A shows a flat icon 128a, FIG. 2B shows an edge icon 128b, FIG. 2C shows a ribbon icon 128c, FIG. 2D shows a corner icon 128d, and FIG. 2E shows a spot icon 128e. The icons 128 are shown with the principal axes parallel to the axes of the block of data pixels. A vertical axis 210 is shown to the left of each block with an arrow pointing downward and having a positive amplitude direction indicated by an arrow 212 orthogonal thereto and a horizontal axis 214 is shown underneath each block of pixels with an arrow pointing rightward and having a positive amplitude direction indicated by an arrow 216 orthogonal thereto. The projection of intensity transitions onto the orthogonal axes 210, 214 is represented by dashed lines between the block 230 and the projected pulse signal 234 in FIG. 2B. The principal axis processor 114 determines the angle φ between the principal axes of the intensity distribution in the block of pixels 230 and the axes of the block of pixels 230 as one of the attributes of the icon 128 and as the axis of projection by the projection processor 118. Then, the projection is rotated through the φ angle so that it is performed along the principal axes. 210, 214
A family of icons have been created to be consistent with the types of features that they are intended to detect. The flat icon 128a (FIG. 2A) is matched to a block of pixels 220 that has no discernible structure or that is roughly uniform or specular in intensity distribution. The flat icon 128a does not have any edges and hence projects onto the two flat projected pulse signals 222, 224. The edge icon 128b (FIG. 2B) is matched to the block of pixels 240 whose dominant structure is a single step transition in intensity. The edge icon 128b has a single edge 236 which projects onto a single transition projected pulse signal 234 and onto a flat projected pulse signal 232. The ribbon icon 128c (FIG. 2C) is matched to a block of pixels 230 whose dominant structure consists of two parallel but oppositely directed step transitions in intensity. The ribbon icon 128c has two edges 246-247 which project onto a double transition projected pulse signal 244 and onto a flat projected pulse signal 242. The corner icon 128d (FIG. 2D) is matched to a block of pixels 250 whose dominant structure consists of two orthogonally intersecting step transitions. The corner icon 128d has three edges 256-258 where the single edge 258 projects onto a single transition projected pulse signal 252 and where the pair of double edges 256-257 project onto a double transition projected pulse signal 254. The spot icon 128e (FIG. 2E) is matched to a block of pixels 260 whose dominant structure consists of a small area which is significantly different in intensity than the rest of the region. The spot icon 128e has four edges 266-269 where the first pair of double edges 268-269 project onto a double transition projected pulse signal 262 and where the second pair of double edges 266-267 project onto a double transition projected pulse signal 264.
Orthogonal icons 128 have important advantages, particularly in data compressing of images having manufactured objects, such as a vehicle or a structure, in contrast to natural objects, such as a hill or a tree. The set of orthogonal icons 128 shown in FIGS. 2A-2E have combinations of a flat ideal pulse signal having no transitions, a single transition ideal pulse signal, and a double transition ideal pulse signal. The CLASSIFICATION MATRIX having all possible combinations of these three ideal pulse signal types is presented below. By reducing a block of pixels to a pair of projected pulse signals and classifying the pair of projected pulse signals by matching to a symbol icon 128 facilitates replacing a block of 100 pixels each having one or more pixel parameters with a single icon 128. Additional data compression precision is achieved by supplementing the single icon 128 with one or more attributes, still preserving significantly data compression economy over the 100 pixel block.
Details regarding processing of a block of pixels in accordance with the principles of the present invention is shown in FIG. 3a. A 10 by 10 block of pixels, for example, having an intensity pattern, illustrated by the darkness of the pixel squares in the block, is projected along the principal axes 311, 312 that are rotated by an angle φ to be aligned with the intensity pattern of the block. The pixels are shown arrayed in rows A to J and columns 0 to 9. A pixel is identified by the row and column designation. The angle of the principal axis φ is calculated from moment of inertia equations used in the mechanics art. First, the rectangular block is clipped to a circular block to enhance boundary symmetry. Second, the moments of inertia about the x-axis (I x ) and the y-axis (I y ) and the product of inertia (I xy ) are calculated by the following equations:
I.sub.x =∫∫y.sup.2 *f(x,y)dxdy, I.sub.y =∫∫x.sup.2 *f(x,y)dxdy, and I.sub.xy =∫∫x*y*f(x,y)dxdy.
In mechanics, f(x,y) is the mass per unit area at location (x,y). In this image configuration, f(x,y) is the intensity per unit area at location (x,y). Third, the angle of the principal axis φ is calculated from the moment and product of inertia equations from the following equation:
φ=(1/2)[ARCTAN(-2I.sub.xy /(I.sub.x -I.sub.y))]
Projection along the principal axes 311-312 to derive the projected pulse signals 315-316 (shown in FIGS. 3b and 3c) is performed by the projection processor 118. The intensity of each of the pixels in a row, as indicated by the arrows 313, is summed to generated projected points on the pulse signal 315 and the intensity of each of the pixels in a column, as indicated by the arrows 314, are summed to generate projected points on the pulse signal 316. For example, each of the ten row pixels A0-A9 are summed to generate the amplitude of the leftmost point or interval on the pulse signal 315, each of the ten row pixels B0-B9 are summed to generate the amplitude of the next point or interval on the pulse signal 315, and so forth for each of the ten rows A-J, generating the pulse signal 315. Similarly, each of the ten column pixels A0-J0 are summed to generate the amplitude of the leftmost point or interval on the pulse signal 316, each of the ten column pixels A1-J1 are summed to generate the amplitude of the next point on the pulse signal 316, and so forth for each of the ten columns 0-9 generating the pulse signal 316.
Fitting of the projected pulse signals 315-316 to match the ideal pulse signals is performed by the pulse fitting processor 122. The raggedness of the pixel intensities in the block 310 is reflected in the raggedness or steps (solid lines) in the projected pulse signals 315-316. Each of the projected pulse signals is associated with the best fit ideal pulse signal in preparation for classification. For example, the double stepped projected pulse signal 315 is fitted to a single step ideal pulse signal 318 (dashed lines) and the multiple up and down stepped projected pulse signal 316 is fitted to a flat ideal pulse signal 319 (dashed lines). This is performed with a least squares fit calculation performed in the pulse fitting processor 122.
Classification of the symbolic icons is performed by the classification processor 126. The number of transitions in a best fit pulse signal classifies the pulse signal as either a no transition or flat pulse signal, a single transition pulse signal, or a double transition pulse signal. Classification of the block as one of the icon types is performed by a table lookup using the best fit classification of the two projected pulse signals as the input to the CLASSIFICATION MATRIX.
______________________________________CLASSIFICATION MATRIXFIRST AXIS ICON______________________________________ FLAT 1-TRANS 2-TRANSSECOND FLAT FLAT EDGE RIBBONAXIS 1-TRANS EDGE CORNER CORNERICON 2-TRANS RIBBON CORNER SPOT______________________________________
The matrix points in the CLASSIFICATION MATRIX are defined by the icons in FIGS. 2A to 2E with the exception of the center matrix point having two single transition pulse signals. Consistent with the method of classifying all of the block conditions with one of the five icons, this center condition is classified as a corner icon because it is related to a corner icon at the edge of a block.
Assigning of attributes to the icons is also performed by the classification processor 126. The selected attributes include the following. The average intensity within the processing window for the flat icon, and the position of the edge, the orientation, and the average intensity on each side of the edge for the edge icon. The position of the ribbon center, the orientation, the ribbon width, the average ribbon intensity, and the average background intensity for the ribbon icon. The position of the corner center, the orientation, the width, the length, the average corner intensity, and the average background intensity for the corner icon. The position of spot center, the orientation, the width, the length, the average spot intensity, and the average background intensity for the spot icon.
The orientation angle attribute φ 116 is obtained from the principal axis processor 114. The other attributes are extracted from the projected pulse signals. The attribute of the average intensity for a flat icon 128a is calculated by averaging the twenty intensity values of the pair of projected pulse signals 222, 224 (FIG. 2A). The attributes of the position of the edge 236 in the pulse signal 234, the position of the edges 246-247 in the pulse signal 244, the position of the edges 256-257 in the pulse signal 254, the position of the edge 258 in the pulse signal 252, the position of the edges 266-267 in the pulse signal 264, and the position of the edges 268-269 in the pulse signal 262 are available from the least squares fit performed by the pulse fitting processor 122. The width and length attributes are calculated by subtracting the two parallel transitions in the pulse signal 244 (FIG. 2C), the pulse signal 254 (FIG. 2D), and the pulse signals 262 and 264 (FIG. 2E). The center position attributes are calculated by averaging the position (one half of the sum of the two transition positions) of the two parallel transitions in the pulse signal 244 (FIG. 2C), the pulse signal 254 (FIG. 2D), and the pulse signals 262 and 264 (FIG. 2E). The attribute of the average intensity on each side of the edge is calculated by averaging the intensity values of the pulse signal 234 (FIG. 2B) to the right side of the edge and to the left side of the edge. The average background intensity attribute is calculated by averaging the intensity outside the corner, the low part of the pulse signal 252 and the high part of the pulse signal 254 in FIG. 2D), or the intensity outside the spot, the high part of the pulse signal 262 and the low part of the pulse signal 264 in FIG. 2E). The average corner or spot intensity attribute is calculated by averaging the intensity inside the corner, the high part of the pulse signal 252 and the low part of the pulse signal 254 in FIG. 2D) or the intensity inside the spot, the low part of the pulse signal 262 and the high part of the pulse signal 264 in FIG. 2E).
The attributes will now be discussed in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2E. The flat icon has a constant average exterior intensity 228. The edge icon 128b has two regions 238, 239 of different intensities. The position of the edge is defined by an arrow pointing from the center of the edge X 0 , Y 0 toward the center of the block of pixels. The exterior intensity 238 is defined as being in the opposite direction relative to the arrow. The interior intensity 239 is defined as being in the same direction as the arrow. The ribbon icon 128c has an exterior intensity 245, 248 split by a ribbon of interior intensity 249. The position of the ribbon is defined by the coordinates X 0 , Y 0 of the center of the inside edge of the ribbon. The width of the ribbon is defined as the length of vector 241 that is normal to the two edges and interposed between the two edges. The corner icon 128d has an exterior intensity 253 and has a corner region of interior intensity 259. The position of the corner is defined by the coordinates X 0 , Y 0 of the center of the inside edge 258 of the corner. The width of the corner is defined as the length of vector 251 that is normal to the two edges and interposed between the two edges. The spot icon 128e has an exterior intensity 263 and has a spot region of interior intensity 261. The position of the spot is defined by the coordinates X 0 , Y 0 of the center of the spot. The width of the spot is defined as the magnitude of the edge 267 and the length of the spot is defined as the magnitude of the edge 268.
The above discussed calculations of average inside and outside intensities for the corner and the spot are not perfect averages of the inside pixel intensities and outside pixel intensities because they are calculated from the projected pulse signals 252, 254, 262, and 264 which have been derived by summing columns or rows of pixel intensities and have already mixed some inside intensities and outside intensities. This is shown in FIGS. 2D and 2E. However, they represent a smoothed average that provides good image fidelity and provides simplicity of implementation. Alternatively, more precise inside and outside averages may be calculated by using the individual intensities from the block of pixels which have not been summed or mixed. Consequently, the transitions in the block are located by referring to the ideal pulse signals.
Many alternative embodiments may be implemented from the teachings herein. For example, the image memory 110 and the compressed memory 134 may be implemented as different memories. The processors 114, 118, 122, and 126 may be partitioned to be in separate processors, in different portions of the same processors. Also, the arrangement shown in FIG. 1 may be implemented in parallel processing form, in pipeline processing form, or in parallel pipeline processing form, for example. The processors 114, 118, 122, and 126 may be implemented by stored program processors, by special purpose hardwired processors, or in other forms. Stored program processors may be implemented by microprocessors, by array processors, by RISC processors, for example.
For simplicity of discussion, all image features are discussed relative to matching blocks to five icons 128a-128e (FIGS. 2A-2E) and generating one or more attributes for each type of icon 128. Any image feature that is detected is matched to one of these five icons 128 so that there are not any unknown conditions. The number of icons 128 and the number of attributes can be reduced, where the edge icon by itself without any attributes is sufficient to demonstrate many of the features of the present invention. Also, the system may be adapted to accommodate other types of icons 128 and other types of attributes and the number of icons 128 and the number of attributes may be increased and can be varied.
In summary, the present invention identifies and characterizes selected orthogonal features within a digital image. The image is partitioned into small blocks of pixels and then, independent of each other, each block is orthogonally matched to a predefined set of orthogonal icons. Each icon and its attributes characterizes the intensity and spatial distribution of an orthogonal feature within the related block. Selection of a particular orthogonal icon and deriving the related attributes constitutes data compression for a block.
Data compression using orthogonal icons is performed by a sequence of processing operations. The principal axis angle is computed for the image intensity data within each block of pixels in order to align the axes with the orthogonal features and thus to reduce a three degree-of-freedom feature in a block to a two degree-of-freedom feature. Next, the block is projected along the principal axes to generate two single degree-of-freedom projected pulse signals and thus to reduce a two degree-of-freedom aligned feature to a pair of single degree-of-freedom pulse signals. Next, the pair of projected pulse signals associated with the block are each fitted to an ideal pulse signal. Next, the pair of ideal pulse signals associated with the block are classified as one of a plurality of orthogonal icons, each having one or more attributes, which reduces the pair of single degree-of-freedom ideal pulse signals to point parameters. As a result, a three degree-of-freedom feature involving a block of 100 pixels, for example, and hence 100 pixel parameters, is reduced to a point feature having as few as two block parameters.
Thus there has been described a new and improved image data compression system and method. It is to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative of some of the many specific embodiments that represent applications of the principles of the present invention. Clearly, numerous and varied other arrangements may be designed by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. | Image data compression is implemented by partitioning an image into relatively small blocks of pixels, matching each block to an orthogonal icon, and extracting attributes associated with the icon. A table of these orthogonal icons and attributes represents a data compressed image. Each block is processed separately from all other blocks. Orthogonal processing is used to preserve orthogonal features while attenuating non-orthogonal features. An optimum set of orthogonal icons and an optimum set of attributes for each icon further improves data compression and fidelity. The optimal set of orthogonal icons includes a flat icon, an edge icon, a ribbon icon, a corner icon, and a spot icon. An optimal set of attributes includes average intensities, intensity transition position and separation, and angle of the principal axes. | 7 |
This application is a 371 of PCT/EP95/03260 filed Aug. 16, 1995.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to 4,4'-methylene-bis-(3-chloro-2,6-dialkylphenylisocyanates) of the general formula: ##STR2## in which R 1 means an alkyl group with 1 to 6 C atoms and R 2 means chlorine or an alkyl group with 1 to 6 C atoms, a process for preparing the said polyisocyanates, and the use of the said polyisocyanates in polyurethane (PU) systems.
PU systems are defined below as polyurethane systems that contain urethane groups and/or urea groups.
BACKGROUND ART
Toluene-2,4-diisocyanate and/or toluene-2,6-diisocyanate, abbreviated TDI, or diphenylmethane-4,4'-diisocyanate, abbreviated MDI, continue to be of considerable importance as polyisocyanate components in the production of PU systems.
A major drawback of TDI is its high toxicity. Although the compound is handled on an industrial scale with the most stringent safety precautions possible, it carries a considerable risk potential.
A complete switch to the less toxic MDI is also only conditionally possible since MDI, owing to its high reactivity, can be processed with polyols, but not with aromatic polyamines.
In addition, the PU systems that are based on TDI and MDI are limited, in terms of their temperatures of use, to a maximum of 100° C.
BROAD DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The object of this invention was consequently to develop polyisocyanates that are not highly toxic, have lower reactivity than MDI, and can be processed with the conventional and new PU processing process. The goal of developing chemically stable PU systems that can be used at temperatures of above 100° C. was associated with the object.
These objects are achieved with the polyisocyanates of the above-mentioned general formula I according to the invention.
R 1 and R 2 mean a C 1 -C 6 -alkyl group which can be the same in meaning or different and may suitably stand for methyl, ethyl, n- or i-propyl, n-, i- or t-butyl, pentyl and its isomers and hexyl and its isomers. R 1 and R 2 are preferably the same in meaning and stand for one of the above-mentioned C 1 -C 4 -alkyl groups.
The preferred polyisocyanate is the 4,4'-methylene-bis-(3-chloro-2,6-diethylphenylisocyanate) with the meaning of R 1 and R 2 are each ethyl.
The production of the polyisocyanates according to the invention is carried out in the known way by reacting the corresponding polyamine with phosgene or a phosgene-releasing compound, such as, di- or triphosgene (cf., e.g., Ullmanns Encykl. d. techn. Chemie Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry!, 4 th Edition, Volume 13, pp. 351 ff).
The corresponding polyamines are described in European Application A 0 220 641. 4,4'-Methylene-bis-(3-chloro-2,6-diethylaniline) (M-CDEA) is the preferred polyamine.
The phosgenation is carried out suitably in the presence of an inert solvent such as, toluene or chlorobenzene at elevated temperature. The reaction generally proceeds virtually quantitatively.
The resulting polyisocyanates have a high purity.
The processing of the polyisocyanates according to the invention into PU systems is carried out basically in a known way by reaction with compounds with at least two hydrogen atoms that are active compared to polyisocyanates and optionally chain-lengthening agents and optionally in the presence of commonly used catalysts and optionally other additives (cf. Saechtling, Kunststoff Taschenbuch Plastics Notebook!, 24 th Edition, published in Carl Hauser Verlag, Munich 1989, pp. 429 if).
It is also possible to use mixtures of the polyisocyanates according to the invention with other aliphatic or aromatic polyisocyanates or prepolymers of polyisocyanates or prepolymers that are based on mixtures of polyisocyanates with aliphatic or aromatic polyisocyanates.
Suitable representatives of compounds with at least two hydrogen atoms that are active compared to polyisocyanates are especially polyols, such as, e.g., polyether polyols, polyester polyols, or other polyols, (e.g., polycaprolactones). Suitable representatives of chain-lengthening agents are polyamines, such as, e.g., the aromatic diamines MOCA, M-CDEA, mixtures of M-CDEA with aromatic or aliphatic diamines or polyols or isomer mixtures of dimethylthiotoluenediamine (ibid., p. 430, or European Published Patent Application No. A 220,641).
In addition, all commonly used catalysts, such as, tetramethylbutanediamine (TMBDA), diazabicylooctane (DABCO), dibutyltin dilaurate (DBTC) or organic heavy metal compounds, can be used individually or in combination with additives, such as, softeners, stabilizers, fireproofing agents, propellants, or fillers (ibid. p. 430).
A great advantage of the polyisocyanates according to the invention lies in that fact that they can be processed in the standard PU processing processes, such as, the one-shot RIM process, the two-shot prepolymer process, or the two-shot direct process.
In accordance with the preferred use of polyisocyanates in the PU-elastomer sector or especially in the PU-casting elastomer sector, preference is given to the prepolymer process.
The polyisocyanates according to the invention are suitably used in a polyurethane system that can be produced by reacting a
a) 4,4'-methylene-bis-(3-chloro-2,6-dialkylphenylisocyanate) of general formula I with
b) compounds with at least two hydrogen atoms that are active compared to isocyanates and optionally
c) chain-lengthening agents optionally in the presence of commonly used catalysts and optionally other additives.
Preferred is a polyurethane system that can be produced by reacting a
a) 4,4'-methylene-bis-(3-chloro-2,6-dialkylphenylisocyanate) of general formula I with
b) compounds with at least two hydrogen atoms that are active compared to isocyanates, preferably as described above, and
c) an aromatic diamine as a chain lengthener in the presence of the above-mentioned commonly used additives.
Especially preferably, a 4,4'-methylene-bis-(3-chloro-2,6-dialkylaniline), especially the 4,4'-methylene-bis-(3-chloro-2,6-diethylaniline), is used as an aromatic diamine either individually or as a component of a mixture with other aromatic or aliphatic diamines or with polyols, and 4,4'-methylene-bis-(3-chloro-2,6-diethylphenyl-isocyanate) is used as component a).
The PU systems that are produced on the basis of new polyisocyanates according to the invention are distinguished by high chemical stability that is unexpected in comparison to known PU systems and by a temperature of use of up to 180° C..
These PU systems according to the invention are therefore used mainly in the PU-elastomer sector--especially in the casting-elastomer sector--for the production of, e.g., rollers, wheels, roller coatings, insulators, seals, or sealing compounds. It is eminently possible, however, to use the PU systems for spray-coating or for PU foams.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
EXAMPLE 1a
Production of 4,4'-methylene-bis-(3-chloro-2,6-diethylphenylisocyanate)
100 g (0.26 mmol) of 4,4'-methylene-bis-(3-chloro-2,6-diethylaniline) was introduced into 1000 g of dichlorobenzene in an autoclave at room temperature. 57 g (0.58 mol) of phosgene was introduced into this solution over a period of 30 minutes. The reaction mixture was stirred in a sealed autoclave at 80° C. for 1 hour. Then, it was depressurized, and the hydrochloric acid that was produced, the excess phosgene, and the solvent were removed. In this case, the title product resulted in a yield of 110 g (98% of theory). Other data concerning the product is:
IR (KBr): 2288.1 cm -1
1 H-NMR (CDCl 3 , 400 MHz) in ppm: 6.69 s, 2H; 4.12 s, 2H; 2.91 q, 4H, J=7.5 Hz; 2.59 q, 4H, J=7.6 Hz; 1.20 t, 6H, J=7.6 Hz; 1.15 t, 6H, J=7.5 Hz.
EXAMPLE 1b
Analogously to Example 1a, but with the solvent toluene, the title product was obtained in a yield of 109 g.
Examination of 4,4'-Methylene-bis-(3-chloro-2,6-diethylphenylisocyanate) in Comparison with Isocyanates from the Prior Art in PU Systems
1. Isocyanates Used
MCDE-I 4,4'-Methylene-bis-(3-chloro-2,6-diethylphenylisocyanate)=compound according to the invention
MDE-I 4,4'-methylene-bis-(2,6-diethylphenylisocyanate)=comparison substance
MDI 4,4'-methylene-bis-phenylisocyanate=comparison substance
2. Production of Prepolymers (Component A)
Prepolymer 1 (Invention)
Prepolymer based on polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMG; Tetraethane 650, Du Pont), with a molecular weight of 650 and MCDE-I
1850 g=4 mol of 94% MCDE-I was melted under nitrogen (N 2 ) at 80° C., introduced into a reaction flask, and intimately mixed with 1300 g of PTMG=2 mol over 30 minutes while being stirred. The PTMG is linear and was dehydrated before addition to isocyanate for 1 hour at 100° C. and under a vacuum of 2500 Pa. After the addition of PTMG was completed, it was then stirred for 2 more hours at 90° C. under N 2 .
A prepolymer with a content of 5.2% of free NCO groups was obtained. This prepolymer is referred to as "PTMG 650-MCDE-I."
Prepolymer 2 (Invention)
Prepolymer based on polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMG; Terathane 2000, Du Pont) with a molecular weight of 2000 and MCDE-I
1234 g=2.67 mol of 95% MCDE-I was melted under N 2 at 80° C., introduced into a reaction flask, and intimately mixed with 2133 g=1.066 of PTMG over 30 minutes while being stirred. The PTMG is linear and was dehydrated before addition to isocyanate for 1 hour at 100° C. and under a vacuum of 2500 Pa. After the addition of PTMG was completed, it was then stirred for 2 more hours at 90° C. under N 2 .
A prepolymer with a content of 3.96% of free NCO groups was obtained. This prepolymer is referred to as "PTMG 2000-MCDE-I."
Prepolymer 3 (Invention)
Prepolymer based on polycaprolactone glycol (PCL; CAPA 220, Interox) with a molecular weight of 2000 and MCDE-I
1245 g=2.7 mol of 94% MCDE-I was melted under N 2 at 80° C., introduced into a reaction flask, and intimately mixed with 2133 g=1.066 mol of PCL over 30 minutes while being stirred. The PCL is linear and was dehydrated before addition to isocyanate for I hour at 100° C. and under a vacuum of 2500 Pa. After the addition of PCL was completed, it was then stirred for 2 more hours at 90° C. under N 2 .
A prepolymer with a content of 3.92% of free NCO groups was obtained. The prepolymer is referred to as "PCL 2000-MCDE-I."
Prepolymer 4 (Comparison)
Prepolymer based on PTMG (Terathane 2000, Du Pont) with a molecular weight of 2000 and MDE-I
1158 g=3 mol of 94% MDE-I was melted under N 2 at 80° C., introduced into a reaction flask, and intimately mixed with 2400 g=1.2 mol of PTMG over 30 minutes while being stirred. The PTMG is linear and was dehydrated before addition to isocyanate for 1 hour at 100° C. and under a vacuum of 2500 Pa. After the addition of PTMG was completed, it was then stirred for 2 more hours at 90° C. under N 2 .
A prepolymer with a content of 4.32% of free NCO groups was obtained. We refer to this prepolymer as "PTMG 2000-MDE-I."
Prepolymer 5 (Comparison)
Prepolymer based on PCL (CAPA 220, Interox) with a molecular weight of 2000 and MDE-I
If the PTMG in prepolymer 4 is replaced by the same amount of PCL, a prepolymer with a content of 4.23% of free NCO groups is obtained under otherwise identical conditions. This prepolymer is referred to as "PCL 2000-MDE-I."
Prepolymer 6
Prepolymer based on PCL (CAPA 220, Interox) with a molecular weight of 2000 and MDI.
400 g=1.6 mol of MDI was melted under N 2 at 60° C., introduced into a reaction flask, heated to 80° C. and intimately mixed with 1000 g=0.5 mol of PCL over a period of 10 minutes while being stirred. The PCL is linear and was dehydrated before addition to isocyanate for 1 hour at 100° C. and under a vacuum of 2500 Pa. After the addition of PCL was completed, it was then stirred for 2 more hours at 80° C. under N 2 .
A prepolymer with a content of 6.6% of free NCO groups was obtained. This polymer is referred to as "PCL 2000-MDI."
3. Component B
Component B is either the melted diamine* or the clear degassed solution, cooled to processing temperature (80° C.), of the diamine or diamine mixture in question in the corresponding polyol. In addition, the solutions in the polyol contain an organic bismuth compound (Coscat® 83 catalyst from the CasChem. Inc., New Jersey) relative to the overall system (components A+B).
Ethacure 300, Albemarle Inc.
4. Preparation of the Test Piece
The prepolymer (component A) and the diamines (chain lengtheners; component B) were intimately mixed at a molar ratio of 1:0.95, i.e., NCO groups to the sum of free OH and NH 2 groups, at 80° C. for 30 seconds, poured into a metal mold, preheated to 110° C., with inside dimensions of 200*200*2 (in mm), and finally pressed at the start of gelling (pot life) in a press at 200 bar and 110° C.. After setting was completed (demolding time), it was demolded and subsequently tempered at 110° C. for 16 hours. Test pieces were punched out of the hardened elastomers.
5. Test Parameters
______________________________________Hardness Shore A and Shore D DIN 53505Tear resistance N/mm! DIN 53515Tensile strength N/mm.sup.2 ! DIN 53504Tension at 100% elongation DIN 53504Elongation at break % DIN 53504______________________________________
TABLE I__________________________________________________________________________RESULTS WITH DIAMINE M-CDEA (I) "Proportion by weight" of Hardness/Room Stress"I" in comp. B Temperature Hardness/ Tear Tensile at 100% ElongationPrepolymer Comp. B per 100 Pot Demold- Shore Shore 175° C. Resistance Strength Elongation atNo. in Mol % comp. Life ing Time A D Shore A N/mm! N/mm.sup.2 ! N/mm.sup.2 ! Break__________________________________________________________________________ %1 (Invention) 100 21.0 2'00" 20' 99 69 99 -- -- -- --2 (Invention) 100 100 2'30" 20' 98 45 53.3 19.7 9.2 4332 (Invention) 66 40.0 2'00" 45' 91 33 47.7 18.3 5.2 8094 (Compar.) 100 18.2 3'00" 45' 97 43 47.7 8.6 7.5 3884 (Compar.) 66 44.0 7'30" 60' 91 28 35.0 15.0 4.5 8543 (Invention) 100 16.0 2'30" 20' 98 52 97 73.5 17.7 11.4 3533 (Invention) 66 38.0 2'30" 45' 92 37 59.4 25.7 5.7 5935 (Compar.) 100 18.7 5'00" 60' 98 45 95 64.2 12.1 9.2 4405 (Compar.) 66 45.0 5'10" 60' 92 32 -- 50.2 22.8 5.1 7506 (Compar.) 66 72.0 19" 9' 88 -- -- 64.0 35.1 -- --6 (Compar.) 100 30.0 20" 5' 98 55 -- 74.0 25.6 -- --__________________________________________________________________________
TABLE 2__________________________________________________________________________Results with the Diamino Mixture Luvocure MUT-HT from Lehmann & Voss(II)Weight Hardness/Room Tear Stress atratio of Temperature Hardness/ propagation Tensile 100% ElongationPrepolymer prepolymer: Pot Demold- Shore Shore 175° C. Resistance Strength Elongation atNo. comp. B Life ing Time A D Shore A N/mm! N/mm.sup.2 ! N/mm.sup.2 ! Break %__________________________________________________________________________2 (Invention) 100:20.5 2'00" 40' 97 46 95 60.9 17.2 9.1 5104 (Compar.) 100:22.0 4'30" 45' 97 40 93 50.2 13.9 7.0 7543 (Invention) 100:19.0 2'40" 40' 98 47 95 76.8 20.7 9.7 4645 (Compar.) 100:22.5 5'20" 60' 97 46 95 60.9 17.2 9.1 510__________________________________________________________________________
TABLE 3__________________________________________________________________________Results with the Diamine-Isomer Mixture Ethacure 300 (2.4 and 2.6 IsomersofDimethylthiotoluenediamine) from Albemarle Inc. USAWeight Hardness/Room Tear Stress atratio of Temperature Hardness/ propagation Tensile 100% ElongationPrepolymer prepolymer: Pot Demold- Shore Shore 175° C. Resistance Strength Elongation atNo. comp. B Life ing Time A D Shore A N/mm! N/mm.sup.2 ! N/mm.sup.2 ! Break %__________________________________________________________________________1 (Invention) 100:12.0 1'30" 13' 99 67 95 100.5 32.0 26.1 1652 (Invention) 100:9.6 3'30" 20' 95 41 48.8 35.4 7.4 5254 (Compar.) 100:10.2 6'20" 45' 93 33 31.6 13.1 5.9 6583 (Invention) 100:9.0 4'00" 20' 95 40 66.6 42.4 8.2 4795 (Compar.) 100:10.5 6'20" 60' 94 36 45.0 18.1 6.9 571__________________________________________________________________________ | The 4,4'-methylene-bis-(3-chloro-2,6-dialkylphenylisocyanates) of the general formula ##STR1## are new polyisocyanates for the production of PU systems with high chemical stability and good thermal stability. | 2 |
This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/929,935, filed Sep. 15, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,980, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/026,373, filed Sep. 16, 1996.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to novel compounds and pharmaceutical compositions, and to methods of using same in the treatment of psychiatric disorders and neurological diseases including major depression, anxiety-related disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, supranuclear palsy and eating disorders.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Corticotropin releasing factor (herein referred to as CRF), a 41 amino acid peptide, is the primary physiological regulator of proopiomelanocortin (POMC)-derived peptide secretion from the anterior pituitary gland [J. Rivier et al., Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. ( USA ) 80:4851 (1983); W. Vale et al., Science 213:1394 (1981)]. In addition to its endocrine role at the pituitary gland, immunohistochemical localization of CRF has demonstrated that the hormone has a broad extrahypothalamic distribution in the central nervous system and produces a wide spectrum of autonomic, electrophysiological and behavioral effects consistent with a neurotransmitter or neuromodulator role in brain [W. Vale et al., Rec. Prog. Horm. Res. 39:245 (1983); G. F. Koob, Persp. Behav. Med. 2:39 (1985); E. B. De Souza et al., J. Neurosci. 5:3189 (1985)]. There is also evidence that CRF plays a significant role in integrating the response of the immune system to physiological, psychological, and immunological stressors [J. E. Blalock, Physiological Reviews 69:1 (1989); J. E. Morley, Life Sci. 41:527 (1987)].
Clinical data provide evidence that CRF has a role in psychiatric disorders and neurological diseases including depression, anxiety-related disorders and eating disorders. A role for CRF has also been postulated in the etiology and pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis as they relate to the dysfunction of CRF neurons in the central nervous system [for review see E. B. De Souza, Hosp. Practice 23:59 (1988)].
In affective disorder, or major depression, the concentration of CRF is significantly increased in the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) of drug-free individuals [C. B. Nemeroff et al., Science 226:1342 (1984); C. M. Banki et al., Am. J. Psychiatry 144:873 (1987); R. D. France et al., Biol. Psychiatry 28:86 (1988); M. Arato et al., Biol Psychiatry 25:355 (1989)]. Furthermore, the density of CRF receptors is significantly decreased in the frontal cortex of suicide victims, consistent with a hypersecretion of CRF [C. B. Nemeroff et al., Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 45:577 (1988)]. In addition, there is a blunted adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) response to CRF (i.v. administered) observed in depressed patients [P. W. Gold et al., Am J. Psychiatry 141:619 (1984); F. Holsboer et al., Psychoneuroendocrinology 9:147 (1984); P. W. Gold et al., New Eng. J. Med. 314:1129 (1986)]. Preclinical studies in rats and non-human primates provide additional support for the hypothesis that hypersecretion of CRF may be involved in the symptoms seen in human depression [R. M. Sapolsky, Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 46:1047 (1989)]. There is preliminary evidence that tricyclic antidepressants can alter CRF levels and thus modulate the numbers of CRF receptors in brain [Grigoriadis et al., Neuropsychopharmacology 2:53 (1989)].
There has also been a role postulated for CRF in the etiology of anxiety-related disorders. CRF produces anxiogenic effects in animals and interactions between benzodiazepine/non-benzodiazepine anxiolytics and CRF have been demonstrated in a variety of behavioral anxiety models [D. R. Britton et al., Life Sci. 31:363 (1982); C. W. Berridge and A. J. Dunn Regul. Peptides 16:83 (1986)]. Preliminary studies using the putative CRF receptor antagonist a-helical ovine CRF (9-41) in a variety of behavioral paradigms demonstrate that the antagonist produces “anxiolytic-like” effects that are qualitatively similar to the benzodiazepines [C. W. Berridge and A. J. Dunn Horm. Behav. 21:393 (1987), Brain Research Reviews 15:71 (1990)]. Neurochemical, endocrine and receptor binding studies have all demonstrated interactions between CRF and benzodiazepine anxiolytics providing further evidence for the involvement of CRF in these disorders. Chlordiazepoxide attenuates the “anxiogenic” effects of CRF in both the conflict test [K. T. Britton et al., Psychopharmacology 86:170 (1985); K. T. Britton et al., Psychopharmacology 94:306 (1988)] and in the acoustic startle test [N. R. Swerdlow et al., Psychopharmacology 88:147 (1986)] in rats. The benzodiazepine receptor antagonist (Ro15-1788), which was without behavioral activity alone in the operant conflict test, reversed the effects of CRF in a dose-dependent manner while the benzodiazepine inverse agonist (FG7142) enhanced the actions of CRF [K. T. Britton et al., Psychopharmacology 94:306 (1988)].
The mechanisms and sites of action through which the standard anxiolytics and antidepressants produce their therapeutic effects remain to be elucidated. It has been hypothesized however, that they are involved in the suppression of the CRF hypersecretion that is observed in these disorders. Of particular interest is that preliminary studies examining the effects of a CRF receptor antagonist (a-helical CRF 9-41 ) in a variety of behavioral paradigms have demonstrated that the CRF antagonist produces “anxiolytic-like” effects qualitatively similar to the benzodiazepines [for review see G. F. Koob and K. T. Britton, In: Corticotropin - Releasing Factor: Basic and Clinical Studies of a Neuropeptide , E. B. De Souza and C. B. Nemeroff eds., CRC Press p. 221 (1990)].
DuPont Merck PCT application WO95/10506 describes corticotropin releasing factor antagonist compounds and their use to treat psychiatric disorders and neurological diseases.
European patent application 0 576 350 A1 by Elf Sanofi describes corticotropin releasing factor antagonist compounds useful in the treatment of CNS and stress disorders.
Pfizer patent applications WO 94/13676, WO 94/13677, WO 94/13661, WO 95/33750, WO 95/34563, WO 95/33727 describe corticotropin releasing factor antagonist compounds useful in the treatment of CNS and stress disorders.
All of the aforementioned references are hereby incorporated by reference.
The compounds and the methods of the present invention provide for the production of compounds capable of inhibiting the action of CRF at its receptor protein in the brain. These compounds would be useful in the treatment of a variety of neurodegenerative, neuropsychiatric and stress-related disorders such as affective disorders, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorders, supranuclear palsy, seizure disorders, stroke, irritable bowel syndrome, immune suppression, Alzheimer's disease, gastrointestinal disease, anorexia nervosa or other eating disorders, drug or alcohol withdrawal symptoms, drug addiction, inflammatory disorders and fertility problems. It is further asserted that this invention may provide compounds and pharmaceutical compositions suitable for use in such a method.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is a class of novel compounds which are CRF receptor antagonists and which can be represented by Formula (I):
or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof, wherein
Z is CR 2 or N;
when Z is CR 2 :
Y is NR 4 , O or S(O) n ;
Ar is phenyl, naphthyl, pyridyl, pyrimidinyl, pyridazinyl, pyrazinyl, 1,3,5-triazinyl, 1,2,4-triazinyl, furanyl, quinolinyl, isoquinolinyl, thienyl, imidazolyl, thiazolyl, indolyl, indolinyl, pyrrolyl, oxazolyl, benzofuranyl, benzothienyl, 2,3-dihydrobenzofuranyl, 2,3-dihydrobenzothienyl, benzothiazolyl, indazolyl, isoxazolyl or pyrazolyl, each substituted with 0 to 4 R 5 groups; wherein Ar is attached to Y through an unsaturated carbon;
R 1 is H, halo, C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, —CN, —OR 7 , —SH, —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —OC(O)R 13 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —N(COR 7 ) 2 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , or —NR 6 R 7 , wherein C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl or C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl is each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, halo, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —CN, —OR 7 , —SH, —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —OC(O)R 13 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —N(COR 7 ) 2 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , aryl and heterocyclyl;
R 2 is H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 2 -C 4 alkenyl, C 2 -C 4 alkynyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, halo, —CN, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —NR 9 R 10 , —NR 9 COR 10 , —NR 9 CO 2 R 10 , —OR 11 , —SH or —S(O) n R 12 ;
R 3 is C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) 2 R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —N(COR 7 ) 2 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , or —NR 6 R 7 , wherein C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl or C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl is each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, halo, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —N(COR 7 ) 2 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , aryl and heterocyclyl, with the proviso that when R 3 is aryl, Ar is not imidazolyl;
R 4 is H, C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl or C 2 -C 6 alkynyl, wherein C 2 -C 6 alkenyl or C 2 -C 6 alkynyl is optionally substituted with C 1 -C 4 alkyl or C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl and wherein C 1 -C 6 alkyl is optionally substituted with C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 12 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 or —NR 9 COR 10 ;
R 5 is independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, —NO 2 , halo, —CN, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —NR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —OR 7 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —CON(OR 9 )R 7 , —SH, and —S(O) n R 13 , wherein C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl and C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl are substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, —NO 2 , halo, —CN, —OR 7 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 and —S(O) n R 13 ;
R 6 and R 7 are independently selected at each occurrence from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, aryl, aryl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-, heterocyclyl, heterocyclyl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-, morpholinoethyl, morpholinopropyl and morpholinobutyl; or —NR 6 R 7 taken together as a whole is piperidine, pyrrolidine, piperazine, N-methyl-piperazine, morpholine or thiomorpholine; wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl, may be substituted with 0 to 2 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from —OH or C 1 -C 4 alkoxy groups;
R 8 is independently at each occurrence H or C 1 -C 4 alkyl;
R 9 and R 10 are independently at each occurrence selected from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl;
R 11 is H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, or C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl;
R 12 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl or —NR 6 R 7 ;
R 13 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, —NR 6 R 7 , aryl, aryl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-, heterocyclyl or heterocyclyl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-;
R 14 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, —NR 15 R 16 ;
R 15 and R 16 are independently selected at each occurrence from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl and C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl; or —NR 15 R 16 taken together as a whole is piperidine, pyrrolidine, piperazine, N-methyl-piperazine, morpholine or thiomorpholine;
aryl is phenyl, biphenyl or naphthyl, each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, halo, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —CN, —OR 15 , —SH, —S(O) n R 14 , —COR 15 , —CO 2 R 15 , —OC(O)R 14 , —NO 2 , —NR 8 COR 15 , —N(COR 15 ) 2 , —NR 8 CONR 15 R 16 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 15 , —NR 15 R 16 and —CONR 15 R 16 ;
heterocyclyl is 5- to 10-membered heterocyclic ring which may be saturated, partially unsaturated or aromatic, and which consists of carbon atoms and from 1 to 4 heteroatoms independently selected from the group consisting of N, O and S, wherein the heterocyclic ring is substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, halo, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —CN, —OR 15 , —SH, —S(O) n R 14 , —COR 15 , —CO 2 R 15 , —OC(O)R 14 , —NR 8 COR 15 , —N(COR 15 ) 2 , —NR 8 CONR 15 R 16 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 15 , —NR 15 R 16 , and —CONR 15 R 16 ; and
n is independently at each occurrence 0, 1 or 2;
and wherein, when Z is N:
Y is NR 4 , O or S(O) n ;
Ar, R 1 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , R 9 , R 10 , R 11 , R 12 , R 13 , R 14 , R 15 , R 16 , aryl, heterocyclyl, heterocyclyl and n are as defined above, but
R 3 is C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, —CN, —S(O) 2 R 13 , —CO 2 R 7 , —COR 7 or —CONR 6 R 7 , wherein C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl or C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl is each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, halo, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —N(COR 7 ) 2 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , aryl and heterocyclyl, with the proviso that when R 3 is aryl, Ar is not imidazolyl.
[3] Preferred compounds of this invention are compounds of Formula (I) and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and pro-drug forms thereof, wherein:
Z is CR 2 ;
Y is NR 4 or O;
Ar is phenyl or pyridyl, each substituted with 0 to 4 R 5 groups;
R 1 is H, halo, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, cyclopropyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —CN, —NR 6 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —OR 7 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 or —S(O) n R 13 , wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl is substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 and aryl;
R 2 is H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, halo, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl;
R 3 is C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) 2 R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —N(COR 7 ) 2 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , or —NR 6 R 7 , wherein C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl or C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl is each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 13 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 , aryl and heterocyclyl;
R 4 is H, C 1 -C 6 alkyl or C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, wherein C 1 -C 6 alkyl is optionally substituted with C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 12 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 or —NR 9 COR 10 ;
R 5 is independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, C 2 -C 6 alkynyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 8 cycloalkylalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —NR 6 R 7 , —COR 7 , —OR 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —CON(OR 9 )R 7 , CO 2 R 7 and —S(O) n R 13 , wherein C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, C 2 -C 6 alkynyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl and C 4 -C 8 cycloalkylalkyl are substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, —NO 2 , halo, —CN, —NR 6 R 7 , COR 7 , —OR 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , CO 2 R 7 and —S(O) n R 13 ;
R 6 and R 7 are independently selected at each occurrence from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, aryl, aryl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-, heterocyclyl, heterocyclyl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-, morpholinoethyl, morpholinopropyl and morpholinobutyl; or —NR 6 R 7 taken together as a whole is piperidine, pyrrolidine, piperazine, N-methylpiperazine, morpholine or thiomorpholine; wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl, may be substituted with 0 to 2 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from —OH or C 1 -C 4 alkoxy groups;
R 8 is independently at each occurrence H or C 1 -C 4 alkyl;
R 9 and R 10 are independently at each occurrence selected from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl;
R 11 is H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, or C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl;
R 12 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl or —NR 6 R 7 ;
R 13 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, —NR 6 R 7 , aryl, aryl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-, heterocyclyl or heterocyclyl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-;
R 14 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, —NR 15 R 16 ;
R 15 and R 16 are independently selected at each occurrence from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl and C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl; or —NR 15 R 16 taken together as a whole is piperidine, pyrrolidine, piperazine, N-methyl-piperazine, morpholine or thiomorpholine;
aryl is phenyl substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 15 , —S(O) n R 14 , —COR 15 , —CO 2 R 15 , —NO 2 , —NR 8 COR 15 , —NR 8 CONR 15 R 16 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 15 and —NR 15 R 16 ;
heterocyclyl is pyridyl, pyrimidinyl, triazinyl, furanyl, thienyl, imidazolyl, thiazolyl, pyrrolyl, oxazolyl, isoxazolyl or pyrazolyl, each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 15 , —S(O) n R 14 , —CO 2 R 15 , —NO 2 , —NR 8 COR 15 , —NR 8 CONR 15 R 16 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 15 , and —NR 15 R 16 ; and
n is independently at each occurrence 0, 1 or 2.
[4] More preferred compounds of this invention are compounds of Formula (I) and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and pro-drug forms thereof, wherein:
Z is CR 2 ;
Y is NR 4 ;
Ar is phenyl or pyridyl, each substituted with 0 to 4 R 5 groups;
R 1 is H, halo, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, cyclopropyl, C 1 -C 3 haloalkyl, —CN, —NR 6 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —OR 7 or —S(O) n R 13 wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl is substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 3 -C 4 cycloalkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 ;
R 2 is H;
R 3 is C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, C 2 -C 6 alkynyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl or aryl, wherein C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, C 2 -C 6 alkynyl or C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl is each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 13 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 and aryl;
R 4 is H, allyl, or C 1 -C 4 alkyl, wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl is optionally substituted with C 1 -C 4 alkyl, —OR 7 , —S(O) 2 R 12 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 or —NR 9 COR 10 ;
R 5 is independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —NR 6 R 7 , —COR 7 , —OR 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —CON(OR 9 )R 7 , —CO 2 R 7 and —S(O) n R 13 , wherein C 1 -C 6 alkyl is substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, —NO 2 , halo, —CN, —NR 6 R 7 , COR 7 , —OR 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , CO 2 R 7 and —S(O) n R 13 ;
R 6 and R 7 are independently selected at each occurrence from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl and C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl; wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl, may be substituted with 0 to 2 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from —OH or C 1 -C 4 alkoxy groups;
R 8 , R 9 and R 10 are independently at each occurrence H or C 1 -C 4 alkyl;
R 12 and R 13 are independently at each occurrence C 1 -C 4 alkyl or —NR 6 R 7 ;
R 14 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl or —NR 15 R 16 ;
R 15 and R 16 are independently at each occurrence H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl or C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl;
aryl is phenyl substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 15 , —S(O) n R 14 , —COR 15 , —CO 2 R 15 , —NO 2 and —NR 15 R 16 ; and
n is independently at each occurrence 0, 1 or 2.
[5] Even more preferred compounds of this invention are compounds of Formula (I) and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and pro-drug forms thereof, wherein:
Z is CR 2 ;
Y is NR 4 ;
Ar is phenyl or pyridyl, each substituted with 2 to 4 R 5 groups;
R 1 is H, Cl, Br, methyl, ethyl, cyclopropyl, or —CN,
R 2 is H;
R 3 is C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, C 2 -C 6 alkynyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl or aryl, wherein C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, C 2 -C 6 alkynyl or C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl is each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, —CF 3 , halo, —CN, —OR 7 , and aryl;
R 4 is H, methyl, ethyl, i-propyl, n-propyl, n-butyl, i-butyl, s-butyl, n-butyl, or allyl;
R 5 is independently selected at each occurrence from methyl, ethyl, i-propyl, n-propyl, aryl, —CF 3 , halo, —CN, —N(CH 3 ) 2 , —C(═O)CH 3 , —OCH 3 , —OCH 2 CH 3 , —OCF 3 , and —S(O) 2 CH 3 ;
R 14 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl or —NR 15 R 16 ;
R 15 and R 16 are independently at each occurrence H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl or C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl;
aryl is phenyl substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 15 , —S(O) n R 14 , —COR 15 , —CO 2 R 15 , —NO 2 and —NR 15 R 16 ; and
n is independently at each occurrence 0, 1 or 2.
[6] Specifically preferred compounds of this invention are compounds of Formula (I), pharmaceutically acceptable salts and pro-drug forms thereof, which are:
3-[(2,4-Dibromophenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[[2-Bromo-4-(1-methylethyl)phenyl]amino]-5-chloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2,4-Dibromophenyl)ethylamino]-5-chloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[[2-Bromo-4-(1-methylethyl)phenyl]ethylamino]-5-chloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)ethylamino]-5-chloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2-Bromo-4,6-dimethoxyphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2-Cyano-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2-Bromo-4,6-dimethoxyphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2-Chloro-4,6-dimethoxyphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(4,6-Dimethyl-2-iodophenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2-Cyano-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2-Bromo-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(4-Bromo-2,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(4-Acetyl-2,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2-Acetyl-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(4,6-Dimethyl-2-thiomethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(4,6-Dimethyl-2-methylsulfonylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(4-Chloro-2-iodo-6-methylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-phenyl-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2,4-Dibromophenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[[2-Bromo-4-(1-methylethyl)phenyl]amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2,4-Dichloro-6-methylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2,4-Dichloro-6-methylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2,4-Dibromo-6-methylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(2-methoxyethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2,4-Dimethyl-6-methoxyphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2,4-Dimethyl-6-methoxyphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2,4-Dimethyl-6-methoxyphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(4-Bromo-2,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2-Chloro-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[[2,4-Dimethyl-6-(methoxymethyl)phenyl]amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2,4-Dimethyl-6-methoxyphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(4-Bromo-2,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2-Chloro-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[[2,4-Dimethyl-6-(methoxymethyl)phenyl]amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2,4-Dimethyl-6-methoxyphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(4-Bromo-2,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2-Chloro-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[[2,4-Dimethyl-6-(methoxymethyl)phenyl]amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2,4-Dimethyl-6-methoxyphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(4-Bromo-2,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2-Chloro-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[[2,4-Dimethyl-6-(methoxymethyl)phenyl]amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)3-[(2,4-Dimethyl-6-methoxyphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)3-[(4-Bromo-2,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)3-[(4-Bromo-2,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(ethoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)3-[(4-Bromo-2,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-(2-ethoxy-1-methylethyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone; and
(+/−)3-[(4-Bromo-2,6-difluorophenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2-Bromo-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2,4-Dimethyl-6-thiomethylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2,4-Dimethyl-6-methylsulfonylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2,6-Dimethyl-4-(N,N-dimethylamino)phenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2,4-Dichloro-6-methylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(4-Chloro-2,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2,6-Dimethyl-4-thiomethylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2,6-Dimethyl-4-methoxyphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(2,6-Dimethyl-4-methylsulfonylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)-3-[(4-Acetyl-2,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(4-Bromo-2,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(4-Acetyl-2,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2,6-Dimethyl-4-thiomethylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2,6-Dimethyl-4-methylsulfonylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2,6-Dimethyl-4-(N,N-dimethylamino)phenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(4,6-Dimethyl-2-(N,N-dimethylamino)phenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)3-[(2,6-Dimethyl-4-thiomethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)3-[(2,6-Dimethyl-4-methylsulfonylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)3-[(2-Chloro-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
(+/−)3-[(4-Bromo-6-methoxy-2-methylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2,6-Dimethyl-4-thiomethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(2,6-Dimethyl-4-methylsulfonylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone;
3-[(4-Bromo-6-methoxy-2-methylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone; and
3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone.
[7] A second embodiment of preferred compounds of this invention are compounds of Formula (I) and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and pro-drug forms thereof, wherein:
Z is CR 2 ;
Y is NR 4 or O;
Ar is phenyl or pyridyl, each substituted with 0 to 4 R 5 groups;
R 1 is H, halo, C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, —CN, —OR 7 , —SH, —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —OC(O)R 13 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —N(COR 7 ) 2 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , or —NR 6 R 7 , wherein C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl or C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl is each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, halo, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —CN, —OR 7 , —SH, —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —OC(O)R 13 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —N(COR 7 ) 2 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , aryl and heterocyclyl;
R 2 is H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, halo, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl;
R 3 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl and —NR 6 R 7 , wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl is substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —N(COR 7 ) 2 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 and —CONR 6 R 7 ;
R 4 is H, C 1 -C 6 alkyl or C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, wherein C 1 -C 6 alkyl is optionally substituted with C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 12 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 or —NR 9 COR 10 ;
R 5 is independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, —NO 2 , halo, —CN, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —NR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —OR 7 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —CON(OR 9 )R 7 and —S(O) n R 13 , wherein C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl and C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl are substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, —NO 2 , halo, —CN, —OR 7 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 and —S(O) n R 13 ;
R 6 and R 7 are independently selected at each occurrence from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, aryl, aryl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-, heterocyclyl, heterocyclyl (C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-, morpholinoethyl, morpholinopropyl and morpholinobutyl; or —NR 6 R 7 taken together as a whole is piperidine, pyrrolidine, piperazine, N-methyl-piperazine, morpholine or thiomorpholine; wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl, may be substituted with 0 to 2 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from —OH or C 1 -C 4 alkoxy groups;
R 8 is independently at each occurrence H or C 1 -C 4 alkyl;
R 9 and R 10 are independently at each occurrence selected from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl;
R 11 is H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, or C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl;
R 12 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl or —NR 6 R 7 ;
R 13 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, —NR 6 R 7 , aryl, aryl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-, heterocyclyl or heterocyclyl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-;
R 14 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, —NR 15 R 16 ;
R 15 and R 16 are independently selected at each occurrence from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl and C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl; or —NR 15 R 16 taken together as a whole is piperidine, pyrrolidine, piperazine, N-methyl-piperazine, morpholine or thiomorpholine;
aryl is phenyl or naphthyl, each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 15 , —S(O) n R 14 , —COR 15 , —CO 2 R 15 , —NO 2 , —NR 8 COR 15 , —NR 8 CONR 15 R 16 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 15 and —NR 15 R 16 ;
heterocyclyl is pyridyl, pyrimidinyl, triazinyl, furanyl, thienyl, imidazolyl, thiazolyl, pyrrolyl, oxazolyl, isoxazolyl or pyrazolyl, each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 15 , —S(O) n R 14 , —CO 2 R 15 , —NO 2 , —NR 8 COR 15 , —NR 8 CONR 15 R 16 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 15 , and —NR 15 R 16 ; and
n is independently at each occurrence 0, 1 or 2.
[8] More preferred compounds of the second embodiment of this invention are compounds of Formula (I) and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and pro-drug forms thereof, wherein:
Z is CR 2 ;
Y is NR 4 ;
Ar is phenyl or pyridyl, each substituted with 0 to 4 R 5 groups;
R 1 is H, halo, C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, C 2 -C 6 alkynyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —CO 2 R 7 or —NR 6 R 7 , wherein C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, C 2 -C 6 alkynyl or C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl is each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, halo, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —CN, —OR 7 , —SH, —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —OC(O)R 13 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —N(COR 7 ) 2 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , aryl and heterocyclyl;
R 2 is H;
R 3 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl and —NR 6 R 7 , wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl is substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —N(COR 7 ) 2 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 and —CONR 6 R 7 ;
R 4 is H, allyl, or C 1 -C 4 alkyl, wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl is optionally substituted with C 1 -C 4 alkyl, —OR 7 , —S(O) 2 R 12 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 or —NR 9 COR 10 ;
R 5 is independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —NR 6 R 7 , —COR 7 , —OR 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —CON(OR 9 )R 7 , —CO 2 R 7 and —S(O) n R 13 , wherein C 1 -C 6 alkyl is substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, —NO 2 , halo, —CN, —NR 6 R 7 , COR 7 , —OR 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , CO 2 R 7 and —S(O) n R 13 ;
R 6 and R 7 are independently selected at each occurrence from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl and C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl; wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl, may be substituted with 0 to 2 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from —OH or C 1 -C 4 alkoxy groups;
R 8 , R 9 and R 10 are independently at each occurrence H or C 1 -C 4 alkyl;
R 12 and R 13 are independently at each occurrence C 1 -C 4 alkyl or —NR 6 R 7 ;
R 14 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl or —NR 15 R 16 ;
R 15 and R 16 are independently at each occurrence H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl or C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl;
aryl is phenyl substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 15 , —S(O) n R 14 , —COR 15 , —CO 2 R 15 , —NO 2 and —NR 15 R 16 ; and
n is independently at each occurrence 0, 1 or 2.
[10] A third embodiment of preferred compounds of this invention are compounds of Formula (I) and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and pro-drug forms thereof, wherein:
Z is N;
Y is NR 4 or O;
Ar is phenyl or pyridyl, each substituted with 0 to 4 R 5 groups;
R 1 is H, halo, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, aryl, —CN, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —NR 6 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —OR 7 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 or —S(O) n R 13 , wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl is substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 3 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 and aryl;
R 3 is C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, —CN, —S(O) 2 R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 or —CONR 6 R 7 , wherein C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl or C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl is each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 13 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 , aryl and heterocyclyl;
R 4 is H, C 1 -C 6 alkyl or C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, wherein C 1 -C 6 alkyl is optionally substituted with C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 12 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 or —NR 9 COR 10 ;
R 5 is independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, C 2 -C 6 alkynyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 8 cycloalkylalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —NR 6 R 7 , —COR 7 , —OR 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —CON(OR 9 )R 7 , CO 2 R 7 and —S(O) n R 13 , wherein C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, C 2 -C 6 alkynyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl and C 4 -C 8 cycloalkylalkyl are substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, —NO 2 , halo, —CN, —NR 6 R 7 , COR 7 , —OR 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , CO 2 R 7 and —S(O) n R 13 ;
R 6 and R 7 are independently selected at each occurrence from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, aryl, aryl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-, heterocyclyl, heterocyclyl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-, morpholinoethyl, morpholinopropyl and morpholinobutyl; or —NR 6 R 7 taken together as a whole is piperidine, pyrrolidine, piperazine, N-methylpiperazine, morpholine or thiomorpholine; wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl, may be substituted with 0 to 2 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from —OH or C 1 -C 4 alkoxy groups;
R 8 is independently at each occurrence H or C 1 -C 4 alkyl;
R 9 and R 10 are independently at each occurrence selected from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl;
R 11 is H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, or C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl;
R 12 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl or —NR 6 R 7 ;
R 13 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, —NR 6 R 7 , aryl, aryl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-, heterocyclyl or heterocyclyl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-;
R 14 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, —NR 15 R 16 ;
R 15 and R 16 are independently selected at each occurrence from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl and C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl; or —NR 15 R 16 taken together as a whole is piperidine, pyrrolidine, piperazine, N-methyl-piperazine, morpholine or thiomorpholine;
aryl is phenyl substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 15 , —S(O) n R 14 , —COR 15 , —CO 2 R 15 , —NO 2 , —NR 8 COR 15 , —NR 8 CONR 15 R 16 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 15 and —NR 15 R 16 ;
heterocyclyl is pyridyl, pyrimidinyl, triazinyl, furanyl, thienyl, imidazolyl, thiazolyl, pyrrolyl, oxazolyl, isoxazolyl or pyrazolyl, each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 15 , —S(O) n R 14 , —CO 2 R 15 , —NO 2 , —NR 8 COR 15 , —NR 8 CONR 15 R 16 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 15 , and —NR 15 R 16 ; and
n is independently at each occurrence 0, 1 or 2.
[11] More preferred compounds of the third embodiment of this invention are compounds of Formula (I) and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and pro-drug forms thereof, wherein:
Z is N;
Y is NR 4 ;
Ar is phenyl or pyridyl, each substituted with 0 to 4 R 5 groups;
R 1 is H, halo, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 3 haloalkyl, cyclopropyl, —CN, —NR 6 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —OR 7 or —S(O) n R 13 wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl is substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 3 -C 4 cycloalkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 ;
R 3 is C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, C 2 -C 6 alkynyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl or aryl, wherein C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, C 2 -C 6 alkynyl or C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl is each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 13 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 and aryl;
R 4 is H, allyl, or C 1 -C 4 alkyl, wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl is optionally substituted with C 1 -C 4 alkyl, —OR 7 , —S(O) 2 R 12 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 or —NR 9 COR 10 ;
R 5 is independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —NR 6 R 7 , —COR 7 , —OR 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —CON(OR 9 )R 7 , —CO 2 R 7 and —S(O) n R 13 , wherein C 1 -C 6 alkyl is substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, —NO 2 , halo, —CN, —NR 6 R 7 , COR 7 , —OR 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , CO 2 R 7 and —S(O) n R 13 ;
R 6 and R 7 are independently selected at each occurrence from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl and C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl; wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl, may be substituted with 0 to 2 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from —OH or C 1 -C 4 alkoxy groups;
R 8 , R 9 and R 10 are independently at each occurrence H or C 1 -C 4 alkyl;
R 12 and R 13 are independently at each occurrence C 1 -C 4 alkyl or —NR 6 R 7 ;
R 14 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl or —NR 15 R 16 ;
R 15 and R 16 are independently at each occurrence H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl or C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl;
aryl is phenyl substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 15 , —S(O) n R 14 , —COR 15 , —CO 2 R 15 , —NO 2 and —NR 15 R 16 ; and
n is independently at each occurrence 0, 1 or 2.
[12] Even more preferred compounds of this invention are compounds of Formula (I) and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and pro-drug forms thereof, wherein:
Z is N;
Y is NR 4 ;
Ar is phenyl or pyridyl, each substituted with 2 to 4 R 5 groups;
R 1 is H, methyl, ethyl, cyclopropyl, —CF 3 , or —N(CH 3 ) 2 ;
R 3 is C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, C 2 -C 6 alkynyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl or aryl, wherein C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, C 2 -C 6 alkynyl or C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl is each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, —CF 3 , halo, —CN, —OR 7 , and aryl;
R 4 is H, methyl, ethyl, i-propyl, n-propyl, n-butyl, i-butyl, s-butyl, n-butyl, or allyl;
R 5 is independently selected at each occurrence from methyl, ethyl, i-propyl, n-propyl, aryl, —CF 3 , halo, —CN, —N(CH 3 ) 2 , —C(═O)CH 3 , —OCH 3 , —OCH 2 CH 3 , —OCF 3 , and —S(O) 2 CH 3 ;
R 14 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl or —NR 15 R 16 ;
R 15 and R 16 are independently at each occurrence H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl or C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl;
aryl is phenyl substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 15 , —S(O) n R 14 , —COR 15 , —CO 2 R 15 , —NO 2 and —NR 15 R 16 ; and
n is independently at each occurrence 0, 1 or 2.
[13] A fourth embodiment of preferred compounds of this invention are compounds of Formula (I) and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and pro-drug forms thereof, wherein:
Z is N;
Y is NR 4 or O;
Ar is phenyl or pyridyl, each substituted with 0 to 4 R 5 groups;
R 1 is H, halo, C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, —CN, —OR 7 , —SH, —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —OC(O)R 13 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —N(COR 7 ) 2 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , or —NR 6 R 7 , wherein C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl or C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl is each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, halo, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —CN, —OR 7 , —SH, —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —OC(O)R 13 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —N(COR 7 ) 2 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , aryl and heterocyclyl;
R 3 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, —CN, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —OR 7 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 or —CONR 6 R 7 , wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl is substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —N(COR 7 ) 2 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 and —CONR 6 R 7 ;
R 4 is H, C 1 -C 6 alkyl or C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, wherein C 1 -C 6 alkyl is optionally substituted with C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 12 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 or —NR 9 COR 10 ;
R 5 is independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, —NO 2 , halo, —CN, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —NR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —OR 7 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —CON(OR 9 )R 7 and —S(O) n R 13 , wherein C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, C 2 -C 10 alkynyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl and C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl are substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, —NO 2 , halo, —CN, —OR 7 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 and —S(O) n R 13 ;
R 6 and R 7 are independently selected at each occurrence from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, aryl, aryl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-, heterocyclyl, heterocyclyl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-, morpholinoethyl, morpholinopropyl and morpholinobutyl; or NR 6 R 7 taken together as a whole is piperidine, pyrrolidine, piperazine, N-methylpiperazine, morpholine or thiomorpholine; wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl, may be substituted with 0 to 2 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from —OH or C 1 -C 4 alkoxy groups;
R 8 is independently at each occurrence H or C 1 -C 4 alkyl;
R 9 and R 10 are independently at each occurrence selected from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl;
R 11 is H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, or C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl;
R 12 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl or —NR 6 R 7 ;
R 13 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, —NR 6 R 7 , aryl, aryl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-, heterocyclyl or heterocyclyl(C 1 -C 4 alkyl)-;
R 14 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl, —NR 15 R 16 ;
R 15 and R 16 are independently selected at each occurrence from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl and C 4 -C 12 cycloalkylalkyl; or —NR 15 R 16 taken together as a whole is piperidine, pyrrolidine, piperazine, N-methyl-piperazine, morpholine or thiomorpholine;
aryl is phenyl or naphthyl, each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 15 , —S(O) n R 14 , —COR 15 , —CO 2 R 15 , —NO 2 , —NR 8 COR 15 , —NR 8 CONR 15 R 16 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 15 and —NR 15 R 16 ;
heterocyclyl is pyridyl, pyrimidinyl, triazinyl, furanyl, thienyl, imidazolyl, thiazolyl, pyrrolyl, oxazolyl, isoxazolyl or pyrazolyl, each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 15 , —S(O) n R 14 , —CO 2 R 15 , —NO 2 , —NR 8 COR 15 , —NR 8 CONR 15 R 16 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 15 , and —NR 15 R 16 ; and
n is independently at each occurrence 0, 1 or 2.
[14] More preferred compounds of the fourth embodiment of this invention are compounds of Formula (I) and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and pro-drug forms thereof, wherein:
Z is N;
Y is NR 4 ;
Ar is phenyl or pyridyl, each substituted with 0 to 4 R 5 groups;
R 1 is H, halo, C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, C 2 -C 6 alkynyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —CO 2 R 7 or —NR 6 R 7 , wherein C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, C 2 -C 6 alkynyl or C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl is each substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, halo, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —CN, —OR 7 , —SH, —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —OC(O)R 13 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —N(COR 7 ) 2 , —NR 8 CONR 6 R 7 , —NR 8 CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , aryl and heterocyclyl;
R 3 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, —CN, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, —OR 7 , —COR 7 or —CO 2 R 7 , wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl is substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 7 , —S(O) n R 13 , —COR 7 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 8 COR 7 , —NR 6 R 7 and —CONR 6 R 7 ;
R 4 is H, allyl, or C 1 -C 4 alkyl, wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl is optionally substituted with C 1 -C 4 alkyl, —OR 7 , —S(O) 2 R 12 , —CO 2 R 7 , —NR 6 R 7 or —NR 9 COR 10 ;
R 5 is independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 6 alkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —NR 6 R 7 , —COR 7 , —OR 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , —CON(OR 9 )R 7 , —CO 2 R 7 and —S(O) n R 13 , wherein C 1 -C 6 alkyl is substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, —NO 2 , halo, —CN, —NR 6 R 7 , COR 7 , —OR 7 , —CONR 6 R 7 , CO 2 R 7 and —S(O) n R 13 ;
R 6 and R 7 are independently selected at each occurrence from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl and C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl; wherein C 1 -C 4 alkyl, may be substituted with 0 to 2 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from —OH or C 1 -C 4 alkoxy groups;
R 8 , R 9 and R 10 are independently at each occurrence H or C 1 -C 4 alkyl;
R 12 and R 13 are independently at each occurrence C 1 -C 4 alkyl or —NR 6 R 7 ;
R 14 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl or —NR 15 R 16 ;
R 15 and R 16 are independently at each occurrence H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl or C 2 -C 8 alkoxyalkyl;
aryl is phenyl substituted with 0 to 3 substituents independently selected at each occurrence from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, halo, —CN, —OR 15 , —S(O) n R 14 , —COR 15 , —CO 2 R 15 , —NO 2 and —NR 15 R 16 ; and
n is independently at each occurrence 0, 1 or 2.
A fifth embodiment of this invention is the method of treating affective disorders, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorders, supranuclear palsy, seizure disorders, stroke, irritable bowel syndrome, immune suppression, Alzheimer's disease, gastrointestinal disease, anorexia nervosa or other eating disorders, drug or alcohol withdrawal symptoms, drug addiction, inflammatory disorders, or fertility problems in a mammal in need of such treatment comprising administering to the mammal a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of Formula I.
A sixth embodiment of this invention are pharmaceutical compositions comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of Formula I.
This invention also includes intermediate compounds useful in preparation of the CRF antagonist compounds and processes for making those intermediates, as described in the following description and claims.
The CRF antagonist compounds provided by this invention (and especially labelled compounds of this invention) are also useful as standards and reagents in determining the ability of a potential pharmaceutical to bind to the CRF receptor.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
Many compounds of this invention have one or more asymmetric centers or planes. Unless otherwise indicated, all chiral (enantiomeric and diastereomeric) and racemic forms are included in the present invention. Many geometric isomers of olefins, C═N double bonds, and the like can also be present in the compounds, and all such stable isomers are contemplated in the present invention. The compounds may be isolated in optically active or racemic forms. It is well known in the art how to prepare optically active forms, such as by resolution of racemic forms or by synthesis from optically active starting materials. All chiral, (enantiomeric and diastereomeric) and racemic forms and all geometric isomeric forms of a structure are intended, unless the specific stereochemistry or isomer form is specifically indicated.
The term “alkyl” includes both branched and straight-chain alkyl having the specified number of carbon atoms. For example, the term “C 1 -C 10 alkyl” denotes alkyl having 1 to 10 carbon atoms; thus, methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, nonyl and decyl, wherein, for example, butyl can be —CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 3 , —CH 2 CH(CH 3 ) 2 , —CH(CH 3 )CH 2 CH 3 or —CH(CH 3 ) 3 .
The term “alkenyl” includes hydrocarbon chains of either a straight or branched configuration and one or more unsaturated carbon—carbon bonds which may occur in any stable point along the chain. For example, the term “C 2 -C 10 alkenyl” denotes alkenyl having 2 to 10 carbon atoms; thus, ethenyl, propenyl, butenyl, pentenyl, hexenyl, heptenyl, octenyl, nonenyl and decenyl, such as allyl, propargyl, 1-buten-4-yl, 2-buten-4-yl and the like, wherein, for example, butenyl can be, but is not limited to, —CH═CH 2 CH 2 CH 3 , —CH 2 CH═CHCH 3 , —CH 2 CH 2 CH═CH 2 , —CH═C(CH 3 ) 2 or —CH═CHCH═CH 2 .
The term “alkynyl” includes hydrocarbon chains of either a straight or branched configuration and one or more triple carbon—carbon bonds which may occur in any stable point along the chain. The term “C 2 -C 10 alkynyl” denotes alkynyl having 2 to 10 carbon atoms; thus, ethynyl, propynyl, butynyl, pentynyl, hexynyl, heptynyl, octynyl, nonynyl and decynyl.
The term “haloalkyl” is intended to include both branched and straight-chain alkyl having the specified number of carbon atoms, substituted independently with 1 or more halogen, such as, but not limited to, —CH 2 F, —CHF 2 , —CF 3 , —CF 2 Br, —CH 2 CF 3 , —CF 2 CF 3 , —CH(CF 3 ) 2 and the like.
The term “alkoxy” represents an alkyl group of indicated number of carbon atoms attached through an oxygen bridge.
The term “cycloalkyl” is intended to include saturated ring groups having the specified number of carbon atoms, including mono-, bi- or poly-cyclic ring systems, such as cyclopropyl (c-Pr), cyclobutyl (c-Bu), cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, cycloheptyl, cyclooctyl, [3.3.0]bicyclooctyl, [2.2.2]bicyclooctyl and so forth.
As used herein, the term “heterocyclyl” or “heterocyclic” is intended to mean a stable 5- to 7-membered monocyclic or bicyclic or 7- to 10-membered bicyclic heterocyclic ring which may be saturated, partially unsaturated, or aromatic, and which consists of carbon atoms and from 1 to 4 heteroatoms independently selected from the group consisting of N, O and S and wherein the nitrogen and sulfur heteroatoms may optionally be oxidized, and the nitrogen may optionally be quaternized, and including any bicyclic group in which any of the above-defined heterocyclic rings is fused to a benzene ring. The heterocyclic ring may be attached to its pendant group at any heteroatom or carbon atom which results in a stable structure. The heterocyclic rings described herein may be substituted on carbon or on a nitrogen atom if the resulting compound is stable. Examples of such heterocycles include, but are not limited to, pyridyl (pyridinyl), pyrimidinyl, furanyl (furyl), thiazolyl, thienyl, pyrrolyl, pyrazolyl, imidazolyl, tetrazolyl, benzofuranyl, benzothiophenyl, indolyl, indolenyl, isoxazolinyl, isoxazolyl, quinolinyl, isoquinolinyl, benzimidazolyl, piperidinyl, 4-piperidonyl, pyrrolidinyl, 2-pyrrolidonyl, pyrrolinyl, tetrahydrofuranyl, tetrahydroquinolinyl, tetrahydroisoquinolinyl, decahydroquinolinyl or octahydroisoquinolinyl, azocinyl, triazinyl, 6H-1,2,5-thiadiazinyl, 2H,6H-1,5,2-dithiazinyl, thianthrenyl, pyranyl, isobenzofuranyl, chromenyl, xanthenyl, phenoxathiinyl, 2H-pyrrolyl, pyrrolyl, imidazolyl, pyrazolyl, isothiazolyl, isoxazolinyl, isoxazolyl, oxazolyl, pyridinyl, pyrazinyl, pyrimidinyl, pyridazinyl, indolizinyl, isoindolyl, 3H-indolyl, indolyl, 1H-indazolyl, purinyl, 4H-quinolizinyl, isoquinolinyl, quinolinyl, phthalazinyl, naphthyridinyl, quinoxalinyl, quinazolinyl, cinnolinyl, pteridinyl, 4aH-carbazole, carbazole, β-carbolinyl, phenanthridinyl, acridinyl, perimidinyl, phenanthrolinyl, phenazinyl, phenarsazinyl, phenothiazinyl, furazanyl, phenoxazinyl, isochromanyl, chromanyl, pyrrolidinyl, pyrrolinyl, imidazolidinyl, imidazolinyl, pyrazolidinyl, pyrazolinyl, piperidinyl, piperazinyl, indolinyl, isoindolinyl, quinuclidinyl, morpholinyl, oxazolidinyl, benzothienyl, 2,3-dihydrobenzofuranyl or 2,3-dihydrobenzothienyl.
The term “halo” or “halogen” includes fluoro, chloro, bromo and iodo.
The term “substituted”, as used herein, means that one or more hydrogen on the designated atom is replaced with a selection from the indicated group, provided that the designated atom's normal valency is not exceeded, and that the substitution results in a stable compound. When a substituent is keto (i.e., ═O), then 2 hydrogens on the atom are replaced.
Combinations of substituents and/or variables are permissible only if such combinations result in stable compounds. By “stable compound” or “stable structure” is meant a compound that is sufficiently robust to survive isolation to a useful degree of purity from a reaction mixture, and formulation into an efficacious therapeutic agent.
The term “pharmaceutically acceptable salts” includes acid or base salts of the compounds of formula (I). Examples of pharmaceutically acceptable salts include, but are not limited to, mineral or organic acid salts of basic residues such as amines; alkali or organic salts of acidic residues such as carboxylic acids; and the like.
Pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compounds of the invention can be prepared by reacting the free acid or base forms of these compounds with a stoichiometric amount of the appropriate base or acid in water or in an organic solvent, or in a mixture of the two; generally, nonaqueous media like ether, ethyl acetate, ethanol, isopropanol, or acetonitrile are preferred. Lists of suitable salts are found in Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 17th ed., Mack Publishing Company, Easton, Pa., 1985, p. 1418, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
“Prodrugs” are considered to be any covalently bonded carriers which release the active parent drug of formula (I) in vivo when such prodrug is administered to a mammalian subject. Prodrugs of the compounds of formula (I) are prepared by modifying functional groups present in the compounds in such a way that the modifications are cleaved, either in routine manipulation or in vivo, to the parent compounds. Prodrugs include compounds wherein hydroxy, amine, or sulfhydryl groups are bonded to any group that, when administered to a mammalian subject, cleaves to form a free hydroxyl, amino, or sulfhydryl group, respectively. Examples of prodrugs include, but are not limited to, acetate, formate and benzoate derivatives of alcohol and amine functional groups in the compounds of formula (I); and the like.
The term “therapeutically effective amount” of a compound of this invention means an amount effective to antagonize abnormal level of CRF or treat the symptoms of affective disorder, anxiety or depression in a host.
Synthesis
The pyrazinones and triazinones of this invention can be prepared by one of the general schemes outlined below (Scheme 1-6).
Compounds of the Formula (I) wherein Z=CH, Y=NR 4 , R 1 =halogen and R 2 =H can be prepared as shown in Scheme 1. Compounds wherein R 2 is a substituent other than H as defined in the broad scope of the invention can also be prepared as shown in Scheme 1 by using the corresponding R 2 COH substituted aldehydes or ClCHR 2 CN substituted haloacetonitriles.
Reaction of a cyanide salt with formaldehyde and the appropriate substituted amine afforded the corresponding aminoacetonitrile which was purified as the hydrochloride salt of Formula (III). Alternatively the same compounds of Formula (III) can be synthesized by reaction of the amine H 2 NR 3 with a haloacetonitrile, such as chloroacetonitrile, in the presence of a base such as a tertiary amine or an inorganic base such as K 2 CO 3 in an organic solvent and isolated as a salt of an inorganic acid by treatment with that acid. Amine salt of Formula (III) was treated with an oxalyl halide, R 1 COCOR 1 , such as oxalyl chloride or bromide to afford the dihalo compound Formula (IV), as described in Vekemans, J.; Pollers-Wieers, C.; Hoornaert, G. J. Heterocyclic Chem. 20, 919, (1982). Compound Formula (IV) can be coupled with an aryl amine H 2 NAr thermally, in the presence of a strong base such as NaH, KN(SiMe 3 ) 2 , LiN(SiMe 3 ) 2 or NaN(SiMe 3 ) 2 in an aprotic organic solvent, or under acid catalysis to give compounds of Formula (V). Compounds of Formula (V) can be alkylated with an alkyl halide R 4 X to afford compounds of Formula (I).
Compounds where R 1 =alkyl or substituted alkyl can be prepared according to Scheme 2.
Reaction of the intermediate of Formula (IV) in Scheme 1, wherein R 1 =X=halogen in Scheme 2, with an alkyl or aryl thiol, HSR″, in the presence of base such as NaH affords the adduct of Formula (VII), which may then be treated with a trialkylaluminum as described in Hirota, K.; Kitade, Y.; Kanbe, Y.; Maki, Y.; J. Org. Chem. 57, 5268, (1992), in the presence of a palladium catalyst, such as Pd(PPh 3 ) 2 Cl 2 , to give compounds of Formula (VIII). Condensation of compounds of Formula (VIII) with an aryl amine H 2 NAr under thermal, base, or acid catalyzed conditions gives compounds of Formula (IX). Alternatively (VIII) may be oxidized to the corresponding sulfones with an oxidant such as KMnO 4 and then condensed with the arylamines of formula H 2 NAr to give (IX). The use of appropriately substituted aluminum alkyls, or simple transformations of those substituted alkyls can give access to compounds of Formula (I), where R 1 is a substituted alkyl; see Ratovelomanana, V.; Linstrumelle, G.; Tet. Letters 52, 6001 (1984) and references cited therein.
Compounds of the Formula (I) wherein Z=CH, Y=O or S(O) n and R 1 =halogen can be prepared as shown in Scheme 3.
Reaction of the dihalo intermediate (IV) from Scheme 1 with a phenoxide or thiophenoxide, formed by treatment of the corresponding phenol or thiophenol with an appropriate base, such as NaH in an aprotic solvent, gives the adduct of Formula (X) or (XI). Adduct (XI) may be further oxidized to the sulfoxide or sulfone of Formula (XII), by treatment with the appropriate oxidant, such as a peroxide, NaIO4 or KMnO4.
Compounds of Formula (I) where R 1 =OR, SR and S(O) n R and Z=CH can be introduced on compounds of Formula (V) by copper or copper salt-catalyzed coupling of the corresponding anions RO − and RS − with the pyrazinone bromide. Keegstra, M. A.; Peters, T. H. A.; Brandsma, L.; Tetrahedron, 48, 3633 (1992) describes the addition of phenoxide anions by this method; alternatively, the same conditions can be used for the addition of thiophenoxide anions. Alternatively the same compounds can be synthesized by Scheme 4.
In Scheme 4, reaction of an aminoacetonitrile salt (III), described in Scheme 1, with an oxalyl halide ester (XIII) gives the corresponding amide (XIV), which in turn can be converted to the corresponding imidate salt (XV). This can be cyclized under treatment with a base, such as K 2 CO 3 or Et 3 N to the pyrazinedione of Formula (XVI). This can be converted to the corresponding halide (XIX), using a halogenating agent such as POX 3 , oxalyl halide or SOX 2 . Alternatively, (XVI) can be converted to the corresponding mesylate, tosylate or triflate, by treatment with the corresponding mesyl, tosyl, or triflic anhydride. Subsequently, (XIX) can be coupled with an aniline to the corresponding adduct of Formula (XX), under the conditions described in Scheme 1, or (XIX) can be coupled with a phenoxide or thiophenoxide as described in Scheme 3 to yield compounds of Formula (I) wherein Y=O or S(O) n .
Compounds of Formula (I) wherein R 1 =substituted N and Z=CH can be introduced on compounds of Formula (XV) by reaction with an amine to form the corresponding amidate (XVII) according to Scheme 5. Subsequently, (XVII) can be cyclized, halogenated, and substituted with the appropriate aniline, phenoxide or thiophenoxide as described in Scheme 4 above.
Compounds of Formula I wherein Z=CH and R 1 =COR 7 or CO 2 R 7 can be synthesized from compounds of Formula (VII) by coupling with the appropriate vinyl aluminum or boron reagent in the presence of a palladium catalyst, such as Pd(PPh 3 ) 2 Cl 2 , and further transformations of the vinyl group, using methods known to one skilled in the art.
The compounds of Formula (I) where Z=CH and R 1 or R 3 is a functional group not compatible with the procedures of Schemes 1-5 may be prepared from precursors where the interfering functionality of R 1 or R 3 is protected using methods known to one skilled in the art (see T. W. Green and P. G. M. Wuts, Protecting Groups in Organic Synthesis , Wiley, New York, 1991); or from precursors bearing R 1 or R 3 groups amenable to later conversion into the desired functionality using standard methods (see J. March, Advanced Organic Chemistry , Wiley, New York, 1992).
Triazinones of Formula (I) wherein Z=N and Y=NR 4 , O or S(O) n can be prepared by the synthetic route shown in Scheme 6.
Condensation of a substituted hydrazine with acetamidines or imidates provides amidrazones of Formula (XXX) (Khrustalev, V. A., Zelenin, K. N. Zhurnal Organicheskoi Khimii, Vol. 15, No. 11, 1979, 2280). Cyclization of (XXX) with oxalyl derivatives such as oxalyl chloride provides diones of Formula (XXXI). Treatment of (XXXI) with chlorodehydrating agents such as thionyl chloride, oxalyl chloride or phosphorous oxychloride provides chlorotriazinones of Formula (XXXII), which may be treated with phenols, thiophenols, anilines and their heterocyclic analogs under basic, acidic or thermal conditions to provide compounds of Formula (I) where Z=N and Y=O, S or NH, respectively. In the preceding instance where Y=NH, alkylation of the nitrogen atom with e.g. alkyl iodides provides the related compounds of Formula (I) where Z=N and Y=NR 4 . In the preceding instance where Y=S, oxidation with e.g. mCPBA provides the compounds of Formula (I) where Z=N and Y=S(O) and S(O) 2 . The compounds of Formula (I) where Z=N and R 1 or R 3 is a functional group not compatible with the procedures of Scheme 4 may be prepared from precursors such as amidrazones of Formula (XXX) or substituted hydrazines where the
interfering functionality of R 1 or R 3 is protected using methods known to one skilled in the art (see T. W. Green and P. G. M. Wuts, Protecting Groups in Organic Synthesis , Wiley, New York, 1991); or from precursors bearing R 1 or R 3 groups amenable to later conversion into the desired functionality using standard methods (see J. March, Advanced Organic Chemistry , Wiley, New York, 1992).
Triazinones of Formula (I) wherein Z=N and Y=NR 4 , O or S(O) n can also be prepared by the synthetic route shown in Scheme 7.
Reaction of ethyl oxalyl chloride with acylated hydrazines of Formula (XXXIV) provides the ethyl oxalyl acylhydrazine derviatives of Formula (XXXV). Compounds of Formula (XXXIV) may be arrived at via condensation of an appropriate ketone or aldehyde with an acylated hydrazide to give acylated hydrazones which may then be reduced under catalytic hydrogenation conditions or by other reducing agents to give the compounds of Formula (XXXIV). The abovementioned acylated hydrazones may also be produced by acylation of a hydrazone made from hydrazine and an appropriate ketone or aldehyde using methods known to one skilled in the art of organic synthesis. Alternatively, compounds of Formula (XXXIV) may also be produced by acylation of an appropriate hydrazine using methods known to one skilled in the art of organic synthesis.
The ethyl esters of compound (XXXV) may then be converted to the primary amide derivatives of Formula (XXXVI) by treatment with an ammonia source such as ammonium hydroxide. Cyclization of (XXXVI) to produce the diones of Formula (XXXI) may be achieved by treatment with, for example, iodotrimethylsilane (TMSI) or POCl 3 , or by heating in the presence of a Lewis acid such as ZnCl 2 . The oxo group in the 5 position of the 1,2,4-triazin-5,6-diones of Formula (XXXI) may then be converted to a leaving group using reagents such as trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride under basic conditions to yield compounds of Formula (XXXVII) which may then be treated with phenols, thiophenols, anilines and their heterocyclic analogs under basic conditions to provide compounds of Formula (I).
Additional 1,2,4-triazinone syntheses are disclosed in the literature (A. R. Katritzky and C. W. Rees, Comprehensive Heterocyclic Chemistry , Pergamon Press, New York, Vol. 3, 1984, p. 385) and can be prepared by one skilled in the art.
Intermediates, for example ArYH, H 2 NAr, HOAr or HSAr, in the synthesis of compounds of Formula (I) in Schemes 1-6 may be prepared using standard methods known to one skilled in the art (see, D. Barton and W. D. Ollis, Comprehensive Organic Chemistry , Pergamon Press, New York, Vol. 1-6, 1979; A. R. Katritzky and C. W. Rees, Comprehensive Heterocyclic Chemistry , Pergamon Press, New York, Vol. 1-8, 1984; B. Trost and I. Fleming, Comprehensive Organic Synthesis , Pergamon Press, New York, Vol. 1-9, 1991; and DuPont Merck PCT application WO95/10506).
All of the aforementioned references are hereby incorporated by reference.
EXAMPLE 1
3-[[2-Bromo-4-(1-methylethyl)phenyl]amino]-5-chloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone
Part A
Hydrogen chloride (12M, aq., 3.8 mL), methanol (33 mL), water (30 mL), potassium cyanide (3 g), 1-ethylpropylamine (4 g), and formaldehyde (37% w/v, 3.7 mL) were stirred 18 hours at room temperature. Water (200 mL) was added, and the mixture was extracted with 2×200 mL methylene chloride, which was dried over MgSO4 and concentrated to a light oil (5.57 g). The oil was dissolved in ether and 1N HCl was added. The precipitate was collected on paper and dried to give N-(1-ethylpropyl)aminoacetonitrile hydrochloride as an off-white solid (6.70 g).
Part B
The product from part A (2 g), chloroform (20 mL), and oxalyl chloride (4.68 g) were heated at reflux for 12 hours. The reaction was concentrated to remove excess oxalyl chloride and solvent, and the crude product was chromatographed on silica gel using ethyl acetate/hexane (1:4) as eluent to afford 3,5-dichloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone as a white solid (2.09 g).
Part C
The product from part B (0.68 g) and 2-bromo-4-isopropylaniline (1.24 g) were heated at 140° C. for 5 hours. After cooling, methylene chloride (20 mL) was added, filtered, and concentrated. The crude product was chromatographed on silica gel using ethyl acetate/hexane (1:9) as eluent to afford the title compound. 639 mg. mp 118.5-119.5° C. Elemental analysis: calcd. for C 18 H 23 N 3 OBrCl: C, 52.38; H, 5.626; N, 10.18; Br, 19.36; Cl, 8.599. Found: C, 52.62; H, 5.43; N, 10.13; Br, 19.53; Cl, 8.97.
EXAMPLE 2
3-[[2-Bromo-4-(1-methylethyl)phenyl]ethylamino]-5-chloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The product from Example 1 (198 mg), N,N-dimethylformamide (5 mL), and sodium hydride (60% in oil, 96 mg) were stirred at room temperature 20 minutes. Iodoethane (112 mg) was added and the reaction was stirred overnight at room temperature and quenched with water (10 mL) and saturated sodium chloride (aq., 10 mL). The mixture was extracted with methylene chloride which was dried and concentrated. The crude product was chromatographed on silica gel using ethyl acetate/hexane (1:19) as eluent to afford the title compound (125 mg). CI-HRMS calcd. for C 20 H 28 N 3 OClBr (M+H) + : 440.110427. Found: 440.107480.
EXAMPLE 3
3-[(2,4-Dibromophenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone
2,4-Dibromoaniline (500 mg), toluene (8 mL), and sodium hydride (60% in oil, 398 mg) were stirred for 10 minutes at room temperature and then 3,5-dichloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone (468 mg, Example 1, part B) was added. The reaction was heated at reflux 3 hours, cooled, and quenched with water (50 mL). The mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate (100 mL), which was washed with brine, then dried and concentrated. The crude product was chromatographed on silica gel using ethyl acetate/hexane (1:19) affording 400 mg of material, which was crystallized from ether/hexane to give the title compound (240 mg). Elemental analysis: calcd. for C 15 H 16 N 3 OClBr 2 : C, 40.07; H, 3.597; N, 9.356; Cl, 7.895; Br, 35.55. Found: C, 40.41; H, 3.49; N, 9.34; Cl, 8.27; Br, 35.71.
EXAMPLE 4
3-[(2,4-Dibromophenyl)ethylamino]-5-chloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 2. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 17 H 20 N 3 OClBr 2 : C, 42.75; H, 4.22; N, 8.807. Found: C, 42.82; H, 4.14; N, 8.67.
EXAMPLE 5
3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 3. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 18 H 24 N 3 OCl: C, 64.76; H, 7.256; N, 12.59. Found: C, 64.69; H, 7.03; N, 12.55.
EXAMPLE 6
3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)ethylamino]-5-chloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 2. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 20 H 28 N 3 OCl: C, 66.37; H, 7.808; N, 11.61. Found: C, 66.50; H, 7.69; N, 11.51.
EXAMPLE 7
(+/−)-3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 3. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 18 H 24 N 3 O 2 Cl: C, 61.80; H, 6.91; N, 12.01; Cl, 10.13. Found: C, 61.69; H, 7.00; N, 11.93; Cl, 9.87.
EXAMPLE 8
3-[(2-Bromo-4,6-dimethoxyphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 3. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 17 H 21 N 3 O 3 BrCl: C, 47.40; H, 4.91; N, 9.765. Found: C, 47.06; H, 4.61; N, 9.56.
EXAMPLE 9
3-[(2-Cyano-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone
Part A
3-[(2-Iodo-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone was prepared in a manner similar to Example 3.
Part B
The product from part A (460 mg), N,N-dimethylformamide (8 mL), cuprous cyanide (97 mg), and sodium cyanide were heated at 120° C. for 18 hours and then at 130° C. for 3 hours. After cooling, ethyl acetate (100 mL) was added to the reaction which was then washed with water (50 mL) and brine (50 mL), dried, and concentrated. The crude product was chromatographed on silica gel using ethyl acetate/hexane (1:4) as eluent. The product was then crystallized from methylene chloride/hexane to afford the title compound (235 mg). Elemental analysis calcd. for C 18 H 21 N 4 OCl: C, 62.69; H, 6.148; N, 16.25; Cl, 10.28. Found: C, 62.29; H, 6.27; N, 15.99; Cl, 10.20.
EXAMPLE 10
(+/−)-3-[(2-Bromo-4,6-dimethoxyphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 3. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 17 H 21 N 3 O 4 BrCl: C, 45.71; H, 4.748; N, 9.416. Found: C, 45.86; H, 4.43; N, 9.26.
EXAMPLE 12
(+/−)-3-[(2-Iodo-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
Part A
Chloroacetonitrile (3.2 mL), 2-amino-1-methoxybutane (10.32 g), and deuterochloroform (50 mL) were stirred and heated at reflux for 48 h. Methylene chloride (100 mL) and sodium hydroxide (aq., 1N, 100 mL) were added to the reaction, the layers separated, and the organic layer concentrated to an oil (3.4 g). The oil was dissolved in ether (100 mL) and HCl/ether (1N, 100 mL) was added. The precipitate was collected on paper affording N-[(1-methoxymethyl)propyl]aminoacetonitrile hydrochloride (6.86 g).
Part B
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 3. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 17 H 21 N 3 O 2 ClI: C, 44.22; H, 4.58; N, 9.10. Found: C, 44.26; H, 4.60; N, 9.83.
EXAMPLE 15
(+/−)-3-[(4-Bromo-2,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
To (+/−)-3,5-dichloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone (300 mg) and 4-bromo-2,6-dimethylaniline (238 mg) in THF (anhydrous, 9.4 mL) at 0° C. was added sodium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide (1.0 M/THF, 2.6 mL). The mixture was stirred at 0° C. for 10 minutes. Ethyl acetate (100 mL) was added and washed with water (25 mL) and brine (25 mL). The organic layer was dried over MgSO 4 and concentrated and the crude product was chromatographed on silica gel using ethyl acetate/hexane (1:4) as eluent. The product was then crystallized from ethyl acetate/hexane to afford the title compound (419 mg). Elemental analysis calcd. for C 17 H 21 N 3 O 2 BrCl: C, 49.23; H, 5.10; N, 10.13. Found: C, 49.33; H, 5.05; N, 10.09.
EXAMPLE 16
(+/−)-3-[(4-Acetyl-2,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
To the product of Example 15 (250 mg), bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II) chloride (11 mg), and tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(0) (17 mg) in a dry flask under nitrogen was added toluene (1.5 mL) and 1-ethoxyvinyl tributyl tin (260 mg). The reaction was heated at reflux 18 hours, and then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was taken up in ether (15 mL) and saturated aqueous potassium fluoride (15 mL), and filtered. The layers were separated, and the ether layer was stirred with 1N HCl (aq., 15 mL). The layers were separated and the ether layer was dried over MgSO 4 and concentrated. The crude product was chromatographed on silica gel using ethyl acetate/hexane (3:7) as eluent to afford the title compound (90 mg). Elemental analysis calcd. for C 19 H 24 N 3 O 3 Cl: C, 60.39; H, 6.40; N, 11.12. Found: C, 60.51; H, 6.31; N, 11.00.
EXAMPLE 16a
(+/−)-3-[(4-Acetyl-2-methoxy-6-methylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 16. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 19 H 24 N 3 O 4 Cl: C, 57.94; H, 6.14; N, 10.67. Found: C, 57.70; H, 5.98; N, 10.41.
EXAMPLE 20
(+/−)-3-[(4-Chloro-2-iodo-6-methylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 3. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 16 H 18 N 3 O 2 Cl 2 I: C, 39.86; H, 3.76; N, 8.725. Found: C, 40.00; H, 3.69; N, 8.64.
EXAMPLE 21
3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
Part A
To serinol (9.90 g) in DMF (200 mL) was added triethyl amine (14.6 mL) and then chlorotriphenylmethane (24.3 g). The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 18 hours. Toluene (800 mL) was added and washed with water (500 mL and 250 mL) and brine (250 mL), and then dried over K 2 CO 3 and concentrated to dryness. The product was crystallized from benzene/hexane (1:1) to afford product (14.57 g).
Part B
The product from part A (14.57 g), sodium hydroxide (17.5 g), and iodomethane (8.8 mL) were stirred overnight in DMSO (220 mL) at room temperature. Water (500 mL) was added and extracted with ethyl acetate (3×250 mL). The extracts were washed with water (2×250 mL) and brine (200 mL), dried over K 2 CO 3 , and concentrated to give product (14.46 g).
Part C
The product from part B (14.46 g) and hydrogen chloride (1M/Et 2 O, 84 mL) were stirred in methanol (300 mL) at room temperature for 6 hours. The solution was washed with hexane (3×300 mL), concentrated, and co-evaporated with ethanol affording 2-amino-1,3-methoxypropane (5.69 g).
Part D
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar the product of Example 3. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 18 H 24 N 3 O 3 Cl: C, 59.09; H, 6.61; N, 11.49. Found: C, 59.27; H, 6.53; N, 11.47.
EXAMPLE 30a
(+/−)-3-[(2-Chloro-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-methyl-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 84. Elemental analysis calcd. for C18H24N3O2Cl: C, 61.80; H, 6.91; N, 12.01. Found: C, 61.70; H, 6.94; N, 11.56.
EXAMPLE 36
3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 15. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 19 H 26 N 3 O 3 Cl: C, 60.07; H, 6.908; N, 11.06. Found: C, 60.22; H, 7.16; N, 10.92.
EXAMPLE 36a
3-[(4-Bromo-2-methoxy-6-methylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 15. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 18 H 23 N 3 O 4 ClBr: C, 46.92; H, 5.03; N, 9.129. Found: C, 47.29; H, 5.03; N, 8.98.
EXAMPLE 45a
3-[(2-Bromo-6-flouro-4-methylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 15. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 16 H 18 N 3 O 3 FClBr: C, 44.21; H, 4.17; N, 9.67. Found: C, 44.35; H, 4.25; N, 9.41.
EXAMPLE 46a
3-[(2-Chloro-4-methoxy-6-methylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 15. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 17 H 20 N 3 O 4 Cl 2 : C, 50.89; H, 5.02; N, 10.47. Found: C, 50.72; H, 5.33; N, 10.37.
EXAMPLE 49
3-[(4-Bromo-2,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-3-methoxypropyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 15. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 18 H 23 N 3 O 3 ClBr: C, 48.61; H, 5.21; N, 9.457. Found: C, 48.59; H, 5.32; N, 9.45.
EXAMPLE 53
3-[(4-Bromo-2,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 15. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 17 H 21 N 3 O 3 ClBr: C, 47.40; H, 4.91; N, 9.765. Found: C, 47.52; H, 4.99; N, 9.72.
EXAMPLE 54
3-[(2-Chloro-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 15. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 17 H 21 N 3 O 3 Cl 2 : C, 52.86; H, 5.489; N, 10.88. Found: C, 52.89; H, 5.44; N, 10.72.
EXAMPLE 77
(+/−)-3-[(2,6-Dimethyl-4-thiomethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 15. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 18 H 24 N 3 O 2 ClS: C, 56.62; H, 6.33; N, 11.00; S, 8.405. Found: C, 56.66; H, 6.19; N, 10.89; S, 8.45.
EXAMPLE 79
(+/−)-3-[(2-Chloro-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 15. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 17 H 21 N 3 O 2 Cl 2 : C, 55.14; H, 5.726; N, 11.35. Found: C, 55.27; H, 5.70; N, 11.25.
EXAMPLE 80
(+/−)-3-[(4-Bromo-6-methoxy-2-methylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 15. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 17 H 21 N 3 O 3 BrCl: C, 47.40; H, 4.91; N, 9.765. Found: C, 47.91; H, 4.95; N, 9.74.
EXAMPLE 81
3-[(2,6-Dimethyl-4-thiomethylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 15. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 18 H 24 N 3 O 3 ClS: C, 54.33; H, 6.08; N, 10.56; S, 8.06. Found: C, 54.48; H, 6.01; N, 10.46; S, 7.86.
EXAMPLE 83
3-[(4-Bromo-2-methoxy-6-methylphenyl)amino]-5-chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 15. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 17 H 21 N 3 O 4 ClBr: C, 45.71; H, 4.748; N, 9.416. Found: C, 45.80; H, 4.70; N, 9.39.
EXAMPLE 84
3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-5-methyl-2(1H)-pyrazinone
Part A
N-(1-ethylpropyl)aminoacetonitrile hydrochloride (1.41 g) and oxalyl bromide (2.0 M/CH 2 Cl 2 , 13 mL) were heated at reflux for 18 hours. The reaction was concentrated to remove excess oxalyl bromide and solvent, and the crude product was chromatographed on silica gel using ethyl acetate/hexane (1:4) as eluent to afford 3,5-dibromo-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone as a white solid (1.19 g).
Part B
The product from part A (133 mg) and sodium thiomethoxide (29 mg) were combined in THF (1.5 mL) and stirred at 25° C. 4 hours. More sodium thiomethoxide (29 mg) was added and the reaction was stirred for 2 hours more at room temperature. Water (20 mL) was added and extracted with CH 2 Cl 2 (2×20 mL). The organic layers were combined, dried over MgSO 4 , and concentrated. The crude product was chromatographed on silica gel using ethyl acetate/hexanes (1:4) as eluent to afford 5-bromo-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-3-thiomethyl-2(1H)-pyrazinone (78 mg).
Part C
The product from part B (200 mg) and Pd(PPh 3 ) 2 Cl 2 (40 mg) were combined in dry THF (6 mL) under inert atmosphere (N 2 ). To that a 2M solution AlMe 3 in hexanes (0.5 mL) was added and the reaction was heated at reflux for one hour. The excess AlMe 3 was quenched with water at 0° C. and the mixture was partitioned between ethyl acetate (50 mL) and water (30 mL). The water was separated and extracted with ethyl acetate (50 mL), and the combined EtOAc extracts were washed with brine, dried (MgSO 4 ) and stripped in vacuo. The crude product was chromatographed on silica gel using ethyl acetate/hexanes as eluent (1:9) to give 1-(1-ethylpropyl)-5-methyl-3-thiomethyl-2(1H)-pyrazinone (100 mg).
Part D
The product from part B (50 mg) and 2,4,6-trimethylaniline (40 mg) were combined in dry THF (2 mL) under inert atmosphere (N 2 ), and cooled to 0° C. To that a 1M solution NaN(SiMe 3 ) 2 in THF (0.5 mL) was added dropwise and the reaction was stirred at 0° C. for 20 min. Then an additional NaN(SiMe 3 ) 2 in THF (0.3 mL) was added and the reaction was stirred at 0° C. for 30 min and at 25° C. for one hour. Then it was quenched with water (30 mL) and extracted with ethyl acetate (80 mL). The ethyl acetate was washed with brine, dried (MgSO 4 ) and stripped in vacuo. The crude product was chromatographed on silica gel using ethyl acetate/hexanes as eluent (1:9) to give 3-[(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)amino]-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-5-methyl-2(1H)-pyrazinone (40 mg). mp. 109° C.
EXAMPLE 84a
3-[(2-Chloro-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-5-methyl-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 84. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 18 H 24 N 3 OCl: C, 64.76; H, 7.256; N, 12.59. Found: C, 65.12; H, 7.28; N, 12.33.
EXAMPLE 84b
3-[(2-Chloro-4-methoxy-6-methylphenyl)amino]-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-5-methyl-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 84. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 18 H 24 N 3 O 2 Cl: C, 61.80; H, 6.91; N, 12.01. Found: C, 61.72; H, 6.96; N, 11.83.
EXAMPLE 84c
3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-5-ethyl-2(1H)-pyrazinone
Part A
5-bromo-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-3-thiomethyl-2(1H)-pyrazinone was prepared in a manner similar to Example 84, parts A and B.
Part B
To the product of part A (2.14 g) and bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II) chloride (258 mg) in anhydrous THF (60 mL) under inert atmosphere was added triethyl aluminum (1 M/THF, 14.7 mL). The reaction was heated at reflux 3 hours and then cooled and quenched with water. Ethyl Acetate (200 mL) was added and washed with water and saturated aqueous sodium chloride. The ethyl acetate was dried over MgSO 4 and concentrated in vacuo. The crude product was chromatographed on silica gel using ethyl acetate/hexane (3:17) as eluent to afford 5-ethyl-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-3-thiomethyl-2(1H)-pyrazinone (809 mg).
Part C
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 84 using the product from part B. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 20 H 29 N 3 O: C, 73.36; H, 8.936; N, 12.83. Found: C, 73.01; H, 8.55; N, 12.69.
EXAMPLE 84d
3-[(2-Chloro-4,6-dimethylphenyl)amino]-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-5-ethyl-2(1H)-pyrazinone
The title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 84c. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 19 H 26 N 3 OCl: C, 65.60; H, 7.53; N, 12.08. Found: C, 65.53; H, 7.33; N, 11.92.
EXAMPLE 85
3-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-5-bromo-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone
Part A
N-(1-ethylpropyl)-aminoacetonitrile hydrochloride (1.41 g) and oxalyl bromide (2.0 M, CH 2 Cl2, 13 mL) were heated at reflux for 18 hours. The reaction was concentrated to remove excess oxalyl bromide and solvent, and the crude product was chromatographed on silica gel using ethyl acetate/hexane (1:4) as eluent to afford 3,5-dibromo-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone as a white solid (1.19 g).
Part B
Using the product of part A, the title compound was prepared in a manner similar to the product of Example 3. MS m/z 378, (m+H) + , 100%.
EXAMPLE 204
5-[(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)amino]-3-methyl-1-(1-ethylpropyl)-1,2,4-triazine-6(1H)-one
Part A
3-Pentanone (18.56 g, 0.215 mol), acetic hydrazide (14.8 g, 0.2 mol), and 200 mL of absolute ethanol were placed in a 500 mL flask. The reaction mixture was reluxed for 18 hr and then evaporated to dryness to afford the desired hydrazone of suitable purity.
The hydrazone was then dissolved in 200 mL of glacial acetic acid containing 1.0 g of PtO 2 and hydrogenated at 50 psi hydrogen pressure for 14 hr. The mixture was decanted from the catalyst and evaporated to dryness to afford 23.9 g of a colorless oil (83% yield for the two steps).
Part B
The 1-acetyl-2-(1-ethylpropyl)hydrazine product from Part A (23.9 g, 0.166 mol) was dissolved in CH 2 Cl 2 (200 mL) and to the stirring solution was added triethylamine (27.9 mL, 0.2 mol) and ethyl oxalyl chloride (19 mL, 0.17 mol). After stirring at room temperature for 3 hr, the reaction mixture was poured into water and the organic layer was separated, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered and evaporated in vacuo. To the resultant oil was added ammonium hydroxide (250 mL), THF (100 mL), and ethanol (50 mL). The flask containing the mixture was sealed with a rubber septum and stirred for 18 hr at room temperature. The mixture was then concentrated in vacuo until the reduced volume of solvent remaining was approximately 100 mL, and a white precipitate had formed. The flask was then placed in the refrigerator for 1 hr. The precipitate was collected by vacuum filtration and washed with small volumes of cold water. 26.3 g of a white solid was collected (73% yield). 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ 7.78 (s, 1H); 6.74 (br s, 1H); 5.6 (br s, 1H); 4.25 (m, 1H); 2.04 (s, 1H); 1.5 (m, 4H); 0.95 (t, 6H, J=7.3 Hz).
Part C
The 1-oxamyl-1-(3-pentyl)-2-acetylhydrazine product from Part B (2 g, 9.3 mmol) was suspended in chloroform (50 mL) and 2 mL of iodotrimethylsilane was added dropwise. The mixture was allowed to stir at room temperature for 12 hr. The reaction mixture was then partitioned between CH 2 Cl 2 and 1N NaOH. The aqueous layer was separated and made acidic by addition of conc. HCl and then extracted with CH 2 Cl 2 . This organic layer was dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered and evaporated in vacuo to yield 1.2 g of an off-white solid of suitable purity (65% yield). 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ 7.85 (br s, 1H); 4.61 (m, 1H); 2.35 (s, 3H); 1.73 (m, 4H); 0.83 (t, 6H, J=7.3 Hz).
Part D
To a solution of the triazine dione product from above (198 mg, 1 mmol) in CH 2 Cl 2 (5 mL) was added trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride (0.19 mL, 1.1 mmol) and 2,4,6-collidine (0.15 mL, 1.1 mmol). The resulting reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 30 min., then 2,4,6-trimethylaniline (162 mg, 1.2 mmol) in 5 mL of THF was added followed by addition of 2,4,6-collidine (0.15 mL, 1.1 mmol). The resulting reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 hr, at which time TLC showed complete reaction. The reaction mixture was partitioned between water and CH 2 Cl 2 . The organic layer was dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered and evaporated in vacuo. The residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel using EtOAc/hexane (1:9) to afford 260 mg of the title compound (83% yield). mp=133-135° C. 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ 7.89 (br s, 1H); 6.94 (s, 2H); 4.72 (m, 1H); 2.31 (s, 3H); 2.19 (s, 9H); 1.9-1.7 (m, 4H); 0.85 (t, 6H, J=7.32 Hz). Mass Spec. (NH 3 -CI): Calc. (M+H)+=315, Obs. (M+H)+=315.
EXAMPLE 703
(+/−)-5-Chloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-3-(2,4,6-trimethylphenoxy)-2(1H)-pyrazinone
Part A
(+/−)-3,5-dichloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone was prepared in a manner similar to Example 12, part A, and Example 1, part B.
Part B
2,4,6-Trimethylphenol (59 mg) and potassium t-butoxide (48 mg) were added to pyridine (2 mL) at 0° C. The mixture was warmed to ambient temperature and (+/−)-3,5-dichloro-1-[1-(methoxymethyl)propyl]-2(1H)-pyrazinone (98 mg) and copper (I) iodide (19 mg) were added. The reaction mixture was stirred at ambient temperature for three hours and then heated at reflux for three hours and then cooled to 0° C. Ethyl acetate (50 mL) and saturated ammonium chloride (50 mL) were added and the mixture was stirred overnight at ambient temperature. The layers were separated, and the organic layer was washed with 1M ammonium hydroxide (2×50 mL), 1N sodium hydroxide (2×50 mL), 1N hydrochloric acid (2×50 mL), and saturated sodium chloride (50 mL). The ethyl acetate was dried over MgSO 4 and concentrated in vacuo. The crude product was chromatographed on silica gel using ethyl acetate/hexane (1:4) as eluent to afford the title compound (66 mg). mp=116° C. Elemental analysis calcd. for C 18 H 23 N 2 O 3 Cl: C, 61.62; H, 6.618; N, 7.98. Found: C, 61.45; H, 6.44; N, 7.77.
Various analogs synthesized using Schemes 1, 2 and 3 listed in Table 1.
TABLE 1
Ex
No
R 1
R 3
Y
Ar
mp/° C.
1
Cl
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Br-4-iPr-phenyl
118.5
2
Cl
Et 2 CH
NEt
2-Br-4-iPr-phenyl
MS = 440
3
Cl
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4-Br 2 -phenyl
155.5
4
Cl
Et 2 CH
NEt
2,4-Br 2 -phenyl
88.1
5
Cl
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
180.8
6
Cl
Et 2 CH
NEt
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
93.8
7
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
153.8
8
Cl
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Br-4,6-(MeO) 2 -
181.3
phenyl
9
Cl
Et 2 CH
NH
2-CN-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
174.0
10
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Br-4,6-(MeO) 2 -
175.8
phenyl
11
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-(MeO) 2 -
phenyl
12
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-I-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
109.4
13
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-CN-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
14
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Br-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
15
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
152.8
16
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
4-MeCO-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
127.1
16a
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
4-MeCO-2-OMe-6-Me-
179.8
phenyl
17
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-MeCO-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
18
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
4,6-Me 2 -2-SMe-phenyl
19
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
4,6-Me 2 -2-SO 2 Me-phenyl
20
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
4-Cl-2-I-6-Me-phenyl
121.8
21
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
127.2
22
Cl
phenyl
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
23
CN
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
24
CONH 2
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
25
COOH
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
26
CHO
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
27
CH 2 OH
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
28
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4-Br 2 -phenyl
29
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Br-4-iPr-phenyl
30
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
30a
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
117.9
31
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
32
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
33
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
34
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4-Br 2 -6-Me-phenyl
35
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
36
Cl
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
120.0
36a
Cl
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
4-Br-2-OMe-6-Me-
130.9
phenyl
37
Cl
(MeOC 2 H 4 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
38
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
39
Cl
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
40
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
41
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
42
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
43
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeOCH 2 -
phenyl
44
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
45
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
45a
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2-Br-6-F-4-Me-phenyl
138.9
46
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
46a
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4-OMe-6-Me-
128.3
phenyl
47
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeOCH 2 -
phenyl
48
Cl
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
49
Cl
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
138.6
50
Cl
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
51
Cl
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeOCH 2 -
phenyl
52
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
53
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
152.1
54
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
132.8
55
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeOCH 2 -
phenyl
56
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Me)CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
57
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Me)CH
NH
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
58
Cl
EtOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
59
Cl
EtOCH 2 (Me)CH
NH
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
60
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
4-Br-2,6-F 2 -phenyl
61
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2-Br-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
62
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-SMe-phenyl
63
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-SO 2 Me-
phenyl
64
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
4-NMe 2 -2,6-Me 2 -
phenyl
65
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
66
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
4-Cl-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
67
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -4-SMe-phenyl
68
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -4-OMe-phenyl
69
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -4-SO 2 Me-phenyl
70
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
4-MeC(O)-2,6-Me 2 -
phenyl
71
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
72
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
4-MeC(O)-2,6-Me 2 -
phenyl
73
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -4-SMe-phenyl
74
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -4-SO 2 Me-phenyl
75
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
4-NMe 2 -2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
76
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
77
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -4-SMe-phenyl
104.9
78
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -4-SO 2 Me-phenyl
79
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
116.7
80
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
4-Br-6-OMe-2-Me-phenyl
147.8
81
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -4-SMe-phenyl
158.9
82
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -4-SO 2 Me-phenyl
83
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
4-Br-6-OMe-2-Me-phenyl
175.5
84
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
109
84a
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
133.8
84b
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4-OMe-6-Me-
121.9
phenyl
84c
CH 2 CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
79.3
84d
CH 2 CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
95.6
85
Br
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
MS = 378
86
Br
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Br-4-iPr-phenyl
87
Br
Et 2 CH
NEt
2-Br-4-iPr-phenyl
88
Br
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4-Br 2 -phenyl
89
Br
Et 2 CH
NEt
2,4-Br 2 -phenyl
90
Br
Et 2 CH
NEt
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
91
Br
Et 2 CH
NEt
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
92
Br
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
93
Br
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Br-4,6-(MeO) 2 -
phenyl
94
Br
Et 2 CH
NH
2-CN-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
95
Br
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Br-4,6-(MeO) 2 -
phenyl
96
Br
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-I-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
97
Br
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -4-Br-phenyl
98
Br
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-I-4-Cl-6-Me-phenyl
99
Br
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
100
Br
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -4-SMe-phenyl
101
Br
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -4-SO 2 Me-
phenyl
102
Br
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
103
Br
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Me-4-Br-6-OMe-
phenyl
104
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -pyrid-3-yl
105
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
4,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
106
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Br-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
107
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Br-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
108
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
109
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
110
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
111
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -pyrid-3-yl
112
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
4,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
113
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Br-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
114
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2-Br-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
115
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
116
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
117
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
118
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Br-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
119
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
120
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
121
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
120
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -pyrid-3-yl
123
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
4,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
124
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2-Br-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
125
Cl
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Br-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
124
Cl
Et 2 CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
127
Cl
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
128
Cl
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
129
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -pyrid-3-yl
130
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
4,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
131
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Br-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
132
Cl
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -pyrid-3-yl
133
Cl
Et 2 CH
NH
4,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
134
Cl
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Br-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
135
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Br-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
136
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
137
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
138
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
139
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2-Br-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
140
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
141
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
142
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
143
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -pyrid-3-yl
144
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
4,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
145
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2-Br-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
146
Et 2 CH
CH 3
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
147
Et 2 CH
CH 3
NH
2,6-Me 2 -4-Br-phenyl
148
Et 2 CH
CH 3
NH
2-Br-4-iPr-phenyl
149
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
CH 3
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
150
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
CH 3
NH
2,6-Me 2 -4-Br-phenyl
151
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
CH 3
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
152
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
CH 3
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
153
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
CH 3
NH
2,6-Me 2 -4-Br-phenyl
154
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
CH 3
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
155
Et 2 CH
CH 3
NH
2-Br-4,6-(MeO) 2 -phenyl
156
Et 2 CH
CH 3
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
400
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
401
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
402
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
403
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
404
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
405
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
406
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
407
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
408
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
409
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
410
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
411
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
412
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
413
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
414
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
415
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
416
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
417
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
418
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
NH
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
419
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
420
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
421
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
422
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
423
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
424
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
425
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
426
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
427
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
428
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
429
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
430
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
431
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
432
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
433
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
434
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
435
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
436
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
437
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
NH
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
438
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
439
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
440
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
441
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
442
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
443
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
444
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
445
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
446
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
447
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
448
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
449
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
450
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
451
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
452
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
453
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
454
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
455
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
456
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
457
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
458
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
459
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
460
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
461
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
462
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
463
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
464
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
465
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
466
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
467
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
468
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
469
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
470
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
471
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
472
CH 3
(c-Pr) 2 CH
NH
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
473
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
474
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
475
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
476
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
477
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
478
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
479
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
480
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
481
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
482
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
483
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
484
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
485
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
486
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
487
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
488
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
489
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
490
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
491
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
NH
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
492
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
493
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
494
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
495
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
496
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
497
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
498
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
499
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
500
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
501
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
502
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
503
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
504
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
505
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
506
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
507
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
508
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
509
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
510
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
NH
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
511
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
512
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
513
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
514
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
515
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
516
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
517
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
518
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
519
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
520
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
521
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
522
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
523
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
524
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
525
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
526
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
527
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
528
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
529
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
NH
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
530
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
531
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
532
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
533
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
534
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
535
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
536
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
537
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
538
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
539
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
540
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
541
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
542
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
543
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
544
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
545
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
546
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
547
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
548
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
NH
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
549
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
550
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
551
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
552
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
553
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
554
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
555
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
556
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
557
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
558
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
559
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
560
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
561
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
562
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
563
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
564
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
565
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
566
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
567
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
Compounds that can be synthesized using synthetic Scheme 6 or Scheme 7 are listed in Table 2.
TABLE 2
Ex.
No.
R 1
R 3
Y
Ar
mp
200
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4-Br 2 -phenyl
201
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Br-4-iPr-phenyl
202
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NEt
2,4-Br 2 -phenyl
203
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NEt
2-Br-4-iPr-phenyl
204
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
133
205
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NEt
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
206
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
207
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Br-4,6-(MeO) 2 -phenyl
208
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Br-4,6-(MeO) 2 -phenyl
209
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-(MeO) 2 -phenyl
210
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-I-phenyl
211
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-CN-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
212
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Br-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
213
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
214
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
4-MeC(O)-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
215
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-MeC(O)-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
216
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-SMe-phenyl
217
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-SO 2 Me-phenyl
218
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
4-Cl-2-I-6-Me-phenyl
219
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
220
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
221
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
222
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4-Br 2 -6-Me-phenyl
223
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
224
CH 3
(MeOC 2 H 4 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
225
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
226
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
227
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2-Br-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
228
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
229
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeOCH 2 -phenyl
230
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
231
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
232
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
233
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeOCH 2 -phenyl
234
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Me)CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
235
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Me)CH
NH
2-Br-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
236
CH 3
EtOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Br-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
237
CH 3
EtOCH 2 (Me)CH
NH
2-Br-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
238
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Br-4,6-F 2 -phenyl
239
Et 2 CH
CH 3
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
240
Et 2 CH
CH 3
NH
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
241
Et 2 CH
CH 3
NH
2-Br-4-iPr-phenyl
242
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
CH 3
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
243
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
CH 3
NH
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
244
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
CH 3
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
245
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
CH 3
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
246
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
CH 3
NH
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
247
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
CH 3
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
248
Et 2 CH
CH 3
NH
2-Br-4,6-(MeO) 2 -phenyl
249
Et 2 CH
CH 3
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
250
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
251
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
252
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
253
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
254
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
255
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
256
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
257
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
258
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
259
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
260
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
261
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
262
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
263
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
264
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
265
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
266
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
267
CH 3
Et 2 CH
NH
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
268
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
269
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
270
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
271
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
272
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
273
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
274
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
275
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
276
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
277
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
278
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
279
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
280
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
281
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
282
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
283
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
284
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
NH
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
Compounds wherein Y=Oxygen that can be synthesized synthetic Scheme 3 are listed in Table 3.
TABLE 3
Ex
No
R 1
R 3
Y
Ar
mp/° C.
700
Cl
Et 2 CH
O
2-Br-4-iPr-phenyl
701
Cl
Et 2 CH
O
2,4-Br 2 -phenyl
702
Cl
Et 2 CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
703
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
116
704
Cl
Et 2 CH
O
2-Br-4,6-(MeO) 2 -
phenyl
705
Cl
Et 2 CH
O
2-CN-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
706
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Br-4,6-(MeO) 2 -
phenyl
707
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-(MeO) 2 -
phenyl
708
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-I-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
709
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-CN-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
710
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Br-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
711
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
712
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
4-MeCO-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
713
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
4-MeCO-2-OMe-6-Me-
phenyl
714
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-MeCO-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
715
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
4,6-Me 2 -2-SMe-phenyl
716
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
4,6-Me 2 -2-SO 2 Me-phenyl
717
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
4-Cl-2-I-6-Me-phenyl
718
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
719
Cl
phenyl
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
720
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,4-Br 2 -phenyl
721
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Br-4-iPr-phenyl
722
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
723
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
724
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
725
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
726
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
727
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2,4-Br 2 -6-Me-phenyl
728
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
729
Cl
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
730
Cl
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
4-Br-2-OMe-6-Me-
phenyl
731
Cl
(MeOC 2 H 4 ) 2 CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
732
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
733
Cl
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
734
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
735
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
736
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
737
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeOCH 2 -
phenyl
738
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
739
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
740
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2-Br-6-F-4-Me-phenyl
741
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
742
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4-OMe-6-Me-
phenyl
743
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeOCH 2 -
phenyl
744
Cl
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
745
Cl
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
746
Cl
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
747
Cl
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeOCH 2 -
phenyl
748
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
749
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
750
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
751
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeOCH 2 -
phenyl
752
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Me)CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
753
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Me)CH
O
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
754
Cl
EtOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
755
Cl
EtOCH 2 (Me)CH
O
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
756
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
4-Br-2,6-F 2 -phenyl
757
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
2-Br-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
758
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-SMe-phenyl
759
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-SO 2 Me-
phenyl
760
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
4-NMe 2 -2,6-Me 2 -
phenyl
761
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
762
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
4-Cl-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
763
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
2,6-Me 2 -4-SMe-phenyl
764
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
2,6-Me 2 -4-OMe-phenyl
765
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
2,6-Me 2 -4-SO 2 Me-phenyl
766
CH 3
MeOC 2 H 4 (MeOCH 2 )CH
O
4-MeC(O)-2,6-Me 2 -
phenyl
767
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
4-Br-2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
768
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
4-MeC(O)-2,6-Me 2 -
phenyl
769
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2,6-Me 2 -4-SMe-phenyl
770
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2,6-Me 2 -4-SO 2 Me-phenyl
771
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
4-NMe 2 -2,6-Me 2 -phenyl
772
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2-NMe 2 -4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
773
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,6-Me 2 -4-SMe-phenyl
774
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,6-Me 2 -4-SO 2 Me-phenyl
775
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
776
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
4-Br-6-OMe-2-Me-phenyl
777
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2,6-Me 2 -4-SMe-phenyl
778
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2,6-Me 2 -4-SO 2 Me-phenyl
779
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
4-Br-6-OMe-2-Me-phenyl
780
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
781
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
782
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4-OMe-6-Me-
phenyl
783
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -pyrid-3-yl
784
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
4,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
785
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Br-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
786
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Br-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
787
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
788
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Cl-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
789
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Cl-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
790
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -pyrid-3-yl
791
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
4,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
792
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Br-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
793
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2-Br-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
794
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
795
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2-Cl-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
796
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2-Cl-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
797
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Br-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
798
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
799
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Cl-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
800
CH 3
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Cl-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
801
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -pyrid-3-yl
802
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
4,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
803
CH 3
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2-Br-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
804
Cl
Et 2 CH
O
2-Br-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
805
Cl
Et 2 CH
O
2,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
806
Cl
Et 2 CH
O
2-Cl-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
807
Cl
Et 2 CH
O
2-Cl-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
808
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -pyrid-3-yl
809
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
4,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
810
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Br-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
811
Cl
Et 2 CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -pyrid-3-yl
812
Cl
Et 2 CH
O
4,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
813
Cl
Et 2 CH
O
2-Br-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
814
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Br-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
815
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
816
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Cl-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
817
Cl
MeOCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Cl-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
818
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2-Br-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
819
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
820
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2-Cl-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
821
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2-Cl-6-OMe-pyrid-3-yl
822
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -pyrid-3-yl
823
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
4,6-Me 2 -pyrid-3-yl
824
Cl
(MeOCH 2 ) 2 CH
O
2-Br-6-Me-pyrid-3-yl
825
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
826
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
827
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
828
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
829
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
830
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
831
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
832
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
833
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
834
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
835
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
836
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
837
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
838
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
839
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
840
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
841
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
842
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
843
CH 3
Me(Et)CH
O
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
844
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
845
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
846
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
847
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
848
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
849
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
850
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
851
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
852
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
853
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
854
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
855
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
856
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
857
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
858
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
859
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
860
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
861
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
862
CH 3
Me(n-Pr)CH
O
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
863
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
864
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
865
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
866
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
867
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
868
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
869
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
870
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
871
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
872
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
873
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
874
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
875
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
876
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
877
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
878
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
879
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
880
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
881
CH 3
c-Pr 2 CH
O
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
882
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
883
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
884
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
885
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
886
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
887
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
888
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
889
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
890
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
891
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
892
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
893
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
894
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
895
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
896
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
897
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
898
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
899
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
900
CH 3
c-Pr(Me)CH
O
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
901
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
902
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
903
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
904
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
905
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
906
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
907
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
908
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
909
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
910
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
911
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
912
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
913
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
914
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
915
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
916
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
917
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
918
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
919
CH 3
c-Pr(Et)CH
O
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
920
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
921
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
922
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
923
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
924
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
925
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
926
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
927
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
928
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
929
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
930
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
931
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
932
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
933
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
934
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
935
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
936
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
937
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
938
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Pr)CH
O
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
939
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
940
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
941
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
942
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
943
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
944
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
945
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
946
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
947
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
948
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
949
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
950
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
951
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
952
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
953
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
954
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
955
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
956
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
957
CH 3
c-Pr(n-Bu)CH
O
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
958
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
959
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
960
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
961
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
962
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
963
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
964
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
965
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
966
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
967
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
968
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
969
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
970
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
971
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
972
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
973
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
974
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
975
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
976
CH 3
c-PrCH 2 (Et)CH
O
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
977
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
978
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
979
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
980
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
981
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
982
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
983
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
984
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
985
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
986
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
987
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
988
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
989
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
990
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
991
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
992
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
Additional compounds, wherein Y=oxygen that can be synthesized using synthetic Scheme 6 or Scheme 7 are listed in Table 4.
TABLE 4
Ex.
No.
R 1
R 3
Y
Ar
mp
1000
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -phenyl
1001
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -phenyl
1002
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -6-Me-phenyl
1003
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,4,6-Cl 3 -phenyl
1004
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Me-4-MeO-phenyl
1005
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-phenyl
1006
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,4,6-Me 3 -5-F-phenyl
1007
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,5-Me 2 -4-MeO-phenyl
1008
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,4-Me 2 -6-MeO-phenyl
1009
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,6-Cl 2 -4-Me-phenyl
1010
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2,4-Cl 2 -phenyl
1011
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4-Me-phenyl
1012
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Me-4-Cl-phenyl
1013
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-NMe 2 -6-Me-pyrid-5-yl
1014
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-NMe 2 -4-Me-pyrid-5-yl
1015
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4-MeO-6-Me-phenyl
1016
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
2-Cl-4,6-Me 2 -5-F-
phenyl
1017
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
6-Cl-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
1018
CH 3
Et 2 CH
O
6-Me-2,3-dihydro-
benzofuran-5-yl
UTILITY
CRF-R1 Receptor Binding Assay for the Evaluation of Biological Activity
The following is a description of the isolation of cell membranes containing cloned human CRF-R1 receptors for use in the standard binding assay as well as a description of the assay itself.
Messenger RNA was isolated from human hippocampus. The mRNA was reverse transcribed using oligo (dt) 12-18 and the coding region was amplified by PCR from start to stop codons. The resulting PCR fragment was cloned into the EcoRV site of pGEMV, from whence the insert was reclaimed using XhoI+XbaI and cloned into the XhoI+XbaI sites of vector pm3ar (which contains a CMV promoter, the SV40 ‘t’ splice and early poly A signals, an Epstein-Barr viral origin of replication, and a hygromycin selectable marker). The resulting expression vector, called phchCRFR was transfected in 293EBNA cells and cells retaining the episome were selected in the presence of 400 mM hygromycin. Cells surviving 4 weeks of selection in hygromycin were pooled, adapted to growth in suspension and used to generate membranes for the binding assay described below. Individual aliquots containing approximately 1×10 8 of the suspended cells were then centrifuged to form a pellet and frozen.
For the binding assay a frozen pellet described above containing 293EBNA cells transfected with hCRFR1 receptors is homogenized in 10 ml of ice cold tissue buffer (50 mM HEPES buffer pH 7.0, containing 10 mM MgCl 2 , 2 mM EGTA, 1 mg/l aprotinin, 1 mg/ml leupeptin and 1 mg/ml pepstatin). The homogenate is centrifuged at 40,000×g for 12 min and the resulting pellet rehomogenized in 10 ml of tissue buffer. After another centrifugation at 40,000×g for 12 min, the pellet is resuspended to a protein concentration of 360 mg/ml to be used in the assay.
Binding assays are performed in 96 well plates; each well having a 300 ml capacity. To each well is added 50 ml of test drug dilutions (final concentration of drugs range from 10− 10 -10− 5 M), 100 ml of 125 I-ovine-CRF ( 125 I-o-CRF) (final concentration 150 pM) and 150 ml of the cell homogenate described above. Plates are then allowed to incubate at room temperature for 2 hours before filtering the incubate over GF/F filters (presoaked with 0.3% polyethyleneimine) using an appropriate cell harvester. Filters are rinsed 2 times with ice cold assay buffer before removing individual filters and assessing them for radioactivity on a gamma counter.
Curves of the inhibition of 125 I-o-CRF binding to cell membranes at various dilutions of test drug are analyzed by the iterative curve fitting program LIGAND [P. J. Munson and D. Rodbard, Anal. Biochem. 107:220 (1980)], which provides Ki values for inhibition which are then used to assess biological activity.
A compound is considered to be active if it has a K i value of less than about 10000 nM for the inhibition of CRF. Compounds with a K i less than 100 nM for the inhibition of CRF are desirable. A number of compounds of the invention have been made and tested in the above assay and shown to have K i values less than 100 nM thus confirming the utility of the invention.
Inhibition of CRF-Stimulated Adenylate Cyclase Activity
Inhibition of CRF-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity was performed as described by G. Battaglia et al. Synapse 1:572 (1987). Briefly, assays were carried out at 37° C. for 10 min in 200 ml of buffer containing 100 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.4 at 37° C.), 10 mM MgCl 2 , 0.4 mM EGTA, 0.1% BSA, 1 mM isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX), 250 units/ml phosphocreatine kinase, 5 mM creatine phosphate, 100 mM guanosine 5′-triphosphate, 100 nM oCRF, antagonist peptides (concentration range 10 −9 to 10 −6m ) and 0.8 mg original wet weight tissue (approximately 40-60 mg protein). Reactions were initiated by the addition of 1 mM ATP/ 32 P]ATP (approximately 2-4 mCi/tube) and terminated by the addition of 100 ml of 50 mM Tris-HCL, 45 mM ATP and 2% sodium dodecyl sulfate. In order to monitor the recovery of cAMP, 1 μl of [ 3 H]cAMP (approximately 40,000 dpm) was added to each tube prior to separation. The separation of [ 32 P]cAMP from [ 32 P]ATP was performed by sequential elution over Dowex and alumina columns. Recovery was consistently greater than 80%.
A compound of this invention was tested in this assay and found to be active; IC 50 <10000 nM.
In vivo Biological Assay
The in vivo activity of the compounds of the present invention can be assessed using any one of the biological assays available and accepted within the art. Illustrative of these tests include the Acoustic Startle Assay, the Stair Climbing Test, and the Chronic Administration Assay. These and other models useful for the testing of compounds of the present invention have been outlined in C. W. Berridge and A. J. Dunn Brain Research Reviews 15:71 (1990).
Compounds may be tested in any species of rodent or small mammal. Disclosure of the assays herein is not intended to limit the enablement of the invention.
Compounds of this invention have utility in the treatment of inbalances associated with abnormal levels of corticotropin releasing factor in patients suffering from depression, affective disorders, and/or anxiety.
Compounds of this invention can be administered to treat these abnormalities by means that produce contact of the active agent with the agent's site of action in the body of a mammal. The compounds can be administered by any conventional means available for use in conjunction with pharmaceuticals either as individual therapeutic agent or in combination of therapeutic agents. They can be administered alone, but will generally be administered with a pharmaceutical carrier selected on the basis of the chosen route of administration and standard pharmaceutical practice.
The dosage administered will vary depending on the use and known factors such as pharmacodynamic character of the particular agent, and its mode and route of administration; the recipient's age, weight, and health; nature and extent of symptoms; kind of concurrent treatment; frequency of treatment; and desired effect. For use in the treatment of said diseases or conditions, the compounds of this invention can be orally administered daily at a dosage of the active ingredient of 0.002 to 200 mg/kg of body weight. Ordinarily, a dose of 0.01 to 10 mg/kg in divided doses one to four times a day, or in sustained release formulation will be effective in obtaining the desired pharmacological effect.
Dosage forms (compositions) suitable for administration contain from about 1 mg to about 100 mg of active ingredient per unit. In these pharmaceutical compositions, the active ingredient will ordinarily be present in an amount of about 0.5 to 95% by weight based on the total weight of the composition.
The active ingredient can be administered orally is solid dosage forms, such as capsules, tablets and powders; or in liquid forms such as elixirs, syrups, and/or suspensions. The compounds of this invention can also be administered parenterally in sterile liquid dose formulations.
Gelatin capsules can be used to contain the active ingredient and a suitable carrier such as but not limited to lactose, starch, magnesium stearate, steric acid, or cellulose derivatives. Similar diluents can be used to make compressed tablets. Both tablets and capsules can be manufactured as sustained release products to provide for continuous release of medication over a period of time. Compressed tablets can be sugar-coated or film-coated to mask any unpleasant taste, or used to protect the active ingredients from the atmosphere, or to allow selective disintegration of the tablet in the gastrointestinal tract.
Liquid dose forms for oral administration can contain coloring or flavoring agents to increase patient acceptance.
In general, water, pharmaceutically acceptable oils, saline, aqueous dextrose (glucose), and related sugar solutions and glycols, such as propylene glycol or polyethylene glycol, are suitable carriers for parenteral solutions. Solutions for parenteral administration preferably contain a water soluble salt of the active ingredient, suitable stabilizing agents, and if necessary, butter substances. Antioxidizing agents, such as sodium bisulfite, sodium sulfite, or ascorbic acid, either alone or in combination, are suitable stabilizing agents. Also used are citric acid and its salts, and EDTA. In addition, parenteral solutions can contain preservatives such as benzalkonium chloride, methyl- or propyl-paraben, and chlorobutanol.
Suitable pharmaceutical carriers are described in “Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences”, A. Osol, a standard reference in the field.
Useful pharmaceutical dosage-forms for administration of the compounds of this invention can be illustrated as follows:
Capsules
A large number of units capsules are prepared by filling standard two-piece hard gelatin capsules each with 100 mg of powdered active ingredient, 150 mg lactose, 50 mg cellulose, and 6 mg magnesium stearate.
Soft Gelatin Capsules
A mixture of active ingredient in a digestible oil such as soybean, cottonseed oil, or olive oil is prepared and injected by means of a positive displacement was pumped into gelatin to form soft gelatin capsules containing 100 mg of the active ingredient. The capsules were washed and dried.
Tablets
A large number of tablets are prepared by conventional procedures so that the dosage unit was 100 mg active ingredient, 0.2 mg of colloidal silicon dioxide, 5 mg of magnesium stearate, 275 mg of microcrystalline cellulose, 11 mg of starch, and 98.8 mg lactose. Appropriate coatings may be applied to increase palatability or delayed adsorption.
The compounds of this invention may also be used as reagents or standards in the biochemical study of neurological function, dysfunction, and disease. | Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) antagonists of Formula (I)
and their use in treating psychiatric disorders and neurological diseases including major depression, anxiety-related disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, supranuclear palsy and eating disorders. | 2 |
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] The present application is directed to transformers and, more particularly, to supports for cores of transformers.
BACKGROUND
[0002] A frame for a core of a distribution transformer serves the purpose of clamping and compressing top and bottom yokes of the core, thereby holding the core together. The construction of a conventional transformer core frame typically involves bolting, welding, or dowel pinning to achieve mechanical interlocking of component members of the core frame. The production of such core frames is costly and labor intensive. Accordingly, there is a need for a new type of core frame that is simpler and easier to produce. The present invention is directed to such an improved core frame.
SUMMARY
[0003] The present invention is directed to a distribution transformer with a slot-and-tab interlocking core frame. The core frame encloses a ferromagnetic core having one or more core limbs. The core frame is formed of first and second clamps and side supports. The first clamp of the core frame has two plates positioned parallel to one another and compresses a first yoke of the core. The second clamp of the core frame has two plates positioned parallel to one another and compresses a second yoke of the core. Each of the plates in the first and second clamps has a slot formed in each opposing end portion.
[0004] The side supports of the core frame each have a first and second end portion having tabs extending outwardly from the sides. The core frame is assembled by positioning the tabs of the second end portion of each side support into the receiving slots of the second clamp. The coil assemblies are placed over each core limb and when more than one core limb is present, the outer core limbs and side supports together receive a coil assembly. The tabs of the first end portion of each side support are placed into the receiving slots of the first clamp and an interlock is created between the clamps and side supports, holding the core frame together.
[0005] For larger transformers, the side supports should be capable of holding more weight. The side supports in heavier transformers may be assembled using locking plates, cams and main plates to strengthen the core frame. The locking plates have holes formed near the center. The main plate has holes formed near each opposing end. Each side support has two locking plates fastened to a main plate using four cams. Each cam has two circular ends with different circumferences. The cam ends having a larger circumference are placed into the main plate openings. The cam ends having a smaller circumference are placed into the locking plate openings. The cams fasten the locking plates to the main plate to form an assembled side support.
[0006] Once assembled, the side supports of the strengthened core frame have two tabs extending outwardly from each opposing edge and therefore, the first and second plates each have two corresponding slots on each opposing end to receive the tabs. The core frame is assembled by positioning the tabs of the second ends of the side supports into the corresponding receiving slots of the plates of the second clamp. The coil assemblies are placed over each core limb and when more than one core limb is present, the outer core limbs and side supports together receive a coil assembly. The tabs of the first ends of the side supports are placed into the corresponding receiving slots of the plates of the first clamp, and an interlock is formed, binding the core frame together.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] In the accompanying drawings, structural embodiments are illustrated that, together with the detailed description provided below, describe exemplary embodiments of a distribution transformer having a slot-and-tab interlocking core frame. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that a component may be designed as multiple components or that multiple components may be designed as a single component.
[0008] Further, in the accompanying drawings and description that follow, like parts are indicated throughout the drawings and written description with the same reference numerals, respectively. The figures may not be drawn to scale and the proportions of certain parts may have been exaggerated for convenience of illustration.
[0009] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a first distribution transformer having a first core frame constructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 shows a front view of the first distribution transformer, with the coil windings removed and a portion of the core in phantom;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a side view of one of the side supports of the first core frame;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a side view of the first distribution transformer of FIG. 2 showing the connection between the tabs of one of the side supports and clamps of the first core frame;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a second distribution transformer having a second core frame constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a front view of the second distribution transformer, having the coil windings removed and a portion of the core in phantom; and
[0015] FIG. 7 is a side view of the second distribution transformer of FIG. 6 , showing an assembled side support of the core frame, the side support comprising a main plate, cams and locking plates.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] In the present invention, slot-and-tab interlocking replaces the labor-intensive aspects of bolting or welding and results in less production time required for core frame assembly. The present invention also reduces the number of pieces required in the assembly. The slot-and-tab interlocking mechanism is useful in smaller, lower weight transformers, whereas an embodiment of the slot-and-tab transformer core frame utilizing a support member subassembly having main plates, cams, and locking plates is preferred in larger, heavier transformers. Lower cost and less labor in frame assembly are the major objectives of this invention.
[0017] The present invention is directed to a distribution transformer 15 , 50 having a core 11 supported by an improved core frame 17 of the present invention. The distribution transformer 15 , 50 may be single phase or poly-phase (e.g. three phases). In addition, the distribution transformer 15 , 50 may be dry or fluid-filled. If the distribution transformer 15 , 50 is fluid-filled, the distribution transformer includes a tank filled with a dielectric fluid in which the core and the core frame are disposed. The core 11 of the distribution transformer 15 , 50 is comprised of thin, stacked laminations of magnetically permeable material, such as grain-oriented silicon steel or amorphous metal. The laminations are typically arranged in stacks such that the core has one or more legs or limbs disposed vertically between a pair of yokes disposed horizontally. In a three-phase transformer, the core limbs and yokes typically connect to form a pair of core windows. A coil assembly 32 is disposed around each core limb, and comprises primary and secondary coil windings. The primary and secondary coil windings are often arranged concentrically along the length of the core limbs. Alternatively, the primary and secondary windings may be mounted one above the other along the length of each core limb. The windings 32 fill the core window as completely as possible without allowing the contact of adjacent windings. The transformer core is enclosed within the core frame.
[0018] Referring now to FIG. 1 , there is shown a first distribution transformer 15 constructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. The first distribution transformer 15 has a first core frame 17 that is comprised of first and second clamps 10 , 24 and first and second side supports 20 , 26 . The first and second clamps 10 , 24 and the first and second side supports 20 , 26 may be constructed from a different material than the core 11 . For example, the first and second clamps 10 , 24 and the first and second side supports 20 , 26 may be comprised of regular, non-electrical grade carbon steel, which has different magnetic properties than grain-oriented silicon steel or amorphous metal. The first clamp 10 of the first core frame comprises a pair of first plates 12 , each of which has opposing end portions. A receiving slot 34 is formed in each of the end portions. The first plates 12 are positioned parallel to one another, one on each side of a first yoke 16 of the core 11 . The first clamp 10 contacts and compresses the first yoke 16 of the core, as shown in FIG. 1 .
[0019] The second clamp 24 of the first core frame 17 comprises a pair of second plates 14 , each of which has opposing end portions. A receiving slot 34 is formed in each of the end portions. The second plates 14 are positioned parallel to one another, one on each side of a second yoke 30 of the core 11 . The second clamp 24 contacts and compresses the second yoke 30 of the core.
[0020] Referring now to FIG. 2 , a front view of the first core frame 17 is shown with the coil windings 32 removed and a portion of the core 11 in phantom. The first and second plates 12 , 14 have receiving slots on each opposing end and surround the first and second yokes 16 , 30 , respectively. The core limbs 38 , 40 , 42 are disposed between the yokes 16 , 30 . In order to maintain the compression of the first and second clamps 10 , 24 on the core 11 , the first and second plates 12 , 14 have holes 44 to receive bolts, dowel pins or welded pieces.
[0021] The first core frame has a first side support 20 and a second side support 26 as previously described. Referring now to FIG. 3 , a side support 20 or 26 is shown in detail having first tabs 18 and second tabs 28 . Each side support has opposing side edges and opposing first and second end portions. The first end portion of each side support has first tabs 18 extending outwardly from the side edges. The second end portion of each side support has second tabs 28 extending outwardly from the side edges.
[0022] The first core frame is assembled by placing the second tabs 28 of the first and second side supports 20 , 26 into the receiving slots 34 of the second plates of the second clamp, compressing the second yoke 30 of the core. The coil assemblies 32 , comprised of primary and secondary windings, are placed over the core limbs 38 , 40 , 42 . As shown in FIG. 1 , the outer core limbs 38 , 42 and side supports 20 , 26 make contact and together receive coil assemblies. The first tabs 18 of the first and second side supports are placed into the receiving slots 34 of the first plates 12 of the first clamp, compressing the first yoke 16 of the core. Referring now to FIG. 4 , a side view of the connection between the tabs 18 , 28 of a side support and the slots 34 of the clamps is shown.
[0023] Referring now to FIG. 5 , there is shown a second distribution transformer 50 constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. The second distribution transformer has a second core frame 55 that is comprised of first and second clamps 54 , 62 and first second side supports 51 , 53 . The first and second clamps 54 , 62 and the first and second side supports 51 , 53 may be constructed from a different material than the core 11 , in the same manner as described in the first distribution transformer 15 . The first clamp 54 of the second core frame 55 comprises a pair of first plates 52 , each of which has opposing end portions. Two receiving slots 64 are formed in each of the end portions. The first plates 52 are positioned parallel to one another, one on each side of the first yoke 16 . The first clamp 54 contacts and compresses the first yoke 16 of the core 11 , as shown in FIG. 5 .
[0024] The second clamp 62 of the second core frame 55 comprises a pair of second plates 58 , each of which has opposing end portions. Two receiving slots 64 are formed in each of the end portions. The second plates 58 are positioned parallel to one another, one on each side of the second yoke 30 . The second clamp 62 contacts and compresses the second yoke 30 of the core 11 .
[0025] The second core frame 55 has two side supports, a first side support 51 and a second side support 53 as shown in FIG. 5 . The side supports 51 , 53 of the second core frame 55 are each comprised of first and second locking plates 59 , 60 connected to a main plate 66 . The side supports 51 , 53 are assembled by connecting the main plate 66 to the first and second locking plates 59 , 60 using cams 56 , each having circular ends of different circumferences. A first end of each cam 56 has a larger circumference than a second end. The main plate 66 has opposing end portions wherein at least two openings 70 are formed in each end portion for receiving the first end of the cams 56 . Each of the locking plates 59 , 60 has at least two openings 68 formed near the center for receiving the second end of the cams 56 . The cams 56 fasten the locking plates 59 , 60 and main plate 66 together to form a side support. After assembly, the side supports 51 , 53 of the second core frame have two opposing end portions with two tabs extending from each side edge, resulting in a first end portion having four first tabs 72 and a second end portion having four second tabs 74 .
[0026] Referring now to FIG. 7 , a side view of a side support 51 or 53 is shown, having first and second locking plates 59 , 60 fastened to a main plate 66 using four cams 56 . As the weight of the transformer increases, it may be necessary to increase the number of cams on each end of the first and second side supports to three or four. The increased contact surface area provided by adding additional cams may result in a sturdier interlock for the core frame. In the same manner, the number of tabs 72 , 74 on each side edge of the first and second ends of the side supports 51 , 53 and the corresponding number of slots 64 formed in each opposing end of the first and second plates 52 , 58 , may be increased as the weight of the transformer increases.
[0027] The second core frame 55 is assembled by placing the four second tabs 74 of the first and second side supports 51 , 53 into the receiving slots 64 of the second plates 58 of the second clamp 62 , compressing the second yoke 30 of the core 11 . The coil assemblies 32 , comprised of primary and secondary windings are placed over the core limbs 38 , 40 , 42 . As shown in FIG. 5 , the outer core limbs 38 , 42 and side supports 51 , 53 make contact and together receive the coil assemblies 32 . The four first tabs 72 of the assembled first and second side supports 51 , 53 are placed into the receiving slots 64 of the first plates 52 of the first clamp 54 , compressing the first yoke 16 of the core 11 .
[0028] While the present application illustrates various embodiments of a distribution transformer having a slot-and-tab interlocking core frame, and while these embodiments have been described in some detail, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention, in its broader aspects, is not limited to the specific details, the representative embodiments, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of the applicant's general inventive concept. | A distribution transformer having a slot-and-tab core frame assembly. The core frame ( 17 ) encloses a transformer core ( 11 ) having at least one phase and provides compression on the core yokes and end members of the transformer to bind the assembly together. First and second clamps ( 10, 24 ) of the core frame contain receiving slots ( 34 ) for the tabbed ( 18, 28 ), longitudinal side supports ( 20 ), creating an interlock when connected. For larger transformers, the tabbed side supports may be alternatively comprised of a subassembly of end plates, cams, and tabbed locking plates, encompassing a sturdy locking mechanism. | 8 |
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/155938 filed Sep. 24, 1999, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
STATEMENT REGARDING GOVERNMENT RIGHTS
[0002] The U.S. Government has certain rights to this invention
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] 1. Field of the Invention
[0004] The present invention relates to methods of opening obstructed biological conduits. Preferred methods of the invention include methods and systems for opening obstructed biological conduits using local delivery of a therapeutic agent, particularly a protease, to lyse the extracellular matrix of the obstructing tissue.
[0005] 2. Background
[0006] Obstructions to biological conduits frequently result from trauma to the conduit which can result from transplant, graft or other surgical procedures wherein the extracellular matrix of the obstructing tissue largely comprises collagen. Balloon angioplasty is a common initial treatment for stenosis or stricture obstruction that yields excellent initial results (Pauletto, Clinical Science, (1994) 87:467-79). However, this dilation method does not remove the obstructing tissue.
[0007] It only stretches open the lumen, the trauma of which has been associated with the release of several potent cytokines and growth factors that can cause an injury which induces another round of cell proliferation, cell migration toward the lumen and synthesis of more extracellular matrix. Consequently, balloon angioplasty is associated with restenosis in nearly all patients (Pauletto, Clinical Science, (1994) 87:467-79). There is currently no treatment that can sustain patency over the long term.
[0008] The extracellular matrix, which holds a tissue together, is composed primarily of collagen, the major fibrous component of animal extracellular connective tissue (Krane, J. Investigative Dermatology (1982) 79:83s-86s; Shingleton, Biochem. Cell Biol., (1996) 74:759-75). The collagen molecule has a base unit of three strands, of repeating amino acids coiled into a triple helix. These triple helix coils are then woven into a right-handed cable. As the collagen matures, cross-links form between the chains and the collagen becomes progressively more insoluble and resistant to lysis. When properly formed, collagen has a greater tensile strength than steel. Not surprisingly, when the body builds new tissue collagen provides the extracellular structural framework such that the deposition of hard collagen in the lesion can result in duct obstruction.
[0009] Benign biliary stricture results in obstruction of the flow of bile from the liver can result in jaundice and hepatic dysfunction. If untreated, biliary obstruction can result in hepatic failure and death. Billary strictures can form after duct injury during cholecystectomy. They can also form at biliary anastomoses after liver transplantation and other biliary reconstructive surgeries (Vitale, Am. J. Surgery (1996) 171:553-7; Lilliemoe, Annals of Surgery (1997) 225).
[0010] Historically, benign biliary stricture has been treated surgically by removing the diseased duct segment and reconnecting the duct end-to-end, or connecting the duct to the bowel via a hepaticojejunostomy loop (Lilliemoe, Annals of Surgery (1997) 225). These long and difficult surgeries have significant morbidity and mortality due to bleeding, infection, biliary leak, and recurrent biliary obstruction at the anastomosis. Post-operative recovery takes weeks to months. More recently, minimally invasive treatments such as percutaneous balloon dilation have been utilized, yielding good initial biliary patency surgeries (Vitale, Am. J. Surgery (1996) 171:553-7; Lilliemoe, Annals of Surgery (1997) 225). However, balloon dilation causes a localized injury, inducing a healing response that often results in restenosis (Pauletto, Clinical Science, (1994) 87:467-79). Long-term stenting at the common bile duct with flexible biliary drainage catheters is another minimally invasive alternative to surgery (Vitale, Am. J. Surgery (1996) 171:553-7). However, these indwelling biliary drainage catheters often become infected, or clogged with is debris, and must be changed frequently. At present, long-term treatment of biliary stricture remains a difficult clinical problem.
[0011] Patients with chronic, end-stage renal failure may require replacement of their kidney function in order to survive. In the United States, long-term hemodialysis is the most common treatment method for end stage chronic renal failure in the U.S. In 1993, more-than 130,000 patients underwent long term hemodialysis (Gaylord, J. Vascular and Interventional Radiology (1993) 4:103-7), More than 80% of these patients implement hemodialysis through the use of a synthetic arteriovenous graft (Windus, Am. J. Kidney Diseases (1993) 21:457-71). In a majority of these patients, the graft consists of a 6 mm Gore-Tex tube that is surgically implanted between an artery and a vein, usually in the forearm or upper arm. This high flow conduit can then be accessed with needles for hemodialysis sessions.
[0012] Nearly all hemodialysis grafts fail, usually within two years, and a new graft must be created surgically to maintain hemodialysis. These patients face repeated interruption of hemodialysis, and multiple hospitalizations for radiological and surgical procedures. Since each surgical graft revision consumes more available vein, eventually they are at risk for mortality from lack of sites for hemodialysis access. One estimate placed the cost of graft placement, hemodialysis, treatment of complications, placement of venous catheters, hospitalization costs, and time away from work at as much as $500 million, in 1990 alone (Windus, Am. J. Kidney Diseases (1993) 21:457-71).
[0013] The most frequent cause of hemodialysis graft failure is thrombosis, which is often due to development of a stenosis in the vein just downstream from the graft-vein anastomosis (Safa, Radiology (1996) 199:653-7. Histologic analysis of the stenosis reveals a firm, pale, relatively homogeneous lesion interposed between the intimal and medial layers of the vein which thickens the vessel wall and narrows the lumen (Swedberg, Circulation (1989) 80:1726-36). This lesion, which has been given the name intimal hyperplasia is composed of vascular smooth muscle cells surrounded by an extensive extracellular collagen matrix (Swedberg, Circulation (1989) 80:1726-36; Trerotola, J. Vascular and Interventional Radiology (1995) 6:387-96). Balloon angioplasty is the most common initial treatment for stenosis of hemodialysis grafts and yields excellent initial patency results (Safa, Radiology (1996) 199:653-7). However, this purely mechanical method of stretching open the stenosis causes an injury which induces another round of cell proliferation, cell migration toward the lumen and synthesis of more extracellular matrix. Consequently, balloon angioplasty is associated with restenosis in nearly all patients (Safa, Radiology (1996) 199:653-7). There is currently no treatment which can sustain the patency of synthetic arteriovenous hemodialysis grafts over the long term.
[0014] Intimal hyperplasia research has focused largely on the cellular component of the lesion. The use of radiation and pharmaceutical agents to inhibit cell proliferation and migration are active areas of research (Hirai, ACTA Radiologica (1996) 37:229-33; Reimers, J. Invasive Cardiology (1998) 10:323-31; Choi, J. Vascular Surgery (1994) 19:125-34). To date, the results of these studies have been equivocal, and none of these new treatments has gained wide clinical acceptance. This matrix is composed predominantly of collagen and previous work in animals has demonstrated that systemic inhibition of collagen synthesis decreases the production of intimal hyperplasia (Choi, Archives of Surgery (1995) 130:257-261).
[0015] During normal tissue growth and remodeling, existing collagen matrices must be removed or modified. This collagen remodeling is carried out by macrophages and fibroblasts, two cell types which secrete a distinct class of proteases called “collagenases” (Swedberg, Circulation (1989) 80:1726-36; Trerotola, J. Vascular and Interventional Radiology (1995) 6:387-96; Hirai, ACTA Radiologica (1996) 37:229-33). These collagenases rapidly degrade insoluble collagen fibrils to small, soluble peptide fragments, which are carried away from the site by the flow of blood and lymph.
[0016] See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,981,568; 5,409,926; and 6,074,659.
[0017] It thus would be desirable to provide new methods to relieve obstructions blocking flow through biolgical conduits.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0018] I have now found new methods and systems for relieving an obstruction in a biological conduit, e.g. mammalian vasculature. Methods of the invention include administration to an obstruction site of a therapeutic agent that can preferably degrade (in vivo) the extracellular matrix of the obstructing tissue, particularly collagen and/or elastin. Preferred methods of the invention include administration to an obstruction of an enzyme or a mixture of enzymes that are capable of degrading key extracellular matrix components (including collagen and/or elastin) resulting in the solubilization or other removal of the obstructing tissue.
[0019] Methods and systems of the invention can be applied to a variety of specific therapies. For example, methods of the invention include treatment of bilary stricture with the use of exogenous collagenase, elastase or other agent, whereby an enzyme composition comprising collagenase, elastase or other agent is directly administered to or into (such as by catheter injection) the wall of the lesion or other obstruction. The enyzme(s) dissolves the collagen and/or elastin in the extracellular matrix, resulting in the solubilization of fibrous tissue from the duct wall near the lumen, and a return of duct flow or opening.
[0020] Methods of the invention also include pretreating an obstruction (e.g. in a mammalian duct) with collagenase, elastase or other agent to facilitate dilation such that if treatment under enzymatic degradation conditions alone is insufficient to reopen a conduit, then conventional treatment with e.g. balloon dilation is still an option. It has been found that enzymatic degradation pre-treatment in accordance with the invention can improve the outcome of balloon dilation since enzyme treatment partially digests the collagen fibrils. Therefore, the overall effect will be a softening of the remaining tissue. The softened tissue is more amenable to balloon dilation at lower pressures, resulting in less mechanical trauma to the duct during dilation.
[0021] Preferably, the therapeutic agent is delivered proxumately to a targeted site, e.g. by injection, catheter delievery or the like.
[0022] A variety of therapeutic agents may be employed in the methods of the invention. Suitable therapeutic agents for use in the methods and systems of the invention can be readily identified, e.g. simply by testing a candidate agent to determine if it reduces an undesired vasculature obstruction in a mammal, particularly a coronary obstruction in a mammalian heart. Preferred therapeutic agents comprise one or more peptide bonds (i.e a peptidic agent), and typically contain at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 or more amino acids, preferably one or more of the natural amino acids. Preferred therapeutic agents include large molecules, e.g. compounds having a molecular weight of at least about 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 or 10,000 kD, or even at least about 20,000, 30,000, 40,000, 50,000, 60,000, 70,000, 80,000, 90,000 or 100,000 kD.
[0023] Specifically preferred therapeutic agents for use in the methods and systems of the invention include proteases and other enzymes e.g. a collagenase e.g. Clostridial collagenase, a proteolytic enzyme that dissolves collagen, and/or an elastase such as a pancreatic elastase, a proteosytic enzyme that dissolves elastin. Preferred delivery of collagenase and other therapeutic agents of the invention include directly injecting the agent into the target lesion or other obstruction. Preferably, a homogeneous distribution of a therapeutic enzyme or enzyme mixture is administered to a target site with a drug delivery catheter. The therapeutic agent can then dissolve the key extracellular collagen components necessary to solubilize the obstructing tissue from the vessel wall near the lumen.
[0024] Treatment methods of the invention provide significant advantages over prior treatment methodologies. For example, enzymatic degradation of one or more key components of the extracellular matrix gently removes the tissue obstructing the lumen. Additionally, collagenolysis or other therapeutic administration is relatively atraumatic. Moreover, collagenase also can liberate intact, viable cells from tissue. Therefore, treatment methods of the invention can remove both the source of mechanical obstruction and a source of cytokines and growth factors, which stimulate restenosis.
[0025] A single or combination of more than one distinct therapeutic agents may be administered in a particular therapeutic application. In this regard, a particular treatment protocol can be optimized by selection of an optimal therapeutic agent, or optimal “cocktail” of multiple therapeutic agents. Such optimal agent(s) for a specific treatment method can be readily identified by routine procedures, e.g. testing selected therapeutic agents and combinations thereof in in vivo or in vitro assays.
[0026] In another aspect of the invention, treatment compositions and treatment kits are provided. More particularly, treatrment compositions of the invention preferably contain one or more enzmatic agents such as collagenase preferably admixed with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. Such compositions can be suitably packaged in conjuction with an appropriate delivery tool such as an injection syringe or a delivery catheter. The delivery device and/or treatment solution are preferably packaged in sterile condition. The delivery device and treatment composition can be packaged separately or in combination, more typcially in combination. The delivery device preferably is adapted for in situ, preferably localized delivery of the therapeutic agent directly into the targeted bioloigcal conduit obstruction.
[0027] Typcial subjects for treatment in accordance with the invention include mammals, particularly primates, especially humans. Other subjects may be treated in accordance with the invention such as domesticated animals, e.g. pets such as dogs, cats and the like, and horses and livestock animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep s and the like. Subjects that may be treating in accordance with the invention include those mammals suffering from or susceptible to biliary stricture including benign biliary stricture, stenosis of hemodialysis graft, intimal hyperlasia, and/or coronary obstruction, and the like. As discussed above, methods of the invention may be administered as a pre-treatment protocol before other therapeutic regime such as a balloon angioplasty; during the course of another therapeutic regime, e.g. where a therapeutic composition of the invention is administered during the course of an angioplasty or other procedure; or after another treatment regime, e.g. where a therapeutic composition of the invention is administered after an angioplasty or administrration of other therapeutic agents.
[0028] Other aspects of the invention are disclosed infra.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0029] [0029]FIG. 1 shows a common bile duct in a dog with a high grade stricture;
[0030] [0030]FIG. 2 shows a common bile duct in a dog with a high grade stricture after treatment;
[0031] [0031]FIG. 3 is a histology picture of a normal common bile duct from a dog;
[0032] [0032]FIG. 4 is a histology picture of a common bile duct stricture from a dog with a high grade stricture before treatment;
[0033] [0033]FIG. 5 is a histology picture of a common bile duct stricture from a dog after treatment with collagenase wherein the arrows denote the outer limit of collagen breakdown; and
[0034] [0034]FIG. 6 shows a normal common bile duct in a dog.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0035] The present invention provides methods of introducing a therapeutic agent that is capabile of degrading an extracellular matrix components to thereby facilitate the reopening of a constricted biological conduit. In particular, the invention provides for introduction to an obstructed bioliogical conduit of a therapeutic agent that degrades collagen and/or elastin. The present invention further provides methods of dialating a biological conduit by introducing a therapeutic agent into a biological conducit, preferably an isolated segment of the conduit.
[0036] In one embodiment of the present invention, the degradation of a stricture, lesion or other obstruction is accomplished by introducing one or more therapeutic agents that are capable of degrading one or more extracellular matrix components thereby facilitating the reopening of the constricted segment of the conduit. Major structural components of the extracellular matrix include collagen and elastin.
[0037] Preferred therapeutic agents for use in accordance with the invention are able to interact with and degrade either one or both of collagen and elastin.
[0038] As discussed above, a variety of compositions may be used in the methods and systems of the invention. Preferred therapeutic compositions comprise one or more agents that can solubilize or otherwise degrade collagen or elastin in vivo. Suitable therapeutic agents can be readily identified by simple testing, e.g. in vitro testing of a candidate therapeutic compound relative to a control for the ability to solubilize or otherwise degrade collagen or elastin, e.g. at least 10% more than a control.
[0039] More particularly, a candidate therapeutic compound can be identified in the following in vitro assay that includes steps 1) and 2):
[0040] 1) contacting comparable mammalian tissue samples with i) a candidate therapeutic agent and ii) a control (i.e. vehicle carrier without added candidate agent), suitably with a 0.1 mg of the candidate agent contacted to 0.5 ml of the tissue sample; and
[0041] 2) detecting digestion of the tissue sample by the candidate agent relative to the control. Digestion can be suitably assessed e.g. by microscopic analysis. Tissue digestion is suitably carried out in a water bath at 37° C. Fresh pig tendon is suitably employed as a tissue sample. The tissue sample can be excised, trimmed, washed blotted dry and weighed, and individual tendon pieces suspended in 3.58 mg/ml HEPES buffer at neutral pH. See Example 1 which follows for a detailed discussion of this protocol. Such an in vitro protocol that contains steps 1) and 2) is referred to herein as a “standard in vitro tissue digestion assay” or other similar phrase.
[0042] Preferred therapeutic agents for use in accordance with the invention include those that exhibit digestion activity in such a standard in vitro tissue digestion assay at least about 10 percent greater relative to a control, more preferably at least about 20% greater digestion activity relative to a control; still more preferably at least about 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% or 100% greater digestion activity relative to a control in such a standard in vitro tissue digestion assay.
[0043] Appropriate therapeutic agents can comprise at least one and frequently several enzymes such that the therapeutic agent is capable of degrading both significant matrix components of tissue obstruction. Particularly preferable therapeutic agents will comprise either a collagenase or elastase or both. Specifically preferred are therapeutic agents comprising highly purified, injectable collagenase preparation suchs as produced from cultures of Clostridia histolyticum by BioSpecifics Technologies Corporation (Lynbrook, N.Y.). This enzyme preparation is composed of two similar but distinct collagenases. The Clostridial collagenases cleave all forms of collagen at multiple sites along the helix, rapidly converting insoluble collagen fibrils to small, soluble peptides. Also preferable are therapeutic agents comprising elastase, particularly pancreatic elastase, an enzyme capable of degrading elastin. Trypsin inhibitors also can be suitably employed as the therapeutic agent in the methods of the invention.
[0044] In a further aspect of the present invention, the methods further include means to prevent damage to tissue that is not associated with conduit obstruction. Preferred enzymes incorporated in the therapeutic agents are large (>100,000 kD) and diffuse slowly in the extracellular compartment after injection. Further, collagenases comprise a domain (in addition to the active site) which binds tightly to tissue. Consequently, these enzymes remain largely contained within collagen-rich target tissues after injection. Also, the enzyme's activity is quickly extinguished in the blood pool by circulating inhibitors. Therefore, injected collagenase, which diffuses from the interstitial compartment into the blood pool, will be rapidly inhibited, preventing systemic side effects.
[0045] Fragments of therapeutic agents also can be administered to a patient in accordance with the invention. For example, fragments of the above-mentioned collagenases and elastases can be administered to a patient provided such fragments provide the desired therapeutic effect, i.e. degradation of obstruction of a biological conduit. As referred to herein, a collagenase, elastase or other enzyme includes therapeutically effective fragments of such enzymes.
[0046] In certain preferred aspects of the invention, the therapeutic agent(s) that are administered to a patient are other than a cytostatic agent; cytoskeletal inhibitor; an aminoquinazolinone, particularly a 6 -aminoquinazolinone; a vascular smooth muscle protein such as antibodies, growth hormones or cytokines.
[0047] In specific embodiments, the degradation of elastin, an extracellular matrix component that contributes to tissue elasticity, is not desirable. Therapeutic agents comprising only enzymes, which do not degrade elastin, such as collagenases, can be employed. Therefore, the elastic properties of the conduit wall will likely be preserved after treatment.
[0048] In a preferred aspect of the invention, a therapeutic agent comprising at least one enzyme capable of degrading elastin, collagen or both is delivered to the targeted obstruction site with a catheter. Preferred catheters are capable of directly localizing a therapeutic agent directly into the extracellular matrix of the obstruction. Particularly preferable catheters are able of delivering accurate doses of therapeutic agent with an even distribution over the entire obstructed area of the conduit. One particularly preferred example of a catheter for use in the method of the present invention is the Infiltrator® catheter produced by InterVentional Technologies Corporation (IVT) (San Diego, Calif.), which delivers a precisely controlled dosage of a drug directly into a selected segment of vessel wall (FIG. 1) (Reimers, J. Invasive Cardiology (1998) 10:323-331; Barath, Catherterization and Cardiovascular Diagnosis (1997) 41:333-41; Woessner, Biochem. Cell Biol. (1996) 74: 777-84). Using this preferred catheter a therapeutic agent can be delivered at low pressure via a series of miniaturized injector ports mounted on the balloon surface. When the positioning balloon is inflated, the injector ports extend and enter the vessel wall over the 360° surface of a 15 mm segment of vessel. Each injector port is less than 0.0035 inch in size. Drug delivery can be performed in less than 10 seconds, with microliter precision and minimal immediate drug washout. The injected drug is delivered homogeneously in the wall of the vessel or duct (FIG. 2). The triple lumen design provides independent channels for guidewire advancement, balloon inflation and drug delivery. Trauma associated with injector port penetration is minimal and the long-term histologic effects are negligible (Woessner, Biochem. Cell Biol. (1996) 74:777-84). In addition, the device has been engineered such that the injector ports are recessed while maneuvering in the vessel. Additionally, the Infiltrator® catheter is capable of balloon inflation with sufficient force for angioplasty applications. The excellent control of drug delivery observed with Infiltrator® can be significant since preferred therapeutic agents of the present invention potentially can degrade collagen and/or elastin in nearly all forms of tissue in a non-specific manner.
[0049] In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a therapeutic dose is employed which will restore conduit flow while maintaining conduit wall integrity. Several parameters need to be defined to maximize method efficiency, including the amount of enzyme to be delivered, the volume of enzyme solution to be injected so that the reopening of the conduit occurs with a single dose protocol. Ideally repeat or multiple dosing is reserved only for patients who have an incomplete response to the initial injection.
[0050] In regards to the volume of therapeutic agent solution delivered, preferably the conduit wall is not saturated completely, as this can lead to transmural digestion and conduit rupture. Instead, the optimal dose is determined by targeting the thickness of the wall (from the outside in) which needs to be removed in order to restore adequate flow, while leaving the remaining wall intact. An overly dilute solution will be ineffective at collagen lysis while an overly concentrated solution will have a higher diffusion gradient into the surrounding tissues, thereby increasing the risk of transmural digestion and rupture.
[0051] Collagenase doses are generally expressed as “units” of activity, instead of mass units. Individual lots of collagenase are evaluated for enzymatic activity using standardized assays and a specific activity (expressed in units/mg) of the lot is determined. BTC uses an assay that generates “ABC units” of activity. The specific activity of other collagenase preparations are sometimes expressed in the older “Mandel units”. One ABC unit is roughly equivalent to two Mandel units.
[0052] Preferable doses and concentrations of enzyme solution are between 1000 and 20000 ABC units, more preferable are between 2500 and 10000 ABC units and enzyme doses of 5,000 ABC units in 0.5 ml of buffer are most preferred.
[0053] It will be appreciated that actual preferred dosage amounts of other therapeutic agents in a given therapy will vary according to e.g. the specific compound being utilized, the particular composition formulated, the mode of administration and characteristics of the subject, e.g. the species, sex, weight, general health and age of the subject. Optimal administration doses for a given protocol of administration can be readily ascertained by those skilled in the art using dosage determination tests, including those described above and in the examples which follow.
[0054] Therapeutic agents of the invention are suitably administered as a pharmaceutical composition with one or more suitable carriers. Therapeutic agents of the invention are typically formulated in injectable form, e.g. with the therapeutic agent dissolved in a suitable fluid carrier. See the examples which follow for preferred compositions.
[0055] As discussed above, the methods and systems of the invention can be employed to treat (including prophylactic treatment) a variety of diseases and disorders. In particular, methods and systems of the invention can be employed to relieve or otherwise treat a variety of lesions and other obstructions found in common bile ducts or vascular systems. Methods of the invention are also useful to relieve lesions and other obstructions in other biological conduits including e.g. ureterer, pancreatic duct, bronchi, coronary and the like.
[0056] The invention also includes prophalytic-type treatment, e.g. methods to dialate a biological conduit whereby the increased conduit diameter obviates the potential of obstruction formation within a conduit. Temporary and partial degredation of the elastin component of a conduit wall reduces the elasticity of the conduit thereby facilitating modifications of the size and shape of the conduit. Introducing a dose of therapeutic agent in accordance with the invention into the lumen of an isolated conduit or some section thereof results in complete or partial diffusion of the therapeutic agent into the wall of the isolated conduit during a specified period of time. Subsequent pressurization of the treated region either while the region is still isolated or after removing the means of isolation increases the lumen diameter by dilation. Regeneration of the conduit elastin framework results in a conduit with a larger lumen diameter and without compromising the structural integrity.
[0057] Arteriovenous hemodialysis grafts are frequently placed in the arm of the patient such that blood can be withdrawn and purified blood returned through the graft. Frequently the lumenal diameter of the venous outflow is smaller than the graft lumenal diameter. Development of a stenosis due to intimal hyperplasia can further reduce the lumenal diameter of the venous outflow such that an insufficient volume of blood passes through the venous outflow. To prevent intimal hyperplasia and stenosis formation, dilating the venous outflow vein using the above described method of partially degrading the elastin component of the vascular wall downstream of the site of graft implantation such that the lumenal diameter of the venous outflow is similar to or larger than the diameter of the interposed loop graft reduces the likelihood of forming of a stenosis due to intimal hyperplasia. Venous dialation can be preformed either before or after interposing a graft between the artery and vein.
[0058] All documents mentioned herein are incorporated herein by reference. The present invention is further illustrated by the following non-limiting examples.
EXAMPLE 1
Tissue Digestion Analysis
[0059] The protocol of the following example is a detailed description of a “standard in vitro tissue digestion assay” as referred to herein.
[0060] The rate of tissue digestion, which is composed mostly of collagen, by a mixture of collagenase and elastase, proteolytic enzymes with activity respectfully against collagen and elastin, was determined. Trypsin inhibitor was added to negate the affect of any residual trypsin activity. Briefly, fresh pig tendon was excised, trimmed, washed, blotted dry and weighed. Individual tendon pieces were suspended in 3.58 mg/ml HEPES buffer at neutral pH and various concentrations of enzymes were added. Iodinated radiographic contrast was added in various concentrations to some of the enzyme solutions. The tissue digestion was carried out in a water bath at 37° C. At various time points, the tendon pieces were removed from the enzyme solution, washed, blotted dry and weighed. Each time point was derived from the average of three samples. The effect of enzyme concentration on tissue digestion rates was studied. As expected, increasing the concentration of enzymes in vitro increased the rate of tissue digestion (FIG. 3). Buffer alone had no effect on the tissue. Extrapolating digestion rates in vitro to an in vivo situation has proven difficult. For Dupuytren's contractures, the effective dose for transecting fibrous cords in vitro was 500 ABC. However, the effective in vivo dose was 10,000 ABC units.
[0061] The effect of iodinated radiographic contrast material on tissue digestion rates was also studied (FIG. 4). This study was performed to monitor enzyme delivery by mixing it with contrast prior to injection. These results demonstrate that Omnipaque 350 iodinated contrast material inhibits enzyme activity at radiographically visible (35%) concentrations, but not at lower (1-5%) concentrations (FIG. 4). Similar results were observed with Hypaque 60 contrast.
EXAMPLE 2
Determining Dose Dependant In Vitro Activity of a Therapeutic Agent Including Collagenase, Elastase, and a Trypsin Inhibitor
[0062] The effect of enzyme concentration on tissue digestion rates was studied (FIG. 3). The “1×” tissue sample was treated with collagenase 156 Mandel units/ml+elastase 0.125 mg/ml+trypsin inhibitor 038 mg/mg, The “2×” sample was treated with collagenase 312 Mandel units/ml+eIastase 0.25 mg/ml+trypsin inhibitor 0.76 mg/ml. The “5×” sample was treated with collagenase 780 Mandel units/ml+eIastase 0.625 mg/ml+trypsin inhibitor 1.9 mg/ml. All digestion volumes were 0.5 ml. Increasing the concentration of enzymes in vitro increased the rate of tissue digestion (FIG. 3). Buffer alone had no effect on the tissue. An effective in vivo dose was found to be 10,000 ABC units.
Example 3
Determining the Effect of Iodinated radiographic Contrast Material on tissue Digestion Rates Facilitate Monitoring Enzyme Delivery Prior to Injection of a therapeutic Agent Comprising a Contrast Material into a Patient
[0063] The “35% Omnipaque” tissue sample was treated with collagenase 156 Mandel units/ml+elastase 0.125 mg/ml+0.38 trypsin inhibitor with 35% OmniPaque 350 contrast (volume:volume). The “5% Omnipaque” sample was treated with collagenase 312 Mandel units/ml+eIastase 0.25 mg/ml+0.76 trypsin inhibitor with 5% Omnipaque 350 (volume:volume). The “1% Omnipaque” sample was treated with collagenase 312 Mandel units/ml+elastase 0.25 mg/ml+0.76 trypsin inhibitor with 1% Omnipaque 350. All digestion volumes were 0.5 ml. These results demonstrate that Omnipaque 350 iodinated contrast material inhibits enzyme activity at radiographically visible (35%) concentrations, but not at lower (1-5%) concentrations (FIG. 4). Similar results were observed with Hypaque 60 contrast.
EXAMPLE 4
Creating a Stricture in the Common Bile Duct of Dogs and Treatment of the Resulting Stricture with Transcatheter Intramural Collagenase Therapy
[0064] Right subcostal laparotomy was performed in dogs to expose the gallbladder, which was then affixed to the anterior abdominal wall of 11 dogs (n=11). After 2 weeks, a single focal thermal injury was made in the common bile duct (CBD) using a catheter with an electrocoagulation tip placed through the gallbladder access. A 4.8 Fr biliary stent was placed to prevent complete duct occlusion in 7 animals. Stricture development was monitored with percutaneous cholangiography over five weeks. Collagenase was then directly infused into the wall of the strictured CBD using an Infiltrator drug delivery catheter (n=3). The Infiltrator has three arrays of microinjector needles mounted on a balloon which extend and enter the duct wall over the 360-degree surface. After treatment, internal plastic stents were placed in 2 animals. Explants of the CBD were obtained the following day. H&E, trichrome, and elastin staining were used for histopathologic analysis.
[0065] CBD strictures were successfully created in 7/11 animals as determined by cholangiography (FIG. 1). Failures were due to gallbladder leak (n=2) and perforation at the site of thermal injury (n=2). Histologic analysis of an untreated stricture demonstrated a thickened wall with a circumferential network of collagen bundles and associated lumenal narrowing (FIG. 4). Strictures treated with collagenase demonstrated a circumferential lysis of collagen at the treatment site, with sparing of the normal duct, arteries and veins (FIGS. 2 and 5). All three animals developed bile leaks after treatment, two from the gallbladder access site and one from the treatment site. There was vascular congestion and inflammation in portions of the small bowel mucosa and peritoneum after treatment in all animals, to varying degrees.
EXAMPLE 5
Relieve of Strictures in the Common Bile Duct of a Patient
[0066] A large dog was used as the patient such that under general anesthesia a cholecystostomy tract was created and the gallbladder was “tacked” to the abdominal wall with retention sutures. A cholangiogram was performed with Hypaque-60, using a marker catheter, in order to define the anatomy. Then, a flexible catheter with a bipolar electrode tip was constructed as previously described (Becker, Radiology (1988) 167:63-8). This catheter was inserted through the gallbladder (FIG. 5) and positioned with its “hot” tip (arrow) in the distal common bile duct such that the catheter was pulled back and the treatment was repeated until a 1.0 cm length of duct was injured (FIG. 6). Immediately after delivering the current there was a mild-moderate amount of smooth narrowing of the treated segment of duct (arrow), possibly due to spasm or edema. A pigtail nephrostomy drainage catheter was then inserted through the fresh cholecystotomy tract into the gallbladder. The distal end was closed with an IV cap and buried in the subcutaneous tissue. The surgical wounds were then closed in a two-layer fashion.
[0067] After 7 days, a follow-up cholangiogram was performed to evaluate the thermally induced stenosis. A 20 gauge needle was used to percutaneous access then drainage catheter through the IV cap. A cholangiogram was performed demonstrating moderate-marked dilatation of the biliary tree (FIG. 1). There was a high-grade stricture of the mid common bile duct, where the thermal injury had been made.
[0068] Strictures are created in five large dogs using the methods described above and in Example 4. In addition, an objective measurement of biliary patency (the Whitaker study) is made of the common bile duct, both before and after making a stricture. The Whitaker study is performed by injecting normal saline through a catheter positioned in the common bile duct. Flow rates are increased and pressure measurements are taken with until a peak pressure of 40 mmHg is reached.
[0069] The thermal lesions mature into fibrous strictures over a six week period. One animal is then sacrificed and a histologic assessment is made of the extrahepatic biliary tree. Samples are taken of the duct proximal to the lesion, the mid portion of the lesion (FIG. 4), the lesion edge, and the duct distal to the lesion. Assessments of 1) duct morphology. 2) cell type and number, 3) the extent and appearance of the extracellular matrix, and 4) extent of epithelialization are made. A second animal is sacrificed after an additional 6 weeks after thermal injury and a similar analysis carried out.
[0070] A cholangiogram is performed to visually assess the stricture (FIG. 1) and a Whitaker test is also performed on the remaining 3 dogs. Then, the Infiltrator catheter is then deployed within the lesion and 0.5 mL of collagenase preparation (10,000 Units/ml) is injected into the wall of the lesion. On post-treatment day 1, a follow-up cholangiogram and whitaker test are performed.
[0071] In cases where incomplete response is noted, a second treatment can be given and a second follow-up chlorangiogram and Whitaker test is performed the following day. Hepatic enzyme levels will be drawn to assess the effect of stricture and then treatment on hepatic function. Alternatively, incomplete response from collagenase can be followed up with subsequent angioplasty or a combined collagenase/angioplasty treatment.
[0072] After treatment with collagenase, a final cholangiogram is taken after 1 week (FIG. 2). At this time, the animal is sacrificed and the extrahepatic biliary tree harvested. Histologic assessments are made of the bile duct proximal to the treated lesion, the mid portion of the treated lesion (FIG. 5), the treated lesion edge, and the duct distal to the lesion. Assessments of 1) duct morphology, 2) cell type and number, 3) the extent and appearance of the extracellular matrix, and 4) extent of epithelialization were made. FIG. 5 is a histology image of a common bile duct stricture after treatment. The arrows denote the outer limit of collagen breakdown. The histological examination of the treated common bile duct stricture demonstrates as circumferential lysis of collagen at the treatment site, while sparing damage to the normal duct, arteries and veins.
EXAMPLE 6
Relieve of Stenosis Due to Intimal Hyperplasia of a Synthetic Hemodialysis Graft
[0073] Standard, untapered 5 mm diameter polytetrafluoroethylene (PFTE) loop grafts were interposed between the femoral artery and the femoral vein in the hind limbs of 25-35 kg dogs, as described previously (Trerotola, J. Vascular and Interventional Radiology (1995) 6:387-96). An end-to-end configuration had been selected to facilitate optimal positioning of the catheter drug delivery balloon during treatment of a stenosis. Standard, cut-film angiography is performed one week after surgery to assess the arterial inflow, the artery-graft anastomosis, the vein-graft anastomosis, and the venous outflow. After this, routine physical examination of the grafts will be carried out to screen for patency. Twenty weeks after surgery, standard, cut-film angiography is performed to assess the lumenal diameter of the grafts and their venous outflow. At this time, a stenosis due to intimal hyperplasia is seen in the venous outflow with an associated pressure gradient (Trerotola, J. Vascular and Interventional Radiology (1995) 6:387-96). Then, using the first animal, the therapy delivery catheter is deployed within a graft and 5000 ABC units of collagenase in 0.5 ml is infiltrated into the wall of the lesion at the venous outflow. The catheter is flushed and the contralateral lesion receives 1 ml of saline, delivered in an identical manner. Nearly all collagenase activity is extinguished after 1-2 days such that the grafts are re-examined with angiography after 3 days. Repeat measurements of lumenal diameter and invasive pressure measurements across the lesion are also taken. The animals are sacrificed and the grafts excised, pressure-fixed, and examined histologically. Assessments are made of the distal graft, the venous anastomosis, the mid-portion of the treated lesion, the lesion edge, and the normal vein downstream from the graft. Additional assessments of 1) cell type, morphology and number, 2) extent of extracellular matrix, 3) overall adventitial, medial, and intimal thickness, 4) extent of intimal hyperplasia, and 5) extent of endothelialization are made.
EXAMPLE 7
[0074] Four dogs are used for a controlled study of collagenase treatment. Bilateral grafts are created as described previously and standard, cut-film angiogaphy is performed one week after surgery to access the arterial inflow, the artery-graft anastomosis, the vein-graft anastomosis, and the venous outflow. After this, routine physical examination of the grafts are carried out to screen for patency. Then, twenty weeks after surgery, standard, cut-film angiogaphy is performed to assess the lumenal diameter of the grafts and their venous outflow. An obvious stenosis due to intimal hyperplasia is usually seen in the venous outflow with an associated pressure gradient (Trerotola, J. Vascular and Interventional Radiology (1995) 6:387-96 ). The Infiltrator catheter is then deployed within the lesion and the selected dose of collagenase is infiltrated into the wall of the lesion. The contralateral, control graft is treated in an identical manner, except saline will be delivered instead of collagenase. Three days after treatment, the grafts are restudied with an angiography and invasive pressure measurements to determine the acute effects of collagenase treatment. Changes in lumenal diameter and pressure gradients are calculated for both the collagenase-treated group and the saline-treated group and ten days after collagenase treatment, the grafts are studied a final time. The animals will be sacrificed and the grafts will be excised, pressure-fixed, and examined histologically, as described above.
[0075] The invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments thereof. However, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon consideration of this disclosure, may make modifications and improvements within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. | The invention provides methods to treating a obstructed biological conduit, that include administering to the conduit an agent that can degrade extracellular matrix of obstructing tissue. Particular methods include delivery of an enzyme or a mixture of several enzymes to the area or region of obstruction wherein the enzyme(s) have the capability to degrade extracellular matrix components within the obstruction thereby restoring the normal flow of transported fluid through the conduit. The invention also includes preventively dialating a section of conduit to minimize the risk of obstruction formation. | 0 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to updates for indexes on databases, such as spatial databases, wherein the updates are deferred until commit time.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Over the past decade, traditional database techniques were found inadequate to completely address the needs of domain-specific applications. To this end, domain-specific extensions like spatial, text, XML, or genetic databases have been designed to cater to the specific needs of the industry and have been proven quite successful. Most research in databases has consequently been focused on addressing the idiosyncrasies of these domain applications by using, and extending existing database technology or inventing novel database techniques. Indexing of domain data to cater to domain specific queries is one such area that has received much attention. Spatial researchers proposed many efficient indexes for storage and retrieval of spatial data in databases. The text community has devised new and efficient indexes for text data. XML researchers have proposed new structures for searching on the tree structure semantics of XML documents.
[0003] Efficient update algorithms for domain indexes have also been proposed. These include insertion, deletion in bulk, sub tree merging, buffering-based updates, etc. Most of these proposals consider the operations in isolation. Other proposals study and propose new concurrency models for domain indexes.
[0004] The problem of incorporating transactional updates in hierarchical spatial indexes like R-trees has also received much attention in research. R-trees have a hierarchical tree structure. Each node of the tree is stored as a row in an index table. The leaf-level of the R-tree stores pointers to rows of a user table that is indexed by the R-tree. A problem arises if updates to user table are incorporated as part of the user transaction, since the updates may conflict at the R-tree node level even if the underlying updates from two different transactions do not conflict. This could lead to deadlocks even when the transactions do not conflict if the index were not to be there.
[0005] A need arises for a technique by which updates may be incorporated in Spatial R-tree indexes without causing deadlocks of user transactions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention provides techniques by which updates may be incorporated in database indexes without causing deadlocks of user transactions. In one embodiment, referred to as immediate-incorporate, updates are incorporated in the index at the time of occurrence of the data manipulation language (DML) command execution. In a particular embodiment, the R-tree updates are incorporated as part of system transactions. The system transactions commit the update changes to the index but do not make them visible to other transactions. At commit time, the changes are made visible to other transactions.
[0007] In another embodiment, referred to as deferred-incorporate, the updates are propagated to the index only at transaction commit time. In particular, the updates are logged in a separate table and applied at transaction commit time. At commit time, bulk updates are performed. Several efficient strategies for queries in the active transaction are preferred. These include filtering the deferred table (containing the updates) using the minimum bounding rectangle (MBR) of the query window.
[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, a method of handling transactions including updates in a database management system comprises the steps of receiving an update to a database maintained by the database management system, the update operable to cause an index of the database to be modified, recording the update in a log, and receiving an indication that the transaction is to be committed and in response, incorporating the update from the log into an index of the database. The update may comprise an insert operation, which inserts data into the database, a delete operation, which deletes data from the database, or an update operation, which modifies data in the database. The step of receiving an update may comprise the step of in response to receiving the update, invoking a callback to update the index. The step of invoking a callback may comprise the step of passing information relating to the index and information identifying the data to be updated. The log may comprise an insert-log operable to store insert operations and a delete-log operable to store delete operations. The step of recording the update in a log may comprise the steps of registering the callback with a transaction manager, if the update is the first update in the transaction, including the index in a list of indexes used in the transaction, if the update is the first update to the index in the transaction, if the update is an insert operation, inserting the insert operation into the insert-log, if the update is a delete operation and there is not an insert operation corresponding to the data to be deleted in the insert-log, inserting the delete operation into the delete-log, and if the update is a delete operation and there is an insert operation corresponding to the data to be deleted in the insert-log deleting the insert from the insert-log. The step of recording the update in a log may further comprise the steps of if the update is an update operation and there is an insert operation corresponding to the data to be deleted in the insert-log, updating the insert-log data with the new values in the update, and inserting the old value in the delete-log and the new value in the insert-log, otherwise.
[0009] The step of incorporating the update from the log into an index of the database may comprise the steps of retrieving the list of indexes used in the transaction and for each index in the list of indexes, performing the steps of locking the index for update, performing delete operations in the delete-log on the index and performing insert operations in the insert-log on the index. The step of incorporating the update from the log into an index of the database may further comprise, for each index in the list of indexes, the steps of consulting the index to form a result set, consulting the delete-log and subtracting delete-log results from the result set, and consulting the insert-log and adding insert-log results to the result-set. The step of consulting the delete-log may comprise the steps of comparing a query key with an in-memory extent of keys in the delete-log, storing the in-memory extent in a transaction context, and scanning the delete-log and retrieving data in the delete-log that intersect with the query key, if the in-memory extent overlaps with the query key. The step of scanning the delete-log may comprise the step of specifying the query key as a filter condition. The step of consulting the insert-log may comprise the steps of comparing a query key with an in-memory extent of keys in the insert-log, storing the in-memory extent in a transaction context, and scanning the insert-log and retrieving data in the insert -log that intersect with the query key, if the in-memory extent overlaps with the query key. The step of scanning the insert-log comprises the step of specifying the query key as a filter condition.
[0010] The database may be a relational database. The database may be a spatial database and the index may be a spatial index on the spatial database. The index may comprise a Quadtree index or an R-tree index. The database may be an inventory control database. The inventory control database may utilize radio frequency identification tags.
[0011] The step of incorporating the update from the log into an index of the database may comprise the step of performing array/batch updating of the index.. The array/batch size may be set in the range of 1000 to 10000.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The details of the present invention, both as to its structure and operation, can best be understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers and designations refer to like elements.
[0013] FIG. 1 is an exemplary block diagram of a mechanism for performing commit callbacks.
[0014] FIG. 2 is an exemplary data flow diagram of the immediate-incorporate approach.
[0015] FIG. 3 is an exemplary data flow diagram of the deferred-incorporate approach.
[0016] FIG. 4 is an exemplary flow diagram of a deferred update process.
[0017] FIG. 5 is an exemplary flow diagram of a registered callback invocation process.
[0018] FIG. 6 is an exemplary flow diagram of query processing.
[0019] FIG. 7 is an exemplary block diagram of a database management system (DBMS), in which the present invention may be implemented.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] Preferably, a Database Management System (DBMS), in which the present invention may be implemented, will support at least two of the four levels of isolation described in the well-known Structured Query Language (SQL) standard: read-committed isolation and serializable isolation. In a serializable isolation level, each query in a transaction reads data committed at the beginning of the transaction. In this model, queries may be blocked due to conflicting updates. In contrast, in a read-committed isolation level, each query in a transaction reads data committed at the beginning of the query rather than at the beginning of the transaction. In this isolation, queries are answered using committed versions of data and are never blocked due to updates from concurrent active transactions. This results in high concurrency and high throughput for practical query-update workloads in most applications. Many spatial applications use the read-committed isolation. Serializable isolation is available in many commercial database servers, but read-committed isolation is not as widely available. The present invention is applicable to both isolation levels.
[0021] To facilitate the integration of domain-specific solutions into commercial database kernels, many DBMSs provide an extensible indexing framework. This framework allows for the creation of new domain specific indexes and associated query operators and provides for the integration of user-specified query, update and index creation routines inside database server. For example, the ORACLE SPATIAL® system supports a “spatial_index” indextype for indexing spatial data. Quadtree and R-tree indexes are supported as part of this “spatial_index” indextype. Since these indexes are implemented as part of the extensible indexing framework, spatial indexes can be easily created on “sdo_geometry” columns of database tables using an extended SQL syntax. As part of such index creation, the corresponding spatial index creation routines are executed and the constructed spatial index is stored in the database as a “spatial_index” table. The index table stores index information such as R-tree nodes in the case of R-trees and Quadtree tiles in the case of Quadtrees. The metadata for the entire index is stored as a row in a separate metadata table. This metadata includes the name of the index table storing the index, dimensionality, fanout, root pointer and other parameters for an R-tree and the tiling level parameter for a Quadtree index. It is to be noted that the ORACLE SPATIAL® system is merely an example of a system in which the present invention may be implemented. The present invention contemplates implementation in any DBMS.
[0022] Although the extensible indexing framework provides a callback-based mechanism for basic operations such as index creation, query operators, and DML operations, it does not guarantee deadlock-free transactional behaviors of the associated callbacks. All callbacks, by default, execute in the user transaction for the specified operation. As a result, two update operations on a hierarchical index, such as an R-tree, from two different transactions could block each other, resulting in a deadlock. Since all transactional locks are released only at commit/rollback time, commit/rollback time callbacks are essential to meaningfully implement any extensible domain index that can cater to transactional semantics.
[0023] An exemplary mechanism 102 for performing commit callbacks is shown in FIG. 1 . Commit callbacks allow users to register a call-back with a transaction manager (TM) 104 , which controls the steps in the performance of transactions. At commit and rollback times, this registered call-back is invoked by the TM. Domain indexes could be enhanced by combining extensible indexing 106 with commit-time call-back mechanism. For instance, an update operation 108 using a domain-index 110 could create 111 A a commit-time update call-back 111 B. Whenever a user performs a Data Manipulation Language (DML) command in a new transaction, the call-back 111 B will be registered 112 with the TM 104 . When the transaction commits, the TM will call the registered commit call-back 111 C. In addition to callbacks created for the insert (index-create) 114 , delete (index-drop) 116 , update 108 , and query 118 operations for the domain index 110 provided through extensible indexing 106 , the present invention provides an additional callback created at commit-time 120 , as illustrated in FIG. 1 . Note that this combination of extensible indexing callbacks and commit callbacks of the transaction manager provides a unified framework for managing transactional updates on domain indexes and gives more control to domain index implementers as to when to perform redo/undo on associated domain index tables/structures.
[0024] In the immediate-incorporate approach each update is incorporated in the index immediately, i.e., at the time of the update. This approach is generally used in most indexing systems. However, as discussed earlier, if the update is applied as part of the user transaction, this could result in a deadlock with other transactions. Instead, in the present invention, the update is performed as part of a system transaction that commits at the end of the update. Since the update should not be visible to other transactions, the updated record in the index is appended with a transaction-id (txn-id). This txn-id masks the index entry from being visible to other concurrent transactions or queries. This is advantageous in DBMSs in which queries are not blocked so they can read data committed at the beginning of the query or at the beginning of the transaction. The txn-id is reset at commit time to make the entry visible to other entries. An exemplary data flow diagram of the immediate-incorporate approach is shown in FIG. 2 .
[0025] During each update operation 108 performed through extensible indexing 106 , the following actions are performed:
If the update operation 108 is the first in the transaction, a callback is registered with the transaction manager (TM) 104 . This callback will be invoked at commit/rollback time and is used to perform commit or rollback-time processing on index 202 . As part of a system transaction, the update is incorporated in the index 202 . The index record is tagged with the txn-id of the parent user transaction so that the entry is not visible to any other transaction except the parent user transaction. The update is logged in update log 204 for subsequent undo at rollback time. The same information can also be used to reset txn-ids at commit time. Note that these update logs are maintained as temporary tables in the database as domain indexes do not have access to the transactional undo/redo logs.
[0029] Typically, there is considerable overhead associated with this process. Note that each update is incorporated one after the other in the index. This means looking up index information and traversing the index for update in every update operation.
[0030] At commit time 120 , using the information in the updatelog table 204 , the txn-ids of the corresponding records in index 202 are reset. This makes the update changes visible to transactions/ queries that start after the commit operation. Note that the index node where an update occurred could be kept track of and can be used for fast resetting of the txn-id for that index record. However, when there are a large number of updates such tracking information could become outdated (i.e., index records may move due to node-splits etc.) and may not be always helpful in speeding up the commit time processing.
[0031] At rollback time, the updates need to be undone on the index. This information is obtained from the update-log 204 . To facilitate partial rollbacks to savepoints, each update operation is tagged with a sequence-number. All updates following the sequence-number at save-points specified in the rollback are rolled back from the index 202 . In short, rollback is a more costly operation than commit. In addition, maintaining the sequence-numbers (just to support rollbacks), poses additional overheads for update operations.
[0032] Queries 118 on the index ignore all index entries whose txn-ids are set and do not match that of the current user transaction. Since queries are processed just from the index 202 (without having to consult the update logs) and only have to check for visibility of index records in the transaction, there are little or no additional overheads imposed on the query in a transaction.
[0033] In short, this approach minimizes the overheads for queries in other transactions. It, however, has high overheads for both update and commit/rollback operations.
[0034] In the deferred-incorporate approach updates are deferred in temporary tables associated with the index. These updates are incorporated in the index only at commit time. An exemplary data flow diagram of the deferred-incorporate approach is shown in FIG. 3 . As illustrated in FIG. 3 , update operations only log the operations. They are incorporated in the index at commit time.
[0035] Each update 302 (insert, delete, or update operation) of a row in a spatially-indexed table invokes a corresponding extensible-indexing 304 callback to update the spatial index 306 . The extensible indexing callback passes in information about the index 306 , the rowid of the row in the table being updated, the spatial column value (key) for that row. Instead of applying this update on the spatial index right away, the operation is deferred until transaction commit time as shown in FIG. 4 , which is a flow diagram of a deferred update process 400 . Process 400 begins with step 402 , in which it is determined whether the update is the first in the transaction. If the update is the first in the transaction, then in step 404 , a callback for the transaction is registered with the transaction manager. In addition, the transaction manager provides the capability to associate and manage a data structure with the transaction callback. For spatial indexes, this data structure contains a list of all indexes that need processing at commit time for this transaction and is referred to as the Index-List-for-Transaction (ILT).
[0036] In step 406 , it is determined whether the update is the first one on the associated index. If so, then in step 408 , the index information is included in the ILT for the transaction. The ILT is kept sorted on (index-schema, indexname). The transaction manager ensures exclusive access to the ILT with the use of latches.
[0037] In step 410 , the associated metadata for the index is read in an autonomous (system) transaction. This metadata is used to compute the minimum bounding rectangle (mbr) for the spatial key. If the update is an insert, then the (mbr, rowid) information is logged in the insert-log table.
[0038] In step 412 it is determined whether the operation is an insert operation, a delete operation, or an update operation. Update operations are treated as delete operations followed by insert operations. If the operation is a delete operation, then in step 414 , it is determined whether there is an insert operation corresponding to the deleted row in the insert-log table. If so, then in step 416 , that insert operation is deleted from the insert-log table. Otherwise, in step 418 , the delete operation is inserted in a delete-log table. If, in step 412 , it is determined that the operation is an insert operation, then in step 420 , the insert operation is inserted into the insert-log. Note that separating the updates and putting them in insert-log and delete-log tables speeds up the checks in this step.
[0039] At commit time, the registered callback for each transaction is invoked, as shown in FIG. 5 , which is an exemplary flow diagram of a registered callback invocation process 500 . Process 500 begins with step 502 , in which the ILT is retrieved. In step 504 , the indexes in the ILT are processed in ascending order of the (index-schema, index-name). In step 506 , for each index in the ILT, the corresponding deferred updates are applied as follows:
[0040] In step 508 , the associated spatial index is exclusively locked by selecting the index metadata for update. This serializes concurrent commit operations of different transactions operating on the same index.
[0041] In step 510 , all deletes in the delete-log table are performed on the spatial index. Preferably, deletes are performed in batches and not as singletons.
[0042] In step 512 , all inserts from the insert-log table are incorporated in the spatial index. Just like deletes, these inserts are also preferably performed in batches.
[0043] The insert-log and the delete-log are preferably implemented as transaction-specific temporary tables in the DBMS. As a result, the logs store data specific to each transaction and are automatically cleaned-up by the DBMS after a commit operation.
[0044] At the time of rollback, the DBMS rolls back the operations in the logs appropriately. If the rollback is a partial rollback, i.e., the rollback is to a specified savepoint, the logs are also rolled back partially to the specified savepoint by the DBMS. This means with the deferred-incorporate approach there is no explicit processing that needs to be done by the domain (R-tree) index for (any type of) rollback operations.
[0045] Queries in the same transaction as updates, however, have to do additional processing to consult the insert-log and delete-log tables in addition to the index. Each query is processed as shown in FIG. 6 , which is an exemplary flow diagram of query processing 600 . Process 600 begins with step 602 , in which the query identifies matching entries for the query predicate from the index. In step 604 , deleted records are filtered out from the delete-log table. In step 606 , new records are included from the insert-log table. If the isolation level is set to read-committed (i.e., the default level), queries in the ensuing transactions are never blocked due to concurrent updates.
[0046] Since queries need to consult the insert-log and delete-log tables, a number of optimizations may be applied in order to speed up the query. Examples of such optimizations include:
Maintaining the extents of the record keys in delete-log table and insert-log table. The query is first compared with these extents before even accessing the tables. This helps in improving query performance significantly whenever the query window falls outside the scope of the updates. Specifying the query predicate (MBR) in the scan for the insert-log and the delete-log files. So, the SQL statement is appended with a where clause that has query MBR as a filtering criterion. This way only those update records that intersect with the query predicate extent are retrieved. This helps in speeding up query performance when the number of updates is large.
[0049] The deferred-incorporate approach described above may be further refined by the use of optimizations for particular situations. For example, queries in the deferred-incorporate approach which have a high overhead may be improved by using the query minimum bounding rectangle (MBR) as a filter-predicate in the scan. Tests have shown that the query performance may be greatly improved by this optimization. Similar results may also be obtained by pruning using the extents of the delete-log and the insert-log tables. In this case, the random-query windows that are less likely to interact with the inserted data MBRs typically shown the greatest improvement in performance. Combining both optimizations may provide even greater performance improvement.
[0050] Tests have also shown that the insertion times for deferred-incorporate are much smaller than those for immediate-incorporate. Immediate-incorporate is slower for three reasons: (1) the need for incorporating updates in the index, (2) reading metadata in each update, and (3) the overheads of operating and updating in system transactions. Unlike the deferred-incorporate approach, immediate-incorporate could pay the indexing costs two times: once at update time, and a second time during commit (or roll back). However, commit times are typically better for the immediate-incorporate approach. This is because immediate-incorporate only has to reset txn-ids of index records at commit time and does much less work compared to deferred-incorporate. However, in some cases, the index records and the txn-ids could migrate due to node splits eliminating some advantages over immediate-incorporate.
[0051] Query times for deferred-incorporate are typically comparable to those for immediate-incorporate for relatively small numbers of operations. For larger numbers of operations, query times for deferred-incorporate increase. This is because of the increasing overheads of having to scan and process large insert/delete-log tables in query.
[0052] The deferred-incorporate approach is typically much faster for delete operations and comparable or slightly slower for commit times. As in the case of insertion workloads, the times for the queries are comparable as long as the number of delete operations does not exceed the lower thousands. Since most transactions fall in this category, deferred-incorporate will be suitable for these workloads.
[0053] Rollback operations for deferred-incorporate are typically much faster compared to immediate-incorporate. In deferred-incorporate, the insert and delete-log tables are rolled back implicitly. Other than that, there is no specific processing to be done. However, in immediate-incorporate, the processing will take at least as much time as a commit operation.
[0054] Finally, deferring updates till commit time can take advantage of array inserts and array deletes into domain indexes. Such optimizations cannot be performed in immediate-incorporate as the updates are incorporated in the index as they arrive (no batching is possible). This bridges the gap in commit-times and puts deferred-incorporate on par with immediate-incorporate.
[0055] From the testing that was performed, it is clear that the deferred-incorporate approach is faster for all operations in transactions that involve small number of updates. For transactions with large number of updates, the commit times of deferred-incorporate (using array updates) are, at worst, only slightly slower than in immediate-incorporate. In such transactions, queries, however, could be significantly slower. In most large-update transactions, queries are very few or even non-existent, in comparison to updates. As a result, the gains from the updates for deferred-incorporate are likely to dominate in real-world applications.
[0056] To ensure best performance in all scenarios, a hybrid mechanism could be employed where the updates are deferred till the transaction has a substantial (say 5000) number of updates. At that point, the updates could be incorporated as part of a system (autonomous) transaction in the domain index. For such transactions, the updates would be incorporated in batches of 5000 after every 5000th update operation. This strategy combines the best of both approaches: it behaves as deferred-incorporate for small transactions and as batched-immediate-incorporate for large transactions. This hybrid approach combines the fast update times of deferred-incorporate and fast query and commit times of immediate-incorporate. The only operation that could still be slow is full or partial rollbacks (just as in immediate-incorporate). In general, if only the deferred-incorporate mechanism is supported, then the users could divide their large transactions to smaller batches of updates to maximize overall system throughput.
[0057] An exemplary block diagram of a database management system (DBMS) 700 , in which the present invention may be implemented, is shown in FIG. 7 . System 700 is typically a programmed general-purpose computer system, such as a personal computer, workstation, server system, and minicomputer or mainframe computer. DBMS 700 includes one or more processors (CPUs) 702 A- 702 N, input/output circuitry 704 , network adapter 706 , and memory 708 . CPUs 702 A- 702 N execute program instructions in order to carry out the functions of the present invention. Typically, CPUs 702 A- 702 N are one or more microprocessors, such as an INTEL PENTIUM® processor. FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment in which DBMS 700 is implemented as a single multi-processor computer system, in which multiple processors 702 A- 702 N share system resources, such as memory 708 , input/output circuitry 704 , and network adapter 706 . However, the present invention also contemplates embodiments in which DBMS 700 is implemented as a plurality of networked computer systems, which may be single-processor computer systems, multi-processor computer systems, or a mix thereof.
[0058] Input/output circuitry 704 provides the capability to input data to, or output data from, database/System 700 . For example, input/output circuitry may include input devices, such as keyboards, mice, touchpads, trackballs, scanners, etc., output devices, such as video adapters, monitors, printers, etc., and input/output devices, such as, modems, etc. Network adapter 706 interfaces database/System 700 with Internet/intranet 710 . Internet/intranet 710 may include one or more standard local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), such as Ethernet, Token Ring, the Internet, or a private or proprietary LAN/WAN.
[0059] Memory 708 stores program instructions that are executed by, and data that are used and processed by, CPU 702 to perform the functions of system 700 . Memory 708 may include electronic memory devices, such as random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, etc., and electromechanical memory, such as magnetic disk drives, tape drives, optical disk drives, etc., which may use an integrated drive electronics (IDE) interface, or a variation or enhancement thereof, such as enhanced IDE (EIDE) or ultra direct memory access (UDMA), or a small computer system interface (SCSI) based interface, or a variation or enhancement thereof, such as fast-SCSI, wide-SCSI, fast and wide-SCSI, etc, or a fiber channel-arbitrated loop (FC-AL) interface.
[0060] In the example shown in FIG. 7 , memory 708 includes database management system (DBMS) data 712 , DBMS routines 714 , database kernel 716 and operating system 717 . DBMS data 710 includes DBMS data tables and indexes 718 . DBMS data tables 718 include a plurality of data tables, such as relational database data tables, and a plurality of indexes on those data tables. In particular, in a preferred embodiment, DBMS data tables and indexes 718 include update logs 720 . In this embodiment, update logs 720 , which may include insert-logs and delete-logs, are maintained as temporary data tables in the DBMS. This provides significant DBMS functionality to be transparently provided to the maintenance of the logs. For example, the DBMS will transparently provide crash recovery and clean-up services to the logs, as it would for any temporary tables. This is transparent to the update mechanism. Typically, the duration of the temporary tables will be the duration of the transaction.
[0061] DBMS routines 712 provide the functionality of DBMS in which the present invention is implemented, such as low-level database management functions, such as those that perform accesses to the database and store or retrieve data in the database. Such functions are often termed queries and are performed by using a database query language, such as Structured Query Language (SQL). SQL is a standardized query language for requesting information from a database. DBMS routines 714 include update routines 722 , which provide the update mechanism functionality of the present invention. Database kernel 716 provides overall DBMS functionality. Operating system 717 provides overall system functionality.
[0062] As shown in FIG. 7 , the present invention contemplates implementation on a system or systems that provide multi-processor, multi-tasking, multi-process, and/or multi-thread computing, as well as implementation on systems that provide only single processor, single thread computing. Multi-processor computing involves performing computing using more than one processor. Multi-tasking computing involves performing computing using more than one operating system task. A task is an operating system concept that refers to the combination of a program being executed and bookkeeping information used by the operating system. Whenever a program is executed, the operating system creates a new task for it. The task is like an envelope for the program in that it identifies the program with a task number and attaches other bookkeeping information to it. Many operating systems, including UNIX®, OS/2®, and WINDOWS®, are capable of running many tasks at the same time and are called multitasking operating systems. Multi-tasking is the ability of an operating system to execute more than one executable at the same time. Each executable is running in its own address space, meaning that the executables have no way to share any of their memory. This has advantages, because it is impossible for any program to damage the execution of any of the other programs running on the system. However, the programs have no way to exchange any information except through the operating system (or by reading files stored on the file system). Multi-process computing is similar to multi-tasking computing, as the terms task and process are often used interchangeably, although some operating systems make a distinction between the two.
[0063] Although the present invention has been exemplified with reference to a spatial database system, one of skill in the art would recognize that the present invention is equally applicable to other types of database systems as well. For example, the present invention may be advantageously applied to a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system. In an RFID system, RFID tags containing RFID integrated circuits are affixed to various items to be tracked. The system could have a “domain” index on the RFID tags (just like spatial databases have R-tree or quadtree indexes on spatial columns of tables). When an item is purchased, the RFID tag is scanned and an inventory control database may be updated to reflect the purchase. The updates to the domain index in such a database may be advantageously implemented by use of the present invention to incorporate the updates.
[0064] It is important to note that while the present invention has been described in the context of a fully functioning data processing system, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the processes of the present invention are capable of being distributed in the form of a computer readable medium of instructions and a variety of forms and that the present invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media actually used to carry out the distribution. Examples of computer readable media include recordable-type media such as floppy disc, a hard disk drive, RAM, and CD-ROM's, as well as transmission-type media, such as digital and analog communications links.
[0065] Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that there are other embodiments that are equivalent to the described embodiments. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited by the specific illustrated embodiments, but only by the scope of the appended claims. | The present invention provides techniques by which updates may be incorporated in database indexes without causing deadlocks of user transactions. In deferred-incorporate update, the updates are propagated to the index only at transaction commit time. A method of handling transactions including updates in a database management system comprises the steps of receiving an update to a database maintained by the database management system, the update operable to cause an index of the database to be modified, recording the update in a log, and receiving an indication that the transaction is to be committed and in response, incorporating the update from the log into an index of the database. The update may comprise an insert operation and/or a delete operation. | 8 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a U.S. National Phase Application pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2013/053852 filed Feb. 27, 2013, which claims priority to European Patent Application No. 12157425.5 filed Feb. 29, 2012. The entire disclosure contents of these applications are herewith incorporated by reference into the present application.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to extraction devices and in particular to an extraction device adapted to inhibit multiple withdrawal of a medicament from a container, such like a vial, carpule or ampoule.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Various medicaments are provided in a liquid form or have to be prepared as a liquid solution or liquid emulsion prior to be administered to a patient, e.g. by way of injection.
[0004] Liquid medicaments are typically provided in vitreous containers or bottles, such like vials, carpules, ampoules or cartridges. Such containers are adapted to store liquid medicaments but also lyophilized pharmaceutical product. Medicaments provided in such type of containers are to be withdrawn or extracted therefrom, e.g. by means of a drug delivery device, e.g. comprising a piercing element, by way of which a piercable seal of the container can be penetrated to withdraw a predefined amount of the medicament from the container and to fill the drug delivery device, e.g. a conventional syringe.
[0005] There also exist particular spike devices having a piercing element to penetrate a seal of the container and further having a connector allowing to connect a body of a syringe or some other kind of drug delivery device thereto.
[0006] Since the amount of a medicament to be administered to a patient may strongly vary on the patient's physiological constitution, the total amount of a dose of a medicament to be injected may strongly vary. In particular, for rather small and lightweight patients, less than half of the medicament provided in a container might be sufficient for a particular health-care treatment. After injecting the medicament, the residual amount of the medicament still provided in the container may therefore be used for other patients in an unjustified way.
[0007] However, multiple use of such medicament container and multiple withdrawal of a medicament therefrom should be avoided for reasons of patient safety. Once, a seal of the container has been penetrated or broken, the medicament contained therein may become subject to premature aging which may have a negative impact on the effectiveness of the medicament and its physiological tolerability.
[0008] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an extraction device and an extraction kit for inhibiting multiple extraction of a medicament from a particular container. The extraction device should be easy and intuitive to use and should be producible with low or reasonable cost-effort.
SUMMARY
[0009] In a first aspect, an extraction device for one-time extracting a medicament from a container is provided. The extraction device comprises a housing, preferably of tubular shape, being adapted to non-releasably engage with the container. The housing further comprises an axially elongated receptacle, which in case of a tubular-shaped housing extends along the cylinder axis of the housing.
[0010] The receptacle is further adapted to axially guide a drug delivery device and a piercing member to a distal stop position for penetrating a seal of the container non-releasably connected with the housing and its receptacle. The extraction device further comprises at least one fixing member to keep the piercing member in the distal stop position and to support a non-reversible disconnection of the drug delivery device from the piercing member. The receptacle typically comprises a cupped-geometry and may have a removable or at least pivot mounted lid to cover a proximal receiving portion thereof.
[0011] The receptacle is particularly adapted to non-releasably engage or to non-releasably connect with the container. For this purpose the receptacle may comprise a positive locking means, such like a snap-fit feature and/or a frictionally engaging means, such like a clamping connector or a respective fastening member. The receptacle and/or its fastening member is preferably operable to engage with a corresponding fastening structure, e.g. with a stepped-down neck portion of the container in such a way, that a separation of container and receptacle is only possible through a destruction of either container or receptacle.
[0012] With a distal end, the housing is non-releasably engageable with the container. The axial length and radial diameter of the receptacle is chosen such, that a user is substantially hindered from entering the receptacle for not getting direct access to a seal of the container. Hence, by means of the axially elongated receptacle, direct access to a seal of the container is no longer given and can only be attained by inserting a piercing member of appropriate size into the housing's receptacle.
[0013] The receptacle of the extraction device defines a distal stop position for the piercing member. Upon reaching the distal stop position, the piercing member typically pierces a penetrable seal of the container and establishes a fluid-transferring connection to a drug delivery device. In particular, the receptacle is adapted to axially guide both, the drug delivery device and the piercing member interconnected therewith. The receptacle of the extraction device provides a combined distally directed axial displacement of drug delivery device and piercing member relative to the receptacle until a distal stop position have been reached. Once, the stop position has been reached, in which the piercing member may establish a fluid-transferring interconnection between an inside volume of the container and the drug delivery device, filling of the drug delivery device, e.g. a syringe, with the medicament can take place.
[0014] Thereafter, the fixing member of the extraction device serves to keep the piercing member in the distal stop position and further supports to non-reversibly disconnect the drug delivery device and the piercing member. This way, the drug delivery device can be removed from the receptacle while the piercing member remains in the distal stop position. Once, the drug delivery device has been separated from the piercing member and/or has been removed from the receptacle, a reconnection of piercing member and drug delivery device is effectively inhibited so that a repeated withdrawal of the medicament from the container cannot take place any longer.
[0015] In particular, the fixing member retains and keeps the piercing member in the receptacle in such a way that a drug delivery device removed and disconnected from the piercing member is effectively hindered to re-enter the receptacle and/or to become re-connected to the piercing member in a fluid-transferring way.
[0016] Since the housing and the receptacle of the extraction device are non-releasably engaged with the withdrawing end of the container, any further access to the inner volume of the container is no longer given. Consequently, after an initial and single withdrawal of the medicament from the container, the container with the extraction device mounted thereon becomes useless and has to be discarded. This way, multiple withdrawal of a medicament from the container can be effectively inhibited and patient safety can be increased accordingly.
[0017] In a preferred embodiment, the fixing member radially inwardly protrudes from an inner sidewall of the receptacle. The fixing member may comprise a radially inwardly extending protrusion adapted to engage with the piercing member. In particular, the fixing member may provide frictional and/or positive engagement with the piercing member, wherein an engaging configuration is to be established when the piercing member reaches the distal stop position. Typically, the fixing member is arranged in close proximity to a distal end of the receptacle of the extraction device in order to firmly fix the piercing member in its distal stop position inside the receptacle.
[0018] The radial diameter of the piercing member is preferably adjusted to the inner diameter of the receptacle. Furthermore, the radial extension of the at least one fixing member is preferably larger than the difference between the inner diameter of the receptacle and the outer diameter of the piercing member. Additionally, the at least one fixing member may comprise a variety of different geometric shapes. For instance, the fixing member may comprise a barbed hook-like shape allowing to displace the piercing member into its distal stop position but effectively preventing the piercing member to be displaced in an opposite, proximal direction.
[0019] It is of particular benefit, when there are several fixing members regularly arranged along the inner circumference of the receptacle. This way, the piercing member can be kept in position by a plurality of e.g. circumferentially equidistantly positioned fixing members, by way of which a tilting of the piercing member with respect to the elongated receptacle can be effectively prevented.
[0020] In a further preferred embodiment, the receptacle comprises a bottom wall at its distal end that provides a distal abutment face for the piercing member. Hence, the bottom wall defines the distal stop position for the piercing member. Preferably, the at least one fixing member is arranged at the inner sidewall of the receptacle at an axial distance which is substantially equal to or slightly larger than the axial dimension of the piercing member's component e.g. a flange portion that corresponds and interacts with the inner sidewall of the receptacle.
[0021] The bottom wall of the extraction device further comprises a through opening to receive a neck portion of the container and/or to receive a piercing element of the piercing member, which may protrude from a flange portion of the piercing member in distal direction. Typically, with a tubular shaped receptacle, the through opening is located in a central portion of the bottom wall. By means of the through opening, the piercing element of the piercing member may protrude in distal direction from the bottom wall of the extraction device, thereby penetrating the seal of the container and entering the inner volume of the container, to provide access to the medicament provided therein.
[0022] In another embodiment, the extraction device further comprises a tubular-shaped fastening member protruding from the bottom wall in distal direction. The fastening member is particularly adapted to receive the stepped-down neck portion of the container in order to provide a rigid, firm and secure interconnection between the extraction device and the container. The fastening member protruding from the bottom wall of the extraction device comprises at least one interlock member to frictionally and/or to positively engage with the neck portion of the container in a non-releasable way.
[0023] When provided as a vial for instance, the container comprises a stepped-down neck portion at one end further having a radially widened head providing an undercutting to fix a crimped cap on the head as well as providing an undercutting to engage with the at least one interlock member of the extraction device's fastening member. The fastening member may comprise one or several barbed hooks that may non-releasably engage with the head or neck portion of the container.
[0024] Instead of a distally extending fastening member it is also conceivable that the extraction device comprises a hollow and tubular shaft extending in proximal direction from a distal end of the extraction device. Such a shaft may be correspondingly adapted to non-releasably engage with a neck- and head-portion of e.g. a vitreous container.
[0025] In a further preferred embodiment, the extraction device comprises at least one reuse preventer to inhibit re-establishment of a fluid-transferring connection between the drug delivery device and the piercing member once the drug delivery device has been removed from the receptacle of the extraction device. The reuse preventer may serve as an active means to inhibit re-connection of the drug delivery device and the piercing member. Such a reuse preventer is of particular benefit when the drug delivery device and the piercing member are originally interconnected by means of standard connectors, such like male and female LUER connectors. Typically, such a reuse preventer may effectively inhibit to re-insert the drug delivery device into the housing or may effectively inhibit to re-connect the drug delivery device with the piercing member, which remains in the housing after the single and initial withdrawal of the medicament from the container took place.
[0026] In a preferred embodiment, the reuse preventer comprises at least one bendable or flexible deformable and/or pivotable flap portion attached to an inner sidewall of the receptacle of the extraction device. The at least one flap portion is transferable into a reuse preventing configuration, in which it radially extends across the inner diameter of the receptacle. Preferably, the elongation of the flap portion is substantially larger than the inner diameter of the receptacle. This way, the flap portion may arrive in a tilted or slanted orientation with respect to the longitudinal axis of the housing, thereby effectively inhibiting and blocking an eventual repeated insertion of the drug delivery device into the receptacle. Radially inwardly directed bending or pivoting of the at least one flap portion may be induced or triggered by the initial insertion and/or withdrawal of the drug delivery device into or from the receptacle.
[0027] It is of particular benefit, when the extraction device comprises at least two reuse preventers that comprise at least two flap portions being regularly arranged along the inner circumference of the receptacle. It is of particular benefit, to provide at least three, four or even more flap portions being separated in tangential or circumferential direction by 120° or 90°, respectively. The reuse preventers may either comprise a plastic or metallic material and may automatically transfer into the reuse preventing configuration as soon as the drug delivery device has removed from the receptacle. The plurality of flap portions of the reuse preventers may be arranged in a common lateral plane extending substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the housing. However, in order to provide a well-defined transfer into the reuse preventing configuration, it is also conceivable, that the various flap portions either comprise varying geometric dimensions and/or that the flap portions are arranged in different axial positions at the inner sidewall of the receptacle.
[0028] In a further preferred embodiment, the at least one flap portion of the at least one reuse preventer is pre-tensioned radially inwardly in an initial configuration and is further held against the inner sidewall in said initial configuration by means of an annular fixing member being slidably displaceable in distal direction with respect to the receptacle by means of the piercing member. The annular fixing member may comprise an annular shape that substantially matches with the inner diameter of the receptacle. This way, the annular fixing member may serve to clamp a proximal end of the flap portion to the sidewall of the receptacle in a configuration in which the flap portion extends substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing, in particular of its sidewall.
[0029] When providing the piercing member with a radially extending flange portion, the annular fixing member is pushed by the flange portion in distal direction during insertion of the piercing member into the receptacle. This way, the flap portion becomes effectively released. When the piercing member is pre-assembled with the drug delivery device, a radially inwardly directed flapping of the flap portions is still effectively prevented by the drug delivery device entering the free space between the at least one pre-tensioned flap portion and an oppositely located sidewall portion. It is only upon removal of the drug delivery device, that the pre-tensioned flap portion gets free to pivot or to bend radially inwardly so as to block repeated access to the piercing member located underneath.
[0030] In a further preferred embodiment, the bottom wall comprises an annular recess which corresponds to the geometric shape of the annular fixing member and which is therefore adapted to receive the annular fixing member, especially when the piercing member reaches its distal stop position inside the receptacle.
[0031] By providing an annular recess in the bottom wall of the receptacle, a well defined mutual abutment of piercing member and the bottom wall can be effectively established.
[0032] In another embodiment, the reuse preventer is of L-shaped geometry and comprises at least one radially inwardly extending flap portion at a distal end thereof in an initial configuration. This radially inwardly extending flap portion is adapted to engage with the piercing member upon insertion thereof into the receptacle. In particular, the radially inwardly extending flap portion may serve as a driver when getting in axial abutment with e.g. a distal end face or a flange portion of the piercing member. When the piercing member hits the inwardly extending flap portion during its distally directed insertion into the receptacle, the radially inwardly extending flap portion may become subject to a distally directed bending and/or a distally directed pivoting thereby inducing a radially inwardly directed torque to a proximally located and axially extending flap portion which is integrally formed with the radially inwardly extending flap portion.
[0033] The L-shaped reuse preventer is preferably pivot-mounted with a pivot axis or fulcrum located near a transitional portion of radially and axially extending flap portions. During distally directed displacement of the piercing member inter-engaging with the reuse preventer, the initially radially inwardly extending flap portion is bended or pivoted by about 90° and may then extend in distal direction, thereby inducing a radially inwardly directed bending or pivoting of the initially axially extending flap portion, which may then effectively block access to the piercing member located underneath.
[0034] Here it is a further benefit and according to another embodiment, when the at least one radially inwardly extending flap portion of the reuse preventer serves as the fixing member to frictionally engage with the piercing member when reaching the distal stop position. Hence, thickness of the initially radially inwardly extending flap portion and/or radial position thereof may be designed and adapted to provide sufficient friction or a kind of clamping when the piercing member is pushed towards its distal stop position. Also here, it is of particular benefit, that the initially L-shaped reuse preventer is flexible and elastically deformable so as to allow withdrawal of the drug delivery device even when the reuse preventer has been activated by insertion of the piercing member.
[0035] In a further but independent aspect, the invention also relates to an extraction kit for one-time extracting or withdrawing a medicament from a container. The kit comprises an extraction device as described above and a piercing member slidably insertable into the receptacle of said extraction device. The piercing member comprises a piercing element to pierce a seal of the container non-releasably engageable with the extraction device. Furthermore, the extraction kit comprises a drug delivery device to releasably interconnect with a proximal portion of the piercing member. The piercing member is geometrically adapted to the geometry and dimensions of the receptacle of the extraction device.
[0036] In a preferred embodiment, the piercing member comprises a radially extending flange portion to interact with the at least one radially inwardly extending fixing member of the extraction device. The piercing member, which may resemble a conventional spike device, comprises a flange portion which substantially fills the inner diameter and cross section of the receptacle. On the one hand, the flange portion provides a guiding of the piercing member through the elongated receptacle of the housing. Hence, the radially extending flange portion provides a precise guiding and alignment of the piercing element so that a seal of the container non-releasably engaged with the extraction device can be precisely hit.
[0037] On the other hand, the flange portion engages with the radially inwardly protruding fixing members of the receptacle thereby preventing a proximally directed removal of the piercing member once it has reached a distal stop position. Additionally, the radially extending flange portion may interact with bendable and/or pivotable flap portions of an active reuse preventer of the extraction device by way of which a repeated access to the piercing member can be effectively inhibited once the drug delivery device has been disconnected there from and has been removed from the receptacle in proximal direction.
[0038] In a further preferred embodiment, the piercing member of the extraction kit is pre-assembled with the drug delivery device. This way, insertion of the piercing member into the elongated receptacle can be conducted by way of the drug delivery device, which may at least partially protrude in proximal direction from the receptacle when the piercing member reaches its distal stop position.
[0039] In a further aspect, the drug delivery device and the piercing member are disconnectable by means of a fluid transferring connector and/or by means of a fluid-transferring predetermined breaking structure. In effect, the drug delivery device, e.g. a syringe and the piercing member can be integrally formed and may be inserted into the receptacle of the extraction device in a single step. When applying a proximally directed withdrawal force to the drug delivery device relative to the extraction device, the predetermined breaking structure may become subject to fracture thereby releasing the drug delivery device for removing the same from the receptacle while the piercing member remains fixed in the distal stop position by means of the at least one fixing member of the extraction device.
[0040] Here, the predetermined breaking structure may serve as a reuse preventer, especially when the part of the predetermined breaking structure that remains at a proximal portion of the piercing member does not allow for a repeated connection with a drug delivery device. The other portion of the predetermined breaking structure, which remains with the drug delivery device may however comprise a well-defined connector, such like male and/or female LUER connectors that easily allow provide to connect the drug delivery device to some kind of drug receiving component featuring a corresponding connector.
[0041] In a further preferred embodiment, the extraction kit also comprises a container, at least partially filled with the medicament and being at least pre-assembled with the extraction device in a non-releasable way. This embodiment is particularly useful since it requires to make use of the piercing member to gain accesses to the inner volume of the container.
[0042] In another preferred embodiment it is also conceivable to pre-assemble the piercing member inside the receptacle of the extraction device, which may be provided as a separate piece or which may be also pre-assembled with the at least partially filled container. Additionally, it is also conceivable, that the entire extraction kit comprising a container, an extraction device, a piercing member and a drug delivery device is entirely pre-assembled, so that a user may only have to displace the drug delivery device together with the piercing member into their distal stop position relative to the extraction device without taking any further steps of preparing the extraction kit.
[0043] The term “drug” or “medicament”, as used herein, means a pharmaceutical formulation containing at least one pharmaceutically active compound,
[0044] wherein in one embodiment the pharmaceutically active compound has a molecular weight up to 1500 Da and/or is a peptide, a protein, a polysaccharide, a vaccine, a DNA, a RNA, an enzyme, an antibody or a fragment thereof, a hormone or an oligonucleotide, or a mixture of the above-mentioned pharmaceutically active compound,
[0045] wherein in a further embodiment the pharmaceutically active compound is useful for the treatment and/or prophylaxis of diabetes mellitus or complications associated with diabetes mellitus such as diabetic retinopathy, thromboembolism disorders such as deep vein or pulmonary thromboembolism, acute coronary syndrome (ACS), angina, myocardial infarction, cancer, macular degeneration, inflammation, hay fever, atherosclerosis and/or rheumatoid arthritis,
[0046] wherein in a further embodiment the pharmaceutically active compound comprises at least one peptide for the treatment and/or prophylaxis of diabetes mellitus or complications associated with diabetes mellitus such as diabetic retinopathy,
[0047] wherein in a further embodiment the pharmaceutically active compound comprises at least one human insulin or a human insulin analogue or derivative, glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) or an analogue or derivative thereof, or exendin-3 or exendin-4 or an analogue or derivative of exendin-3 or exendin-4.
[0048] Insulin analogues are for example Gly(A21), Arg(B31), Arg(B32) human insulin; Lys(B3), Glu(B29) human insulin; Lys(B28), Pro(B29) human insulin; Asp(B28) human insulin; human insulin, wherein proline in position B28 is replaced by Asp, Lys, Leu, Val or Ala and wherein in position B29 Lys may be replaced by Pro; Ala(B26) human insulin; Des(B28-B30) human insulin; Des(B27) human insulin and Des(B30) human insulin.
[0049] Insulin derivates are for example B29-N-myristoyl-des(B30) human insulin; B29-N-palmitoyl-des(B30) human insulin; B29-N-myristoyl human insulin; B29-N-palmitoyl human insulin; B28-N-myristoyl LysB28ProB29 human insulin; B28-N-palmitoyl-LysB28ProB29 human insulin; B30-N-myristoyl-ThrB29LysB30 human insulin; B30-N-palmitoyl-ThrB29LysB30 human insulin; B29-N—(N-palmitoyl-Y-glutamyl)-des(B30) human insulin; B29-N—(N-lithocholyl-Y-glutamyl)-des(B30) human insulin; B29-N-(ω-carboxyheptadecanoyl)-des(B30) human insulin and B29-N-(ω-carboxyheptadecanoyl) human insulin.
[0050] Exendin-4 for example means Exendin-4(1-39), a peptide of the sequence H-His-Gly-Glu-Gly-Thr-Phe-Thr-Ser-Asp-Leu-Ser-Lys-Gln-Met-Glu-Glu-Glu-Ala-Val-Arg-Leu-Phe-Ile-Glu-Trp-Leu-Lys-Asn-Gly-Gly-Pro-Ser-Ser-Gly-Ala-Pro-Pro-Pro-Ser-NH2.
[0051] Exendin-4 derivatives are for example selected from the following list of compounds:
H-(Lys)4-des Pro36, des Pro37 Exendin-4(1-39)-NH2,
H-(Lys)5-des Pro36, des Pro37 Exendin-4(1-39)-NH2,
des Pro36 Exendin-4(1-39),
des Pro36 [Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39),
des Pro36 [IsoAsp28] Exendin-4(1-39),
des Pro36 [Met(O)14, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39),
des Pro36 [Met(O)14, IsoAsp28] Exendin-4(1-39),
des Pro36 [Trp(O2)25, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39),
des Pro36 [Trp(O2)25, IsoAsp28] Exendin-4(1-39),
des Pro36 [Met(O)14 Trp(O2)25, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39),
des Pro36 [Met(O)14 Trp(O2)25, IsoAsp28] Exendin-4(1-39); or
des Pro36 [Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39),
des Pro36 [IsoAsp28] Exendin-4(1-39),
des Pro36 [Met(O)14, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39),
des Pro36 [Met(O)14, IsoAsp28] Exendin-4(1-39),
des Pro36 [Trp(O2)25, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39),
des Pro36 [Trp(O2)25, IsoAsp28] Exendin-4(1-39),
des Pro36 [Met(O)14 Trp(O2)25, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39),
des Pro36 [Met(O)14 Trp(O2)25, IsoAsp28] Exendin-4(1-39),
[0052] wherein the group -Lys6-NH2 may be bound to the C-terminus of the Exendin-4 derivative;
or an Exendin-4 derivative of the sequence
des Pro36 Exendin-4(1-39)-Lys6-NH2 (AVE0010),
H-(Lys)6-des Pro36 [Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-Lys6-NH2,
des Asp28 Pro36, Pro37, Pro38Exendin-4(1-39)-NH2,
H-(Lys)6-des Pro36, Pro38 [Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-NH2,
H-Asn-(Glu)5des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-NH2,
des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-(Lys)6-NH2,
H-(Lys)6-des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-(Lys)6-NH2,
H-Asn-(Glu)5-des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-(Lys)6-NH2,
H-(Lys)6-des Pro36 [Trp(O2)25, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-Lys6-NH2,
H-des Asp28 Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Trp(O2)25] Exendin-4(1-39)-NH2,
H-(Lys)6-des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Trp(O2)25, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-NH2,
H-Asn-(Glu)5-des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Trp(O2)25, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-NH2,
des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38[Trp(O2)25, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-(Lys)6-NH2,
H-(Lys)6-des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Trp(O2)25, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-(Lys)6-NH2,
H-Asn-(Glu)5-des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Trp(O2)25, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-(Lys)6-NH2,
H-(Lys)6-des Pro36 [Met(O)14, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-Lys6-NH2,
des Met(O)14 Asp28 Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 Exendin-4(1-39)-NH2,
[0053] H-(Lys)6-desPro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Met(O)14, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-NH2,
H-Asn-(Glu)5-des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Met(O)14, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-NH2,
des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Met(O)14, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-(Lys)6-NH2,
H-(Lys)6-des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Met(O)14, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-(Lys)6-NH2,
H-Asn-(Glu)5 des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Met(O)14, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-(Lys)6-NH2,
H-Lys6-des Pro36 [Met(O)14, Trp(O2)25, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-Lys6-NH2,
H-des Asp28 Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Met(O)14, Trp(O2)25] Exendin-4(1-39)-NH2,
H-(Lys)6-des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Met(O)14, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-NH2,
H-Asn-(Glu)5-des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Met(O)14, Trp(O2)25, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-NH2,
des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Met(O)14, Trp(O2)25, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-(Lys)6-NH2,
H-(Lys)6-des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Met(O)14, Trp(O2)25, Asp28] Exendin-4(S1-39)-(Lys)6-NH2,
H-Asn-(Glu)5-des Pro36, Pro37, Pro38 [Met(O)14, Trp(O2)25, Asp28] Exendin-4(1-39)-(Lys)6-NH2;
[0054] or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or solvate of any one of the afore-mentioned Exendin-4 derivative.
[0055] Hormones are for example hypophysis hormones or hypothalamus hormones or regulatory active peptides and their antagonists as listed in Rote Liste, ed. 2008, Chapter 50, such as Gonadotropine (Follitropin, Lutropin, Choriongonadotropin, Menotropin), Somatropine (Somatropin), Desmopressin, Terlipressin, Gonadorelin, Triptorelin, Leuprorelin, Buserelin, Nafarelin, Goserelin.
[0056] A polysaccharide is for example a glucosaminoglycane, a hyaluronic acid, a heparin, a low molecular weight heparin or an ultra low molecular weight heparin or a derivative thereof, or a sulphated, e.g. a poly-sulphated form of the above-mentioned polysaccharides, and/or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. An example of a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of a poly-sulphated low molecular weight heparin is enoxaparin sodium.
[0057] Antibodies are globular plasma proteins (˜150 kDa) that are also known as immunoglobulins which share a basic structure. As they have sugar chains added to amino acid residues, they are glycoproteins. The basic functional unit of each antibody is an immunoglobulin (Ig) monomer (containing only one Ig unit); secreted antibodies can also be dimeric with two Ig units as with IgA, tetrameric with four Ig units like teleost fish IgM, or pentameric with five Ig units, like mammalian IgM.
[0058] The Ig monomer is a “Y”-shaped molecule that consists of four polypeptide chains; two identical heavy chains and two identical light chains connected by disulfide bonds between cysteine residues. Each heavy chain is about 440 amino acids long; each light chain is about 220 amino acids long. Heavy and light chains each contain intrachain disulfide bonds which stabilize their folding. Each chain is composed of structural domains called Ig domains. These domains contain about 70-110 amino acids and are classified into different categories (for example, variable or V, and constant or C) according to their size and function. They have a characteristic immunoglobulin fold in which two β sheets create a “sandwich” shape, held together by interactions between conserved cysteines and other charged amino acids.
[0059] There are five types of mammalian Ig heavy chain denoted by α, δ, ε, γ, and μ. The type of heavy chain present defines the isotype of antibody; these chains are found in IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, and IgM antibodies, respectively.
[0060] Distinct heavy chains differ in size and composition; α and γ contain approximately 450 amino acids and δ approximately 500 amino acids, while μ and ε have approximately 550 amino acids. Each heavy chain has two regions, the constant region (C H ) and the variable region (V H ). In one species, the constant region is essentially identical in all antibodies of the same isotype, but differs in antibodies of different isotypes. Heavy chains γ, α and δ have a constant region composed of three tandem Ig domains, and a hinge region for added flexibility; heavy chains μ and ε have a constant region composed of four immunoglobulin domains. The variable region of the heavy chain differs in antibodies produced by different B cells, but is the same for all antibodies produced by a single B cell or B cell clone. The variable region of each heavy chain is approximately 110 amino acids long and is composed of a single Ig domain.
[0061] In mammals, there are two types of immunoglobulin light chain denoted by X and κ. A light chain has two successive domains: one constant domain (CL) and one variable domain (VL). The approximate length of a light chain is 211 to 217 amino acids. Each antibody contains two light chains that are always identical; only one type of light chain, κ or λ, is present per antibody in mammals.
[0062] Although the general structure of all antibodies is very similar, the unique property of a given antibody is determined by the variable (V) regions, as detailed above. More specifically, variable loops, three each the light (VL) and three on the heavy (VH) chain, are responsible for binding to the antigen, i.e. for its antigen specificity. These loops are referred to as the Complementarity Determining Regions (CDRs). Because CDRs from both VH and VL domains contribute to the antigen-binding site, it is the combination of the heavy and the light chains, and not either alone, that determines the final antigen specificity.
[0063] An “antibody fragment” contains at least one antigen binding fragment as defined above, and exhibits essentially the same function and specificity as the complete antibody of which the fragment is derived from. Limited proteolytic digestion with papain cleaves the Ig prototype into three fragments. Two identical amino terminal fragments, each containing one entire L chain and about half an H chain, are the antigen binding fragments (Fab). The third fragment, similar in size but containing the carboxyl terminal half of both heavy chains with their interchain disulfide bond, is the crystallizable fragment (Fc). The Fc contains carbohydrates, complement-binding, and FcR-binding sites. Limited pepsin digestion yields a single F(ab′)2 fragment containing both Fab pieces and the hinge region, including the H—H interchain disulfide bond. F(ab′)2 is divalent for antigen binding. The disulfide bond of F(ab′)2 may be cleaved in order to obtain Fab′. Moreover, the variable regions of the heavy and light chains can be fused together to form a single chain variable fragment (scFv).
[0064] Pharmaceutically acceptable salts are for example acid addition salts and basic salts. Acid addition salts are e.g. HCl or HBr salts. Basic salts are e.g. salts having a cation selected from alkali or alkaline, e.g. Na+, or K+, or Ca2+, or an ammonium ion N+(R1)(R2)(R3)(R4), wherein R1 to R4 independently of each other mean: hydrogen, an optionally substituted C1-C6-alkyl group, an optionally substituted C2-C6-alkenyl group, an optionally substituted C6-C10-aryl group, or an optionally substituted C6-C10-heteroaryl group. Further examples of pharmaceutically acceptable salts are described in “Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences” 17. ed. Alfonso R. Gennaro (Ed.), Mark Publishing Company, Easton, Pa., U.S.A., 1985 and in Encyclopedia of Pharmaceutical Technology.
[0065] Pharmaceutically acceptable solvates are for example hydrates.
[0066] It will be further apparent to those skilled in the pertinent art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, it is to be noted, that any reference signs used in the appended claims are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0067] In the following preferred embodiments of the invention will be described by making reference to the drawings, in which:
[0068] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an extraction device non-releasably engaged with a container in an initial configuration,
[0069] FIG. 2 shows the assembly according to FIG. 1 with piercing member and drug delivery device inserted into the receptacle of the extraction device and
[0070] FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the extraction device after withdrawal of the drug delivery device,
[0071] FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the extraction device featuring L-shaped reuse preventers in an initial configuration,
[0072] FIG. 5 shows the extraction device according to FIG. 4 after insertion of the piercing member and the drug delivery device and
[0073] FIG. 6 is illustrative of the extraction device according to FIGS. 4 and 5 after removal of the drug delivery device,
[0074] FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the extraction device prior to displace the piercing member in its distal end position,
[0075] FIG. 8 is indicative of the embodiment according to FIG. 7 when the piercing member is in its distal stop position and
[0076] FIG. 9 shows the configuration of the embodiment according to FIGS. 7 and 8 after removal of the drug delivery device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0077] In FIGS. 1 to 3 , a first embodiment of the extraction device 1 is illustrated in various configurations. The extraction device 1 as shown in FIG. 1 comprises a housing 20 of substantially tubular shape and comprising a correspondingly shaped receptacle 22 . The housing 20 comprises a removable or foldable lid 24 which is to be removed or opened in order to receive a piercing member 60 together with a drug delivery device 50 , as for instance shown in FIG. 2 . The housing 20 further comprises a lateral but axially elongated sidewall 26 and a bottom wall 28 . In the context of the present Figures, the bottom wall 28 of the housing 20 faces in distal direction 2 while the oppositely located lid 24 faces towards a proximal direction 3 . Longitudinal axis of the extraction device 1 extends substantially vertically in the present set of Figures and is therefore substantially parallel to the distal direction 2 as well as to the proximal direction 3 .
[0078] The extraction device 1 is non-releasably engageable with a container 10 , which is typically provided as a vitreous container providing a liquid medicament in its inner volume. The container 10 , which may comprise a vial, carpule or ampoule and which may be also denoted as a cartridge, comprises a stepped-down neck portion 12 towards its proximal end. Furthermore, the container 10 typically comprises a radially widened head portion, which in the present illustration is received in a distally extending and substantially tubular-shaped fastening member 40 extending from the bottom wall 28 of the housing 20 . The bottom wall 28 further comprises a central through opening 29 through which a distally extending piercing element 64 of the piercing member 60 can penetrate a seal or septum of the container 10 as indicated in FIG. 2 . Moreover, also the neck portion 12 and the proximal head portion of the container 10 may extend into or even through the through opening 29 of the bottom wall 28 of the housing 20 of the extraction device 1 .
[0079] Near the bottom wall 28 , fixing members 37 are provided at an inside facing portion of the sidewall 26 of the receptacle 22 . These fixing members 37 are positively and/or frictionally engageable with a radially extending flange portion 62 of the piercing member 60 when the piercing member 60 reaches its distal stop position as shown in FIG. 2 . The fixing members 37 and the flange portion 62 are designed such, that only a unidirectional motion of the piercing member 60 with regard to the fixing members 37 is allowed. Hence, once the piercing member 60 has reached the distal stop position as shown in FIG. 2 , a proximally directed displacement of the piercing member 60 relative to the extraction device 1 is effectively inhibited by the mutual engagement of the fixing member 37 and the radial flange portion 62 of the piercing member 60 .
[0080] Moreover, the fixing member 37 provides a fulcrum or pivot axis 36 for at least one reuse preventer 30 , 32 , which in the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 3 comprise pre-tensioned flap portions 30 , 32 that are intended to bend radially inwardly with their proximally located end portions.
[0081] In the illustration according to FIG. 1 , an annular fixing member 34 in form of a ring and being located between oppositely arranged flap portions 30 , 32 effectively squeezes or clamps the proximal ends of the flap portion 30 , 32 to the inside portion of the sidewall 26 .
[0082] Since the inner diameter of the annular fixing member 34 is smaller than the outer diameter of the flange portion 62 of the piercing member 60 , the annular fixing member 34 becomes subject to a distally directed displacement when the drug delivery device 50 is inserted into the receptacle 22 together with the piercing member 60 . During insertion of the drug delivery device 50 and the piercing member 60 , the annular fixing member 34 is pushed in distal direction 2 until it is received in a correspondingly shaped annular recess 38 at the bottom wall 28 . Here, it is particularly intended, that the drug delivery device 50 and the piercing member 60 are not individually and sequentially inserted into the receptacle 22 . Instead, a combined and synchronous insertion of drug delivery device 50 and piercing member 60 is intended. It is of particular benefit, when the drug delivery device 50 and piercing member 60 are pre-assembled prior to an insertion into the receptacle 22 .
[0083] When pushing the annular fixing member 34 into the distally located recess 38 , the radially inwardly biased or pre-tensioned flap portions 30 , 32 are generally free to pivot radially inwardly. However, since the piercing member 60 is inserted into the receptacle 22 together with the drug delivery device 50 , the bendable or pivotable flap portions 30 , 32 are hindered to bend radially inwardly by the barrel 54 of the drug delivery device 50 extending therebetween.
[0084] Even though the annular fixing member 34 is shown in cross section as a conventional ring structure in FIGS. 1 to 3 , it may also comprise radially inwardly extending recesses at its outer circumference to receive the flap portions 30 , 32 . This way, the annular fixing member 34 may get in direct contact with the inside facing portion of the sidewall 26 . Moreover, with such radially extending recesses mating and corresponding with the position of the flap portions 30 , 32 , the annular fixing member 34 may be easily urged along the flap portions 30 , 32 and across the fixing members 37 when displaced in distal direction.
[0085] The drug delivery device 50 , which is exemplary illustrated as a syringe having a tubular barrel 54 and an axially displaceable piston slidably disposed therein, is releasably interconnected with the piercing member 60 by means of a connector 56 that corresponds with a proximally located connector 66 of the piercing member 60 . In the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 3 it is of particular benefit, when the piercing member 60 is rotationally fixed relative to the housing 20 when reaching the distal stop position.
[0086] When the mutual interconnection of the drug delivery device 50 and the piercing member 60 is of screw type for instance, after withdrawal of a predefined amount of the medicament from the container 10 via the piercing member 60 , the drug delivery device 50 and the piercing member 60 can be easily disconnected by unscrewing the drug delivery device 50 from the piercing member 60 . When the piercing member 60 is for instance frictionally engaged in the distal end position, the drug delivery device 50 can be rotated relative to the housing 20 of the extraction device 1 to mutually disconnect drug delivery device 50 and piercing member 60 .
[0087] Then, the drug delivery device 50 is released and can be withdrawn in proximal direction 3 from the receptacle 22 . As a consequence, the previously released flap portions 30 , 32 of the extraction device 1 can then bend or pivot radially inwardly, thereby blocking and inhibiting any further access to the proximal connector 66 of the piercing member 60 . Since the flap portions 30 , 32 mutually cross, a repeated insertion of a drug delivery device 50 into the receptacle 22 would merely lead to a further bending or pivoting of the flap portions 30 , 32 until their proximal and free ends get in direct abutment with the inside wall of the receptacle 22 .
[0088] Since the housing 20 is non-releasably engaged with the container 10 , by means of e.g. barb-hooked interlock members 42 , the extraction device 1 cannot be disassembled from the container 10 in a non-destructive way. In effect, any further and repeated access to the inside volume of the container is effectively inhibited.
[0089] With respect to FIGS. 1 to 6 it has to be noted, that the overall design of the drug delivery device 50 and the piercing member 60 may arbitrarily vary. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , axial elongation of the flap portions 30 , 32 should exceed the axial distance between a distally directed cylindrical portion of the barrel 54 of the drug delivery device 50 and the flange portion 62 of the piercing member 60 . Otherwise, the flap portions 30 , 32 may already bend or pivot radially inwardly before the cylindrical portion of the barrel 54 gets there between.
[0090] Unless otherwise described, reference numerals used in FIGS. 4 to 6 denoting similar or identical components compared to the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 3 are denoted with identical reference numerals increased by 100.
[0091] The extraction device 101 as shown in FIGS. 4 to 5 also comprises a housing 120 to be non-releasably connected with the container 10 . Also here, the housing 120 comprises a distally protruding tubular-shaped fastening member 140 featuring numerous interlock members 142 to establish a positive or frictional interlock between the housing 120 and the container 10 . Moreover, the receptacle 122 provided by the housing 120 is also covered by a removable lid 124 as illustrated in FIG. 4 .
[0092] In contrast to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3 , the extraction device 101 according to FIGS. 4 to 6 comprises different fixing members 133 , 137 and reuse preventers 130 , 132 . Instead of elastically bendable or pivotable flap portions 30 , 32 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , the embodiment according to FIGS. 4 to 6 comprises substantially L-shaped reuse preventers 130 , 132 being pivotably arranged at the inner sidewall 126 of the housing 120 with respect to a pivot axis 136 . The L-shaped reuse preventers 130 , 132 comprise axially and proximally extending flap portions 131 , 135 as well as distally arranged radially inwardly extending flap portions 133 , 137 integrally formed with the axially extending flap portions 131 , 135 . Here, radial extension of the distal flap portions 133 , 137 is substantially equal to or is smaller than the axial distance between the bottom wall 128 and the pivot axis 136 .
[0093] Upon distally directed insertion of the spike-like piercing member 160 into the receptacle 122 , the radially extending flange portion 162 of the piercing member 160 engages with the radially inwardly extending distal flap portions 133 , 137 and induces a distally directed pivot motion of the L-shaped reuse preventers 130 , 132 . Since the axially extending flap portions 131 , 135 and the radially extending flap portions 133 , 137 of the reuse preventers 130 , 132 are integrally formed, the distally directed pivot motion of the radially extending flap portions 133 , 137 induces a radially inwardly directed pivoting or bending motion of the longitudinally and initially proximally extending flap portions 131 , 135 .
[0094] However, since a barrel 154 of the syringe 150 has also entered the receptacle 122 , the flap portions 131 , 135 are hindered from completely pivoting and/or bending radially inwardly. As shown in FIG. 5 , the axially extending flap portions 131 , 135 abut against the outer circumference of the barrel 154 of the syringe 150 .
[0095] The initially radially inwardly extending flap portions 133 , 137 additionally serve as fixing members to clamp and/or to fix the piercing member 160 in its distal end position as shown in FIG. 5 . Due to such clamping or frictional engagement of the piercing member 160 and the pivoted flap portions 133 , 137 , removal of the piercing member 160 is effectively prevented when the syringe 150 gets subject to a proximally directed withdrawal. Especially, when the syringe 150 and the piercing member 160 are coupled in a fluid transferring way, e.g. by means of mutually corresponding connectors 156 , 166 it is of particular benefit, when the piercing member 160 is rotationally fixed inside the receptacle 122 . Then, the syringe 150 and the piercing member 160 can be released, e.g. by way of rotating the syringe 150 relative to the housing 120 .
[0096] As indicated in FIG. 5 , the flap portions 131 , 135 are elastically deformable, such that after withdrawal of the syringe 150 from the receptacle 122 the flap portions 131 , 135 tend to relax into their initial L-shaped configuration. However, since the longitudinal or axially extending flap portions 131 , 135 are longer than the inner diameter of the receptacle 122 , the flap portions 131 , 135 traverse the inner diameter of the receptacle 122 and abut with an opposite inner sidewall section in a tilted way. As shown in FIG. 6 , the flap portions 131 , 135 are biased against diametrically opposite sidewall sections and cover a proximally located connector 166 of the piercing member 160 thus making it impossible to re-connect a syringe 150 therewith.
[0097] In the third embodiment as illustrated in FIGS. 7 to 9 , unless otherwise described, again similar or identical components compared to the embodiment as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are denoted with the same reference numerals increased by 200.
[0098] Also here, the extraction device 201 comprises a housing 220 to non-releasably engage with the container 10 comprising a liquid medicament. Similar and as already explained with respect to the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 3 , there is provided at least one fixing member 237 at the inside of a sidewall 226 in close proximity to a bottom wall 228 of the housing 220 . In the embodiment according to FIGS. 7 to 9 , the piercing member 260 is preferably integrally formed with the syringe or drug delivery device 250 and can be separated therefrom by means of a predetermined breaking structure 266 . Moreover, the syringe 250 comprises a barrel 254 and two mutually corresponding connectors 256 , 258 . Downstream of the distal connector 258 there is located the predetermined breaking structure 266 that provides a well-defined separation of the syringe 250 and the piercing member 260 .
[0099] Similar as already explained with respect to FIGS. 1 to 3 , the syringe 250 and the piercing member 260 can be urged in distal direction until the piercing member 260 reaches a distal stop position as shown in FIG. 8 . In this position, the at least one, preferably several circumferentially distributed fixing members 237 serve to keep the piercing member 260 in this distal position, in which the radially extending flange portion 262 of the piercing member 260 abuts with the bottom wall 228 of the housing 220 . Here, it is of particular benefit when the piercing member 260 can still rotate relative to the housing 220 .
[0100] This way, a screwed interconnection of the two connectors 256 , 258 cannot be released by screwing or rotating the barrel 254 of the syringe 250 relative to the housing 220 of the extraction device 201 . Instead, the predetermined breaking structure 266 between the piercing member 260 and the drug delivery device 250 is designed to break and to separate when a predetermined proximally directed force is applied to the drug delivery device 250 relative to the housing 220 . This way, a syringe 250 to be filled with the medicament in a configuration according to FIG. 8 can be non-reversibly disconnected from the piercing member 260 that features a proximal conduit 270 or shaft portion which does not allow for re-connecting the piercing member 260 with a syringe 250 .
[0101] When the syringe 250 is withdrawn from the housing 220 and its receptacle 222 it comprises two mutually engaging connectors 256 , 258 . When these connectors 256 , 258 are of LUER-locked type, for instance, by way of unscrewing female connector 258 from a male connector 256 , the syringe 250 with its remaining male connector 256 can be universally coupled to corresponding injection devices, such like infusion tubes or injection needles featuring a corresponding female connector.
[0102] Optionally and as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 , the housing 220 may comprise an additional set of radially inwardly extending fixing members 230 located at a predetermined axial distance in proximal direction 3 from the fixing members 237 . Those second fixing members 230 may be useful in embodiments, wherein the piercing member 260 and/or the syringe 250 are pre-assembled inside the housing 220 of the extraction device. The fixing members 230 effectively prevent removal of the piercing member 260 from the housing 220 at all.
[0103] Moreover, a pre-assembly of the drug delivery device 250 to the extraction device 201 as illustrated in FIGS. 7 to 9 may be also implemented with the embodiments as shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 . Then, the drug delivery device 50 , 150 could be pre-connected with the piercing member 60 , 160 by means of a predetermined breaking structure. The fixing members 37 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 would then correspond to the fixing members 230 as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 . In effect, the drug delivery device 50 , 150 , 250 could be designed and configured as an integral or releasable part of the extraction device 1 , 101 , 201 , respectively.
[0104] Generally, in all embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 9 the extraction device 1 , 101 , 201 may either be provided as a separate piece or may be already pre-assembled with the container 10 in a non-releasable way when released to the market. In this case, an end user is obliged to make use of the extraction device 1 , 101 , 201 for filling of a drug delivery device, such like a syringe 50 , 150 , 250 .
[0105] Moreover, also the piercing member 60 , 160 , 260 may be pre-assembled inside the extraction device 1 , 101 , 201 upon delivery to an end user. Such a configuration might be of particular benefit for the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 3 . By having the piercing members 60 pre-assembled inside the housing 20 , the separate annular fixing member 34 is generally no longer needed and can be effectively substituted by the flange portion 62 of the piercing member 60 .
[0106] Independent on whether the extraction device 1 , 101 , 201 is pre-assembled with the container 10 and independent on whether the piercing member 60 , 160 , 260 is pre-assembled in the housing 20 , 120 , 220 of said extraction device 1 , 101 , 201 , the drug delivery device, 50 , 150 , 250 may be pre-assembled with the piercing member 60 , 160 , 260 and may be delivered to the end user as a syringe- and piercing member kit.
[0107] The various pre-assemblies as explained above provide different stages to oblige the end user to extract the medicament from the container 10 only once. | An extraction device and an extraction kit for one-time extracting a medicament from a container is presented where the extraction device has a housing adapted to non-releasably engage with the container and comprising an axially elongated receptacle, wherein the receptacle is adapted to axially guide a drug delivery device and a piercing member to a distal stop position for penetrating a seal of the container. The device and kit also have at least one fixing member to keep the piercing member in the distal stop position and to support a non-reversible disconnection of the drug delivery device from the piercing member. | 0 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the treatment of fabrics to enhance their resistance to soiling, and more particularly to a novel process of so treating garments in the course of a conventional industrial dry cleaning operation without modification of any part of such an operation.
2. The Prior Art
The business of rental and cleaning of industrial garments involves repeated cleanings of fabrics which are exposed, between such cleanings, to heavy soiling as, for example, by automobile oils and greases carrying carbon particles in suspension.
When the fabrics composing such garments were woven of natural fibers, staining from such sources could be removed by and agitation in a high-temperature water-detergent mixture.
With the advent of synthetic fabrics, however, and their wide adoption for use in industrial garments, especially work shirts, it became impracticable to remove such stains by such means because of the effect of high temperatures on the strength of polyesters and like synthetic fabrics, and dry cleaning of them became a necessity.
In conventional dry cleaning, garments usually are manually "spotted" to remove heavy soil from limited areas. They then are cleaned by agitation in a mixture of an organic solvent, detergent and water which is being continuously recycled and filtered to remove suspended insoluble material; a portion only of the mixture being distilled in the course of such recycling, to prevent excessive accumulation of contaminents. Finishes such as stain repellents may be applied during or following such cleaning and thereafter "set," as described, for example, in the U.S. Pat. of Eanzel No. 3,854,871 and other patents referred to therein.
The degree of soil encountered in the industrial garment rental and cleaning business, and the economic factors prevailing in that industry, render it uneconomical to clean such garments by such a conventional dry cleaning method. The removal of stains by manual "spotting" is obviously excessively costly. The amount of insoluble material carried into suspension is too great to permit its removal in a continuous filtering operation because a conventional filter would soon be clogged. The application of a stain repellent finish, while obviously desirable, has involved excessive material and labor costs and therefore has seldom if ever been used.
Therefore, in industrial dry cleaning, as distinguished from that just described, it has been the practice to agitate a batch of garments such as shirts in a solvent-detergent-water mixture in which (prior to addition of water to the mixture) another batch of such garments, previously so processed, has already been agitated. The twice-used solvent-detergent-water mixture is then distilled to recover the solvent. Following the first agitation described, the batch of garments is subjected to a second agitation in a fresh solvent-detergent mixture after which that mixture, with water added, is used once more for the agitation of a new batch of soiled garments and then distilled as has been described. After drying, by centrifugation, solvent aspiration, etc., the garments are passed on hangers through a dry-steam finishing tunnel in which the application of heat and agitation of the garments effects the removal of wrinkles.
The application of a stain repellent finish to garments in the course of such an industrial dry cleaning process has heretofore proven uneconomical because such a repellent, if mixed with the solvent-detergent-water mixture, would, except for the small amount coated onto the fabric, be lost during the distillation operation; or, if sprayed on the garments in a separate operation at the conclusion of the cleaning operation as taught in the prior art, would involve excessive time and labor costs.
It is the primary object of the present invention, therefore, to provide an industrial dry cleaning process of the character described including provision for the application and setting of a stain repellent finish to the cleaned garments without modifying any of the steps described or increasing the time required for the completing of the cleaning and drying operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a liquid stain repellent material is applied to one surface of the garments just prior to their entry into the conventional steam tunnel employed for wrinkle removal; this tunnel being maintained at a temperature sufficient to first evaporate the liquid phase of the stain repellent remaining on the garments and then to "set" the stain repellent material during its passage through the tunnel.
By confining the spray application to one surface of the garment, ordinarily that subjected to the heaviest soiling as, for example, the front outer surface of a work shirt, it has been found possible to effect wrinkle removal concurrently with setting of the stain repellent, without any change in the time of exposure or temperature within the steam tunnel as compared with prior practice in which no stain repellent was applied. Also, the inner surface of the shirt is left more absorbent to perspiration than it would be if made stain repellent.
Thus the application and setting of an effective stain repellent material can be economically and efficiently effected without modification of any of the materials conventionally employed in the industrial dry cleaning operation and without adding to the time required for the completion of the operation.
The deposition and setting of the stain repellent material on the fibers of the fabric facilitates the release therefrom of insoluble as well as soluble soil in subsequent dry cleaning operations. It has been found, furthermore, that a significant amount of the stain repellent material is retained on the fibers after such subsequent dry cleaning operations, so that the clothing which has previously been treated in accordance with the present invention need only be sprayed with a more dilute concentration of the stain repellent material in subsequent dry cleaning operations.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The drawing is a flow diagram illustrating the sequence of operations hereinafter described.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
EXAMPLE I
Step 1. Into a rotary agitator 10 (see the accompanying flow diagram) containing approximately 100 pounds (45 kg.) of soiled work shirts not previously treated with stain repellent there was introduced from holding tank 12 via line 14 80 gallons (304 liters) of the liquid mixture drained via line 16 from the rotary agitator 18 employed in Step 3, hereinafter described, plus 21/2 gallons (9.5 liters) of water introduced via line 20. The garments were thoroughly agitated in this liquid mixture, at about room temperature, 75° to 90° F. (24° to 32° C.) for at least ten minutes.
Step 2. The liquid mixture was then dumped through line 22 to a still 24 for subsequent recovery in condenser 26 of the perchlorethylene content which is held in recovery tank 28 for reuse. The garments were then extracted by centrifuging at station 30 for about 11/2 minutes.
Step. 3. Into a rotary agitator 18 containing the partially cleaned work shirts, the following liquid mixture was introduced via line 32:
80 gallons (304 liters) perchlorethylene; and
24 fluid ounces (720 ml.) of a detergent such as any of the class of dry cleaning soaps and synthetic detergents described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,091,508.
The garments were thoroughly agitated in this mixture, at the aforesaid room temperature, for at least ten minutes and the liquid mixture was then drained through line 16 to holding tank 12 for reuse with a new batch of soiled garments as described in Step 1, above.
Step 4. The garments were then dried at 34 by first centrifuging in a closed vessel from which the perchlorethylene evaporated from the clothing was conducted by line 36 to condenser 26 for recovery of liquid perchlorethylene, and then completing the drying by tumbling.
Step 5. The garments were then hung individually on conventional wire clothes hangers which were, in turn, hung at spaced intervals on a continuously moving conveyor which carried the garments past a station 40 at which the outer surfaces of the shirt fronts were lightly sprayed with about 10 cc. to 20 cc. per shirt of a mixture made up as follows:
For a 40 gallon (152 liter) batch, allowing some overage, prepare 32 gallons (122 liters) of filtered water at 70° F. to 80° F. (21° C. 32° C.) by adjusting its pH to 3.5 to 4.5 by adding glacial acetic acid; about 5 oz. (150 ml.) being required;
To 160 oz. (4.8 liters) of this liquid add an equal quantity, 10 pounds (4.5 kg.) of "Zepel" B and add this mixture to the remaining previously prepared water-acetic acid mixture, while stirring slowly;
To 6 oz. (180 ml.) of boiling water, mechanically blend 70 grams Avitex NA softener and add this to the previously prepared liquid mixture;
Add to this mixture 8 gallons (30.4 liters) isoprophyl alcohol and skim and strain surface particles, if any, through cheese cloth to remove them.
"Zepel" is a trademark of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company for certain stain repellent compositions, and "Zepel" B and "Zepel" DR are among those polyfluoroalkyl substituted compounds which contain perfluorinated alkyl chains of at least three and as many as 16 carbon atoms, described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,871, any of which may be substituted for "Zepel" B in the above mixture.
"Avitex" is a trademark of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company for a surface active agent useful as an emulsifier and as a fabric softener. Although it is not specifically described in said U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,871, this patent describes a number of emulsifying agents any of which may be substituted for "Avitex" NA in the above mixture. However, when an anionic detergent is used in Step 3, the emulsifying agent employed in this Step 5 should be cationic in order to maximize the coating of the textile fibers with the sprayed mixture.
The glacial acetic acid is employed to adjust the pH and to stabilize the mixture against deterioration with age, in transport or storage.
Optionally, Oil Bouquet, or any pleasant fragrance, may be employed as a masking agent to conceal the odors of other ingredients of the mixture.
The isoprophyl alcohol, in addition to being a surface active agent, accelerates the evaporation of the liquid in the next step so that a larger proportion of that drying-and-setting step is applied to the setting of the stain repellent material on the fibers of the textile material.
Step 6. The garments, hung on their individual hangers suspended from the continuously moving conveyor, were carried into a 16 foot 3 inch (488 cm.) tunnel 42 the atmosphere of which was heated by introduction of live steam to a temperature of about 325° to 350° F. (163° to 177° C.) through which each garment passed in about one minute.
This step, which has been conventionally used instead of ironing in industrial dry cleaning operations to remove wrinkles from cleaned garments, has an additional effect in the process of the present invention; first evaporating the liquid components of the mixture sprayed on the garments in Step 5 and then heat-setting the stain repellent component of that mixture on the textile fibers.
This completes the process.
EXAMPLE II
The process as described in Example I was applied to soiled work shirts which had previously been treated as described therein, only Step 5 being altered by reducing the quantity of "Zepel" B, or its substitute, to 3.4 lbs (1.53 kg.) per 40 gallon (152 liter) batch of the liquid mixture employed. | In an industrial dry cleaning operation in which wrinkles are removed from the cleaned garments by suspending them in a heated atmosphere, the garments are rendered soil-resistant by spraying them with a liquid containing a dilute polyfluoroalkyl stain repellent after cleaning and prior to suspending them in a heated atmosphere in which they are heated for a time period and at a temperature sufficient to first evaporate said liquid and then to set the stain repellent concurrently with the removal of wrinkles. | 3 |
BACKGROUND
[0001] The present invention relates generally to computing technology, and more specifically to an integration of home security into an existing network infrastructure.
[0002] Security systems may be used to determine if someone has entered a secured location. For example, security systems may be used to determine if someone (e.g., an intruder) is, or has been, located on a given property. In some instances security systems are able to identify such a person. However, security systems and video door phone intercom systems are expensive and require complex, specialized hardware.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0003] An embodiment is directed to a method for administering access to a wireless network, comprising: detecting a connective proximity of a device to the network, determining that the device is an authorized device based on information, connecting the authorized device to the network, and causing the connection of the authorized device to the network to be provided as an output status.
[0004] An embodiment is directed to a computer program product comprising: a computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therewith for administering access to a wireless network, the program code executable by a processing device to: detect a connective proximity of a device to the network, determine that the device is an authorized device based on information, connect the authorized device to the network, and cause the connection of the authorized device to the network to be provided as an output status.
[0005] An embodiment is directed to an apparatus comprising: at least one processor, and memory having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: detect a connective proximity of a device to a wireless network, determine that the device is an authorized device based on information, connect the authorized device to the network, and cause the connection of the authorized device to the network to be provided as an output status.
[0006] Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the invention are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed invention. For a better understanding of the invention with the advantages and the features, refer to the description and to the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary computing system in accordance with one or more embodiments;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system environment in accordance with one or more embodiments;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a log in accordance with one or more embodiments; and
[0011] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method in accordance with one or more embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] Embodiments described herein are directed to methods, apparatuses, and systems for integrating security into a pre-existing infrastructure. In some embodiments, home security may be integrated into an existing network infrastructure. The use of mobile devices (e.g., smartphones) continues to increase. Such use may be based on the rich-feature set mobile devices provide relative to their compact form-factor. Some mobile devices have the ability to connect to one or more networks, such as a Wi-Fi network. A user of a mobile device may be identified when connected to a network. Accordingly, if a location (e.g., a home) includes a network, and a person who is “friendly” to the network (meaning that person has been provided a password, a PIN number, or other credential that provides access to the network) approaches the location, that person's information (e.g., their name, phone number, handle or username, etc.) could be made available to the owner or operator of the location.
[0013] Referring to FIG. 1 , an exemplary computing system 100 is shown. The system 100 is shown as including a memory 102 . The memory 102 may store executable instructions. The executable instructions may be stored or organized in any manner and at any level of abstraction, such as in connection with one or more applications, processes, routines, procedures, methods, etc. As an example, at least a portion of the instructions are shown in FIG. 1 as being associated with a first program 104 a and a second program 104 b.
[0014] The instructions stored in the memory 102 may be executed by one or more processors, such as a processor 106 . The processor 106 may be coupled to one or more input/output (I/O) devices 108 . In some embodiments, the I/O device(s) 108 may include one or more of a keyboard or keypad, a touchscreen or touch panel, a display screen, a microphone, a speaker, a mouse, a button, a remote control, a joystick, a printer, a telephone or mobile device (e.g., a smartphone), etc. The I/O device(s) 108 may be configured to provide an interface to allow a user to interact with the system 100 .
[0015] As shown, the processor 106 may be coupled to a number ‘n’ of databases, 110 - 1 , 110 - 2 , . . . 110 - n. The databases 110 may be used to store data, such as information that may be used to identify one or more users or persons associated with the system. Such identifying information may include one or more of a name, a residence, a mailing address, a phone number, a username or handle, and a credential (e.g., a password, a personal identification number (PIN), etc.), for example. The processor 106 may be operative on the data stored in the databases 110 to integrate security into an existing infrastructure as described herein.
[0016] The system 100 is illustrative. In some embodiments, one or more of the entities may be optional. In some embodiments, additional entities not shown may be included. For example, in some embodiments the system 100 may be associated with one or more networks, such as one or more computer, television, or telephone networks. In some embodiments, the entities may be arranged or organized in a manner different from what is shown in FIG. 1 . For example, in some embodiments, the memory 102 may be coupled to or combined with one or more databases (e.g., databases 110 - 1 through 110 - n ).
[0017] Turning now to FIG. 2 , a system environment 200 in accordance with one or more embodiments is shown. The environment 200 is shown as including a secure location 202 . For example, the secure location 202 may be a building, such as an office building or a house.
[0018] The secure location 202 may include, or be associated with one or more networks. The network(s) may include a wired network, a wireless network, a Wi-Fi network, etc.
[0019] In some embodiments, the network(s) may have a range, as reflected in FIG. 2 via the oval/circle 204 . When a device is located within range (e.g., on or within the oval/circle 204 ), communication with that device may be established using the network(s). When the device is located outside of the range (e.g., outside of the oval/circle 204 ), communication with that device might not be possible. Thus, as shown in FIG. 2 , a mobile device 212 - 1 might not be able to communicate using the network(s) as mobile device 212 - 1 is outside of the range 204 . Conversely, a mobile device 212 - 2 is shown as being inside the range 204 , and thus, the mobile device 212 - 2 may be able to communicate using the network(s).
[0020] When the mobile device 212 - 2 enters the range 204 of a network, the mobile device may automatically connect to the network. The mobile device 212 - 2 may automatically connect to the network if the mobile device 212 - 2 has information or data to enable the mobile device 212 - 2 to connect to the network. Such information/data may include a username and a password associated with the network. A password, or other credential, may be used to provide secure access to the network, such that only trusted devices or users may gain access to the network.
[0021] Assuming that the mobile device 212 - 2 has the necessary information/data to connect to the network, once the mobile device 212 - 2 connects to the network, an indication or status of the connection may be provided to a device 226 associated with the secure location. Such an indication/status may include an identification of the mobile device 212 - 2 or a user associated with the mobile device 212 - 2 . In some embodiments, the indication/status may take one or more forms, such as a message, a displayed image or graphic, an auditory message, etc.
[0022] The device 226 may be any type of device. For example, the device 226 may include one or more of a television, a computer, a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone), etc.
[0023] In some embodiments, an alert or other indication may be provided by the device 226 when a device is detected that is not considered “friendly”. For example, a mobile device 212 - 3 may be within range 204 , but might not have a password or other credential to access the network. In some embodiments, a user or device may be declared unfriendly or unauthorized based on an attempt to connect to the network.
[0024] In some embodiments, the location 202 may be associated with a device 238 . In some embodiments, the device 238 may be the same device as device 226 . The device 238 may be configured to maintain a log or record of when users or devices enter or exit the range 204 . An example of such a log 300 is shown in FIG. 3 . A user of mobile device 212 - 2 may be named “Jane Doe” as known to a network associated with the location 202 , and a user of mobile device 212 - 3 may generally be unknown to the network associated with the location 202 .
[0025] As shown in the log 300 , Jane Doe may quickly enter and exit the range 204 of the location 202 between 8:32:01 AM and 8:32:03 AM on the morning of Feb. 5, 2025. Such rapid exit and entry may simply be a result of fluctuations in the range 204 of the network, or Jane Doe temporarily standing at a location that is proximate to the perimeter of the range 204 . In either case, in some embodiments hysteresis may be applied with respect to the log 300 , such that one or more entries might not be recorded if they occur too rapidly (e.g., within a threshold amount of time of one another). As shown in the log 300 , since Jane Doe is considered “friendly”, various fields associated with Jane may be populated in the log 300 , such as Jane's name, username, email address, and phone number.
[0026] The user of the mobile device 212 - 3 may enter within range 204 of the network on Feb. 5, 2025 at 8:45:45 AM and may exit the range 204 of the network on Feb. 5, 2025 at 8:58:57 AM. As the user of the mobile device 212 - 3 may be unknown, one or more of the fields of the log may be populated with a not available (N/A) character string. The username field may be populated with a unique identifier or number (e.g., N/A−1) in order to distinguish the mobile device 212 - 3 from another potential unknown device that may enter the range 204 .
[0027] In some embodiments, if an unknown user or device attempts to obtain unauthorized access to the network, an entry may be indicated in the log 300 to indicate as such. For example, the user (N/A−1) of the device 212 - 3 may attempt to access the network at 8:50:41 AM on Feb. 5, 2025. The unauthorized attempt may be presented by the device 226 .
[0028] In some embodiments, whether a particular user or device is “friendly” or not may be further broken down into additional categories. For example, categories of “friendly” may be used based on unique network passwords, a user's identity, etc. In some embodiments, a frequency associated with the user/device may be used to distinguish that user/device from other users/devices.
[0029] In some embodiments, analytics may be performed on a collection of data to determine if a user or device (e.g., a device 212 ) is a friend or a foe. For example, data may be gathered from a device 212 's contact list or social media connections to determine whether a user of the device 212 is a friend or foe. If the device 212 has a threshold number of contacts or friends that are in common with an owner of the location 202 , the device 226 , or the device 238 , then the (user of the) device 212 may be considered to be a friend and may be granted access to a network associated with the location 202 . If the device 212 has a threshold number of contacts or friends that have been “blocked” by the owner of the location 202 , the device 226 , or the device 238 , then the (user of the) device 212 may be considered to be a foe and may be denied access to the network.
[0030] Turning now to FIG. 4 , a flow chart of an exemplary method 400 is shown. The method 400 may be executed by one or more systems, components, or devices, such as those described herein. The method 400 may be used administer access to a network.
[0031] In block 402 , a determination may be made that a device (e.g., a mobile device) is proximate to, or within range of, the network. An entry may be created in a log reflecting such an event.
[0032] In block 404 , a determination may be made whether the device of block 402 is associated with an authorized user. Such a determination may be based on one or more pieces of data or information, such as a user identifier and password (or other credential) combination, a social media or contact list, etc.
[0033] If, in block 404 , a determination is made that the device is associated with an authorized user (e.g., the “Yes” path is taken out of block 404 ), flow may proceed from block 404 to block 406 . Otherwise, if a determination is made that the device is associated with an unauthorized user (e.g., the “No” path is taken out of block 404 ), flow may proceed from block 404 to block 452 . The status of whether the user is considered authorized or unauthorized may be included in the log.
[0034] In block 406 , the authorized user may be connected to the network. As part of block 406 , an entry may be created in the log reflecting the connection of the authorized user to the network.
[0035] In block 408 , a status or indication may be generated and output reflecting the connection of the authorized user to the network. Such output may take one or more forms, such as a displayed message on a display device, an auditory sound or alert, etc.
[0036] In block 452 , an attempt by the unauthorized user to connect to the network may be detected. As part of block 452 , an entry may be created in the log reflecting the connection attempt of the unauthorized user to the network. The connection attempt of block 452 may be denied.
[0037] In block 454 , a status or indication may be generated and output reflecting the connection attempt by the unauthorized user to the network. Such output may take one or more forms as described above.
[0038] Technical effects and benefits include an ability to integrate security features into one or more existing networks. Such a network may be of a type commonly included in a location (e.g., a house), such that specialized hardware might not be required. In this manner, security may be provided without incurring the cost or expense of a dedicated and complex security system. User interfaces may be provided that are intuitive and easy to use.
[0039] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
[0040] The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
[0041] Further, as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system, method, or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.
[0042] Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.
[0043] A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.
[0044] Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, radio frequency (RF), etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.
[0045] Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).
[0046] Aspects of the present invention are described above with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0047] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0048] The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0049] The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions. | Embodiments relate to administering access to a wireless network by detecting a connective proximity of a device to the network, determining that the device is an authorized device based on information, connecting the authorized device to the network, and causing the connection of the authorized device to the network to be provided as an output status. | 7 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improved resin coated sand to be used in a shell-molding process. In conventional sand-molding operations, a mixture of sand coated with binder is placed in the mold, and the heat of the processing steps causes reactions to occur between the binder components to improve the pressed strength of the sand and retain the configuration of the part to be cast. After introduction of the molten metal into the cavity, the heat of the metal, during the cooling cycle is transferred to the sand-binder mixture causing the binder to be destroyed to a degree that allows the sand to be removed from the cast metal in an efficient manner.
In the automobile industry, the trend of manufacturers has led to the replacement of iron and steel castings with lighter weight metals such as aluminum, magnesium and their alloys. These castings are produced by sand-molding processes, but occur at lower temperatures than iron castings. The use of conventional binders, at these lower temperatures, have created problems in the removal of the sand particles from the castings due to the failure of the binder to be decomposed.
In the case of iron casting, the stock temperature of shell-mold reaches 800°-1000° C. at pouring, and the strength of shell-mold is naturally reduced after casting because almost all the phenolic resin binder is subjected to thermal degradation by the intense heat at pouring. Accordingly it is easy to remove the mold-core from molded articles in the form of said grains after casting.
For metals having a lower melting temperature, such as aluminum and magnesium, the stock temperature of shell-mold at pouring is rather low, approximately 300°-400° C. This results in an incomplete thermal degradation of the phenolic resin binder. Since conventional shell-molds have retained superfluous strength after casting for this reason, there have been extreme difficulties particularly for complicated mold structures, in removing the core efficiently from molded articles. In these cases, flogging is required so as to crush the molds even after time-consuming calcination thereof in a furnace to remove the occulded core therefrom. Flogging is a term used to indicate a tapping or impact force applied to the castings to remove the particulate sand particles leaving a clean cast structure.
After much investigation to improve the shake-out property of shell-molds after casting metals having a lower melting temperature, such as aluminum, the inventors have found that the shape-out property of cast shell molds is greatly improved by using a resin-coated sand produced by coating foundry sand with a lubricant-containing phenolic resin with the presence of one or more organic chlorides having 20% by weight of heating loss in the range of 130°-550° C. The organic chlorides may be selected from chlorine containing polymers and cyclo-organic chloride compounds.
An object of this invention is to improve the shake-out properties of shell-molds after casting.
An additional objective of this invention is to develop a process that will allow the economical reuse of the sand or aggregates used in the shell-molding processes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An improved resin binder for shell-molding operations having improved shake-out properties is disclosed. The resin binder utilizes a lubricant-containing phenolic resin of the novolac or resole type, or a mixture of novolac and resole types, incorporated therewith is an organic chloride. The organic chloride is characterized by having 20% by weight of the heating loss in the temperature range of 130° to 550° C. The organic chloride may be selected from chloride-containing polymers and cyclo-organic chlorides. The chlorine-containing polymers should contain in its main chain the following structure ##STR1## where:
X is selected from H, Cl and alkyl groups
Y is selected from H, Cl, alkyl and phenyl groups
n is an integer, 2 or greater.
Polymers selected from polyvinyl chlorides, copolymers thereof, chlorinated paraffins, chlorinated polyolefins are suitable. Cyclo-organic chloride such as dodecachloro-dodecahydrodimethone-dibenzo cyclo-octene are disclosed.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view of the test device used to determine the shake-out property of the cured resin coated sand.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In order to improve the shake-out property after casting metals having a low melting temperature such as aluminum, the chemical crosslinking structure of cured phenolic resin binders must thermally be degraded and cracked at a relatively lower temperature range of 300° to 400° C. In ordinary phenolic resins, whether they be novolac type or resole type resins, said chemical crosslinking structure therein consists of such as methylene, methine and dimethylene-ether groups. Among them, the dimethylene-ether group changes by heat to a methylene group. On the other hand, both the methylene and methine groups are stable to thermal decomposition, and they require much more energy for decomposition. Both the methylene and methine groups gradually begin to decompose at about 250° C., however, a higher, temperature range of 600° to 1000° C. is necessary for rapidly decomposing the major portion thereof. The thermal decomposition of phenolic resins is thought to be a thermal oxidative process whether exposed to either an oxidative or inert atmosphere. In an inert atmosphere, it is thought that much of the oxygen contained therein contributes to initiation of a oxidative reaction. It is further thought that both methylene and methine groups change to hydroperoxides due to said thermal oxidation, and finally yield carboxylic acids through cracking of dihydrobenzophenone. Accordingly, in order to lower the activation energy of decomposition reaction of methylene and methine groups, namely, to lower the decomposition temperature of phenolic resins to the range of 300° to 400° C., incorporating a compound having a catalytic effect thereof is an effective method for causing a thermal disintegration of the sand mold. The additives suitable for the purpose will generally be several kinds of oxidants.
The inventors have discovered that the presence of one or more organic chlorides, having the 20 percent by weight of the heating loss in the temperature range of 130° to 550° C., improve the shake-out property of the shell-molds. The heating loss according to the present invention is determined as follows: 20 mg each of an organic chloride (specimen) and aluminum oxide (as a standard substance) are charged into each dish of a thermogravimetric analyser. The temperature around both specimen and the standard substance is elevated by the rate of 10° C./min. under natural convection of air. When the thermal decomposition occurs, beam of the analyser at the specimen declines due to the weight loss of the specimen. This change is detected electrically, and the weight remaining proportion at each temperature to the initial 20 mg of the specimen is continuously and automatically plotted in a graph at the temperature-elevating rate as the corresponding trace of the weight loss. Therefore, the heating loss at a temperature in percent by weight is defined by subtracting the weight remaining proportion thereof in percent from 100.
Organic chlorides, indicate the 20 percent by weight of the heating loss in the temperature range of 130° to 550° C. determined by a thermo-gravimetric analyser, improves the shake-out property of the shell molds. When the temperature causing a 20 percent by weight of the heating loss is less than 130° C., the decomposition temperature of such organic chlorides affects a phenolic resin contained in resin-coated sand to decompose thermally prior to forming a cured three-dimensional structure. This results in lowering the initial strength as well as impairing a good shake-out property of the shell-molds. When the temperature causing a 20 percent by weight of the heating loss is more than 550° C., the decomposition of organic chlorides contributes to an incomplete decomposition of the three-dimensional structure in said phenolic resin. Therefore, this results also in impairing a good shake-out property of the shell-molds. Furthermore, when the heating loss of organic chlorides is less than 20 percent by weight within the temperature range of 130° to 150° C., an incomplete thermal decomposition of the three-dimensional structure in said phenolic resin also impairs a good shake-out property of the shell-molds.
The inventors have found that, within organic culorides having the 20 percent by weight of heating loss in the temperature range of 130° to 550° C., those of chlorine-containing polymers having the following formula in the main chain, and cyclo-organic chlorides improve the better shake-out property of the shell-molds: ##STR2## where:
X is selected from H, Cl, and alkyl group
Y is selected from H, Cl, phenyl, and alkyl group
n is an integer, 2 or greater.
Said chlorine-containing polymers are preferably polyvinyl chloride resins, polyvinylidene chloride resins, chlorinated paraffins and chlorinated polyolefins. Said polyvinyl chloride resins comprise not only a polyvinyl chloride resin, but copolymers of vinyl chloride with one or more of styrene, methylacrylate, acrylonitrile, vinylidene chloride, maleic anhydride, isobutyl, vinyl ether, allyl acetate, vinyl acetate, isobutylene, isopropenyl acetate, etc. Among said chlorine-containing polymers, more preferable are polyvinyl chloride resins having an average molecular weight of 600 to 2500, chlorinated paraffins having an average molecular weight of 500 to 2000 and chlorinated polyethylenes having an average molecular weight of 10,000 to 300,000. Among cyclo-organic chlorides, dodecachloro-dodecahydrodimethone-dibenzo cyclo-octene is preferable.
The inventors have found that incorporating said organic chlorides into lubricant-containing phenolic resins can further accelerate the shake-out property of shell-molds without lowering the initial strength thereof, more than incorporating them into lubricantless ones. The reason for this may be a synergism that lubricants contained in phenolic resins accelerate thermal decomposition of said phenolic resins by said organic chlorides when incorporated thereinto. The mechanism of said synergism is assumed to proceed as follows: lubricants contained in phenolic resins enable organic chlorides to disperse uniformly into said phenolic resins and thus said organic chlorides enable phenolic resins to undergo thermal degradation uniformly, which results in accelerating the thermal decomposition reaction. Lubricants usable according to the present invention are ordinary ones, however preferable are ethylene bis-stearic amide, methylene bis-stearic amide, oxy-stearic amide, stearic amide and methylol stearic amide. Lubricant-containing phenolic resins can be obtained by adding said lubricant into phenolic resins at any stage of their preparation; prior to, during or after the reaction.
The incorporating proportion of said organic chlorides into a lubricant-containing phenolic resin is preferably 0.1 to 50 against 100 parts by weight; when the ratio is less than 0.1 parts by weight, it is difficult to obtain an excellent shake-out property. When the proportion is more than 50 parts by weight, it impairs the initial strength and curing characteristics of shell-molds.
Said organic chloride can be added at any time of preparation; prior to, during or after the reaction. Alternately, said organic chloride can be dispersed by mixing into ground phenolic resins after their preparation, or can be dispersed by melting in kneaders such as an extruder. Further, said organic chloride can be added into the production system of resin-coated sand during the production thereof at any time; prior to, during or after the addition of lubricant-containing phenolic resins.
The lubricant-containing phenolic resins used according to the present invention are any type of novolac resins, resole resins or a mixture thereof. Phenols for preparing said lubricant-containing phenolic resins are phenol, cresol and xylenol, and are usable in the presence of resorcin, cathecol, hydroquinone, aniline, urea, melaine, cashew nut shell oil, etc. Formaldehyde for preparing said lubricant-containing phenolic resins is selected from formalin, paraformaldehyde, trioxane, etc. Reaction catalysts of phenol and formaldehyde for preparing novolacs are acidic substances, generally such as oxalic, hydrochloric and sulfuric acid. Basic substances are generally selected from such as ammonia, triethylamine, sodium hydroxide, and barium hydroxide for resole type resin preparation.
The method for producing resin-coated sand used in the present invention is optional, hot-coating, semi-hot-coating, cold-coating, or powder-solvent coating, however, hot-coating is preferable.
The inventors hereof will explain the present invention with the following nonlimitative Examples and Comparative Examples, wherein "parts" and "percent" indicate "parts by weight" and "percent by weight", respectively.
PREPARATION EXAMPLES 1, 2, 3 AND 4
To each of four kettles with a reflux cooler and a stirrer, 1000 parts of phenol, 650 parts of 37% formalin and 10 parts of oxalic acid were added. The temperature of each kettle was gradually elevated, and when it reached 96° C., followed by reflux for 120 minutes, 10 parts of methylene bis-stearic amide and each following organic chlorides (I) to (IV) were added respectively to each of these kettles. After mixing, the reaction mixture was dehydrated under vacuum and dumped to obtain the respective lubricant-containing novolac type resins:
______________________________________ Temperature Incor- for 20% of po- the heating rated loss (°C.) parts______________________________________(I) polyvinyl chloride resin 241 100"SUMILIT" SX-8 (productof Sumitomo Chemical Co.,Ltd.)(II) Chlorinated paraffin 324 100"BRENLIZER" FR-730 (productof Ajinomoto Co., Inc.)(III)Chlorinated polyethylene 315 150"DIASOLAC" G-245 (productof Osaka Soda Co., Ltd.)(IV) Cyclic organic chloride 342 100"DECHLORANE + PLUS" 515(product of Hooker ChemicalCorp.)______________________________________
PREPARATION EXAMPLES 5, 6, 7 AND 8
To each of four kettles with a reflux cooler and a stirrer, 1000 parts of phenol, 1795 parts of 37% formalin, 160 parts of 28% aqueous ammonia and 60 parts of 50% sodium hydroxide solution were charged. The temperature of each kettle was gradually elevated, and when it reached 96° C., followed by reflux for 30 minutes, 40 parts of ethylene bis-stearic amide and each of the following organic chlorides (V) to (VIII) were added respectively to each of these kettles. After mixing, the reaction mixtures were dehydrated under vacuum, dumped and rapidly cooled to obtain the respective resole type lubricant-containing phenolic resins:
______________________________________ Tempera- ture for 20% of Incor- the po- heating rated loss (°C.) parts______________________________________(V) Vinylchloride-vinylacetate 250 220 "KANEVINYL" M-1008 (product of Kangafuchi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.)(VI) Chlorinated paraffin "EMPARA" 70 295 110 (product of Ajinomoto Co., Inc.)(VII) Chlorinated polyethylene 325 165 "DIASOLAC" MR-104 (product of Osaka Soda Co., Ltd.)(VIII) Cyclic organic chloride 350 110 "DECHLORANE + PLUS" 25 (product of Hooker Chemical Corp.)______________________________________
PREPARATION EXAMPLE 9
To a kettle with a reflux cooler and a stirrer, 1000 parts of phenol, 650 parts of 37% formalin and 10 parts of oxalic acid were charged. The temperature of the kettle was gradually elevated, and when it reached 96° C., followed by refluxing for 120 minutes, 10 parts of methylene bis-stearic amide and 100 parts of the following organic chloride (IX) were added thereto. After mixing, the reaction mixture was dehydrated under vacuum and dumped to obtain a lubricant-containing novolac type phenolic resin:
______________________________________ Temperature for 20% of the heating loss (°C.)______________________________________(IX) Sodium hypochlorite 110______________________________________
PREPARATION EXAMPLES 10, 11 AND 12
To each of three kettles with a reflux cooler and a stirrer, 1000 parts of phenol, 650 parts of 37% formalin, and 10 parts of oxalic acid were charged. The temperature of each kettle was gradually elevated, and when it reached 96° C., followed by refluxing for 120 minutes, 10 parts of methylene bis-stearic amide, and 0, 0.5 and 680 parts of organic chloride (I) were added to each of three kettles. After mixing, the reaction mixtures were dehydrated under vacuum and dumped to obtain lubricant-containing, novolac type phenolic resins, respectively.
PREPARATION EXAMPLE 13
To a kettle with a reflux cooler and a stirrer, 1000 parts of phenol, 1705 parts of 37% formalin, 160 parts of 28% aqueous ammonia, and 60 parts of 50% sodium hydroxide solution were added. The temperature of the mixture was gradually elevated. When the temperature reached 96° C., refluxing continued for 30 minutes, 40 parts of ethylene bis-stearic amide was added. After dehydration under vacuum, it was dumped from the kettle, and cooled rapidly, to obtain a lubricant-containing resole type phenolic resin.
EXAMPLE 1
Preheated at 130° to 140° C., 7000 parts of Sanei No. 6 silica sand were charged into a whirl-mixer. After adding 140 parts of lubricant-containing novolac type phenolic resin obtained according to Preparation Example 1 thereto, it was mixed for 40 seconds, and 21 parts of hexamethylene tetramine dissolved in 105 parts of water were added thereto. The mixture was further mixed until it crumbled. 7 parts of calcium stearate was added thereto, and after 30 seconds mixing, discharged and aerated to obtain a coated sand composition.
EXAMPLE 2
Except for using lubricant-containing novolac type phenolic resin obtained according to Preparation Example 2, a coated sand composition was obtained by the same method and conditions as Example 1.
EXAMPLE 3
Except for using lubricant-containing novolac type phenolic resin obtained according to Preparation Example 3, a coated sand composition was obtained by the same method and conditions as Example 1.
EXAMPLE 4
Except for using lubricant-containing novolac type phenolic resin obtained according to Preparation Example 4, a coated sand composition was obtained by the same method and conditions as Example 1.
EXAMPLE 5
Preheated at 130° to 140° C. 7000 parts of Sanei No. 6 silica sand were charged into a whirl-mixer. After adding 140 parts of lubricant-containing resole type phenolic resin obtained according to Preparation Example 5 thereto, it was mixed for 40 seconds, and 105 parts of cooling water was added thereto. The mixture was further mixed until it crumbled. 7 parts of calcium stearate were added thereto, mixed for 30 seconds, discharged and aerated to obtain a coated and composition.
EXAMPLE 6
Except for using lubricant-containing resole type phenolic resin obtained according to Preparation Example 6, a coated sand composition was obtained by the same method and conditions as Example 5.
EXAMPLE 7
Except for using lubricant-containing resole type phenolic resin obtained according to Preparation Example 7, a coated sand composition was obtained by the same method and conditions as Example 5.
EXAMPLE 8
Except for using lubricant-containing resole type phenolic resin obtained according to Preparation Example 8, a coated sand composition was obtained by the same method and conditions as Example 5.
EXAMPLE 9
Preheated at 130° to 140° C., 7000 parts of Sanei No. 6 silica sand were charged into a whirl-mixer and 130 parts of lubricant-containing novolac type phenolic resin obtained according to Preparation Example 7 were added thereto. Followed by 20 seconds mixing, 13 parts of organic chloride (I) was added thereto. After mixing for 20 seconds, 21 parts of hexamethylene tetramine dissolved in 105 parts of water was added thereto. The mixture was further mixed until it crumbled. 7 parts of calcium stearate was added thereto, followed by 30 seconds mixing, the mixture was discharged and aerated to obtain a coated sand composition.
EXAMPLE 10
Except for using organic chloride (II), a coated sand composition was obtained by the same method and conditions as Example 9.
EXAMPLE 11
Preheated at 130° to 140° C., 7000 parts of Sanei No. 6 silica sand were charged into a whirl-mixer. After adding 13 parts of organic chloride (I) thereto, it was mixed for 20 seconds. 78 parts of lubricant-containing novolac type phenolic resin according to Preparation Example 10 and 52 parts of lubricant-containing resole type phenolic resin according to Preparation Example 13 were added, and mixed for 20 seconds. Then, 13 parts of hexamethylene tetramine dissolved in 63 parts by weight of water were added thereto. The mixture was mixed well until it crumbled. After 7 parts of calcium stearate were added thereto, mixed for 30 seconds, discharged and aerated to obtain a coated sand composition.
EXAMPLE 12
Except for using organic chloride (II), a coated sand composition was obtained by the same method and conditions as Example 11.
COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1
Preheated at 130° to 140° C., 7000 parts of Sanei No. 6 silica sand were charged into a whirl-mixer. After adding 140 parts of novolac type phenolic resin obtained according to Preparation Example 9 thereto, it was mixed for 40 seconds, and 21 parts of hexamethylene tetramine dissolved in 105 parts of water were added thereto. The mixture was mixed until it crumbled. 7 parts of calcium stearate were added thereto, mixed for 30 seconds, discharged and aerated to obtain a coated sand composition.
COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 2
Except for using lubricant-containing novolac type phenolic resin obtained according to Preparation Example 10, a coated sand composition was obtained by the same method and conditions as Comparative Example 1.
COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 3
Except for using lubricant-containing novolac type phenolic resin obtained according to Preparation Example 11, a coated sand composition was obtained by the same method and conditions as Comparative Example 1.
COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 4
Except for using lubricant-containing novolac type phenolic resin obtained according to Preparation Example 4, a coated sand composition was obtained by the same methods and conditions as Example 1.
COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 5
Preheated at 130° to 140° C., 7000 parts of Sanei No. 6 silica sand were charged into a whirl-mixer. After adding 140 parts of lubricant-containing resole type phenolic resin obtained according to Comparative Example 4, it was mixed for 40 seconds, and 105 parts of cooling water were added thereto. The mixture was mixed until it crumbled. 7 parts of calcium stearate were added thereto, mixed for 30 seconds, discharged and aerated to obtain a coated sand composition.
Table 1 indicates the characteristics of various kinds of coated sand composition obtained according to Examples 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, and Comparative Examples 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 as well as the shake-out property of shell-molds therefrom.
TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________ Example 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8__________________________________________________________________________Preparation Example 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Organic chloride incorporated I II III IV V VI VII VIIIIncorporating proportion of 10 10 15 10 20 10 15 10organic chloride in 100 partsof lubricant-containingphenolic resin (parts)Coated sand Stick point (°C.) 102 102 102 102 100 99 100 100compositionShell-mold Bending strength 30.6 30.7 30.5 30.6 28.6 27.4 27.9 29.0 (Kg/cm.sup.2) Tensile 30 sec. 2.5 2.6 2.4 2.5 1.8 1.7 1.9 1.8 strength 45 sec. 5.1 5.0 4.9 5.0 2.9 3.0 2.9 2.9 under 60 sec. 8.3 8.2 8.1 8.3 6.4 6.3 6.4 6.2 heat (Kg/cm.sup.2) at 250° C. Shake-out property 11 10 11 11 9 8 9 9 (times)__________________________________________________________________________ Example Comparative Example 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5__________________________________________________________________________Preparation Example 10 10 10 + 13 10 + 13 9 10 11 12 13Organic chloride incorporated I II I II IX -- I I --Incorporating proportion of 10 10 10 10 10 0 0.05 70 0organic chloride in 100 partsof lubricant-containingphenolic resin (parts)Coated sand Stick point (°C.) 102 102 100 100 102 102 102 105 98compositionShell-mold Bending strength 30.5 30.6 30.0 29.8 11.4 31.1 31.0 7.3 29.1 (Kg/cm.sup.2) Tensile 30 sec. 2.5 2.5 2.1 2.2 1.0 2.5 2.6 0.3 2.0 strength 45 sec. 5.1 5.0 4.0 4.1 2.1 5.2 5.1 1.4 3.1 under 60 sec. 8.4 8.3 7.3 7.4 4.3 8.2 8.2 1.5 6.5 heat (Kg/cm.sup.2) at 250° C. Shake out property 11 10 10 9 22 31 31 4 27 (times)__________________________________________________________________________
Test Methods
Bending strength: according to JACT Method SM-1
Stick point: according to JACT Method C-1
Tensile strength under elevated temperature: according to JACT Method SM-10.
Shake-out property
Preparation of specimen: Coated sand is fed into an iron pipe of 29 mm in diameter and 150 mm in length. After 30 minutes baking, it is covered with aluminum foil and further heated for 3 hours at 370° C. After cooling, the sand molded pipe is taken out.
Test method The specimen is flogged by the impact arm of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. Crumbled sand is removed from the pipe after each flogging. Weighing the residual molded sand of the specimen until it becomes zero, and the shake-out property is defined by the number of floggings thereof.
Test apparatus In FIG. 1, A is a molded sand specimen and B is the arm which revolves around pivot C set at 30 cm high. Said arm is at first set horizontally, and then allowed to drop so as to flog said specimen. | An improved resin binder for shell-molding operations having improved shake-out properties is disclosed. The resin binder utilizes a lubricant-containing phenolic resin of the novolac or resole type, or a mixture of novolac and resole types, incorporated therewith is an organic chloride. The organic chloride is characterized by having 20% by weight of the heating loss in the temperature range of 130° to 550° C. The organic chloride may be selected from chloride-containing polymers and cyclo-organic chlorides. Chlorinated polymeric material may be selected from polyvinyl chlorides, polyvinyldene chloride resins, chlorinated paraffins and chlorinated polyolefins. | 1 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a U.S. national stage of International Appl. No. PCT/DK2015/050085 filed 9 Apr. 2015, which claimed priority to Danish Appl. No. PA 2014 00290 filed 27 May 2014, which applications are all incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The invention relates to a levelling device for levelling and support of items, such as machines, which levelling device includes a top part for fastening in an item such as a machine and a lower part for contact against a base such as a floor and where there in the top part is included a spindle, which includes a thread, a lower end surface at the lower part and an external cylindrical surface between the thread and the lower end surface and a center axis and a sleeve, which includes a first end surface closest to the lower part and another end surface in the opposite end of the sleeve and an internal thread in an area at the other end surface and designed to go in mesh with the thread on the spindle and an internal cylindrical surface between the internal thread and the first end surface with a larger circumference than the external circumference on the spindle's thread.
[0003] The invention also relates to the use of the levelling device.
BACKGROUND
[0004] On existing levelling devices for use in locations with high demands for hygiene and with spindles above a certain diameter, today there is typically used a sleeve, which is mounted from above around the spindle, to shield the thread on the spindle.
[0005] Sleeve in this connection technically describes a thread cover.
[0006] The sleeve is mounted from the top, since the sleeve is typically mounted following the top part being connected with the lower part.
[0007] The sleeve could also be mounted from below, if it occurs before the top part is connected with the lower part.
[0008] The thread on the spindle must be covered with a shielding, since cleaning a thread with small edges and sharp corners is very difficult. It is also a requirement that the thread on the spindle is shielded in connection with achieving authority approvals of the levelling device, including a USDA approval.
[0009] This sleeve seals with a lower sealing item lowermost towards the spindle below the spindle's thread and uppermost with an upper sealing item towards the lower side of an item, such as a machine, which is to be supported by the levelling device, such that filth and bacteria can not get into the thread on the spindle.
[0010] It will be described in a mounting instruction that you may not screw the sleeve such high up that the lowermost part of the thread on the spindle becomes visible.
[0011] There are, however, certain drawbacks of the known technology, including that it is possible to screw the sleeve so far up that the lowermost sealing item is led with the sleeve up over the thread on the spindle and thus the thread on the spindle is partially exposed and dirt and bacteria can enter into the thread and also up under the sleeve, since the lower sealing item can not seal against the thread itself on the spindle. This occurs despite the fact that it is described in the installation instruction that the sleeve must not be screwed so high up. In addition, it is expected that the authority approvals of the levelling device, including at USDA, will require that neither the whole thread or parts of the thread on the spindle can be exposed at a potential faulty use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] It is therefore an object of the invention to show a levelling device without the above-mentioned drawbacks or at least provide a useful alternative.
[0013] The object of the invention is achieved by a levelling device for levelling and support of items, such as machines, which levelling device includes a top part for fastening in an item such as a machine and a lower part for contact against a base such as a floor and where there in the top part is included a spindle, which includes a thread, a lower end surface at the lower part, an external cylindrical surface between the thread and the lower end surface and a center axis and where the spindle passes through a sleeve, which includes a lower end surface above the lower part and an upper end surface in the opposite end of the sleeve and an internal thread at the upper end surface which meshes with the thread on the spindle, and the sleeve further having an internal cylindrical surface between the internal thread and the lower end surface with a larger internal circumference than the external circumference on the spindle's thread, which is characterized in that the sleeve includes at least one internal stop surface, proceeding preferably perpendicular on the center axis and placed between the internal thread and first end surface on the sleeve, which internal stop surface/surfaces are limited by the internal cylindrical surface and another surface, which other surface is placed between the spindle's external cylindrical surface and the outer circumference on the spindle's thread and by the spindle including at least one stop surface, preferably perpendicular with the center axis and placed between the thread on the spindle and the lower end surface, which stop surface/surfaces are limited by the external cylindrical surface and the outer circumference on the spindle's thread.
[0014] In this way, it thus becomes possible to produce a levelling device, where the sleeve can not be screwed so high up that the whole or parts of the lowermost of the spindle's thread is exposed. In addition, it can be ensured that there will always be thread in the top of the spindle to fix in the item, which is to be supported. The levelling device, which with its other construction details can be used in locations with high hygienic requirements, can thus in the future also be approved by the USDA, 3A and EHEDG if it is implemented as requirement by the relevant authorities that the spindle's thread must not be exposed by screwing the sleeve too high up. By designing stop surfaces as stated on both the spindle as well as the sleeve, there is provided an upper stop for the movement of the sleeve, thereby ensuring that the whole or parts of the thread on the spindle can not be exposed by an error.
[0015] Further appropriate embodiments for the levelling device are stated herein.
[0016] By an additional aspect of the invention, the levelling device includes that the other surface on the sleeve is a cylindrical surface. It is hereby achieved that the other surface can be created by a simple turning process
[0017] By an additional aspect of the invention, the levelling device includes that the stop surface/surfaces on the sleeve are perpendicular on the spindle's center axis. It is hereby achieved that the reaction forces, when the stop surface hits the stop surface on the spindle, can be transferred without displacement forces.
[0018] By an additional aspect of the invention, the levelling device includes that the stop surface/surfaces on the sleeve consist of a single stop surface. It is hereby achieved that the stop surface can be created by a simple turning process and that the surface gets maximum area to transfer the reaction forces, when the stop surface hits the stop surface on the spindle.
[0019] By an additional aspect of the invention, the levelling device includes that the stop surface/surfaces on the sleeve consists of the internal surfaces on a ledge in the area where the first end surface on the sleeve is found.
[0020] It is hereby achieved that the stop surface can be placed so close to the first end surface on the sleeve as possible to make the distance between this stop surface and the stop surface on the spindle, when the screwing on of the sleeve is started, as large as possible and thereby that the sleeve can be screwed as far up as possible
[0021] By an additional aspect of the invention, the levelling device includes that the ledge is designed to support a lower sealing item, which lower sealing item is designed to seal between the sleeve and the spindle's cylindrical surface.
[0022] It is hereby achieved that the ledge can be used for two purposes, to support a sealing item and provide a stop surface and thereby that you save material and thereby weight in the sleeve.
[0023] By an additional aspect of the invention, the levelling device includes that the stop surface/surfaces on the spindle are perpendicular on the spindle's center axis.
[0024] It is hereby achieved that the reaction forces, when the stop surface hits the stop surface on the sleeve can be transferred without transverse forces.
[0025] By an additional aspect of the invention, the levelling device includes that the stop surface/surfaces on the spindle consist of a single stop surface It is hereby achieved that the stop surface can be created by a simple turning process and that the surface gets maximum area to transfer the reaction forces when the stop surface hits the stop surface on the sleeve.
[0026] By an additional aspect of the invention, the levelling device includes that the cylindrical surface on the spindle defines the outermost diameter on the spindle in the whole area between the spindle's thread and the lower end surface on the spindle.
[0027] It is hereby achieved that the sleeve can be led up around the spindle from below and that the sealing item can seal against the cylindrical surface without first having to pass a larger diameter.
[0028] As mentioned, the invention also relates to the use of the above levelling device in locations with high requirements for hygiene such as locations for processing foodstuffs or manufacturing of medicine.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0029] The invention will now be explained more fully with reference to the drawings, on which:
[0030] FIG. 1 shows an assembled top part according to the invention
[0031] FIG. 2 shows a sectional view through the top part along the line A-A shown in FIG. 1
[0032] FIG. 3 shows an exploded top part according to the invention
[0033] FIG. 4 shows a sectional view through the top part along the line B-B shown in FIG. 2 .
[0034] FIG. 5 shows an assembled levelling device
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0035] In FIG. 1 is with ( 3 ) indicated shown a top part, which includes a spindle ( 4 ), with a thread ( 5 ) up the uppermost part of the spindle ( 4 ) and a cylindrical surface ( 10 ) on the lowermost part of the spindle ( 4 ), the top part ( 3 ) also includes a mostly cylindrical sleeve ( 6 ).
[0036] The thread ( 5 ) on the spindle has an outer circumference, which is larger than the circumference on the spindle's ( 4 ) cylindrical surface ( 10 )
[0037] With ( 15 ) indicated is shown a surface, which consists a first end surface ( 15 ) on the sleeve ( 6 ). The fists end surface ( 15 ) is in an assembled levelling device ( 1 ) placed closest to a lower part ( 2 ), where the assembled levelling device ( 1 ) and the lower part ( 2 ) can be seen on FIG. 5 .
[0038] With ( 16 ) indicated is shown another surface, which consists another end surface ( 16 ) on the sleeve ( 6 ) placed in the opposite end of the first end surface ( 15 ) on the sleeve ( 6 ).
[0039] With ( 13 ) indicated is shown an upper sealing item, which is mounted on the sleeve ( 6 ) at the sleeve's ( 6 ) other end surface ( 16 ). This upper sealing item ( 13 ) is designed to seal between the sleeve ( 6 ) and the supported item and thereby ensures that filth and bacteria can not get into the spindle's ( 4 ) thread ( 5 ) in this area.
[0040] With ( 25 ) indicated is shown a lower end surface on the spindle ( 4 ), which lower end surface ( 25 ) in an assembled levelling device ( 1 ) is placed closest to the lower part ( 2 ).
[0041] With ( 18 ) indicated is shown a sectional marking, where the sectional view is shown in FIG. 2 .
[0042] With ( 24 ) indicated is shown a center axis in the spindle ( 4 )
[0043] In FIGS. 2 and 4 is with ( 7 ) indicated shown an internal thread in the sleeve ( 6 ), which is designed to go in mesh with the thread ( 5 ) on the spindle ( 4 ).
[0044] The thread ( 7 ) on the sleeve ( 6 ) is placed at the sleeve's ( 6 ) other surface ( 16 ) and consists a part of the internal geometry in the sleeve ( 6 )
[0045] In FIGS. 1 to 4 is with ( 10 ) indicated shown a cylindrical surface on the spindle ( 4 ), which is placed between the spindle's ( 4 ) thread ( 5 ) and lower end surface ( 25 ). In a preferred embodiment, the cylindrical surface ( 10 ) is smooth by which there is understood that the surface is without thread and suited for forming contact for a sealing item ( 14 ).
[0046] The circumference of this cylindrical surface ( 10 ) on the spindle ( 4 ) is smaller than the outer circumference on the spindle's ( 4 ) thread ( 5 ). This difference in diameters is used to provide a stop surface ( 11 ), which is thus limited by the spindle's ( 4 ) cylindrical surface ( 10 ) and external circumference on the spindle's ( 4 ) thread ( 5 ).
[0047] The cylindrical surface ( 10 ) defines the outer diameter on the spindle ( 4 ) in the whole area from the spindle's ( 4 ) thread ( 5 ) and to the lower end surface ( 25 ) on the spindle ( 4 ).
[0048] On the lower part of the cylindrical surface ( 10 ) there are two parallel plane surfaces on each side of the center axis ( 24 ). The surfaces are used for contact for a screw wrench such that it is possible to turn the spindle or to hold it fixed.
[0049]
15
[0050] In FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 is with ( 14 ) shown a lower sealing item, which is mounted on the sleeve ( 6 ) in the area at the first end surface ( 15 ). This lower sealing item ( 14 ) seals between the sleeve ( 6 ) and the spindle's ( 4 ) cylindrical surface ( 10 ) below the thread ( 5 ) on the spindle ( 4 ) and thereby ensures that filth and bacteria can not get into the spindle's ( 4 ) thread ( 5 ) in this area.
[0051] In FIGS. 2 and 4 is with ( 8 ) shown an internal cylindrical surface on the sleeve ( 6 ). This cylindrical surface ( 8 ) has a circumference which is larger than the outer circumference of the spindle's ( 4 ) thread ( 5 ), such that the cylindrical surface ( 8 ) can be led up around the thread ( 5 ) on the spindle ( 4 ) when the sleeve ( 6 ) with the internal thread ( 7 ) is screwed up on the spindle's thread ( 5 ). The cylindrical surface ( 8 ) is placed between the thread ( 7 ) on the sleeve ( 6 ) and the first end surface ( 15 ). The surface ( 8 ) is in a preferred embodiment cylindrical, but can in another embodiment have a non-cylindrical cross-section in a plane perpendicular to the center axis ( 24 ), including polygonal.
[0052] In FIGS. 2 and 4 is with ( 11 ) indicated shown a stop surface on the spindle ( 4 ), which stop surface ( 11 ) proceeds perpendicular to the center axis ( 24 ) and is limited inwards by the spindle's ( 4 ) cylindrical surface ( 10 ) and outwards by the outer circumference on the spindle's ( 4 ) thread ( 5 ). The surface ( 11 ) is in a preferred embodiment placed where the thread ( 5 ) and the cylindrical surface ( 10 ) on the spindle ( 4 ) meet, but can also be placed further down in direction towards the lower end surface ( 25 ) on the spindle ( 4 ). The surface ( 11 ) is here shown perpendicular on the center axis ( 24 ) but can also have other designs, including to be inclined in relation to the center axis ( 24 ) and is thus not limited to the plane surface shown here.
[0053] In FIGS. 2 and 4 , is with ( 9 ) indicated shown another internal surface on the sleeve ( 6 ) which is placed between the spindle's ( 4 ) external cylindrical surface ( 10 ) and the outer circumference of the spindle's ( 4 ) thread ( 5 ). The surface ( 9 ) is in a preferred embodiment cylindrical, but can in another embodiment have a non-cylindrical cross-section in a plane perpendicular to the center axis ( 24 ), including polygonal.
[0054] In FIGS. 2 and 4 is with ( 12 ) indicated shown a stop surface on the sleeve ( 6 ), which is limited by the internal cylindrical surface ( 8 ) and the other surface ( 9 ). The stop surface ( 12 ) is shown here as a disc-shaped surface on the sleeve ( 6 ), between the two surfaces ( 8 , 9 ). The stop surface ( 12 ) is in a preferred embodiment plane and proceeding perpendicular to the spindle's ( 4 ) center axis ( 24 ), but is not limited to this orientation and shape, including it can in another embodiment be inclined in relation to the center axis ( 24 ), or consist of several separate surfaces. The stop surface ( 12 ) on the sleeve ( 6 ) is also in a preferred embodiment placed so close to the first end surface ( 15 ) on the sleeve ( 6 ) as possible, such that the distance between this stop surface ( 12 ) and the spindle's ( 4 ) stop surface ( 11 ) when screwing on of the sleeve ( 6 ) is started, is as large as possible, such that the sleeve ( 6 ) can be screwed as far as possible up over the thread ( 5 ) on the spindle ( 4 ).
[0055] In FIGS. 2 and 4 is with ( 17 ) indicated shown a ledge on the sleeve ( 6 ) which is limited by the internal cylindrical surface ( 8 ) and the other internal surface ( 9 ) on the sleeve ( 6 ). This ledge has an internal side, proceeding preferably perpendicular to the spindle's ( 4 ) center axis ( 24 ), which consists the stop surface ( 12 ). This ledge ( 17 ) consists, in a preferred embodiment, also support for the lower sealing item ( 14 ). In another embodiment, this ledge ( 17 ) on the sleeve ( 6 ), which with its internal side consists the stop surface ( 12 ) can be placed in a larger distance from the first end surface ( 15 ) and thereby, the sleeve's ( 6 ) possibility of upwards movement will be reduced, since the distance between the stop surface ( 12 ) on the sleeve ( 6 ) and the stop surface ( 11 ) on the spindle ( 4 ) is reduced. The support of the lower sealing item ( 14 ) must thus consist of another element on the sleeve ( 6 ).
[0056] In FIG. 3 is with ( 19 ) indicated shown a sectional marking, where the sectional view is shown in FIG. 4 .
[0057] In FIG. 5 is with ( 1 ) indicated shown an assembled levelling device, which includes a top part ( 3 ) and a lower part ( 2 ). On the figure, the sleeve ( 6 ) is turned a distance up on the spindle's ( 4 ) thread ( 5 )
[0058] In a levelling device ( 1 ) according to the invention, it is not possible to expose the whole or parts of the lowermost of the spindle's ( 4 ) thread ( 5 ) by an error when the sleeve ( 6 ) is screwed up in order to seal against the item, which is to be supported, since there, by adding stop surfaces as stated on both the spindle and on the sleeve ( 6 ), is provided an upper stop for the sleeve's ( 6 ) movement. Thereby, the expected future requirements from the authorities can be met and the authority approvals, including from USDA, are achieved.
[0059] The sleeve ( 6 ) must be mounted from below before the top part ( 3 ) is assembled with the lower part ( 2 )
[0060] By adjusting the length of the sleeve ( 6 ) in relation to the spindle's ( 4 ) thread ( 5 ), such that the spindle's ( 4 ) thread ( 5 ) is longer than the sleeve ( 6 ), it can be ensured that there is always sufficient free thread ( 5 ) at the top of the spindle ( 4 ) to fix an item, such as a machine, even though the sleeve ( 6 ) is screwed to the top.
[0061] In another embodiment of the sleeve ( 6 ), the thread ( 7 ) on the sleeve ( 6 ) can continue to the stop surface ( 12 ) such that the internal cylindrical surface ( 8 ) does not exist.
[0062] It is a part of the invention that the described levelling device ( 1 ) is used in locations with high requirements for hygiene such as locations for processing foodstuffs or manufacturing of medicine. | The invention relates to a levelling device, which includes a top part and a lower part where there in the top part is included a spindle, which includes a thread and an external cylindrical surface and a sleeve with at least one internal stop surface and that the spindle includes at least one stop surface. According to an exemplary aspect of the invention, it is achieved that it is possible to manufacture a levelling device where the sleeve, as a result of the stop surface on the sleeve and the stop surface on the spindle, cannot be screwed so high up that parts of the thread on the spindle are exposed. | 0 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to the field of measurements made during the drilling phase of a hydrocarbon borehole. In particular, the invention relates to an automated method for correcting errors in depth for such measurements.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] During the drilling phase of the construction of a hydrocarbon wellbore, the length of the drillstring in the borehole is used to estimate the measured depth (or along hole length) of a borehole, it is assumed that the pipe is inelastic and therefore does not stretch. However, discrepancies in the length of the borehole estimated at surface during rig operations and the actual length of the borehole there may cause gaps or lost data, when the uncorrected depth is used with logs of data measured during with sensors mounted on the drillstring, such as LWD and MWD logs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] According to the invention a method is provided for automatically correcting for depth errors in measurements taken from a drillstring comprising the steps of receiving data representing measurements taken in a hydrocarbon wellbore at a plurality of depths within the wellbore from at least one sensor located on a drillstring used to drill the wellbore, automatically calculating corrections for errors in the depth of the locations, and making use of the measured data having the depths corrected.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] FIG. 1 shows a scheme for correcting depth for measurements made from a drillstring according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
[0005] FIG. 2 shows an example of data prior to correction according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; and
[0006] FIG. 3 shows data that has been corrected according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The length of the drillstring in the borehole is used to estimate the measured depth (or along hole length) of a borehole. According to the invention, the depth is corrected. For real drill strings the assumption that the drillstring is inelastic is not valid. The length of the drillpipe is a function of several parameters including temperature, pressure, and stress. According to the invention, corrections are calculated based on at least the stress on the drillstring. In particular, a correction is calculated based on the un-deformed length of the drillstring and the stress due to the buoyant drillstring weight, weight on bit and frictional forces due to contact with the borehole acting along the length of the drillstring. Two of these parameters, friction factor and weight on bit vary depending on the rig operation and the drillers input at surface. According to the invention, a method is provided for correcting the measurement of depth at surface for these parameters. The corrected depth is then used to assign depths to data measured downhole.
[0008] FIG. 1 shows a scheme for correcting depth for measurements made from a drillstring according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the following steps are undertaken for each time step:
[0009] 1) The drillstring description, dimensions pipe weight per unit length are input, the pipe length as measured at surface is updated from real-time measurements.
[0010] 2) the borehole trajectory, inclination and azimuth are input and updated from downhole measurements in real-time.
[0011] 3) The rig operation is computed preferably as described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/400,125 entitled “System and Method for Rig State Detection,” filed on 26 Mar. 2003; which is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/330,634 filed on 27 Dec. 2002. Both of these applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
[0012] 4) A model for computing the stress in the drillstring is selected.
[0013] 5) A friction factor is selected for the given rig state.
[0014] 6) Weight on bit is either estimated from the hookload and total hookload or from weight on bit measured downhole.
[0015] 7) From these inputs the model is used to compute the hookload. If the hookload is within tolerances equal to the measured hookload the stress profile is accepted and used to compute the pipe stretch. If it is not then the friction factor or the weight on bit are varied until the hookload and the calculated hookloads match. The models used here and in step 4 above preferably known models such as Drillsafe™.
[0016] 8) Pipe stretch is then computed using the stress profile.
[0017] 9) The stretch correction is applied to measured depth to give the corrected depth and time stamped.
[0018] 10) Time stamped downhole data is the associated with the corrected surface measured depths with the same time stamp.
[0019] FIG. 2 shows an example of data prior to correction according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The first frame of FIG. 2 shows a surface time verse depth plot, the first section is drilling without surface rotation. As a result all of the friction force is opposing the motion of the drillsting along the hole. As a result whilst drilling the direction of the friction force is towards surface. The driller then stops drill pulls the drillstring off bottom and then runs back to bottom rotating the drillstring, when rotating the friction force opposes the direction of rotation and as a result the frictional force along the borehole falls to close to zero. This results in an increase in the tension in the pipe and therefore an increase in the pipe stretch as a result the position of the bottom of the hole as measure from surface appears shallower. In the second frame the resistivity data are shown plot against the same time scale. In the third frame the resistivity data are plotted against the apparent depth at which they were measured. It can be seen that there is a section of data in lighter grey that in terms of depths overlaps previously recorded data. Conventionally, these data would be discarded. The darker line represents the data that would be kept. Thus, failure to compensate for errors in depth results not only in lost data but also the thickness of the formation section appearing thinner.
[0020] FIG. 3 shows data that has been corrected according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The stress profile and the pipe stretch have been calculated according to an appropriate model for the rig operation. Note that in the first frame, the depth at which drilling resumes is very close to the depth at which it stopped. Secondly, the measured resisitivities are properly allocated to the measure depth. Thus, according this embodiment of the invention, there is no loss of data or gaps, (the remaining grey points are recorded off bottom).
[0021] While the invention has been described in conjunction with the exemplary embodiments described above, many equivalent modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art when given this disclosure. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of the invention set forth above are considered to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. | A method and system is disclosed for automatically correcting for depth errors in measurements taken from a drill-string during the drilling phase of the construction of a hydrocarbon wellbore. The correction is based on a stress profile which in turn is based on the states of the drilling rig, drill string description length spec, borehole description trajectory, friction factor and weight on bit. | 4 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2015-0019687, filed on Feb. 9, 2015, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
FIELD
The present disclosure relates to an automotive multistage transmission.
BACKGROUND
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Recently, a rise in oil prices has caused manufacturers all over the world to rush into infinite competition. For engines in particular, manufacturers have been trying to reduce the weight and improve fuel efficiency through downsizing and similar measures.
Alternatively, as a method capable of improving fuel efficiency through the transmission in a vehicle, there is a method of operating an engine at a more efficient operation point by increasing the shifting stages of the transmission, thereby improving fuel efficiency.
Increasing the shifting stages of the transmission enables an engine to operate in a relatively lower range of RPM, so a vehicle can run more quietly.
However, as the shifting stages of a transmission increase, the number of parts in the transmission increases, so the manufacturing cost, weight, and power transmission efficiency may become poor.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure provides an automotive multistage transmission that can improve fuel efficiency of a vehicle as much as possible by operating an engine at the desired operation point and that can drive a vehicle more quietly by operating an engine more silently, by achieving ten or more forward shifting stages and one or more rearward shifting stages with fewer parts and a simpler configuration than in the conventional art.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an automotive multistage transmission that includes: an input shaft and an output shaft; a first planetary gear set, a second planetary gear set, a third planetary gear set, and a fourth planetary gear set, each of the planetary gear sets including three rotary members and thus configured, structured and/or arranged for transmitting torque between the input shaft and the output shaft; and at least six shifting members connected to the rotary members of the planetary gear sets, in which in the first planetary gear set, a first rotary member stays connected to a third rotary member of the second planetary gear set and is selectively fixable to any one of the shifting members, a second rotary member stays connected to a third rotary member of the third planetary gear set, and a third rotary member is selectively fixable to another one of the shifting members, in the second planetary gear set, a first rotary member is variably connected to a second rotary member of the third planetary gear set and a first rotary member of the fourth planetary gear set, a second rotary member stays connected to the input shaft and is variably connected to the first rotary member of the fourth planetary gear set, and the third rotary member stays connected to a first rotary member of the third planetary gear set, the third rotary member of the third planetary gear set stays connected to a second rotary member of the fourth planetary gear set, and a third rotary member of the fourth planetary gear set stays connected to the output shaft.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an automotive multistage transmission that includes: a first planetary gear set, a second planetary gear set, a third planetary gear set, and a fourth planetary gear set each including three rotary members; six shifting members variably providing a friction force; and eight rotary shafts connected to the rotary members of the planetary gear sets, in which a first rotary shaft is an input shaft directly connected to a second rotary member of the second planetary gear set, a second rotary shaft is directly connected to a first rotary member of the first planetary gear set, a third rotary member of the second planetary gear set, and a first rotary member of the third planetary gear set, a third rotary shaft is directly connected to a third rotary member of the first planetary gear set, a fourth rotary shaft is directly connected to a second rotary member of the first planetary gear set, a third rotary member of the third planetary gear set, and a second rotary member of the fourth planetary gear set; a fifth rotary shaft is directly connected to a first rotary member of the secondary planetary gear set, a sixth rotary shaft is directly connected to a second rotary member of the third planetary gear set, a seventh rotary shaft is directly connected to a first rotary member of the fourth planetary gear set, and an eighth rotary shaft is an output shaft directly connected to a third rotary member of the fourth planetary gear set; and in which, in the six shifting members, a first clutch is disposed between the first rotary shaft and the seventh rotary shaft, a second clutch is disposed between the fourth rotary shaft and the eighth rotary shaft, a third clutch is disposed between the second rotary shaft and a transmission case, a fourth clutch is disposed between the third rotary shaft and the transmission case, a fifth clutch is disposed between the fifth rotary shaft and the sixth rotary shaft, and a sixth clutch is disposed between the fifth rotary shaft and the seventh rotary shaft.
According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an automotive multistage transmission that includes: a first planetary gear set, a second planetary gear set, a third planetary gear set, and a fourth planetary gear set each including three rotary members; six shifting members variably providing a friction force; and eight rotary shafts connected to the rotary members of the planetary gear sets, in which a first rotary shaft is an input shaft directly connected to a second rotary member of the second planetary gear set, a second rotary shaft is directly connected to a first rotary member of the first planetary gear set, a third rotary member of the second planetary gear set, and a first rotary member of the third planetary gear set, a third rotary shaft is directly connected to a third rotary member of the first planetary gear set, a fourth rotary shaft is directly connected to a second rotary member of the first planetary gear set, a third rotary member of the third planetary gear set, and a second rotary member of the fourth planetary gear set; a fifth rotary shaft is directly connected to a first rotary member of the secondary planetary gear set, a sixth rotary shaft is directly connected to a second rotary member of the third planetary gear set, a seventh rotary shaft is directly connected to a first rotary member of the fourth planetary gear set, and an eighth rotary shaft is an output shaft directly connected to a third rotary member of the fourth planetary gear set; and in which, in the six shifting members, a first clutch is disposed between the first rotary shaft and the seventh rotary shaft, a second clutch is disposed between the seventh rotary shaft and the eighth rotary shaft, a third clutch is disposed between the second rotary shaft and a transmission case, a fourth clutch is disposed between the third rotary shaft and the transmission case, a fifth clutch is disposed between the fifth rotary shaft and the sixth rotary shaft, and a sixth clutch is disposed between the fifth rotary shaft and the seventh rotary shaft.
According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an automotive multistage transmission that includes: a first planetary gear set, a second planetary gear set, a third planetary gear set, and a fourth planetary gear set each including three rotary members; six shifting members variably providing a friction force; and eight rotary shafts connected to the rotary members of the planetary gear sets, in which a first rotary shaft is an input shaft directly connected to a second rotary member of the second planetary gear set, a second rotary shaft is directly connected to a first rotary member of the first planetary gear set, a third rotary member of the second planetary gear set, and a first rotary member of the third planetary gear set, a third rotary shaft is directly connected to a third rotary member of the first planetary gear set, a fourth rotary shaft is directly connected to a second rotary member of the first planetary gear set, a third rotary member of the third planetary gear set, and a second rotary member of the fourth planetary gear set; a fifth rotary shaft is directly connected to a first rotary member of the secondary planetary gear set, a sixth rotary shaft is directly connected to a second rotary member of the third planetary gear set, a seventh rotary shaft is directly connected to a first rotary member of the fourth planetary gear set, and an eighth rotary shaft is an output shaft directly connected to a third rotary member of the fourth planetary gear set; and in which, in the six shifting members, a first clutch is disposed between the first rotary shaft and the seventh rotary shaft, a second clutch is disposed between the fourth rotary shaft and the seventh rotary shaft, a third clutch is disposed between the second rotary shaft and a transmission case, a fourth clutch is disposed between the third rotary shaft and the transmission case, a fifth clutch is disposed between the fifth rotary shaft and the sixth rotary shaft, and a sixth clutch is disposed between the fifth rotary shaft and the seventh rotary shaft.
According to the present disclosure, it is possible to improve fuel efficiency of a vehicle as much as possible by operating an engine at a desired operation point and that can drive a vehicle more quietly by operating an engine more silently, by achieving ten or more forward shifting stages and one or more rearward one shifting stages with fewer parts and a simpler configuration than in the conventional art.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
DRAWINGS
In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now be described various forms thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an automotive multistage transmission according to a first form of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2 is a table showing operation modes of the transmission shown in FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of an automotive multistage transmission according to a second form of the present disclosure;
FIG. 4 is a table showing operation modes of the transmission shown in FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of an automotive multistage transmission according to a third form of the present disclosure; and
FIG. 6 is a table showing operation modes of the transmission shown in FIG. 5 .
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.
Referring to FIGS. 1, 3, and 5 , forms of the present disclosure, in common, include: an input shaft “IN” and an output shaft “OUT”; a first planetary gear set “PG 1 ”, a second planetary gear set “PG 2 ,” a third planetary gear set “PG 3 ,” and a fourth planetary gear set “PG 4 ,” each of the planetary gear sets including three rotary members, transmitting torque between the input shaft “IN” and the output shaft “OUT”; and at least six shifting members (e.g. clutches CL 1 -CL 6 ) connected to the rotary members of the planetary gear sets.
As for the first planetary gear set PG 1 , a first rotary member S 1 stays connected (e.g. is permanently engaged) to a third rotary member R 2 of the second planetary gear set PG 2 and is fixable to any one of the shifting members, a second rotary member C 1 stays connected to a third rotary member R 3 of the third planetary gear set PG 3 , and a third rotary member R 1 is fixable to another one of the shifting members.
As for the second planetary gear set PG 2 , a first rotary member S 2 is variably connected (e.g. selectively, intermittently connected) to a second rotary member C 3 of the third planetary gear set PG 3 and a first rotary member S 4 of the fourth planetary gear set PG 4 , a second rotary member C 2 stays connected to the input shaft IN and is variably connected to the first rotary member S 4 of the fourth planetary gear set PG 4 , and the third rotary member R 2 stays connected to a first rotary member S 3 of the third planetary gear set PG 3 .
The third rotary member R 3 of the third planetary gear set PG 3 stays connected to a second rotary member C 4 of the fourth planetary gear set PG 4 , and a third rotary member R 4 of the fourth planetary gear set PG 4 stays connected to the output shaft OUT.
The first planetary gear set PG 1 , second planetary gear set PG 2 , third planetary gear set PG 3 , and fourth planetary gear set PG 4 are sequentially arranged in the axial direction of the input shaft IN and the output shaft OUT.
The first rotary member S 1 of the first planetary gear set PG 1 is fixable to a transmission case CS by a third clutch CL 3 of the shifting members and the third rotary member R 1 of the first planetary gear set PG 1 is fixable to the transmission case CS by a fourth clutch CL 4 of the shifting members.
Accordingly, the third clutch CL 3 and the fourth clutch CL 4 can function as a brake, thereby restricting or allowing rotation of the first rotary member S 1 and the third rotary member R 1 of the first planetary gear set PG 1 .
The others of the shifting members form variable connection structures between the rotary members of the planetary gear sets.
That is, a first clutch CL 1 of the shifting members forms a variable connection structure between the second rotary member C 2 of the second planetary gear set PG 2 and the first rotary member S 4 of the fourth planetary gear set PG 4 , a fifth clutch CL 5 of the shifting members forms a variable connection structure between the first rotary member S 2 of the second planetary gear set PG 2 and the second rotary member C 3 of the third planetary gear set PG 3 , and a sixth clutch CL 6 of the shifting members forms a variable connection structure between the first rotary member S 2 of the second planetary gear set PG 2 and the first rotary member S 4 of the fourth planetary gear set PG 4 .
This configuration is applied in common to a first form, a second form, and a third form of the present disclosure, and the differences between the forms of the present disclosure are described below.
In the first form shown in FIG. 1 , the third rotary member R 3 of the third planetary gear set PG 3 and the third rotary member R 4 of the fourth planetary gear set PG 4 are variably connected, and the second clutch CL 2 forms a variable connection structure between the third rotary member R 3 of the third planetary gear set PG 3 and the third rotary member R 4 of the fourth planetary gear set PG 4 .
In the second form shown in FIG. 3 , the first rotary member S 4 and the third rotary member R 4 of the fourth planetary gear set PG 4 are variably connected, and the second clutch CL 2 forms a variable connection structure between the first rotary member S 4 and the third rotary member R 4 of the fourth planetary gear set PG 4 .
Further, in the third form shown in FIG. 5 , the first rotary member S 4 and the second rotary member C 4 of the fourth planetary gear set PG 4 are variably connected, and the second clutch CL 2 forms a variable connection structure between the first rotary member S 4 and the second rotary member C 4 of the fourth planetary gear set PG 4 .
As a result, the first to third forms are structurally different in light of the position of the second clutch CL 2 .
In the forms shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5 , the first rotary member S 1 , the second rotary member C 1 , and the third rotary member R 1 of the first planetary gear set PG 1 are a first sun gear, a first carrier, and a first ring gear, respectively; the first rotary member S 2 , the second rotary member C 2 , and the third rotary member R 2 of the second planetary gear set PG 2 are a second sun gear, a second carrier, and a second ring gear, respectively; the first rotary member S 3 , the second rotary member C 3 , and the third rotary member R 3 of the third planetary gear set PG 3 are a third sun gear, a third carrier, and a third ring gear, respectively; and the first rotary member S 4 , the second rotary member C 4 , and the third rotary member R 4 of the fourth planetary gear set PG 4 are a fourth sun gear, a fourth carrier, and a fourth ring gear, respectively.
Automotive multistage transmissions having these configurations may be expressed as follows.
The first to third forms, in common, include: the first planetary gear set PG 1 , the second planetary gear set PG 2 , the third planetary gear set PG 3 , and the fourth planetary gear set PG 4 , each of the planetary gear sets including three rotary members, the six shifting members variably providing a friction force; and eight rotary shafts connected to the rotary members of the planetary gear sets.
In those forms, a first rotary shaft RS 1 is an input shaft IN directly connected to the second rotary member C 2 of the second planetary gear set PG 2 ; a second rotary shaft RS 2 is directly connected to the first rotary member S 1 of the first planetary gear set PG 1 and also connected to the third rotary member R 2 of the second planetary gear set PG 2 and the first rotary member S 3 of the third planetary gear set PG 3 ; a third rotary shaft RS 3 is directly connected to the third rotary member R 1 of the first planetary gear set PG 1 ; a fourth rotary shaft RS 4 connecting the second rotary member C 1 of the first planetary gear set PG 1 to the third rotary member R 3 of the third planetary gear set PG 3 and the second rotary member C 4 of the fourth planetary gear set PG 4 ; a fifth rotary shaft RS 5 is directly connected to the first rotary member S 2 of the secondary planetary gear set PG 2 ; a sixth rotary shaft RS 6 is directly connected to the second rotary member C 3 of the third planetary gear set PG 3 ; a seventh rotary shaft RS 7 is directly connected to the first rotary member S 4 of the fourth planetary gear set PG 4 ; and an eighth rotary shaft RS 8 is an output shaft OUT directly connected to the third rotary member R 4 of the fourth planetary gear set PG 4 .
Further, in the six shifting members, the first clutch CL 1 is disposed between the first rotary shaft RS 1 and the seventh rotary shaft RS 7 , the third clutch CL 3 is disposed between the second rotary shaft RS 2 and the transmission case CS, the fourth clutch CL 4 is disposed between the third rotary shaft RS 3 and the transmission case CS, the fifth clutch CL 5 is disposed between the fifth rotary shaft RS 5 and the sixth rotary shaft RS 6 , and the sixth clutch CL 6 is disposed between the fifth rotary shaft RS 5 and the seventh rotary shaft RS 7 .
These configurations described above are the same in all the first to third forms, but there is a difference in the position of the second clutch CL 2 . The second clutch CL 2 is disposed between the fourth rotary shaft RS 4 and the eighth rotary shaft RS 8 in the first form, between the seventh rotary shaft RS 7 and the eighth rotary shaft RS 8 in the second form, and between the fourth rotary shaft RS 4 and the seventh rotary shaft RS 7 in the third form.
The forms of an automotive multistage transmission of the present disclosure, which include four single planetary gear sets and six shifting members, achieve ten forward shifting stages and one rearward shifting stage in accordance with the operation mode tables, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 6 , respectively. That is, they can achieve the ten shifting stages with relatively fewer parts and simpler configurations than in the conventional art. Therefore, it is possible to contribute to contribute to quiet driving and improvement of fuel efficiency of a vehicle, resulting in improvement of the commercial value of the vehicle.
Although the present disclosure was described with reference to specific forms shown in the drawings, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be changed and modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. | An automotive multistage transmission includes four planetary gear sets and six shifting members, and each of the planetary gear sets include three rotary members selectively connected to the six shifting members to transmit torque between input and output shafts, so that the automotive multistage transmission provides ten or more forward shifting stages and one or more rearward shifting stages with few parts and a simple configuration. With this arrangement, the transmission can improve fuel efficiency of a vehicle. | 5 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to a calibration standard for lead configurations for use in a lead scanner and a method for using the standard and more particularly, relates to a calibration standard for lead configurations for use in a CCD or laser lead scanner by providing three leads with one from three of the four sides of an IC package that are at least 0.03 mm longer than the other leads such that a consistent calibration plane (or seating plane) based on the three longer leads can be measured and used for calibrating the lead scanner, and a method for using such calibration standard.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the fabrication technologies for semiconductor devices, the packaging of a semiconductor chip is an important step of the total process. The purposes for packaging are several folds, i.e., to provide electrical connection to the chip, to expand the chip electrode pitch for the next level packaging, to protect the chip from mechanical and environmental stresses, and to provide a thermal path for dissipating the heat generated in the chip. The packaging step in the semiconductor manufacturing process affects the overall cost, performance, and reliability of the packaged chip and the system in which the package is used. The performance of a semiconductor device can also be aided by improvements made in the packaging technology. Modern VLSI and ULSI devices require superior packaging performance. A high density ULSI package that contains a relatively large chip requires a smaller external terminal spacing and therefore, further complicates the packaging requirements.
Plastic packages have become more popular as their applications expand into chips that were packaged by hermetically sealed ceramic packages. A plastic package can be produced in a typically automated batch handling process and therefore, can be made very cost competitive. The development in plastic packages has also been aided by the recent improvements in plastic materials, in processing equipment and specific design features that are built into the plastic packages.
In a typical plastic package, a semiconductor chip is attached to the paddle of a lead frame. The lead frame which is made of etched or stamped thin sheet metal serves as a skeleton around which the package can be assembled. The lead frame also provides the external leads in a completed encapsulated package while interconnections are made with fine gold wires. The encapsulation of a plastic package can be carried out in a transfer molding process by using a suitable plastic resin. One of such suitable plastic resin is epoxy or polyimide. The plastic resin covers the chip during the molding process and forms the package's outer dimensions at the same time. The external leads from the lead frame are then formed into a desired shape after the molding process. The benefit of a plastic package is that the plastic thoroughly insulates the chip from its surrounding environment and therefore protects the chip from mechanical and chemical factors outside the chip.
A popularly used plastic package is a plastic quad flat package (PQFP) in which a large number of external leads extend from all four sides of the plastic package after the molding process. It can be economically molded in an automated plastic injection molding process while allowing a maximum number of external leads to be connected to the chip. Variations of the quad flat package have been developed in recent years which include the thin quad flat package (TQFP) and the quad flat J-lead package (QFJ). One of the key requirements in packaging semiconductor chips in a PQFP is the lead integrity, i.e., the co-planarity and skew of the leads. In order to meet a stringent quality control and reliability requirement when a PQFP is assembled to a PC board, the lead configurations on a PQFP must be strictly controlled.
In the quality control and reliability testing of plastic packages equipped with external leads, i.e., such as PQFP's, an optical lead scanner that operates on a CCD (charged couple diode) or laser beam principle is frequently used. The CCD or laser lead scanner has the capability of scanning each of the external leads on a plastic package determining the co-planarity and skewness of each lead. When the measurements on co-planarity and skewness exceed a certain critical value, the packaged IC or the PQFP is rejected. A rejected plastic package can be sent back to its packaging plant where the package can be reworked. In a reworking process, the external leads are first straightened and then reformed into desired configurations according to the specification. Normally, the external leads on a plastic package can be reworked two times before the leads become fragile and susceptible to breakage such that they can no longer be reformed.
In a conventional method for operating a CCD or laser lead scanner, the scanner must first be calibrated by a standard package supplied by the scanner manufacturer to assure its accuracy. A calibration tool is thus required for performing the calibration process. The lead scanner manufacturer frequently supplies a standard package and a software program for use in conjunction with the package for the calibration of the scanner. However, such calibration tool does not always provide the extreme accuracy demanded in modern IC packages. For instance, some of the parameters measured by a lead scanner are in a three dimensional space while the software program supplied can only make planar or two-dimensional corrections. Moreover, the calibration standard supplied by the scanner manufacturer may not provide any resemblance to the actual plastic package measured. For instance, the configuration of a standard calibration sample supplied by the scanner manufacturer, i.e., a 10-pin package can be completely different than the configuration of a PQFP which has 100 pins. These deficiencies greatly reduce the accuracy of the lead scanner when used to measure a high pin-count PQFP.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a calibration standard for use in a lead scanner that does not have the drawbacks and the shortcomings of the conventional calibration standards.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a calibration standard for use in a lead scanner for measuring lead configurations in an IC package that is capable of producing a consistent calibration of the lead scanner.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a calibration standard for use in an CCD or laser lead scanner for measuring lead configurations in a plastic molded IC package by specially designing three leads on the standard that are longer than the other leads such that a consistent calibration plane can be measured each time the standard is used to calibrate the scanner.
It is another further object of the present invention to provide a calibration standard for use in a CCD or laser lead scanner for measuring lead configurations in an IC package that utilizes three longer leads in the package with one on three of the four sides of the package such that a consistent seating plane can be measured each time by using the standard.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a calibration standard for a CCD or laser lead scanner for measuring lead configurations on a PQFP by ensuring that the same three pins on the standard are used for creating a seating plane to improve the consistency and accuracy of the scanner.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a calibration standard for use in a CCD or laser lead scanner for measuring lead configurations in a PQFP by first providing a consistent seating plane such that readings from the scanner can be calibrated based on such seating plane.
It is yet another further object of the present invention to provide a method for calibrating a lead scanner for measuring lead configurations in an IC package by first providing a calibration standard such that a consistent seating plane can be measured by the scanner for calibrating the scanner and then measuring the deviations of each external leads on the package from such seating plane.
It is still another further object of the present invention to provide a method for calibrating a lead scanner for measuring lead configurations on an IC package by first providing a calibration standard with which the same seating plane can be determined by three specifically designed leads in the package which has a length that is at least 0.03 mm longer than the remaining multiplicity of leads.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention discloses a calibration standard for use in a CCD or laser lead scanner for measuring lead configurations in an IC package by providing three longer leads in the package each on three of the four sides such that a consistent calibration plane, or seating plane, can be determined for calibrating the lead scanner before it is used to determine the lead configurations of the external leads on an IC package.
In a preferred embodiment, a calibration standard for a lead scanner for measuring lead configurations in an IC package is provided which includes a molded body and a multiplicity of external leads extending outwardly from the body, wherein the molded body has a rectangular or square shape defined by a top surface, a bottom surface and four sides joining the top and bottom surfaces, the multiplicity of leads emanating from the four sides of the molded body wherein one lead from three of the four sides is at least 0.03 mm longer than the other multiplicity of leads such that a consistent calibration plane based on the same three leads can be measured by and used for calibrating the lead scanner.
The present invention is also directed to a method for calibrating a lead scanner for measuring lead configurations in an IC package such as a PQFP by the operating steps of first providing a calibration standard which has a multiplicity of external leads extending outwardly from the standard, wherein one lead each from three sides of the standard is longer by at least 0.03 mm than the remaining multiplicity of leads, then measuring a seating plane on the three longer leads and obtaining a first set of data, then comparing the first set of data on the lead scanner with an international measurement standard, then adjusting the lead scanner and obtaining a second set of data on the seating plane, and then repeating the adjusting step and the measuring step until a final set of data which is substantially equal to the international measurement standard is obtained.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and the appended drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a plane view of a present invention calibration standard for a plastic quad flat package that has 100 external leads.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the plastic quad flat pack shown in FIG. 1 illustrating the thicker than usual leads.
FIG. 3 is a side view 90° to that shown in FIG. 2 of the present invention calibration standard.
FIG. 3A is a partial, enlarged view of area A in FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention discloses a calibration standard for use in a lead scanner for measuring lead configurations in a semiconductor package. The standard has a novel construction of three longer leads with one on three of the four sides of the package such that a consistent calibration plane, or seating plane, can be measured for calibrating the scanner by comparing to an international measurement standard. The present invention is also directed to a method for calibrating a lead scanner that is used for measuring lead configurations on a semiconductor package by utilizing a calibration standard that is capable of providing a consistent seating plane each time when measured by the scanner and then adjusting the scanner until a set of data obtained on the seating plane is substantially the same as the international measurement standard. The lead scanner can then be used for measuring lead configurations on the semiconductor package by measuring the vertical distance of each lead from the seating plane.
Referring initially to FIG. 1. where it is shown an enlarged, plane view of a present invention calibration standard 10. The calibration standard 10 is fabricated to the exact dimensions of a production plastic quad flat package except that the leads are made thicker. As shown in FIG. 1, the PQFP package is equipped with twenty external leads 12, 14 on the two horizontal sides 16 and 18 of the package 10. On the two vertical sides 20 and 22 of the PQFP package 10, thirty leads 24, 26 are provided. The total number of external leads available in PQFP package 10 is thus 100. The external leads 12, 14, 24 and 26 extend from the PQFP package 10 are configured of the same configuration on a production PQFP package that has 100 external leads. This provides the benefit that the calibration standard 10 can be used to closely simulate the lead configurations on a production part such that more accurate measurements can be made. The leads 12, 14, 24 and 26 are fabricated of SKD-11 carbon steel such that they are more rigid than those found on a production PQFP package, and as a result, the standard 10 can be used repeatedly for calibrating a lead scanner without deformation.
The thickness of the leads, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, are larger than that found on a production PQFP package. For instance, the height of the bent portion of the lead 26 as indicated by X is approximately 0.8 mm, as shown in FIG. 2. The thickness of the lead 12, shown in FIG. 3 by Y, is also approximately 0.8 mm. In a production PQFP package, the external leads on the package have a thickness of approximately 0.3 mm. The present invention calibration standard therefore utilizes external leads that on average has a thickness of more than twice of that found on a production PQFP. This novel feature of the present invention calibration standard enables the standard to be used repeatedly without deformation or damages occurring to the external leads. The width of the leads 26, shown in FIG. 3 as Z, is approximately 0.3 mm which is similar to that in a production PQFP.
The operation of a CCD lead scanner for measuring lead configurations can be briefly described as follows. In the CCD lead scanner, a light source is used to illuminate the leads from an upper/side position such that shadows of the leads are projected on a bottom surface on which the calibration stand is positioned juxtaposed to. The lead scanner then measures the length of a lead by gradually approaching the lead from a bright lite portion to a dark shadow of the lead. As soon as the edge of the dark shadow is reached and read by the scanner, the coordinate measured is determined as the length of the lead. The present invention novel calibration standard and the novel method of using such standard can therefore be used in any lead scanners that utilizes the optical principle. In a laser head lead scanner, a light source is not required. Instead, a laser or laser beam is directly projected onto a package such that the intensity of a reflected beam can be measured to determine the length of the lead.
As an example of the CCD method, one lead from three of the four sides of the calibration standard 10 is first selected. This is shown in FIG. 1, as leads 30, 40 and 50. Each of the three leads are made longer than the remaining multiplicity of leads. The extra length is at least 0.03 mm, and preferably at least 0.05 mm. The three longer leads 30, 40 and 50 are measured by the scanner and used to determine a calibration plane, or a seating plane, of the standard. In a lead scanner, the co-planarity value of the three leads 30, 40 and 50 measured should be 0. The fact that the calibration standard 10 is made exactly to the same dimensional size of a production PQFP enables a high accuracy to be obtained from the lead scanner. The lead configurations of the calibration standard 10 expressed in various parameters such as the co-planarity, the pitch of the lead are measured for each lead by a certified laboratory, and can be traced to an international measurement standard such as NIST.
FIG. 3A is an enlarged, partial view of the circle A shown in FIG. 3. It is seen that the longer lead 50 has a length that is 0.05 mm longer than the neighboring regular leads 26.
In practicing the present invention, the novel calibration standard 10 is first positioned in a lead scanner for making measurements and determining a calibration plane, or a seating plane, based on the three longer leads 30, 40 and 50. Since only these three leads are longer than the remaining multiplicity of leads, the same three leads of 30, 40 and 50 will be chosen by the lead scanner for the determination of the reference seating plane each time it is placed in the lead scanner. The present invention novel method, therefore, enables the same reference seating plane to be measured for the calibration standard and thus be reliably used for calibration.
The present invention novel calibration standard eliminates the inaccuracy that is normally associated with the conventional calibration standard and the conventional calibration method provided by the scanner manufacturer. The measurements made on the calibration plane, or the seating plane, by the lead scanner is then compared to a standard value provided by the certification laboratory. The accuracy of the lead scanner can then be determined and the scanner be calibrated when it appears to be out of specification. The present invention four-sided-100-lead calibration standard 10 can therefore be used to obtain measurements to fully calibrate the accuracy of the lead scanner.
A highly accurate measurement of the co-planarity of a PQFP package by a profile projector, or a lead scanner, is thus possible by using the present invention novel method. Furthermore, the calibration standard 10 is constructed of a fatigueless alloy of SKD-11, and is fully calibrated by certified laboratory of its dimensions, which includes co-planarity, pitch, width, and length. The data can be accurately measured and then traced to an international measurement standard such as NIST. The leads 12, 14, 24 and 26 of the present invention calibration standard 10 are formed in a bent shape, i.e., bent downwardly as viewed in the top view of FIG. 1, and are made of a larger thickness metal than a production PQFP package to further improve the durability and reliability of the calibration standard. The larger thickness of the leads on the calibration standard does not affect the measurement made on a lead scanner, since only images projected on the lead scanner CCD camera is measured. The images are not affected by the thickness of the external leads.
The present invention novel calibration standard and a method of utilizing such standard have been amply demonstrated by the above descriptions and the appended drawings of FIGS. 1˜3A. By utilizing the present invention novel calibration standard, the same reference seating plane is always measured to insure the accuracy of the calibration process.
While the present invention has been described in an illustrative manner, it should be understood that the terminology used is intended to be in a nature of words of description rather than of limitation.
Furthermore, while the present invention has been described in terms of a preferred embodiment. it is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art will readily apply these teachings to other possible variations of the invention. | The present invention discloses a calibration standard for use in a CCD or laser lead scanner for the measurement of lead configurations in an IC package by selectively making three leads with one on three of the four sides of the package at least 0.03 mm longer than the remaining leads such that a consistent calibration plane, i.e., seating plane, is obtained by the lead scanner such that the scanner can be calibrated for making accurate measurements. The utilization of the present invention calibration standard greatly improves the accuracy of measurements made by a CCD or laser lead scanner such that a repair and rework rate of up to 30% that is normally achieved by a conventional standard can be drastically reduced. | 6 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
[0001] The invention relates to a rotary-blade folding unit having at least one folding blade, a pair of folding rollers and a drive for producing an hypocycloid movement of the folding blade about a blade axis of rotation and a main axis of rotation for folding a signature guided up to the rotary-blade folding unit in a transport plane extending between the main axis of rotation and the folding rollers.
[0002] Rotary-blade folding units, in general, have become known heretofore from the literature. For example, the French Patent 78 21 876 discloses a folder which comprises a rotary-blade folding unit for printing material webs or signatures cut from the latter, such as paper, pasteboard or the like. In the rotary-blade folding unit, the folding blade performs a periodic movement on a hypocycloid path about a main axis of rotation. On the travel path thereof, the folding blade pushes the printing material, which is guided in a transport plane up to the rotary-blade folding unit, into a nip between two folding rollers. Typically, such folders are arranged downstream of a web-fed rotary printing machine or offset printing machine, as viewed in the travel direction of the printing material. The printing-material web which arrives in the folder is folded and cut up both longitudinally and transversely with respect to the transport direction, so that individual signatures can be produced.
[0003] Rotary-blade folding units frequently serve for producing a longitudinal fold, i.e., a fold that is parallel to the transport direction of the signatures guided up to the rotary-blade folding unit. In this regard, the velocity vectors of the signature movement and of the hypocycloid movement of the folding blade are at least approximately perpendicular to one another. In other words, the relative movement of the signature and the folding blade along the coordinates determined by the transport direction is at least approximately equal to the transport speed of the signature. At the increasingly high processing speed of signatures in folders, a consequence thereof is that a signature can be damaged due to the abrupt contact thereof with the folding blade, i.e., due to retardation forces and acceleration forces occurring in physical directions perpendicular to the transport direction, during the process. For example, frictional traces or scratches may occur.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a rotary-blade folding unit or mechanism wherein, during operation, a reduced risk of damage to the signature to be processed, in particular at high machine speeds, is achieved.
[0005] With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, a rotary-blade folding unit, comprising at least one folding blade, a pair of folding rollers and a drive for producing a hypocycloid movement of the folding blade about a rotational axis of the folding blade and a main rotational axis for folding a signature that has been guided up to the rotary-blade folding unit in a transport plane extending between the main rotational axis and the folding rollers, and further comprising a drive mechanism for producing an oscillatory movement of the folding blade at least approximately parallel to the main rotational axis.
[0006] In accordance with another feature of the invention, the drive mechanism for producing the oscillatory movement is coupled with the drive for producing the hypocycloid movement.
[0007] In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the oscillatory movement of the drive mechanism has a cycle rate synchronized with a machine cycle rate.
[0008] In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the oscillatory movement is synchronized with movement of the signature.
[0009] In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, a projection of relative speed between the folding blade and the signature onto the main rotational axis is at least approximately zero, at least during part of the duration of a folding operation.
[0010] In accordance with yet another feature of the invention, the oscillatory movement of the folding blade parallel to the main rotational axis has an amplitude which is adjustably variable.
[0011] In accordance with yet a further feature of the invention, the drive mechanism for producing the oscillatory movement is operatively connected to the rotational movement about the rotational axis of the folding blade.
[0012] In accordance with yet an added feature of the invention, the drive mechanism for producing the oscillatory movement comprises an eccentrically mounted shaft having a shaft gear meshing with a worm gear coaxial with the rotational axis of the folding blade.
[0013] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a folder for producing signatures from at least one printing material web, the folder having at least one rotary-blade folding unit, comprising at least one folding blade, a pair of folding rollers and a drive for producing a hypocycloid movement of the folding blade about a rotational axis of the folding blade and a main rotational axis for folding a signature that has been guided up to the rotary-blade folding unit in a transport plane extending between the main rotational axis and the folding rollers, and further comprising a drive mechanism for producing an oscillatory movement of the folding blade at least approximately parallel to the main rotational axis.
[0014] In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a printing machine for printing on a printing material web, in combination with at least one folder for producing signatures from at least one printing material web, the folder being located downstream of the printing machine in a direction of travel of the signatures, and having at least one rotary-blade folding unit, comprising at least one folding blade, a pair of folding rollers and a drive for producing a hypocycloid movement of the folding blade about a rotational axis of the folding blade and a main rotational axis for folding a signature that has been guided up to the rotary-blade folding unit in a transport plane extending between the main rotational axis and the folding rollers, and further comprising a drive mechanism for producing an oscillatory movement of the folding blade at least approximately parallel to the main rotational axis.
[0015] In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the printing machine is a web-fed rotary printing machine.
[0016] In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, the printing machine is an offset printing machine.
[0017] Thus, the rotary-blade folding unit according to the invention, having at least one folding blade, a pair of folding rolls and a drive for producing a hypocycloid movement of the folding blade about a blade axis of rotation and a main axis of rotation, for folding a signature guided up to the rotary-blade folding unit in a transport plane running between the main axis of rotation and folding rollers, is distinguished in that a drive mechanism is provided for producing an oscillatory movement of the folding blade at least approximately parallel to the main axis of rotation. In addition to the hypocycloid movement which the folding blade executes with speed components which are at least approximately perpendicular to the transport direction of the signature, the folding blade can now also be moved with a speed component parallel to the transport direction of the signature. Due to the contemplated movement of the folding blade parallel to the direction of movement of the signature, it is possible to produce the relative speed between signature and folding blade during a time interval. Provision is advantageously made for the actual folding operation, i.e., the thrusting of the signature by the folding blade into the nip between the folding rollers, to take place during this time interval. Due to the reduced relative movement between folding blade and signature in the transport direction, the risk of damage is reduced. In addition, the folding quality, as in particular the precision of the fold, is increased.
[0018] The drive mechanism for producing the oscillatory movement can preferably be coupled to the drive for producing the hypocycloid movement. Expressed in another way, the drive for producing the oscillatory movement picks up energy from the drive for producing the hypocycloid movement. The cycle rate of the drive mechanism for producing the oscillatory movement can therefore be synchronized in a particularly simple way to the machine cycle rate which at least approximately determines the frequency of the signature processing. However, synchronization can also be achieved by individual drives for the drive mechanism for producing the oscillatory movement and the drive mechanism for producing the hypocycloid movement to be coordinated with one another. For example, in this case, consideration is given to servomotors which are electronically controllable and regulatable, respectively.
[0019] The oscillatory movement is particularly advantageously synchronized with the movement of the signature, so that for a specific processing speed or transport speed of the signatures, an appropriate oscillatory movement of the folding blade is performed. In this regard, with respect to the invention, it is immaterial whether this is a harmonic or nonharmonic movement. According to the invention, synchronization is intended to achieve the situation wherein, in the time interval of the actual folding operation, the relative speed between folding blade and signature is at least approximately zero in the transport direction. In other words, the projection of the relative speed between folding blade and signature onto the main axis of rotation is at least approximately zero, at least during a portion of the time of the folding operation and a time interval which covers the actual folding operation, respectively.
[0020] In a particularly advantageous development of the invention, provision is made for the amplitude of the oscillatory movement of the folding blade parallel to the main axis of rotation to be adjustably variable. By adapting the amplitude in conjunction with the machine cycle rate defining the periodicity of the movement, it is possible for the speed profile of the oscillatory movement to be varied adjustably, because the slope of the route covered as a function of the time corresponds to the speed.
[0021] Furthermore, it is advantageous that there be an operative connection between the drive mechanism for producing the oscillatory movement and the drive mechanism for producing the rotational movement about the axis of rotation of the folding blade, which is defined by a blade rotation shaft. By this link, it is readily possible to tap off the movement energy, i.e., simply to convert the rotational movement about the axis of rotation of the folding blade, into an oscillatory movement in the direction of the axis of rotation of the folding blade and in the direction of the main axis of rotation, respectively, by providing an appropriate mechanism. In an advantageous embodiment, the drive mechanism for producing the oscillatory movement comprises an eccentrically mounted shaft.
[0022] To avoid signature damage, in particular at high processing speeds, the rotary blade folding mechanism according to the invention can be used particularly advantageously in a folder for producing signatures from at least one printing material web. A folder with a rotary-blade folding unit according to the invention is typically arranged downstream of a printing machine for printing on a printing material web. In particular, this may be a web-fed rotary printing machine or an offset printing machine.
[0023] Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
[0024] Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a rotary-blade folding unit, 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.
[0025] 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, wherein:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] [0026]FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of a Rotary-blade folding unit according to the invention, having a drive mechanism for producing an oscillatory movement of the folding blade parallel to the main axis of rotation of a hypocycloid movement;
[0027] [0027]FIG. 2 is an enlarged left-hand end view of FIG. 1 showing diagrammatically the rotary-blade folding unit according to the invention extending along the main axis of rotation of the hypocycloid movement;
[0028] [0028]FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary left-hand end view of FIG. 1 showing the encircled drive mechanism 4 for producing the oscillatory movement of the folding blade along the main axis of rotation of the hypocycloid movement;
[0029] [0029]FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of FIG. 3 showing diagrammatically and in greater detail the drive mechanism for producing the oscillatory movement of the folding blade along the main axis of rotation of the hypocycloid movement; and
[0030] [0030]FIGS. 5 a to 5 c are enlarged fragmentary diagrammatic views of FIG. 1, showing the encircled drive mechanism 4 for producing the oscillatory movement of the folding blade at three different phase locations thereof during the movement.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0031] Referring now to the drawings and, first, particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown therein a diagrammatic representation of an embodiment of a rotary-blade folding unit according to the invention, which has a drive mechanism for producing an oscillatory hypocycloid movement of the folding blade thereof parallel to the main axis of rotation of the hypocycloid movement. The embodiment of the rotary-blade folding unit according to the invention comprises a blade cylinder 1 , which is held in a first mounting 14 and a second mounting 15 . This blade cylinder 1 can be set into rotation about a main rotational axis 18 by a drive source 16 . A fixed gear 5 is mounted on the shaft of the main rotational axis 18 . This fixed gear 5 meshes with an intermediate gear 6 which, in turn, meshes with a gear 7 mounted on the rotational shaft of the folding blade 2 , which defines the rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 . The folding blade 2 is held on the rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 . Starting from the drive source 16 , the folding blade 2 is therefore moved on a hypocycloid path, defined by the main axis of rotation 18 and the rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 .
[0032] [0032]FIG. 1 also shows an embodiment of the drive mechanism 4 for the oscillatory movement of the folding blade 2 in the direction of oscillation represented by the arrow 22 , i.e., at least approximately parallel to the main rotational axis 18 and/or the rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 . In the preferred embodiment shown, the drive mechanism 4 for the oscillatory movement comprises a worm gear 8 , which is set into rotation about the rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 . This worm gear 8 , through the intermediary of a shaft gear 9 , sets an eccentric shaft 11 into rotation. The eccentric shaft 11 moves in a guide 12 having a first bearing 10 wherein the eccentric shaft 11 is held. The guide 12 is mounted on the blade cylinder 1 . Because only an at least approximately rectilinear movement of the first bearing 10 is permitted, this mandatory condition leads to a translational movement of the drive mechanism 4 , which sets the rotational shaft of the folding blade and rotational axis 3 of the folding blade, i.e., the folding blade 2 itself, respectively, into an oscillatory movement in the oscillating direction represented by the double-headed arrow 22 .
[0033] [0033]FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic end view of an embodiment of the rotary-blade folding unit according to the invention in a direction along the main axis of rotation about which the hypocycloid movement is executed. The folding blade 2 rotates about the rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 , which in turn carries out a circular movement about the main rotational axis 18 . In the advantageous embodiment, the rotation about the rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 is produced by a mechanism which provides an operative connection between the main rotational axis 18 and the rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 . Coaxially fitted to the main rotational axis 18 is a fixed gear 5 meshing with an intermediate gear 6 which is, in turn, engaged with a gear 7 on the rotational shaft of the folding blade 2 . Typically, a hypocycloid movement is carried out which is characterized by two rotations about the rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 during one rotation about the main rotational axis 18 . In other words, the folding blade 2 carries out a hypocycloid movement which has two reversal points or vertex points which are located extremely distant from the main rotational axis 18 at mutually opposite points, i.e., rotated through 180° about the main rotational axis 18 . Provision is made for one vertex point of the hypocycloid movement to be used for thrusting between two folding rollers 17 a signature 21 , which had been guided in the transport plane 20 up to the rotary-blade folding unit. Typically, the signature 21 is transported up to the rotary-blade folding unit in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing of FIG. 2.
[0034] [0034]FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of an embodiment of the drive mechanism for producing the oscillatory movement along the main axis of rotation. The drive mechanism 4 for producing an oscillatory movement of the folding blade 2 is in this case operatively connected to a drive 19 for producing the hypocycloid movement. The rotation about the main rotational axis 18 , on the corresponding shaft of which a fixed gear 5 is fitted, is transmitted to the rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 by an intermediate gear 6 and a gear 7 . In interaction between the worm gear 8 and the shaft gear 9 , the worm gear 8 being fitted to the shaft corresponding to the rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 , an eccentric shaft 11 is set into rotation about an axis extending at least approximately perpendicularly to the rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 . Due to the mandatory condition of the guide 12 which has a first bearing 10 , the eccentric shaft 11 is set into a translational movement in the guide 12 , so that the folding blade 2 carries out an oscillatory movement.
[0035] [0035]FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic detailed view of the drive mechanism for producing the oscillatory movement along the main axis of rotation, in an embodiment of the rotary-blade folding unit according to the invention. The rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 , the corresponding shaft of which is provided with a worm gear 8 and is in rotation, sets an eccentric shaft 11 rotating through the intermediary of the shaft gear 9 . The drive mechanism 4 for producing the oscillatory movement comprises the guide 12 having the first bearing 10 , wherein the eccentric shaft 11 moves. In other words, there is a forced translational movement.
[0036] [0036]FIGS. 5 a to 5 c are a series of diagrammatic views of the drive mechanism for producing the oscillatory movement in an advantageous embodiment of the rotary-blade folding unit according to the invention, at three different phase locations in the movement. This is intended to illustrate how the rotational movement about the rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 can be converted by the drive mechanism 4 into an oscillatory movement along the rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 . In FIG. 5 a, the drive mechanism 4 for the oscillatory movement is shown in a view parallel to the rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 . The worm gear 8 and the shaft gear 9 are in mutual engagement, and the eccentric shaft 11 is movable in the first bearing 10 of the guide 12 . FIG. 5 b then shows how, after a rotation about the rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 , the eccentric shaft 11 has experienced a deflection to the lefthand side from the center line 23 , which intersects the center of the first bearing 10 . Because the guide 12 is connected to the blade cylinder 1 , not shown here (but note FIG. 1, for example), while the bearing 13 of the eccentric shaft 11 is fitted to the rotational axis 3 of the folding blade 2 , an oscillatory movement in the direction of the arrow 22 is produced. FIG. 5 c illustrates a situation wherein the eccentric shaft 11 is at a location on the righthand side of the center line 23 which intersects the center of the first bearing. | A rotary-blade folding unit includes at least one folding blade, a pair of folding rollers and a drive for producing a hypocycloid movement of the folding blade about a rotational axis of the folding blade and a main rotational axis for folding a signature that has been guided up to the rotary-blade folding unit in a transport plane extending between the main rotational axis and the folding rollers, and further includes a drive mechanism for producing an oscillatory movement of the folding blade at least approximately parallel to the main rotational axis; a folder including the folding unit; and a printing machine in combination with the folder. | 1 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(i) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for the purification of aqueous solutions of hydrogen peroxide in order to remove cations and organic acids therefrom.
(ii) Description of Related Art
Aqueous hydrogen peroxide has many industrial uses and, in the case of the electronics field, must exhibit a high purity and must therefore be rid of its cations and organic acids.
The methods of purification described to date refer to distillation, treatment on ion exchange resins, as in French Patent Application FR 1 043 082, treatment on exchange resins to which chelating agents are added, in French Patent Application FR 2 624 500 and to a reverse osmosis process, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,043.
However, these methods are not entirely satisfactory for the removal of some impurities such as especially the ferric Fe +++ or aluminic Al +++ ions.
The present invention proposes to remedy these disadvantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The subject-matter of the invention is a process for the purification of aqueous solutions of hydrogen peroxide, characterized in that one or more macroligands are added to the solution and the resulting mixture is forced through an ultrafiltration membrane.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Aqueous solutions of aqueous hydrogen peroxide are usually employed in electronics assays at from 30 to 35% by weight. The invention can, however, be applied to solutions assaying at up to 75% by weight. Macroligands are added to these aqueous solutions; the subject-matter of the invention is especially a process in which the macroligands contain one or several functional groups chosen from carboxylic, sulphonic and phosphonic groups or nitrogen-containing functional groups such as aromatic or nonaromatic amine functional groups or N-oxidized amine functional groups.
Aqueous hydrogen peroxide to which the ligand(s) has (have) been added is then forced under pressure through an ultrafiltration membrane. The membrane is of an oxidation-resistant nature of the fluoropolymer type (PTFE, PVDF, PFA) and with a cut-off threshold adapted to the polymers employed. The working pressure is from 1 bar to a few bars, in general 3 to 4 bars; the subject-matter of the invention is particularly a process in which the ultrafiltration membrane is a membrane made of fluoropolymer, especially of polyvinyl difluoride (PVDF), of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or of polyfluoroalkoxy (PFA).
The results of the tests developed in the examples mentioned below show that results lower than 10 ppb (parts per billion) are obtained for the Fe +++ and Al +++ ions when the macroligands are chosen from the 4-vinylpyridine homopolymer, the styrene/4-vinylpyridine 2/8 and 1/9 copolymers, acrylic phosphate/sulphonate copolymers (Mw=500 000), acrylic phosphate copolymer (Mw=500 000) and polyvinylphosphonic acid (Mw=30 000), this choice constituting a preferred alternative form of the present invention.
Besides the good results obtained, an advantage of this process consists in it being possible for this method of purification to be used upstream or downstream of other purification stages.
Another aspect of the invention is a process for the manufacture of unstabilized ultrapure hydrogen peroxide from the crude product prepared according to the methods known to a person skilled in the art, such as, for example, the autooxidation of anthraquinone or of its derivatives, anodic oxidation of the SO 4 -- /HSO 4 - couple, cathodic reduction of oxygen or the direct synthesis, optionally including one or more purification stages chosen from distillation, passing over ion exchange resins, passing over a column of adsorbents, especially of zeolites, or reverse osmosis, characterized in that it additionally includes at least one ultrafiltration stage according to the process as defined above.
The ultrapure hydrogen peroxide thus produced corresponds to the standards imposed by the users, especially the manufacturers of electronics components.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to a plant for the production of unstabilized ultrapure hydrogen peroxide, characterized in that it includes
a) a hydrogen peroxide synthesis unit,
b) a unit for purification of the crude hydrogen peroxide obtained in stage a), comprising at least one ultrafiltration stage according to the process, and
c) a storage vessel for the hydrogen peroxide purified in b), making it possible to absorb the variation in the final user's consumption, and characterized in that the plant is situated on the same site as the final user of the purified hydrogen peroxide and especially on the site of a factory for the manufacture of electronics components.
The following examples illustrate the invention without, however, limiting it.
EXAMPLE 1
A 70% strength aqueous hydrogen peroxide of industrial quality originating from the anthraquinone process was diluted to 30% and had added to it 0.25% of acrylosulphonic copolymer of Mw=4500. This solution was then ultrafiltered on a Filtron® mini-ultrasette equipped with a 50 cm 2 polyethersulphone membrane at a rate of 1 dm 3 /min of retentate and 1.3 cm 3 /min of filtrate.
Results (in ppb)
______________________________________K Fe Al Ni Cr Mn Sn______________________________________30% H.sub.2 O.sub.2 17 123 124 13 22 2 7800Filtrate 8 12 13 <4 5 <0.2 40______________________________________
EXAMPLE 2
0.25% by weight of polyvinylphosphonic acid of Mw=30 000 is added to a 30% strength by weight aqueous hydrogen peroxide of electronics quality. The solution is then ultrafiltered on a Filtron 3K mini-ultrasette at a rate of 1.5 dm 3 /min of retentate and 0.7 cm 3 /min of filtrate.
Results (in ppb)
______________________________________ K Cu______________________________________30% H.sub.2 O.sub.2 0.95 0.94Filtrate 0.45 0.21______________________________________
EXAMPLE 3
0.25% by weight of 4-vinylpyridine homopolymer is added to industrial aqueous hydrogen peroxide. The resulting solution is ultrafiltered on 1K membrane.
Results (in ppb)
______________________________________Si Fe Al Cr P Sn______________________________________30% H.sub.2 O.sub.2 10 300 127 407 23 22 200 7700Filtrate 1680 3 <9 16 11 600 100______________________________________
EXAMPLE 4
Operating in a manner similar to Example 3, and employing as macroligands a styrene/4-vinylpyridine 2/8 copolymer and the 1/9 copolymer, following results are obtained:
______________________________________ Fe Al Cr P Sn______________________________________30% H.sub.2 O.sub.2 70 140 17 23 800 7400Filtrate <4 <9 <4 11 200 <20______________________________________
EXAMPLE 5
Operating as in Example 1, employing the macroligands cited below, the following results are obtained:
______________________________________ K Fe Al Cr Mg______________________________________30% industrial H.sub.2 O.sub.2 12 56 95 20 50A <8 16 40 <4 24B <8 8 <9 <4 14C <8 3 25 <4 30D <8 4 15 <4 2______________________________________ A: acrylic/sulphonate copolymer B: acrylic/phosphate/sulphonate copolymer Mw = 500 000 C: acrylic/phosphate copolymer Mw = 500 000 D: polyvinylphosphonic acid Mw = 30 000. | Process for purification of aqueous solutions of hydrogen peroxide comprising the steps of adding one or more macroligands to said solution to form a mixture and forcing the mixture through an ultrafiltration membrane. | 2 |
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 789,086, filed Apr. 20, 1977, now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to arrangements and constructions of parts of an electronic timepiece, and more particularly to an arrangement and construction of a stepmotor used as an electro-mechanical transducer and parts surrounding the stepmotor and associated therewith.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In a conventional electronic timepiece, an electric battery has a thickness which is considerably larger than those of the other parts, so that the thickness of the timepiece is determined by the thickness of surroundings of the electric battery. As a result, the other parts are constructed within a space whose thickness is substantially determined by the thickness of these surroundings. But, the thickness of the surroundings of the electric battery becomes a problem to be eliminated owing to improvement in capacity of the electric battery, economy of consumed electric power and improvement in construction for enclosing the electric battery therein.
In a conventional electronic timepiece shown in FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 designates a dial, 2 an electric battery, 3 a gear train, 4 a rotor, 5 a stator, 6 a coil winding core, 7 a coil, 8 a gear train supporting plate and 9 a substrate. As shown in FIG. 1, in the surroundings of the coil 7, on the dial 1 is disposed on the substrate 9 on which is disposed the stator 5. On the stator 5 is disposed the coil winding core 6. In practice, the height of the stator 5 is limited by the dimension of the surroundings of the gear train 3, particularly by the dimension of a center part of the timepiece. In addition, a distance L between the dial 1 and the coil winding core 6 is large and it is impossible to make the surroundings of the coil 7 thin in thickness.
In addition, in the conventional timepiece, on the substrate 9 is disposed the stator 5 and the stator 5 is provided with holes or notches, thereby making the sectional area of a magnetic circuit of the stator 5 small. The presence of such holes and notches causes direction of magnetic lines of force near the rotor 4 to disturb, thereby giving an adverse influence upon the efficiency of the step-motor and lowering the electro-mechanical transducing efficiency. Moreover, the arrangement of the parts of the time piece in the longitudinal cross section is limited by the center part of the timepiece, so that the conventional electronic timepiece has the disadvantage that the space of the timepiece could not be utilized in an efficient manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention, therefore, is to provide an electronic timepiece which can obviate the above mentioned disadvantage which has been encountered with the prior technique.
Another object of the invention is to provide an electronic timepiece which can reduce a thickness of the surroundings of a coil to a thickness which is near a thickness of the coil itself.
A further object of the invention is to provide an electronic timepiece which comprises a stator closely arranged at a gear train supporting plate, which does not give an adverse influence upon the ability of an electro-mechanical transducer even when the stator and the gear train are superimposed one upon the other and which is small in size and thin in thickness.
A still further object of the invention is to provide an electronic timepiece which comprises a gear train supporting plate made integral with a stator by a spot welding and which is easy in assembly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross sectional view showing a conventional electronic timepiece;
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing one embodiment of an electronic timepiece according to the invention;
FIG. 3 is its longitudinal sectional view;
FIG. 4 is a partial plan view showing another embodiment of an electronic timepiece according to the invention;
FIG. 5 is its partial longitudinal sectional view;
FIG. 6 is a partial plan view of a further embodiment of an electronic timepiece according to the invention;
FIG. 7 is its partial longitudinal sectional view; and
FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a still further embodiment of an electronic timepiece according to the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In FIGS. 2 and 3 is shown one embodiment of an electronic timepiece according to the invention. In the present embodiment, use is made of an electric battery 2 and a coil winding core 6 and a stator 5 are arranged in opposition to those shown in FIG. 1. That is, in FIG. 3, on a substrate 9 is disposed the coil winding core 6 on which is disposed the stator 5. As a result, the distance L, between the coil winding core 6 and a dial 1 becomes shortened by a thickness of the stator 5. In addition, a gear train 3 is not disposed on the stator 5 at the center part of the timepiece, so that the coil 7 can be arranged at a position which is the nearest to the dial 1. The thickness of the surroundings of the coil 7 becomes equal to the thickness of the coil 7 itself.
In FIGS. 4 and 5 is shown another embodiment of the timepiece according to the invention. In the present embodiment, both the stator 5 and the coil winding core 6 are directly disposed on the substrate 9 and secured to the substrate 9 by means of a magnetic connection plate 10. In the present embodiment, the distance L 2 between the stator 5 and the dial 1 becomes shortened by the thickness of the stator 5. In the present embodiment, it is not necessary to make the height of the contact surface between the stator 5 and the substrate 9 equal to the height of the contact surface between the coil winding core 6 and the substrate 9.
In FIGS. 6 and 7 is shown a further embodiment of the timepiece according to the invention. As shown in FIG. 7, on a dial 1 are disposed a substrate 9, stator 5 and coil winding core 6 one upon the other in succession in the order which is the same as in the conventional timepiece shown in FIG. 1. In the present embodiment, however, the coil winding core 6 is provided at its one side with an upwardly bent portion 6a which is disposed on the stator 5, so that it is possible to dispose the coil 7 nearer to the dial 1. For this purpose, the substrate 9 is provided at its portion opposed to the coil winding core 6 with a depression 9a for enclosing the coil winding core 6 therein and the dial 1 is provided at its portion opposed to the coil 7 with a depression 1a for enclosing the coil 7 therein. As a result, it is possible to freely select the distance between the coil winding core 6 and the dial 1.
As seen from the above, the present embodiment is capable of bringing the coil winding core 6 and hence the coil 6 into a position which is the nearest to the dial 1. As a result, the thickness of the surroundings of the coil 7 becomes near the thickness of the coil 7 itself and hence become thin in thickness.
In FIG. 8 is shown a still further embodiment of the timepiece according to the invention. In the present embodiment, the arrangement of the parts is the same as that of the parts of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In the present embodiment, however, the stator 5 is in close contact with the gear supporting plate 8 and between the stator 5 and the substrate 9 is arranged the reduction gear train. The use of the arrangement according to the present embodiment provides the advantage that the stator 5 may be provided with relatively small holes for passing shafts for rotatably supporting a second reduction gear and that hence the electromechanical transducer is not subjected to any adverse influence contrary to the conventional timepiece. In addition, the substrate 9 may be formed at its center portion with a depression so as to reduce its thickness which is sufficient to pass through the center shaft and enclose the gear train 3 therein. As a result, the position of the gear train supporting plate 8 becomes lowered and it is possible to make the timepiece thin in thickness. In addition, the gear train supporting plate 8 may be made integral with the stator 5 by spot welding etc., thereby rendering the assembly of the parts of the timepiece easy.
As stated hereinbefore, the use of the measures described provides the important advantage that the space in the timepiece can effectively be utilized and that the electronic timepiece comprising the step-motor can be made small in size and thin in thickness in an easy manner.
In the above described embodiments, a crystal oscillator may be used as a time reference signal source, but any other time reference signal sources, for example, a tuning fork oscillator, etc. may also be used. | An electronic timepiece comprising a step-motor including a stator and rotor is disclosed. The timepiece is so constructed and arranged that a coil winding core of the stator is located between the stator and a dial of the timepiece and that said stator is disposed on said coil winding core. | 6 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This application relates to the use of an insert in a terminal to guide and align multiple wires that are to be secured within the terminal.
[0002] Wires are utilized in any number of applications in the prior art. In one common application, multiple wires are brought into a barrel or holding area on an electrical terminal lug. The terminal lug may be of the sort having a generally flat surface with an aperture to make a connection to another component. The barrel may be cylindrical, but may also be other shapes.
[0003] In the prior art, the multiple wires are each stripped at a forward end, and then moved into the lug of the terminal. The lug may then be crimped to lock the wires in place.
[0004] There are challenges with the prior art, in that it is sometimes difficult to move multiple wires into the barrel. Sometimes it is necessary to force the wires into the barrel, and thus the assembly is complex. In addition, it is often the case that un-insulated sections of the wire extend away from the barrel, which is also somewhat undesirable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] In the disclosed embodiment of this invention, a barrel in a terminal lug receives a spacer which defines spaces to receive portions of multiple wires. The spacer aligns and positions the wires within the barrel, such that assembly is simplified.
[0006] These and other features of the present invention can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 shows a prior art terminal connection.
[0008] FIG. 2A is an exploded view of the inventive connection.
[0009] FIG. 2B shows an insert.
[0010] FIG. 2C shows a cross-section through the assembled components.
[0011] FIG. 3A shows a final step in the connection.
[0012] FIG. 3B is a view similar to FIG. 2C , but after the final step has occurred.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0013] FIG. 1 shows a prior art connection 20 . Connection 20 includes a barrel 22 extending to a face 26 having an aperture 24 . Elements 22 , 24 , and 26 form an item known as a terminal lug. As known, the aperture 24 is used to make an electrical connection with another component. Multiple wires 28 and 30 have exposed forward portions 32 where insulation has been removed. These forward portions 32 must be forced into the barrel 22 . It is necessary that the combined size of the forward portions 32 be approximately the same as the size of the barrel 22 such that when the barrel 22 is crimped, the forward portions 32 are captured. On the other hand, by making the combined forward portions 32 approximately the same size as the lug, it becomes difficult to move the wires into the lug for assembly. In addition, as can be appreciated from FIG. 1 , the forward portions 32 extend un-insulated away from the barrel 22 , which is undesirable.
[0014] FIG. 2A shows the inventive connection 40 . The terminal lug 22 , 26 , and 24 is generally as known in the prior art, as are the wires 28 and 30 . The forward portions 42 of the wires are moved into an insert 44 , and its spaces 46 . Separator portions 48 are formed between the guiding spaces 46 .
[0015] As shown in FIG. 2B , the guiding spaces 46 with the separation portions 48 may be generally symmetrical or they may be asymmetric to accommodate varying numbers and sizes of wires. The sizes of the spaces 46 , and the portions 48 , may be selected to accommodate a particular sized wire, and to be received within a particular sized lug.
[0016] As shown in FIG. 2C , the components may be easily assembled within the interior of the barrel 22 .
[0017] As shown in FIG. 3A , the lug may now be crimped to be flattened as shown at 60 . As can also be appreciated from FIG. 3B , when the crimping occurs, the insert may deform as well as the barrel 22 , and thus the forward portions of the wires 28 and 30 are securely captured within the barrel 22 .
[0018] The insert 44 may be formed of copper or other material that provides good conductivity and is also deformable.
[0019] Of course, more than two wires, and various sized wires, can be utilized. The wires may be of similar sizes, as shown, or different sizes. Also, while crimping is shown as the way the wires are secured, other methods such as brazing or soldering can be used.
[0020] Although an embodiment of this invention has been disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention. | An electrical connection for securing multiple wires within an interior of an electrical connector barrel includes the use of a spacer which is received within the barrel, and which includes guiding spaces to position the plurality of wires. | 7 |
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to multicast, client/service-attribute resolution. More particularly the invention relates to discovering client applications and server applications having particular attributes and being located on multiple computing systems in an IP multicast group of computing systems.
[0003] 2. Background of the Invention
[0004] When there are multiple computers on a network, and there is no common system administrator with access to all of those computers, the computers must find devices on the network using some discovery process. Classically, a system administrator or a system network can monitor the network and say, for example, the network includes “Bob's Printer” which can be found at “IP address” and the printer supports “name” protocols. However in a wireless network, for example, each user has his own computing system, and there is no common system administrator in the network. The computer must discover “name” devices on the network for itself.
[0005] There are currently extensions to the domain name service (DNS) which extensions are multicast domain name service (mDNS). One implementation is “Bonjour” service by Apple Computer Incorporated, which is used with the iTunes application program among others. Another implementation is Avahi service that is an mDNS service for Linux operating systems. The idea of these extensions to the domain name service is to allow computers to send out information about what services they support and to ask for information about what services other computers on the network support.
[0006] In using mDNS there are two sides to a conversation: a requester and a responder. A requester asks other mDNS participants whether or not they support a particular service type, encoded as for example a “proto” protocol. A responder on each participant answers queries and would say, for example, I am named “Joe's phone” and I support the “proto” protocol. If more than one participant supports the “proto” protocol, multiple answers may be received by the requester. Typically the requester then decides which of the answers it is interested in and then performs a separate step to resolve the name “Joe's phone” and the protocol “proto” into an IP address and port over which the desired service can be reached. Attributes of the service may also be found during the resolve phase of the conversation and indicate for example characteristics of specific instance of the service.
[0007] In peer-to-peer communications, where multiple users wish to interact as in playing a game, for example, mDNS can be used to link all the users into the same game. However, using mDNS to do this is very cumbersome. The computers desiring to participate in the game must all export the fact that they support the protocol used to establish the game and all devices must query for all other devices on the network that support the game establishment protocol. In order to contact each other, the separate step of resolving the returned names must be performed for every participant and any attributes of the individual participants must be resolved. There is a large amount of network and internal state overhead to track and keep consistent the “name” computers, computers that have the “game” protocols, and computers currently playing the game particularly as players enter and leave the game. To use mDNS to support such a game scenario, the network must either handle a large number of queries or it must store a large amount of network state information.
[0008] It is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] In accordance with the present invention, proximity-based communications is established between client and service applications mediated by bus daemons. Client applications consume services and service applications provide services. A unique discovery protocol provides a name service in the bus daemon structure to assist the bus daemons in discovering the service applications available at other bus daemons. Bus daemons periodically announce their existence and provide the address and port over which they may be contacted. They also provide attribute information consisting of a description, such as an instance attribute and a well-known name attribute, of the service applications available at the bus daemon. The name service in the bus daemon structure may also respond to queries as to the availability of requested service applications. When client applications require access to a service application, they query their associated bus daemon that, in turn, queries its name service. When other bus daemons are discovered having access to a requested service application, the requesting client application may arrange that the bus daemons exchange information in a manner that allows a location independent connection to be made between the client application and service application.
[0010] In accordance with other aspects, the present invention relates to an apparatus for discovering service applications available for communication through daemons in computing systems in a multicast group of computing systems. A daemon module in a computing system in the multicast group responds to discovery requests from its client applications and its service applications by initiating multicasts of attribute information for client applications and service applications. The attribute information for each client application and service application has at least a well-known-name attribute in the attribute information description of each application. A name service module in the computing system associated with the daemon module responds to a discovery request by initiating a discovery operation request. A responder module in the computing system associated with the name service module responds to the discovery operation request by sending a discovery message to the multicast group. The discovery message has attribute information with a given well-known-name of a service application making the discovery request at the computing system. Also, responder module responds to a first type discovery message from a computing system in the multicast group, the first type discovery message asking for any instance of a named service application with a well-known-name attribute matching one specified by a client application making a discovery request. If the computing system has such an instance of the named service application, the responder module sends a second type discovery message identifying the instance of the named service application with the well-known-name attribute at the computing system. Also, the responder module responds to a second type discovery message from a computing system in the multicast group. The second type discovery message announces an instance attribute and a well-known-name attribute for a service application at the computing system in the multicast group. The responder module notifies the daemon module of the availability of an instance of the service application with the well-known-name attribute at the computing system in the multicast group.
[0011] In accordance with still other aspects, the present invention relates to a method for discovering service applications available for communication through a home bus daemon in the user's computing system or through the home bus daemon and a remote bus daemon in a remote computing system of a multicast group of computing systems. In response to a request from a service application available at the home bus daemon, an initiating operation initiates an advertise operation request from the home bus daemon. In response to an advertise operation request, an advertise message is multicast to the multicast group of computing systems. The advertise message has attribute information with an instance identifier and a well-known-name attribute of the service application at the user's computing system and an address of the home bus daemon through which the service application is available. In response to an advertise message from a remote bus daemon, the home bus daemon is notified of the availability of an instance of a service application with the well-known-name attribute at the remote bus daemon.
[0012] In response to a discovery request from a client application at the user's computing system, an initiating operation initiates a find-name operation request from the home bus daemon. In response to a find-name operation request, a query message is multicast to the multicast group of computing systems from the home bus daemon, the query message asks for any service application having a well-known-name attribute that matches the name prefix attribute provided in the query message. In response to a query message, a detecting operation detects whether the home bus daemon has the service application that matches the well-known-name prefix attribute in the query message. The detecting operation sends an advertise message if an instance of the service application with the matching well-known-name attribute is available through the home bus daemon at the user's computing system.
[0013] The invention may be implemented as a computer process, a computing system or as an article of manufacture such as a computer program product or computer readable media. The computer program product may be a computer storage media readable by a computer system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process. The computer program product may also be a propagated signal on a carrier readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process.
[0014] Some advantages of the invention are the efficiency and speed with which client applications and service applications wishing to communicate with each other may discover each other. Another advantage of the invention is the ease with which client applications and service applications may enter or leave a group of applications that are communicating with each other.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 shows a plurality of mobile computing systems communicating over a wireless network.
[0016] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary computing system.
[0017] FIG. 3 illustrates an architecture used by two computing systems to discover and link peer-to-peer client and server applications through bus daemons in each computing system.
[0018] FIG. 4 illustrates a typical conversation between bus daemons such as those in FIG. 3 during the operation flow for discovering bus daemons having access to service applications.
[0019] FIG. 5 shows the operation flow of a bus daemon and its name service acting in response to an ADVERTISE request from a service application.
[0020] FIG. 6 shows the operation flow of a bus daemon and its name service acting in response to an FIND-NAME request from a client application.
[0021] FIG. 7 illustrates the operation flow of a responder in a name service in response to operation requests. User Datagram Protocol packets, and timer events.
[0022] FIG. 8 illustrates the operation flow of a bus daemon notifying interested client applications that a service application with a well-known-name attribute has been found.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0023] FIG. 1 shows four computing systems—a laptop computer 102 , a tablet computer 104 , a smart phone 106 , and a desktop computer 108 —communicating over a wireless network using access point 110 . Laptop computer 102 or desktop computer 108 might be running the Windows (trademark of Microsoft Corporation) operating system or a Linux operating system. Each computing system wishing to participate in service discovery uses a name service to send UDP (User Datagram Protocol) messages to a predefined multicast group IP (internet protocol) address.
[0024] To advertise the availability of a service application at a computing system, its bus daemon sends an advertise request to the name service. In response, the name service sends a UDP message to the multicast IP address. This UDP message includes a GUID (globally unique identifier) for the sending computing system's bus daemon, and the bus daemon's address (IPADDRESS,PORT). The UDP message also includes a list of names of service applications available through the bus daemon at the sending computing system including the newly advertised service application. In effect the sending bus daemon announces:
[0025] a. “I have <org.example.Well-Known-Name.Instance> service application.”
[0026] The “Well-Known-Name” attribute is typically the name of the program implemented by the service and client applications, but it may be an abbreviation, an acronym or any identifier for the program. The “Instance” attribute identifies an instance of the service application with the well-known-name attribute that is running on its computing system. Other instances of the service application with the well-known-name attribute at the same bus daemon or another bus daemon in the multicast group may be advertised at the same time. Each instance must have a unique identifier that might be established by the service application when it becomes active. Some possible examples of unique identifiers for an instance might be a unique number, a time stamp, user ID, player name or number, computer ID, bus daemon GUID, etc.
[0027] For example, the user on a smart phone or laptop computer might want to play a multiplayer game with the well-known-name, SeaAdventure. The multiplayer game may be implemented as a service application to allow other instances of the game to communicate with the local instance of the game, but may also act as a client application to allow the local instance of the game to communicate with other remote instances. The local instance will have to advertise the existence of the local service application, but also discover remote instances of game's service application. This is done via two UDP messages sent by the name service to the multicast IP address. The first UDP message, an advertise message, would tell the bus daemon at every other computing system participating in the logical bus by listening at the multicast IP address that bus daemon GUID (global unique identifier) at IPADDRESS,PORT in the multicast group has available SeaAdventure.Player001, i.e. instance Player001 of SeaAdventure, game's service application. Of course the system could send multiple UDP messages, one per instance of a game, social media application, or other type of service application. Alternatively the system could send a list of instances of games, social media, or other type of service applications that the service application's sending bus daemon wishes to advertise.
[0028] This advertise UDP message is referred to as an IS-AT message. In FIG. 1 if a UDP IS-AT message for SeaAdventureplayer001 game instance originates at laptop computer 102 , it is sent to the well-known IP multicast group. In the case of infrastructure mode IEEE 802.11 the packet is first sent to access point 110 and is then retransmitted to be received by laptop computer 102 , tablet computer 104 , smart phone 106 and desktop computer 108 . Each computer in this multicast group, if listening to the multicast IP address for the multicast group of the name service would know that a bus daemon at a known address has instance player001 of SeaAdventure game's service application. If a client exists on one of those computers that is interested in playing SeaAdventure game, it could connect to laptop computer 102 . This connect operation with laptop computer 102 creates the desired symmetrical arrangement of client and service applications.
[0029] In another multi-player example, a user of laptop computer 102 enters a wireless network where other users of computing systems are already playing SeaAdventure game. The user will start a client application that will ask the bus daemon in the user's computer to locate instances of SeaAdventure game service applications. The bus daemon will ask the name service to discover those instances, and the name service will send out a UDP WHO-HAS message. This UDP WHO-HAS message is a query message asking:
[0030] “Who has <org.example.SeaAdventure.*> service application?”
[0031] The wild card asterisk(*) for the instance attribute indicates any instance of the service application with the well-known-name attribute, SeaAdventure, is being sought. The bus daemon of any computing system in the multicast group laptop computer 102 , tablet computer 104 , smart phone 106 and desktop computer 108 —that has an instance of the service application for SeaAdventure game, i.e. a user is currently playing the SeaAdventure game, would reply with an IS-AT message. The message contains the GUID (global unique identifier), IPADDRESS,PORT of the replying bus daemon and a string indicating that SeaAdventure game is available there.
[0032] For example, if a user on smart phone 106 is playing SeaAdventure game, the name service on smart phone 106 replies with a UDP IS-AT message containing GUID and address of bus daemon of smart phone 106 and the message in effect saying, “I have Instance, Player001 of service application with well-known-name attribute SeaAdventure.” When the name service of laptop computer 102 receives the UDP IS-AT message, it indicates to its bus daemon that it has discovered a remote bus daemon that is advertising the fact that it has an active SeaAdventure game service application. The bus daemon, in turn, notifies its local client application. The client application can then decide to use the remote, advertised service application and ask the local bus daemon to connect to the remote bus daemon. This logical connection of bus daemons causes information to be exchanged between the bus daemons and that information enables remote procedure calls between the client and service applications. In the case where the SeaAdventure game application consists of both client and a service application part, the symmetric case allows bi-directional communication between the game instances.
[0033] FIG. 2 is an exemplary computing system 200 representative of any type of computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, smart phone, desk top computer, or intelligent computing device that might be used to participate in a logical bus. Central processing unit (CPU) 202 is the main processing unit executing computer processes. CPU works with cache memory 204 in memory system 206 as well as program storage, file storage and working storage also contained in memory system 206 . Cache memory is usually directly linked to CPU 202 , while remaining storage in the memory system may be accessed through bus 208 .
[0034] Keyboard module 210 is one input device available to CPU 202 through bus 208 . Another input device is a touch screen in display 211 . Display 212 with its touch screen serves as both an output device displaying information to a user and an input device receiving input from the user via the touch screen. Display 212 is connected to CPU 202 over bus 208 .
[0035] Network control module 214 connects to CPU 202 to perform network control operations to connect the system to a wireless network via WIFI transceiver 216 or to a hardwired network through Ethernet adapter 218 . Network control module may be an intelligent module with its own computing system and memory including cache. Alternatively, it may be implemented as firmware or software running on CPU 202 . Likewise the keyboard 210 , display 212 memory system 206 may all be intelligent subsystems communicating over bus 208 . One skilled in the art is well aware of the many variations possible in the design of a computing system performing the logical operations of the various embodiments of the present invention.
[0036] Computing system 200 , typically includes at least some form of computer-readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by the computing system 200 . By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media might comprise computer storage media and communication media.
[0037] Computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD), magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or other optical storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and that can be accessed by the computing system 200 .
[0038] Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as an optical fiber network, a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. Computer-readable media may also be referred to as computer program product.
[0039] FIG. 3 illustrates two computing systems 302 and 304 in a logical bus consisting of two bus daemons with their associated client and service applications. The computing systems are in a multicast group such as the group shown in FIG. 1 . Client applications in the computing systems discover service applications during a discovery phase. After client applications have discovered service applications and asked the bus daemons to connect, they may pass remote procedure calls and replies between their clients and servers using TCP messages orchestrated by the bus daemons. Name service module 307 works with bus daemon 306 to send UDP advertisement messages from name service 307 in response to discovery requests by bus daemon 306 during the discovery phase. Likewise name service module 309 works with bus daemon 308 to send the UDP advertisement messages from name service 309 , in response to discovery requests by bus daemon 308 during the discovery phase. If, as a result of discovery messages, a client application on either computing system decides it wants to use a service application on the other computing system, it will ask the bus daemons to connect and exchange information. After the bus daemons have exchanged information and established peer-to-peer communications, the bus daemons are said to be joined. Now client applications in one computing system 302 or 304 may pass remote procedure calls to server applications in the other computing system, or vice versa.
[0040] Each application program using a logical bus has a client application, a server application or a combination thereof to communicate with its local bus daemon and thereby communicate with other service applications in other computing systems. For example, a SeaAdventure game, application program in computing system 302 has a client application part 314 and service application part 312 , while another instance of the SeaAdventure game, application program in computing system 304 has client application part 322 and service application part 324 . Once the bus daemons 306 and 308 are joined, the sense of client or service application is unimportant. The client and service distinction is important only in the service discovery phase to indicate what system is requesting and what system is responding. Once the busses are joined, the client and service applications at computing system 302 or 304 can be viewed as a merged client/service application, or in this case a SeaAdventure game, application. Now if either client application 314 or service application 312 wishes to execute a remote procedure call at service application 324 or client application 322 , and if bus daemon 306 is joined with bus daemon 308 , bus daemon 306 will build a TCP message to pass the remote procedure call to bus daemon 308 . Bus daemon 308 in turn passes the procedure call to the desired client or service application 322 or 324 . Any return information is processed in an inverse fashion. Likewise if client application 322 or service application 324 in computing system 304 wishes to execute a remote procedure call at client application 314 or service application 312 in computing system 302 , bus daemon 308 will build a TCP message to pass the remote procedure call to bus daemon 306 . Bus daemon 306 in turn passes the procedure call to service application 312 or client application 314 . Return information is processed in an inverse fashion.
[0041] If bus daemons 306 and 308 have not joined when the mobile computing systems come with wireless range of each other, and an instance of the SeaAdventure game, service application 312 is running at computing system 302 with the bus daemon 306 , the name service 307 periodically advertises the availability of the instance of SeaAdventure game, service application by multicasting a UDP Advertise message effectively announcing, “I have an instance of a service application with well-known-name attribute, SeaAdventure.” The UDP message with the GUID, IP ADDRESS, PORT for bus daemon 306 along with the well-known-name attribute and instance attribute of the service application 312 is multicast to all bus daemons of the computing systems within range of access point 310 at a local wireless network in a coffee shop, for example. The UDP message from name service 307 is received by all name services within range of the access point 310 that are monitoring the multicast address. Particularly, name service module 309 now knows that service application 312 for SeaAdventure game is available through bus daemon 306 in computing system 302 .
[0042] Likewise, if a an instance of SeaAdventure game, service application 324 is running at computing system 304 with the bus daemon 308 , the name service 309 periodically advertises the availability of SeaAdventure game, service application by multicasting a UDP message effectively saying, “I have an instance of a service application with well-known-name attribute, SeaAdventure.” The UDP message with the GUID, IP ADDRESS, PORT for bus daemon 308 along with the well-known-name attribute and instance attribute of the service application 324 is multicast to all bus daemons of the mobile computing systems within range of access point 310 . The UDP message from name service 309 is received by all name services within range of the access point 310 that are monitoring the multicast IP address. Name service module 307 now knows that service application 324 for SeaAdventure game is available through bus daemon 308 in computing system 304 . Either client application ( 314 or 322 ) may ask their respective bus daemons to connect to the other in which case the bus daemons are joined into a logical bus.
[0043] The client and server application nomenclature is symmetrical. Both client and server application parts of an application such as SeaAdventure game in this example are part of the same program running on different computing systems. Once the discovery phase is complete, and the bus daemons are joined, the client and server applications in a steady-state phase of operation are linked to each other and their remote procedure calls and replies flow through the bus daemons between the separate computing systems.
[0044] FIG. 4 illustrates a typical conversation between bus daemons such as those in FIG. 3 during the operation flow for discovering bus daemons having access to service applications with a well-known-name attribute. This discovery conversation is initiated by a service application 402 sending an ADVERTISE request 404 to bus daemon 406 requesting the bus daemon to advertise the availability of a Well-Known-Name service application. This happens when an instance of the Well-Known-Name service application has just attached itself to the bus daemon. Bus daemon 406 with its name service module builds the UDP IS-AT message and multicasts message instance 408 of the IS-AT message to the multicast group. The UDP message includes a KEEP ALIVE timer count. Bus daemon 406 also decrements the timer count to establish KEEP ALIVE interval. Whenever the KEEP ALIVE interval is decremented to a configurable value, the name service at bus daemon 406 will re-advertise the service application by generating new IS-AT messages, for example message instances 414 , 426 and 427 . This periodic re-advertisement happens as long as service application 402 is attached to the bus daemon 406 and allows bus daemons that have missed prior advertisements to receive them, or bus daemons newly arrived on a network segment to likewise receive them. If the service application 402 closes, the KEEP ALIVE timer count is set to zero, and bus daemon 406 no longer multicasts IS-AT message for service application 402 . Accordingly, service application 402 can enter or leave participation in the Well-Known-Name application.
[0045] In FIG. 4 , bus daemon 416 arrives in the local proximity and has a client application 418 that is interested in connecting to an instance of a service application with a well-known-name attribute. Client application 418 asks its bus daemon 416 to discover any instances of service applications having the Well-Known-Name. Name service module of the bus daemon 416 sends instance 420 of a WHO-HAS message. If service application 402 is active and has the Well-Known-Name attribute, name service module of bus daemon 406 constructs an IS-AT message indicating that an instance of a service application with the Well-Known-Name attribute is at bus daemon 406 . The name service of bus daemon 406 sends a packet of instance 422 of the IS-AT message to the multicast group IP address.
[0046] Bus daemon 416 receives the IS-AT message from the name service component of bus daemon 406 . The Well-Known-Name is entered in the cache of names and bus daemon addresses at bus daemon 416 . The availability of service application 402 is communicated to client application 418 via FOUND-NAME message instance 424 . The discovery phase is completed. If client application 418 chooses to ask the daemons to connect, service application 402 and client application 418 will be able to send remote procedure calls and procedure results using TCP messages. Bus daemon 406 will continue to periodically multicast IS-AT messages according to the KEEP ALIVE interval with renewed timer counts to advise other bus daemons of the instance of the Well-Known-Name service application 402 . The TCP communication between bus daemons may be ended by one of the bus daemons sending a FIN message under control of either the client or service application. If service application 402 should close, this fact is advertised by sending an IS-AT message with a zero timer count. In this way, client applications and service applications may enter or leave participation in a well-known-name program at will without disrupting the operation of the program.
[0047] The exemplary conversation between computing systems in a multicast group, as depicted in FIG. 4 and described immediately above, is performed by bus daemons and their name service modules working together to execute the operation flows shown in FIGS. 5-8 . A bus daemon in its computing system, when prompted by a request from a service application in FIG. 5 or client application in FIG. 6 , acts to initiate a multicast operation from a responder in the daemon's name service module. FIG. 7 illustrates the operation flow of the responder. FIG. 8 illustrates the operation flow of a daemon in the computing system notifying its client application that a service application has been found.
[0048] The logical operations in the operation flow diagrams of the various embodiments of the present invention are implemented (1) as a sequence of computer implemented acts or program modules running on a computing system and/or (2) as interconnected machine logic circuits or circuit modules within the computing system. The implementation is a matter of choice dependent on the performance requirements of the computing system implementing the invention. Accordingly, the logical operations making up the embodiments of the present invention described herein are referred to variously as operations, structural devices, acts or modules. It will be recognized by one skilled in the art that these operations, structural devices, acts and modules may be implemented in software, in firmware, in special purpose digital logic, and any combination thereof without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention as recited within the claims attached hereto.
[0049] In FIG. 5 , advertise operation 502 at the bus daemon receives from a service application a request to advertise attribute information about the service application. The advertise request corresponds to discovery request 404 ( FIG. 4 ). Advertise operation 502 saves the service application well-known-name, being advertised, in the application name cache 504 and calls the name service module 506 of the bus daemon. Name service module 506 saves the advertised well-known-name in the name service cache 508 and initiates a discovery operation request, which in this case is an ADVERTISE operation request, at multicast request operation 510 . Multicast request operation 510 sends the ADVERTISE operation request to a responder module in the name service module. The responder will multicast a discovery message containing the well-known-name attribute of the service application being advertised.
[0050] In FIG. 6 , FIND-NAME operation 602 at the bus daemon receives from a client application a FIND-NAME message 419 ( FIG. 4 ) requesting the bus daemon to find a service application with a given well-known-name attribute. In one embodiment the given well-known-name attribute is the well-known-name prefix of the peer application making the discovery request. FIND-NAME operation 602 saves the client application well-known-name in the daemon's interested-client-applications name list 604 and calls the name service module 606 of the bus daemon. Name service module 606 initiates a discovery operation request, which in this case is a FIND-NAME operation request, at multicast request operation 608 . Multicast request operation 608 sends a FIND-NAME operation request to a responder module in the name service. The responder will multicast a discovery message containing the well-known-name prefix attribute of the service application being sought by the client application.
[0051] FIG. 7 shows the operational flow of the responder module in the name service. The responder, like the bus daemon and name service, may come up when the computing system powers on and may stay up until the computing system powers off. Multiple responders are allowed on any given computing system. The operational flow begins at wait operation 702 . Wait operation 702 is waiting for receipt of a timer event, an operation request event or a UDP packet event. Event-type test operation 704 detects the type of event received by the wait operation 702 . If the event is an operation request event, the operation flow branches from event-type test operation 704 to operation-type detect module 706 . If the event is a UDP packet event, the operation flow branches to message-type detect module 708 . If the event is a timer event, the operation flow branches to the timer-expired detect module 710 .
[0052] When the event is an operation request event, operation-type detect module 706 tests whether the operation request is a FIND-NAME operation request or an ADVERTISE operation request. If it is an ADVERTISE operation request, the operation flow branches from the operation-type detect module 706 to the IS-AT operation 712 . IS-AT operation 712 formats and sends a discovery message, in this case an IS-AT message, e.g. message 408 ( FIG. 4 ), effectively saying for its associated bus daemon, “I have <org.example.Well-Known-Name.Instance> service application.” From IS-AT operation 712 , the operation flow returns to wait operation 702 .
[0053] If the operation request is a FIND-NAME operation request, the operation flow branches from the operation-type detect module 706 to the WHO-HAS operation 714 . WHO-HAS operation 714 formats and sends a discovery message, in this case a WHO-HAS message, e.g. message instance 420 ( FIG. 4 ), effectively asking for a bus daemon, “Who has <org.example.Well-Known-Name.*> service application? Then the operation flow returns to wait operation 702 .
[0054] When the event is receipt of a UDP Packet from a remote bus daemon, message-type detect module 708 tests whether the UDP packet is an IS-AT message or a WHO-HAS message. If the UDP packet is an IS-AT message, the operation flow branches from the message-type detect module 708 to notify-daemon operation 716 . Notify operation 716 notifies the bus daemon associated. with responder that an IS-AT message for <org.example.Well-Known-Name.Instance> service application has been received, and the service application is available through a bus daemon at IPADDRESS,PORT in a remote computing system.
[0055] The IS-AT UDP packet is generated at a remote computing system as a result of either an ADVERTISE operation request at a remote bus daemon or as a result of WHO-HAS UDP packet being received at the name service of the remote bus daemon. In either case the receipt of an IS-AT message by a name service at a home bus daemon in the user's computing system is handled by the responder's notify-daemon operation 716 . Notify operation 716 notifies the home bus daemon an instance of a service application with a well-known-name attribute is available for interested client applications (if any) attached to the home bus daemon. The operational flow of the bus daemon in response to the notification is shown in FIG. 8 described hereinafter. After the notify-daemon operation 716 in FIG. 7 , the operational flow returns to wait operation 702 .
[0056] If the UDP packet from a remote bus daemon is a WHO-HAS message the operational flow branches from message-type detect module 708 to “have-name” test operation 718 . If the bus daemon does not have an instance of a service application with a well-known-name attribute as asked for in the WHO-HAS message, the operation flow branches NO from the have-name test operation 718 and returns to wait operation 702 to wait for the next event. If the bus daemon has an instance of a service application with the well-known-name attribute sought by the WHO-HAS message, the operation flow branches YES to IS-AT operation 712 . IS-AT operation 712 formats and sends an IS-AT message saying the home bus daemon has an instance of the well-known-named service application. IS-AT message instance 422 ( FIG. 4 ) is an example of an IS-AT message being returned in response to a WHO-HAS message. Note that IS-AT operation 712 will send an IS-AT message in response to an ADVERTISE operation request or an appropriate WHO-HAS packet event where the have-name test 718 is satisfied. After the IS-AT message is sent, the operation flow returns to wait operation 702 .
[0057] When the event is a timer event, timer-expired detect module 710 detects whether the expired timer event was a retry timer or a keep-alive timer. If the timer event is a keep-alive timer event, the operation flow branches from timer-expired detect module 710 to keep-alive operation 720 . Keep-alive operation formats and sends an IS-AT message, e.g. message instances 414 , 426 and 427 , for all advertised names of service applications currently being advertised by a name service for a bus daemon. Even if a bus daemon sending the IS-AT message has joined with another bus daemon as a result of an earlier discovery process, the keep-alive operation will continue to provide an opportunity for other bus daemons in the IP multicast group to join with the bus daemon. From keep-alive operation 720 the operation flow returns to wait operation 702 .
[0058] If the timer event is a retry timer event, the operation flow branches from timer-expired detect module 710 to retry operation 722 . Retry operation 722 resends a WHO-HAS message, e.g. messages instances 428 and 429 , seeking an instance of a well-known-named service applications currently being sought by a name service for a bus daemon with a client application seeking the named service applications. Even if the bus daemon retrying the WHO-HAS message has joined, with another bus daemon as a result of an earlier discovery process, the retry operation will continue to provide an opportunity for other bus daemons in the multicast group to join with the bus daemon by retrying the WHO-HAS message. From retry operation 722 . the operation flow returns to wait operation 702 .
[0059] FIG. 8 illustrates the operation flow of a bus daemon in the computing system notifying its client application that an instance of a service application with a requested well-known-name attribute has been found. Notification operation 802 at the daemon receives notification from notify-daemon operation 716 in the responder of daemon's name service that the service application with the well-known-name attribute the same as the well-known-name prefix in a FIND-NAME request is available. The same-name operation 802 saves the service application's well-known-name in a found-name list in the daemon's found-name cache 804 . Notification operation 802 also saves the IPADDRESS,PORT of the bus daemon where the desired service application is located. Found-name operation 806 sends a FOUND-NAME message, e.g. message instance 424 ( FIG. 4 ), from the daemon to signal interested client applications of a found-name. The FOUND-NAME message includes the name of same named service application that has been found and the IPADDRESS,PORT of its bus daemon. This completes the discovery phase for the client application that initiated the FIND-NAME request.
[0060] Although the invention has been described in language specific to computer structural features, methodological acts and computer processes on computer readable media, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific structures, acts or media described. As an example, other logical operations may be included in the bus daemon discovery process. Also to the extent FIGS. 3 and 4 have been described as conversations between two computing systems, such conversations will typically be occurring in parallel amongst multiple computing systems in an IP multicast group. Therefore, the specific structural features, acts and media are disclosed as exemplary embodiments implementing the claimed invention.
[0061] The various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the invention. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize various modifications and changes that may be made to the present invention without following the example embodiments and applications illustrated and described herein, and without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, which is set forth in the following claims. | Proximity-based communications is established between client and service applications mediated by bus daemons. Client applications consume services and service applications provide services. A unique discovery protocol provides a name service in the bus daemon structure to assist the bus daemons in discovering the service applications available at other bus daemons. Bus daemons periodically announce their existence and provide the address and port over which they may be contacted. They also provide attribute information consisting of a description, such as an instance attribute and a well-known name attribute, of the service applications available at the bus daemon. The name service in the bus daemon structure may also respond to queries as to the availability of requested service applications. When client applications require access to a service application, they query their associated bus daemon that, in turn, queries its name service. | 7 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present document incorporates by reference the entire contents of Japanese priority document, 2004-266676 filed in Japan on Sep. 14, 2004.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a technology for combining image data and format depicting data.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Digital still cameras have become very popular. In these digital still cameras, photographed digital images are stored in a recording medium such as a memory card.
[0006] When printing the photographed digital images, the digital still camera is connected to an external device, such as a personal computer, and the photographed digital images are transmitted to the external device. The photographed digital images are then printed by a printer attached to the external device.
[0007] However, the job of connecting a digital still camera to a personal computer, transferring the photographed digital images from the digital still camera to the personal computer, connecting a printer to the personal computer, and operating the personal computer to print the photographed digital images on the printer is not an easy job for a common man. To make the printing process easy, there has been developed a technology in which a digital still camera can be directly connected to a printer.
[0008] Japanese Patent Application Laid Open Nos. H11-8831, 2000-71575, 2002-16833 disclose various techniques for printing images with or without using a personal computer.
[0009] In some conventional digital still cameras it is possible to insert images into spaces prepared in a template form. However, when the number of images to be printed does not match with the spaces in the form, an undesirable result is obtained. For example, when the spaces are more and the images to be printed are less, some of the spaces remain blank.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] It is an object of the present invention to at least solve the problems in the conventional technology.
[0011] An image processing device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a storing unit that stores at least one form data, a plurality of image data, and at least one format data; a selecting unit that selects a form data and a format data from among the form data and the format data stored in the storing unit based on number of image data; and an image combining unit that combines the image data, selected form data and format data to generate an output image.
[0012] A method of combining an image and a form according to another aspect of the present invention includes comprising receiving a plurality of image data; selecting a form data from among at least one form data and a format data from among at least one format data based on number of the image data; and combining the image data, selected form data and format data to generate an output image.
[0013] An image forming device according to still another aspect of the present invention a storing unit that stores at least one form data, a plurality of image data, and at least one format data; a selecting unit that selects a form data and a format data from among the form data and the format data stored in the storing unit based on number of image data; an image combining unit that combines the image data, selected form data and format data to generate an output image; and an outputting unit that outputs the output image.
[0014] A printing system according to still another aspect of the present invention an image capturing unit configured to capture images; and a printing unit. The printer unit includes a storing unit that stores at least one form data, a plurality of image data corresponding to images captured by the image capturing unit, and at least one format data; a selecting unit that selects a form data and a format data from among the form data and the format data stored in the storing unit based on number of image data; and an image combining unit that combines the image data, selected form data and format data to generate an output image; and an outputting unit that outputs the output image.
[0015] The above and other objects, features, advantages and technical and industrial significance of this invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description of presently preferred embodiments of the invention, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital still camera printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of a digital still camera shown in FIG. 1 ;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of a printer shown in FIG. 1 ;
[0019] FIGS. 4A to 4D are examples of form data;
[0020] FIGS. 5A to 5D are schematics of a layout, form data, images, and a combined image;
[0021] FIG. 6A is a schematic for explaining the concept of a rotation angle;
[0022] FIGS. 6B to 6D are schematics for describing variable size modes;
[0023] FIGS. 7A to 7D are schematics of depicting data of form additional data;
[0024] FIG. 8 is a schematic of a combined document created according to the embodiment; and
[0025] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a printing processing performed by the printer.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0026] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to accompanying drawings. The present invention is not limited to these embodiments.
[0027] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital still camera printing system 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The digital still camera printing system 50 includes a digital still camera 100 that takes digital images, and a printer 200 that prints the digital images.
[0028] The digital still camera 100 and the printer 200 are capable of communicating with each other using a protocol and a data format that are compliant with the PictBridge standard established by the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) as DC-001-2003 Digital Photo Solutions for Imaging Devices.
[0029] FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of the digital still camera 100 . In the digital still camera 100 , a system control unit 1 controls: each unit of the digital still camera 100 ; writing/reading of data to/from a recording medium 30 ; photographing; and communication between an external device via an external communication unit 9 . Furthermore, the system control unit 1 performs various data processings, such as user interface processings when a user operates the digital still camera 100 . A system memory 2 stores various control programs executed by the system control unit 1 , and is used as a work area of the system control unit 1 . A parameter memory 3 stores various data specific to the digital still camera 100 , and a clock circuit 4 outputs the present time.
[0030] A reader/writer 5 is used to write/read data to/from the recording medium 30 . A photographing unit 6 includes a camera mechanism used for photographing, an optical system, and a photoelectric converting unit. A display unit 7 displays various data to a user on a liquid crystal display. An operating unit 8 has various keys that a user can use when operating the digital still camera 100 .
[0031] An external communication unit 9 connects the digital still camera 100 to an external device, such as the printer 200 . As a result, the digital still camera 100 can exchange data with the external device via the external communication unit 9 . The external communication unit 9 can be a versatile communication unit such as a USB.
[0032] The system control unit 1 , the system memory 2 , the parameter memory 3 , the clock circuit 4 , the reader/writer 5 , the photographing unit 6 , the display unit 7 , the operation unit 8 , and the external communication unit 9 are connected to each other by an internal bus 10 . As a result, data can be exchanged between any two or more units via the internal bus 10 .
[0033] FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of the printer 200 . In the printer 200 , a system control unit 21 controls: each unit of the printer 200 ; paper feeding; printing; and communication between an external device via an external communication unit 28 . Moreover, the system control unit 21 performs various data processings, such as user interface processings when a user operates the printer 200 . A system memory 22 stores various control programs executed by the system control unit 21 , and is used as a work area of the system control unit 21 . A parameter memory 23 stores various data specific to the printer 200 , and a clock circuit 24 outputs the present time.
[0034] A page buffer memory 25 stores printing data of one page, a print unit 26 prints an image onto paper, and an operation display unit 27 is a user interface for a user to operate the printer 200 .
[0035] The external communication unit 28 connects the printer 200 to an external device, such as the digital still camera 100 . As a result the printer 200 can exchange data with the external device via the external communication unit 28 . The external communication unit 28 can be a versatile communication unit such as a USB.
[0036] The system control unit 21 , the system memory 22 , the parameter memory 23 , the clock circuit 24 , the page buffer memory 25 , the print unit 26 , the operation display unit 27 , and the external communication unit 28 are connected to each other by an internal bus 29 . As a result, data can be exchanged between any two or more units via the internal bus 29 .
[0037] FIG. 4A is an example of form data stored in the printer 200 . The printer 200 stores a plurality of such form data.
[0038] The form data includes image combining data and form additional data. The image combining data indicates how image data is to be laid out on a page. The form additional data includes depicting elements to be added to the page. There are two types of depicting data: a depicting element that is added to image data laid out on a page (image-associated additional-depicting-data), and a depicting element that is always added to a fixed position on a page (fixed additional-depicting-data).
[0039] As shown in FIG. 4B , the image combining data includes number of images (N) on one page of a form that is created by the form data, and layout data #1 to #N defining a position of each of the images. As shown in FIG. 4C , each layout data includes a depicting reference position, a depicting size, a variable size mode, and a rotational angle.
[0040] In an example shown in FIG. 5A , there are two display frames FL 1 and FL 2 for laying out images on a page that is created by the form data. Thus, the image combining data includes two sets of layout data #1 and #2, corresponding to display frames FL 1 and FL 2 . The layout data #1 includes a coordinate value of a point P 1 at the top left corner in display frame FL 1 as the depicting reference position, and a height H 1 and a width W 1 of the display frame FL 1 as the depicting size. Moreover, 0 (zero) degrees is stored as the rotational angle, and “keep aspect ratio” is stored as the variable size mode.
[0041] FIG. 6A is a schematic for explaining the concept of the rotational angle. The rotational angle is an angle around a reference point P in a frame FL. A rotational angel in an anti-clockwise direction is represented by a positive value, and a rotational angel in a clockwise direction is represented by a negative value.
[0042] There are two types of variable size modes: “keep aspect ratio (ratio of height and width)”; and “fit in display frame”. FIG. 6B is a diagram showing an example of fitting a foreground image PT into the display frame FL that is smaller than the foreground image PT. When the “keep aspect ratio” mode is set, as shown in FIG. 6C , a reduced image PTa of the foreground image PT is fit into the display frame FL by retaining the aspect ratio. Specifically, the height is reduced to match that of the display frame FL, and the width is reduced correspondingly so that the reduced image PTa has the same aspect ratio as the foreground image PT. On the other hand, when the “fit in display frame” mode is set, as shown in FIG. 6D , a reduced image PTb of the foreground image PT is reduced into the same size as the display frame FL. Specifically, both the height and the width are reduced to match that of the display frame FL.
[0043] As shown in FIG. 4D , the form additional data includes a character depicting data group, a line depicting data group, a graphic depicting data group, and an image depicting data group.
[0044] The character depicting data group includes an Nc number of character depicting data. The character depicting data is sorted in an ascending order of an image index value.
[0045] The line depicting data group includes an Nr number of line depicting data. The line depicting data is sorted in an ascending order of an image index value.
[0046] The graphic depicting data group includes an Ng number of graphic depicting data. The graphic depicting data is sorted in an ascending order of an image index value.
[0047] The image depicting data group includes an Ni number of image depicting data. The image depicting data is sorted in an ascending order of an image index value.
[0048] The image index value is a value for referring to an image corresponding to the layout data in the image combining data. For example, an image index value 1 means that the data (image-associated additional-depicting-data) is added to a position associated to an image according to layout data #1. An image index value 0 means that the data is not associated to an image (fixed additional-depicting-data).
[0049] As shown in FIG. 7A , the character depicting data includes a printing position that is a position where a character string is to be printed on a form (character reference position coordinate), a size, a font, style (bold, italic, etc.), a color, the character string, and an image index value. For example, in form data shown in FIG. 5B , the character string “P / ” at the top right corner are depicted according to character depicting data #1 (image index value: 0). This character string is indicated by a value “P pp/PP”; “pp” indicates a page number and “PP” indicates a total number of pages.
[0050] As shown in FIG. 7B , the line depicting data includes a depicting position on a form (depicting reference position), length, line intervals, thickness of lines, color of lines, number of lines, and an image index value. For example, in the form data as shown in FIG. 5B , there are two spaces for laying out images, and lines are provided at positions associated to each space, so that a user can write in a memo. These lines are depicted according to line depicting data #1 (image index value: 1) and line depicting data #2 (image index value: 2), respectively.
[0051] As shown in FIG. 7C , the graphic depicting data includes type of depiction (assembly of lines/bezier curve), method of depiction (line only, fill (even-odd rule, non-zero winding rule), line and fill), line color, line thickness, color of fill, a depiction position (assembly of depiction positions, including control point in the case of bezier curve), and an image index value.
[0052] As shown in FIG. 7D , the image depicting data includes a depicting position on a form (depicting reference position), a width and a height of a source image, a width and a height of a depicted image, number of colors (monochrome, 256 colors, full-color), data size, image data, and an image index value.
[0053] The form data shown in FIGS. 5A to 5D includes two spaces for images on one page. When a user selects three images, the first page including two images is printed out, as shown in FIG. 5D .
[0054] The second page is printed out as shown in FIG. 8 . Specifically, the third image is positioned at the space for a first image on the page, and lines are depicted at a position associated to the image. Moreover, the space for a second image on the page is left blank, without any lines depicted.
[0055] According to the embodiment, when a page is created according to form data, and the page has a blank space because there are more spaces than the number of images selected for printing, depicting elements (characters, lines, graphics, etc.) associated to the blank space are not printed. Thus, unnecessary form elements are omitted, so that a desirable output is obtained. Moreover, unnecessary consumption of color material of the printer 200 (toner, ink, etc.) is suppressed.
[0056] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a printing processing performed by the printer 200 . In this printing processing, a plurality of images selected by a user is transferred from the digital still camera 100 to be printed out on one page.
[0057] A user is made to select a form data (step S 101 ). Operation guidance and a list of form data can be displayed on the operation display unit 27 to facilitate the selection.
[0058] The printer 200 sets a variable C of the number of images to be included on one page to “0” (step S 102 ), and determines whether an image is input from the digital still camera 100 (step S 103 ). When the result of the determination made at step S 103 is YES, the printer 200 adds “1” to the variable C (step S 104 ), positions the input image on a page according to Cth layout data (layout data #C), and issues a depicting command to a lower processing layer (step S 105 ).
[0059] The printer determines whether the variable C reached a number N of images that can be included in one page (step S 106 ). When the result of the determination made at step S 106 is NO, the system control returns to step S 103 , and determines whether a next image is input.
[0060] When the digital still camera 100 finishes inputting images to the printer 200 , and the result of the determination made at step S 103 is NO, the printer 200 determines whether the variable C is more than “0” (step S 107 ). When the result of the determination made at step S 107 is NO, the image printing processing ends.
[0061] When the printer 200 finishes depicting images for one page and the result of the determination made at step S 106 is YES, or when the digital still camera 100 finishes inputting images to the printer 200 but the last page is not discharged and the result of the determination made at step S 107 is YES, the processing proceeds to step S 108 . At this point, the variable C retains the number of images to be included on the page to be printed out.
[0062] At step S 108 , the printer 200 sets a variable i to “0”. The variable i is used for sequentially scanning all the depicting data included in the form additional data. The printer 200 acquires an i-th element in the depicting data, and determines whether the image index value of the acquired element is smaller than the variable C (step S 109 ).
[0063] When the result of the determination made at step S 109 is YES, the printer 200 issues, to a lower processing layer, a depicting command to depict the contents of the i-th element (step S 110 ). When the result of the determination made at step S 109 is NO, step S 110 is not performed.
[0064] The printer 200 adds “1” to the variable i (step S 111 ), and determines whether processings for all depicting data are completed (step S 112 ). When the result of the determination made at step S 112 is NO, the system control returns to step S 109 , and performs processings for remaining depicting data.
[0065] When the result of the determination made at step S 112 is YES, the printer 200 discharges the depicted page (step S 113 ), returns to step S 103 , and performs processings for a next page.
[0066] Similar results can be obtained by replacing the digital still camera 100 with a digital video camera having a function of a digital still camera. Moreover, similar results can be obtained by replacing the digital still camera 100 with a mobile terminal having a function of a digital still camera.
[0067] It is sufficient that the images are available, and it is not necessary that the images be taken with a camera. In other words, the images can be images prestored in a hard disk of a computer, or can be images scanned with a scanning function of a scanner, a composite machine, or a copier. The images can also be downloaded via a network such as the Internet. In other words, instead of connecting the printer 200 to the digital still camera 100 as shown in FIG. 1 , the printer 200 can be connected to a computer having a hard disk with prestored images or a communication function that allows downloading of images via a network, or the printer 200 can be connected to, or incorporated in, a scanner, a composite machine, or a copier.
[0068] Although the invention has been described with respect to a specific embodiment for a complete and clear disclosure, the appended claims are not to be thus limited but are to be construed as embodying all modifications and alternative constructions that may occur to one skilled in the art that fairly fall within the basic teaching herein set forth. | When a plurality of image data are received, a form data from among at least one form data and a format data from among at least one format data are selected based on number of the image data. The image data, selected form data and format data are combined to generate an output image. | 6 |
This application is a continuation-in-part of application application Ser. No. 08/687,840 filed on Jul. 26, 1996, U.S. Pat. No. 5,801,173.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to novel antidiabetic compounds, their tautomeric forms, their derivatives, their stereoisomers, their polymorphs, their pharmaceutically acceptable salts, their pharmaceutically acceptable solvates and pharmaceutically acceptable compositions containing them. This invention particularly relates to novel thiazolidinedione derivatives of the general formula (I), their tautomeric forms, their derivatives, their stereoisomers, their polymorphs and their pharmaceutically acceptable salts, pharmaceutically acceptable solvates and pharmaceutical compositions containing them. ##STR1##
The present invention also relates to a process for the preparation of the above said novel, thiazolidinedione derivatives, their tautomeric forms, their stereoisomers, their polymorphs, their pharmaceutically acceptable salts, pharmaceutically acceptable solvates, novel intermediates and pharmaceutical compositions containing them.
The thiazolidinedione derivatives of the general formula (I) defined above of the present invention are useful for the treatment and/or prophylaxis of diseases or conditions in which insulin resistance is the underlying pathophysiological mechanism. Examples of these diseases and conditions are type II diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular disorders including atherosclerosis. The thiazolidinedione derivatives of the formula (I) are useful for the treatment of insulin resistance associated with obesity and psoriasis. The thiazolidinedione derivatives of the formula (I) can also be used to treat diabetic complications and can be used for treatment and/or prophylaxis of other diseases and conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), certain renal diseases including diabetic nephropathy, glomerulonephritis, glomerular sclerosis, nephrotic syndrome, hypertensive nephrosclerosis, end-stage renal diseases and microalbuminuria as well as certain eating disorders, as aldose reductase inhibitors and for improving cognitive functions in dementia.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Insulin resistance is the diminished ability of insulin to exert its biological action across a broad range of concentrations. In insulin resistance, the body secretes abnormally high amounts of insulin to compensate for this defect; failing which, the plasma glucose concentration inevitably rises and develops into diabetes. Among the developed countries, diabetes mellitus is a common problem and is associated with a variety of abnormalities including obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia (J. Clin. Invest., (1985) 75: 809-817; N. Engl. J. Med. (1987) 317: 350-357; J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., (1988) 66: 580-583; J. Clin. Invest., (1975) 68: 957-969) and other renal complications (See Patent Application No. WO 95/21608). It is now increasingly being recognized that insulin resistance and relative hyperinsulinemia have a contributory role in obesity, hypertension, atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The association of insulin resistance with obesity, hypertension and angina has been described as a syndrome having insulin resistance as the central pathogenic link-Syndrome-X. In addition, polycystic ovarian syndrome (Patent Application No. WO 95/07697), psoriasis (Patent Application No. WO 95/35108), dementia (Behavioral Brain Research (1996) 75: 1-11) etc. may also have insulin resistance as a central pathogenic feature.
A number of molecular defects have been associated with insulin resistance. These include reduced expression of insulin receptors on the plasma membrane of insulin responsive cells and alterations in the signal transduction pathways that become activated after insulin binds to its receptor including glucose transport and glycogen synthesis.
Since defective insulin action is thought to be more important than failure of insulin secretion in the development of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus and other related complications, this raises doubts about the intrinsic suitability of antidiabetic treatment that is based entirely upon stimulation of insulin release. Recently, Takeda has developed a new class of compounds which are the derivatives of 5-(4-alkoxybenzyl)-2,4-thiazolidinediones of the formula (II) (Ref. Chem. Pharm. Bull. 1982, 30, 3580-3600). In the formula (II), V represents substituted or unsubstituted divalent aromatic group and U represents various groups which have been reported in various patent documents. ##STR2##
By way of examples, U may represent the following groups:
(i) a group of the formula (IIa) where R 1 is hydrogen or hydrocarbon residue or heterocyclic residue which may each be substituted, R 2 is hydrogen or a lower alkyl which may be substituted by hydroxy group, X is an oxygen or sulphur atom, Z is a hydroxylated methylene or a carbonyl, m is 0 or 1, n is an integer of 1-3. These compounds have been disclosed in the European Patent Application No. 0 177 353 ##STR3##
An example of these compounds is shown in formula (IIb) ##STR4##
(ii) a group of the formula (IIc) wherein R 1 and R 2 are the same or different and each represents hydrogen or C 1 -C 5 alkyl, R 3 represents hydrogen, acyl group, a (C 1 -C 6 ) alkoxycarbonyl group or aralkyloxycarbonyl group, R 4 and R 5 are same or different and each represent hydrogen, C 1 -C 5 alkyl or C 1 -C 5 alkoxy or R 4 , R 5 together represent C 1 -C 4 alkenedioxy group, n is 1, 2, or 3, W represents CH 2 , CO, CHOR 6 group in which R 6 represents any one of the items or groups defined for R 3 and may be the same or different from R 3 . These compounds are disclosed in the European Patent Application No. 0 139 421. ##STR5##
An example of these compounds is shown in (IId) ##STR6##
iii) A group of formula (IIe) where A 1 represents substituted or unsubstituted aromatic heterocyclic group, R 1 represents a hydrogen atom, alkyl group, acyl group, an aralkyl group wherein the aryl moiety may be substituted or unsubstituted, or a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group, n represents an integer in the range from 2 to 6. These compounds are disclosed in European Patent No. 0 306 228. ##STR7##
An example of this compound is shown in formula (IIf) ##STR8##
iv) A group of formula (IIg) where Y represents N or CR 5 , R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 and R 5 represents hydrogen, halogen, alkyl and the like and R 6 represents hydrogen, alkyl, aryl and the like, n represents an integer of 0 to 3. These compounds are disclosed in European Patent Application No. 0 604 983. ##STR9##
An example of this compound is shown in formula (IIh) ##STR10##
v) A group of formula (IIi a-d) where R 1 represents hydrogen atom, halogen, linear or branched (C 1 -C 6 )alkyl, (C 1 -C 6 )alkoxy, trifluoromethyl or cyano groups and X represents S, O or NR where R═H or (C 1 -C 6 )alkyl group. These compounds are disclosed in European Patent Application No. 0 528 734. ##STR11##
An example of this class of compound is shown in formula (IIj) ##STR12##
Some of the above referred hitherto known antidiabetic compounds seem to possess bone marrow depression, liver and cardiac toxicities or modest potency and consequently, their regular use for the treatment and control of diabetes is becoming limited and restricted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
With an objective of developing new compounds for the treatment of type II diabetes non-insulin-dependent-diabetes mellitus (NIDDM)! which could be more potent at relatively lower doses and having better efficacy with lower toxicity, we focused our research efforts in a direction of incorporating safety and to have better efficacy, which has resulted in the development of novel thiazolidinedione derivatives having the general formula (I) as defined above.
The main objective of the present invention is therefore, to provide novel thiazolidinedione derivatives, their tautomeric forms, their stereoisomers, their polymorphs, their pharmaceutically, acceptable salts, their pharmaceutically acceptable solvates and pharmaceutical compositions containing them, or their mixtures.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide novel thiazolidinedione derivatives, their tautomeric forms, their stereoisomers, their polymorphs, their pharmaceutically acceptable salts, their pharmaceutically acceptable solvates and pharmaceutical compositions containing them or their mixtures having enhanced activities, no toxic effect or reduced toxic effect.
Yet another objective of the present invention is to produce a process for the preparation of novel thiazolidinediones of the formula (I) as defined above, their tautomeric forms, their stereoisomers, their polymorphs, their pharmaceutically acceptable salts and their pharmaceutically acceptable solvates.
Still another objective of the present invention is to provide pharmaceutical compositions containing compounds of the general formula (I), their tautomers, their stereoisomers, their polymorphs, their salts, solvates or their mixtures in combination with suitable carriers, solvents, diluents and other media normally employed in preparing such compositions
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Thiazolidinedione derivatives of the present invention have the general formula (I) ##STR13##
In the above formula (I), A represents a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted five membered heterocyclic group with one hetero atom selected from nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur, which is single or fused or a substituted or unsubstituted six membered heterocyclic group with one or more nitrogen atoms, which is single or fused, which may or may not contain one or more oxo group on the ring, B and D represent substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon linking group between N and X which may or may not contain one or more double bonds, X represents either a CH 2 group or a hetero atom selected from the group of nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur, Ar represents an optionally substituted divalent aromatic or heterocyclic group, R 1 and R 2 can be the same or different and represent hydrogen atom, lower alkyl, halogen, alkoxy or hydroxy groups or R 1 and R 2 together represent a bond and p is an integer ranging from 0-4.
A may be a six membered heterocyclic group which contains 1-3 nitrogen atoms and A may be a single or fused ring which is substituted or unsubstituted and may contain up to 3 oxo groups.
Suitable aromatic groups represented by A include phenyl, naphthyl, phenanthryl, preferably, phenyl and naphthyl group, suitable heterocyclic groups represented by A include furyl, pyrrolyl, thienyl, pyridyl, quinolyl, 4-pyridone-2-yl, pyrimidyl, 4-pyrimidone-2-yl, pyridazyl, and 3-pyridazone-2-yl groups, pthalazinyl, phthalazinonyl, quinoxalinyl, quinoxalonyl, quinazolinyl, quinazolinonyl, azaindolyl, naphtharidinyl, carbazolyl, indolyl, benzofuranyl, pyrimidonyl, and the like.
Preferred groups represented by A include pyridyl, quinolyl, indolyl, benzofuranyl, pyrimidonyl, quinazolinonyl groups.
More preferred groups represented by A include pyridyl and quinolyl groups. One or more of the suitable substituents on the aromatic and heterocyclic group represented by A include hydroxy, amino group, halogen atoms such as chlorine, fluorine, bromine, or iodine, substituted or unsubstituted (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl group, especially, linear or branched (C 1 -C 6 )alkyl group, such as methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, iso-butyl, t-butyl, pentyl, hexyl and the like; cycloalkyl group such as cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl and the like; cycloalkyloxy group such as cyclopropyloxy, cyclobutyloxy, cyclopentyloxy, cyclohexyloxy and the like; aryl group such as phenyl or naphthyl, the aryl group may be substituted; aralkyl such as benzyl or phenethyl, the aralkyl group may be substituted; heteroaryl group such as pyridyl, thienyl, furyl, pyrrolyl, oxazolyl, thiazolyl, imidazolyl, oxadiazolyl, tetrazolyl, benzopyranyl, benzofuranyl and the like, the heteroaryl group may be substituted; heterocyclyl groups such as aziridinyl, pyrrolidinyl, morpholinyl, piperidinyl, piperazinyl and the like, the heterocyclyl group may be substituted; aryloxy such as phenoxy, naphthyloxy, the aryloxy group may be substituted; alkoxycarbonyl such as methoxycarbonyl or ethoxycarbonyl; aryloxycarbonyl group such as optionally substituted phenoxycarbonyl; arylamino group such as HNC 6 H 5 , amino(C 1 -C 6 )alkyl; hydroxy(C 1 -C 6 )alkyl; (C 1 -C 6 )alkoxy; thio(C 1 -C 6 )alkyl; (C 1 -C 6 ) alkylthio; acyl group such as acetyl, propionyl or benzoyl, the acyl group may be substituted; acylamino groups such as NHCOCH 3 , NHCOC 2 H 5 , NHCOC 3 H 7 , NHCOC 6 H 5 , aralkoxycarbonylamino group such as NHCOOCH 2 C 6 H 5 , alkoxycarbonylamino group such as NHCOOC 2 H 5 , NHCOOCH 3 and the like; carboxylic acid or its derivatives such as amides, like CONH 2 , CONHMe, CONMe 2 , CONHEt, CONEt 2 , CONHPh and the like, the carboxylic acid derivatives may be substituted; acyloxy group such as OOCMe, OOCEt, OOCPh and the like which may optionally be substituted; sulfonic acid or its derivatives such as SO 2 NH 2 , SO 2 NHMe, SO 2 NMe 2 , SO 2 NHCF 3 , SO 2 NHPh and the like; the sulfonic acid derivatives may be substituted.
All of the suitable substituents on group A may be substituted or unsubstituted.
When the substituents are further substituted, the substituents selected are from the same groups as those groups that substitute A and may be selected from halogen, hydroxy, or nitro, or optionally substituted groups selected from alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkoxy, cycloalkoxy, aryl, aralkyl, heterocyclyl, heteroaryl, heteroaralkyl, acyl, acyloxy, hydroxyalkyl, amino, acylamino, arylamino, aminoalkyl, aryloxy, alkoxycarbonyl, alkylamino, alkoxyalkyl, alkylthio, thioalkyl groups, carboxylic acid or its derivatives, or sulfonic acid or its derivatives.
The substituents on the adjacent carbon atoms on the group represented by A along with the carbon atoms to which they are attached may also form a substituted or unsubstituted, aromatic, saturated or unsaturated 5-7 membered cyclic structure which may be carbocyclic or heterocyclic wherein one or more hetero atoms are selected from N, O, and S, such as phenyl, naphthyl, thienyl, furyl, oxazolyl, thiazolyl, furyl, imidazolyl, azacyclobutyl, isoxazolyl, azepinyl and the like, preferably, phenyl, furyl and imidazolyl groups. The substituents on such cyclic structure may be selected from the same group that may substitute the aromatic and heterocyclic group represented by A.
Suitable hydrocarbon linking group between N and X represented by B may contain 1-4 carbon atoms, 1-2 being preferred and suitable linking group between N and X represented by D may represent either a bond or contain 1-4 carbon atoms, 1-2 being preferred. The compounds according to formula (I) always have a linking group B and a linking group D. The linking group D having no carbon atom means that the linking group D represents a bond. B and D may contain no double bond or contain one to two double bonds, no double bond or one double bond being preferred. The substituents on the B and D include hydroxy; amino groups; halogen such as chlorine, bromine, or iodine; optionally substituted linear or branched (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl, especially (C 1 -C 6 )alkyl group such as methyl, hydroxymethyl, aminomethyl, methoxymethyl, trifluoromethyl, ethyl, isopropyl, hexyl etc; (C 3 -C 6 )cycloalkyl groups such as cyclopropyl, fluorocyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, fluorocyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, fluorocyclohexyl and the like; (C 1 -C 6 )alkoxy, (C 3 -C 6 ) cycloalkoxy, aryl such as phenyl; heterocyclic groups such as furyl, thienyl and the like; (C 2 -C 6 ) acyl, (C 2 -C 6 )acyloxy, hydroxy(C 1 -C 6 )alkyl, amino(C 1 -C 6 )alkyl, mono or di(C 1 -C 6 )alkylamino, cyclo(C 3 -C 5 )alkylamino groups; two substituents together with the adjacent carbon atoms to which they are attached may form a substituted or unsubstituted 5-7 membered cyclic structure which mayor may not contain one or more hetero atoms selected from N, O, and S; such cyclic structures may or may not contain one or more double bonds. Preferred ring structures include phenyl, naphthyl, pyridyl, thienyl, furyl, oxazolyl, thiazolyl, furyl, isoxazolyl, azepinyl and the like. The substituents on such cyclic structure may be selected from the same group that may substitute the aromatic or heterocyclic group represented by A.
Suitable X includes CH 2 , O, N or S group, preferably CH 2 and O. Preferred ring structures comprising a nitrogen atom, linking groups represented by B and D, and X are pyrrolidinyl, piperidinyl, piperazinyl, aziridinyl and morpholinyl groups.
It is more preferred that the ring structures comprising a nitrogen atom, linking groups represented by B and D, and X are a pyrrolidinyl group, morpholinyl or aziridinyl group.
The group represented by Ar includes divalent phenylene, naphthylene, pyridyl, quinolinyl, benzofuranyl, benzoxazolyl, benzothiazolyl, indolyl, indolinyl, azaindolyl, azaindolinyl, indenyl, pyrazolyl and the like. The substituents on the group represented by Ar include linear or branched optionally halogenated (C 1 -C 6 )alkyl and optionally halogenated (C 1 -C 3 )alkoxy, halogen, acyl, amino, acylamino, thio, carboxylic and sulfonic acids and their derivatives.
It is more preferred that Ar represents substituted or unsubstituted divalent phenylene, naphthylene, benzofuranyl, indolyl, indolinyl, quinolinyl, azaindolyl, azaindolinyl, benzothiazolyl or benzoxazolyl groups.
It is still more preferred that Ar is represented by divalent phenylene or naphthylene, which may be optionally substituted by methyl, halomethyl, methoxy or halomethoxy groups.
Suitable R 1 and R 2 include hydrogen, lower alkyl groups such as methyl, ethyl or propyl; halogen atoms such as fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine; (C 1 -C 3 )alkoxy, hydroxy or R 1 and R 2 together represent a bond; preferably both R 1 and R 2 are hydrogen or together represent a bond.
Suitable p is an integer ranging from 0-4, preferably 0-2. When p is zero, (CH 2 ) p represents a bond; the ring structure comprising N, X and the linking groups B and D is directly linked to oxygen atom.
Pharmaceutically acceptable salts forming part of this invention include salts of the thiazolidinedione moiety such as alkali metal salts like Li, Na, and K salts, alkaline earth metal salts like Ca and Mg salts, salts of organic bases such as lysine, arginine, guanidine, diethanolamine, choline and the like, ammonium or substituted ammonium salts, salts of carboxy group wherever appropriate, such as aluminum, alkali metal salts, alkaline earth metal salts, ammonium or substituted ammonium salts. Salts may include acid addition salts which are, sulphates, nitrates, phosphates, perchlorates, borates, hydrohalides, acetates, tartrates, maleates, citrates, succinates, palmoates, methanesulphonates, benzoates, salicylates, hydroxynaphthoates, benzenesulfonates, ascorbates, glycerophosphates, ketoglutarates and the like. Pharmaceutically acceptable solvates may be hydrates or comprising other solvents of crystallization such as alcohols.
Particularly useful compounds according to the invention include:
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)piperidin-4-yloxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)piperidin-4-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 2- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)piperazin-1-yl!ethoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, maleic acid salt;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, maleic acid salt;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, hydrochloride salt;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, hydrochloride salt;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, sodium salt;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, sodium salt;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, maleic acid salt;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, maleic acid salt;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, sodium salt;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, sodium salt;
5- 4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, maleic acid salt;
5- 4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, maleic acid salt;
5- 4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, hydrochloride;
5- 4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, hydrochloride;
5- 4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, sodium salt;
5- 4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, sodium salt;
5- 4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)-(2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)-(2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, maleic acid salt;
5- 4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)-(2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, maleic acid salt;
5- 4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, hydrochloride salt;
5- 4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)-(2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, hydrochloride salt;
5- 4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, sodium salt;
5- 4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)-(2R)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, sodium salt;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-3-yloxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(3S)-pyrrolidin-3-yloxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione and its salts;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(3R)-pyrrolidin-3-yloxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione and its salts;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-3-yloxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, maleic acid salt;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-3-yloxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, hydrochloride salt;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-3-yloxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(3S)-pyrrolidin-3-yloxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione and its salts;
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(3R)-pyrrolidin-3-yloxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione and its salts;
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)morpholin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione and its salts;
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-morpholin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione and its salts;
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2R)-morpholin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione and its salts;
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)morpholin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione and its salts;
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-morpholin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione and its salts;
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2R)-morpholin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)morpholin-2yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, sodium salt;
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-morpholin-2yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, sodium salt;
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2R)-morpholin-2yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, sodium salt;
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)aziridin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-aziridin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2R)-aziridin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)aziridin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-aziridin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2R)-aziridin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 4-(Quinolin-2-yl)aziridin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 4-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-aziridin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 4-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2R)-aziridin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 4-(Quinolin-2-yl)aziridin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione;
5- 4- 4-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-aziridin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione; and
5- 4- 4-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2R)-aziridin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione.
According to a feature of the present invention, there is provided a process for the preparation of novel thiazolidinedione derivatives of formula (I) , their stereoisomers, their polymorphs, their tautomeric forms, their pharmaceutically acceptable salts, their pharmaceutically acceptable solvates, which comprises.
(a) reacting a compound of general formula (III)
A--L.sup.1 (III)
where A is as defined above and L 1 is a halogen atom such as chlorine, bromine or iodine; a thioalkyl group such as thiomethyl group, or a group capable of coupling with an amine nitrogen atom, with a compound of general formula (IV) ##STR14## where B, D, X and p are as defined earlier and R a is a hydroxy group or a group which can be converted to a hydroxy group or a leaving group such as OMs, OTs, Cl, Br or I, by conventional methods, to yield a compound of general formula (V) ##STR15## where A, B, D, R a , X and p are as defined earlier.
The reaction of compound of general formula (III) with a compound of general formula (IV) to yield a compound of general formula (V) may be carried out in neat or in the presence of solvents such as DMF, DMSO, acetone, CH 3 CN, THF, pyridine or ethanol. Mixture of solvents may be used. The reaction may be carried out in an inert atmosphere. The inert atmosphere may be maintained by using inert gases such as N 2 , Ar or He. The reaction may be effected in the presence of a base such as K 2 CO 3 , Na 2 CO 3 , KOH, NaOH, NaH and the like or mixture thereof. The amount of base may range from 1 to 20 equivalents, preferably 1 to 10 equivalents. The reaction may be carried out at a temperature in the range 20° C. to 180° C., preferably at a temperature in the range 50° C.-150° C. Duration of the reaction may range from 1 to 48 hours, preferably from 1 to 12 hours. In the reaction, the ratio of the compound of general formula (III) and (IV) may range from 1 to 20 equivalents, preferably from 1 to 5 equivalents.
(b) reacting the compound of general formula (V) where R a is a hydroxy group with a compound of general formula (VI)
R.sup.b --Ar--CHO (VI)
where Ar is as defined earlier and R b is a halogen atom such as chlorine or fluorine, or R b is a hydroxy group to yield a compound of general formula (VII) ##STR16## where A, B, D, X, Ar and p are as defined earlier.
The reaction of compound of general formula (V) where R a is a hydroxy group with the compound of general formula (VI) where R b is a halogen atom to give a compound of general formula (VII) may be carried out in the presence of solvents such as THF, DMF, DMSO, DME and the like or a mixture thereof. The reaction may be carried out in an inert atmosphere. The inert atmosphere may be maintained by using inert gases such as N 2 , Ar, or He. The reaction may be effected in the presence of a base such as K 2 CO 3 , Na 2 CO 3 , or NaH. Mixture of bases may be used. The reaction temperature may range from 20° C. to 120° C., preferably at a temperature in the range of 30° C. to 80° C. The duration of the reaction may range from 1 to 24 hours, preferably from 2 to 12 hours.
The reaction of compound of general formula (V) where R a is a hydroxy group with the compound of general formula (VI) where R b is a hydroxy group may be carried out using suitable coupling agents such as dicyclohexyl urea, triarylphosphine/dialkylazodicarboxylate such as PPh 3 /DEAD and the like. The reaction may be carried out in the presence of solvents such as THF, DME, CH 2 Cl 2 , CHCl 3 , toluene, acetonitrile, carbontetrachloride and the like or a mixture thereof The reaction may be carried out in an inert atmosphere. The inert atmosphere may be maintained by using inert gases such as N 2 , Ar, or He. The reaction may be effected in the presence of DMAP-HOBT and they may be used in the range of 0.05 to 2 equivalents, preferably 0.25 to 1 equivalents. The reaction temperature may be in the range of 0° C. to 100° C., preferably at a temperature in the range of 20° C. to 50° C. The duration of the reaction may range from 0.5 to 24 hours, preferably from 6 to 12 hours.
(c) reacting the compound of general formula (VII) with 2,4-thiazolidinedione to yield a compound of general formula (VIII) ##STR17## where A, B, D, X, Ar, p are as defined earlier and removing the water formed during the reaction by conventional methods.
The reaction between the compound of general formula (VII) with 2,4-thiazolidinedione to give a compound of general formula (VIII) in step (c) may be carried out neat in the presence of sodium acetate or in the presence of a solvent such as benzene, toluene, methoxyethanol or a mixture thereof. The reaction temperature may range from 80° C. to 140° C. depending upon the solvents employed. A suitable catalyst such as piperidinium acetate or benzoate, or sodium acetate may also be employed. The water produced in the reaction may be removed, for example, by using Dean Stark water separator or by using water absorbing agents like molecular sieves etc.
And if desired,
(d) reducing the compound of general formula (VIII) obtained in step (c) by known methods, to obtain the compound of general formula (IX) ##STR18## where A, B, D, X, Ar and p are as defined earlier.
The reduction of compound of the formula (VIII) obtained in step (c) to yield a compound of the general formula (IX) may be carried out in the presence of gaseous hydrogen and a catalyst such as Pd/C, Rh/C, Pt/C, and the like. Mixtures of catalysts may be used. The reaction may also be conducted in the presence of solvents such as dioxane, acetic acid, ethyl acetate and the like. Mixtures of solvents may be used. A pressure between atmospheric pressure and 80 psi may be employed. The catalyst may be 5-10% Pd/C and the amount of catalyst used may range from 50-300% w/w. The reaction may also be carried out by employing metal solvent reduction such as magnesium in methanol or sodium amalgam in methanol. The reaction may also be carried out with alkali metal borohydrides such as LiBH 4 , NaBH 4 , KBH 4 and the like in the presence of cobalt salt such as CoCl 2 and ligands, preferably bidentated ligands such as 2,2'-bipyridyl, 1,10-phenanthroline, bisoximes and the like.
And if desired,
(e) resolving the compound of general formula (VIII) and of general formula (IX) into their stereoisomers and if desired,
(f) converting the compound of the general formula (VIII) and compound of general formula (IX) obtained in steps (c) and (d) respectively or the resolved stereoisomers thereof into their pharmaceutically acceptable salts, or their pharmaceutically acceptable solvates by conventional methods.
In an embodiment of the invention, the compound of general formula (VII) can be prepared by converting the compound of general formula (V) to a compound of general formula (X) ##STR19## where A, B, D, X and p are as defined earlier and L 2 is a leaving group such as halide group like chloride, bromide or iodide, or methanesulfonate, p-toluenesulfonate, trifluoromethanesulfonate and the like and further reaction of the compound of general formula (X) with a compound of general formula (VI) where Ar is as defined earlier and R b is a hydroxy group.
The compound of general formula (V) may be converted to a compound of general formula (X) using halogenating agents such as thionyl chloride, CBr 4 /PPh 3 , CCl 4 /PPh 3 , phosphorus halides or by using p-toluenesulfonyl chloride, methanesulfonyl chloride, trifluoromethanesulfonyl chloride or anhydride in neat or in the presence of a base such as pyridine, DMAP, triethylamine etc. Mixture of bases may be used. These reagents may be used in 1-4 equivalents, preferably 1 to 2 equivalents. Temperature in the range -10° C. to 100° C. may be employed, preferably from 0C. to 60° C. The reaction may be conducted for 0.5 to 24 hours, preferably from 1 to 12 hours.
The reaction of compound of general formula (X) with a compound of general formula (VI) (R b ═OH) to produce a compound of general formula (VII) may be carried out in the presence of solvents such as THF, DMF, DMSO, DME and the like or mixture thereof The reaction may be carried out in an inert atmosphere. The inert atmosphere may be maintained by using inert gases such as N 2 , Ar, or He. The reaction may be effected in the presence of a base such as K 2 CO 3 , Na 2 CO 3 , or NaH or their mixture. The reaction temperature may range from 20° C.-120° C., preferably at a temperature in the range of 30° C.-80° C. The duration of the reaction may range from 1-24 hours, preferably from 2 to 12 hours.
In another embodiment of this invention, the compound of general formula (VII) can also be prepared by reacting a compound of general formula (XI) ##STR20## where B, D, X, Ar and p are as defined earlier, with a compound of general formula (III).
The reaction of compound of general formula (XI) with a compound of general formula (III) may be carried out neat or in the presence of solvents such as DMF, DMSO, acetone, acetonitrile, ethanol and the like or mixture thereof. The reaction may be carried out in an inert atmosphere. The inert atmosphere may be maintained by using inert gases such as N 2 , Ar or He. The reaction may be effected in neat or in the presence of base such as K 2 CO 3 , Na 2 CO 3 , KOH, NaOH, NaH and the like or mixture thereof. The amount of base may range from 1 to 20 equivalents, preferably 1-10 equivalents. The reaction may be carried out at a temperature in the range 20° C. to 180° C., preferably at a temperature in the range 50° C.-150° C. Duration of the reaction may range from 1 to 48 hours, preferably from 1 to 12 hours. The amounts of the compound of general formula (III) and (XI) may range from 1 to 20 equivalents, preferably from 1 to 9 equivalents.
The compound of general formula (XI) in turn can be prepared by reacting a compound of general formula (XII) ##STR21## where B, D, X, Ar and p are as defined earlier and R 3 is a protecting group and R a is a leaving group with a compound of general formula (VI) (R b ═OH) followed by removal of N-protecting group using conventional methods.
The reaction of compound of general formula (VI) (R b ═OH) with a compound of general formula (XII) may be carried out in the presence of solvents such as THF, DMF, DMSO, DME and the like or a mixture thereof. The reaction may be carried out in an inert atmosphere. The inert atmosphere may be maintained by using inert gases such as N 2 , Ar, or He. The reaction may be effected in the presence of a base such as K 2 CO 3 , Na 2 CO 3 , NaH or a mixture thereof. The reaction temperature may range from 20° C. to 120° C., preferably at a temperature in the range of 30° C. to 80° C., The duration of the reaction may range from 1 to 12 hours, preferably from 2 to 6 hours. The N-protecting group R 3 is usually removed either by acid treatment or by hydrogenation or in the presence of a suitable base depending upon the nature of the protecting group employed.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the compound of the general formula (I), their tautomeric forms, their stereoisomers, their polymorphs, their pharmaceutically acceptable salts and their pharmaceutically acceptable solvates can also be prepared by reacting a compound of the general formula (V) where R a is OH group obtained and defined above with a compound of general formula (XIII). ##STR22## where R 1 , R 2 and Ar are as defined earlier and R 4 is hydrogen or a nitrogen protecting group such as acyl or triarylmethyl group.
The reaction of compound of general formula (V) with a compound of general formula (XIII) to produce a compound of general formula (I) may be carried out using suitable coupling agents such as dicyclohexyl urea, triarylphosphine/dialkylazadicarboxylate such as PPh 3 /DEAD, and the like. The reaction may be carried out in the presence of solvents such as THF, DME, CH 2 Cl 2 , CHCl 3 , toluene, acetonitrile, carbontetrachloride and the like. The reaction may be carried out in an inert atmosphere. The inert atmosphere may be maintained by using inert gases such as N 2 , Ar, or He. The reaction may be effected in the presence of DMAP-HOBT and they may be used in the range of 0.05 to 2 equivalents, preferably 0.25 to 1 equivalents. The reaction temperature may be in the range of 0° C. to 100° C., preferably at a temperature in the range of 20° C. to 80° C. The duration of the reaction may range from 0.5 to 24 hours, preferably from 6 to 12 hours.
In still another embodiment of the present invention, the compound of the general formula (I), their tautomeric forms, their stereoisomers, their polymorphs, their pharmaceutically acceptable salts-and their pharmaceutically acceptable solvates can also be prepared by reacting a compound of the general formula (X) obtained and defined above with a compound of general formula (XIII) as defined above.
The reaction of compound of general formula (X) with a compound of general formula (XIII) to produce a compound of general formula (I) may be carried out in the presence of solvents such as THF, DMF, DMSO, DME and the like or mixture thereof. The reaction may be carried out in an inert atmosphere which is maintained by using inert gases such as N 2 , Ar or He. The reaction may be effected in the presence of a base such as alkalis like sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide; alkali metal carbonates like sodium carbonate or potassium carbonate; alkali metal hydrides such as sodium hydride; organometallic bases like n-butyl lithium; alkali metal amides like sodamide, or mixture thereof. Multiple solvents and bases can be used. The amount of base may range from 1 to 5 equivalents, preferably 1 to 3 equivalents. The reaction temperature may be in the range of 0° C. to 120° C., preferably at a temperature in the range of 20° C. to 100° C. The duration of the reaction may range from 0.5 to 24 hours, preferably from 2 to 12 hours.
In still another embodiment of the present invention, the compound of general formula (I) defined above can be obtained by reacting a compound of general formula (XIV) ##STR23## where B, D, R 1 , R 2 , R 4 , X, Ar and p are as defined earlier, with a compound of general formula (III) defined above.
The reaction of compound of general formula (XIV) with the compound of general formula (III) to produce a compound of general formula (I) may be carried out neat or in the presence of solvents such as DMF, DMSO, acetone, acetonitrile, ethanol and THF or mixture thereof. The reaction may be carried out in an inert atmosphere. The inert atmosphere may be maintained by using inert gases such as N 2 , Ar, or He. The reaction may be effected in the presence of base such as K 2 CO 3 , Na 2 CO 3 , KOH, NaOH, NaH and the like or a mixture thereof. The amount of base may range from 1 to 20 equivalents, preferably 1 to 6 equivalents. The reaction may be carried out at a temperature in the range 20° C. to 180° C. preferably at a temperature in the range 50° C.-150° C. Duration of the reaction may range from 1 to 48 hours, preferably from 1 to 12 hours. The amounts of the compounds of general formula (III) and (XIV) may range from 1 to 20 equivalents, preferably from 1 to 5 equivalents.
According to a feature of the invention there is provided a process for the preparation of novel intermediates of general formula (XIV) which comprises reacting a compound of general formula (XIII) with a compound of general formula (XV) ##STR24## where B, D, R 3 , X, L 2 , and p are as defined earlier, followed by removal of protecting group by conventional methods.
The reaction of compound of general formula (XIII) with the compound of general formula (XV) may be carried out in the presence of solvents such as THF, DMF, DMSO, DME and the like or a mixture thereof. The reaction may be carried out in an inert atmosphere. The inert atmosphere may be maintained by using inert gases such as N 2 , Ar, or He. The reaction may be effected in the presence of a base such as K 2 CO 3 , Na 2 CO 3 , NaH or their mixture. The reaction temperature may range from 20° C. to 120° C., preferably at a temperature in the range of 30° C. to 80° C. The duration of the reaction may range from 1 to 12 hours, preferably from 2 to 6 hours.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the compound of the general formula (XIV) , where R 1 and R 2 together represent a bond can also be prepared by reacting a compound of general formula (XVI) ##STR25## where B, D, Ar, X and p are defined as earlier and R 3 is a protecting group excluding A--(CH 2 ) k --O--C(═Y)-- where A represents aryl or heteroaryl group, k is an integer ranging between 1-4 and Y is a heteroatom selected from O, S or NR where R may be H or lower alkyl or alkoxy group, with 2,4-thiazolidinedione; followed by removal of N-protecting group by conventional methods.
The reaction between the compound of general formula (XVI) with 2,4-thiazolidinedione may be carried out neat in the presence of sodium acetate or in the presence of a solvent such as benzene, toluene, or methoxyethanol. Mixture of solvents may be used. The reaction temperature may range from 80° C. to 140° C. depending upon the solvents employed. A suitable catalyst such as piperidinium acetate or benzoate or sodium acetate may also be employed. The water produced in the reaction may be removed, for example, by using Dean Stark water separator or by using water absorbing agents like molecular sieves.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the compound of general formula (I) where A, B, D, X, p and Ar are as defined earlier can be prepared by the reaction of compound of general formula (XVII) ##STR26## where A, B, D, X, p and Ar are as defined earlier, J is a halogen atom like chlorine, bromine or iodine and R is a lower alkyl group, with thiourea followed by treatment with an acid.
The reaction of compound of general formula (XVII) with thiourea is normally carried out in the presence of alcoholic solvent such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, isobutanol, 2-methoxybutanol etc. or DMSO or sulfolane. The reaction may be conducted at a temperature in the range between 20° C. and the reflux temperature of the solvent used. Bases such as NaOAc, KOAc, NaOMe, NaOEt etc. can be used. The reaction is normally followed by treatment with a mineral acid such as hydrochloric acid at 20° C.-100° C.
The compound of general formula (XVII) where J is a halogen atom can be prepared by the diazotization of the amino compound of the general formula (XVIII) ##STR27## where all symbols are as defined earlier, using alkali metal nitrites followed by treatment with acrylic acid esters in the presence of hydrohalo acids and catalytic amount of copper oxide or copper halide.
The compound of general formula (XVIII) can in turn be prepared by the conventional reduction of the novel intermediate (XIX) where all symbols are as defined earlier. ##STR28##
The novel intermediate of general formula (XIX) can be prepared by the reaction of compound of general formula (V) ##STR29## where A, B, D, X and p are as defined earlier and R a is a hydroxy group or a leaving group with a compound of general formula (XX)
R.sup.b --Ar--NO.sub.2 (XX)
where R b is a halogen atom such as chlorine or fluorine or a hydroxy group and Ar is as defined earlier.
The reaction of compound of formula (V) with a compound of formula (XX) to produce a compound of the formula (XIX) may be carried out in the presence of solvents such as THF, DMF, DMSO, DME and the like or mixtures thereof. The reaction may be carried out in an inert atmosphere which is maintained by using inert gases such as N 2 , Ar, or He. The reaction may be effected in the presence of a base such as K 2 CO 3 , Na 2 CO 3 or NaH or mixtures thereof. The reaction temperature may range from 20° C.-120° C., preferably at a temperature in the range of 30° C.-100° C. The duration of the reaction may range from 1-12 hours, preferably from 2 to 6 hours.
In another embodiment of this invention, the compound of general formula (XIX) can also be prepared by reacting a compound of general formula (XXI) ##STR30## where B, D, X, Ar and p are as defined earlier, with a compound of general formula (III).
The reaction of compound of general formula (XXI) with a compound of general formula (III) may be carried out neat or in the presence of solvents such as DMF, DMSO, acetone, acetonitrile or ethanol. Mixture of solvents may be used. The inert atmosphere may be maintained by using inert gases such as N 2 , Ar or He. The reaction may be effected in neat or in the presence of base such as K 2 CO 3 , Na 2 CO 3 , KOH, NaOH, NaH and the like or mixture thereof. The amount of base may range from 1 to 20 equivalents, preferably 1-10 equivalents. The reaction may be carried out at a temperature in the range of 20° C. to 180° C., preferably at a temperature in the range of 50° C.-150° C. Duration of the reaction may range from 1 to 48 hours, preferably from 1 to 12 hours. The amounts of the compound of general formula (III) and (XXI) may range from 1 to 20 equivalents, preferably from 1 to 9 equivalents.
The compound of general formula (XXI) in turn can be prepared by reacting a compound of general formula (XII) ##STR31## where B, D, X, Ar and p are as defined earlier and R 3 is a protecting group and R a is a leaving group with a compound of general formula (XX) (R b ═OH) followed by removal of N-protecting group using conventional methods.
The reaction of compound of general formula (XX) (R b ═OH) with a compound of general formula (XII) may be carried out in the presence of solvents such as THF, DMF, DMSO, DME and the like. Mixture of solvents may be used. An inert atmosphere may be used and the inert atmosphere may be maintained by using inert gases such as N 2 , Ar, or He. The reaction may be effected in the presence of a base such as K 2 CO 3 , Na 2 CO 3 , or NaH. The reaction temperature may range from 20° C. to 120° C., preferably at a temperature in the range of 30° C. to 80° C. The duration of the reaction may range from 1 to 12 hours, preferably from 2 to 6 hours. The N-protecting group R 3 is usually removed either by acid treatment or by hydrogenation or in the presence of a suitable base depending upon the nature of the protecting group employed.
Conventional deprotection methods include treatment with acid such as, hydrochloric acid, trifluoroacetic acid or bases such as, KOH, NaOH, Na 2 CO 3 , NaHCO 3 , or K 2 CO 3 and the like. These reagents may be used as aqueous solution or as solutions in alcohols like methanol, ethanol etc. Deprotection can also be effected by gaseous hydrogen in the presence of catalyst such as Pd/carbon or conventional transfer hydrogenation methods, when the protecting group is a benzyl or a substituted benzyl group.
The pharmaceutically acceptable salts are prepared by reacting the compound of formula (I) with 1 to 4 equivalents of a base such as sodium hydroxide, sodium methoxide, sodium hydride, potassium t-butoxide, calcium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide and the like, in solvents like ether, THF, methanol, t-butanol, dioxane, isopropanol, ethanol etc. Mixture of solvents may be used. Organic bases like lysine, arginine, diethanolamine, choline, guanidine and their derivatives etc. may also be used. Alternatively, acid addition salts are prepared by treatment with acids such as hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, p-toluenesulphonic acid, methanesulfonic acid, acetic acid, citric acid, maleic acid, salicylic acid, hydroxynaphthoic acid, ascorbic acid, palmitic acid, succinic acid, benzoic acid, benzene sulfonic acid, tartaric acid and the like in solvents like ethyl acetate, ether, alcohols, acetone, THF, dioxane etc. Mixture of solvents may also be used.
The stereoisomers of the compounds forming part of this invention may be prepared by using reactants in their single enantiomeric form in the process wherever possible or by conducting the reaction in the presence of reagents or catalysts in their single enantiomer form or by resolving the mixture of stereoisomers by conventional methods. Some of the preferred methods include use of microbial resolution, resolving the diastereomeric salts formed with chiral acids such as mandelic acid, camphorsulfonic acid, tartaric acid, lactic acid and the like or chiral bases such as brucine, cinchona alkaloids and their derivatives and the like.
Various polymorphs of compound of general formula (I) forming part of this invention may be prepared by crystallization of compound of formula (I) under different conditions. For example, using different solvents commonly used or their mixtures for recrystallization; crystallizations at different temperatures; various modes of cooling, ranging from very fast to very slow cooling during crystallizations. Polymorphs may also be obtained by heating or melting the compound followed by gradual or fast cooling. The presence of polymorphs may be determined by solid probe NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, powder X-ray data or such other techniques.
The present invention also provides a pharmaceutical composition, containing the compounds of the general formula (I), as defined above, their tautomeric forms, their stereoisomers, their polymorphs, their pharmaceutically acceptable salts, their pharmaceutically acceptable solvates in combination with the usual pharmaceutically employed carriers, diluents and the like, useful for the treatment and/or prophylaxis of diseases in which insulin resistance is the underlying pathophysiological mechanism such as type II diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular disorders including atherosclerosis; insulin resistance associated with obesity and psoriasis, for treating diabetic complications and other diseases such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), certain renal diseases including diabetic nephropathy, glomerulonephritis, glomerular sclerosis, nephrotic syndrome, hypertensive nephrosclerosis, end-stage renal diseases and microalbuminuria as well as certain eating disorders, as aldose reductase inhibitors and for improving cognitive functions in dementia.
The pharmaceutical composition may be in the forms normally employed, such as tablets, capsules, powders, syrups, solutions, suspensions and the like, may contain flavourants, sweeteners etc. in suitable solid or liquid carriers or diluents, or in suitable sterile media to form injectable solutions or suspensions. Such compositions typically contain from 1 to 25%, preferably 1 to 15% by weight of active compound, the remainder of the composition being pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, diluents or solvents.
A typical tablet production method is exemplified below:
Tablet Production Example:
______________________________________Tablet Production Example:______________________________________a) 1) Active ingredient 30 g 2) Lactose 95 g 3) Corn starch 30 g 4) Carboxymethyl cellulose 44 g 5) Magnesium stearate 1 g 200 g for 1000 tablets______________________________________
The ingredients 1 to 3 are uniformly blended with water and granulated after drying under reduced pressure. The ingredients 4 and 5 are mixed well with the granules and compressed by a tabletting machine to prepare 1000 tablets each containing 30 mg of active ingredient.
______________________________________b) 1) Active ingredient 30 g 2) Calcium phosphate 90 g 3) Lactose 40 g 4) Corn starch 35 g 5) Polyvinyl pyrrolidone 3.5 g 6) Magnesium stearate 1.5 g 200 g for 1000 tablets______________________________________
The ingredients 1 to 4 are uniformly moistened with an aqueous solution of ingredient 5 and granulated after drying under reduced pressure. Ingredient 6 is added and granules are compressed by a tabletting machine to prepare 1000 tablets containing 30 mg of active ingredient 1.
The compound of the formula (I) as defined above are clinically administered to mammals, including man, via either oral or parenteral routes. Administration by the oral route is preferred, being more convenient and avoiding the possible pain and irritation of injection. However, in circumstances where the patient cannot swallow the medication, or absorption following oral administration is impaired, as by disease or other abnormality, it is essential that the drug be administered parenterally. By either route, the dosage is in the range of about 0.10 to about 200 mg/kg body weight of the subject per day or preferably about 0.10 to about 50 mg/kg body weight per day administered singly or as a divided dose. However, the optimum dosage for the individual subject being treated will be determined by the person responsible for treatment, generally smaller doses being administered initially and thereafter increments made to determine the most suitable dosage.
Suitable pharmaceutically acceptable carriers include solid fillers or diluents and sterile aqueous or organic solutions. The active compound will be present in such pharmaceutical compositions in the amounts sufficient to provide the desired dosage in the range as described above Thus, for oral administration, the compounds can be combined with a suitable solid or liquid carrier or diluent to form capsules, tablets, powders, syrups, solutions, suspensions and the like. The pharmaceutical compositions, may, if desired, contain additional components such as flavorants, sweeteners, excipients and the like. For parenteral administration, the compounds can be combined with sterile aqueous or organic media to form injectable solutions or suspensions. For example, solutions in sesame or peanut oil, aqueous propylene glycol and the like can be used, as well as aqueous solutions of water-soluble pharmaceutically-acceptable acid addition salts or alkali or alkaline earth metal salts of the compounds. The injectable solutions prepared in this manner can then be, administered intravenously, intraperitoneally, subcutaneously, or intramuscularly, with intramuscular administration being preferred in humans.
The invention is explained in detail in the examples given below which are provided by way of illustration only and therefore should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention.
Preparation 1
(S)-2-Hydroxymethyl-1-(pyridin-2-yl) pyrrolidine: ##STR32##
A mixture of 2-chloropyridine (118 g) and L-prolinol (70 g) was heated under nitrogen atmosphere at 160° C. with stirring for 4 h. The mixture was cooled to room temperature and poured into water and the solution was extracted with chloroform repeatedly. The combined organic extracts were dried (Na 2 SO 4 ) and concentrated. The crude product was purified by column chromatography using 2% MeOH in CHCl 3 as eluent to get 67.3 g (54.5%) of the title compound as a syrupy liquid.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 1.7 (m, 1H), 2.05 (m, 3H), 3.2-3.9 (m, 4H), 4.25 (m, 1H), 6.43 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 1H), 6.58 (t, J=6.0 Hz, 1H), 7.5 (m, 1H), 8.02 (d, J=4.2 Hz, 1H).
Preparation 2
1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-4-piperidinol: ##STR33##
The title compound (3.5 g, 50%) was prepared as a semi solid from 2-chloropyridine (6.7 g) and 4-piperidinol (4 g) by an analogous procedure to that described in preparation 1.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 1.6 (m, 2H), 2.0 (m, 2H), 3.15 (m, 2H), 3.9 (m, 1H), 4.1 (m, 2H), 6.59 (m, 1H), 6.67 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 1H), 7.45 (m, 1H), 8.17 (d, J =3.6 Hz, 1H).
Preparation 3
4-Hydroxymethyl-1-(pyridin-2-yl) piperidine: ##STR34##
The title compound (2.7 g, 80%) was prepared as a syrupy liquid from 2-chloropyridine (7.8 g) and 4-hydroxymethylpiperidine (2 g) by an analogous procedure to that described in preparation 1.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 1.3 (m, 2H), 1.8 (m, 3H), 2.84 (t, J=11.7 Hz, 2H), 3.54 (d, J=6.2 Hz, 2H), 4.32 (approx. d, J=13.0 Hz, 2H), 6.59 (t, J=5.9 Hz, 1H), 6.67 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 1H), 7.46 (m, 1H), 8.18 (d, J=3.6 Hz, 1H).
Preparation 4
1-(Pyridin-2-yl)piperidin-4-yl methanesulfonate: ##STR35##
To an ice cooled solution of the product obtained in preparation 2 (3.25 g) and triethylamine (8 ml) in dichloromethane (30 ml) at ca 0° C. was added methanesulphonyl chloride (1.7 ml). The mixture was stirred for 12 h at room temperature. At the end of this time, the reaction mixture was washed with water, dried (CaCl 2 ) and concentrated to get 4.7 g (100%) of the title compound. mp 66-68° C.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 1.8-2.2 (m, 4H), 3.06 (s, 3H), 3.4 (m, 2H), 3.9 (m, 2H), 5.0 (m, 1H), 6.7 (m, 2H), 7.5 (m, 1H), 8.18 (d, J=3.6 Hz, 1H).
Preparation 5
1-(Pyridin-2-yl)piperidin-4-yl!methyl methanesulfonate: ##STR36##
The title compound (2.1 g, 83%) was prepared as a semi solid from 4-hydroxymethyl-1-(pyridin-2-yl)piperidine (1.8 g), obtained in preparation 3 and methanesulphonyl chloride (0.8 ml) by a similar procedure to that used in preparation 4.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 1.35 (m, 2H), 1.8-2.15 (m, 3H), 2.85 (t, J=12.2 Hz, 2H), 3.02 (s, 3H), 4.1 (d, J=6.2 Hz, 2H), 4.35 (approx. d, J=12.8 Hz, 2H), 6.6 (m, 2H), 2.48 (t, J=7.8 Hz, 1H), 8.18 (d, J=3.8 Hz, 1H).
Preparation 6
4- 1-(Ethoxycarbonyl)piperidin-4-yloxy!benzaldehyde: ##STR37##
To a mixture of 1-(ethoxycarbonyl)piperidin-4-yl methanesulfonate (10 g) and 4-hydroxy benzaldehyde (5.8 g) in dry DMF (75 ml), K 2 CO 3 (11 g) was added and the mixture was stirred at 80° C. for 12 h. At the end of this time, the reaction mixture was cooled, added water and extracted with EtOAc. The EtOAc extract was washed with 5% aqueous Na 2 CO 3 solution followed by brine and dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate. The solvent was then removed by distillation under reduced pressure to give 7 g (63.6%) of the title compound as a semi solid.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 1.28 (t, J=7 Hz, 3H), 1.7-2.1 (m, 4H), 3.45 (m, 2H), 3.75 (m, 2H), 4.15 (q, J=7 Hz, 2H), 4.63 (m, 1H), 7.01 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 7.84 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 9.89 (s, 1H).
Preparation 7
4-(Piperidin-4-yloxy)benzaldehyde: ##STR38##
A mixture of the compound obtained in preparation 6 (4.5 g) and conc. HCl (40 ml) was stirred at 100° C. for 12 h. The reaction mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was diluted with water, neutralized with saturated aqueous NaHCO 3 solution and extracted with CHCl 3 , dried (CaCl 2 ) and concentrated in vacuo to get 3 g (90%) of the title compound as a semi solid.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 1.75 (m, 2H), 2.05 (m, 2H), 2.75 (m, 2H), 3.2 (m, 2H), 4.55 (m, 1H), 7.01 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 7.83 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 2H) 9.89 (s, 1H).
Preparation 8
(S)-4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!benzaldehyde: ##STR39##
A solution of 40 g of the product obtained in preparation 1 in 300 ml of DMF was added dropwise while cooling to a suspension of 16.1 g of (60% w/w dispersion) sodium hydride in 300 ml of DMF. The mixture was then stirred for 1 h at room temperature, after which 47.7 ml of 4-fluorobenzaldehyde in 200 ml of DMF was added dropwise at room temperature. The reaction mixture was then stirred at 80° C. for 4 h. At the end of this time, water was added to the reaction mixture. The mixture was extracted with EtOAc and dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate. The solvent was evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure. The crude product was chromatographed on silica gel using 5-10% (gradient elution) of EtOAc in petroleum ether to afford 42.5 g (67%) of the title compound as a semi solid.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.1 (m, 4H), 3.3 (m, 1H), 3.5 (m, 1H), 3.96 (t, J=8.7 Hz, 1H), 4.4 (dd, J=9.6 and 3.4 Hz, 1H), 4.55 (m, 1H), 6.41 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 1H), 6.59 (m, 1H), 7.13 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.46 (m, 1H), 7.82 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 8.18 (d, J=3.8 Hz, 1H), 9.87 (s, 1 H).
Preparation 9
4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)piperidin-4-yloxy!benzaldehyde: ##STR40## Method A:
To a mixture of t-(pyridin-2-yl)piperidin-4-yl methanesulfonate (4.5 g) obtained in preparation 4 and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (2.5 g) in dry DMF (30 ml), K 2 CO 3 (9.7 g) was added and the mixture was stirred at 80° C. for 10 h. At the end of this time, the reaction mixture was cooled, water added and extracted with EtOAc. The EtOAc extract was washed with 5% aqueous Na 2 CO 3 solution followed by brine and dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate. The solvent was then removed by distillation under reduced pressure to give 1.8 g (36.3%) of the title compound. mp 114-116° C.
Method B:
The title compound (0.6 g, 43%) was also prepared as a pale yellow solid (mp: 114-116° C.) from 4-(4-piperidinyloxy)benzaldehyde (1.0 g), obtained in preparation 7 and 2-chloropyridine (3.6 ml) by an analogous procedure to that described in preparation 1.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz) : d 1.9 (m, 2H), 2.1 (m, 2H), 3.5 (m, 2H), 3.9 (m, 2H), 4.7 (m, 1 H), 6.7 (m, 2), 7.03 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 7.49 (m, 1H), 7.85 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 8.2 (d, J=3.4 Hz, 1H), 9.89 (s, 1H).
Preparation 10
4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)piperidin-4-yl!methoxy!benzaldehyde: ##STR41##
The title compound (1.0 g, 45%) was prepared as a semi solid from 1-(pyridin-2-yl)piperidin-4-yl!methyl methanesulfonate (2.0 g) obtained in preparation 5 and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (1.1 g) by an analogous procedure to that described in method A of preparation 9.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 1.45 (m, 2H), 1.8-2.25 (m, 3H), 2.89 (m, 2H), 3.92 (d, J=6.2 Hz, 2H), 4.36 (approx. d, J=12.8 Hz, 2H), 6.62 (m, 2H), 6.99 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 7.47 (m, 1H), 7.83 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 8.19 (d, J=3.6 Hz, 1H), 9.88 (s, 1H).
Preparation 11
4- 2- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)piperazin-1-yl!ethoxy!benzaldehyde: ##STR42##
The title compound (2.0 g, 84%) was prepared as a thick liquid from 2- 4-(pyridin-2-yl) piperazin-1-yl!ethyl chloride, HCl salt (2 g) and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (1.4 g) in a similar manner to that described in Method A of preparation 9.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.78 (t, J 4.6 Hz, 4H), 2.96 (t, J=5.6 Hz, 2H), 3.64 (t, J=5 Hz, 4H), 4.29 (t, J=5.4 Hz, 2H), 6.66 (m, 2H), 7.03 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 7.5 (m, 1H), 7.85 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 8.2 (d, J=3.8 Hz, 1H), 9.9 (s, 1H).
Preparation 12
(S)-2-Hydroxymethyl-1-(quinolin-2-yl)pyrrolidine: ##STR43##
The title compound (6 g, 100%) was prepared as a syrupy liquid from 2-chloroquinoline (4 g) and L-prolinol (14.8 g) by an analogous procedure to that described in preparation 1.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 1.7 (m, 1H), 2.1 (m, 3H), 3.4-3.9 (m, 4H), 4.5 (m, 1H), 6.76 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 1H), 7.2 (m, 1H), 7.6 (m, 3H), 7.89 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 1H).
Preparation 13
(S)-4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!benzaldehyde: ##STR44##
The title compound (1.6 g, 37%) was prepared as a thick liquid from (S)-2-hydroxymethyl-1-(quinolin-2-yl)pyrrolidine (3 g) obtained in preparation 12 and 4-fluorobenzaldehyde (2.8 ml) in a similar manner to that described in preparation 8.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz) : d 2.2 (m, 4H), 3.45 (m, 1H), 3.7 (m, 1H), 4.0 (t, J=9.3 Hz, 1H), 4.64 (dd, J=10.0 and 3.0 Hz, 1H), 4.8 (m, 1H), 6.8 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 1H), 6.9-8.0 (complex, 9H), 9.9 (s, 1H).
Preparation 14
(S)-4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!nitrobenzene: ##STR45##
A solution of 16.5 g of the product obtained in preparation 12 in DMF (100 ml) was added dropwise to a suspension of 5.2 g (50% w/w dispersion in mineral oil) of sodium hydride in DMF (50 ml). The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 0.5 h, after which 12.3 g of 1-fluoro-4-nitrobenzene was added dropwise and the mixture was then stirred at the same temperature for 12 h. At the end of this time, water was added, the resulting solid was filtered, washed with excess of water and dried to afford 9 g (36%) of the title compound. mp 118-120° C.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.15 (m, 4H), 3.45 (m, 1H), 3.7 (m, 1H), 4.0 (t, J=9.4 Hz, 1H), 4.65 (dd, J=10.0 and 3.2 Hz, 1H), 4.8 (bs, 1H), 6.77 (d, J=9.2 Hz, 1H), 7.25 (m, 1H), 7.38 (d, J=9.2 Hz, 2H), 7.65 (m, 2H), 7.75 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 1H), 7.91 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 1H), 8.25 (d, J=9.2 Hz, 2H).
Preparation 15
(S)-4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy! aniline: ##STR46##
To a solution of (S)-4- 1-(quinolin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!nitrobenzene (6 g) obtained in preparation 14 in EtOH (40 ml) and conc. HCl (40 ml), iron powder (9.6 g) was added in small portions. The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 h. The solution was filtered and the filtrate was evaporated to dryness. The residue was diluted with H 2 O and neutralized (pH: 7 ) with aqueous NaHCO 3 solution and extracted with CHCl 3 , dried (CaCl 2 ) and concentrated to get 5.5 g (100%) of the title compound as a dark colored solid. mp. 138-140° C.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.15 (m, 4H), 3.5 (m, 1H), 3.6-4.0 (m, 2H), 4.37 (dd, J=10.0 and 3.4 Hz, 1H), 4.7 (bs, 1H), 6.68 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.79 (d, J=9.2 Hz, 1H), 6.98 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.72 (t, J=7.6 Hz, 1H), 7.6 (m, 2H), 7.74 (d, J=8.2 Hz, 1H), 7.87 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 1H).
Preparation 16
Ethyl 2-bromo-3- 4- 1-(quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl!propanoate: ##STR47##
A solution of NaNO 2 (1.2 g) in water (2.1 ml) was added dropwise to a stirred ice cooled mixture of (S)-4- 1-(quinolin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!aniline (5 g) obtained in preparation 15, aqueous HBr (48%, 8.5 ml), MeOH (15 ml) and acetone (37 ml) below 5C. The solution was stirred at 5° C. for 30 min and ethyl acrylate (10 ml) was added and the temperature was raised to 60° C. Powder Cu 2 O (140 mg) was added in small portions to the vigorously stirred mixture. After the N 2 gas evolution has ceased the reaction mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was diluted with water, made alkaline with concentrated NH 4 OH and extracted with EtOAc. The EtOAc extract was washed with brine, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ) and concentrated in vacuo. The crude product was chromatographed on silica gel using 0-10% (gradient elution) of methanol in chloroform to afford 2.6 g (34%) of the title compound as a thick liquid.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 1.25 (t, J=7.2 Hz, 3H), 2.15 (m, 4H), 3.2 (dd, J=14.0 and 6.8 Hz, 1H), 3.35-3.6 (m, 2H), 3.7 (m, 1H), 3.89 (t, J=9.4 Hz, 1H), 4.2 (m, 2H), 4.3-4.6 (m, 2H), 4.8 (bs, 1H), 6.79 (d, J=9 Hz, 1H), 7.2 (m, 5H), 7.6 (m, 2H), 7.75 (d, J=8.2 Hz, 1H), 7.88 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 1H).
Preparation 17
(S)-2-Hydroxymethyl-1-(lepidin-2-yl)pyrrolidine: ##STR48##
The title compound (22 g, 94%) was prepared as thick liquid from 2-chlorolepidine (17.3 g) and L-prolinol (59 g) by an analogous procedure to that described in preparation 1.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 1.7 (m, 1H), 2.1 (m, 3H), 2.6 (s, 3H), 3.4-3.9 (m, 4H), 4.5 (m, 1H), 6.6 (s, 1H), 7.25 (m, 1H), 7.52 (t, J=7.4 Hz, 1H), 7.62 (d, J=8.0 Hz, 1H), 7.75 (d, J 8.0 Hz, 1H).
Preparation 18
(S)-4- 1-(lepidin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!benzaldehyde: ##STR49##
The title compound (0.25, 35%) was prepared as a thick liquid from (S)-2-Hydroxymethyl-1-(lepidin-2-yl)pyrrolidine (0.5 g), obtained in preparation 17 and 4-fluorobenzaldehyde (0.33 ml) in a similar manner to that described in preparation 8.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.15 (m, 4H), 2.6 (s, 3H), 3.45 (m, 1H), 3.7 (m, 1H), 4.0 (t, J=9. 4 Hz, 1H), 4.65 (m, 1H), 4.8 (m, 1H), 6.65 (s, 1H), 7.2-8.05 (complex, 8 H), 9.9 (s, 1H).
Preparation 19
(S)-4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy nitrobenzene: ##STR50##
The title compound (8 g, 53%) was prepared as an yellow solid (S)-2-hydroxymethyl-1-(lepidin-2-yl)pyrrolidine (10 g), obtained in preparation 17 and 1-fluoro-4-nitrobenzene (5.3 ml) by a similar procedure to that used in preparation 14.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.15 (m, 4H), 2.6 (s, 3H), 3.4 (m, 1H), 3.65 (m, 1H), 4.0 (t, J=9.5 Hz, 1H), 4.65 (dd, J=10 and 3 Hz, 1H), 4.8 (bs, 1H), 6.65 (s, 1H), 7.25 (t, J=7.4 Hz, 1H), 7.37 (d, J=9.2 Hz, 2H), 7.1 (m, 1H), 7.7 (t, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 8.24 (d, J=9.2 Hz, 2H).
Preparation 20
(S)-4- 1-(lepidin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!aniline: ##STR51##
(S)-4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy nitrobenzene (5 g), obtained in preparation 19 was dissolved in EtOAc (20 ml) and was reduced with hydrogen (50 psi) in the presence of 10% palladium on charcoal (0.5 g) at ambient temperature until hydrogen uptake (nearly 16 h) ceased. The solution was filtered through a bed of celite, the filter pad was washed exhaustively with EtOAc. The combined filtrate was evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure. The crude product was chromatographed on silica gel using 1 to 10% (gradient elution) of methanol in chloroform to afford 4.6 g (100%) of the title compound as a thick liquid.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.1 (m, 4H), 2.6 (s, 3H), 3.5 (m, 1H), 3.6-3.9 (m, 2H), 4.35 (dd, J=9.8 and 3.2 Hz, 1H), 4.7 (bs, 1H), 6.7 (m, 3H), 7.0 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 7.24 (m, 1H), 7.5 (m, 1H), 7.76 (t, J=7.2 Hz, 2H).
Preparation 21
Ethyl 2-chloro-3- 4- 1-(lepidin-2-yl)-(28)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl!propanoate: ##STR52##
The title compound (15 g, 85%) was prepared as a thick liquid from (S)-4- 1-(lepidin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!aniline (13.7 g), obtained in preparation 20, by a similar procedure to that described in preparation 16 except HCl was used instead of HBr.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 1.25 (t, J=7.2 Hz, 3H), 2.15 (m, 4H), 2.6 (s, 3H), 3.12 (dd, J=14.0 and 7.6 Hz, 1H), 3.32 (dd, J=14.2 and 7.6 Hz, 1H), 3.5 (m, 1H), 3.7 (m, 1H), 3.86 (t, J=9.2 Hz, 1H), 4.2 (q, J=7.2 Hz, 2H), 4.4 (m, 2H), 4.7 (bs, 1H), 6.65 (s, 1H), 7.2 (m, 5H), 7.6 (m, 1H), 7.77 (t, J=6.8 Hz, 2H).
Preparation 22
Ethyl 2-bromo-3- 4- 1-(lepidine-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl!propanoate: ##STR53##
The title compound (1.5 g, 23%) was prepared as a thick liquid from (S)-4- 1-(lepidine-2-yl)pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!aniline (4.6 g), obtained in preparation 20, by a similar procedure to that described in preparation 16.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 1.26 (t, J=7.2 Hz, 3H), 2.15 (m, 4H), 2.6 (s, 3H), 3.21 (dd, J=14.2 and 7.0 Hz, 1H), 3.35-3.6 (m, 2H), 3.7 (m, 1H), 3.9 (m, 1H), 4.2 (m, 2H), 4.37 (t, J=7.8 Hz, 1H), 4.48 (dd, J=9.8 and 3.4 Hz, 1H), 4.75 (bs, 1H), 6.7 (s, 1H), 7.1-7.4 (m, 5H), 7.6 (m, 1H), 7.8 (m, 2H).
Preparation 23
(3R)-Hydroxy-1-(pyridin-2-yl)pyrrolidine: ##STR54##
The title compound (2.9 g, 15%) was prepared as a thick liquid from 2-chloropyridine (40 g ) and L-prolinol (10 g) by an analogous procedure to that described in preparation 1.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.1 (m, 2H), 2.8 (bs, exchangeable with D 2 O, 1H), 3.6 (m, 4H), 4.6 (bs, 1H), 6.35 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 1H), 6.55 (m, 1H), 7.45 (m, 1H), 8.13 (d, J=4.6 Hz, 1H).
Preparation 24
(3R)-1-pyridin-2-yl)-3-pyrrolidine methane sulfonate: ##STR55##
The title compound (0.3 g, 100%) was prepared as a thick liquid from (3R)-3-hydroxy-1-(pyridin-2-yl)pyrrolidine (0.2 g), obtained in preparation 23 and methanesulfonyl chloride (0.18 ml) by a similar procedure to that used in preparation 4.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.35 (m, 2H), 3.0 (s, 3H), 3.65 (m, 2H), 3.8 (m, 2H), 5.4 (m, 1H), 6.38 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 1H), 6.6 (m, 1H), 7.5 (m, 1H), 8.16 (d, J=4.0 Hz, 1H).
Preparation 25
(3S)-4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-3-yloxy!benzaldehyde: ##STR56##
The title compound (0.15 g, 68%) was prepared as a thick liquid from (3R)-1-(pyridin-2-yl)-3-pyrrolidine methane sulfonate (0.2 g), obtained in preparation 24 and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (0.12 g) by an analogous procedure to that described in method A of preparation 9.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.35 (m, 2H), 3.65 (m, 2H), 3.8 (m,2H), 5.15 (bs, 1H), 6.4 (m, 1H), 6.6 (m, 1H), 7.0 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.45 (m, 1H), 7.84 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 8.16 (d, J=2.8 Hz, 1H), 9.89 (s, 1H).
Preparation 26
2-Hydroxymethyl-4-(pyridin-2-yl)morpholine: ##STR57##
The title compound (33.0 g, 72%) was prepared as a thick liquid from 2-chloropyridine (54.32 g) and 2-hydroxymethyl morpholine (28.0 g) by a similar procedure to that described in preparation 1.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.70-2.90 (m, 1H), 2.98 (td, J=11.95 and 3.33 Hz, 1H), 3.56-3.90 (m, 4H), 3.90-4.20 (m, 3H), 6.58-6.79 (m, 2H), 7.51 (t, J=6.89 Hz, 1H), 8.20 (d, J=3.73 Hz, 1H).
Preparation 27
4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)morpholin-2-yl!methoxy!benzaldehyde: ##STR58##
The title compound (39.0 g, 76%) was prepared as a syrupy liquid from 2-hydroxymethyl-4-(pyridin-2-yl)morpholine (33.5 g) obtained from preparation 26 and 4-fluorobenzaldehyde (27.85 g) by a similar procedure to that described in preparation 8.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.89 (td, J=12.36 and 1.89 Hz, 1H), 3.05 (td, J=12.36 and 3.46 Hz, 1H), 3.70-4.40 (m, 7H), 6.60-6.80 (m, 2H), 7.06 (d, J=8.72 Hz, 2H), 7.54 (t, J=7.20 Hz, 1H), 7.85 (d, J=8.72 Hz, 2H), 8.25 (d, J=3.83 Hz, 1H), 9.90 (s, 1H).
EXAMPLE 1
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione: ##STR59##
A solution of (S)-4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!benzaldehyde (33.5 g) obtained in preparation 8 and 2,4-thiazolidinedione (16.7 g) in toluene (300 ml) containing piperidine (1.5 g) and benzoic acid (1.8 g) was heated at reflux for 1 h using a Dean Stark water separator. The reaction mixture was cooled and filtered, the filtrate was washed with H 2 O, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ) and evaporated under reduced pressure. The crude product was triturated with methanol and filtered to afford 27.5 g (60%) of the title compound mp 164° C.
α! D 27 =-73.6 (c. 1.0, DMSO)
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.15 (m, 4H), 3.30 (m, 1H), 3.55 (m, 1H), 3.79 (t, J=9.2 Hz, 1H), 4.35 (dd, J=9.0 and 3.2 Hz, 1H), 4.6 (m, 1H), 6.47 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 1H), 6.65 (t, J=6.8 Hz, 1H), 7.01 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.31 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.48 (s, 1H), 7.56 (t, J=6.0 Hz, 1H), 8.16 (d, J=3.8 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 2
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione: ##STR60##
To a stirred suspension of the product obtained in the example 1 (10 g) in methanol (250 ml) at room temperature was added magnesium turnings (10.8 g) and the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 4 hours. The reaction mixture was added to ice water (100 ml), the pH was adjusted to 6.5-7.0 using aqueous hydrochloric acid and the solution was extracted with chloroform (3×150 ml). The combined organic extract was washed with H 2 O, dried (CaCl 2 ) and the solvent was removed under reduced pressure. The residual mass was chromatographed on silica gel using 0.5% methanol in chloroform to give 6.5 g (65%) of the title compound. mp 79-80° C.
α! D 27 =-107.9 (c. 1.0, CHCl 3 )
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.1 (m, 4H), 3.05 (m, 1H), 3.2-3.6 (m, 3H), 3.82 (t, J=8.8 Hz, 1H). 4.15 (m, 1H), 4.45 (m, 2H), 6.44 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 1H), 6.56 (t, J=6.0 Hz, 1H), 6.9 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 7.15 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 7.46 (m,1H), 8.14 (d, J=2.4 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 3
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)piperidin-4-yloxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione: ##STR61##
The title compound (1.5 g, 74%) was prepared from 4- 1-(pyridin-2-yl)-4-piperidinyloxy!benzaldehyde (1.5 g), obtained in preparation 9, by a similar procedure to that described in example 1. mp 218-220° C.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 +DMSO-d 6 , 200 MHz): d 1.9 (m, 2H), 2.1 (m, 2H), 3.5 (m, 2H), 3.9 (m, 2H), 4.65 (m, 1H), 6.62 (t, J=5.9 Hz, 1H), 6.72 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 1H), 7.02 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 7.5 (m, 3H), 7.74 (s, 1H), 8.18 (d, J=4.0 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 4
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)piperidin-4-yl!methoxylphenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione: ##STR62##
The title compound (0.46 g, 63%) was prepared from 4- 1-(pyridin-2-yl)piperidin-4-yl!methoxy!benzaldehyde (0.55 g) obtained in preparation 10 by a similar procedure to that described in example 1. mp 233.4° C.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 1.45 (m, 2H), 1.9-2.2 (m, 3H), 2.9 (t, J=11.7 Hz, 2H), 3.9 (d, J=6.2 Hz, 2H), 4.38 (approx. d, J=13.0 Hz, 2H), 6.61 (t, J=5.8 Hz, 1H), 6.71 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 1H), 6.99 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.5 (m, 3H), 7.75 (s, 1H), 8.18 (d, J=3.8 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 5
5- 4- 2- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)piperazin-1-yl!ethoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione: ##STR63##
The title compound (0.85 g 64%) was prepared from 4- 2- 4-(pyridin-2-yl)piperazin-1-yl!ethoxy!benzaldehyde (1.0 g), obtained in preparation 11, by a similar procedure to that described in example 1. mp 158-160° C.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 +DMSO-d 6 200 MHz): d 2.88 (m, 4H), 2.98 (m, 2H), 3.65 (m, 4H), 4.25 (m, 2H), 6.67 (m, 2H), 6.92 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 7.33 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 7.48 (m, 2H), 8.2 (d, J=3.6 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 6
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, maleic acid salt: ##STR64##
A solution of the product (50 g) obtained in example 1 and maleic acid (16.7 g) in dry acetone (2 L) was stirred at room temperature for 20 h. At the end of this time, the resulting solid was filtered, washed with cold acetone (2×200 ml) and dried under reduced pressure to get 52 g (80%) of the title compound. mp 132° C.
α! D 27 =-77.3 (c. 1.0, DMSO)
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 +DMSO-d 6 , 200 MHz): d 2.13 (bs, 4H), 3.34 (m, 1H), 3.56 (m, 1H), 4.05 (m, 1H), 4.28 (dd, J=9.6 and 3.8 Hz, 1H), 4.53 (bs, 1H), 6.25 (s, 2H), 6.76 (m, 2H), 7.19 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.59 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.72 (m, 1H), 7.79 (s, 1H), 8.13 (d, J=4.2 Hz, 1H), 12.6 (bs, exchangeable with D 2 O, 1H)
EXAMPLE 7
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, hydrochloride salt: ##STR65##
To a solution of the product (40 g) obtained in example 1 in dry acetone (2 L) was bubbled dry HCl gas at 0° C. for 30 min. The resulting solid was filtered, washed with cold acetone (2×200 ml) and dried under reduced pressure to get 33 g (78%) of the title compound as a white solid. mp : 241-243° C.
α! D 27 =-131.9 (c. 1.0, DMSO)
1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 200 MHz): d 2.1 (m, 4H), 3.5 (m, 1H), 3.8 (m, 1H), 4.19 (d. J=5.4 Hz, 2H), 4.8 (m, 1H), 6.95 (t, J=6.4 Hz, 1H), 7.06 (d, J 8.4 Hz, 2H), 7.29 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 1H), 7.54 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.74 (s, 1H), 8.0 (m, 2H), 12.6 (bs, exchangeable with D 2 O, 1H), 14.0 (bs, exchangeable with-D 2 O, 1H).
EXAMPLE 8
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, sodium salt: ##STR66##
To a solution of 5- 4- 1-(pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione (1 g) obtained in example 1 in MeOH (10 ml), at room temperature, NaOMe in MeOH prepared in situ by dissolving Na (66 mg) in MeOH (5 ml)! was added. The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 h and then diluted with Et2O (10 ml). The resulting solid was filtered and dried over P 2 O 5 under reduced pressure to get 400 mg (38%) of the title product as a white solid. mp : 254-256° C.
α! D 27 =-85.2 (c. 1.0, DMSO)
1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 200 MHz): d 2.0 (m, 4H), 3.2 (m, 1H), 3.5 (m, 1H), 3.88 (t, J=8.8 Hz, 1H), 4.21 (dd, J=9.2 and 3.0 Hz, 1H), 4.4 (bs, 1H), 6.55 (m, 2H), 7.06 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.24 (s, 1H), 7.5 (m, 3H), 8.11 (d, J=4.0 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 9
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, maleic acid salt: ##STR67##
The title compound (2 g, 76%) was prepared as a white solid from 5- 4- 1-(pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-ylmethoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione (2 g) obtained in example 2 by an analogous procedure to that described in example 6. mp: 58-60° C.
α! D 27 =-80.5 (c. 1.27, DMSO)
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.25 (m, 4H), 3.05-3.4 (m, 2H), 3.6 (m, 1H), 3.8 (m, 1H), 4.1 (m, 2H), 4.5 (m, 1H), 4.7 (m, 1H), 6.3 (s, 2H), 6.7-7.0 (m, 4H), 7.12 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 7.69 (t, J=7.4 Hz, 1H), 8.23 (d, J=4.4 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 10
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, sodium salt: ##STR68##
The title compound (0.7 g, 25%) was prepared as a white solid from 5- 4- 1-(pyridin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione (2.7 g) obtained in example 2 by an analogous procedure to that described in example 8. mp : 260-262° C.
α! D 27 =-63.0 (c. 0.5, DMSO)
1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 200 MHz): d 2.05 (m, 4H), 2.45-2.7 (m, 2H), 3.25 (m, 1H), 3.5 (m, 1H), 3.8 (t, J=8.8 Hz, 1H), 4.1 (m, 2H), 4.4 (bs, 1H), 6.55 (m, 2H), 6.89 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 7.1 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 7.5 (m, 1H), 8.12 (d, J=3.8 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 11
5- 4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione: ##STR69##
The title compound (2 g, 100%) was prepared as a pale yellow solid from 4- 1-(quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!benzaldehyde (1.5 g) obtained in preparation 13, by a similar procedure to that described in example 1. mp : 260-262° C.
α! D 27 =+49.2 (c. 1.0, DMSO)
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): δ 2.15 (m, 4H), 3.45 (m, 1H), 3.7 (m, 1H), 4.0 (t, J=9.2 Hz, 1H), 4.58 (dd, J=10.0 and 2.9 Hz, 1H), 4.8 (m, 1H), 6.78 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 1H), 7.15-8.0 (complex, 10 H).
EXAMPLE 12
5- 4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione: ##STR70##
A mixture of ethyl 2-bromo-3- 4- 1-(quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl!propanoate (2.5 g), obtained in preparation 16, thiourea (0.76 g), NaOAc (0.82 g) and EtOH (25 ml) was stirred under reflux for 4 h and extracted with EtOAc, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ) and concentrated to get 2-imino-5- 4- 1-(quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!benzyl!-4-thiazolidinone which was used in the next step without further purification.
A mixture of the above product, 2 N HCl (15 ml) and EtOH (30 ml) was stirred under reflux for 12 h. The reaction mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was diluted with water, neutralized with saturated aqueous NaHCO 3 and extracted with ethyl acetate. EtOAc extract was washed with brine, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ) and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was chromatographed on silica gel with 0-10% MeOH in CHCl 3 as eluent to afford the title compound (1.6 g, 68%) as a pale yellow solid. mp: 81-83° C.
α! D 27 =-13.8 (c. 1.0, DMSO)
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.1 (m, 4H), 3.1 (dd, J=14.0 and 10.0 Hz, 1H), 3.5 (m, 2H), 3.69 (t, J=8.0 Hz, 1H), 3.9 (t, J=9.2 Hz, 1H), 4.5 (m, 2H), 4.75 (bs, 1H), 6.78 (d, J=9.2 Hz, 1H), 7.2 (m, 5H), 7.6 (m, 2H), 7.73 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 1H), 7.87 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 13
5- 4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, maleic acid salt: ##STR71##
The title compound (0.85 g, 70%) was prepared as an yellow solid from 5- 4- 1-(quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione (1.0 g) obtained in example 12, by an analogous procedure to that described in example 6. mp : 84-86° C.
α! D 27 =-45.8 (c. 1.0, DMSO)
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.3 (m, 4H), 3.0-3.4 (m, 2H), 3.6-4.3 (m, 4H), 4.41 (dd, J=8.0 and 4.0 Hz, 1H), 5.0 (bs, 1H), 6.33 (s, 2H), 6.8 (m, 2H), 7.1 (m, 3H), 7.5 (m, 1H), 7.75 (m, 2H), 8.2 (d, J=9.4 Hz, 2H).
EXAMPLE 14
5- 4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, hydrochloride salt: ##STR72##
The title compound (0.9 g, 83%) was prepared as an yellow solid from 5- 4- 1-(quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidine-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione (1.0 g) obtained in example 12, by an analogous procedure to that described in example 7. mp: 144-146° C.
α! D 27 =-100.6 (c. 1.0, DMSO)
1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 200 MHz): d 2.1 (m, 4H), 2.9-4.3 (complex, 7 H), 4.9 (m, 1H), 6.83 (d, J 8.0 Hz, 2H), 7.13 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 7.52 (m, 2H), 7.9 (m, 1H), 7.96 (d, J=7.6 Hz, 1H), 8.21 (d, J=8.0 Hz, 1H), 8.44 (d, J=9.6 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 15
5- 4- 1-(Quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, sodium salt: ##STR73##
The title compound (0.27 g, 72%) was prepared as a pale yellow solid from 5- 4- 1-(quinolin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenylmethyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione (0.36 g) obtained in example 12, by an analogous procedure to that described in example 8. mp : 248-250° C.
α! D 27 =+1.4 (c. 1.0, DMSO)
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.1 (m, 4H), 2.5-2.8 (m, 2H), 3.4 (m, 1H), 3.7 (m, 1H), 3.88 (t, J=9.2 Hz, 1H), 4.1 (m, 1H), 4.3 (m, 1H), 4.6 (bs, 1H), 6.9-7.3 (m, 6H), 7.5-7.8 (m, 3H), 8.05 (d, J=9.2 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 16
5- 4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione: ##STR74##
The title compound (1.78 g, 77%) was prepared as a pale yellow solid from 4- 1-(lepidin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!benzaldehyde (1.8 g) obtained in preparation 18, by a similar procedure to that described in example 1.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 +DMSO-d 6 200 MHz): d 2.1 (m, 4H), 2.6 (s, 3H), 3.45 (m, 1H), 3.7 (m, 1H), 3.97 (t, J=9.4 Hz, 1H), 4.55 (dd, J=10.0 and 3.2 Hz, 1H), 4.75 (bs, 1H), 6.65 (s, 1H), 7.2-7.9 (complex, 9H).
EXAMPLE 17
5- 4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione: ##STR75## Method A:
A mixture of ethyl 2-chloro-3- 4- 1-(lepidin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl!propanoate (15 g) obtained in preparation 21 and thiourea (5 g) in sulfolane (20 ml) was stirred at 120-130° C. for 4 h under N 2 atmosphere. The reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature and 2-methoxyethanol (192 ml), water (50 ml) and conc. HCl (26 ml) were added. The temperature was raised to 80° C. and stirred for 15 h. The reaction mixture was cooled, diluted with EtOAc and washed with aqueous NH 3 solution followed by water, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ) and concentrated. The crude product was chromatographed on silica gel with 10-40% ethyl acetate in pet ether (gradient elution) as an eluent to afford the title compound (14 g, 95%) as a white solid. mp: 95-97° C.
Method B:
The title compound (0.12 g, 15%) was prepared as a white solid from ethyl 2-bromo-3- 4- 1-(lepidin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl!propanoate (1.5 g), obtained in preparation 22 by an analogous procedure to that described in example 12. mp 95-97° C.
α! D 27 =-31.5 (c. 1.0, CHCl 3 )
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.1 (m, 4H), 2.1 (s, 3H), 3.1 (m, 1H), 3.5 (m, 2H), 3.7 (m, 1H), 3.9 (t, J=9.0 Hz, 1H), 4.5 (m, 2H), 4.75 (bs, 1H), 6.65 (s, 1H), 7.2 (m, 5H), 7.57 (t, J=7.6 Hz, 1H), 7.78 (t, J=8.2 Hz, 2H).
EXAMPLE 18
5- 4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, maleic acid salt: ##STR76##
The title compound (0.21 g, 78%) was prepared as a white solid from 5- 4- 1-(lepidin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione (0.22 g), obtained in example 17, by an analogous procedure to that described in example 6. mp: 68-70° C.
α! D 27 =-72.0 (c. 1.0, DMSO)
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.25 (m, 4H), 2.7 (s, 3H), 3.05-3.45 (m, 2H), 3.8 (m, 1H), 4.0 (m, 1H), 4.2 (m, 2H), 4.48 (dd, J=8.0 and 4.2 Hz, 1H) 5.0 (m, 1H), 6.35 (s, 2H), 6.9 (m, 3H), 7.14 (d, J=8.2 Hz, 2H), 7.44 (t, J=7.6 Hz, 1H), 7.7 (t, J=7.8 Hz, 1H), 7.84 (d, 8.4 Hz, 1H), 8.1 (d, J=8.2 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 19
5- 4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, hydrochloride salt: ##STR77##
The title compound (0.2 g, 86%) was prepared as a white solid from 5- 4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione (0.22 g) obtained in example 17, by an analogous procedure to that described in example 7. mp: 120° C.
α! D 27 =-120.5 (c. 1.0, DMSO)
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.30 (m,4H), 2.7 (s, 3H), 3.0-5.0 (complex, 8H), 6.7-8.0 (complex, 9H), 14.2 (bs, exchangeable with D 2 O, 1H).
EXAMPLE 20
5- 4- 1-(Lepidin-2-yl)-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, sodium salt: ##STR78##
The title compound (0.28 g, 53%) was prepared as a pale yellow solid from 5- 4- 1-(lepidin-2-yl!-(2S)-pyrrolidin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione (0.5 g) obtained in example 17, by an analogous procedure to that described in example 8. mp : 229° C.
α! D 27 =-5.3 (c. 1.0, DMSO)
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 +DMSO-d 6 ): d 2.1 (m, 4H), 2.4-2.7 (m, 5H), 3.4 (m, 1H), 3.65 (m, 1H), 3.85 (m, 1H), 4.1 (m, 1H), 4.3 (m, 1H), 4.6 (bs, 1H), 6.85 (s, 1H), 7.0-7.3 (m, 5H), 7.6 (m, 2H), 7.82 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 21
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(3S)-pyrrolidin-3-yloxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione: ##STR79##
The title compound (0.5 g, 52%) was prepared as a pale yellow solid from 4- 1-(pyridine-2-yl)-(3S)-pyrrolidin-3-yloxy!benzaldehyde (0.7 g), obtained in preparation 25, by a similar procedure to that described in example 1. mp: 204-206° C.
α! D 27 =-20.4 (c. 0.5, DMSO)
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 +DMSO-d 6 ) : d 2.3 (m, 2H), 3.3-3.9 (m, 4H), 5.27 (bs, 1H), 6.5 (m, 2H), 7.14 (d, J=8.2 Hz, 2H), 7.6 (m, 3H), 7.76 (s, 1H), 8.05 (d, J=4.2 Hz, 1H), 12.6 (bs, exchangeable with D 2 O, 1H).
EXAMPLE 22
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(3S)-pyrrolidin-3-yloxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, maleic acid salt: ##STR80##
The title compound (0.25 g, 78%) was prepared as a pale yellow solid from 5- 4- 1-(pyridin-2-yl)-(3S)-pyrrolidin-3-yloxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione (0.25 g), obtained in example 21, by a similar procedure to that described in example 6. mp: 176-178° C.
α! D 27 =-15.0 (c. 1.0, DMSO)
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.3 (m, 2H), 4.8 (m, 4H), 5.3 (bs, 1H), 6.2 (s, 2H), 6.7 (m, 2H), 7.17 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 7.7 (m, 3H), 7.8 (s, 1H), 8.05 (d, J=5 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 23
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(3S)-pyrrolidin-3-yloxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, hydrochloride salt: ##STR81##
The title compound (0.13 g, 78%) was prepared as a white solid from 5- 4- 1-(pyridin-2-yl)-(3S)-pyrrolidin-3-yloxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione (0.15 g) obtained in example 21, by an analogous procedure to that described in example 7. mp: 256-258° C.
α D 27 =-20.44 (c. 0.45, DMSO)
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 +DMSO-d 6 ): d 2.3 (m, 2H), 3.6-4.0 (m, 4H), 5.4 (bs, 1H), 6.9 (t, J=6.6 Hz, 1H), 7.2 (m, 3H), 7.6 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 7.78 (s, 1H), 8.0 (m, 2H), 12.6 (bs, exchangeable with D 2 O, 1H).
EXAMPLE 24
5- 4- 1-(Pyridin-2-yl)-(3S)-pyrrolidin-3-yloxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione: ##STR82##
The title compound (0.25 g, 35%) was prepared as a white solid from 5- 4- 1-(pyridin-2-yl)-(3 S)-pyrrolidin-3-yloxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione (0.7 g) obtained in example 21, by a similar procedure to that described in example 2. mp: 78-80° C.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 +DMSO-d 6 ): d 2.35 (m, 2H), 3.1 (m, 1H), 3.45 (m, 1H), 3.7 (m, 2H), 3.8 (m, 2H), 4.5 (m, 1H), 5.05 (bs, 1H), 6.39 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 1H), 6.56 (t, J=6.2 Hz, 1H), 6.84 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 2H), 7.15 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 7.5 (m, 1H), 8.14 (d, J=4.6 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 25
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)morpholin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione: ##STR83##
The title compound (19 g, 89%) was prepared as a pale yellow solid from 4- 4-(pyridin-2-yl)morpholin-2-yl!methoxy!benzaldehyde (16.0 g) obtained from preparation 27 by a similar procedure to that described in example 1, mp 188° C.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.82-3.18 (m, 2H), 3.70-4.40 (m, 7H), 6.61-6.80 (m, 2H), 7.02 (d, J=8.72 Hz, 2H), 7.41 (d, J=8.72 Hz, 2H), 7.55 (t, J=6.73 Hz, 1H), 7.68 (s, 1H), 8.23 (d, J 3.10 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 26
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)morpholin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione: ##STR84##
The title compound (5.0 g, 30%) was prepared as a white solid from 5- 4- 4-(pyridin-2-yl)morpholin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methylene!thiazolidine-2,4-dione (17.0 g) obtained in example 25 by a similar procedure to that described in example 2. mp 139-142° C.
1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): d 2.82-3.18, (m, 2H), 3.11 (dd, J=14.12 and 9.78 Hz, 1H), 3.46 (dd, J=14.12 and 3.73 Hz, 1H), 3.81 (td, J=11.53 and 2.49 Hz, 1H), 3.90-4.35 (m, 6H), 4.48 (dd, J=9.78 and 3.73 Hz, 1H), 6.65-6.75 (m, 2H), 6.91 (d, J=8.63 Hz, 2H), 7.16 (d, J=8.63 Hz, 2H), 7.53 (t, J=6.87 Hz, 1H), 8.22 (d, J=3.41 Hz, 1H),
EXAMPLE 27
5- 4- 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)morpholin-2yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione, sodium salt: ##STR85##
The title compound (2.9 g, 89%) was prepared as a white solid from 5- 4- 4-(pyridin-2-yl)morpholin-2-yl!methoxy!phenyl methyl!thiazolidine-2,4-dione (3.1 g) obtained in example 25 by an analogous procedure to that described in example 8. mp 272° C.
1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 200 MHz): d 2.51-2.92 (m, 2H), 3.20-3.40 (m, 1H), 3.53-3.72 (m, 1H), 3.74-4.20 (m, 7H), 4.20-4.40 (m, 1H), 6.69 (t, J=5.81 Hz, 1H), 6.86 (d, J=8.62 Hz, 2H), 7.11 (d, J=5.81 Hz, 1H), 7.21 (d, J=8.62 Hz, 2H), 7.57 (t, J=8.3 Hz, 1H), 8.14 (d, J=4.35 Hz, 1H).
Mutation in colonies of laboratory animals and different sensitivities to dietary regimens have made the development of animal models with non-insulin dependent diabetes associated with obesity and insulin resistance possible. Genetic models such as db/db and ob/ob (See Diabetes, (1982) 31(1): 1-6) in mice and fa/fa and zucker rats have been developed by the various laboratories for understanding the pathophysiology of disease and testing the efficacy of new antidiabetic compounds (Diabetes, (1983) 32: 830-838; Annu. Rep. Sankyo Res. Lab. (1994). 46: 1-57). The homozygous animals, C57 BL/KsJ-db/db mice developed by Jackson Laboratory, US, are obese, hyperglycemic, hyperinsulinemic and insulin resistant (J. Clin. Invest., (1990) 85: 962-967), whereas heterozygous are lean and normoglycemic. In db/db model, mice progressively develop insulinopenia with age, a feature commonly observed in late stages of human type II diabetes when blood sugar levels are insufficiently controlled. The state of pancreas and its course vary according to the models. Since this model resembles that of type II diabetes mellitus, the compounds of the present invention were tested for blood sugar and triglycerides lowering activities.
The compounds of the present invention showed blood sugar and triglycerides lowering activities through improved insulin resistance. This was demonstrated by the following in vivo experiments.
Male C 57 BL/KsJ-db/db mice of 8 to 14 weeks age, having body weight range of 35 to 60 grams, procured from the Jackson Laboraotory, USA, were used in the experiment. The mice were provided with standard feed (National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, India) and acidified water, ad libitum. The animals having more than 300 mg/dl blood sugar were used for testing. The number of animals in each group was 4.
The random blood sugar and triglyceride levels were measured by collecting blood (100 μl) through orbital sinus, using heparinised capillary in tubes containing EDTA which was centrifuged to obtain plasma. The plasma glucose and triglyceride levels were measured spectrometrically, by glucose oxidase and glycerol-3-PO 4 oxidase/peroxidase enzyme (Dr. Reddy's Lab. Diagnostic Division Kits, Hyderabad, India) methods respectively. On 6th day the blood samples were collected one hour after administration of test compounds/vehicle for assessing the biological activity.
Test compounds were suspended on 0.25% carboxymethyl cellulose or water (for water soluble compounds) and administered to test group at a dose of 10 to 30 mg/kg through oral gavage daily for 6 days. The control group received vehicle (dose 10 ml/kg). Troglitazone (100 mg/kg, daily dose) was used as a standard drug which showed 28% reduction in random blood sugar level on 6th day.
The blood sugar and triglycerides lowering activities of the test compound was calculated according to the formula: ##EQU1## ZC=Zero day control group value DC=Zero day treated group value
TC=Control group value on test day
DT=Treated group value on the test day
No adverse effects were observed for any of the mentioned compounds of invention in the above test.
______________________________________ Dose Reduction in Blood Triglyceride LoweringCompound (mg/kg) Glucose Level (%) (%)______________________________________Example 6 10 49 71Example 7 30 67 43Example 12 30 27 49Example 20 30 30 62Example 23 10 46 10Example 27 10 56 29______________________________________
The experimental results from the db/db mice suggest that the novel compounds of the present invention also possess therapeutic utility as a prophylactic or regular treatment for obesity, cardiovascular disorders such as hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and other diseases; as it is known from the literature that such diseases are interrelated to each other.
Subacute toxicity in rats:
Groups of 20 rats, consisting of 10 males and 10 females, weighing between 120 to 140 gm, received orally 100 mg/kg of compound of Example 6 for 28 days. The behavioral changes and body weights were monitored daily. The rats were sacrificed on the 29th day and blood was collected for hematological and biochemical estimations. All vital organs were examined both macroscopically and microscopically.
The compound of example 6 at 100 mg/kg dose did not produce any mortality. At the end of 28 days treatment no significant deviations from the control were observed in hematological and biochemical parameters. No gross macroscopic and microscopic changes of heart, lungs, bone marrow, kidneys and spleen were observed.
______________________________________ Example 6Parameters Control (100 mg/kg)______________________________________HematologyHemoglobin (gm/dl) 15.18 ± 0.69 14.88 ± 0.46RBC (× 10.sup.6 /mm.sup.3) 7.33 ± 0.75 7.08 ± 0.93WBC (× 10.sup.3 /mm.sup.3) 8.08 ± 2.01 9.19 ± 2.11PVC (%) 52.06 ± 2.58 52.21 ± 2.67Organ WeightHeart (g) 0.59 ± 0.09 0.61 ± 0.08______________________________________ | Novel antidiabetic compounds, their tautomeric forms, their derivatives, their steroisomers, their polymorphs, their pharmaceutically acceptable salts, their pharmaceutically acceptable solvates and pharmaceuticals acceptable compositions containing them; methods for preparing the antidiabetic compounds and their uses. | 2 |
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/085,977 filed Jun. 30, 1993, now abandoned.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a recreational device of skill and balance, and more particularly to a sports board apparatus having two resilient supporting swivel pads.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Over the years, recreational games of balance have proved extremely popular with people of all ages. Devices which have embodied these attributes include surf boards, skate boards, unicycles and pogo sticks. Of these, surf boards and skate boards enjoy the most popularity and have advanced to the status of sport. Unfortunately surf boards, require water with a rolling surf which limits their appeal to areas of the country which allow access to the sea. Skateboards are best suited to areas which provide inclines. Concern over pedestrian safety has caused skateboards to be outlawed in many areas.
Therefore a need exists to furnish a recreational balance game which can be enjoyed without geographical restrictions.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Applicant is aware of the following U.S. Patents concerning balancing walking devices.
______________________________________US PAT. No. Inventor Issue Date Title______________________________________2,930,613 Katz 10-13-58 TOY FOR BALANCING AND WALKINGDes. 189,826 Katz 02-28-61 TOY FOR BALANCING AND WALKING3,108,802 Sundquist 12-06-61 TEETER SCOOTER3,854,717 Judkins 12-17-74 AMBULATORY AMUSEMENT AND EXERCISE DEVICE______________________________________
Katz U.S. Pat. No. 2,930,613 teaches a toy for balancing and walking. This toy is configured with a beam attaching two platforms to provide support for the feet. The legs are stationary with non-skid caps.
Katz U.S. Design Pat. No. 189,826 teaches an ornamental toy design for balancing and walking. This design is an outgrowth of Katz original utility patent which lends itself to be molded as a single unit.
Sundquist U.S. Pat. No. 3,108,802 teaches a teeter scooter. This teeter scooter is configured with a horizontally extending frame to which two circular support discs are attached so that they rotate about an axis attached to the top of the frame. The legs which provide the support for the unit are hinged at the bottom of the frame.
Judkins U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,717 teaches an apparatus for ambulatory amusement and exercise. This device is configured with two shoe holders mounted to a semicircular rod and two legs mounted, perpendicularly to the semicircular rod.
Unlike the present invention none of the patents mentioned above show a support pad designed so that the entire apparatus can be swiveled easily about the pad of the unit. Further all of the patents mentioned above show an apparatus with foot support units extending from a narrower frame. The present invention uses a board of uniform width which allows for greater movement of the weight of the user with respect to the support feet which facilitates its use. Finally none of the patents show an associated rope or make any reference to any means for imparting a bouncing movement to the unit.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a sports board apparatus having two resilient swivel pads which allow bouncing. During normal operation, the operator jumps or steps onto the unit so that his feet rest on the spaced non-skid surfaces. Through adjustment of body weight the user can balance the sports board on its two downwardly projecting members or pads. Then by shifting the user's body weight, the entire weight of the sports board and the user is applied to one of the pads and swiveled. The second pad is raised off the ground and the entire board is reoriented about the swivel point. This action allows a user to walk the sports board as the board is alternately swiveled about the vertical axis of each pad in a manner allowing linear movement of the sports board and user.
The sports board as configured with the cord and rubber or elastomeric pads can be bounced in a similar manner to a pogo stick. Use of the cord allows the sports board to remain in contact with the user's feet even after the user propels himself into the air. Additionally, in other stunts utilizing the sports board the cord allows the user to keep the sports board in a tight proximity with the user in situations where the user's movement would tend to separate the board from the user.
The present invention is particularly useful in games of skill where the participants are required to keep the tilt walker sports board within a given path or course. Lines can be drawn on the pavement or a flat area of ground where the user would be required to keep the sports board within the given boundaries. Here, it is possible to have the path become extremely narrow where the only way to stay within the given boundary is to rotate the sports board 180 degrees on one of its swivel pads. It is also possible to configure a course for use with the sports board on which a user is required to jump the sports board over a small restricted area of ground.
The invented apparatus consists of an elongated board having a pair of downwardly projecting members spaced apart, and on the inboard side of the elongated board. Each of these members is fitted with a pad made of a rubber or elastomeric material which is configured to rotate about an axis.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The principal object of the invention is to provide an improved sports device requiring skill and balance.
A further object of this invention is to provide a sports device which can be enjoyed in a restrictive area.
Another object of this invention is to provide a sports device which can be enjoyed indoors as well as outdoors.
A further object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for a sports device which can be bounced.
Another object of the invention is to provide a sports apparatus which facilitates turns and spins.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing and other objects will become more readily apparent by referring to the following detailed description and the appended drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the invented Sports Tilt Walker™ sports board.
FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the invented Sports Tilt Walker™ sports board.
FIG. 3 is a front view of the invented Sports Tilt Walker™ sports board.
FIG. 4 is a front view of the invented Sports Tilt Walker™ sports board.
FIG. 5 is a sectional front view of the invented Sports Tilt Walker™ sports board showing one of the downwardly projecting members.
FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of one of the feet of the invented Sports Tilt Walker™ sports board.
FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of an alterative embodiment of one of the feet of the invented Sports Tilt Walker™ sports board.
FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of an alterative embodiment of one of the feet of the invented Sports Tilt Walker™ sports board.
FIG. 9 is an isometric view of the invented Sports Tilt Walker™ sports board as used for bouncing.
FIG. 10 is an isometric view of a game of skill utilizing the invention.
FIG. 11 is an isometric view of an alternative embodiment of the invention having a rope attached at two points to the sports board.
FIG. 12 is an isometric view of an alternative embodiment of the invention with an associated flexible J hook.
FIG. 13 shows one embodiment of the associated J hook.
FIG. 14 shows another embodiment of the J hook.
FIG. 15 shows an alternative embodiment of the J hook.
FIG. 16 shows the tilt walker sports board fitted with caster wheels.
FIG. 17 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 16 showing the caster wheel in greater detail.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, the invented Sports Tilt Walker™ Sports Board device 10 includes an elongated base member 12 having a pair of downwardly projecting members 14 and 16, which are spaced apart, and on the inboard side of non-skid material 18 affixed to the top of the base. The board member 12 can be made of wood, composition board, plastic, aluminum, fiberglass, or a composite material. Edges of the member 12 may be tapered to improve safety. A rope or cord 20 can be placed at the center of the unit to enable the user to use the device to perform tricks. Generally, the rope 20 is affixed into a centrol hole in the elongated base. Trick can be performed with or without use of rope.
The downwardly projecting foot members 14 and 16 are shown in greater detail in FIG. 6. Generally cylindrical member 22 is fastened to the elongated board 12 by several screws 24. The member 22 is provided with a central orifice of two different diameters in axial alignment. Next to the elongated board 12, the orifice is larger. This is to accommodate a lock nut 26 and washer 28, which act as an axle retainer. A carriage bolt 30 is secured at one end by lock nut 26, the other end is secured to rubber pad 32. Between the cylindrical member 22 and rubber pad 32 a nylon flat washer 34 is slidably affixed about carriage bolt 30. The cylindrical member 22 provides a physical limitation to flat washer 34. At this point cylindrical member 22 is fitted with a small orifice which carriage bolt 30 passes through. The carriage bolt acts as an axle allowing free rotation of the elongated member about rubber pad 32.
In operation, the user mounts or jumps onto the elongated board 12 so that his feet rest on the spaced non-skid surfaces 18, and by adjusting his weight properly balances the sports board on its two downwardly projecting members 14 and 16.
ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS
The downwardly projecting members 14 and 16 can also be configured with a biasing means or spring 36 mounted between modified generally round member 52 and the rubber bumper 32, FIG. 7. Modified round member 52 is provided with two central and axial cylindrical orifices 44 and 54. Screws 24 attach the modified round member 52 to the horizontal base of the sports board 48 so that enlarged cylindrical orifice 54 is located near the horizontal base of sports board 48 and cylindrical orifice 44 is located furthest from the horizontal base of sports board 48. A smaller cylindrical 58 orifice connects cylindrical orifice 54 and cylindrical orifice 44 and is configured to accept a carriage bolt 30. The carriage bolt fits tightly inside of orifice 58 providing stability in various directions that the sports board may be stressed. At the threaded portion of carriage bolt 30 a locknut 26 is fastened. The carriage bolt extends through the small cylindrical orifice which connects cylindrical orifice 54 with cylindrical orifice 44. The portion of the carriage bolt 30 which extends into the larger cylindrical orifice 44 is fitted with a spring 36. The head of the carriage bolt 30 is embedded in the rubber pad 32. Flat washer 34 is held against rubber pad 30 by the force of spring 36.
The horizontal sports board 48 is provided with 2 cylindrical orifices 46 directly above downwardly projecting foot members 14 and 16. When a user is standing on the sports board of this configuration locknut 26 extends through cylindrical orifice 46 and is flush with the top of the horizontal sports board 48. Spring 36 is compressed within cylindrical orifice 44 storing potential energy. The rubber pad 32 moves up into cylindrical orifice 44. When weight is removed from this area of the sports board spring 36 will decompress moving rubber pad 32 out from cylindrical orifice 44 and the locknut 26 travels through cylindrical orifice 46 and sports board 48 down into cylindrical orifice 54 modified cylindrical member 52 until it meets the solid material which comprises cylindrical member 52. With this configuration, the user can more easily bounce the board in a similar manner to a pogo stick while still retaining the rotatably of the board about each of its rubber pads 32.
FIG. 10 shows a game in which the feet of the sports board follow the numbered squares and the player jumps where indicated.
The rope or cord 20 can be connected to either one or two spots on the elongated board member, FIG. 11. A dual connection allows the user to lift up one of the ends of the board. Additionally the board can be configured with a flexible J pole 60 or hook, FIG. 12, to facilitate its use while performing "tricks". The J hook can have any of the configurations shown in FIGS. 13 through 15. It can have two tines 62,64 for engaging both the upper and lower surfaces of board 48, or it can be provided with only one long tine 66 which extends beyond the longitudinal centerline 68 when engaging the sports board 48.
The alternative embodiment shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 includes caster style wheels 70,72 in place of the pivotal feet. In this embodiment each of the downwardly projecting members 74 house a vertical axle 76 and an axle retainer 78, and a caster 80 and associated caster wheel 70 are rotatably fixed to the axle. Thus, the tilt walker sports board is still pivotable about either axle, but is also capable of performing like a skate board. Alternatively, the caster wheels 70,72 can be made of rubber or other elastomeric material, which will allow the user to bounce the sports board.
FIG. 17 also illustrates an end cap 82, which may a wear resistant end shield of any desired material.
As shown in FIG. 3, the ends 84 may be inclined upwardly. The underside of board can be provided with an end taper 86 as shown in FIG. 4.
SUMMARY OF THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
From the foregoing, it is readily apparent that I have invented an improved apparatus for a recreational device of skill and balance. By using my apparatus, operators will be able to simulate a walking type movement in addition to a bouncing motion. The rotatable pads of the apparatus in conjunction with the use of the rope allow a wide range of motion of the device which heretofore has been unknown in similar devices.
It is to be understood that the foregoing description and specific embodiments are merely illustrative of the best mode of the invention and the principles thereof, and that various modifications and additions may be made to the apparatus by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention, which is therefore understood to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims. | An improved recreational device of skill and balance, having an elongated base, a pair of downwardly projecting feet which are spaced apart, and on the inboard side of spaced footrests on the upper face of the board, the feet being rotatable about a vertical axis, and preferably being a resilient material. An optional rope or J-hook is also provided to engage with the center of the board. Methods for using the apparatus are also disclosed. | 0 |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/370,836 filed Apr. 8, 2002, titled “Methods and Apparatus For the support of disparate addressing plans and dynamic HA address allocation in Mobile IP Regional Tunneling” which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
For the purpose of understanding the invention it is useful to have a basic understanding of Mobile IP. Mobile IP (v4/v6), also indicated as MIPv4 [MIPv4] and MIPv6 [MIPv6], enables a mobile node (MN) to register its temporary location indicated by a care-of-address (CoA) to its Home Agent (HA). The HA then keeps a mapping (also called a binding) between the MN's permanent address, otherwise called Home Address (HoA), and the registered CoA so that packets for that MN can be redirected to its current location using IP encapsulation techniques (tunneling).
The CoA used by a MN can be an address that belongs to a Foreign Agent (FA) when MIPv4 is used or, in MIPv4 and MIPv6, it can be a temporarily allocated address to the MN itself in which case is called a collocated care-of-address (CCoA).
The concepts and solutions described here are applicable to both MIPv4 and MIP unless otherwise mentioned.
Regional tunneling (REGTUN) is one technique sometimes used in conjunction with Mobile IP. This approach uses a Gateway Foreign Agent (GFA) between the FA and the HA to improve MIP signaling. Specifically, the MN can register the local GFA CoA into the HA using an MIP registration with the HA that is routed via the GFA. Then each binding update under the same GFA goes just to the GFA instead of the HA, and changes the FA CoA for the GFA. The GFA switches the GFA CoA traffic for the specific HoA into the FA CoA matching that HoA and GFA CoA. The GFA update is a regional registration and it avoids having to refresh the HA on each hand-off which is a bandwidth and latency gain because the HA could be a very distant node from the FA/GFA.
The problem with this draft (http://www.ietf.org/proceedings/01dec/I-D/draft-ietf-mobileip-reg-tunnel-05.txt is that the signaling scheme assumes that the two addressing schemes are the same either side of the GFA, and no support is enabled for dynamic HA allocation, both of which are common requirements in MIP. Therefore, a need exists for apparatus and methods that will support disparate addressing plans and dynamic HA address allocation in MIP signaling.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to methods and apparatus establishing communications sessions and, more particularly, to enhanced methods of performing signaling through an intermediate node that straddles different addressing domains, when that signaling is trying to control a process undertaken between the intermediate node and an upstream node. Various methods for enhancing Mobile IP discovery of the IP addresses of Mobile IP nodes, and the subsequent configuration of Mobile IP forwarding tunnels is then described.
In accordance with one feature of the present invention, rather than allow a downstream node to use the address of the downstream interface on an intermediate node, that is in the same addressing domain as the downstream node, for undertaking a process with the upstream node, in accordance with the present invention, the address of the upstream interface of the intermediate node, that is in the same addressing domain as the upstream node, is instead selected to be the address on the intermediate node for the communications process with the upstream node. This ensures that the upstream node can communicate with the intermediate node for the identified process, even when the two addressing domains are different and the downstream interface of the intermediate node is not reachable from the upstream node. In the case of Mobile IP, the communications process is the MIP tunneling between, for example, an upstream Home Agent and an intermediate regional node such as a Gateway Foreign Agent, which is configured using a MIP Registration Request message from the downstream foreign agent. This then ensures that the tunnel be correctly set-up even when private addresses are used between the foreign agent and the regional node whilst public addresses are used between the regional node and the home agent. Existing Mobile IP signaling instead uses a single piece of information to identify the address of the regional node and the process address for the upstream node with the regional node, which fails in the case of distinct addressing domains on either side of the regional node.
Further, in accordance with this invention, the specific intermediate node, as well as the upstream interface and therefore the upstream address at that intermediate node, can all be dynamically selected during the signaling phase, based on information about the type of communications process being set-up, the entity and its location that is requesting that it be setup, and the type and location of the upstream node. This novel feature of the invention is particularly useful for supporting multiple intermediate nodes in a domain, each of which serves a subset of all the downstream nodes in a domain, and for ensuring that the selected upstream interface of the selected intermediate node is in the same addressing domain as the upstream node. In the specific case of Mobile IP, the present invention enables the regional node to be dynamically allocated at the foreign agent, optionally with the assistance of the Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) system, and the upstream address of the regional node to be dynamically allocated by the regional node itself, optionally again with assistance from the AAA system. This then avoids all Mobile Nodes having to be configured with, or discover, a table that lists all possible HAs and the associated regional node and upstream interface at that regional node that matches that particular Home Agent. Existing MIP signaling relies on the address of the regional node being known at the foreign agent, and optionally communicated to the Mobile Node in advance of the Registration signal being sent from the Mobile Node, that will traverse the regional node towards the Home Agent. This clearly does not facilitate dynamic allocation of the regional node, nor the dynamic allocation of the associated upstream interface address.
Inventive methods, in accordance with the present invention, are also described for dynamically allocating the Home Agent in advance of dynamically allocating the associated regional node, and for communicating the addresses of these dynamically allocated nodes to the other Mobile IP nodes that need that address information for subsequent Mobile IP signaling. The address of the HA should be communicated to the regional node so that the regional node can forward the Registration message to that HA and invoke the tunnel building process between the HA and the regional node. Existing MIP signaling for the regional node does not support dynamic allocation of a HA.
Another novel method, in accordance with the present invention, is described for indicating to a Mobile Node when the allocated regional node, that was dynamically allocated to the Mobile Node, becomes invalid, triggering another MIP signaling phase from the Mobile Node to dynamically allocate a new regional node and associated upstream interface address. This method is in contrast to existing MIP signaling which cannot accommodate a dynamically allocated regional node.
Numerous additional features and benefits of the present invention will be apparent in view of the Figures and detailed description which follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates two addressing domains; the generic downstream, intermediate and upstream nodes; and the signals employed to invoke the process between the upstream node and the upstream interface of the (intermediate) node.
FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of an exemplary network supporting a Mobile IP Regional node and the Mobile IP signals used to invoke and manage the tunnel between the Home Agent and the regional node, as well as the tunnel between the regional node and the foreign agent.
FIG. 3 illustrates the MIP signaling flow for the dynamic allocation of the regional node, and the interface on that regional node, in the case of a Gateway Foreign Agent, as well as the discovery of a change of regional node.
FIG. 4 illustrates the MIP extensions used to carry the dynamically allocated GFA and GFA CoA to the necessary MIP nodes.
FIG. 5 illustrates the dynamic allocation of a Home Agent in the presence of a regional node, as well as the MIP signaling changes when the generic intermediate node is additionally a foreign agent that straddles two addressing domains.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The methods and apparatus of the present invention are directed to a number of procedures to enable the IP signaling layer (MIP or similar mechanisms) to better support the existence of a regional node.
FIG. 1 shows an overall communication domain 100 including an exemplary addressing domain 1 101 and an exemplary addressing domain 2 103 . Addressing domain 1 101 includes a downstream node 102 ; addressing domain 2 103 includes an upstream node 106 . An intermediate node 104 is located on a boundary 105 separating addressing domain 1 101 from addressing domain 2 103 . Intermediate node 104 includes two addressing interfaces: addressing domain 1 interface 104 a and addressing domain 2 interface 104 b . Intermediate node 104 also includes address information 104 a ′ associated with interface 104 a and address information b 104 b ′ associated with interface 104 b . Downstream node 102 may be, for example, a visited access node; intermediate node 104 may be, for example, a MIP Gateway Foreign Node; upstream node 106 may be, for example, a Mobile IP Home Agent.
The downstream node 102 and the intermediate node 104 have interfaces with addresses, 102 ′ and 104 a ′, respectively, from the addressing domain 1 101 , such that messages can flow from the downstream node 102 to the downstream interface of the upstream node 104 a . The upstream node 106 and the intermediate node 104 have interfaces with addresses, 106 ′ and 104 b ′, respectively, from the addressing domain 2 103 , such that messages can flow from the upstream interface of the intermediate node 104 b to the upstream node 106 .
FIG. 1 further shows instructed processes 130 , as illustrated by the dashed bi-directional arrows between the upstream node 106 and the intermediate node 104 . The process 130 may be, for example, the invocation and management of a tunnel.
When the addressing domain 1 101 and addressing domain 2 103 are independent addressing domains, such that reachability is not supported between those addressing domains, then messages are not generally able to flow between the upstream node 106 and the downstream interface of the intermediate node 104 a , such that any process 130 undertaken between the upstream node 106 and the intermediate node 104 , needs to be undertaken using the interface address 104 b′.
To invoke such a process 130 from the downstream node 102 , or any node further downstream of the downstream node 102 , a message 1 , 110 , is first sent from the downstream node 102 to the intermediate node 104 using interface 104 a , possibly as a result of an incoming message from a node further downstream of the downstream node 102 . Message 1 , 110 , includes a message header 112 which includes source and destination addresses, 111 , 113 , respectively, equal to the addresses of the downstream node 102 ′ and the downstream interface of the intermediate node 104 a ′, respectively. Message 1 , 110 , also includes a message body 114 that includes an instruction 115 to invoke the process 130 between the upstream node 106 and the intermediate node 104 . The Message body 1 , 114 , also includes an information element indicating the intermediate node downstream address 104 a ′ that has been dynamically allocated at the downstream node 102 . The message body 1 114 may additionally contain the intermediate node upstream address 104 b ′, which without loss of generality may be empty. The information in the message body 1 114 is typically signed by the downstream node 102 as represented by security information 116 to prevent its contents being manipulated by an attacker situated between the downstream node 102 and the intermediate node 104 .
To further invoke such a process 130 from the intermediate node 104 , a message 2 , 120 , is first sent from the upstream interface of the intermediate node 104 b to the upstream node 106 . Message 2 , 120 , includes a message 2 header 122 which includes source and destination addresses, 121 , 123 , respectively, equal to the addresses of the intermediate node upstream interface 104 b ′ and the upstream node 106 ′, respectively. Message 2 , 120 , also includes a message 2 body 124 that includes an instruction 125 to invoke the process 130 between the upstream node 106 and the intermediate node 104 that was obtained from message 1 , 110 . The Message body 2 , 124 , also includes an information element indicating the intermediate node downstream address 104 a ′ that has been dynamically allocated at the downstream node 102 . The message body 2 124 also includes the intermediate node upstream address 104 b ′, which was generated at the intermediate node 104 . The information in the message body 2 124 is typically signed, as indicated by security information 126 , by the intermediate node 104 to prevent its contents being manipulated by an attacker situated between the intermediate node 104 and the upstream node 106 . Without loss of generality, the generation of the upstream address 104 b ′ at the intermediate node 104 can be undertaken in a number of ways. Firstly, it can be obtained from message body 1 , 114 , if the intermediate node upstream address 104 b ′ was dynamically allocated at the downstream node 102 along with the downstream address 104 a ′. Secondly, the intermediate node upstream address 104 b ′ can be dynamically allocated at the intermediate node 104 itself and inserted into message body 2 124 instead of any empty or default value passed in message body 1 , 114 . Thirdly, the upstream address on the intermediate node 104 b ′ can be requested and obtained by either the downstream and/or intermediate nodes 102 , 104 from an external policy server such as an Authentication, Authorization and Accounting Server.
The upstream node 106 can then invoke the process 130 with the upstream address 104 b ′ of the intermediate node 104 . In addition, messages 140 and 150 are then used to carry the dynamically allocated addresses 104 a ′ and 104 b ′ back to the downstream node 102 and to any nodes further downstream from the downstream node 102 that needs those addresses 104 a ′, 104 b ′ to repeatedly invoke the process 130 via that intermediate node 104 .
This sequence ensures that the process 130 from the upstream node 106 does not use the downstream address 104 a ′ of the intermediate node 104 which in the case of separate addressing domains may not be reachable.
The application of the above sequence will now be explained, without loss of generality, for the specific case of the downstream node 102 being a MIP foreign agent, the upstream node 106 being a MIP home agent, the intermediate node 104 being a MIP regional node such as Gateway Foreign Agent, and the process 130 being the construction of a MIP tunnel between the MIP Home Agent and the Gateway Foreign Agent on request from a Mobile Node.
FIG. 2 shows an exemplary communications network 200 including 3 addressing domains: addressing domain 1 201 , addressing domain 2 203 , and addressing domain 3 207 . Boundary line 205 separates addressing domain 1 201 from addressing domains 203 and 207 . Boundary line 209 separates addressing domain 2 203 from addressing domain 3 207 .
The exemplary communications network 200 comprises a visited access node 214 , e.g. a visited access router, including a Mobile IP foreign agent (FA) 216 , a Mobile IP Gateway foreign agent (GFA) 230 , and a Mobile IP Home agent (HA) 240 . The GFA 230 is located on the boundary 205 between addressing domain 1 201 and addressing domain 2 203 . Within addressing domain 1 201 , the GFA 230 is connected to the FA 216 via a node 208 and links 204 and 202 . Within addressing domain 2 203 , the GFA 230 is connected to the HA 240 through nodes 238 and 248 via links 234 , 206 and 244 . Link 234 couples GFA 230 to node 238 ; link 206 couples node 238 to node 248 ; link 244 couples node 244 to HA 240 . The GFA 230 therefore has two different interfaces, such that a GFA interface 230 a on link 204 has an address from the same addressing domain 1 201 as that of the FA 216 interface connected to link 202 . In contrast, a GFA 230 interface 230 b attached to link 234 has an address allocated from the same addressing domain 2 203 as the address allocated to the interface on the HA 240 connected to link 244 . In the communications network 200 it can be seen that no path exists between the HA 240 and the FA 216 that does not traverse the GFA 230 . In addition, the addresses from the addressing domain 1 201 shared by the FA 216 and the GFA 230 are not routable from the addresses from the addressing domain 2 203 shared by the HA 240 and the GFA 230 .
Exemplary end node 1 260 and exemplary end node N (X) 262 are coupled to the communications network 200 through the visited access node 214 . Specifically, links 218 , 220 couple end nodes 260 , 262 , respectively, to visited access node 214 with its FA 216 . The end nodes 260 , 262 may be, for example, mobile nodes or mobile terminals. Many such end nodes 260 , 262 and visited access nodes 214 will typically exist in communications network 200 , along with a smaller number of GFAs 230 . Each such GFA 230 will be assigned to a subset of the visited access nodes 214 , and advertised to the end nodes 260 , 262 which contain MIP Mobile Node software. The movement of the end nodes 260 , 262 between visited access nodes 214 can eventually result in the end node receiving a newly advertised GFA 230 address, this address being that of the interface 230 a connected to link 204 which can be known to the FA 216 . Whilst the exemplary Mobile Node (MN) N (X) 262 receives the same GFA 230 address from any FA 216 , the MN 262 can issue MIP Regional Registration messages 272 towards the GFA 230 , potentially via the FA 214 . This message 272 updates the Care of Address in the GFA 230 for the home address of the MN 262 , this care of address being either the FA 216 address or the address of the MN 262 , such that a tunnel can be constructed between the GFA 230 and the Care of address. The Registration Reply message 273 is then returned to the MN 262 visiting the same MIP nodes as that visited by the Registration message.
In order to further explain variations of the present invention, the connectivity between addressing domain 3 207 and addressing domain 2 203 is described below. Dotted arrow line 290 represents the transition of exemplary end node N (X) 262 from addressing domain 1 201 to addressing domain 3 207 . Addressing domain 3 207 includes a visited access node 214 ′, with a mobile IP Foreign agent module 216 ′, and node 208 ′. Link 202 ′ couples FA 216 ′ to node 208 ′. Node 208 ′ is coupled to a MIP Gateway Foreign Agent Node 230 ′ via link 204 ′. Addressing domain 2 203 further comprises node 238 ′ which is coupled to node 248 via link 206 ′. Node 238 ′ is also coupled to GFA 230 ′ via link 234 ′.
MIP Gateway Foreign Agent Node 230 ′ is located on the boundary, indicated by dashed line 209 , between addressing domain 2 203 and addressing domain 3 207 . GFA 230 ′ includes interfaces 230 ′ a and 230 ′ b . The GFA 230 ′ therefore has two different interfaces, such that the GFA interface 230 ′ a on link 204 ′ has an address from the same addressing domain 3 207 as that of the FA 216 ′ interface connected to link 202 ′. In contrast, the GFA 230 ′ interface 230 ′ b attached to link 234 ′ has an address allocated from the same addressing domain 2 203 as the address allocated to the interface on the HA 240 connected to link 244 .
When however, the MN 262 receives a new GFA 230 ′ address from the FA 216 ′, then the MN 262 knows that no MIP tunnel exists between the Home Agent 240 of the MN 262 and the GFA 230 ′ and, in accordance with the invention, therefore issues a MIP Registration message 270 towards the HA 240 , that is forwarded via the FA 216 ′ and the GFA 230 ′. This message is followed by a Registration Reply message 271 back to the MN 262 via the same set of MIP nodes. The message 270 includes a Care of address field, which is typically populated by the MN 262 , using the GFA 230 ′ address advertised by the FA 216 ′, this typically being the address of interface 230 a ′ at the GFA 230 ′. The message 270 installs the Care of address of the GFA 230 ′ into the HA 240 so that a MIP tunnel can be built for the MN 262 home address between the HA 240 and the GFA 230 ′. Packets will then be delivered to the new GFA 230 ′ and messages 272 and 273 can then update the GFA 230 ′ with each new MN CoA as the MN changes FA 216 ′ under the same GFA 230 ′. This procedure however fails if the address of the GFA 230 ′ on link 204 ′ is not reachable from the HA 240 . Alternative signaling as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 and described next may instead be used, in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3 shows the dynamic allocation of the GFA 230 at the FA 216 , and the dynamic allocation of the GFA CoA at the GFA 230 . The FA 216 of FIG. 3 equates to the downstream node 102 of FIG. 1 , the GFA 230 of FIG. 3 equates to the intermediate node 104 of FIG. 1 and the HA 240 equates to the upstream node 106 of FIG. 1 . FIG. 3 is separated into an addressing domain 1 201 including MN 262 and FA 216 and an addressing domain 2 203 including HA 240 . GFA 230 is situated on a boundary 205 separating domains 201 and 203 . The process 130 of FIG. 1 equates to the MIP tunnel management between the HA 240 and the GFA 230 of FIG. 2 . Message 270 of FIG. 2 is broken up into hop by hop messages 270 a , 270 b and 270 c . Message 110 of FIG. 1 equates to message 270 b of FIG. 3 and message 120 of FIG. 1 equates to message 270 c in FIG. 3 . The downstream interface address 104 a ′ on the intermediate node equates to the GFA address in FIG. 3 whilst the upstream interface address 104 b ′ of the intermediate node equates to the GFA CoA in FIG. 3 .
In step 301 , the FA 216 constructs a message 310 with the FA CoA address from domain 1 201 and GFA address from domain 1 201 advertised to MN 262 for movement detection purposes, and sends the message 310 to the MN 262 . The subsequent messaging of FIG. 3 is triggered when the MN 262 receives message 310 from FA 216 , which includes a new default GFA address, and which acts as a common identifier for any dynamically allocated GFA at that FA 216 . This means that if the MN 262 sees a new default GFA address then it must also acquire a new dynamically allocated GFA. Message 310 also includes the FA CoA of the FA 216 as is usual in MIP signaling.
Next, in step 303 , the MN 262 then sends Registration message 270 a to the FA 216 including the Home address and HA 240 address of the MN 262 , with the intention of updating the GFA CoA for that home address at the HA 240 . The Registration message 270 a includes a CoA field that can either be left blank by the MN 262 or can contain the default GFA address. In step 305 , FA 216 then dynamically allocates a GFA to the MN 262 , potentially with help from a policy server, e.g. a AAA server, that has an upstream interface that is reachable from the HA 240 included in the message 270 a . Note that the HA is globally unique through the combination of the HA address and the realm part of the Network Address Identifier of the MN 262 that are included in message 270 a . The GFA address and the FA CoA are then securely passed to the assigned GFA in message 270 b . The FA CoA enables the GFA to build a tunnel to the present FA 216 of the MN 262 whilst the GFA address is included so it can be passed to the HA 240 . In step 307 , the GFA 230 then dynamically assigns a GFA CoA from an interface that is reachable from the HA 240 and then securely passes this address, along with the GFA address to the HA in message 270 c . It does this by adding an extension to the MIP Registration message containing the GFA CoA, that is used instead of the CoA field which is either blank or includes the default GFA address, for construction of the MIP tunnel. The HA 240 can then build that tunnel towards the GFA CoA rather than towards the GFA address, because the GFA address is not itself reachable from the HA 240 . Next, in step 309 , the HA 240 includes the GFA and GFA CoA into the MIP Registration Reply message 271 a , signs this message with the secret it shares with the MN 262 , and sends message 271 a to the GFA 230 . In step 311 , the GFA 230 forwards the GFA and GFA CoA to the FA 216 in MIP Registration Reply Message 271 b . Subsequently, in step 313 , FA 216 forwards the GFA and GFA CoA to MN 262 in MIP Registration Reply Message 271 c . Finally, in step 315 , MN 262 can then securely receive the GFA and GFA CoA which it can then include in subsequent MIP Registration messages 270 and 272 to refresh the installed MIP bindings in the HA and the GFA.
Note that, in other variations of the present invention, the GFA and GFA CoA can be passed back to the MN 262 in many other ways than via the HA, that make use of a different set of MIP security associations to sign the extension carrying those addresses. Note also that in another variation of the present invention, the GFA CoA can instead be dynamically assigned at the same time as the GFA is assigned at the FA, and the GFA CoA then passed in message 270 b to the allocated GFA.
FIG. 4 repeats the elements ( 262 , 216 , 230 , 240 ), domains ( 201 , 203 ) and boundary 205 of FIG. 3 . Steps ( 301 ′, 303 ′, 305 ′, 307 ′, 309 ′, 311 ′, 313 ′, 315 ′) of FIG. 4 equate to the steps ( 301 , 303 , 305 , 307 , 309 , 311 , 313 , 315 ) of FIG. 3 , respectively. Similarly, messages ( 310 ′, 270 a ′, 270 b ′, 270 c ′, 271 a ′, 271 b ′, 271 c ′) of FIG. 4 equate to messages ( 310 , 270 a , 270 b , 270 c , 271 a , 271 b , 271 c ) of FIG. 3 , respectively.
In addition, FIG. 4 shows the extensions used to carry the FA CoA, GFA CoA and the GFA address in messages 270 ′ and 271 ′. The Hierarchical Foreign Agent Extension (HFAext) carries the FA CoA in message 270 b ′ and carries the GFA CoA in message 270 c ′ and messages 271 ′. Note that if the GFA CoA is also assigned at the FA 216 then two HFAext are included in message 270 b ′, which means that either a flag bit is required in the HFAext to distinguish between the two addresses, or the FA CoA is signed with the secret shared between the FA 216 and the GFA 230 whilst the GFA CoA is signed with the secret shared between the FA 216 and the HA 240 , the type of signature therefore uniquely identifying the contents of each HFAext. The GFA address is carried in the Hierarchical Foreign Agent IP address extension (HFAIPext) in messages 270 b ′, 270 c ′ to the HA 240 , and messages 271 ′ back to the MN 262 .
The steps and signaling of FIG. 4 are described below. In step 301 ′, FA 216 adds the GFA address into the HFAIP extension, constructs message 310 ′ which includes FA CoA+HFAIPext, and sends message 310 ′ to MN 262 . This triggers the subsequent signaling described in FIG. 4 . Next, in step 303 ′, MN 262 issues RREQ message 270 a ′ to FA 216 with a blank CoA as the GFA CoA is not yet assigned. Then, in step 305 ′, FA 216 includes FA CoA in the HFA extension, includes the dynamically assigned GFA in the HFAIP extension, signs both by the FA-GFA shared secret, and sends RREQ message 270 b ′ including HFAIPext+HFAext to GFA 230 . Next, in step 307 ′, GFA 230 replaces FA CoA in HFAext with a dynamically assigned GFA CoA, signs HFAIPext and HFAext with GFA-HA shared secret, and sends RREQ message 270 c ′ including HFAIPext+HFAext to HA 240 . Upon reception of message 270 c ′, the process 130 is triggered at the HA 240 towards the GFA 230 . Additionally, the HA 240 extracts GFA and GFA CoA from message 270 c ′, signs them with the HA-MN shared secret, and sends them toward the MN 262 in the RREP message 271 a ′ including HFAIPext+HFAext to GFA 230 . GFA 230 , in step 311 ′ forwards GFA and GFA CoA towards MN 262 via RREP message 271 b ′ including HFAIPext+HFAext to FA 216 . Next, FA 216 , in step 313 ′, forwards the GFA and GFA CoA to MN 262 via Message 271 c ′ including HFAIPext+HFAext. Finally, in step 315 ′, MN 262 retrieves GFA address for use in the HA field of the Regional Registration, and the GFA CoA for use as the CoA in Registration Requests to the HA.
FIG. 5 illustrates the additional processing associated with a dynamically assigned FA CoA and a dynamically assigned HA.
FIG. 5 repeats the elements ( 262 , 216 , 230 , 240 ) of FIG. 3 . FIG. 5 includes 3 addressing domains: an addressing domain 1 5201 , an addressing domain 2 5203 , and an addressing domain 3 5207 . A boundary line 5205 separates domain 1 5201 from domain 2 5203 . A boundary line 5206 separates domain 1 5201 from domain 3 5207 . MN 262 is in addressing domain 3 5207 . FA 216 is located on the boundary 5206 between addressing domain 3 5207 and addressing domain 1 5201 . GFA 230 is located on the other boundary 5205 separating addressing domain 1 5201 from addressing domain 2 5203 . HA 240 is located in addressing domain 2 5203 . Steps ( 501 , 503 , 505 , 507 , 509 , 511 , 513 , 515 ) of FIG. 5 are similar to the steps ( 301 , 303 , 305 , 307 , 309 , 311 , 313 , 315 ) of FIG. 3 , respectively. Messages ( 310 ″, 270 a ″, 270 b ″, 270 c ″, 271 a ″, 271 b ″, 271 c ″) of FIG. 5 are similar to messages ( 310 , 270 a , 270 b , 270 c , 271 a , 271 b , 271 c ) of FIG. 3 , respectively.
FIG. 5 shows two additional novel aspects of the invention: the dynamic allocation of a HA 240 and the case of the FA 216 straddling two addressing domains. Dynamic HA allocation is, without loss of generality, undertaken at the FA 216 potentially in conjunction with a policy server. The allocated HA address is then able to be used in selecting the GFA 230 address and the GFA CoA 104 b as part of the same allocation procedure. If however the HA allocation is undertaken at the GFA 230 then only the GFA CoA 104 b can be dynamically allocated based on the HA address 240 because of the GFA 230 will have be allocated at the FA 216 without knowledge of the yet to be assigned HA 240 . Assuming the HA address is allocated at the FA 216 , and having established the GFA 230 , then the FA 216 needs to pass to the GFA 230 in message 270 b ″ the HA address in the Home Agent IP Address extension (HAIPext), or in a HFAIPext which includes flags or other indicators to differentiate between different types of addresses. The GFA 230 on receiving this HA address is then able to direct message 270 c ″ to that identified HA address. The HA address is already returned to the MN 262 in the standard MIP RREP so the HAIPext is not needed to be included in messages 271 ″.
The second aspect of FIG. 5 is the addition of addressing domain 3 5207 between the MN 262 and the FA 216 , such that the address included in message 310 ″ is now the FA address from domain 3 5207 , and the FA 216 must then dynamically allocate a FA CoA from domain 1 5201 for inclusion in message 270 b ″ to facilitate the building of a MIP tunnel between the GFA 230 and the FA CoA at FA 216 . This is a second example of the applicability of FIG. 1 , where the MN 262 is the downstream node 102 , the GFA 230 is the upstream node 106 , and the FA 216 is the intermediate node 104 with FA address 104 a ′ from domain 3 and FA CoA 104 b ′ from domain 1 5201 . Process 130 is then the tunnel construction between the GFA 230 and the FA 216 .
The steps and signaling of FIG. 5 are described below. In step 501 , for movement detection purposes, FA 216 advertises to MN 262 the FA address from domain 3 5207 and the GFA address from domain 1 5201 via FAA message 310 ″ including FA+GFA address. The subsequent messaging of FIG. 5 is triggered when the MN 262 receives message 310 ″ from FA 216 . In step 503 , MN 262 issues RREQ message 270 a ″ to FA 216 with a blank CoA field because the GFA CoA is not yet known. Next, in step 505 , FA 216 dynamically assigns from domain 1 5201 , potentially with AAA support, a FA CoA to the MN 262 , and dynamically assigns from domain 2 5203 , potentially with AAA support, a HA 240 to the MN 262 . Then, FA 216 sends RREQ message 270 b ″ including HA address in HAIPext to GFA 230 . Upon reception of message 230 , in step 507 , GFA 230 forwards the RREQ to HA 240 in RREQ message 270 c ″. In step 509 , HA 240 sends RREP message 271 a ″ to GFA 230 so that the MN 262 can ultimately learn the HA address from the RREP. Proceeding to step 511 , GFA 230 forwards RREP via message 271 b ″ to FA 216 . Then, in step 513 , FA 216 signs with an MN-FA shared secret, and then returns the dynamically assigned FA CoA to the MN 262 via RREP message 271 c ″ including FA CoA in HFAext. Finally, in step 515 , MN 262 retrieves from RREP message 271 c ″ the FA CoA for use in the CoA field of Regional Registration and the HA address for use in subsequent RREQ messages to the HA 240 .
In various embodiments nodes described herein are implemented using one or more modules to perform the steps corresponding to one or more methods of the present invention, for example, signal processing, message generation and/or transmission steps. Thus, in some embodiments various features of the present invention are implemented using modules. Such modules may be implemented using software, hardware or a combination of software and hardware. Many of the above described methods or method steps can be implemented using machine executable instructions, such as software, included in a machine readable medium such as a memory device, e.g., RAM, floppy disk, etc. to control a machine, e.g., general purpose computer with or without additional hardware, to implement all or portions of the above described methods, e.g., in one or more nodes. Accordingly, among other things, the present invention is directed to machine-readable medium including machine executable instructions for causing a machine, e.g., processor and associated hardware, to perform one or more of the steps of the above-described method(s).
Numerous additional variations on the methods and apparatus of the present invention described above will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the above description of the invention. Such variations are to be considered within the scope of the invention. The methods and apparatus of the present invention may be, and in various embodiments are, used with CDMA, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), and/or various other types of communications techniques which may be used to provide wireless communications links between access nodes and mobile nodes. In some embodiments the access nodes are implemented as base stations which establish communications links with mobile nodes using OFDM and/or CDMA. In various embodiments the mobile nodes are implemented as notebook computers, personal data assistants (PDAs), or other portable devices including receiver/transmitter circuits and logic and/or routines, for implementing the methods of the present invention.
The above described methods and apparatus are exemplary. Numerous variations are possible while keeping within the scope of the invention. | Methods and apparatus for enhancing Mobile IP signaling and to support use of disparate addressing plans and dynamic Home Agent allocation in Mobile IP Regional Tunneling are described. The enhanced methods of signaling use an intermediate node, e.g., a Gateway Foreign Agent, straddling different addressing domains, when the signaling controls a process between the intermediate node and an upstream node. The specific intermediate node, its interfaces and upstream addresses can be dynamically selected. The Enhanced MIP signaling includes dynamic allocation of: a regional node at a Foreign Agent, the upstream address of a regional node by the regional node, a Home Agent for a regional node prior to dynamic allocation of the regional node. A method is supported to indicate to a Mobile Node that a dynamically allocated regional node has become invalid triggering enhanced MIP signaling dynamically allocating a new regional node and upstream interface address. | 7 |
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/737,546 filed on Dec. 12, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,332 issued Jun. 1, 1999, which was a International Application PCT/EP95/03710 filed on Sep. 21, 1995 and which designated the U.S.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a device for interconnecting a high voltage cable with an apparatus and/or with a second high voltage cable consisting of a cable termination and a rigid insulator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When connecting such high voltage power cables in normal joints, in transition joints, to transformers and other SF6 and oil filled apparatus and accessories and out-door terminals, the interfaces are usually different for each application.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a simplified connection system for the above cables having ratings up to 400 KV and above. The features of the invention are defined in the accompanying patent claims.
With the present invention there is obtained a common cable connection system for all accessories and interconnections. The interface between the cable end and any accessory, between two cable ends or between two apparatus is generally applicable, resulting in a number of advantages, such as factory pretesting, reduction of installation time and cost, reduction of tools and simplified field testing.
The stress cone design and dimensions would also be the same for all applications, the only variation being the diameter of the cable or apparatus entrance.
A further advantage is that the interface components does not include any gas or oil and, therefore, they cannot leak or explode.
Above mentioned and other features and objects of the present invention will clearly appear from the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1 to 3 illustrate three different principles of interface between a cable end and accessories,
FIGS. 4 to 12 illustrate several applications of the invention, and
FIG. 13 illustrates a rigid insulator corresponding to the rigid insulator shown in FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, there are illustrated three interface methods, - respectively called an inner cone concept, an outer cone concept and a no cone or slight inner cone concept The type of cone concept refers to the shape of the connector on the apparatus side. In all three figures an apparatus or accessory 1, 2 and 3 respectively, are indicated to the left. Connectors 4, 5 and 6 are respectively provided with an inner cone 7, an outer cone 8 and a slight inner cone 9. The interface could also be obtained by using plane contacting surfaces.
To the right in FIGS. 1 to 3 are illustrated three cables 10, 11 and 12, respectively provided with terminations 13, 14 and 15 having end surfaces 16, 17 and 18 fitting the corresponding coned surfaces 7, 8 and 9. The conductor joints (plug-in, welding, clamping etc) are not part of the present invention and will not be described here. We have only indicated cable connectors 19, 20 and 21 on the cable terminations 13, 14 and 15 respectively.
In the following detailed description of examples of cable connections we have chosen to show the outer cone concept, it being understood however, that the same series of interconnections can be obtained with the inner core concept and with the slight inner cone (or plane) concept.
A general advantage of the outer cone concept over the inner cone is that the outer cone separates the cable connection further from the apparatus it is connected to, than does the inner cone Hence a fault at one side is less likely to affect the other side.
The inner cone concept would have the advantage that a shorter solution could be used outside an SF6 cubicle. Problems with the coned surfaces may arise when components are made by different suppliers. The apparatus connectors are usually made of epoxy or similar non-compressible, rigid material, whereas the cable terminations usually are made of rubber and similar compressible or elastomeric materials. The outer cone concept would have the advantage over the inner cone concept that it is easier to expand the rubber material than to compress it
An advantage of the substantially plane surface interconnection is that this simplifies complete alignment of the meeting surfaces without risking glow discharges.
FIG. 4 and 5 illustrate the components of an SF6 terminal using the outer cone concept and the present invention As will be seen from the succeeding drawings, the concept of the cable termination illustrated in FIG. 4 is the generally applicable building block of all applications.
A cable termination 30 shown in the lower past of FIG. 4 is arranged on a cable end 31 provided with a cable connector 32 and a stress relief cone 33 comprising a voltage deflector 34 as a stress relief device and a connector shield 35 embedded within a body 36 of elastomeric insulation. The body 36 of elastomeric insulation is covered by a conductive screen 39 and is enclosed within an outer rigid casing 38
The termination 30 fits to an interface device 40 including a rigid insulating body 41, e.g. made of an epoxy resin, having a conical interface surface 42 which fits to the interface surface 37 of the elastomeric body 36 of the termination 30.
When the interface device 40 is used in connection with an SF6 terminal, the rigid insulator 41 is provided with a connector 43 which may have a compact version 44 or an IEC 859 standard (longer) version 45.
In FIG. 5, there an SF6 termination of the present invention is illustrated. In addition to the components 30, 40 and 43, the drawing indicates an SF6 casing 46 and a connector 47. The usual hollow insulator used in conventional terminations is replaced by the compact or rigid epoxy body 41 around the conductor.
Advantages over conventional terminals are: Compact design, lower material and installation cost, complete independence between gas insulated switch gear and cable installations, standardization.
In FIGS. 6 and 7, there are illustrated two versions of transformer terminals. FIG. 6 shows an application of the invention with a transformer 50 having an oil-filled box 51 with a bushing 52 to which a cable termination 30 and connector 53 are connected. The connector 53 corresponds to the parts 40 and 43 in FIG. 4.
In FIG. 7, a transformer 55 is provided with bushing 56 comprising the rigid insulating body 41 with the interface surface 42 which is connected directly to a cable termination 30, having the corresponding interface surface 37 as indicated in FIG. 4. This transformer terminal version is useful with the outer cone concept only. This version implies enhanced safety due to the omission of the oil-filled box with its highly combustible oil.
In FIGS. 8 and 9 there are shown two versions of out-door terminals. In FIG. 8, the terminal 60 consists of components 30 and 40 combined with a conductor 61 which together with the epoxy insulator 40 is covered by tracking resistant FPDM rubber or silicone rubber sheath 62. This design eliminates the need for an oil- or SF6-filled insulator, while maintaining the mechanical rigidity of the omitted insulator.
In FIG. 9, the out-door terminal 65 includes a surge suppressor device 66. This terminal is in principle similar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,780 (J Varreng 6) The device 66, which consists of non-linear material such as ZnO or SiC, is separated from the conductor 67 by a layer of insulation material 68. The interconnections from the non-linear material layer, at the bottom to ground and at the top to the conductor 67 are not shown. The device 66 may be a continuous tube or it may consist of a number of series connected annular elements. The device 66 and insulator 40 are covered with tracking resistant EPDM rubber or silicone rubber sheath 69 as in FIG. 8.
FIG. 10 illustrates a straight through joint 70. The epoxy component 40 is shaped as a symmetrical double cone which forms a center piece of a plug-in joint joining two cable terminations 30. This design may be more expensive than a pure elastomeric joint, but it has the advantage of factory testing and quick installation.
FIG. 11 illustrates a transition joint 75 between a dry cable and an oil-filled cable. The epoxy component may be extended to form an insulator housing 76 on the oil-filled side 77. Advantages are as above,--lower material and installation cost as well as a compact design.
In FIG. 12, there is illustrated a joint 78 between two apparatus 79 and 80, e.g. between a transformer and a switching station. Rigid insulators 81 and 82 fastened to the apparatus "e.g." as bushing devices, have conical interface surfaces 83 and 84 corresponding to the interface surfaces 85 and 86 of the connection device 87. This device consists of a connector 88 for electrical conductors, not shown in this Figure, a connector shield 89, an insulating body 90 made of an elastomeric material and covered by a conductive screen 91. This complete device is enclosed within an outer rigid casing 92.
For optimizing the products described in the above detailed description and for making sure their high operating reliability in high or extra high voltage installations an essential characteristic is the outer surface configuration of the rigid insulator having the conical interface surface. Therefore, FIG. 13 illustrates a rigid insulator 93, corresponding to the insulator 41 in FIG. 4, to be used in the above embodiments of this invention. The claimed angle is the angle between the longitudinal axis 94 and the boundary surface 95 of the insulator 93. This angle defining the cone of the insulating body should be between 15° and 45°.
The above detailed description of embodiments of this invention must be taken as examples only and should not be considered as limitations on the scope of protection. | The present invention aims to obtain a simplified connection system for high voltage power cables having ratings up to 400 KV and above. There is obtained a common cable connection system for all accessories and interconnection. The connection system uses a generally applicable interface (4, 5, 6; 13, 14, 15; 30, 40) for interconnection with a number of different apparatus and includes a cable termination (30) consisting of an elastomeric body (36), integrated therein a stress relief device (34), a connector shield (35), an insulation having a conical interface surface (37) and an outer conductive screen (39) and a rigid insulator (41) having a conical interface surface (42) corresponding to the interface surface (37) of the cable termination (30). | 8 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
The present patent application claims the right of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 and 35 U.S.C. 365 of International Application No. PCT/EP99/02387, filed Apr. 8, 1999, which was published in German as International Patent Publication No. WO 99/54381 on Oct. 28, 1999, which is entitled to the right of priority of German Patent Application No. 198 17 677.5, filed Apr. 21 1998.
The present invention relates to processes for removing volatile components from polymer solutions, which result in products with a low residual content of volatile components without thermal degradation of the polymer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The removal of volatile components from a polymer solution is one of the final process stages in the production of many polymers. The volatile constituents to be removed may either be solvents and/or unpolymerised monomers. Depending on the order of magnitude of the viscosity of the polymer solution, various processes are known for removing volatile components from the polymer solution, in each of which processes the polymer solution is heated above the evaporation temperature of the volatile constituents. Examples of apparatuses which are known include thin film evaporators, extruders, and those comprising indirect heat exchange. It is crucial that the polymer is not degraded during the heating of the polymer solution.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,501 describes a method and an apparatus for removing volatile constituents from a polymer melt by heating it in a heat exchanger which contains vertically disposed channels which release their pressure directly into the bottom of a separator, where evaporation of the volatile components takes place. The channels have thicknesses of 0.5-4 mm. The temperature difference between the polymer solution and the heating medium is less than 50° C., and the cooling of the polymer solution due to the components which evaporate is less than 30° C. A residual content of volatile components in the polymer of <0.1% by weight is claimed to be achieved.
EP-A 150 225 describes an apparatus which comprises two heat exchanger bundles connected in series. The heat exchanger bundles comprise rectangular channels. This apparatus is mainly used for two-stage heating or cooling during the reaction. but is a relatively costly apparatus.
EP-B 226 204 discloses a process and a heat exchanger for removing volatile constituents from a polymer solution containing at least 25% by weight polymer. The polymer solution is heated in an indirect heat exchange zone which consists of a multiplicity of channels. These channels have a substantially uniform surface to volume ratio of 0.158-1.97 mm −1 , a thickness of 1.27-12.7 mm, a width of 2.54-10.16 cm and a length of 1.27-30.48 cm. The polymer solution is heated in the channels, at a pressure of 2 to 200 bar, to a temperature above the evaporation temperature of the volatile components but below the boiling temperature of the polymer. The dwell time of the polymer solution in the channels is 5-120 seconds. After heating, the solution is conveyed into a chamber in which at least 25% of the volatile constituents are out-gassed from the solution. This process reduces thermal degradation because the period of time over which the polymer is exposed to high temperatures is kept as short as possible. However, this process has the disadvantage that the solvent is not completely removed. Moreover, polymer deposits are formed on the outer face of the heat exchanger bundle, which deposits carbonise and gradually spall off over the course of time, so that the product is contaminated.
EP-B 352 727 discloses a process for removing volatile constituents from a polymer solution, wherein the polymer solution is heated to a temperature above the evaporation temperature of the volatile components in a multiplicity of channels connected in parallel. The ratio of heat exchange surface to the product volume flow is >80 hours/m. The velocity of flow in the channels is <0.5 mm/sec and the dwell time of the polymer solution in the channels is 120-200 seconds. This process also has the disadvantage that the solvent is not completely removed. Moreover, polymer deposits are also formed here on the outer face of the heat exchanger bundle, which deposits carbonise and gradually spall off over the course of time, so that the product is contaminated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention was to provide a process for removing volatile components from polymer solutions which results in products with a low residual content of volatile components without thermal degradation of the polymer.
This object has been achieved according to the invention by a two-stage process for removing volatile components from polymer solutions with a polymer content >60% by weight, wherein in a first stage the polymer solution is heated in an indirect heat exchanger, which comprises channels, to 150 to 400° C. at a pressure of 1.5 to 50 bar and is subsequently depressurised in the channels to a pressure of 3 to 200 mbar, whereby the flow in the channels becomes two-phase at least in part and the volatile components are at least partially separated from the polymers, and the polymer, which still contains residual volatile components, is freed from residual volatile components in a second stage at a pressure of 0.1 to 10 mbar and at a temperature of 200 to 450° C.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the first stage of the process according to the invention, the polymer is forced into the channels of the heat exchanger at a pressure of 1.5 to 50 bar abs., preferably 2 to 5 bar abs., flows through the channels and in the course of this procedure is heated to a temperature of 150 to 400° C., preferably 200 to 350° C. At the outlet of the channels, there is a prevailing pressure which is below the saturation pressure of the volatile components. This pressure is 30 to 200 mbar abs., preferably 30 to 100 mbar abs.
The dwell time of the polymer solution is preferably 2 to 120 seconds, most preferably 80 to 120 seconds, at a velocity of flow which is preferably 0.0001 to 0.1 mm/sec, most preferably 0.001 to 0.005 mm/sec. The ratio of the heat exchange surface of the channels to the volume flow of the polymer solution is preferably 5 to 75 hours/m, most preferably 15 to 50 hours/m.
A honeycomb evaporator is preferably used as the indirect heat exchanger the channels of which have a parabolic profile. The product stream in the channels is thereby depressurised, the consequence of which is that on flowing through the channels the product stream becomes two-phase in at least part of the channel and separation of the volatile components can be effected via the gas flow. In the first stage, the volatile components are preferably removed down to a residual content <0.5% by weight, and the product is then fed to the second stage.
In the second stage, the polymer is freed from residual volatile components at a pressure of 0.1 to 10 mbar abs., preferably 0.5 to 3 mbar abs., and at a temperature of 200 to 450° C., preferably 250 to 350° C. This residual degassing is assisted by the polymer being distributed in the apparatus so that a large mass transfer surface is formed and diffusion of the volatile components out of the polymer is thereby facilitated. This second stage is preferably carried out in a long-tube evaporator. In the long-tube evaporator, the polymer is forced through a perforated plate with a multiplicity of holes or via a manifold distributor which contains the requisite holes. A multiplicity of polymer strands is thereby produced. These slowly flow to the base of the apparatus and in the course of this procedure release the volatile constituents which are still present.
It has also been found that products with particularly bright colours can be obtained if the removal of volatile components from polymer solutions is effected in apparatuses in which the surfaces which come into contact with the product are made from materials which are low in iron. By means of this measure, the quality of the products obtained in prior art processes for removing volatile components from polymer solutions can also be improved.
Another aspect of the invention therefore relates to a process for removing volatile components from polymer solutions at temperatures above the boiling points of the volatile components and below the boiling or decomposition temperature of the polymer, characterised in that all the surfaces of the apparatus by means of which the process is carried out which come into contact with the polymer solution, with the polymer or with the volatile components consist of a material which contains less than 10% by weight iron. In this respect, it is of course possible to fabricate all parts of the apparatus which come into contact with the product from said low-iron material. However, the apparatuses preferably comprise only one low-iron surface. e.g. a coating of low-iron material, and underneath that are fabricated from conventional iron or steel.
Examples of low-iron materials in the sense of the present invention include alloy 59 (2.4605), inconel 686 (2.4606), alloy B-2, alloy B-3, alloy B-4, hastelloy C-22, hastelloy C-276, hastelloy C-4 or tantalum. Alloy 59 is preferably used.
The process according to the invention can be used for removing volatile components from solutions of thermoplastic polymers, elastomers, silicone polymers, lubricants of high molecular weight, and similar substances. However, it is preferably employed for solutions of thermoplastic polymers, for example polystyrene, polyphenylene, polyurethane, polyamide, polyester, polyacrylate, polymethacrylate and copolymers thereof. The process according to the invention is particularly for removing volatile components from polycarbonate solutions.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
A solution containing 75% by weight polycarbonate, 24% by weight chlorobenzene and 1% by weight methylene chloride was forced into the channels of a heat exchanger at a pressure of 3 bar: abs. and was heated to 300° C. there. The heat exchanger had 100 channels with a length of 330 mm, which had a diameter of 16 mm at the inlet, and which widened at first linearly to a diameter of 34 mm over a length of 200 mm and which subsequently widened parabolically to 104 mm at the outlet. The pressure downstream of the channels was 40 mbar abs. The dwell time of the polycarbonate solution in the channels was 100 seconds. The polycarbonate was collected at the base of the heat exchanger; its chlorobenzene content was 1500 ppm. The polycarbonate solution was then pumped into a long-tube evaporator, distributed over the perforated base thereof, and was forced at a pressure of 40 bar abs. through 1000 holes of diameter 1 mm, so that a multiplicity of strands 6 m long was formed. At a pressure of 1 mbar abs. and a temperature of 300° C. the residual concentration of solvent in the polycarbonate was reduced to 20 ppm chlorobenzene. All parts of the installation which came into contact with the product were fabricated from alloy 59. The degassed polycarbonate had a Yellowness Index (YI, measured according to ASTM D 1925) of 2.3.
Example 2
This test was performed analogously to example 1, except that the parts of the installation which came into contact with the product were fabricated from high-iron steel (1.4571). The same residual content of solvent was achieved as in Example 1, but the polycarbonate which was obtained had a YI>10. | A method for removing volatile components from polymer solutions is disclosed. The method, yielding products having low content of residual volatile components and causing no thermal damage to the polymer, entails using apparatuses in which surfaces which come into contact with the product are made from materials which are low in iron content. | 8 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is related and claims priority of Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/327,353 filed Apr. 23, 2010.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention generally relates to frame looms and, more specifically, to a kit for a modular adjustable frame hand loom suitable for knitting and weaving yarns.
[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0005] Knitting and weaving have long been popular hobbies and a large variety of items can be made on a loom in the form of a frame generally having a shape corresponding to the article to be made. A typical loom includes pegs that project from the frame around which the yarn is looped in various ways, such as running back and forth between opposite sides of the frame. However, there are limitations associated with frame-knitting devices characterized by the prior art. Typically, loops of yarn are attached or looped about the pegs and, depending on the spacing between the pegs it may be difficult to manipulate the loops. Circular frames, for example, are normally used for knit tubular fabrics. However, in order to knit material of different sizes and shapes many frames of different sizes are required.
[0006] One example of a generally fixed frame loom is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. D563,977 for a long knitting loom. A similar knitting loom is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,506,524. To overcome the deficiencies or disadvantages of a fixed frame loom, one or more cross-bridges are disclosed in the last-mentioned patent that are connected to the base structure and traverse two parallel spaced bars. By including such cross-bridges at selected locations the loom can provide additional pins between the parallel bars to effectively change the longitudinal length of the frame along its length direction. Such cross-bridges are intended to configure the loom to produce different working lengths and a circular knit having a diameter smaller than the effective length of the overall loom.
[0007] A fixed frame loom is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,229 that provides rows of pins on opposite sides of a slot. The pins are integrally molded in a replaceable insert member that may be removed from the frame of the device and replaced by another insert member that has pins that are spaced differently, of different diameters, or perhaps different elastic characteristics. However, the general configuration and size of the frame remains fixed.
[0008] In order to overcome some of the disadvantages associated with fixed frame looms, various adjustable frame looms have been proposed. An early example of such an adjustable loom is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,072,668 in which a pair of bars is provided with traverse holes to receive threaded bolts. Each bolt is equipped with a wing nut, springs being disposed on the bolts between the bars to normally urge the bars apart to the extent permitted by the adjustable wing nuts. By using such a construction, there is a limited ability to separate the bars and increase the distance between the pins on which the yarn is looped around. A similar knitting device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,237,733 in which spacing washers are disposed on the bolts between the bars for providing a predetermined distance or spacing of the slot for a desired width of the fabric to be knitted.
[0009] An early adjustable hand weaving frame loom is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,433,307. However, while this loom is constructed so that modular sections can be arranged end-to-end and formed into various polygonal shapes or sizes, the sections are held together by two spaced bores on one section and aligned pins on another mating section. However, there is no locking feature that maintains the connected sections connected to each other, and pulling one section of the frame relative to the other could separate the sections from each other.
[0010] An adjustable loom disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,372 includes upper and lower rails with elongated slots and left and right hand rails with tongues at their ends that are adjustably receivable in elongated slots of the upper and lower rails. Each of the rails has a row of openings that are equally spaced from each other and headed pins are received in desired openings. The pins that are received in the intermediate rails are longer than those that are mounted on the other rails so that the tops of all the pins lie in the same plane. Separate corner posts must be used, however, to secure the rails together in their adjusted positions. The corner post may be used to adjust the trimmer in which the loom is adjusted for knitting articles of different sizes but cannot serve as pegs for looping yarn. The loom may also be disassembled for storage.
[0011] A manual knitting frame is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,467 that consists of two parallel bars held apart to create a relatively narrow slot between them. Each bar carries a row of spaced upright pins on which yarn may be looped during knitting. To vary and standardize the length of the stitches an adjustable member is provided for spacing the bars apart for any one of several fixed but selectable distances. A stitch selector is provided for this purpose that has a series of notches that can be engaged with a fixed detent.
[0012] Another knitting frame formed of two parallel bars that are adjustably spaced from each other is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,063. However, to adjust the spacing between the elongated members rods pass through the bars, some of which are threaded and carry rotating knobs used for adjustments. The frame is bulky and costly to produce and not intended to be assembled or disassembled by the user.
[0013] A handloom construction that utilizes separate pieces or modules is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,245. The construction contemplates the use of end-to-end frame modules. Connection of modules utilizes an additional pin that serves both as a pin unit spacing of both connected modules. However, in order to lock and retain the geometry of a selected or desired frame configuration special fasteners must be used at the ends of the modules. Failure to adequately tighten them may result in shifting of connected modules relative to one another and, therefore, modification of the desired frame geometry.
[0014] A weaving loom is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,040 that includes a plurality of interchangeable sections that together form a loom frame. The sections are separately connected together end-to-end. However, the loom employs a tab and slot construction at the butting ends that not only prevents them from being pulled apart axially but allows the sections to be disconnected when one section is twisted downwardly relative to the other section. Therefore, by placing undesired stresses on the loom or loom sections the sections may inadvertently separate. Additionally, because of the manner in which connected sections are disconnected from each other, requiring twisting of the elements relative to each other, this loom is less convenient and less easy to use since improper twisting may prevent quick or simple disassembly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0015] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a modular adjustable frame hand loom that overcomes the disadvantages inherent in prior art hand looms.
[0016] It is another object of the invention to provide a modular adjustable frame hand loom that is simple in construction and economical to manufacture.
[0017] It is still another object of the invention to provide a hand loom that is modular and adjustable to selectively provide numerous loom configurations, including square, rectangular, oval and circular suitable for knitting or weaving.
[0018] It is yet another object of the invention to provide a hand loom having bars provided with indexed holes and correspondingly configured leg portions on pegs or pins so that the pegs or pins can only be inserted on the bars of the loom with an orientation to outwardly expose elongate axial recesses or guides for guiding needle ends along the external surfaces of the shanks of the pins or pegs.
[0019] It is a further object of the invention to provide a hand loom that includes different sized pegs that can be selectively inserted into the bars forming the loom for accommodation of different weight yarns.
[0020] It is still a further object of the invention to provide pegs or pins that are color coded to facilitate marking and looping of yarns to create desired patterns.
[0021] It is an additional object of the invention to provide a hand loom that is simple and quick to assemble into a desired shape or configuration and disassemble for storage.
[0022] It is still an additional object of the invention to provide a hand loom as in the previous object in which end pegs or pins on each linear bar of the loom can be inserted into lined holes on matting tenon and mortise—type elements to lock associated or connected loom linear members or bars to prevent a situation of a loom after it has been assembled.
[0023] It is yet an additional object of the invention to provide a hand loom of the type under discussion that allows for modification not only of the size of the selected loom but also the geometrical configuration thereof.
[0024] It is also another object of the invention to provide a kit that includes all component parts packaged together for retail sale to consumers in non-assembled form that allows the consumer to achieve the above mentioned objects.
[0025] It is also a further object of the invention to provide a method of assembling a modular adjustable frame hand loom of the type suggested in the above objects.
[0026] In order to achieve above objects, as well the others that will become here and after, a modular adjustable frame hand loom comprises a plurality of generally elongated sections each of which defines an upper surface and opposing first and second ends. Connecting means are provided for connecting said sections to form a closed frame by connecting a section with two other joining sections in end-to-end abutment by joining a first end of one section with the second end of another joining section. Such connecting means comprises a tenon type axial tab at each first end and a mortise type axial channel at each second end to provide a sliding joint between each two adjoining sections by inserting an axial tab of one section into an axial channel of the adjoining section to provide a stable joint that substantially prevents relative movements between two adjoining sections except along the direction of insertion of said axial tab into said axial channel. Each of said sections is provided with a top surface in said axial tab with a series of substantially uniformly spaced holes or bores, each having an axis substantially normal to said top surface. Holes or bores are arranged on the tabs and coextensive over the channels to align end-most holes or bores at said second ends with said holes or bores in said axial tabs, at said first ends, when said axial tabs are fully slidably inserted and mated with associated axial channels. A plurality of pegs or pins are provided and dimensioned to be securely received within a hole or bore of one of said sections. Said pegs or pins are dimensioned to be received within said aligned holes or bores at both said second ends and within said tabs at said first ends at each slip joint. In this manner, said pegs or pins inserted into said bores or holes at said second ends and into said holes or bores in said tabs at said first ends function as lock pegs to both secure yarn during knitting as well as to lock said axial tabs from separating from mating axial channels against movements along said direction of insertion. By providing a non-circular cross sectional shape to the legs of the pegs or pins into correspondingly shaped holes in said upper surface, the pins are indexed to always be oriented in a direction to outwardly expose vertical or longitudinal channels or grooves on the pegs to guide the tips or needles or hooks thereby facilitating the gripping of yarns during knitting or weaving. A modular adjustable frame hand loom kit is also disclosed that consists of an assembly of components packaged together for retail sales to consumers in a non-assembled form which comprises a plurality of differently configured and sized bars to allow a user to quickly and simply assemble differently shaped looms, including rectangular, square, oval and circular and also change sizes of some of these looms to accommodate the yarn being used and the nature of the product to be created. The kit also includes differently sized pegs or pins. The pegs or pins may be color coded to facilitate marking of yarns and facilitate the creation of intricate designs. All of the component parts of the kit are housed within an insert in the box that organizes the various component parts, including knitting needles and a weaving tool, so that a user has everything that is needed or required to create different crafted products and for storing parts after they have been disassembled for storage and future use.
[0027] A method of assembling of a modular adjustable frame hand loom in accordance with the invention involves connecting different loom bars or elements in end-to-end abutment by inserting the tabs or tenons on first ends of these bars into holes, channels or mortises at the other ends of matting associated bars. Locking pins are inserted into holes that are aligned in both the mortise portions and the tab portions that mate with one another. Such locking pins also serve for looping of yarn but also prevent loom bars or components from separating after they have been assembled. The remaining pegs or pins may be inserted into the other uniformly spaced holes on each of the loom bars or elements before or after the loom is assembled and ready for use.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] Those skilled in the art will appreciate the improvements and advantages that derive from the present invention upon reading the following detailed description, claims, and drawings, in which:
[0029] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a kit of a modular adjustable frame hand loom, showing the various components packaged together in a non-fully assembled form for retail sale to consumers;
[0030] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the kit shown in FIG. 1 , with all of the components received within a molded insert or tray as packaged within a box that is closed when sold at retail;
[0031] FIG. 3 a is a perspective view of a larger peg or pin that forms part of the kit and is used in connection with the adjustable hand loom of the present invention;
[0032] FIG. 3 b is a perspective view of a smaller peg or pin forming part of the kit and used in connection with the adjustable loom;
[0033] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a loom using the components of the kit shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to create an elongated loom frame, shown in partially disassembled form with one component or element of the kit in a position for completing or closing the frame;
[0034] FIG. 5 is a fragmented perspective view similar to FIG. 4 but illustrating a generally oval frame construction obtainable with the components of the kit, showing two butting or associated components or bars aligned in a position for final assembly;
[0035] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view similar to FIGS. 4 and 5 but using components of the kit to form a generally rectangular handloom frame;
[0036] FIG. 7 a and FIG. 7 b are top plan and side elevational views, respectfully, of an L-shaped bar forming part of the kit;
[0037] FIGS. 8 a - 8 g are perspective, elevational, plan and cross-sectional views of a U-shaped bar forming part of the kit;
[0038] FIGS. 9 a - 9 f are perspective, elevational, plan and cross-sectional views of a short bar forming part of the kit;
[0039] FIGS. 10 a - 10 d are similar to FIGS. 9 a - 9 f but showing details of a medium-sized bar forming part of the kit;
[0040] Figs. 11 a - 11 d are similar to FIGS. 10 a - 10 d but showing details of a long bar forming part of the kit; and
[0041] FIGS. 12 a - 12 f are perspective, plan, elevational and cross-sectional views of an arcuate bar forming part of the kit.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0042] Referring now more specifically to the Figures, in which identical or similar parts are designated by the same reference numerals throughout, and first referring to FIG. 1 , a kit for a modular adjustable frame hand loom is generally designated by the reference numeral 10 .
[0043] The kit 10 includes a plurality of components or items that are packaged together for retail sale to consumers in a non-assembled form.
[0044] The kit 10 includes a box, carton or container 12 having a generally shallow rectangular receptacle 12 a and a cover 12 b, part of which has been removed for illustrative purposes, that is hinged about edge 12 c for selectively exposing the receptacle 12 a as shown or for closing the box and securing the components therein.
[0045] A tray or insert 13 is molded to generally conform to the interior space or compartment of the receptacle 12 a so that it can be received therein with little clearance for the lateral movements. The insert or tray 13 includes recesses 13 a - 13 g accessible from the upper surface of the tray, as shown, to securely receive a plurality of kit components to prevent same from shifting within the box 12 .
[0046] As will be more fully discussed, the loom kit includes a plurality of elongate sections, including long bars 14 , medium bars 16 , short bars 18 , L-bars 20 , U-bars 22 and arcuate or semicircular bars 23 . While different numbers of bars may be provided in differently sized kits, the kit illustrated includes two long bars 14 , four medium bars 16 , four short bars 18 , four L-bars 20 , two U-bars and two arcuate or semicircular bars 23 .
[0047] Also included in the kit are four pouches or bags of pegs. A first bag includes 166 small pegs 28 , a second bag includes 86 large pegs 30 , a further bag includes 41 small pegs and a still further bag includes 20 large pegs. Preferably, the pegs 28 , 30 , 32 , 34 are provided in different colors. In the illustrated kit, the pegs 28 are blue, the pegs 30 are pink, the pegs 32 are orange and the pegs 34 are grey. By providing small and large pegs, to be more fully described, and color coding these pegs, the pegs can be arranged to facilitate the use of the loom and avoid the need to mark certain pegs for certain knitting operations.
[0048] A weaving tool 38 is provided in the kit that includes a hook 38 a at one end and a yarn pusher or manipulator 38 b at the other end. Different size needles are advantageously provided including two long needles 40 , two medium needles 42 and two short needles 44 . Also, included in the kit 10 is an L-shaped hook 36 that included a handle 36 a and an L-shaped or right angle hook 36 b.
[0049] In FIG. 2 , the above described components are illustrated within the box 12 as the kit is configured at the point of purchase, and also as kit components would be arranged when the kit is dissembled and placed back in the box and within the tray 13 for storage. All of the components mentioned are received within mating recesses except for the pegs and the needles which are placed in the box prior to insertion of the tray 13 in the box and, therefore, are situated below the tray. These are partially visible through the transparent tray in FIG. 2 .
[0050] Referring to FIG. 2 , each of the bars 14 , 16 , 18 , 20 , 22 and 23 include the plurality of the crescent-shaped holes or apertures 46 that are uniformly spaced from each other along the longitudinal directions of the bars. The specific shapes or cross sectional areas of the holes 46 are not critical as long as these holes are not circular. Any hole configurations may be used as long as it defines unique directions for the pins or pegs when inserted into the holes. Referring to FIG. 2 , the arcuate or semi-circular bar 23 is shown to define a normal direction N that is perpendicular to the general longitudinal direction of the bar. The holes 46 , as will be clear from the description of FIGS. 3 a , 3 b , ensure that the pegs are always arranged with a certain grooved or notched surface of the pegs always facing outwardly in the normal direction N at each hole position on the bars.
[0051] Referring to FIG. 3 a , a perspective view is shown of the large pegs 30 , 34 . The pegs 30 , 34 include a shank 30 a, 34 a, a foot 30 b, 34 b, at one end of the shank configured to be received and mate with the crescent-shaped holes 46 . A head 30 d, 34 d is provided at the other end as shown. The foot 30 b, 34 b may either be solid and have a cross section corresponding to the cross section of the holes 46 or may, preferably, be split to provide a gap or space 30 c, 34 c as shown. The legs 30 b, 34 b may be press fit into the holes 36 with or without the split 30 c, 34 c. However, when split the legs provide some additional resiliency to facilitate insertion and removal of the pegs from the bars. The legs, in the described embodiment, are 10.8 mm high along the axial or right direction of the pegs, while the entire pegs are 38.5 mm. The height of the peg without the head is 33.5 mm. The diameter of the shank 30 a, 34 a is 6.6 mm while the maximum dimension of the foot 30 b, 34 b is 4.76 mm. The shanks 30 a, 34 a are provided with axial recesses, groves or channels 30 e, 34 e on the exterior surface as shown that serve as guides for the points of hooks or needles to facilitate and increase the sped of engaging the looped yarns. Referring to FIG. 3 b , the smaller pegs 28 , 32 have a shank 28 a, 32 a that it is of substantially uniform cross section and may or may not be provided at the lower end with a split or gap 28 b, 32 b shown. As with the larger pegs, the smaller pegs also have a head 28 c, 32 c at the opposite or upper end. The shorter pegs are likewise provided with axial recesses, grooves or channels 28 d, 32 d as shown, which can also conform the cross-section of the crescent-shaped holes 46 so that the pegs need not to be stepped. The smaller pegs are somewhat shorter at 36.2 mm, while the height of the shank 28 a, 32 a is 31.2 mm. The maximum dimension of the shank 28 a, 32 a of the shorter pegs is 4.76 mm—the same as that dimension for the larger pegs since in both cases the lower ends of the pegs must be received within the same crescent shaped holes 46 . Therefore, while the shorter pegs have a shank with a cross section that substantially corresponds to the cross sections of the holes 46 only the lower part of the larger pegs 30 , 34 have such cross section and the peg is stepped to a large diameter, as shown, above the insertion portion up to the head 30 d, 34 d . The two different size pegs are used to provide added versatility or flexibility to people who use the loom for knitting or weaving. While the person using the loom generally decides what pegs to use, and the spacing of the pegs, for any given application, it is typical that the smaller sized pegs 28 , 32 would generally be used for lighter weight yams, while the larger pegs are more appropriate for heavier weight yarns. Thus, for example, the smaller pegs may be used with the following yarn categories: lace, superfine, fine and light, while the larger pegs can be used with yarn categories: medium, bulky and super bulky. This generally follows the recommended U.S. needle size ranges 000-7, and 7 to −11 larger needles, respectively.
[0052] Numerous fixed loom configurations can be formed with the elements or components making up the kit and some of these will now be described. Referring to FIG. 4 a generally elongate frame loom is shown in a condition of near full assembly. Loom 47 a is formed of two long bars 14 , joined or secured to each other at their ends by means of two U-shaped bars 22 . In FIG. 4 one of the U-shaped bars is shown connected to the long bars 14 while the other U-shaped bar 22 is shown positioned just prior to full assembly of the loom or just after disassembly of the first part of the loom for storage.
[0053] In FIG. 4 , all of the bars, irrespective of their shape or configuration are provided with two free ends one of which is provided with an axial tab or tenon T, while the opposing end is provided with a channel or mortise M dimensioned and configured to slidably receive the tabs T. In assembling a loom the tabs at one end of a bar is mated with a channel M of an associated bar. An important feature of the invention is the provision of holes 46 a on the tabs or tenons T that are equally spaced from the next hole as are all of the uniformly spaced holes from each other and holes 46 b are likewise provided at the channel or mortise ends M that are aligned with the holes 46 a when the tabs T are fully inserted into the channels M. In this way, a pin or peg that passes through the aligned holes 46 a , 46 b has a dual function, namely serving as a peg or pin for looping yarn but also as a locking peg to prevent inadvertent separation of two bars from each other by inadvertent separation of a tab T from an associated channel M.
[0054] Referring to FIG. 5 , another possible configuration for a loom is shown and designated by the reference numeral 47 b. In FIG. 5 , a generally oval shaped loom is shown in which only a portion of the loom is illustrated and the rest is broken away. As with the loom 47 a, loom 47 b may be formed by using two long bars 14 . However, instead of utilizing a U-shaped bar 22 arcuate or semi circular bars 23 are used. This provides rounded ends but also increases the space separation between the long bars. As evident from the pins 30 , 34 , in particular the pin that is aligned to be inserted but not yet inserted into the bars the shanks are stepped to provide a smaller diameter and that is receivable within the aligned holes 46 a, 46 b, while the upper portions of the shank are of larger diameter. Other configurations can be created as suggested in FIG. 6 in which one U-shaped bar 22 is shown in the process of being assembled with two L-shaped bars 20 . As will be more evident in connection with FIGS. 7 a , 7 b the tabs or tenons T are preferably tapered as shown and the channels or mortises M are similarly tapered to facilitate insertion and assembly of the looms. Locking pegs are inserted into the aligned holes 46 a, 46 b after the bars have been mated and fully inserted into abutting relationship against each other. The remaining non-locking pegs or pins can be inserted either prior or subsequent to assembly of the frame into the desired geometrical configuration.
[0055] Some additional details of the described bars will now be discussed in relation to FIGS. 7 a - 12 f. In FIGS. 7 a , 7 b the L-shaped bar 20 is shown to have two legs 20 a, 20 b normal to each other, and a top surface S. The leg 20 a has an end surface 20 f while the leg 20 b has an end surface 20 g. The tab T projects beyond the end surface 20 f. An optional cutout 48 , as shown, extends into the leg 20 b, while a protuberance or projection 50 projects beyond the end surface 20 f. The protuberance or projection 50 corresponds to the shape of the cutout 48 so that a protuberance or projection 50 can be received within a cutout 48 of a cooperating bar. As will be evident, the end most holes 46 a on the tabs T and the holes 46 b over the mortises M are spaced to correspond to the spacing of the other holes to each other, being 9.52 mm from the respective ends or butting surfaces 20 f, 20 g . This way, once two adjacent bars are mated and locked to each other by means of locking pegs or pins, the holes 46 a, 46 b and the locking pegs mounted therein merely form part of a continuum of uniformly spaced pegs along the assembled loom.
[0056] The remaining details of the other shaped bars should be evident from the description of the L-shaped bar shown in FIGS. 7 a , 7 b , as all of these bars share basic common features, namely overall cross-sectional configurations, the spacing of the holes 46 for the pegs, the cutouts 48 and the projections 50 . Thus, in FIGS. 8 a - 8 g details of the U-shaped bars 22 are shown, each consisting of legs 22 a, 22 b and 22 c. As with the L-shaped bar tabs T and channels M are provided at the free ends 20 g, 20 f, the spacing between the holes 46 on the legs 22 a, 22 b being 41.28 mm to form a loom, when connected with straight bars, having a maximum thickness dimension of 63.5 mm.
[0057] FIGS. 9 a - 9 g are generally similar to FIGS. 8 a - 8 g but illustrate the details of the short bars 18 . While the U-shaped bars in FIGS. 8 a - 8 g are only provided with holes 46 on the top surface S, shown in FIGS. 8 b , 8 e and 8 f , the straight bars illustrate another optional feature, namely the removal of molding material between the holes 46 . Thus, optional holes 52 are illustrated in FIGS. 9 b , 9 e and 9 g that open on the opposing or bottom surface B from the top surface S. Provision of the optional holes 52 eliminates material and therefore renders the bars less costly to manufacture and also results in lighter bars, and an assembled loom that weights less. It will be noted that the shorter bars typical have an overall length of 72.9 mm while the other dimensions generally correspond to those of the U-shaped bars 22 .
[0058] FIGS. 10 a - 10 f are generally similar to FIGS. 9 a - 9 f for the medium bars 16 . These bars are also shown to be provided with the optional holes 52 , although the overall length of these bars is 130 mm. Similarly, FIGS. 11 a - 11 e are generally similar to the Figures shown for the short and medium bars but indicate that the long bars 14 are 342.9 mm long between the end surfaces 20 f, 20 g.
[0059] FIGS. 12 a - 12 f are generally similar to the Figures illustrating the straight bars 14 , 16 , 18 although the bars 23 are arcuate and have a semi-circular shape. The inner and the outer diameters are 73 and 95.3 mm, respectively. Otherwise, the bars are provided with the optional holes 52 , which holes are generally provided in the longer kit members result in elimination of material and weight reduction. Smaller components, such as the L-shaped and U-shaped bars 20 , 22 need not generally be provided with the optional holes 52 as these components are generally small and light weight.
[0060] It will be evident that the kit 10 in accordance with the present invention makes it possible to easily assemble and disassemble selected components to provide a fixed frame hand loom that conforms to the size and shape desired for a given operation and size of resulting product. Thus, the sections or bars 14 , 16 , 18 , 20 , 22 and 23 can be assembled to form, for example, a round loom, weaving loom, rake loom, and floret loom. The pegs or pins are not integrally formed with the bars. This allows the pins to serve multiple functions as indicated, to lock and secure the bars to each other in an assembled loom. However, this also allows the appropriate pegs to be used for different applications. Smaller or larger pegs may be used to match the weights of the yarns and the pegs can also be color coded to facilitate in the knitting or weaving operations. Also, by having pegs that can be easily inserted or removed from the bars, the looms have added flexibility or versatility since certain of the pegs may be removed so that pegs are only inserted into every other hole 46 , for example. This may be advantageous in certain operations.
[0061] When the user has completed a project, all the pegs, including the locking pegs may be removed and the bars may be easily and conveniently separated and replaced into the appropriate recesses of the insert or tray 13 within the box 12 so that all of the component parts remain organized and may be readily reused at a future date.
[0062] The looms in accordance with the invention can be used, once assembled, in the same ways as knitting and weaving has been done on prior art frame looms. Examples of how such looms are used are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,072,668; 3,967,467; 4,158,296 and 4,248,063.
[0063] 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. | An adjustable knitting and weaving hand loom includes differently shaped elongate sections. Tabs and channels connect the sections to form a closed frame by connecting adjoining sections in end-to-end abutment. The tabs and mating channels form sliding joints between adjoining sections. Each of the sections is provided with a series of substantially uniformly spaced holes or bores. End-most holes through the tabs and the channels are aligned when the axial tabs are fully slidably mated within associated axial channels. Pegs are dimensioned to be received both within aligned end-most holes at each slip joint and intermediate holes. The pegs are inserted into aligned end-most bores or holes function both to secure yarn during knitting and to lock the axial tabs from inadvertently separating from mating axial channels by movements along the direction of insertion. | 3 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to improvements in the wash durability and discoloration levels for fabrics having topically applied silver-ion treatments (such as ion-exchange compounds, like zirconium phosphates, glasses and/or zeolites). Such solid compounds are generally susceptible to discoloration and, due to the solid nature thereof, are typically easy to remove from topical surface applications. The inventive treatment requires the presence of a specific polyurethane binder, either as a silver-ion overcoat or as a component of a dye bath mixture admixed with the silver-ion antimicrobial compound. In addition, specific metal halide additives (preferably substantially free from sodium ions) are utilized to combat the discolorations typical of such silver-ion formulations. As a result, wash durability, discoloration levels, or both, can be improved to the extent that after a substantial number of standard launderings and dryings, the inventive treatment does not wear away in any appreciable amount and the color of the treatment remains substantially the same as when first applied. The particular treatment method, as well as the treated fabrics are also encompassed within this invention.
DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART
[0002] There has been a great deal of attention in recent years given to the hazards of bacterial contamination from potential everyday exposure. Noteworthy examples of such concern include the fatal consequences of food poisoning due to certain strains of Eschericia coli being found within undercooked beef in fast food restaurants; Salmonella contamination causing sicknesses from undercooked and unwashed poultry food products; and illnesses and skin infections attributed to Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, yeast, and other unicellular organisms. With such an increased consumer interest in this area, manufacturers have begun introducing antimicrobial agents within various household products and articles. For instance, certain brands of polypropylene cutting boards, liquid soaps, etc., all contain antimicrobial compounds. The most popular antimicrobial for such articles is triclosan. Although the incorporation of such a compound within liquid or polymeric media has been relatively simple, other substrates, including the surfaces of textiles and fibers, have proven less accessible. There is a long-felt need to provide effective, durable, and long-lasting antimicrobial characteristics for textile surfaces, in particular on apparel fabrics, and on film surfaces. Such proposed applications have been extremely difficult to accomplish with triclosan, particularly when wash durability is a necessity (triclosan easily washes off any such surfaces). Furthermore, although triclosan has proven effective as an antimicrobial compound, the presence of chlorines and chlorides within such a compound causes skin irritation which makes the utilization of such with fibers, films, and textile fabrics for apparel uses highly undesirable. Furthermore, there are commercially available textile products comprising acrylic and/or acetate fibers co-extruded with triclosan (for example Celanese markets such acetate fabrics under the name Microsafe™ and Acordis markets such acrylic fibers, either under the tradename Amicor™). However, such an application is limited to those types of fibers; it does not work specifically for and within polyester, polyamide, cotton, spandex, etc., fabrics. Furthermore, this co-extrusion procedure is very expensive.
[0003] Silver-containing inorganic microbiocides have recently been developed and utilized as antimicrobial agents on and within a plethora of different substrates and surfaces. In particular, such microbiocides have been adapted for incorporation within melt spun synthetic fibers, as taught within Japanese unexamined Patent Application No. H11-124729, in order to provide certain fabrics which selectively and inherently exhibit antimicrobial characteristics. Furthermore, attempts have been made to apply such specific microbiocides on the surfaces of fabrics and yarns with little success from a durability standpoint. A topical treatment with such compounds has never been successfully applied as a durable finish or coating on a fabric or yarn substrate. Although such silver-based agents provide excellent, durable, antimicrobial properties, to date such is the sole manner available within the prior art of providing a long-lasting, wash-resistant, silver-based antimicrobial textile. However, such melt spun fibers are expensive to make due to the large amount of silver-based compound required to provide sufficient antimicrobial activity in relation to the migratory characteristics of such a compound within the fiber itself to its surface. A topical coating is also desirable for textile and film applications, particularly after finishing of the target fabric or film. Such a topical procedure permits treatment of a fabric's individual fibers prior to or after weaving, knitting, and the like, in order to provide greater versatility to the target yarn without altering its physical characteristics. Such a coating, however, must prove to be wash durable, particularly for apparel fabrics, in order to be functionally acceptable. Furthermore, in order to avoid certain problems, it is highly desirable for such a metallized treatment to be electrically non-conductive on the target fabric, yarn, and/or film surface. With the presence of metals and metal ions, such a wash durable, non-electrically conductive coating has not been available in the past. Such an improvement would thus provide an important advancement within the textile, yarn, and film art. Although antimicrobial activity is one desired characteristic of the inventive metal-treated fabric, yarn, or film, this is not a required property of the inventive article. Odor-reduction, heat retention, distinct coloriations, reduced discolorations, improved yarn and/or fabric strength, resistance to sharp edges, etc., are all either individual or aggregate properties which may be accorded the user of such an inventive treated yarn, fabric, or film.
[0004] Furthermore, topical applications of silver-ion based compounds generally exhibit aesthetically displeasing discolorations due to oxidation of the silver-ions themselves. Typically, a variety of hues (from yellow to grey to black) are prominent during and after exposure to atmospheric conditions. Thus, there remains a need to provide improvements for such topical treatments as well. To date, the difficulties with discoloration have gone noticed but unremedied.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0005] It is thus an object of the invention to provide a simple manner of effectively treating a textile with a highly wash-durable antimicrobial silver-ion containing treatment. Another object of the invention is to provide an aesthetically pleasing metal-ion-treated textile which is highly wash durable, substantially non-discoloring, non-irritating to skin, and which provides antimicrobial and/or odor control properties.
[0006] Accordingly, this invention encompasses a non-electrically conductive fabric substrate having a surface, a portion of which is coated with a finish, wherein said finish comprises at least one silver-ion containing compound, a binder, and at least one halide-containing compound, wherein said halide-containing compound is present in an amount measured as a molar ratio between the amount of halide ions present and the amount of silver ions present, wherein said range is from 5:1 to 1:10, and wherein said finish is substantially free from alkali metal (such as, preferably, sodium, ions). Also encompassed within this invention is a fabric substrate having a surface, a portion of which is coated with a non-electrically conductive finish, wherein said finish comprises at least one silver-ion containing compound and a binder; wherein said treated fabric exhibits a silver-ion release retention level of at least 50%, with an initial amount of available silver ion of at least 1000 ppb, as measured by an artificial sweat comparison test, wherein said silver-ion release retention level is measured after at least 20 washes, said washes being performed in accordance with the wash procedure as part of AATCC Test Method 130-1981. Further encompassed by this invention is a fabric substrate having a surface, a portion of which is coated with a finish, wherein said finish comprises at least one silver-ion containing compound, a binder, and at least a 1:1 molar ratio of said silver-ion containing compound to halide ions, wherein said finish is substantially free from sodium ions.
[0007] Also encompassed within this invention is a fabric substrate having a surface, a portion of which is coated with a non-electrically conductive finish, wherein said finish comprises at least one silver-ion containing compound and a binder; wherein said treated fabric exhibits a color stabilization rate of at least 50% wherein said color stabilization rate is measured after at least 20 washes, said washes being performed in accordance with the wash procedure as part of AATCC Test Method 130-1981.
[0008] The wash durability test noted above is standard and, as will be well appreciated by one of ordinary skill in this art, is not intended to be a required or limitation within this invention. Such a test method merely provides a standard which, upon 10 washes in accordance with such, the inventive treated substrate will not lose an appreciable amount of its electrically non-conductive metal finish.
[0009] Nowhere within the prior art has such a specific treated substrate or method of making thereof been disclosed, utilized, or fairly suggested. The closest art is a product marketed under the tradename X-STATIC® which is a fabric article electrolessly plated with a silver coating. Such a fabric is highly electrically conductive and is utilized for static charge dissipation. Also, the coating alternatively exists as a removable silver powder finish on a variety of surfaces. The aforementioned Japanese patent publication to Kuraray is limited to fibers within which a silver-based compound has been incorporated through melt spun fiber techniques. Nowhere has such a wash-durable topical treatment as now claimed been mentioned or alluded to.
[0010] Any fabric may be utilized as the substrate within this application. Thus, natural (cotton, wool, and the like) or synthetic fibers (polyesters, polyamides, polyolefins, and the like) may constitute the target substrate, either by itself or in any combinations or mixtures of synthetics, naturals, or blends or both types. As for the synthetic types, for instance, and without intending any limitations therein, polyolefins, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and polybutylene, halogenated polymers, such as polyvinyl chloride, polyesters, such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyester/polyethers, polyamides, such as nylon 6 and nylon 6,6, polyurethanes, as well as homopolymers, copolymers, or terpolymers in any combination of such monomers, and the like, may be utilized within this invention. Nylon 6, Nylon 6,6, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate (a polyester) are particularly preferred. Additionally, the target fabric may be coated with any number of different films, including those listed in greater detail below. Furthermore, the substrate may be dyed or colored to provide other aesthetic features for the end user with any type of colorant, such as, for example, poly(oxyalkylenated) colorants, as well as pigments, dyes, tints, and the like. Other additives may also be present on and/or within the target fabric or yarn, including antistatic agents, brightening compounds, nucleating agents, antioxidants, UV stabilizers, fillers, permanent press finishes, softeners, lubricants, curing accelerators, and the like. Particularly desired as optional and supplemental finishes to the inventive fabrics are soil release agents which improve the wettability and washability of the fabric. Preferred soil release agents include those which provide hydrophilicity to the surface of polyester. With such a modified surface, again, the fabric imparts improved comfort to a wearer by wicking moisture. The preferred soil release agents contemplated within this invention may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,377,249; 3,540,835; 3,563,795; 3,574,620; 3,598,641; 3,620,826; 3,632,420; 3,649,165; 3,650,801; 3,652,212; 3,660,010; 3,676,052; 3,690,942; 3,897,206; 3,981,807; 3,625,754; 4,014,857; 4,073,993; 4,090,844; 4,131,550; 4,164,392; 4,168,954; 4,207,071; 4,290,765; 4,068,035; 4,427,557; and 4,937,277. These patents are accordingly incorporated herein by reference. Additionally, other potential additives and/or finishes may include water repellent fluorocarbons and their derivatives, silicones, waxes, and other similar water-proofing materials.
[0011] The particular treatment must comprise at least one type of silver-ion containing compounds, or mixtures thereof of different types. The term silver-ion containing compounds encompasses compounds which are either ion-exchange resins, zeolites, or, possibly substituted glass compounds (which release the particular metal ion bonded thereto upon the presence of other anionic species). The preferred silver-ion containing compound for this invention is an antimicrobial silver zirconium phosphate available from Milliken & Company, under the tradename ALPHASAN®. Other potentially preferred silver-containing antimicrobials in this invention is a silver zeolite, such as those available from Sinanen under the tradename ZEOMIC® AJ, or a silver glass, such as those available from Ishizuka Glass under the tradename IONPURE®, may be utilized either in addition to or as a substitute for the preferred species. Generally, such a metal compound is added in an amount of from about 0.01 to about 40% by total weight of the particular treatment composition; more preferably from about 0.05 to about 30%; and most preferably from about 0.1 to about 30%. Preferably this metal compound is present in an amount of from about 0.01 to about 5% owf, preferably from about 0.05 to about 3% owf, more preferably from about 0.1 to about 2% owf, and most preferably about 1.0% owf. The treatment itself, including any necessary binders, leveling agents, adherents, thickeners, and the like, is added to the substrate in an amount of about 0.01 to about 10% owf. Of particular interest are anti-soil redeposition polymers, such as certain ethoxylated polyesters PD-92 and DA-50, both available from Milliken & Company, or Milease®, available from Clariant.
[0012] The binder material, although optional in some embodiments, does provide highly beneficial durability for the inventive yarns. Preferably, this component is a polyurethane-based binding agent, although other types, such as a permanent press type resin or an acrylic type resin, may also be utilized in combination, particularly, with the halide ion additive for discoloration reduction. In essence, such resins provide washfastness by adhering silver to the target yarn and/or fabric surface, with the polyurethane exhibiting the best overall performance for wash durability results.
[0013] The selected substrate may be any fabric comprising individual fibers or yarns of any typical source for utilization within fabrics, including natural fibers (cotton, wool, ramie, hemp, linen, and the like), synthetic fibers (polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, polyaramids, acetates, rayon, acylics, and the like), and inorganic fibers (fiberglass, boron fibers, and the like). The yarn or fiber may be of any denier, may be of multi- or mono-filament, may be false-twisted or twisted, or may incorporate multiple denier fibers or filaments into one single yarn through twisting, melting, and the like. The target fabrics may be produced of the same types of yarns discussed above, including any blends thereof. Such fabrics may be of any standard construction, including knit, woven, or non-woven forms. The inventive fabrics may be utilized in any suitable application, including, without limitation, apparel, upholstery, bedding, wiping cloths, towels, gloves, rugs, floor mats, drapery, napery, bar runners, textile bags, awnings, vehicle covers, boat covers, tents, and the like. The inventive fabric may also be coated, printed, colored, dyed, and the like.
[0014] The preferred procedures utilizing silver-ion containing compounds, such as either ALPHASAN®, ZEOMIC®, or IONPURE® as preferred compounds (although any similar types of compounds which provide silver ions may also be utilized), exhausted on the target fabric or film surface and then overcoated with a binder resin. Alternatively, the silver-ion containing compound may be admixed with a binder within a dye bath, into which the target fabric is then immersed at elevated temperatures (i.e., above about 50° C.).
[0015] In terms of wash durability, such a procedure was developed through an initial attempt at understanding the ability of such metal-ion containing compounds to attach to a fabric surface. Thus, a sample of ALPHASAN® was first exhausted from a dye bath on to a target polyester fabric surface. The treated fabric exhibited excellent log kill rate characteristics; however, upon washing in a standard laundry method (AATCC Test Method 130-1981, for instance), the antimicrobial activity was drastically reduced. Such promising initial results led to the inventive wash-durable antimicrobial treatment wherein the desired metal-ion containing compound would be admixed or overcoated with a binder resin on the target fabric surface. It was initially determined that proper binder resins could be selected from the group consisting of nonionic permanent press binders (i.e., cross-linked adhesion promotion compounds, including, without limitation, cross-linked imidazolidinones, available from Sequa under the tradename Permafresh®) or slightly anionic binders (including, without limitation, acrylics, such as Rhoplex® TR3082 from Rohm & Haas). Other nonionics and slightly anionics were also possible, including melamine formaldehyde, melamine urea, ethoxylated polyesters (such as Lubril QCX™, available from Rhodia), and the like. However, it was found that the wash durability of such treated fabrics (in terms of silver-ion retention, at least) was limited. It was determined that greater durability was required for this type of application. Thus, these prior comparative treatments were measured against various other types. In the end, it was discovered that certain polyurethane binders (such as Witcobond® from Crompton Corporation) and acrylic binders (such as Hystretch® from BFGoodrich) permitted the best overall wash durability to the solid silver-ion compound adhesion to the target fabric surfaces, as discussed in greater detail below.
[0016] Within the particular topical application procedures, the initial exhaustion of the silver-ion compound (preferably, ALPHASAN®) is thus preferably followed by a thin coating of polyurethane-based binder resin to provide the desired wash durability characteristics for the metal-based particle treatment. With such specific polyurethane-based binder materials utilized, the antimicrobial characteristics of the treated fabric remained very effective for the fabric even after as many as ten standard laundering procedures.
[0017] Also possible, though less effective as compared to the aforementioned binder resin overcoat, but still an acceptable method of providing a wash-durable antimicrobial metal-treated fabric surface, is the application of a silver-ion containing compound/polyurethane-based binder resin from a dye bath mixture. The exhaustion of such a combination is less efficacious from an antimicrobial activity standpoint than the other overcoat, but, again, still provides a wash-durable treatment with acceptable antimicrobial benefits. In actuality, this mixture of compound/resin may be applied through spraying, dipping, padding, and the like.
[0018] In terms of discoloration, it was noticed that silver-ion topical treatments were susceptible to yellowing, browning, graying, and, possibly, blacking after exposure to atmospheric conditions. As silver ions are generally highly reactive with free anions, and most anions that react with silver ions produce color, a manner of curtailing if not outright preventing problematic color generation upon silver ion interactions with free anionic species, particularly within dye bath liquids, was required. Thus, it was theorized that inclusion of an additive that was non-discoloring itself, would not react deleteriously with the binder and/or silver-ion compound, and would, apparently, and without being bound to any specific scientific theory, react in such a manner as to provide a colorless salt with silver ions, was highly desired. Halide ions, such as from metal halides (magnesium chloride, for example) or hydrohalic acids (HCl for example) provide such results, apparently, with the exception that the presence of sodium ions (which are of the same valence as silver ions, and compete with silver ions for reaction with halide ions) should be avoided, since such components prevent the production of colorless silver halides, leaving the free silver ions the ability to react thereafter with undesirable anions. Thus, the presence of such monovalent sodium ions (as well as other monovalent alkali metal ions, such as potassium, cesium, and lithium, at times) does not provide the requisite level of discoloration reduction to the degree needed. In general, amounts of 1000 ppm or greater of sodium ions within the finish composition, particularly within the solvent (water, for example) are deleterious to the discoloration prevention of the inventive topically applied treatments. Thus, this threshold amount is encompassed by the term “substantially free from sodium ions” as it pertains to this invention. Furthermore, the bivalent or trivalent (and some monovalent) metal halide counteracts some effects of sodium ion exposure if present in a sufficient amount within the finish composition. Thus, higher amounts of sodium or like alkali metal ions are present within the finish composition, higher amounts of metal halide (magnesium chloride, for example) can counterbalance such to the extent that discoloration can be properly prevented. Furthemore, all other metal ions (bivalents, trivalents, and the like, with bivalents, such as magnesium, most preferred) combined with halide anions (such as chloride, bromides, iodides, as examples, with chlorides most preferred), as well as acids (again, HCl, as well as HBr, and the like) are potential additives for discoloration prevention within this invention. The amount of chloride ion (concentrations) should be measured in terms of molar ratios with the free silver ions available within the silver-ion containing compound. A range of ratios from 1:10 (chloride to silver ion) to 5:1 (chloride to silver ion) should be met for proper activity; preferably this range is from 1:2 to about 2.5:1. Again, higher amounts of metal halide in molar ratio to the silver ions may be added to counteract any excess alkali metal ion amounts within the finish composition itself.
[0019] The preferred embodiments of these inventive fabric treatments (whether it be wash durable, non-discoloring, or both) are discussed in greater detail below.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0020] The following examples further illustrate the present invention but are not to be construed as limiting the invention as defined in the claims appended hereto. All parts and percents given in these examples are by weight unless otherwise indicated.
[0021] Initially, solutions of ALPHASAN® (silver-based ion exchange compound available from Milliken & Company) were produced for topical application via dye bath exhaustion to target fabrics. These solutions, with comparatives as well, were as follows:
EXAMPLE 1
[0022] [0022] Component Amount (% by weight) Water 94.15 PD-92 (anti-soil redeposition polymer) 1.5 DA-50 (anti-soil redeposition polymer) 1.5 Witcobond 2.25 Alphasan 0.6 Acetic Acid to adjust pH to 6.5
EXAMPLE 2
[0023] [0023] Component Amount (% by weight) Water 97.8 PD-92 0.75 DA-50 0.75 Witcobond 1.12 Alphasan 0.3 Acetic Acid to adjust pH to 6.5
EXAMPLE 3
[0024] [0024] Component Amount (% by weight) Water 92.7 PD-92 1.5 DA-50 1.5 Hystretch 3.7 Alphasan 0.6 Acetic Acid to adjust pH to 6.5
EXAMPLE 4
[0025] [0025] Component Amount (% by weight) Water 93.1 Milease (anti-soil redeposition polymer) 3.4 Witcobond 2.74 Alphasan 0.71 Magnesium Chloride 1 0.008 Hydrochloric Acid to adjust pH to 6.0
EXAMPLE 5
[0026] [0026] Component Amount (% by weight) Water 93.1 Milease (anti-soil redeposition polymer) 3.4 Witcobond 2.74 Alphasan 0.71 Magnesium Chloride 1 0.008 Hydrochloric Acid to adjust pH to 6.0
EXAMPLE 6
[0027] [0027] Component Amount (% by weight) Water 93.1 Milease (anti-soil redeposition polymer) 3.4 Witcobond 2.74 Alphasan 0.72 Magnesium Chloride 1 0.005 Hydrochloric Acid to adjust pH to 6.0
EXAMPLE 7
[0028] [0028] Component Amount (% by weight) Water 97.5 Milease (anti-soil redeposition polymer) 3.0 Witcobond 2.0 Alphasan 0.6 Hydrochloric Acid to adjust pH to 6.0
COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE
[0029] [0029] Component Amount (% by weight) Water 93.1 Milease (anti-soil redeposition polymer) 3.4 Witcobond 2.74 Alphasan 0.73 Hydrochloric Acid to adjust pH to 6.0
[0030] A control fabric was also utilized within the tests below having no treatment applied thereto.
[0031] These solutions were then applied to sample fabrics (colored “true” white) via pad and nip rolls to give a wet pick up of about 85-90% owf. The exhaustion level of the active ALPHASAN® compounds on the target fabrics was about 1.0% owf. The sample coated, control, and comparative fabrics were then analyzed for a number of different characteristics, mostly in terms of measurements taken prior to and after a certain number of washes. For each wash test below, the sample fabric was laundered in accordance with AATCC Test Method 130-1981, basically with a standard home-type washing machine (Sears Kenmore® Heavy Duty, Super Capacity) equipped with a temperature controller set to wash at 105±5° F. The rinse temperature was set to cold (70±5° F.). Tide® powder detergent was utilized in an amount of about 100 g for a medium load, on a normal cycle (10 minute wash cycle; 28 minute total cycle). The sample fabric was then removed and dried in a standard home dryer on the cotton setting for 10 minutes. None of the produced fabrics above exhibited any electrical conductivity.
[0032] In terms of wash durability, Examples 1-3 were tested for ion release after 20 standard washes under a biological solution test (artificial sweat test).
[0033] Artificial Sweat Test
[0034] Such a test measures the amount of active metal ion that freely dissociates from the substrate to perform a desired function (such as antimicrobial activity for odor control or reduction) and can be performed on washed or unwashed samples to monitor durability of the releasable active ingredient, in this case, silver ions. The test itself involves subjecting the sample (a swatch of fabric having 4 inch by 4 inch dimensions in this instance) to a solution that is representative of the solution to which a sample would be exposed to perform its desired function. Thus, for this test, the sample fabrics were exposed to a human body odor control standard in accordance with the solution of AATCC Test Method 15-1994 after first being weighed to four significant digits. The exposure was essentially immersion in a tenfold dilution of the artificial standard solution for 8 hours. After the exposure time, the sample was then dried and weighed again; any loss in weight was then representative of release of the silver ion active ingredient to combat the odor producing microbes within the standard solution. The calculations are reported as ppm active ingredient on the weight of the sample fabric. The results were as follows for Example 1 and certain comparative fabrics (A is fabric included fibers extruded with 180 ppm per fiber ALPHASAN®; B is fabric with fibers extruded with 60 ppm per fiber ZEOMIC®; C is X-STATIC® electrically conductive fabric with 8000 ppm silver thereon:
TABLE 1 Silver Ion Release Measurements Via Artificial Sweat Test Number of Washes Example 1 (ppb) A (ppb) B (ppb) C (ppb) 0 1023 504 107 2080 10 890 154 91 788 20 880 210 84 883
[0035] Thus, the inventive example retianed greater than 86% od active sliver ion after 20 washes; whereas the comparative examples were either extremely low in available silver ion (B), below 80% retention (all three, with A and C below 50% retention), or electrically conductive in nature(C).
[0036] Another indication of the effectiveness of the new binder system for this topical application is the measure of antimicrobial activity of the topical finish after a certain number of washes. Such silver-ion based finishes exhibit excellent antimicrobial activity which can lead to desired odor control, microbe killing, among other benefits. Preferably, effective finish retention (silver-ion release retention) is available when the sample fabric exhibits a log kill rate for Staphylococcus aureus of at least 1.5, preferably above 2.0, more perferably above 3.0, and a log kill rate for Klebsiella pneumoniae of at least 1.5, perferably above 2.0, and more preferably above 3.0, both as tested in accordance with AATCC Test Method 100-1993 for 24 hour exposure, after at least 10 washes, preferably more, as defined above. The results for the above Examples 1-3 are as follows:
TABLE 2 Log Kill Rates for Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae By Inventive Fabrics Log Kill Rates Example # Washes S. aureus K. pneumoniae 1 0 3.31 3.67 1 1 2.03 4.25 1 5 2.83 4.65 1 10 2.87 4.65 1 20 2.21 4.65 2 0 3.81 3.49 2 1 3.37 4.65 2 5 3.12 3.37 2 10 1.67 3.08 2 20 1.13 3.03 3 0 3.69 4.65 3 1 2.50 2.69 3 5 1.67 2.48 3 10 2.08 1.61 3 20 1.57 1.43 Control 0 −0.04 −0.95 Control 3 0.03 −1.49
[0037] Thus, the retention of silver ions on the surface was, again, excellent for the inventive finishes.
[0038] Colorlightfastness
[0039] In terms of fabric discoloration, Examples 4-7 were analyzed under a colorlightfastness test measuring the sample in terms of the following equation:
Δ E*= (( L* initial −L*hd exposed ) 2 +( a* initial −a* exposed ) 2 +( b* initial −b* exposed ) 2 ) 1/2
[0040] wherein ΔE* represents the difference in color between the fabric upon initial latex coating and the fabric after the above-noted degree of ultra violet exposure. L*, a*, and b* are the color coordinates; wherein L* is a measure of the lightness and darkness of the colored fabric; a* is a measure of the redness or greenness of the colored fabric; and b is a measure of the yellowness or blueness of the colored fabric. The lower the ΔE*, the better the colorlightfastness, and thus lower degree of color change, or in this situation, discoloration, of the fabric sample. The measurements on “true” white fabric (having initial measurements of L=93.93, a=2.10, and b=−10.68) were as follows for Examples 4-7, for exposure to a 225 kJ xenon light source for a specified amount of kilojoules in accordance with The Engineering Society for Advancing Mobility Land Sea Air and Space Textile Test method SAE J-1885, “(R) Accelerated Exposure of Automotive Interior Trim Components Using a Controlled Irradiance Water Cooled Xenon-Arc Apparatus”.
TABLE 2 L Values For Sample Fabrics Hours Example # 0 24 48 72 96 196 264 4 94.39 92.96 92.82 92.70 92.43 92.10 92.02 5 94.49 93.46 93.26 93.20 92.99 92.54 92.43 6 94.68 93.36 93.23 93.08 92.82 92.37 92.18 7 94.37 90.54 89.43 88.52 88.07 86.46 86.40 Comparative 94.74 88.28 87.07 86.12 85.78 84.52 84.69 Control 93.93 94.4 94.26 94.35 94.01 94.43 94.34
[0041] [0041] TABLE 3 a Values For Sample Fabrics Hours Example # 0 24 48 72 96 196 264 4 2.07 2.30 2.34 2.52 2.81 2.46 2.53 5 2.04 2.24 2.32 2.49 2.79 2.43 2.48 6 2.06 2.30 2.34 2.56 2.86 2.88 2.56 7 2.10 3.65 4.11 4.46 4.47 4.49 4.34 Comparative 2.07 4.02 4.25 4.60 4.16 4.47 4.64 Control 2.10 2.27 2.26 2.45 2.80 2.82 2.80
[0042] [0042] TABLE 4 b Values For Sample Fabrics Hours Example # 0 24 48 72 96 196 264 4 −10.56 −10.82 −10.73 −11.06 −11.04 −10.23 −10.08 5 −10.74 −10.86 −10.93 −11.19 −11.21 −10.55 −10.49 6 −10.80 −10.99 −10.92 −11.29 −11.33 −10.63 −10.65 7 −10.61 −9.02 −8.55 −8.92 −8.19 −8.25 −8.27 Comparative −10.62 −6.93 −6.43 −6.25 −5.43 −5.76 −5.75 Control −10.68 −11.22 −11.2 −11.65 −11.78 −11.24 −11.30
[0043] These values were then introduced into the equation above for a proper measurement in color change over time (as compared with the theoretical E value for “true” white fabrics) to determine the colorlightfastness of the inventive finished fabrics. The results were as follows:
TABLE 5 ΔE Values For Sample Fabrics Hours Example # 0 24 48 72 96 196 264 4 0.11 0.50 0.65 0.92 1.44 1.84 2.10 5 0.16 0.14 0.28 0.47 0.82 1.02 1.22 6 0.29 0.23 0.30 0.65 1.12 1.52 1.63 7 0.10 8.33 14.40 18.96 23.10 33.75 33.81 Comparative 0.33 24.84 34.90 43.46 49.10 59.19 58.04 Control 0.00 0.27 0.20 0.62 0.85 0.56 0.52
[0044] These final values were then taken as a percentage of the ΔE values of the inventive and comparative examples divided by the ΔE values of the control to give a color stabilization rate and were calculated to be as follows:
TABLE 6 Color Stabilization Rates Example # Percentage Color Change 4 96.7 5 97.4 6 97.8 7 51.9 Comparative 0.0 Control 100
[0045] Thus, a color stabilization rate of at least 50% is acceptable and heretofore unattained. Higher rates are clearly more preferable, and, with the presence of halide ions are available. Thus, rates of at least 55%, more preferably at least 60%, still more preferably at least 75%, and more preferred at least 85% (with even higher rates most preferred) are desired of this inventive finish. In any event, these levels are excellent and show the ability of the inventive finishes to provide not only effective antimicrobial levels, but also excellent reduction in discoloration possibilities, particularly over time and after an appreciable number of standard launderings.
[0046] There are, of course, many alternative embodiments and modifications of the present invention which are intended to be included within the spirit and scope of the following claims. | Improvements in the wash durability and discoloration levels for fabrics having topically applied silver-ion treatments (such as ion-exchange compounds, like zirconium phosphates, glasses and/or zeolites) are provided. Such solid compounds are generally susceptible to discoloration and, due to the solid nature thereof, are typically easy to remove from topical surface applications. The inventive treatment requires the presence of a specific polyurethane binder, either as a silver-ion overcoat or as a component of a dye bath mixture admixed with the silver-ion antimicrobial compound. In addition, specific metal halide additives (preferably substantially free from sodium ions) are utilized to combat the discolorations typical of such silver-ion formulations. As a result, wash durability, discoloration levels, or both, can be improved to the extent that after a substantial number of standard launderings and dryings, the inventive treatment does not wear away in any appreciable amount and the color of the treatment remains substantially the same as when first applied. The particular treatment method as well as the treated fabrics are also encompassed within this invention. | 3 |
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119.(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/398,914 filed Jul. 26, 2002 and U.S. Provisional 60/486,777 filed Jul. 11, 2003.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a portable collapsible apparatus for use in hospitals, healthcare facilities, clean rooms and other interiors for creating a controlled localized environment which is isolated from the surrounding environment. The unit is particularly useful in applications involving construction and maintenance in ceiling cavities, wall cavities and other spaces in which plumbing, wiring, ducting and the like are located.
In another embodiment, the invention relates to an apparatus for attachment to an entry to a room for sealing and isolating the room to prevent the spread of infectious organisms and other airborne particulates from the interior of the room to the surrounding areas outside the room.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Construction and maintenance projects in a hospital provide great potential for releasing contaminants and airborne particulates that can lead to infections or other forms of contamination. All buildings, including hospitals harbor biological pathogens in the cavities of walls, floors and ceilings. Whenever these cavities are penetrated and the air in them is disturbed, the risk of aerosolizing these pathogens is high. There are always air currents in these cavities, even those that are considered dead air spaces. When an opening is made, the air currents change and pathogens are introduced into the occupied space.
Routine maintenance and repair activities such as opening a ceiling tile or a wall to check or test equipment for elevator operation, electrical wiring, pneumatic tube systems, plumbing or air conditioning can release harmful organisms into the environment.
An infectious containment and environmental monitoring program must be established to eliminate or minimize the incidence of infectious particulates, dust, and other airborne particulates associated with construction and repair projects in healthcare facilities and other clean room type environments. Every organization must assess the level of protection needed for the various construction, repair, replacement, and maintenance activities that will be undertaken in the facility. This assessment allows the facility to tailor the level of protection to its specific needs. In addition to having an application in hospital environments, the present invention is also highly useful and applicable for applications in such areas as asbestos removal and removal of other possible airborne contaminants in many other types of facilities.
Various types of enclosures have been provided in the past for isolating a work area from the surrounding environment. An example of an isolation enclosure is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,558.112. This patent discloses a portable isolation enclosure apparatus for removing material from the walls of a building while isolating a portion of the wall from which the material is being removed. The apparatus is positioned against a wall such that an area of the wall is isolated from the ambient environment, and is disposed with the open side of the enclosure facing the wall such that a worker inside the enclosure can access the wall.
In Reissue 33,810 an isolation enclosure is provided for removing asbestos material from ceilings and other elevated asbestos containing structures. The enclosure includes a booth and an adjustable plenum for being raised and lowered relative to the booth to reach the heights of different ceilings. A curtain is provided which extends from the bottom of the plenum below the top of the booth to maintain a closed environment. The enclosure is provided with vacuum and ventilation systems for filtering and ventilating the air which is drawn into the enclosure.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,448, an enclosure is provided for working on ceiling openings. The apparatus provides an enclosure extending from the floor to the ceiling and enabling access through a ceiling opening for above ceiling construction and/or repair while providing a isolated enclosure for preventing pathogens, dust, asbestos and other debris from being allowed to escape into the surrounding environment. Another example of a prior art enclosure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,871.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention provides a portable collapsible environmental control apparatus that includes a unitary framework having a first set of vertical supports and a collapsible horizontal support element extending between vertical supports at the base of the vertical supports. First collapsible supports extend between a pair of adjacent vertical supports along the lengthwise dimension of the enclosure. Second collapsible supports extend between a pair of adjacent vertical supports along the widthwise dimension of the enclosure.
Sliders are mounted on each vertical support and are connected to a bottom portion of each of the first and second collapsible supports.
A flexible collapsible gas impermeable containment envelope is secured to the interior of the apparatus and encloses the top sides and bottom of the enclosure wherein the vertical supports can be raised to ceiling level and held in position against the ceiling to create a controlled environment within the control apparatus.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The features of the invention and additional details of the apparatus according to the present invention will be more fully understood by reference to the figures of the drawing wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fully opened enclosure according to the present invention prior to vertical extension and movement into an operating position;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the enclosure according to the present invention after full vertical extension with the top of the enclosure abutting the ceiling;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the enclosure of the present invention in a fully collapsed configuration before placement in a storage container;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the enclosure of the present invention in its fully collapsed and folded condition in a storage container for ready portability;
FIG. 5A is a front elevation schematic view of an alternate embodiment of the enclosure for providing access from all four sides of the enclosure;
FIG. 5B is a side elevation schematic view of the embodiment of FIG. 5A taken from the left side of the enclosure;
FIG. 5C is a top schematic view of the enclosure illustrating a flange enhancement extending from the rear of the enclosure;
FIG. 6A is a rear schematic elevation view of the enclosure shown in the preceding 5 A to 5 C figures illustrating the positioning and rectangular configuration of the flange;
FIG. 6B is a side schematic view of the enclosure taken from the side opposite FIG. 5B ; and
FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the top of the enclosure illustrating a removable section to provide an opening when the enclosure is raised against a ceiling.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating placement of the enclosure of the present invention outside a patient room to isolate the space within the room from the surrounding environment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention comprises a rectangular enclosure 10 which comprises a plurality of hollow vertical frame members 12 and a first pair of horizontal frame members 16 located at the bottom of the enclosure extending along the front and rear lengthwise dimension of the enclosure. A second pair of horizontal frame members 17 join adjacent members 12 along the left and right widthwise dimension of the enclosure.
In the middle of the horizontal frame members 16 , a hinge 18 is provided which is actuated vertically in an upward direction when the enclosure is collapsed into its folded position. A similar pair of hinges 20 are provided in the frame members 17 and these likewise pivot upwardly when the enclosure is collapsed. Adjacent vertical frame members in the lengthwise dimension are joined by a truss 22 on the front and rear of the enclosure which comprises a series of hinged articulated arms 24 extending between the vertical frame members 12 . A set of second trusses 26 each comprising cross arms 28 join adjacent vertical members 12 along the left and right widthwise dimension of the enclosure. The lower arm of each truss is connected to a movable slider 49 which slides up and down vertical member 12 as the enclosure is opened and collapsed. When the unit is collapsed into its folded and closed position, trusses 22 and trusses 26 close in an accordion action to permit the vertical frame members 12 to be moved toward each other until they are closely spaced in the closed position.
A removable rectangular upper frame extension 30 having downwardly extending legs 32 is positioned above the vertical frame members and the legs 32 are telescopically received within the vertical frame members 12 . The top of the upper frame member 30 engages the ceiling when the enclosure is in its raised and fully deployed position to permit the removal of one or more ceiling tiles directly above the enclosure and within the perimeter of the enclosure prior to work being done in the ceiling cavity. A nonporous foam bumper 34 extends around the periphery of upper frame member 30 to closely engage the ceiling and adopted to be pressed by spring compression against the ceiling to achieve a tight seal against the ceiling while the enclosure is used for work operations in the area above the ceiling. Outer leg caps 36 are provided at the top of the frame members 12 for receiving the downwardly extending legs 32 of the upper frame member 30 . Set screws 31 are provided in the outer leg caps for tightening the leg caps against the legs 32 of the frame member to hold and lock the frame member 30 in a desired positions.
In FIG. 1 one of the vertical frame members 12 is shown with a portion broken away so as to illustrate a compression spring 40 located in the hollow interior of the frame member and seated within the vertical frame member 12 supporting the bottom of leg member 32 of the upper frame member 30 . Similar compression springs are provided in each of the other three vertical frame members of the enclosure to provide spring compression for pressing the foam bumper 34 of the upper frame member to seal against the ceiling when the enclosure is fully extended vertically and abuts the ceiling in readiness for use.
Legs 32 are telescopically received within outer leg caps 36 and seat on top of compression springs 40 . Compression springs 40 in turn are supported by sliders 49 which are mounted on top of frame members 12 . Frame members 12 comprise an outer leg 42 and an inner leg 46 . As shown in FIG. 1 , the enclosure is in its retracted position in the sense that the upper frame member is at its lowest elevation and the hollow outer legs 42 receive vertically extending inner legs 44 . A collar 46 is located at the bottom of outer legs 42 and provides a mounting for a pull pen or a set screw 48 . When it is desired to raise the enclosure to the ceiling, an operator grasps the outer legs and raises the outer legs to the desired height. When the desired height is achieved, set screws 48 are extended inward and engaged with the inner legs 44 to lock the assembly in position. By exerting upward force on legs 42 , bumper 34 engages and bears against the ceiling with springs 40 being compressed to make a releasable seal against the ceiling.
The closed interior of the enclosure is provided by a containment envelope 50 fabricated of a impermeable material such as vinyl or plastic sheeting. Provided at one side of the enclosure and incorporated into the envelope is a zippered entrance 52 which is used by a worker to enter and leave the enclosure. After a worker enters the enclosure the entrance covering is zipped closed to provide a totally enclosed compartment within the enclosure. Two windows 54 are provided on either side of the envelope to permit light to enter the enclosure and to permit the occupant inside the enclosure to see the exterior and to permit others on the outside of the enclosure to observe the occupant on the interior.
The envelope 50 , in one exemplary embodiment, is supported by a plurality of cuffs 56 which encircle the vertical frame members 12 and which are secured to the envelope at spaced intervals by clips, Velcro connectors, snaps and the like. The envelope extends around the entire enclosure and across the entire bottom of the enclosure. It is secured to the top of the upper frame by Velcro or snap fasteners. When the upper frame is raised, the cuffs slide up the outer legs extending the envelope so that the closed environment of the enclosure is maintained.
Shown at one side of the enclosure is a first duct 66 to which a HEPA vacuum is connected so that any contaminants, pathogens and the like which enter the enclosure are drawn out through duct 66 into a filtering apparatus 70 (see FIG. 8 ). A second duct 68 is shown adjacent to duct 66 to which is connected a vacuum pump for creating a negative pressure within the enclosure to cause any contaminants to be drawn downwardly and into the filter apparatus.
The enclosure 10 is shown in its fully extended configuration in FIG. 2 . Upper legs 42 are raised to the desired height and held in position on lower legs 44 by means of set screws. Alternatively pins 51 such as spring loaded pins can be used and inserted into apertures 53 to hold the upper portion of the enclosure at the desired height. Sliders 49 are locked into position at the top of frame members by spring loaded pins (not shown). The upper portion of the envelops 55 is connected around the interior of frame 30 . Frame 30 is then raised to engage the ceiling 57 as shown in phantom in FIG. 2 . The frame 30 is spring-loaded and held in position by set screws 31 or alternatively pins and aperture. Window 54 is shown in FIG. 2 as is a pocket 59 for storing instructions, specifications and other information pertinent to the work to be performed while using the enclosure.
The specific configuration of the containment envelope is related to the application for which the enclosure is used. The configuration can be tailored for wall access projects, ceiling cavity projects, as an anteroom for construction areas and for use in converting conventional patient rooms into isolation rooms.
When it is desired to move the enclosure or to store it, the set screws are loosened, the upper frame is lowered into the position shown in FIG. 1 , and the envelope is allowed to drop and settle toward the bottom of the enclosure. The upper frame member 30 is then removed from the top of the enclosure. Hinges 18 and 20 are caused to pivot upwardly to bring the sides of the enclosure toward each other. At the same time, trusses 22 compress, sliders 49 move downwardly along frame members 12 , and the arms of the truss approach a near vertical position in the totally collapsed condition. Similarly, the truss arms 28 of truss 26 scissor together to near vertical position. Provided at one side of the enclosure are a pair of wheels 64 which allow the unit to be tilted when it is folded so that it can be rolled to another position or rolled into a storage location. The upper frame member 30 is hinged at the corners to permit closing into a compact elongated configuration.
After collapsing the enclosure into the configuration shown in FIG. 3 , the apparatus is enclosed by drawing a fitted cover 61 over the top of the apparatus and then downwardly to the bottom of the apparatus. One or more belts 63 are provided to cinch the covering around the apparatus and hold the apparatus in a compact package. Wheels 64 at the bottom of the apparatus permit the apparatus to be rolled to a new location enhancing the portability of the apparatus.
Another embodiment of the environmental control unit of the present invention is illustrated FIGS. 5A , 5 B and 5 C. As shown in FIG. 5A , the enclosure comprises the enclosure 10 , a four-sided flexible envelope 102 mounted on vertical supports 104 by means of a series of snap cuffs 106 which are attached to the outer periphery of the envelope and are also attached to the vertical supports. FIG. 5A illustrates the primary entry side of the enclosure. As shown therein it includes a door panel 108 which is secured in place by means of a zipper 110 . The direction of travel of the zipper is shown by arrow 112 . The zipper extends around the entire periphery of the panel to permit removal of the door panel. Likewise, the zipper can be stopped at stop 114 and if desired it can be rolled up and retained by Velcro straps 116 to provide full access to the interior of the envelope.
The door panel has a clear vinyl window 118 provided in the center thereof and below it is a pouch 120 . An upper portion 122 of the enclosure is height adjustable along the vertical supports which gives the basic four sided outline to the enclosure. The envelope is secured by a plurality of cuffs 124 which are closely spaced as shown in FIG. 5A . When it is desired to adjust the height of the enclosure, the upper portion 122 is extended upwardly and the cuffs are slidably moved on the vertical supports to allow the upper portion to be extended until it reaches the desired height, typically coming into contact with a ceiling or ceiling tiles.
The door panel 108 is of a flexible material as is the rest of the enclosure to permit it to be rolled up when unzipped and to also permit it to be collapsed with the rest of the enclosure when the enclosure is collapsed down into a size for easy portability.
In FIG. 5B , the left side of the enclosure shown in FIG. 5A , is illustrated. As shown therein it comprises a flexible side wall 126 and contained within it is a panel 128 secured in the side wall by means of a zipper 130 . The direction of travel 132 of the zipper is shown and similar to door panel 108 , the side panel 128 is “zip out” in configuration and can be either removed or flipped open when the zipper is traversed around at least three sides of the side panel. A vinyl window 134 is provided in the side panel and at the base of the vinyl window is a negative air vent 136 . The panel 128 can be used to function as a door by stopping the zipper at stop 138 to create a door opening.
Below the window is located a zip-out panel 140 which includes ducts 142 , 143 to which are connected pumps and other evacuating equipment which are utilized to maintain a predetermined air pressure within the enclosure and to withdraw any contaminants which enter the enclosure and communicate such contaminants into a closed container connected to a pump to prevent escape of any contaminants to the atmosphere outside of the enclosure.
Referring now to FIG. 5C , a view taken from the top of the enclosure, the rectangular outline of the enclosure is clearly illustrated as are representative slidable cuffs 124 . Ducts 142 , 143 appear at the side. Extending from the rear is a flange 144 which is slightly flared outwardly from the enclosure and is rectangular in elevation and is secured to the rear side of the enclosure 10 as will be more fully disclosed in conjunction with the discussion of FIGS. 6A and 6B . The flange is secured in an air-tight manner to the rear side of enclosure 100 and extends outwardly. The flange 144 is of the same flexible material as the envelope 102 and can be securely attached around a door frame so as to seal the entire periphery of the door frame and thereby seal off the room inside from the atmosphere on the outside of the envelope. When the flange is secured around the door frame to a room such as a patient's room, the functionality of the enclosure is as an anteroom sealed to the entry into the room to provide a mechanism for isolating the room to which the enclosure is attached.
This is particularly important and useful in hospitals and healthcare environments when a serious risk of air borne infection is present and the patient and the room in which the patient is located needs to be isolated from the rest of the environment outside the patient's room. In a typical configuration, the rectangular flange 144 is three to four feet wide, six to seven feet and twelve to twenty inches deep high so as to easily fit around the entire periphery of a typical doorway.
These aspects of the enclosure will be further understood by reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B in which FIG. 6A is an elevation view of the wide side of the enclosure opposite the side shown in FIG. 5A . As shown therein, this side of the enclosure has two zippered panels. The first being panel 146 which is slightly larger than the periphery of flange 144 and is secured around it periphery by a zipper 148 . Extending the zipper around the entire periphery of panel 146 permits its removal together with the flange 144 and an inner zip-out panel 148 . Second zip-out panel 148 is located interiorly of the periphery of the flange 144 and includes a clear flexible vinyl window 150 and below it a pouch 152 into which information, messages, charts, other materials related to the use of the enclosure can be placed. The two zipper arrangement provides complete flexibility allowing panel 148 to be removed when the flange is in place and sealed to the periphery of a door way to a room permitting the use of the enclosure as a means of maintaining isolation of the room which still permits entry and exit of medical personnel, etc. A person desiring entry into the room to which the enclosure is attached would first unzip panel 108 on the front and then reinstall it to completely close the interior of the environmental control enclosure. Once that has been established and the negative atmosphere created and sterilized, door panel 148 is approached and the party desiring entry into the room, for example to treat a patient, unzips panel 148 and enters the patient's room. The steps in reverse are followed when a party leaves the patient's room.
Referring now to FIG. 7 , a top view of another embodiment of an enclosure according to the present invention. As shown therein, the top 160 includes a removable zippered panel 162 . A zipper 164 is utilized to attach and detach the panel from the top 160 . This structure enables the envelope to function when the user is working in ceiling cavities. The top portion of the enclosure is height adjustable in a range from approximately 7 feet to approximately 11 feet in height. In use it is brought into position and the top portion extended to contact and be sealed against the ceiling. Panel 162 is zipped out and the user has access to the ceiling tiles and the ceiling cavity beyond.
The enclosure of the present invention has multiple applications. It can be used to provide an anteroom for construction and maintenance projects in walls and ceilings in patient occupied areas. It is engineered to provide a negative pressure entry and exit chamber. Doors can be provided in all four sides for greater flexibility. Negative air ports can be switched from one side to the other. A flange can be attached around a door frame and when sealed prevents contaminants from escaping the enclosure. When used to isolate a patient's room, the enclosure provides a convenient, quick, safe conversion of patient room into an isolation room by creating an anteroom “airlock” between the room and the outside corridor into which the room opens.
The diagram of FIG. 8 illustrates the use of the enclosure according to the present invention as a mechanism for providing isolation of a room such as a patient's room in a hospital. The present invention enables rapid conversion of a room into an isolation room.
As shown therein, a conventional patient room 170 is furnished with a bed 172 and typically has a doorway 174 for entry into the room and a bathroom 176 which is connected to room 170 by a second doorway 178 .
To isolate patient room 170 , an enclosure 180 according to the present invention is placed adjacent doorway 174 . The embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is utilized with the flange attached around the periphery of the doorway and sealed to the periphery to prevent airborne particulates from escaping from the enclosure 180 . In effect, the enclosed provides an “airlock” between the room 170 and the corridor outside. A HEPA filtered negative air machine 182 is connected to duct 184 to complete the conversion and isolation. Typically the machine provides negative air pressure of a minimum of 300 CFM prescribed by the requirements of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The result is an important tool, particularly useful in dealing with emergency situations requiring quick conversion of a conventional room to an isolated room to prevent the spread of infection to other areas of the healthcare facility. | A portable enclosure, easily erectable and collapsible, to provide environment control and prevent contaminants from being released from the enclosure. The enclosure provides a flexible envelope attached to the interior of the space defined by vertical and horizontal supports which can be erected and collapsed. When erected the enclosure functions as an anteroom and has removable panels in the sides and top. In use, the enclosure is sealed against a vertical or horizontal surface to be worked on and a panel from the side of the enclosure is opened and closed to provide access to the surface by the user. When collapsed the enclosure is a package approximately the size of an average golf club bag which is easily portable to another location. Ducting is provided to which negative pressure pumps are connected to maintain negative pressure within the enclosure and draw contaminants into the pump and then into a closed container. In one embodiment, a four-sided flange extends from the rear side of the enclosure to allow sealing of the flange around the doorway and thereby provide a mechanism for isolating the room located interiorly of the doorway. | 1 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/169,674, filed Jul. 8, 2002, now abandoned, by Albrecht Hörlin for a Sick-Bed.
SPECIFICATION
The invention relates to a sick-bed, wherein, for the decubitus prophylaxis, a dimensionally stable bed frame as the mattress support, is cardan-mounted on a bedstead, and can be precessed by means of a drive unit.
A sick-bed of this kind is known from European Patent Specification EP 799 010 B1. This sick-bed mounts the bed frame centrally on the bedstead in the gravity center of the bed frame by means of an axial ball bearing, the bearing shells of which receive the roller bodies, being precessable relative to each other. This is caused by a wedge disk arranged between the bearing shells and mechanically actuated through a pinion gear.
While the decubitus prophylaxis with the known bed leads to extremely satisfying results, the bearing application and the conception of the precession drive of the bed frame on the bedstead have turned out to be problematic. Problems arose, for one, in the nursing sector, where many manipulations and aid to be stored temporarily require a sufficiently free space below the gravity center zone of the bedstead, and for another, are due to the scope of mechanical experiences with said known drive. Thus, said known drive is relatively expensive and heavy, necessitates a comparably complex installation, and requires, and this in turn also with respect to the nursing situation, an arrangement of the mechanical drive directly on the sick-bed. This is often regarded as being disturbing, and namely even then when the drive is not fixed on the bed frame but on the bedstead.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Starting from this prior art, the invention is based on the technical problem of further developing the known medical sick-bed for the decubitus prophylaxis in such a manner that the bed center remains unobstructed, that the precession drive is allowed to be configured noiseless, and namely also noiseless over the long term, and is allowed to be configured of a mechanically higher resistance than the strongly loaded bearing shells and the bearing drive known from prior art.
The invention solves this problem by means of a sick-bed, the bed frame of which is not mounted on roller bearings but on at least three lifting drives height-adjustable in a continuous and arbitrarily reversible manner, the operation thereof being arranged coordinate in such a way that the initially mentioned precession data are allowed to be set without problems and, above all, without noise. With this configuration of the bearing and the precession drive, a change of the precession frequency, as well as of the precession amplitude can in particular be achieved in a considerably simpler manner than it is possible with the mechanical roller bearing according to the prior art. According to the invention, it is moreover possible to mount the bed frame height-adjustable and inclination-adjustable with respect to its stationary position.
Preferably, four continuously height-adjustable lifting drives vertically fixed to the bedstead are used, each carrying the bed frame in the zone of its four corners. This articulation to the bed frame is thereby configured cardanically, for example by means of a ball-and-socket joint or a cardanic joint.
For achieving a highest possible mobility of the sick bed intended for the decubitus prophylaxis, the continuously height-adjustable lifting drives according to an embodiment of the invention are configured as an adjustable electromotive telescopic lifting column.
For creating the desired position of the bed frame, e.g., for the simple static height adjustment or the inclination angle adjustment or even for the dynamically oscillating or precessional motion, threaded spindles are provided for each telescopic lifting column.
The number and height of the telescoping spindles thereby corresponds to the amount of the maximally required height adjustment or, with respect to the mobility of the bed, to the amount of the maximally required amplitude.
The telescopic lifting column is realized in such a manner that within a cylindrical outer sleeve, a working rod is disposed, within which, for example, two threaded spindles with the corresponding spindle nuts are provided intended for a two-fold height adjustment of the lifting columns.
The height adjustment itself ensues by coupling said spindles to an electronically driven electric motor via a gear, for example a planetary gear, and via corresponding toothed wheels. In particular, each lifting spindle is thereby assigned an electric motor of its own.
For the height adjustment furthermore, either the electric motor is configured as a reversing motor or the gear is configured as a reversing gear. Thereby, the drive unit for the telescopic lifting column is in particular conceived in such a manner that it allows for a mobile energy supply. Moreover, said drive unit should feature dimensions as small as possible relative to the size of the telescopic lifting column itself.
With respect to the use in a sick-room, moreover, only electric motors as silent as possible should be used as drive units. Also, a particularly effective acoustic decoupling, at least a sound absorption has in addition to be provided for, preventing a transmission of structure-borne noise from the drive unit into the bedstead and the bed frame, as well as an emission of airborne noise from the drive unit into the sick-room.
The working rod of the telescopic lifting column, which rod is guided within the cylindrical sleeve, comprises on its end an articulation ball head forming a cardanic ball-and-socket joint with a corresponding ball socket of the bed frame, or is articulated to the bed frame via a cardanic universal joint. In these bearing locations, the means for the absorption of the structure-borne noise or for the decoupling of the structure-borne noise are in particular arranged.
If the telescopic lifting column is supposed to create movements with a high precession frequency and maximum amplitude, then the cardanic suspension has to be realized preferably via universal joints.
According to a second embodiment of the invention, the height-adjustable lifting drives are configured as a hydraulically integrated constructional unit with a hydraulic working cylinder, and namely preferably so that each of the working cylinders is equipped with a pump of its own and with a central control valve of its own having a closed hydraulic circuit. The hydraulic compressors used thereby are preferably acted upon electrically and are controlled electronically. With the use and installation of electric energy storage in the bedstead, such a prophylaxis bed is mobile even for a longer period of time and can be used independent of an external supply.
If, however, an absolute silence of the precession drive has to be set, and the capacity of a mobile displacement of the prophylaxis bed is of secondary importance, then the hydraulic working cylinders are configured without an integrated compressor and without an integrated valve, instead, all hydraulic working cylinders are connected to a central hydraulic multiple valve which can be controlled in a programmed manner, which multiple valve is connected to a common external pressure supply, for example, to a hydraulic compressor standing isolated in the next room, or to an already existing central hydraulic pressure supply line. The hydraulic working cylinders themselves, which cause the precession of the bed frame, work without any noise development, and thereby work continuously and vibrationless to the highest degree.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Many objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art when this specification is read in conjunction with the attached drawings wherein like reference numerals are applied to like elements and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective representation of a sick-bed exhibiting features of the invention;
FIG. 2 is schematic illustration of the precession movement according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of an adjustable support surface according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a plan view of a longitudinally adjustable universal joint according to the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a plan view of a universal joint according to the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a plan view of a bi-axially adjustable universal joint according to the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a plan view of a transversely adjustable universal joint according to the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line 8 - 8 of FIG. 4 ; and
FIG. 9 is a top view of the universal joint of FIG. 4 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The sick-bed shown in FIG. 1 is comprised of a bedstead I and a rigid and dimensionally stable bed frame 2 . For convenience, it will be useful to refer to longitudinal and transverse directions on the bed frame 2 . The bed frame 2 will be considered to have a longitudinal direction extending between a first end 41 and a second end 43 of the bed frame 2 and being generally parallel to side rails 40 of the bed frame. In addition, a transverse direction extends between the side rails 40 of the bed frame 2 generally perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction.
The bedstead 1 is configured substantially rectangular, and is so dimensioned that it remains just slightly within the outer dimensions of bed frame 2 . By means of four wheels 3 articulated to cantilevers 4 of bedstead 1 , the sick-bed is designed to be movable. A line 9 normal to a plane of the bed frame 2 also passes through the center of gravity for the bed frame 2 .
The bed frame 2 is constructed and arranged relative to the bedstead 1 so that a plane 10 (see FIG. 2 ) fixed to the bed frame 2 having the normal line 9 (i.e., perpendicular to the plane 10 ) moves in a manner that is best described as precession. That movement is effected by controlled movement of the corners of the plane 10 upwardly and downwardly as indicated by the arrows 12 , 14 , and 16 . The fourth corner also can move vertically but the movement arrows under the plane 10 at that corner would be obscured by the plane 10 . Movement of the plane 10 as well as the bed frame 2 relative to the bedstead 1 may be accomplished by a plurality of hydraulic working cylinders 5 (see FIG. 1 ) each of which is positioned in the region around a corner of the bed frame 2 .
The concerted action of the working cylinders 5 is such that the normal line 9 (see FIG. 2 ) moves along an imaginary conical surface 22 . Depending upon the particular location of the center of movement, the conical surface 22 could be a frustoconical surface. In any event, as the bed frame 2 moves, the normal line 9 moves in the direction of the arrow 20 and sweeps along the imaginary conical surface 22 . Stated differently, the normal line 9 functions as the generatrix of the conical surface 22 .
For achieving an optimum decubitus prophylaxis, a precession frequency for the plane 10 is preferably in the range of between 6 and 36°/min, with a maximum amplitude in the range of between 3 and 10 cm. The maximum amplitude is measured relative to the maximum vertical excursion from the horizontal of a patient of average size laid on the bed. Amplitude adjustments are contemplated to accommodate the actual size of any patient, but the preferred maximum amplitude range is as indicated. For convenience, the amplitude measurement may be taken at the corners of the bed frame 2 . For purposes of this invention, precession frequency refers to the angular movement per unit time of the normal line 9 along the conical surface 22 in the direction of the arrow 22 around the axis of that conical surface 22 . These ranges of precession frequency and precession amplitude have been found to be suitable to accomplish optimal decubitus prophylaxis.
It is also within the contemplation of this invention that the bed frame 2 have an adjustable mechanism 30 (see FIG. 3 ) operable to raise and lower a portion of a mattress supporting the region of a patient's upper body, and operable to raise and lower another portion of a mattress typically supporting the region of a patient's upper and lower legs and feet. For example, an upper body panel 32 may be hingedly connected to the bed frame 2 so as to be movable between a first flat position 32 ′ which is generally coplanar with the top of the bed frame 2 and a second elevated position where one end of the upper body panel 32 is elevated above the bed frame. In addition, an upper leg panel 36 can be hingedly connected to the bed frame 2 and to a lower leg panel 38 . An edge of the lower leg panel 38 can be arranged to slide along the bed frame 2 when the hinged edged is elevated. At the same time, the upper leg panel 36 is elevated so that the panels 36 , 38 support a patient's legs in a flexed position. If desired, side panels (not shown) extending vertically along the side edges of one or more of the panels 32 , 34 , 26 , 28 may be provided to help prevent a patient from inadvertently moving beyond the peripheral edge of the bed frame 2 . To articulate the upper body panel 32 and the upper and lower leg panels 36 , 38 , suitable conventional power mechanisms may be provided. Typically, such mechanisms may be hydraulically, pneumatically, or electrically driven. Furthermore, suitable conventional operational controls may be provided that are patient accessible.
Turning now to the system for operating the precession of the bed frame 2 relative to the bedstead 1 , a continuously height-adjustable telescopic lifting columns 5 is fixed In the zone or region of each of the four outer corners of the bedstead 1 . All of the four telescopic lifting columns are realized identical. Each of the height-adjustable columns 5 is vertically fixed to the bed frame in a rigid and stationary manner, hence, for example, welded or screwed with same. On the head of each working rod of each telescopic lifting column 5 , an articulation ball head may be provided which forms a cardanic ball-and-socket joint, a corresponding ball socket being attached to the bed frame 2 . The lifting columns are the sole support for the bed frame so that the region under the bed frame 2 is open and essentially unobstructed.
The cardanic joint 6 may also be configured as a universal joint. In any event, the cardanic joints 6 are constructed and arranged so as to be releasable from the head of the working rod of the telescopic lifting column 5 . In this manner, the bed frame 2 can be moved after an adjusting manipulation even without the bedstead and its lifting drives. Thus, the bed frame 2 can be transferred, for example during emergency cases or situations, onto a secondary undercarriage.
Depending upon the dimensions of the bed frame 2 and the precession amplitude ranges being provided, it may be desirable to arrange the cardanic connection between the lifting columns 5 and the bed frame 2 so that lateral movement of the bed frame 2 can occur relative to at least some of the lifting columns 5 . This connection arrangement may, for example, be desired when a full size patient bed is to be mounted and where the upper end of the precession amplitude range is to be accommodated.
In such situations, a universal joint arrangement may be provided for each of the lifting cylinders 5 (see FIG. 1 ). One of the universal joints 6 a may be constructed and arranged so that the bed frame 2 is not permitted to move in either the longitudinal or transverse direction relative to the corresponding lifting cylinder. A second universal joint 6 b at one corner of the bed frame adjacent to the first universal joint 6 a may be constructed and arranged to accommodate longitudinal movement of the bed frame 2 relative to the corresponding lifting cylinder to accommodate longitudinal sliding associated with different elevations of the lifting cylinders corresponding to the universal joints 6 a and 6 b . A third universal joint 6 d at another corner of the bed frame 2 adjacent to the first universal joint 6 a may be constructed and arranged to accommodate transverse movement of the bed frame 2 relative to the corresponding lifting cylinder to accommodate transverse sliding associated with different elevations of the lifting cylinders corresponding to the universal joints 6 a and 6 d . A fourth universal joint 6 c at an opposite corner of the bed frame 2 may be constructed and arranged to accommodate both longitudinal and transverse movement of the bed frame 2 relative to its corresponding lifting cylinder to accommodate both transverse and longitudinal sliding associated with different elevations between the lifting cylinders corresponding to the universal joints 6 a and 6 c.
Turning now to FIG. 4 , details of a preferred embodiment of the longitudinally slidable universal joint 6 b are shown. The universal joint 6 b includes cap 44 adapted to be attached to the upper end of the corresponding lifting cylinder by one or more suitable conventional threaded fasteners 46 . A pair of generally parallel arms 48 , 50 extends from the side rail 40 in the transverse direction toward the central region of the bed frame 2 . Each arm 48 , 50 carries a corresponding generally cylindrical axle pin 52 , 54 . The axle pins 52 , 54 are coaxially aligned and generally parallel to the side rail 40 . The axle pins 52 , 54 may be threadably connected to the corresponding arms so as to be removable. In addition, the axle pins 52 , 54 connect with a generally rectangular collar 70 such that the collar can rotate about the aligned axle pins 52 , 54 relative to the arms 48 , 50 and can slide longitudinally along the axle pins 52 , 54 between those arms. Thus, the collar 70 is spaced from the arms 48 , 50 , at the gaps 56 , 58 , but the relative size of the gaps 56 , 58 is selected to accommodate any longitudinal movement that may be needed as the bed frame 2 precesses.
The cap 44 includes a pair of axle pins 60 , 62 which are coaxially aligned and extend on opposite sides of the cap 44 to connect the cap 44 with the collar 70 . The axle pins 60 , 62 are coaxially aligned and extend in the transverse direction of the bed frame. Each axle pin 60 , 62 includes a bushing or radial step 64 , 66 having a larger lateral dimension than the end of the pin so that the collar 70 can rotate about the pins 60 , 62 but is constrained from substantial sliding movement along the axle pins 60 , 62 . The universal joint 6 b thus permits sliding movement in the direction of arrow 72 while otherwise permitting angular movement between the corresponding lifting cylinder 5 and the bed frame 2 (see FIGS. 8 and 9 ).
Turning now to FIG. 5 , details of a preferred embodiment of the universal joint 6 a are shown. The universal joint 6 a includes cap 80 adapted to be attached to the upper end of the corresponding lifting cylinder by one or more suitable conventional threaded fasteners 46 . A pair of generally parallel arms 84 , 86 extend from the side rail 40 in the transverse direction toward the central region of the bed frame 2 . Each arm 84 , 86 carries a corresponding generally cylindrical axle pin 94 , 96 . The axle pins 92 , 94 are coaxially aligned and generally parallel to the side rail 40 and are preferably parallel to the axle pins 52 , 54 of universal joint 6 b . The axle pins 92 , 94 may be threadably connected to the corresponding arms so as to be removable. In addition, the axle pins 92 , 94 connect with a generally rectangular collar 82 such that the collar 82 can rotate about the aligned axle pins 92 , 94 relative to the arms 48 , 50 but cannot slide longitudinally along the axle pins 92 , 94 between those arms. Thus, the collar 70 and the arms 48 , 50 do not accommodate any substantial longitudinal movement when the bed frame 2 precesses.
The cap 80 includes a pair of axle pins 88 , 90 which are coaxially aligned and extend on opposite sides of the cap 80 to connect the cap 80 with the collar 82 . The axle pins 88 , 90 are coaxially aligned and extend in the transverse direction of the bed frame. Each axle pin 88 , 90 includes a bushing or radial step 96 , 98 having a larger lateral dimension larger than the end of the pin so that the collar 82 can rotate about the pins 88 , 90 but is constrained from substantial sliding movement along the axle pins 88 , 90 . The universal joint 6 a thus does not permit substantial sliding movement in either the longitudinal direction or the transverse direction.
Turning now to FIG. 6 , details are shown of a preferred embodiment for the universal joint 6 c which accommodates both longitudinal and transverse sliding of the bed frame 2 relative to the corresponding lifting cylinder. The universal joint 6 c includes cap 100 adapted to be attached to the upper end of the corresponding lifting cylinder by one or more suitable conventional threaded fasteners. A pair of generally parallel arms 102 , 104 extends from the side rail 40 in the transverse direction toward the central region of the bed frame 2 . Each arm 102 , 104 carries a corresponding generally cylindrical axle pin 112 , 114 . The axle pins 112 , 114 are coaxially aligned and generally parallel to the side rail 40 . The axle pins 112 , 114 may be threadably connected to the corresponding arms so as to be removable. In addition, the axle pins 112 , 114 connect with a generally rectangular collar 106 such that the collar can rotate about the aligned axle pins 112 , 114 relative to the arms 102 , 104 and can slide longitudinally along the axle pins 112 , 114 between those arms. Thus, the collar 106 is spaced from the arms 102 , 104 at the gaps 116 , 118 , but the relative size of the gaps 116 , 118 is selected to accommodate any longitudinal movement that may be needed as the bed frame 2 precesses.
The cap 100 includes a pair of axle pins 108 , 110 which are coaxially aligned and extend on opposite sides of the cap 100 to connect the cap 100 with the collar 106 . The axle pins 108 , 110 are coaxially aligned and extend in the transverse direction of the bed frame 2 and are generally parallel to the axle pins 88 , 90 of universal joint 6 a . The collar 70 can rotate about the pins 108 , 110 but is not constrained from substantial sliding movement along the axle pins 60 , 62 . The universal joint 6 c thus permits sliding movement in the direction of arrow 124 while otherwise permitting angular movement between the corresponding lifting cylinder 5 and the bed frame 2 .
Details of the universal joint 6 d , which accommodates transverse sliding, are shown in FIG. 7 . The universal joint 6 d includes a cap 130 adapted to be attached to the upper end of the corresponding lifting cylinder by one or more suitable conventional threaded fasteners. A pair of generally parallel arms 132 , 144 extends from the side rail 40 in the transverse direction toward the central region of the bed frame 2 . Each arm 132 , 134 carries a corresponding generally cylindrical axle pin 138 , 140 . The axle pins 138 , 140 are coaxially aligned and generally parallel to the side rail 40 . The axle pins 138 , 140 may be threadably connected to the corresponding arms so as to be removable. In addition, the axle pins 138 , 140 connect with a generally rectangular collar 136 such that the collar can rotate about the aligned axle pins 138 , 140 relative to the arms 132 , 134 but such that the collar 136 cannot slide longitudinally along the axle pins 138 , 140 between those arms.
The cap 130 includes a pair of axle pins 142 , 144 which are coaxially aligned and extend on opposite sides of the cap 130 to connect the cap 130 with the collar 136 . The axle pins 142 , 144 are coaxially aligned and extend in the transverse direction of the bed frame. The collar 136 can rotate about the pins 142 , 144 and can slide along the axle pins 142 , 144 . The universal joint 6 d thus permits sliding movement in the direction of arrow 150 while otherwise permitting angular movement between the corresponding lifting cylinder and the bed frame.
If desired, the universal joint 6 c , which accommodates both longitudinal and transverse movement, can be substituted for universal joint 6 b (accommodating longitudinal movement) and/or universal joint 6 d (accommodating transverse movement). Such substitutions might be preferred for example to reduce the number of parts for the sick bed.
The adjustable lifting column 5 ( FIG. 1 ) is comprised of a number of telescoping spindles, which are movable through a motor and a corresponding gear, either the motor being configured as a reversing motor or, alternatively, the gear being configured as a reversing gear.
For the operation of the telescoping spindles, only the driving current for the motor and the voltage for the electronic signal unit are still required. Thereby, these elements could be designed so far miniaturized, due to the little power necessary, that in the way outlined in FIG. 1 , an electric storage 7 and an electronic processor 8 are integrated in the bedstead 1 for all four of the telescopic columns in common.
The sick-bed for the decubitus prophylaxis described here, is characterized by an immediately responding spindle drive and a simple mobile energy supply, whereby a large number of accessories can be dispensed with, which in turn signifies a weight saving.
In operation, the telescopic lifting columns are controllable in such a manner that the central normal 9 of the bed frame running through the gravity center of the bed frame 2 , carries out a continuous and slow precession movement without perceptible increments.
It will now be apparent to those skilled in the art that a new and improved sick-bed for avoiding and/or treating decubitis has been described. It will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications, variations, substitutions, and equivalents exist for features of the invention. Accordingly, it is expressly intended that all such modifications, variations, substitutions, and equivalents that fall within the spirit and scope of the claims should be encompassed by those claims. | A sick-bed includes a bedstead and a bed frame with an adjustable mattress support. The bed frame can be mounted cardanically on the bedstead for the decubitus prophylaxis and can be precessed by means of a drive unit. The bed frame is cardanically suspended on at least three, preferably four lifting drives, which are separate from each other and continuously height-adjustable. The lifting drives are controllable in such a manner that the central normal of the bed frame running through the center of gravity for the bed frame is allowed to carry out a continuous, damped and slow precession movement. Universal joints connecting the lifting drives to the bed frame can allow limited sliding movement therebetween in longitudinal and/or transverse directions. | 0 |
RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. Pat. No. 10/797,774 entitled “Swapping A Nonoperational Networked Electronic System For An Operational Networked Electronic System,” by Skinner filed on Mar. 9, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,970,418 which is incorporated herein by reference.
This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/201,244, filed on May 1, 2000, entitled “SWAPPING A NONOPERATIONAL NETWORKED ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR AN OPERATIONAL NETWORKED ELECTRONIC SYSTEM,” by Craig Stuart Skinner. This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/797,774, filed Mar. 9, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,970,418, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/568,648, filed May 10, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,724,720, which claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/201,244, filed May 1, 2000. U.S. application Ser. No. 10/797,774 is incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of networked electronic systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of replacing a nonoperational networked electronic system with an operational networked electronic system via a network.
2. Related Art
Computers and other electronic systems or devices (e.g., personal digital assistants) have become integral tools used in a wide variety of different applications, such as in finance and commercial transactions, computer-aided design and manufacturing, health care, telecommunication, education, etc. Computers along with other electronic devices are finding new applications as a result of advances in hardware technology and rapid development in software technology. Furthermore, the functionality of a computer system or other type of electronic system or device is dramatically enhanced by coupling these stand-alone devices together in order to form a networking environment. Within a networking environment, users may readily exchange files, share information stored on a common database, pool resources, and communicate via electronic mail (e-mail) and via video teleconferencing. Furthermore, computers or other types of electronic devices which are coupled to the Internet provide their users access to data and information from all over the world.
The functionality of an electronic system (e.g., a handheld computer system, a desktop computer system, a cellular phone, a pager, etc.) is enhanced by including one or more communication ports for exchanging or sharing data (e.g., via a wireless connection or via a wired connection) with other electronic systems or with a network (e.g., a wireless network, a wired network, etc.). For example, a radio frequency (RF) communication port, an infrared (IR) communication port, or other type of communication port can be incorporated into the electronic system. A communication port is positioned in the electronic system according to a variety of factors, such as space requirements, industry standards, and convenience to a user.
A personal digital assistant (commonly referred to as a PDA) is a handheld computer system. It is appreciated that the personal digital assistant is a portable handheld device that is used as an electronic organizer which has the capability to store a wide range of information that includes daily appointments, numerous telephone numbers of business and personal acquaintances, and various other information. Moreover, the personal digital assistant can also access information from the Internet, as mentioned above. In particular, the personal digital assistant can browse Web pages located on the Internet. Typically, the personal digital assistant includes an electronic display device having a display area (e.g., a screen) that is smaller in size relative to a display area associated with a standard-sized electronic display device (e.g., 15 inch monitor, 17 inch monitor, etc.) which is part of a desktop computer system or a laptop computer system.
Typically, the personal digital assistant includes a communication port (e.g., an IR communication port, a radio frequency (RF) communication port, a serial communication port for coupling to a communication cable, etc.) or other wireless connection. For example, a RF communication port enables the personal digital assistant to couple to a wireless network. Once the personal digital assistant is coupled to the wireless network, a network access configuration is created for the personal digital assistant. The network access configuration enables a user to use the personal digital assistant to access the network resources. Unfortunately, if the personal digital assistant is no longer operational, the user is required to obtain a new personal digital assistant, requiring creation of a new network access configuration for the new personal digital assistant. Creation of the new network access configuration is an inconvenient process performed by the network infrastructure provider and by the network service provider. Moreover, the user is inconvenienced by creation of the new network access configuration since the user cannot access the network until the new network access configuration is created.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A method of switching a network access configuration associated with a first electronic system to a second electronic system via a network is described. The first electronic system is inoperable. The second electronic system replaces the first electronic system such that a user seamlessly transitions from the first electronic system to the second electronic system. The user continues to access the network resources using the second electronic system rather than the first electronic system. In an embodiment of the present invention, the network comprises a Mobitex wireless network. In an embodiment of the present invention, the network access configuration includes a network identifier. In a Mobitex network, the network identifier comprises a Mobitex access number.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, an application for switching the network access configuration is invoked using the second electronic system. During a first phase, the application transmits first data to a network infrastructure provider. The network infrastructure provider obtains approval for switching the network access configuration from the network service provider. If the network service provider approves switching the network access configuration, the network infrastructure provider updates its databases such that the network access configuration of the first electronic system is associated with the second electronic system. During a second phase, the network service provider updates its databases such that the network access configuration of the first electronic system is associated with the second electronic system if the network infrastructure provider successfully updates its databases. At the conclusion of the second phase, the second electronic system can access the network using the network access configuration. However, the first electronic system is denied access to the network if the first electronic system attempts to access the network using the network access configuration.
These and other advantages of the present invention will no doubt become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art after having read the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments which are illustrated in the drawing figures.
In one embodiment, the present invention includes a method of switching a network access configuration associated with a first electronic system (FES) to a second electronic system (SES), comprising the steps of: a) transmitting via a network to a network infrastructure provider (NIP) first data for requesting a re-association of the network access configuration to the SES, wherein the network access configuration includes a network identifier for accessing the network; b) requesting approval of the re-association from a network service provider (NSP); c) if the NSP approves the re-association, updating second data for controlling and managing access to the network such that the SES is able to access the network using the network access configuration and the FES is denied access to the network; d) transmitting to the SES the network identifier; and e) if the NIP successfully updates the second data, updating third data for authorizing and tracking usage of the network such that the SES is able to access the network using the network access configuration and the FES is denied access to the network.
In another embodiment, the present invention includes an electronic system comprising: a processor coupled to a bus; an electronic display device coupled to the bus; a communication port coupled to the bus; and a memory device coupled to the bus and having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of switching a network access configuration associated with another electronic system to the electronic system (ES), the method comprising the steps of: a) transmitting via a network to a network infrastructure provider (NIP) first data for requesting a re-association of the network access configuration to the ES, wherein the network access configuration includes a network identifier for accessing the network; b) requesting approval of the re-association from a network service provider (NSP); c) if the NSP approves the re-association, updating second data for controlling and managing access to the network such that the ES is able to access the network using the network access configuration and the another electronic system is denied access to the network; d) transmitting to the ES the network identifier; and e) if the NIP successfully updates the second data, updating third data for authorizing and tracking usage of the network such that the ES is able to access the network using the network access configuration and the another electronic system is denied access to the network.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention.
FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a first exemplary network environment including a personal digital assistant coupled to other computer systems and the Internet via a cradle device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates a top side perspective view of a personal digital assistant that can be used in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 illustrates a bottom side perspective view of the personal digital assistant of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded view of the components of the personal digital assistant of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 5 illustrates is a logical circuit block diagram of the personal digital assistant in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of the cradle device for connecting the personal digital assistant to other systems via a communication interface in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a second exemplary network environment including a personal digital assistant in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 illustrates a flow chart diagram of steps performed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention for switching a network access configuration.
FIG. 9 illustrates a flow chart diagram of steps performed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention for switching a network access configuration.
FIG. 10 illustrates a plurality of exemplary windows displaying information on a personal digital assistant in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
The drawings referred to in this description should not be understood as being drawn to scale except if specifically noted.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, in the following detailed description of the present invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present invention.
Although the description of the present invention will focus on an exemplary personal digital assistant or handheld computer system, the present invention can be practiced with other electronic systems or electronic devices capable of being networked (e.g., cellular phones, pagers, etc.).
Notation and Nomenclature
Some portions of the detailed descriptions which follow are presented in terms of procedures, logic blocks, processing, and other symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. In the present application, a procedure, logic block, process, etc., is conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps or instructions leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated in a computer system. It has proved convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.
It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the present invention, discussions utilizing terms such as “generating”, “canceling”, “assigning”, “receiving”, “forwarding”, “dumping”, “updating”, “bypassing”, “transmitting”, “determining”, “retrieving”, “displaying”, “identifying”, “modifying”, “processing”, “preventing”, “using”, “sending”, “adjusting” or the like, refer to the actions and processes of an electronic system or a computer system, or other electronic computing device/system such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular phone, a pager, etc. The computer system or similar electronic computing device manipulates and transforms data represented as physical,(electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission, or display devices. The present invention is also well suited to the use of other computer systems such as, for example, optical and mechanical computers.
Exemplary Electronic System Environment
One of the common types of electronic systems which can be used in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is referred to as a personal digital assistant, or commonly called a PDA. The personal digital assistant is a pocket sized electronic organizer with the capability to store telephone numbers, addresses, daily appointments, and software that keeps track of business or personal data such as expenses, etc. Furthermore, the personal digital assistant also has the ability to connect to a personal computer, enabling the two devices to exchange updated information. Additionally, the personal digital assistant can also be connected to a modem, enabling it to have electronic mail (e-mail) capabilities over the Internet along with other Internet capabilities. Moreover, an advanced personal digital assistant can have Internet capabilities over a wireless communication interface (e.g., radio interface). In particular, the personal digital assistant can be used to browse Web pages located on the Internet. The personal digital assistant can be coupled to a networking environment. It should be appreciated that embodiments of the present invention are well suited to operate within a wide variety of electronic systems (e.g., computer systems) which can be communicatively coupled to a networking environment, including cellular phones, pagers, etc.
FIG. 1 illustrates a first network system 51 . The first network system 51 comprises a host computer system 56 which can either be a desktop computer system as shown, or, alternatively, can be a laptop computer system 58 . Optionally, more than one host computer system 56 can be used within the first network system 51 . Host computer systems 58 and 56 are shown connected to a communication bus 54 , which in one embodiment can be a serial communication bus, but could be of any of a number of well known designs (e.g., a parallel bus, Ethernet Local Area Network (LAN), etc.). Optionally, bus 54 can provide communication with the Internet 52 using a number of well known protocols.
Importantly, bus 54 is also coupled to a cradle 60 for receiving and initiating communication with the exemplary personal digital assistant 100 . Cradle 60 provides an electrical and mechanical communication interface between bus 54 (and any device coupled to bus 54 ) and the exemplary personal digital assistant 100 for two-way communications. The exemplary personal digital assistant 100 also contains a wireless infrared communication mechanism 64 for sending and receiving information from other devices. The exemplary personal digital assistant 100 can include both a wireless infrared communication mechanism and a signal (e.g., radio frequency) receiver/transmitter device.
FIG. 2 is a perspective illustration of the top face 100 a of one embodiment of the exemplary personal digital assistant or handheld computer system 100 . The top face 100 a has a display screen 105 surrounded by a bezel or cover. A removable stylus 80 is also shown. The display screen 105 is a touch screen able to register contact between the screen and the tip of the stylus 80 . The stylus 80 can be of any material to make contact with the display screen 105 . The top face 100 a also has one or more dedicated and/or programmable buttons 75 for selecting information and causing the computer system to implement functions. The on/off button 95 is also shown. Moreover, a user is able to control specific functionality of the personal digital assistant 100 by using its plurality of buttons 75 (e.g., to invoke telephone/address data, calendar data, to-do-list data, memo pad data, etc.). Furthermore, the user can utilize the stylus 80 in conjunction with the display screen 105 in order to cause the personal digital assistant 100 to perform a multitude of different functions. One such function is the selecting of different functional operations of the personal digital assistant 100 , which are accomplished by touching stylus 80 to specific areas of display screen 105 . Another such function is the entering of data into the exemplary personal digital assistant 100 .
FIG. 2 also illustrates a handwriting recognition pad or “digitizer” containing two regions 106 a and 106 b. Region 106 a is for the drawing of alphabetic characters therein (and not for numeric characters) for automatic recognition, and region 106 b is for the drawing of numeric characters therein (and not for alphabetic characters) for automatic recognition. The stylus 80 is used for stroking a character within one of the regions 106 a and 106 b. The stroke information is then fed to an internal processor for automatic character recognition. Once characters are recognized, they are typically displayed on the screen 105 for verification and/or modification.
FIG. 3 illustrates the bottom side 100 b of one embodiment of the exemplary personal digital assistant or palmtop computer system 100 that can be used in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. An extendible antenna 85 is shown, and also a battery storage compartment door 90 is shown. The antenna 85 enables the exemplary personal digital assistant 100 to be communicatively coupled to a network environment, thereby enabling a user to communicate information with other electronic systems and electronic devices coupled to the network. A communication interface 180 is also shown. In one embodiment of the present invention, the communication interface 180 is a serial communication port, but could also alternatively be of any of a number of well-known communication standards and protocols (e.g., parallel, SCSI (small computer system interface), Firewire (IEEE 1394), Ethernet, etc.).
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the exemplary personal digital assistant 100 . The exemplary personal digital assistant 100 contains a front cover 210 having an outline of region 106 and holes 75 a for receiving buttons 75 b. A flat panel display 105 (both liquid crystal display and touch screen) fits into front cover 210 . Any of a number of display technologies can be used, e.g., liquid crystal display (LCD), field emission display (FED), plasma, etc., for the flat panel display 105 . A battery 215 provides electrical power. A contrast adjustment (potentiometer) 220 is also shown, as well as an on/off button 95 . A flex circuit 230 is shown along with a personal computer (PC) board 225 containing electronics and logic (e.g., memory, communication bus, processor, etc.) for implementing computer system functionality. The digitizer pad is also included in PC board 225 . A midframe 235 is shown along with stylus 80 . Position-adjustable antenna 85 is shown.
Infrared communication mechanism 64 (e.g., an infrared emitter and detector device) is for sending and receiving information from other similarly equipped devices (see FIG. 1 ). A signal (e.g., radio frequency) receiver/transmitter device 108 is also shown. The receiver/transmitter device 108 is coupled to the antenna 85 and also coupled to communicate with the PC board 225 . In one implementation, the Mobitex wireless communication system is used to provide two-way communication between the exemplary personal digital assistant 100 and other networked computers and/or the Internet.
Referring now to FIG. 5 , portions of the present electronic system are comprised of computer-readable and computer-executable instructions which reside, for example, in computer-readable media of an electronic system (e.g., personal digital assistant, computer system, and the like). FIG. 5 is a block diagram of exemplary interior components of an exemplary personal digital assistant 100 upon which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented. It is appreciated that the exemplary personal digital assistant 100 of FIG. 5 is only exemplary and that the present invention can operate within a number of different electronic systems including general purpose networked computer systems, embedded computer systems, and stand alone electronic systems such as a cellular telephone or a pager.
FIG. 5 illustrates circuitry of an exemplary electronic system or computer system 100 (such as the personal digital assistant), some of which can be implemented on PC board 225 ( FIG. 5 ). Exemplary computer system 100 includes an address/data bus 110 for communicating information, a central processor 101 coupled to the bus 110 for processing information and instructions, a volatile memory 102 (e.g., random access memory, static RAM, dynamic RAM, etc.) coupled to the bus 110 for storing information and instructions for the central processor 101 and a non-volatile memory 103 (e.g., read only memory, programmable ROM, flash memory, EPROM, EEPROM, etc.) coupled to the bus 110 for storing static information and instructions for the processor 101 . Exemplary computer system 100 also includes an optional data storage device 104 (e.g., memory card, hard drive, etc.) coupled with the bus 110 for storing information and instructions. Data storage device 104 can be removable. As described above, exemplary computer system 100 also includes an electronic display device 105 coupled to the bus 110 for displaying information to the computer user. In one embodiment, PC board 225 can include the processor 101 , the bus 110 , the ROM 103 and the RAM 102 .
With reference still to FIG. 5 , exemplary computer system 100 also includes a signal transmitter/receiver device 108 which is coupled to bus 110 for providing a communication link between computer system 100 and a network environment. As such, signal transmitter/receiver device 108 enables central processor unit 101 to communicate wirelessly with other electronic systems coupled to the network. It should be appreciated that within an embodiment of the present invention, signal transmitter/receiver device 108 is coupled to antenna 85 ( FIG. 4 ) and provides the functionality to transmit and receive information over a wireless communication interface. It should be further appreciated that the present embodiment of signal transmitter/receiver device 108 is well-suited to be implemented in a wide variety of ways. For example, signal transmitter/receiver device 108 could be implemented as a modem.
In one embodiment, exemplary computer system 100 includes a communication circuit 109 coupled to bus 110 . Communication circuit 109 includes an optional digital signal processor (DSP) 120 for processing data to be transmitted or data that are received via signal transmitter/receiver device 108 . Alternatively, some or all of the functions performed by DSP 120 can be performed by processor 101 .
Also included in exemplary computer system 100 of FIG. 5 is an optional alphanumeric input device 106 which in one implementation is a handwriting recognition pad (“digitizer”) having regions 106 a and 106 b ( FIG. 2 ), for instance. Alphanumeric input device 106 can communicate information and command selections to processor 101 . Exemplary computer system 100 also includes an optional cursor control or directing device (on-screen cursor control 107 ) coupled to bus 110 for communicating user input information and command selections to processor 101 . In one implementation, on-screen cursor control device 107 is a touch screen device incorporated with display device 105 . On-screen cursor control device 107 is capable of registering a position on display device 105 where the stylus makes contact. The display device 105 utilized with exemplary computer system 100 may be a liquid crystal display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT), a field emission display device (also called a flat panel CRT) or other display device suitable for generating graphic images and alphanumeric characters recognizable to the user. In the preferred embodiment, display device 105 is a flat panel display.
FIG. 6 is a perspective illustration of an embodiment of the cradle 60 for receiving the exemplary personal digital assistant or handheld computer system 100 . Cradle 60 includes a mechanical and electrical interface 260 for interfacing with communication interface 108 ( FIG. 3 ) of the exemplary personal digital assistant 100 when the personal digital assistant 100 is slid into the cradle 60 in an upright position. Once inserted, button 270 can be pressed to initiate two-way communication between the personal digital assistant 100 and other computer systems or electronic devices coupled to serial communication 265 .
Switching a Network Access Configuration Associated with a First Electronic System to a Second Electronic System
Although the description of the present invention will focus on an exemplary personal digital assistant or handheld computer system, the present invention can be practiced with other electronic systems or electronic devices capable of being networked (e.g., cellular phones, pagers, etc.).
FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a second exemplary network environment 700 in which an embodiment of the present invention can be practiced. In an embodiment of the present invention, the network environment 700 includes a first network 750 . In an embodiment of the present invention, the first network 750 comprises a Mobitex network 750 . It should be recognized that the first network 750 can be implemented in any other manner.
The Mobitex network 750 is a wireless network. The Mobitex network is a secure, reliable, two-way digital wireless packet switching network.
The Mobitex network 750 includes a plurality of base stations 731 - 733 for enabling an electronic system (e.g., the personal digital assistant 100 ) to access the Mobitex network 750 . A base station 1 731 is coupled to the Mobitex network 750 via communication connection 741 . A base station 2 732 is coupled to the Mobitex network 750 via communication connection 742 . A base stationX 733 is coupled to the Mobitex network 750 via communication connection 743 . In an embodiment of the present invention, the base stations 731 - 733 are configured to transmit and to receive data and information. The communication connections 741 - 743 can be implemented as a wireless connection, a wired connection (e.g., a telephone connection), or in any other appropriate manner.
The personal digital assistant 100 includes a radio frequency (RF) communication port (or radio interface) having an antenna 85 . Moreover, the personal digital assistant 100 has the ability to transmit and receive data and information via the RF communication port. The personal digital assistant 100 utilizes the antenna 85 to couple to the base station 1 731 via the connection 720 . In an embodiment, the connection 720 is a wireless connection 720 . Moreover, the wireless connection 720 is a RF wireless connection 720 .
In an embodiment, a proxy server 760 is coupled to the Mobitex network 750 via communication connection 761 . The proxy server 760 is coupled to the Internet 765 . The proxy server 760 enables the personal digital assistant 100 to communicate with the Internet 765 . It should be appreciated that within the present embodiment, one of the functions of proxy server 760 is to perform operations over the Internet 765 on behalf of the personal digital assistant 100 . For example, proxy server 760 has a particular Internet address and acts as a proxy device for the personal digital assistant 100 over the Internet 765 . It should be further appreciated that other embodiments for the network environment 700 may be utilized in accordance with the present invention.
In an embodiment, a network service provider 790 is coupled to the Internet 765 . The network service provider 790 includes one or more databases for storing data for authorizing and tracking usage of the Mobitex network 750 . Moreover, the network service provider 790 is coupled to a network infrastructure provider 790 via connection 785 .
In an embodiment, an activation gateway 770 is coupled to the Mobitex network 750 via connection 771 . The activation gateway 770 is coupled to the network infrastructure provider 780 via connection 772 . The activation gateway 770 enables the personal digital assistant 100 to access the network infrastructure provider 780 .
The network infrastructure provider 780 is coupled to the network service provider 790 via connection 785 . The network infrastructure provider 780 is coupled to the activation gateway 770 via connection 772 . In an embodiment, the network infrastructure provider 780 includes one or more databases for storing data for controlling and managing access to the Mobitex network 750 .
To access the Mobitex network 750 , the personal digital assistant 100 , the activation gateway 770 , and the proxy server 760 need a network identifier. In an embodiment, the network identifier comprises a Mobitex access number (MAN). The MAN is analogous to a phone number on a telephone network.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, when a first personal digital assistant becomes inoperable, a second personal digital assistant 100 is swapped for the first personal digital assistant. The first personal digital assistant is made inoperable due to any reason. For example, the first personal digital assistant may become lost or stolen. Moreover, the first personal digital assistant may malfunction.
Rather than activating the second personal digital assistant 100 with a new network access configuration so that a user can access the Mobitex network 750 with the second personal digital assistant 100 , a network access configuration associated with the first personal digital assistant is re-associated with the second personal digital assistant 100 . The network access configuration includes the network identifier (e.g., the Mobitex access number). In an embodiment, the network access configuration further includes, for example, network user account data, network user privileges data, or network user profile data. Thus, the user experiences a seamless transition from the first personal digital assistant to the second personal digital assistant 100 when accessing the Mobitex network 750 .
In an embodiment of the present invention, an application is loaded to the second personal digital assistant 100 . Upon invoking the application, the application automatically switches the network access configuration associated with the first personal digital assistant to the second personal digital assistant 100 via the RF communication port of the second personal digital assistant 100 . During a first phase, the network infrastructure provider 780 updates its one or more databases such that the second personal digital assistant 100 is able to access the Mobitex network 750 using the network access configuration (previously associated with the first personal digital assistant). During a second phase, the network service provider 790 updates its one or more databases such that the second personal digital assistant 100 is able to access the Mobitex network 750 using the network access configuration (previously associated with the first personal digital assistant). At the conclusion of the second phase, the second personal digital assistant 100 can access the Mobitex network 750 using the network access configuration (previously associated with the first personal digital assistant). However, the first personal digital assistant is denied access to the Mobitex network 750 if the first personal digital assistant 100 attempts to access the Mobitex network 750 using the network access configuration (previously associated with the first personal digital assistant).
FIG. 8 illustrates a flow chart diagram of steps performed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention for switching a network access configuration. Reference will be made to FIG. 7 . In particular, FIG. 8 illustrates the first phase of the method of switching the network access configuration associated with the first personal digital assistant to the second personal digital assistant 100 .
At step 805 , an application is loaded to the second personal digital assistant 100 . The application is configured to automatically switch the network access configuration associated with the first personal digital assistant to the second personal digital assistant 100 . In an embodiment, a repair facility configures the second personal digital assistant 100 before sending the second personal digital assistant 100 to the user(that previously utilized the first personal digital assistant)
At step 810 , the application is invoked using the second personal digital assistant 100 . The application prompts the repair facility to input data. In one embodiment, the repair facility inputs the user name and the hardware serial number associated with the first personal digital assistant, whereas the hardware serial number (HSN) uniquely identifies each personal digital assistant. In one embodiment, the user provides the user name and the hardware serial number associated with the first personal digital assistant to the repair facility. In another embodiment, the user provides his/her name. The repair facility utilizes one or more databases of the network service provider 790 to obtain the user name and the hardware serial number associated with the first personal digital assistant. The hardware serial number comprises a Mobitex serial number and a Mobitex serial number extension. In still another embodiment, the repair facility inputs the user name and the Mobitex serial number associated with the first personal digital assistant (rather than the hardware serial number associated with the first personal digital assistant).
At step 815 , data is transmitted to the network infrastructure provider 780 via the antenna 85 . In one embodiment, the user name, the hardware serial number associated with the first personal digital assistant, and the hardware serial number associated with the second personal digital assistant 100 are transmitted to the network infrastructure provider 780 . In addition, a request for re-associating the network access configuration associated with the first personal digital assistant to the second personal digital assistant 100 is transmitted to the network infrastructure provider 780 . In one embodiment, the second personal digital assistant 100 utilizes the Mobitex access number associated with the activation gateway 770 to transmit the data to the activation gateway 770 via base station 1 731 . The activation gateway 770 transmits the data to the network infrastructure provider 780 via connection 772 .
At step 816 , the network infrastructure provider 780 determines whether the data includes a request for re-associating the network access configuration associated with the first personal digital assistant to the second personal digital assistant 100 . At step 817 , the present method ends if there is no request for re-associating the network access configuration.
Otherwise, at step 820 , the network infrastructure provider 780 transmits data to the network service provider 790 via connection 785 . In an embodiment, the user name, the hardware serial number associated with the first personal digital assistant, and the hardware serial number associated with the second personal digital assistant 100 are transmitted to the network service provider 790 . The network infrastructure provider 780 stores and manages the Mobitex access numbers. In addition, the Mobitex access number associated with the first personal digital number is transmitted to the network service provider 790 . Moreover, the network infrastructure provider 780 transmits a request for approving the re-association of the network access configuration.
At step 825 of FIG. 8 , the network service provider 790 determines whether to approve the request for re-associating the network access configuration associated with the first personal digital assistant to the second personal digital assistant 100 . The network service provider 790 examines its one or more databases to determine whether the user is authorized to access the Mobitex network. At step 827 , the present method ends if the network service provider 790 does not approve the request for re-associating the network access configuration associated with the first personal digital assistant to the second personal digital assistant 100 .
Otherwise, at step 830 , the network service provider 790 sets a flag to indicate that the re-association of the network access configuration has been approved.
At step 835 , the network service provider 790 transmits data to the network infrastructure provider 780 . In an embodiment, a response approving the re-association of the network access configuration is transmitted.
At step 840 , the network infrastructure provider 780 updates its one or more databases such that the second personal digital assistant 100 is able to access the Mobitex network 750 using the network access configuration associated with the first personal digital assistant. In an embodiment, the network infrastructure provider 780 invalidates the hardware serial number associated with the first personal digital assistant. Moreover, the network infrastructure provider 780 associates the network access configuration (previously associated with the first personal digital assistant) with the second personal digital assistant 100 . In particular, the Mobitex access number of the first personal digital assistant is associated with the hardware serial number of the second personal digital assistant 100 .
At step 845 of FIG. 8 , the network infrastructure provider 780 transmits the Mobitex access number of the first personal digital assistant to the second personal digital assistant 100 via activation gateway 770 and base station 1 731 . In an embodiment, the Mobitex access number of the first personal digital assistant is stored in a memory device of the second personal digital assistant 100 . In an embodiment, the memory device comprises a flash memory device.
The first phase concludes at the end of step 845 . The first personal digital assistant can no longer access the Mobitex network 750 . In an embodiment, the second phase (of the method of switching the network access configuration associated with the first personal digital assistant to the second personal digital assistant 100 ) begins after a particular time interval has expired. In one embodiment, the particular time interval is one hour.
FIG. 9 illustrates a flow chart diagram of steps performed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention for switching a network access configuration. Reference will be made to FIG. 7 . In particular, FIG. 9 illustrates the second phase of the method of switching the network access configuration associated with the first personal digital assistant to the second personal digital assistant 100 .
At step 905 , the second personal digital assistant 100 transmits data to the network service provider 790 via the antenna 85 . In an embodiment of the present invention, a request to complete the re-association of the network access configuration is transmitted. In an embodiment, the second personal digital assistant 100 utilizes the Mobitex access number associated with the proxy server 760 to transmit the data to the proxy server 760 via base station 1 731 . The proxy server 760 transmits the data to the network service provider 790 via the Internet 765 . In an embodiment, the data is implemented as a HyperText Transmission Protocol Secure (HTTPS) message.
At step 910 , the network service provider 790 updates its one or more databases such that the second personal digital assistant 100 is able to access the Mobitex network 750 using the network access configuration associated with the first personal digital assistant. In an embodiment, the network service provider 790 invalidates the hardware serial number associated with the first personal digital assistant. Moreover, the network service provider 790 associates the network access configuration (previously associated with the first personal digital assistant) with the second personal digital assistant 100 . In particular, the Mobitex access number of the first personal digital assistant is associated with the hardware serial number of the second personal digital assistant 100 . Moreover, the user name of the first personal digital assistant is associated with the second personal digital assistant 100 .
At step 915 , the network service provider 790 transmits an acknowledgment (ACK) message to the second personal digital assistant 100 via the proxy server 760 and the base station 1 731 , whereas the acknowledgment message indicates that the re-association of the network access configuration has been successful. In an embodiment of the present invention, the acknowledgment message includes the user name associated with the first personal digital assistant. In an embodiment, the acknowledgment message is implemented as a HyperText Transmission Protocol Secure (HTTPS) message. In an embodiment, the user name is stored in a memory device of the second personal digital assistant 100 . According to an embodiment of the present invention, the memory device comprises a flash memory device.
At step 925 , the second personal digital assistant 100 determines whether it has stored the user name and the Mobitex access number of the first personal digital assistant in the memory device of the second personal digital assistant 100 . At step 927 , the method of the present invention has failed since the user name or Mobitex access number is not stored in the second personal digital assistant.
Otherwise, at step 930 , the method of the present invention ends. At the conclusion of the second phase, the second personal digital assistant 100 can access the Mobitex network 750 using the network access configuration (previously associated with the first personal digital assistant). However, the first personal digital assistant is denied access to the Mobitex network 750 if the first personal digital assistant 100 attempts to access the Mobitex network 750 using the network access configuration (previously associated with the first personal digital assistant).
In one embodiment, the repair facility deletes the application for switching the network access configuration before sending the second personal digital assistant 100 to the user.
FIG. 10 illustrates a plurality of exemplary windows displaying information on a personal digital assistant in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In an embodiment, the repair facility interfaces with the exemplary windows. The first window 1100 appears on the second personal digital assistant 100 upon invoking the application for switching the network access configuration associated with the first personal digital assistant to the second personal digital assistant 100 . By selecting NO 1120 , the application ends without configuring the second personal digital assistant 100 .
By selecting YES 1110 , the second window 1200 appears on the second personal digital assistant 100 . The repair facility can input the user name and the hardware serial number (HSN) associated with the first personal digital assistant. In one embodiment, the repair facility enters an authorized password to prevent unauthorized use of the application. By selecting PREVIOUS 1210 , the first window 1100 appears on the second personal digital assistant 100 . By selecting CANCEL 1230 , the application ends without configuring the second personal digital assistant 100 . By selecting SUBMIT 1220 , the application configures the second personal digital assistant 100 as described above.
The third window 1300 appears at the end of the first phase. The third window 1300 alerts the repair facility to proceed with the second phase after the particular time interval has expired. It should be recognized that the windows 1100 , 1200 , and 1300 are merely exemplary and that other configurations can be implemented in accordance with the present invention. In one embodiment, a selection is made by positioning a stylus on the selection on the window. Alternatively, the selection can be made in any other appropriate manner.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention may be incorporated as computer instructions stored as computer program code on a computer-readable medium such as a magnetic disk, CD-ROM, and other media common in the art or that may yet be developed.
Finally, one of the embodiments of the present invention is an application, namely, a set of instructions (e.g., program code) which may, for example, be resident in the random access memory of an electronic system (e.g., computer system, personal digital assistant or handheld computer system, etc.). Until required by the computer system, the set of instructions may be stored in another computer memory, for example, in a hard drive, or in a removable memory such as an optical disk (for eventual use in a CD-ROM) or floppy disk (for eventual use in a floppy disk drive), or downloaded via the Internet or other computer network. Thus, the present invention may be implemented as a computer program product for use in a computer system (e.g., personal digital assistant). In addition, although the various methods of the present invention described above are conveniently implemented in a computer system selectively activated or reconfigured by software, one of ordinary skill in the art would also recognize that such methods of the present invention may be carried out in hardware, firmware, or in a more specialized apparatus constructed to perform the required methods of the present invention.
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents. | A method of switching a network access configuration associated with a first electronic system to a second electronic system via a network is described. The first electronic system is inoperable. The second electronic system replaces the first electronic system such that a user seamlessly transitions from the first electronic system to the second electronic system. The user continues to access the network resources using the second electronic system rather than the first electronic system. | 7 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
Reference is made to and priority claimed from U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. U.S. 60/005,517, filed Oct. 13, 1995, entitled BLENDS OF POLYMER AND ZEOLITE MOLECULAR SIEVES FOR PACKAGING INSERTS.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method and article for improving the storage of materials subject to deterioration by water vapor absorption or absorption of gases such as SO 2 or ozone. It particularly relates to storage of photographic films.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The ability to store processed and unprocessed photographic film without change in the properties of the film is important to maintaining exposed and developed films, as well as maintaining consistent performance of unexposed films. The archival keeping properties of photographic films are expected to be measured in decades. The properties of unexposed films are intended to remain stable over many months of storage in various conditions.
It is common practice to use hermetically sealed containers of plastic or metal, or to seal in metal coated polymer bags to prevent moisture access to films. It is also desirable to protect films from gases such as SO 2 and ozone. Other materials such as food also need sealed and protective packaging. This is commonly referred to as Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP). This is where you create a specific ambient condition within a package different than typical ambient atmospheric condition.
Further, it has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,192--Ram et al that packages of particulate materials such as molecular sieve zeolites may be placed in film storage containers for exposed films to improve their storage properties. Desiccants also have been proposed for package insert or coating material for a package for film or cameras in U.S. Pat. No. 4,036,360--Deffeyes.
It has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,581--Schroder that desiccants be placed within video cameras in order to dry the cameras.
Blends of polyethylene polymer with MgSO 4 and COSO 4 have been proposed for packaging inserts. However, MgSO 4 does not absorb gases such as SO 2 , ozone and H 2 O 2 or acids such as HCl or acetic.
However, the above systems for placing materials for drying into a package or apparatus suffer from some disadvantages. The disposal of the desiccant packs is difficult, as consumers do not know what to do with them. Further, they can become displaced or broken, interfering with the functioning of the components where humidity protection is being provided. Further, they add to cost, as there is a separate assembly step to place desiccant packs in packages, as well as the cost of making the desiccant packages. Magnesium sulfate polymer blends have the disadvantage that they hydrolyze to form harmful acids when used as desiccants.
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION
There remains a need for a method of providing package inserts having improved desiccant and gas absorbing protection. Further, there is a need for a better method of providing photographic articles with a packaging insert with desiccant properties, as well as the ability to absorb noxious gases.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to overcome disadvantages of prior methods and articles.
A further object of the invention is to provide improved moisture protection for photographic elements.
An additional object is to provide improved storage qualities and container for storing photographic elements.
These and other objects of the invention generally are accomplished by providing a method for improving the keeping of photographic elements comprising placing said elements in a container and placing a material comprising a blend of polymer and molecular sieve particles in said container with said element.
Another embodiment of the invention is a material for improving the storage keeping properties of photographic elements comprising a blend of polymer and molecular sieve particles.
ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECT OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides packaging inserts that provide improved moisture protection. The invention packaging inserts have the advantage that they will not disperse into particulate material if they are broken, as the molecular sieve material is held in the polymer. They have the advantage over magnesium sulfate and cobalt sulfate type desiccants in that the molecular sieve materials will not hydrolyze after moisture is adsorbed and form acid as will the magnesium sulfate materials. Further, the molecular sieve materials are effective in absorbing noxious gases such as hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen peroxide, nitrous compounds, and sulfurs compounds. Further, the zeolite molecular sieve materials will absorb acid such as hydrochloric and nitric acids and acetic acid and hydrolyze such materials to a harmless state. Further, the insert articles of the invention will hydrolyze acid materials to neutral components. The polymer blend materials of the invention further, when they have absorbed water, will be conductive and will provide antistatic protection to the articles in storage. The materials of the invention have the advantage that if for some reason the materials are directly contacted with water, they will not generate heat. Zeolite, if directly contacted with liquid water, will generate heat which could be detrimental to photographic materials stored with packets of zeolite. Another advantage of the zeolite polymer blends of the invention is that they are more rapidly able to absorb water vapor than the sulfate such as cobalt and magnesium. The inserts of the invention also have the advantage that they are able to absorb acetic acid which is given off by cellulose acetate film base during long-term storage. The polymer and molecular sieve blend materials may be formed into any shape which is compatible for the packaging with which it is intended to be used. For instance, it could be formed into a sheet-like material for placement on the bottom and top of the large flat containers for storing motion picture film. Such sheet-like disks of the material of the invention would only need to be about 1/8 inch thick to provide adequate desiccant protection for many years of storage. For other uses such as with cartridges of film or in single use cameras, it might be desirable to form the materials of the invention into small cylinders which could be inserted into the core of wound films. Other shapes that would be useful would be in the shape of wafers or crackers which could be placed in film packs or with foods and electronic materials where acid and vapor protection was desired. High impact polystyrene and high and low density polyethylenes utilized in the preferred forms of the invention have enough strength that even in thin sheets that they will hold together for placement in packaging while taking very little room and being light in weight. It is also possible that various colorants can be added to the polymer to make the insert materials of the invention any desirable color. As earlier stated, it also is possible that materials which change color upon absorption of water could be present in the polymer which would give a visual indicator of when the desiccant and acid absorbing materials of the invention should be replaced. The articles of the invention are low in cost and provide improved film properties by allowing storage of materials without deterioration.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention has advantages in that cameras and film cartridges operate under different climatic conditions with less variation if they have been stored with the desiccant materials of the invention. The inherent curl and coreset of the film inside the magazines will be reduced. Addition of the molecular sieves of the invention also will catalytically decompose atmospheric pollutants such as H 2 O 2 , SO 3 , and ozone, therefore, enhancing the integrity of raw and processed film. Even when moisture saturation of the molecular sieves of the invention occurs, they will provide static protection to the stored film. The invention also has the advantage that the reduction in moisture during storage will improve the raw stock keeping of a photographic film by increasing the glass transition temperature of the gelatin emulsion due to the reduced moisture content. The invention also has the advantage that ferrotyping/sticking/blocking of roll films under normal and adverse storage conditions will be minimized independent of the film support material. The stable storage of film also will lead to improved film actuations in cameras and cartridges. Further, lowering of humidity in storage will reduce degradation of film by reducing hydrolysis of the support which will lead to degradation of the film over long periods of storage for both raw and particularly processed films. These and other advantages will be apparent from the description below.
While the above description has dealt primarily with use of the molecular sieve polymer blend materials for storage of film, they also would find use in other areas, particularly in the packaging where they would provide desiccant protection for the packaged materials during shipping. It is contemplated that this method and materials could be utilized for packaging of electrical components or food products where high humidity conditions are not desirable. The invention would also find use in the packaging for optical disks and audio tapes. The packaging and storage containers for other information storage media such as information storage disks also could contain the insert materials of the invention. Magnetic, as well as photographic media, are subject to degradation caused by the presence of acids, nitrous gases and water vapor in the atmosphere to which they are subject. All of them would benefit by being in proximity to the structural members such as formed by this invention.
In the practicing of the invention, molecular sieve materials are blended with a polymer. The polymer molecular sieve blend may be placed in photographic element containers. The containers may be used for processed film, exposed but unprocessed film, or unexposed film. The polymer insert materials of the invention also may be utilized in other products that would benefit from the absorption of water vapor and atmospheric pollutants by the molecular sieves. The polymer inserts would also find use in packaging of electrical materials or dried food products.
In the storage of photographic materials, it is important that the relative humidity be maintained at a low percent of moisture content, as the gelatin which contains the image materials exhibits a variety of glass transition temperatures depending on the amount of retained moisture due to the surrounding relative humidity of the air in equilibrium as shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1______________________________________Relative Humidity, Percent Moisture Content andGlass Transition Temperature (Tg) of Gelatin FilmsPercent RH 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10______________________________________Percent moisture content 28 22 20 18 16 14 12 10in gelatin emulsionsGlass transition tempera- 21 35 42 50 62 71 80 90ture of gelatin, deg C.______________________________________
As shown by the above table at 80 percent relative humidity, the glass transition temperature is generally at room temperature. Even at 70 percent relative humidity, the glass transition temperature could be reached in many storage conditions such as in warehouses. Moisture absorption by the zeolite inserts, rather than the gelatin, will increase the glass transition temperature of gelatin. The resulting increase of the glass transition temperature will prevent rapid deterioration of the film due to hydrolysis.
The preferred materials of the invention are molecular sieve zeolites, as they have the ability to blend well with polymers, have good desiccant properties, and absorb other gases such as SO 2 .
Any suitable molecular sieve zeolite such as, for example, Type A,. Type L, Type X, Type Y and mixtures of these zeolites may be used in this invention. The molecular sieve materials are crystalline, hydrated metal aluminosilicates which are either made synthetically or naturally occurring minerals. Such materials are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,882,243, 2,882,244, 3,078,636, 3,140,235 and 4,094,652, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. In the practice of this invention the two types, A and X, are preferred. Molecular sieve, zeolites contain in each crystal interconnecting cavities of uniform size, separated by narrower openings, or pores, of equal uniformity. When formed, this crystalline network is full of water, but with moderate heating, the moisture can be driven from the cavities without changing the crystalline structure. This leaves the cavities with their combined surface area and pore volume available for absorption of water or other materials. The process of evacuation and refilling the cavities may be repeated indefinitely under favorable conditions.
With molecular sieves, close process control is possible because the pores of the crystalline network are uniform rather than of varied dimensions, as is the case with other adsorbents. With the large surface area and pore volume, molecular sieves can make separations of molecules, utilizing pore uniformity, to differentiate on the basis of molecular size and configuration.
Molecular sieves are crystalline, metal aluminosilicates with three dimensional network structures of silica and alumina tetrahedra. This very uniform crystalline structure imparts to the molecular sieves properties which make them excellent desiccants, with a high capacity even at elevated temperatures. The tetrahedra are formed by four oxygen atoms surrounding a silicon or aluminum atom. Each oxygen has two negative charges and each silicon has four positive charges. This structure permits a sharing arrangement, building tetrahedra uniformly in four directions. The trivalency of aluminum causes the alumina tetrahedron to be negatively charged, requiring an additional cation to balance the system. Thus, the final structure has sodium, potassium, calcium or other cations in the network. These charge balancing cations are the exchangeable ions of the zeolite structure.
In the crystalline structure, up to half of the quadrivalent silicon atoms can be replaced by trivalent aluminum atoms. Zeolites containing different ratios of silicon to aluminum ions are available, as well as different crystal structures containing various cations.
In the most common commercial zeolite, Type A, the tetrahedra are grouped to form a truncated octahedron with a silica or alumina tetrahedron at each point. This structure is known as sodalite cage.
When sodalite cages are stacked in simple cubic forms, the result is a network of cavities approximately 11.5Å in size, accessible through openings on all six sides. These openings are surrounded by eight oxygen ions. One or more exchangeable cations also partially block the face area. In the sodium form, this ring of oxygen ions provides an opening of 4.2Å in diameter into the interior of the structure. This crystalline structure is represented chemically by the following formula:
Na.sub.12 (AlO.sub.2).sub.12 (SiO.sub.2).sub.12 !H.sub.2 O
The water of hydration which fills the cavities during crystallization is loosely bound and can be removed by moderate heating. The voids formerly occupied by this water can be refilled by adsorbing a variety of gases and liquids. The number of water molecules in the structure (the value of X) can be as great as 27.
The sodium ions, which are associated with the aluminum tetrahedra, tend to block the openings, or conversely may assist the passage of slightly oversized molecules by their electrical charge. As a result, this sodium form of the molecular sieve, which is commercially called 4Å, can be regarded as having uniform openings of approximately 4Å diameter.
Because of their base exchange properties, zeolites can be readily produced with other metals substituting for a portion of the sodium.
Among the synthetic zeolites, two modifications have been found particularly useful in industry. By replacing a large fraction of the sodium with potassium ions, the 3Å molecular sieve is formed (with openings of about 3Å). Similarly, when calcium ions are used for exchange, the 5Å (with approximately 5Å openings) is formed.
The crystal structure of the Type X zeolite is built up by arranging the basic sodalite cages in a tetrahedral stacking (diamond structure) with bridging across the six-membered oxygen atom ring. These rings provide opening 9-10Å in diameter into the interior of the structure. The overall electrical charge is balanced by positively charged cation(s), as in the Type A structure. The chemical formula that represents the unit cell of Type X molecular sieve in the soda form is shown below:
Na.sub.86 (AlO.sub.2).sub.86 (SiO2).sub.106 !×H.sub.2 O
As in the case of the Type A crystals, water of hydration can be removed by moderate heating and the voids thus created can be refilled with other liquids or gases. The value of X can be as great as 276.
A prime requisite for any adsorbent is the possession of a large surface area per unit volume. In addition, the surface must be chemically inert and available to the required adsorbate(s). From a purely theoretical point of view, the rate at which molecules may be adsorbed, other factors being equal, will depend on the rate at which they contact the surface of adsorbent particles and the speed with which they diffuse into particles after contact. One or the other of these factors may be controlling in any given situation. One way to speed the mass transfer, in either case, is to reduce the size of the adsorbent particles.
While the synthetic crystals of zeolites are relatively small, e.g., 0.1 μm to 10 μm, these smaller particles may be bonded or agglomerated into larger shapes. Typical commercial spherical particles have an average bonded particle size of 1000 μm to 5000 μm (4 to 12 mesh). Other molecular sieve shapes, such as pellets (1-3 mm diameter), Rashig rings, saddles, etc., are useful.
The molecular sieve should be employed as received from the manufacture which is in the most dry conditions. If the molecular sieve has been exposed to the atmosphere, it is preferred that it be reactivated according to manufacturer's recommendations.
The molecular sieve generally is combined into the polymer by blending with the polymer prior to its formation into an article. The polymer utilized includes but not limited to thermoplastic semicrystalline polyolefin polymer, such as polyethylene, butadienestyrene polymers, or polypropylene; an amorphous polymer such as polyphenylene or polystyrene or; a thermosetting polymer such as polyesters and acrylics. Preferred are the high impact polystyrene polymers and high or low density polyethylene. High impact polystyrene (HIPS) generally is rubber modified with a rubber content of 5 to 12 weight percent.
The molecular zeolite generally is in powder form when incorporated into the polymer. However, there might be instances when a molecular sieve may be somewhat larger than powder such as pellets, although materials incorporating larger particles of the molecular sieve material are not as strong and not suitable for more demanding structural applications. The polymer and zeolite blends can be recycled in the same way as pure polymer is recycled and can be mixed with more pure polymer during recycling.
The molecular sieve material may be incorporated in any suitable amount. Generally when the molecular sieve zeolite of a particle size of between 0.1 and 10 micrometers average diameter is utilized, the material can be present in any effective amount up to about 60 percent by weight of the blend of polymer and zeolite and still provide adequate strength properties. A suitable amount of molecular sieve material is between 2 and 60 weight percent of the total weight of the blend on polymer and molecular sieve. The amount can be varied depending on the mechanical requirements of the insert members. A preferred amount of incorporation is between about 20 and 50 percent by weight of the powder for good absorption of water vapor and other vapors with preservation of the properties of the high density polyethylene and high impact polystyrene utilized in formation of the packaging inserts of the invention.
The method for formation of the packaging inserts may be any compounding process. Typical polymer forming compounding methods such as two roll mixer, high intensity blade, mixers, continuous in line static mixer, thermoforming blow molding, and single screw extrusion may be used. A preferred apparatus for the process has been found to be the twin screw extruder. It is also possible to incorporate humidity indicators into the extrusion and mixing process. Such indicators tell the user when to replace the insert. Such materials include anhydrous Cobalt (II) salts. Forming methods include web formation by laydown or extrusion. Also preferred is injection molding, as it is rapid and low in cost.
The inserts containing the molecular sieves of the invention must be stored and kept dry until use. Generally if the materials are used in containers for storage of film, the packages are sealed such that moisture will not be present until the package storage container is opened. Therefore, the molecular sieves will be quite effective in maintaining absorption of any water vapor which makes it by the typical barrier seals for film packaging and storage. However, precaution is needed to protect the polymer molded inserts containing the zeolite from high humidity exposure prior to the time when the container is loaded with film. The inserts of the invention have been described for use with photographic products. However, the inserts would find use in other packaging areas such as for food, electronic items, magnetic storage media optical disks, and medical products where the ability to absorb water vapor and noxious gases would be advantageous.
The following examples illustrate the practice of this invention. They are not intended to be exhaustive of all possible variations of the invention. Parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise indicated.
EXAMPLES
A Molecular Sieve Type 4A zeolite was obtained from UOP--Molecular Sieve Division, Inc. The zeolite has a chemical composition of sodium aluminosilicate and has an average particle size of about 5 microns. The molecular sieve was compounded into high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and a high density polyethylene copolymer (HDPE) using a 0.812 Counter-rotating Twin-screw Compounding extruder. Two batches were formed--Batch A, a 20 percent sieve content masterbatch in HIPS and a 30 percent zeolite sieve content masterbatch in HDPE. The material was then let down with unblended HIPS and HDPE and molded into ASTM test specimens. Percent of zeolite powder is based on the total weight of polymer and blend. The test specimens were tested by ASTM method D638 The results of the testing are reported in Table 2.
TABLE 2______________________________________Effect of Molecular Sieve Additive on Mechanical Properties Stress @Base % Molecular C/H Speed Yield Strain @ ModulusResin Sieve Powder (mm/min.) (MPa) Yield (%) (MPa)______________________________________HDPE 0 50 23 9.96 847HDPE 0 1 17 10.07 734HDPE 5 50 21 8.70 871HDPE 10 50 23 8.07 948HDPE 10 20 19 7.76 932HDPE 20 50 24 7.06 1,095HDPE 20 20 20 8.15 1,076HDPE 30 50 25 6.27 1,287HDPE 30 10 21 6.87 1,290HIPS 0 50 28 2.68 1,561HIPS 0 10 25 2.57 1,519HIPS 0 1 22 2.50 1,498HIPS 5 10 22 2.10 1,667HIPS 10 10 22 1.96 1,747HIPS 20 10 22 1.83 2,021______________________________________ HDPE Soltex T504400 from Solvey Corporation HIPS Novacor 3350 from Novacor Chemicals, Inc.
TABLE 3______________________________________Effect of Molecular Sieve Additive on Impact Strength% Molecular Impact Strength ValueBase Resin Sieve Powder Max Load (kgf) Energy (joule)______________________________________HDPE 0 66.68 2.60HDPE 5 60.78 1.94HDPE 10 58.97 1.71HDPE 20 57.61 1.56HDPE 30 55.34 1.43HIPS 0 51.26 2.03HIPS 5 44.91 1.55HIPS 10 34.02 0.83HIPS 20 12.70 0.48______________________________________ HDPE Soltex T504400 from Solvey Corporation HIPS Novacor 3350 from Novacor Chemicals, Inc.
In Table 3, it is apparent that the polymer blends have suitable properties for insert elements for packaging and storage of photographic materials. The insert element will not break apart under any normal treatment of film during storage. The compounds of materials further were tested to confirm that the molecular sieve properties of the materials were present after blending with the HIPS and HDPE polymer. The molecular sieve was found to maintain a large portion of its absorptive properties after formation into the above test pieces which are suitable for use as inserts.
The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention. | The invention relates to a method for improving the keeping of photographic elements comprising placing said elements in a container and placing a material comprising a blend of polymer and molecular sieve particles in said container with said element. | 6 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to diagnostic medical imaging apparatus and more particularly to a mammography machine which employs a near-infrared pulsed laser as a radiation source.
Cancer of the breast is a major cause of death among the American female population. Effective treatment of this disease is most readily accomplished following early detection of malignant tumors. Major efforts are presently underway to provide mass screening of the population for symptoms of breast tumors. Such screening efforts will require sophisticated, automated equipment to reliably accomplish the detection process.
The X-ray absorption density resolution of present photographic X-ray methods is insufficient to provide reliable early detection of malignant breast tumors. Research has indicated that the probability of metastasis increases sharply for breast tumors over 1 cm in size. Tumors of this size rarely produce sufficient contrast in a mammogram to be detectable. To produce detectable contrast in photographic mammogram 2-3 cm dimensions are required. Calcium deposits used for inferential detection of tumors in conventional mammography also appear to be associated with tumors of large size. For these reasons, photographic mammography has been relatively ineffective in the detection of this condition.
Most mammographic apparatus in use today in clinics and hospitals require breast compression techniques which are uncomfortable at best and in many cases painful to the patient. In addition, X-rays constitute ionizing radiation which injects a further risk factor into the use of mammographic techniques as almost universally currently employed.
Ultrasound has also been suggested as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,075,883, which requires that the breast be immersed in a fluid-filled scanning chamber. U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,126 also requires that the breast be immersed in a fluid-filled chamber for an X-ray scanning technique.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an imaging apparatus using light and/or near infrared coupled with ultrafast laser, thus avoiding the drawbacks of prior art X-ray equipment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a mammography apparatus wherein the patient lies in a prone face down position to the place the woman's breast in the scanning chamber in such a way as to gather the maximum amount of tissue away from the chest wall, thereby to provide maximum exposed area without breast compression.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a laser imaging apparatus that uses avalanche photodiode coupled with a low leakage precision integrator for a sensitive detection system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a laser imaging apparatus with multiplexing technique to allow for efficient gathering of scanned data.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a laser imaging apparatus that uses femtosecond pulse width, near infrared laser pulse.
Mammography apparatus of the present invention includes a non-ionizing radiation source in the form of very short pulses of near-infrared wave-length from a solid state laser pumped by a gas laser. The patient lies face down on a horizontal platform with one breast extending through an opening in the platform to hang freely inside a scanning chamber. An optical system converts the laser pulses into a horizontal fanned shaped beam which passes through the breast tissue. The breast is scanned a full 360 degrees starting at that portion of the breast which is closest to the body of the patient and is then stepped vertically downwardly and the scan is repeated at each vertical step until a complete scan of the entire breast has been completed. These light pulses are detected after passing through the breast tissue, converted into electrical signals and then recorded and/or displayed to provide an image of normal and abnormal breast tissues.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the of the present invention, showing the patient supporting platform and operator's console;
FIG. 2 is a side view partially in section of the patient support platform of FIG. 1 showing a patient positioned for mammographic study, with one of her breasts positioned within a scanning chamber;
FIG. 3A is a side view partially in section of the scanning chamber;
FIG. 3B is a schematic view of the scanning chamber of FIG. 3A;
FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the scanning chamber which surrounds the breast of the patient;
FIG. 5 is a partial perspective on the uppermost portion of the scanning chamber of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the bearing support for the rotatable plate which carries portions of the scanning apparatus;
FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of an array of photodiode detectors used in the present invention;
FIGS. 8A and 8B are electrical schematic diagrams of the detector circuit used in the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of the electrical system used in the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of the detector electronics and multiplexer shown in FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is a schematic top plan view of the of the rotating plate carrying the rotating polygon mirror, showing a fan of laser beams generated by the rotating mirror at one of 4000 positions of the rotating plate;
FIG. 12 is a flow chart of data acquisition used in the present invention;
FIG. 13 is a flow chart of data reconstruction used in the present invention;
FIG. 14 is an example of an image of a female breast using the present invention;
FIG. 15 is an electrical schematic diagram of a clamp and time-gate switch circuit;
FIG. 16 is an electrical schematic of a laser pulse pick-off circuit used in the present invention;
FIG. 17A is a functional block diagram of a clamp control circuit for providing output to the clamp and time-gate switch circuit of FIG. 15;
FIG. 17B is a typical response curve of a photodetector, showing the leading edge of the curve at which measurement is taken during the data acquisition phase;
FIG. 18A is a representation of laser pulse train;
FIG. 18B is a representation of the response of the avalanche photodiode detector to the pulse train of FIG. 18A;
FIG. 18C is a similar to FIG. 18B, showing the selection of a comparator threshold level;
FIG. 18D is a representation of a pulse train based on the comparator threshold level of FIG. 18C;
FIG. 19 is a representation of the response of the avalanche photodiode detector to a laser pulse train traversing an air shot;
FIG. 20 is a representation of the response of the avalanche photodiode detector to a laser pulse train exiting a medium, such as breast tissue;
FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of distances used in calculating time-of-arrival for the laser pulses;
FIG. 22 is perspective view of another embodiment of a support structure for the orbital plate used in the present invention;
FIG. 23 is a perspective view with portions broken away of the drive mechanism for lowering or raising the support plate shown in FIG. 22;
FIG. 24 is a cross-section view through the support plate of FIG. 22 with the orbital plate installed in place;
FIG. 25 is a perspective view with portions broken away of the orbital plate used in the support structure of FIG. 22, showing the arrangement of optics used in the present invention;
FIG. 26A is schematic diagram of photons traversing a tissue, illustrating the paths taken by ballistic, snake-like or diffuse photons through the tissue;
FIG. 26B is typical response curve of an avalanche photodetector, showing the portions generated by the respective ballistic, snake-like and diffuse photons after exiting the tissue;
FIG. 27A is a schematic illustration of the arrival times of the laser beams at the detectors in free space; and
FIG. 27B is a schematic illustration of the arrival times of the laser beams at the detectors when traversing through a tissue.
FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram showing an oscillating mirror driven by a galvanometer to sweep a laser beam across a scan circle.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, an apparatus R in accordance with the present invention comprises an operator's console indicated at 10 which may include monitors 12 and 14 . A patient's support platform 16 overlies an enclosure 18 which houses the electronics and optics of the present invention. The platform 16 includes an opening 20 which permits one of the patient's breasts 15 to be positioned through the opening and be pendant within a scanning chamber 22 . A laser beam generated from an Argon ion pump laser 21 and a Ti:Sapphire laser is used to scan the patient's breast within the scanning chamber 22 .
A detailed description of the scanning mechanism within the scanning chamber 22 will now be described. Referring to FIGS. 3A, 4 , 5 and 6 , an open top, box member 24 is arranged immediately below the opening 20 in the platform 16 and houses the scanning chamber 22 which has its vertical axis aligned with the center of the opening 20 . An annular plate 26 is supported for rotation within the chamber 22 on bearings 28 and 30 (FIG. 6) which permit it to be rotated step-by-step or indexed around the interior of the scanning chamber 22 . The indexing drive for creating this rotation is indicated at 32 in FIG. 4 .
A ring gear 33 secured to the periphery of the annular or orbital plate 26 cooperates with the drive 32 to rotatably index the orbital plate 26 , as best shown in FIG. 4 .
The entire scanning chamber 22 may be moved vertically downwardly from the upmost position shown in FIG. 3 by means of elongated threaded drive rods 34 that are operably secured to the box member 24 at anchors 36 and nuts 37 . Drive motors 39 are operably connected to the threaded rods 34 by conventional means such as by belt/pulley arrangements 41 , as best shown in FIG. 3 . Rotation of the threaded rods 34 is effective to lower or raise the scanning chamber 22 . The drive motors 39 are securely fixed to the box member 24 by standard means, such as brackets, and are controlled by motor 43 .
Turning now to the optics of the apparatus R, the annular plate 26 carries on its upper surface a polygonal multifaceted mirror 38 , as best shown in FIGS. 3, 4 , and 5 . The mirror 38 is rotatable on its own vertical axis. A ring 45 of photo-detector arrays 40 is supported on the upper surface of the scanning chamber 22 and surrounds the path traveled by the mirror 38 as it moves in an orbital path generated by revolutions of the plate 26 . The arrays 40 are fixed and stationary with respect to the scanning chamber 22 . The ring 45 is preferably concentric with the orbital path of the mirror 38 .
The stepping motors 39 are used to rotate the screws 34 in order to move the scanning chamber 22 vertically downwardly through successive increments or slices following each complete orbital movement of the polygonal mirror 38 in order to successively expose portions of the breast of the patient to the pulsed laser radiation until the entire breast has been irradiated.
The lasers 23 and 21 which supply the radiation for scanning the breast may be positioned within the enclosure 18 , as best shown in FIG. 2 . The coherent pulsed light from the solid-state laser is directed from the laser to the polygonal multifaceted mirror 38 by means of a series of mirrors and prisms. The rotating polygon mirror 38 advantageously preserves the laser beam intensity by not diverging the beam and maintaining a controlled alignment between the projected laser beam and the respective detector 62 . A mirror 46 directs an incoming laser beam 44 to a mirror 48 , which then directs the beam to a stack of wedge prisms 50 , which turns the beam at an angle and directs it through an opening 52 in the orbital plate 26 . Two additional mirrors 54 and 56 mounted on the plate 26 then redirect the beam to the rotating polygonal mirror 38 , which generates a fan 55 of beams for each orbital position of the mirror 38 , as best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. A shelf 35 is supported from the plate 26 and supports the wedge prisms 50 . The shelf 35 rotates with plate 26 such that the wedge prisms 50 are always oriented in the same way with respect to the plate 26 as it rotates.
Referring to FIG. 3B, the speed of rotation of the multi-faceted mirror 38 used to produce the fan of laser beams 55 is controlled by system electronics 55 and is maintained at a constant speed. A hollow slip-ring assembly 53 is used to bring the electronic signals to the polygon drive motor controller 55 . While the polygon mirror 38 is rotating inside its housing, the entire mirror assembly is rotated in an orbit inside the ring 45 of detector arrays 40 . The orbital speed of the polygon mirror assembly (not the speed of rotation of the mirror itself) is controlled by the drive motor 32 and its motor controller. The orbital position of the polygon mirror assembly is determined through use of a home detector 57 and rotary encoder on the drive motor 32 . The home encoder provides a fixed reference point that is used in conjunction with the rotary encoder to determine the location of the polygon assembly 38 . Thus, for each place in the orbit of the polygon assembly 38 , the detectors 62 in the detector ring that are being swept by the fan of laser beams 55 is determined.
Femtosecond wide pulses (approximately 106 fs wide) of near infra-red radiation with a wavelength in the 800 to 900 nanometer (nm) wavelength range are produced by the Ti:Sapphire mode locked laser 23 . The average laser power is in the 750 milliwatt (mw) range with a repetition rate of approximately 76.5 megahertz (MHz). The power contained in each laser pulse is approximately 9.9 nanojoules (nj) and the peak pulse power is in the 67 kilowatts (kw) range. The Ti:Sapphire laser 23 is pumped by a 7 watt Argon ion laser 21 using all spectral lines.
By rotating the polygonal mirror 38 at very high speed, for example in the order of 6000 RPM, the fan-shaped beam 55 is generated and the width of the fan is such that approximately 25% of the photodiode detector arrays 40 are thus illuminated at each rotational indexed position of the plate 26 . Preferably, the mirror 38 is indexed at 4000 positions around a 360 degree circle. This scanning pattern is then repeated at successive vertically lower positions or slices of the plate as the scanning chamber is indexed downwardly by the drive motors 39 .
The laser beam detector arrays 40 are positioned in the ring 45 on a top surface of the scanning chamber 22 and around the pendulant breast, as best shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 . Each array 40 comprises a number of avalanche photodiodes 62 , as best shown in FIG. 7 . The number of photodiodes 62 dictates the number of laser fan beam projections that can be detected as the fan 55 of laser beams sweeps across the breast.
The detector 62 of each array 40 are disposed on a substrate 64 . The arrays 40 are positioned as chords of a circle around the orbital plate 26 , as best shown in FIG. 4 . Each array 40 has 25 individual avalanche photodiode detectors 62 . There are 24 detector arrays 40 to form the ring of laser beam detectors, providing 600 avalanche photodiode detectors.
Each of the photodiodes 62 is connected to a detector circuit 69 , as best shown in FIG. 8 A. The avalanche photodiodes 62 are reversed biased to provide amplification of the detected signal. Each reversed biased detector 62 is used as a current source with the amount of current provided being a function of the number of photons 66 of laser light that impinge on each detector 62 . The number of photons reaching each detector 62 spans a wide dynamic range from no attenuation when the photons are not blocked by the breast tissue to significant attenuation when the photons pass through and eventually emerge from the breast. A current limiting series resistor 68 is used to control the amount of current that can flow through the detector 62 and thus prevents excessive current flow from occurring when the laser beam is unattenuated that otherwise could destroy the detector 62 . A suitable size decoupling capacitor 70 is used to store charge to provide the energy required when the detector 62 responds to a fast rising pulse of photon intensity.
The current provided by each detector 62 in each array 40 is switched into or off to either an operational amplifier circuit 72 or an electronic integrator 73 , as best shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. The operational amplifier circuit 72 is used as a current-to-voltage converter to produce a direct current voltage at output 74 proportional to the input current provided by each detector 62 . Thus, a DC voltage can be produced to represent the intensity of the laser beam impinging on the individual detector 62 .
A fast Schottkey diode 76 provides the switching for each detector 62 . The Schottkey diode 76 is switched into or out of conduction by a clamp circuit, as will be described below, connected at 77 .
The detector circuit 69 and several control circuits required to control the output of each detector 62 are referred to as detector electronics 82 , as best shown in FIG. 9 . The output of detector electronics 82 is fed to a multiplexer 84 , the output of which is then fed to an analog/digital converter 86 . The output of the converter 86 is then fed to a computer 88 . The data acquired from the detector electronics 82 are used by the computer 88 to produce an image of the scanned breast by a reconstruction algorithm, to be described below, derived from computed tomography theory. The digitized slice data is converted to an image by the computer 88 using a reconstruction algorithm, which is then displayed in a monitor 90 in monochrome or pseudo-color. The raw slice data and image data can be stored on a hard drive 92 or any other storage medium, using a floppy drive 94 , a tape drive 96 or a CD-ROM drive 98 .
Referring to FIG. 10, the detector electronics 82 comprises detector circuit 69 controlled by a clamp and time-gate switch circuit 102 , which is then controlled by a clamp control circuit 104 . The clamp control circuit 104 is synchronized by the computer 88 and a pulse pick-off circuit 106 to the output pulses of the mode-locked Ti:Sapphire laser 23 . Only the leading edge component of the detector response curve for the respective detectors stimulated by the laser fan beam 55 that passes through the breast are sampled by the electronic integrator 72 or an operational amplifier within the detector circuit 69 , as will be described below. This technique allows selection of only certain photons and is essential to the proper operation of the apparatus R.
There are two clamp and time-gate switch circuits 102 for each detector array 40 , each detector 62 being contained in the detector circuit 100 .
A multiplexer circuit 108 is provided for each detector array 40 . Each detector array has 25 photodiode detectors 62 . The output of each multiplexer circuit 108 is fed to a multiplexer circuit 110 . Each multiplexer circuit 108 is used to select the detector outputs that are appropriate for the orbital position of the rotating polygon mirror 38 . The detector outputs from the multiplexer circuit 110 are converted to a 12-bit digital word by the analog to digital converter 86 . The digital value of each detector output voltage is stored for each orbital position of the rotating mirror 38 . A buffer circuit 112 is interposed between the multiplexer circuits 108 and 110 .
Referring to FIG. 11, data is acquired at each vertical or slice position of the scanning chamber 22 at 4000 locations of the polygon mirror 38 on its orbit around the breast as the orbit plate 26 is rotated to each of the 4000 locations, generally indicated by the arrow 114 . A circle is thus traced by the orbit of the polygon mirror 38 . The circle of detector arrays 40 remains fixed in place while the mirror 38 rotates on its own axis, generally indicated by the arrow 116 and is orbited around the patient's breast. The mirror 38 is shown in one of its 4000 locations in FIG. 11 . At each of the 4000 locations, the rotation of the polygon mirror 38 sweeps the laser beam across a field of view 118 , which includes a scan diameter 120 within which the breast must be placed. The field of view 118 encompasses one quarter or 150 of the detectors 62 . In practice over-scanning to include 152 or more detectors for each orbit position is used for proper data acquisition.
The computer 88 synchronizes the rotation of the polygon mirror 38 , the selection of specific detectors 62 by the multiplexer circuits 108 and 110 , and analog-to-digital converter 86 conversion cycle to measure the laser beam intensity as each detector 62 is illuminated. Through this process, at each of the 4000 locations in one orbit of the mirror 38 , the output of at least 150 selected detectors 62 is measured, converted to digital format, and stored as part of the digitized slice data. The digitized slice data also contain encoding information relative to which of the 4000 locations in which of the detectors 62 is being measured.
Since there are only 600 detectors 62 and data is collected from 4000 locations at each vertical or slice position of the scanning chamber 22 , a technique is required to select which of the 600 detectors outputs is sampled. The multiplexer circuits 108 and 110 are used to select which of the individual detector 62 in each of the detector arrays 40 are used as part of the 150 or more detectors for each of the 4000 locations.
For example, referring to FIG. 11, for the locations shown for mirror 38 , 150 detectors might be selected for measurement. The ratio between the 4000 locations of the mirror 38 and the 600 detectors is 6.67. Because of this ratio, for 7 successive locations of the mirror 38 , the same 150 detectors 62 might be selected for measurement. For the next 7 locations of the mirror 38 , 2 through 151 of the detectors 62 might be selected. The step incrementing of which detectors 62 are sampled by the analog/digital converter 86 is controlled by a data acquisition algorithm, which will be described below, and the computer 88 . The exact relationship between the locations of the rotating mirror 38 and the specific detector 62 is determined by the mechanical relationship between the polygon mirror mounting location and the fixed ring of the detector arrays 40 and the individual numbering system adopted for the program.
The data acquired for each vertical position of the rotating mirror 38 is referred to as slice data. This data is used to produce an image (FIG. 14) of the scanned breast by a reconstruction algorithm derived from computer tomography theory, as will be described below.
Referring to FIG. 12, the acquisition algorithm used in the present invention to collect the data for each slice will now be described.
The technologist performing the scan places the patient prone on the scanning table 16 with one breast pendulant through the opening 20 in the scanning chamber 22 , as best shown in FIG. 2 .
When the technologist starts the scan, several preset parameters are entered into the program. The speed of rotation and the number of facets on the mirror 38 are two basic values. The number of mirror facets is a physical parameter that cannot be easily changed unless the polygon mirror assembly is changed. The option to change the speed of rotation at step 122 is available in the event that some future events make this change desirable and a speed change can easily be accomplished. The available rotation speeds are 6000, 8000, 10000 and 12000 revolutions per minute (RPM).
The apparatus R employs a 12-faceted mirror 38 and a mirror rotation speed of 6000 RPM, or 100 revolutions per second (RPS). The time for one facet to move the impinging laser beam through one beam fan 55 can be calculated as follows:
Speed of Rotation: 100 rev/sec. 1 rev=1/100 rev/sec.=0.01 sec/rev
Time for 1 fan: 0.1 sec/12 facets=8.33×10 −4 sec (833 μsecs)
The option to change the polygon mirror 38 to another number of facets is facilitated by the ability to preset the time for one fan at step 124 .
Because there is a difference between the mechanical position of the swept laser beam 55 and the electronic position, another parameter, FACET DELAY, is presetable at step 126 . This parameter is established during initial scanner set up and can range in value from 0 to 833 μsecs.
The fan of laser beams sweeps across an arc (slightly more than 90°) of the detectors 62 . With 600 detectors in the detector ring, 90° represents one quarter of the detector 62 , or 150 detectors.
Because of the adjacent facets on the polygon mirror 38 do not form a sharp corner at the line of intersection but instead are jointed by radius, a number greater than the number of detectors 62 employed is actually used. The time the fan of laser beams sweeps across any one detector (herein called the facet dwell) is calculated as follows:
833 μsecs/150 detectors=5.6 μsecs/detector.
The actual facet dwell is determined during initial scanner set up and is entered at step 128 .
Ideally, all detectors 62 will be operational. However, in the practical situation, certain detectors 62 may be defective. This condition, within limits can be tolerated as long as the specific location of defective individual detectors is known. The defective detectors are identified during a quality control scan. The defective detectors are then ignored at step 130 .
The reconstruction algorithm, which will be described below, requires an overscan of the ideal 90° fan of detectors 62 . The amount of overscan is determined during initial scanner set up and is entered at step 132 .
The individual gain of detectors 62 can vary and this variation is particularly adjusted for any reconstruction algorithm. However, an over all gain value is determined during initial scanner set up and this value is entered at step 134 .
The technologist is able to enter certain information concerning the specific patient, such as name, etc., as well as selecting necessary specific locations where a scan will be performed. This allows rescanning a specific location without having to rescan the entire breast. This step is generally indicated at 136 .
After these parameters and data are entered, the technologist is asked at step 138 if the entered information is correct. If YES is entered, the scan commences.
The first step in the scan is to return the scanning chamber 22 which carries the rotating mirror 38 and the ring of detector arrays 40 to the home position which is the extreme up position, as best shown in FIG. 3 A. The motor controller that powers the motors 39 are switched to the up position and remains in this mode until home limit switches are activated. This step is generally indicated at steps 140 and 142 .
After the home position has been reached, the computer checks to determine if the laser is ON, at step 144 . The laser is restarted at step 146 if the laser is not ON. The rotation of the polygon mirror 38 is initiated at step 148 and the mirror will continue to rotate at the preset speed set at step 122 .
The program continues and presets the multiplex circuits 108 and 110 to select the detectors 62 that will be used as part of the initial data acquisition fan at step 150 . Since data is acquired at 4,000 individual locations in the orbit of the polygon mirror 38 and there are only 600 detectors, the set of detectors selected for data acquisition during each respective fan has been determined for this scan geometry. The table below illustrates this concept, where the actual identification number for each detector has been simplified for illustration purposes.
Index=4,000 orbit positions/600 detectors=6.67 fans/index
This means that for every position or index of the rotating mirror 38 on its orbit around patient's breast, 7 fans of laser beams are generated, each fan being picked up by the same 150 detectors.
In the table below, the detectors 62 that are disposed in the ring of detector arrays 40 are designated as 1, 2, 3, . . . n . . . 600.
FAN NUMBER
FIRST DETECTOR
LAST DETECTOR
1
525
75
2
525
75
3
525
75
4
525
75
5
525
75
6
525
75
7
525
75
8
526
76
9
526
76
10
526
76
11
526
76
12
526
76
13
526
76
14
526
76
15
527
77
16
527
77
17
527
77
18
527
77
19
527
77
20
527
77
21
527
77
—
—
—
3990
523
73
3991
523
73
3992
523
73
3993
523
73
3994
523
73
3995
523
73
3996
523
73
3997
524
74
3998
524
74
3999
524
74
4000
524
74
At each index or orbit location of the rotating mirror 38 , the total number of detector 62 in the fan is 150. For example, for fan number 1 , the number of detectors is (600−525)+75=150. For fan number 3999 , the number of detectors is (600−496)+46=150.
After the multiplex sequence is programmed, orbiting of the fan beam commences at step 152 , but data acquisition does not commence until the orbit flag signal is detected at step 154 . The orbit flag signal identifies the mechanical position in orbit that data acquisition via the multiplex sequence of detectors being sampled commences. The states for the orbit flag are 0 (continue orbiting) or 1 (initiate data acquisition sequence). Step 156 continues until the orbit flag equals 1.
Preset facet period and the facet delay period are then waited out at steps 158 and 160 , after which the first detector 62 in the fan is selected to be sampled at step 162 . However, prior to actual sampling, the Ignore Detector Table is examined at step 164 . If the respective detector is accepted for sampling, then sampling proceeds. If the respective detector is defective, the detector address is incremented to the next detector in the multiplex sequence at step 168 .
Sampling proceeds for the wait facet dwell at step 170 . The data is written into the respective location in the data file at step 172 . The number of detectors sampled in this cycle is examined at step 174 to determine if the last detector in the fan has been sampled. If the last detector has been sampled, then the data file for the particular slice is closed at step 176 and the program moves to the next slice location. If the last detector has not been detected, then the detector count is incremented at 168 and the next fan of data is acquired. At step 178 , the program moves to the next slice location after the last detector is detected at 174 .
After the slice data file is closed, the scanning chamber 22 , including the polygon mirror 38 and the ring of detector arrays 40 , are moved downward to the next slice location. The computer 88 monitors the downward motion. The status of the next slice location is monitored at step 180 . When the next slice location is reached, it is determined if the slice location is the end of scan location at step 182 . The computer 88 monitors the slice location and checks to determine if the last valid slice data file has been acquired. If the end slice location is detected, then it is the end of the breast scan. If the end slice location is not detected, then the next slice data file acquisition commences at step 150 . The cycle then repeats until data for the end slice have been acquired.
Referring to FIG. 13, a reconstruction algorithm used in the present invention is disclosed. The raw data file is acquired during data acquisition process disclosed in FIG. 12 . Raw data file is input at step 184 to generate detector fans at step 186 . To correct for gain and offset variations for the respective detectors, polynomial linearization correction is applied using information obtained from a previous phantom scan at step 188 . The linearization file is indicated at 190 .
Because there is a potential offset between the electronic and mechanical centering, the centering correction is made at step 192 for individual detectors and the detector array. Center information is obtained from a prior phantom scan generally indicated at 194 .
The sensitivity of individual avalanche photodiodes 62 varies and this variation must be accounted for through a detectors sensitivity correction at step 196 . Sensitivity adjustments are preformed using data acquired during prior phantom scans generally indicated at 198 .
A cosine correction is made because of the fall-off of each detector fan at step 200 . Other corrections for gain control and mismatches will also be applied here. Each detector fan is convolved with a filter kernel at step 202 to process the file for back projection.
The back projection step 204 projects the fan data into the image matrices with the 1/r 2 weighting applied to the data.
After the data has been projected into the matrices, correction for any systematic artifacts and reconstructed density is made at step 206 . The correction factors are acquired in previous phantom scans at step 208 .
Upon completion of the reconstruction steps, a file is created for the reconstructed image at step 210 and is stored for display either immediately or at a later time.
An example of an image generated from a slice data of a breast is disclosed in FIG. 14 . The outer band 212 is noise. The breast tissue 214 is shown surrounding a prosthesis 216 for an augmented breast.
The clamp and time-gate switch circuit 102 will now be described in detail.
Referring to FIG. 15, the circuit 102 comprises a clamp circuit 194 and a time-gate switch 196 . The clamp circuit 194 is provided to protect the operational amplifier 72 (or integrator) from being subjected to a voltage above the safe design parameters of the device. In response to stimulation by the femtosecond laser pulse, generally indicated at 66 , the reverse biased avalanche photodiode 62 produces a positive going pulse of current, generally indicated at 198 . The magnitude of the pulse 198 potentially could exceed the design limits of the operational amplifier 72 used to produce a voltage in response to the current pulse. To advantageously prevent this from occurring, diode 200 is reversed biased to approximately +0.8 VDC by the +5 VDC supply voltage 202 and two resistors 204 and 206 . When the pulse amplitude produced by the detector 62 increases above the biased voltage by one diode drop (approximately 0.7 VDC), diode 200 is forward biased and shunts away any further increase in signal amplitude. The shunt effect effectively clamps the signal level seen at the anode of the diode 76 to a level within design limits of the operational amplifier 72 .
The time-gate switch 196 is driven by differential emitter-coupled logic (ECL) signals applied to inputs 208 and 210 , as best shown in FIG. 15 . When transistor 220 is switched on, the voltage developed at the junction of the resistors 204 and 206 changes from a positive level to a negative level. The negative level voltage forward biases diode 200 and in turn reverse biases diode 76 . When the diode 76 is reversed biased, any current being provided by the detector 62 cannot reach the operational amplifier 72 . The diodes and transistors used in this circuit configuration are advantageously selected for their ability to switch at very high speeds. The effect of the circuit 196 is to switch off current provided to the operational amplifier 72 at a very high speed.
The laser pulse pick-off circuit 106 will now be described in detail.
Referring to FIG. 16, the occurrence of a laser pulse is detected by an increase in the current flowing in a reversed biased avalanche photodiode 222 . A femtosecond laser pulse train is disclosed in FIG. 20 A. The response curve of the avalanche photodiode 222 and the delay in the peak produced by the detector 222 is shown in FIG. 20B. A representation of the point of the rising edge of the avalanche photodiode pulse used as reference point for high speed signal level comparator is shown in FIG. 20C. A resistor 224 provides current limiting to prevent damaging the detector 222 with the high current produced in response to a laser pulse 66 . A capacitor 226 is a decoupling capacitor that provides the energy that is dissipated across a resistor 228 . The current flowing through the resistor 228 produces a voltage across the resistor. The voltage is direct coupled to a comparator circuit 230 . A resistor 232 is used to adjust the threshold at which the output of the comparator 230 will switch. The output of the comparator 230 is connected to a buffer 234 and provides an ECL output signal. The ECL signal is synchronized with the occurrence of each laser pulse. The output of the circuit 106 is shown in FIG. 20 D.
Referring to FIGS. 17A and 17B, the clamp control circuit 104 will now be described in detail. The laser pulse pick-off circuit 106 is used to produce additional signal in synchronization with each laser pulse. The signal is used to start a time-to-amplitude converter 236 . The time-to-amplitude conversion is stopped at the appropriate time by a signal from another laser pick-off circuit 106 . The detectors 222 for the two laser pulse pick-off circuits 106 are positioned at an appropriate distance near the detector array 40 . The time of arrival t 2 through the path containing a tissue is measured during the scout scan phase and converted to a digital word with an appropriate digital value to control the address in memory where the time value is stored. During the data acquisition portion of the data acquisition sequence, the memory address control 241 is used to select a value from a look-up table 250 . The look-up table 250 provides a value to an add/subtract circuit 243 . At the appropriate time, the digital time value t 2 is read from memory 240 and is modified by the value provided by the look-up table 250 . The net effect is to use the value t 2 read from memory, subtract or add a value to it to produce a new digital word A which is provided to a comparator 246 . The other input to the comparator 246 is the digital time value produced by the analog to digital converter 236 , represented by the word B. When the condition A=B is met, the comparator 246 provides a digital output to a digital/analog fine delay circuit 248 . The A=B condition starts the measurement interval for the leading edge of the detector response curve, as best shown in FIG. 17 B. The analog fine delay determines the length of time during which the leading edge of detector response curve is measured. At the end of the analog delay interval, a digital signal is produced that halts the measurement interval. The look up table 250 produces a signal that controls the fine delay. The data acquisition sequence continues for the previously discussed 5.3 μsec. interval. The above sequence continues as the fan beam sweeps across the breast.
An output buffer 252 produces an ECL output signal as a time-gate control signal. The output of the buffer 252 is fed to the circuit 102 at 208 and 210 , as best shown in FIG. 15 .
By using the time-of-flight approach, the timing of the data acquisition is automatically synchronized to the laser pulses beaming into the breast at each of the fan locations. Other approaches such as laser gating of a Kerr optical shutter or variable optical delay lines would not be practical given the number of measurement to be made in 1 second.
The laser 23 produces pulses of near infrared energy at a relatively fixed repetition rate. The laser pulses propagate at the speed of light in air, a constant. The time required for a pulse to travel a set distance is calculated as:
Time=Distance/Speed of Light
Thus, for known distance, the time required for the pulse of energy to traverse the distance is easily calculated.
The response of the photodiode detectors to the laser pulse is disclosed in FIG. 19 . Note the delay in response of the detector to the laser stimulation.
The response of the photodiodes to a pulse train exiting a medium is disclosed in FIG. 20 . Note the propagation delay due to the relative refractive index of the tissue.
The ratio of the speed of light traveling in air compared to the speed of light in a medium is referred to as the relative refractive index and is calculated as:
Relative Refractive Index=Speed of Light in Air/Speed of Light in Medium
The time-of-flight measurement criteria must consider the speed of light in air, the speed of light in the complex medium of human tissue, and the thickness of the medium.
The pulse pick-off circuit 106 is placed in a position to intercept a portion of the photons produced by the Ti:Sapphire laser 23 . The pulse pick-off circuit 106 produces a regular train of pulses based on the comparator threshold level, as best shown in FIG. 18 D.
The distances between the individual components in the path of the laser beam are known and fixed, as best shown in FIG. 21 . Thus, the time required for an individual pulse to travel the fixed distance between individual components, for the most part mirrors used to position the laser beam, is easily determined. Also, the arrival time of an individual pulse at a selected location can be accurately predicted. The arrival time of an air shot, i.e. nothing between the polygon mirror 38 and the detectors 62 , therefore, is also known, as best shown in FIG. 21 .
The time required to travel the path length in air is calculated as:
Time in air =Path Length in air /Speed of Light in air
The arrival time when the medium is air and the arrival time when the medium is human tissue can be measured. The difference between the two arrival times and the path length in human tissue can be used to calculate the relative speed of light in human tissue as shown below:
Speed of Light in human tissue =Path Length in human tissue /ΔTime
where
ΔTime=Time in human tissue −Time in air
The determination of the speed of light in human tissue allows time-gating of that portion of the avalanche photodiode response pulse desired to be measured and used for image reconstruction.
The first few pulses of laser energy photons that have traversed through human tissue are detected as the scout phase of the data acquisition. The time difference between the expected arrival of the photons, as determined by a previously run calibration, and the actual arrival time of the photons is determined. For example, Measured Arrival Time−Expected Arrival Time=ΔTime
t 2 −t 1 =ΔTime
ΔTime is used to determine when the measurement of the detector response curve will commence on the pulses that occur after the scout phase. A look-up table or similar method is used to select when the detector measurement will commence, i.e. slightly before t 1 +ΔTime, at ΔTime, or ΔTime+t 3 , where t 3 is determined as a system calibration value.
The second phase of the data acquisition is the control of length of time the leading edge of the detector response curve is measured, and the number of laser pulses used for each measurement. The starting point and the ending point of the measurement interval directly affect the contrast resolution of the resulting reconstructed image. Because of the physical variability of the optical and mechanical characteristics of the device, the beginning and ending points of the measurement interval are determined during calibration of the device. A method is provided for fine adjustment of the width of the measurement interval.
A second scan, the data acquisition scan is performed. During this scan, the time-gating control factor is used to control the ECL circuit 104 that activates the time-gate switch 196 and circuit 102 . Thus, for each projection of the laser beam, only a selected portion of the respective avalanche photodiode response pulse is sampled and used as data for image reconstruction.
Another embodiment of a support structure 254 for supporting the orbital plate 26 and the polygon mirror 38 is disclosed in FIG. 22 . The support structure 254 includes four fixed threaded rods 256 disposed transversely through respective corners of a square or rectangular plate 258 . Each threaded rod 256 is held in position by a pair of threaded rod support brackets 260 which are attached to vertical side members 262 of a “U”-shaped assembly 264 , as best shown in FIG. 23 . The “U”-shaped assembly 264 advantageously maintains the separation between the respective threaded rod support brackets 260 and the vertical alignment of the threaded rods 256 . Each threaded rod 256 has a sprocket 266 or a pulley with a threaded hole in the center. The pitch of the threaded rod and the sprocket thread is the same, such that rotation of the sprocket 266 causes it to move up or down the threaded rod 256 . The individual sprockets 266 are mated with a continuous drive chain 268 or belt.
The continuous drive chain 268 is also mated with a sprocket 270 (or pulley) driven by a motor 272 . Rotation of the output shaft 274 of the drive motor 272 rotates the sprocket 270 and drives the chain 268 in the direction of rotation. The continuous chain motion advantageously synchronously rotates the individual sprocket 266 on each threaded rod 256 . Depending on the pitch of the thread and the direction of rotation, all five sprockets 266 and 270 will be driven upwardly or downwardly.
The plate 258 is disposed on top of the top surface of each of the four sprockets 266 . A mounting plate 276 for the drive motor 272 is attached to the underside of the plate 258 , as best shown in FIG. 22 . This configuration provides for a constant position of the drive motor 272 relative to the moving plate 258 , thus maintaining alignment of the entire drive system.
The support structure 254 provides several advantages. If the chain 268 breaks, the upward or downward drive is advantageously removed from all four drive sprockets 266 . Also, the four fixed threaded rods 256 act as linear bearings for the upward and downward motion, thus eliminating the need for auxiliary vertical positioning bearings. Further, the support structure 254 provides the least amount of overall height for compactness.
The plate 258 has an opening 278 . The edge of the opening 278 has an inwardly projecting flange or step 280 adapted to receive and support the outer race 282 of a bearing assembly 284 . An orbital plate 286 is pressed-fit into the opening defined by the outer race 288 of the bearing assembly 284 , as best shown in FIG. 24. A retainer ring 290 secures the orbital plate 286 to the inner race 288 . A retainer ring 292 secures the outer race 282 to the plate 258 , as best shown in FIG. 24 .
The orbital plate 286 is provided with outside tooth ring gear 294 that engages with a spur gear 296 driven by an orbit drive motor 298 . The drive motor 298 is secured by conventional means to the under side of the carrier plate 258 . Rotation of the output shaft 300 of the orbit drive motor 298 produces the opposite rotation direction of the carrier plate 286 . The speed of rotation of the carrier plate 286 is a function of the ratio of the number of teeth on the ring gear 294 and number of teeth on the spur gear 296 and the speed of rotation of the orbit drive motor 298 .
It will be understood that supporting the orbital plate 286 with the bearing assembly 284 advantageously provides the simplest method of maintaining concentricity between the orbital plate 286 and the detector arrays 40 mounted on the plate 258 . Further, the required amount of vertical space is minimal.
The optical arrangement associated with the orbital plate 286 is disclosed in FIG. 25. A mounting pan 302 is secured to the underside of the orbital plate 286 and rotates therewith. The mounting pan 302 has a central opening 304 through which the laser beam 306 enters within the pan 302 . Turning mirrors 308 and 310 disposed within the pan 302 are adapted to turn the vertical laser beam 306 to a horizontal beam after being reflected from the mirror 308 and then to a vertical beam after being reflected from the mirror 310 and exiting through an opening 312 in the orbital plate 286 . A turning mirror 314 changes the vertical laser beam to a horizontal beam and directs it to the rotating polygon mirror 38 from which a fan beam 316 is generated. A turning mirror 318 turns the horizontal incoming laser beam vertically into the pan 302 through the opening 304 .
It will be understood that the turning mirrors 308 , 310 and 314 are fixed relative to the orbital plate 286 and thereby turns with the orbital plate 286 such that the laser beam is always oriented in the right direction when it hits the rotating polygon mirror 38 .
Photons traveling through the tissue follow essentially three paths. When a beam of photons is directed into the tissue, the photons' forward direction is changed—the beam is said to be scattered by the atoms and molecules in the tissue. Referring to FIG. 26A, the first photons entering the tissue 320 essentially undergo a straight forward scattering and exit the tissue with the least amount of time required to traverse the tissue. These photons are referred to as ballistic or early arriving photons 322 . Since these photons travel in essentially straight line through the tissue, the difference in the absorption of theses photons provides the best spatial resolution, i.e. true representation of the area of change in absorption in the path of these photons. The signal produced by the ballistic photons 322 is on the leading edge of the detector response curve, as best shown in FIG. 26 B.
The photons that exit the tissue after the ballistic photons have followed a longer path in traversing through the tissue and this path is less straight than that followed by the early arriving ballistic photons. These late arriving photons are called snake-like photons 324 , as best shown in FIG. 26 A. These photons can be thought of as signal degradation resulting in reduced spatial resolution, and the signal they produce appears later on the detector response curve than the ballistic photon component, as best shown in FIG. 26 B.
The photons that exit later than the snake-like photons have followed a diffuse path and exit the tissue at many points. These photons are referred to as diffuse photons 326 and make up the final components of the detector response curve, as best shown in FIG. 26 B. These photons severely degrade the spatial resolution data and are considered noise.
If the entire detector response from all photons (ballistic, snake-like and diffuse) are used, the ability to detect small differences within a tissue is severely compromised. Thus, only that part of the detector response curve produced by the ballistic photons is sampled for data acquisition, as best shown in FIG. 26 B. The technique used to select the early portion of the photon arrival response curve shown in FIG. 26B is called time-gating, implemented by circuits 102 and 104 (FIGS. 15 and 17 ). Since the distance from the rotating mirror 38 to each photodetector 62 is known, any change in the time required for the photons to reach the detectors is a representation of the time required to traverse a portion of the path, i.e. through the tissue. Referring to FIG. 27A, the arrival time for each laser pulse impinging each detector in the ring 45 is determined from the known distances and the speed of light. A look-up table is generated from this free space time-of-flight data. The arrows in FIGS. 27A and 27B represent the arrival time of each laser pulse. When a tissue 328 is inserted within the scan diameter 120 , the arrival time for each laser beam passing through the tissue is delayed, the amount of delay being dependent on the length of the path traversed through the tissue, as best shown in FIG. 27B, where it is assumed, for sake of simplicity, that the speed of the laser pulse traversing through the tissue is constant. The arrival time for each laser beam traversing through the tissue is determined by observing when a response is generated at the individual detectors. The respective time-of-flight through the tissue can be determined by subtracting the free path (no tissue present) time-of-flight from the time required to traverse the path with the tissue present. The added time-of-flight is stored in the look-up table 250 and is then further increased by a delay in the range of 0-40 picoseconds, preferably 15-20 picoseconds to modulate the time at which the detector response curve is measured on succeeding laser pulses, such that the measurement is limited to that part of the detector response curve attributable to the ballistic photons. The fine delay of 0-40 picoseconds is provided by the circuit block 248 . The resulting current produced at the detectors by the ballistic photons, after being converted to voltage, is then used to generate an image of the tissue using standard computed tomography techniques.
While the present invention has been described for a structure where the detector arrays 40 are fixed in place in a circle around the tissue and the mirror 38 or source of laser beam is orbited within the circle in order to make a 360 degree scan around the tissue, it is also within the scope of the present invention to provide a set number of detectors that move synchronously with the mirror 38 or a source of laser beam around the tissue being scanned. In this respect, the detectors, formed into an arc or other geometric configuration to catch the fan beam 55 , would be disposed on the orbital plate 26 . The mirror 38 and the arc of detectors are then orbited through the 4000 locations in a circle around the tissue.
The function of the rotating mirror 38 , which is to sweep the laser beam across the breast, may also be accomplished by an oscillating mirror 332 driven by a galvanometer 334 , as best shown in FIG. 28 . The galvanometer mechanism produces an oscillating motion to the mirror 332 . For example, the galvanometer turns in one direction from its resting point to a certain number of degrees, say 10°, of rotation and then reverses direction and rotates an equal number of degrees in the opposite direction. The rotation and direction reversal continue as long as the drive signal is provided to the galvanometer.
A laser beam 336 directed onto the mirror 332 attached to the galvanometer 334 will be swept back and forth across the breast within the scan circle 120 . Because for the mirror the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection, 20° of galvanometer total rotation (in this case +10° to −10° of rotation) causes the laser beam to sweep through an angle that is two times of the galvanometer rotation angle. By selecting the proper location of the galvanometer and mirror relative to the scan circle center, a 90° sweep 338 across the scan circle diameter is easily obtained, as best shown in FIG. 28 .
The galvanometer/mirror combination is advantageously less expensive than the multi-faceted mirror. Slight modification of the data acquisition sequence would be required to accommodate the back and forth sweeping of the detector arrays 40 by the laser beam.
It should be understood to the person skilled in the art that by sweeping the laser beam itself across the breast instead of using a lens system to diverge the laser beam into a fan, the laser power output is significantly decreased to maintain the same power level reaching each detector.
While this invention has been described as having preferred design, it is understood that it is capable of further modification, uses and/or adaptations of the invention 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 laser imaging apparatus comprises (R) a platform ( 16 ) for supporting a female patient in frontdown, prone position, including an opening ( 20 ) permitting a breast of the patient to be vertically pendant below the surface of the platform; scanning mechanism including a multi-faceted mirror ( 38 ) adjacent the underside of the platform, the mirror being rotated about its own axis and orbited around the pendant breast; a source of coherent near infrared narrow light pulses operably directed to the multi-faceted mirror; optical reflectors directing the light pulses onto the facets of the mirror from a point spaced from the platform for reflection in a series of horizontal fan shaped beams through a breast pendant below the platform; photodetectors ( 40 ) operably disposed to detect the light pulses after passing through the breast; circuit for deriving voltages proportional to the intensity of the received pulses; and computer ( 10 ) programmed for storing and displaying images of tissue in the breast derived from the voltages. | 0 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(i). Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an anchoring and tying device and, more particularly, relates to a vertically adjustable wall tie for securing together spaced wythes such as a masonry veneer wall to a structural masonry wall of block-like construction.
(ii). Description of the Related Art
Common residential and commercial building construction practice entails forming a brick or other masonry veneer wall adjacent a structural inner supporting wall. Generally the masonry veneer is spaced apart from the structural inner wall in a construction technique known as cavity wall construction. The air gap deters the formation and build up of damaging moisture on the structural inner wall as well as providing some thermal and acoustic insulation.
Anchors or ties are required to span the air gap at predetermined locations to secure the masonry veneer to the inner structural wall. Anchors are often formed integral with the structural wall where said structural wall is of masonry block construction. Vertically adjustable ties are required where the mortar joints of the veneer wall do not align with the the mortar joints of the structural block wall.
In the prior art it is known to use metallic elements for affixing masonry veneers to inner structural walls. U.S. Pat. No. 779,268 issued Jan. 3, 1905 discloses a combination of anchoring and tying components for use with block like members having grooves in their meeting edges. Right angled or ‘T’ shaped flanges formed in the anchor and tie members engage grooves in mating blocks to fixedly attach a facing wall to the support wall. This disclosure provides little vertical adjustment of the ties and is not suitable for standard bricks and blocks.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,946,732 issued Feb. 13, 1934 discloses a device for securing masonry veneer walls to structural masonry support walls. A single vertical rod is disposed on the outer face of a support wall block by means of right angularly extended end portions embedded in the mortar joints over and under said block. A bonding member attached to the vertical rod is embedded in a mortar joint of the masonry veneer. In this disclosure the vertical rod, having a length substantially the same as the relatively large standard construction block, provides ample vertical adjustment but may provide inadequate horizontal support if the bonding member is placed in the central region of the vertical rod.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,277,626 issued Oct. 11, 1966 a double shank adjustable wall tie is disclosed for tying together spaced wythes consisting of a structural wall and a veneer wall. A planar “U” shaped anchor having loops formed in the free ends is disposed in the horizontal PG, 4 mortar joint of the structural wall with said loops extending outward. A tie member secured in a mortar joint of the veneer wall has a base piece and a pair of outwardly extending generally parallel arms, each of said arms having a transversely turned finger at the free end thereof. Said fingers are adapted to engage the loops of the anchor member for securement of the veneer wall to the structural wall. Limited vertical adjustment is provided wherein the bond strength is decreased as engagement of the fingers in the loops decreases. For a commercially available anchor and tie device similar in principle and application to this disclosure it is recommended that vertical adjustment not exceed 11 / 2 ″ from the tension tie anchor to avoid possible failure by bending.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,366 issued Feb. 13, 1996 discloses an adjustable doubleend hook tie device for securing together a masonry veneer wall and a structural masonry wall.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a new and improved single end hook anchoring and tying device which may be used in residential or commercial construction employing standard masonry bricks and blocks or the like.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide enhanced vertical adjustment of the tie member with improved lateral strength and retention properties.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In its broad aspect, an adjustable wall tie of the present invention for securing spaced wythes together, each formed of courses of preformed block or brick having cementing means for joining the courses together and defining a space therebetween, comprises a rectangular tension anchor having a base member and a pair of substantially parallel longitudinal side members extending from said base member perpendicular thereto, a transverse end member parallel to the base member joining the distal ends of the side members together, and an intermediate transverse member attached to the side members in proximity to said end member forming an elongated transverse slot therebetween, said tension anchor being adapted to be positioned whereby the base member can be cemented in one of said wythes with the opposite end member with transverse slot disposed in the space between the wythes; and a generally J-shaped single-ended hook having laterally spaced longitudinal side sections and a transverse-end section joining one end of the longitudinal side sections together to form a planar base, and the opposite end of the longitudinal side sections bent at substantially 90° to the planar base and having short perpendicular side sections reverse bent substantially 90° parallel to the planar base and spaced therefrom, and a transverse section joining the reverse bent side sections together to form a restraining hook, whereby the planar base may be positioned in and cemented in the other of the wythes with the short perpendicular side sections disposed in the space between the wythes and the restraining hook extending through the slot of the tension anchor for tying said wythes together.
The restraining hook may be turned up or down to extend vertical adjustment of the wall tie.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The single-end hook wall tie of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical veneer wall construction employing an embodiment of the wall tie of the invention embedded in a mortar joint;
FIG. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the wall tie shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the anchor and tie components of the said wall tie in engagement according to the present invention; and
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of the hook tie of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown a typical residential or commercial masonry wall comprising a pair of wythes consisting of a structural block wall 10 and a substantially parallel brick veneer wall 12 , spaced laterally therefrom. A tension anchor 14 , interconnected with a single-ended hook 16 , forms a wall tie 15 which spans the air gap 17 to secure said brick veneer wall 12 to the structural block wall 10 .
Referring now to FIG. 3 of the drawings, the tension anchor 14 and single-end hook 16 of the present invention are shown. The tension anchor is a generally rectangular member of heavy wire stock metal having a pair of substantially parallel longitudinal side members 18 and 20 , connected at opposing ends thereof by substantially parallel end cross members 22 and 24 . An intermediate cross member 26 is fixedly attached to opposing longitudinal members 18 and 20 in close proximity and substantially parallel to cross member 24 forming an elongated opening or slot 28 therein. The longitudinal side members 18 , 20 are substantially coplanar and perpendicular with the cross end members 22 , 24 and 26 .
The single-end hook 16 of the present invention comprises a generally rectangular, J-shaped closed loop of heavy wire stock metal having longitudinal side sections 30 and 32 joined at one end by transverse base leg 34 . The longitudinal side sections 30 and 32 are bent at right angles to form short vertical legs 30 b and 32 b and reverse bent again at right angles to form transverse base leg 36 joining the opposite ends of side sections 30 , 32 to form a hook.
Transverse base members 34 and 36 defining the width of hook 16 are of a length slightly less than the length of the elongated slot 28 of the tension anchor 14 to allow insertion of transverse leg 36 of single-end hook 16 through said elongated slot 28 .
Referring again also to FIGS. 1 and 2, in the fabrication of masonry walls wherein the adjustable wall ties of the present invention are employed, tension anchors 14 are embedded in horizontal mortar joints 42 of the structural wall 10 during erection. Longitudinal members 18 and 20 of the tension anchor 14 extend outward into the air gap 17 , so as to expose the elongated slot 28 for engagement of the base leg 36 of the single-end hook 16 therein. Spacing of said tension anchors 14 is determined by building code specifications or other building requirements. Vertical spacing for standard brick veneer construction can range from 2 ¼″ to 16″ in height.
As the brick veneer wall is erected, single-end hook ties 16 are inserted through the elongated slots 28 of embedded tension anchor ties 14 . The lower extension 38 of the single-end hook tie 16 is shown embedded in a horizontal mortar joint 44 on the lower side of a course of bricks 46 . The vertical members 30 b and 32 b and base leg 36 are slidingly disposed in slot 28 with the hook facing upwardly to tie the wythes together as a unit.
FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the invention in which each tension anchor 50 comprises longitudinal side members 52 and 54 connected at one end by end members 56 and spaced parallel intermediate cross member 58 to define a slot therebetween and connected at the opposite end by elongated base wire 62 . An elongated second wire 64 parallel to and spaced from wire 62 may be connected to side members 52 and 54 , base wire 62 and intermediate wire 64 uniformly spacing a plurality of anchors 50 from each other for ease of installation. In this embodiment, the hook 16 faces upwardly, but may face downwardly.
The adjustable wall tie of the present invention provides advantages over the prior art. The single-end hook is simple to manufacture and easy to install. The single-end hook can be used either side up so that vertical adjustment is extended and may be applied to a masonary veneer of any reasonable dimension.
It will be understood, of course, that modifications can be made in the embodiment of the invention illustrated and described herein without departing from the scope and purview of the invention as defined in the appended claims. | An adjustable wall tie for securing together spaced wythes such as a masonry veneer wall to a structural masonry wall of block-like construction. The wall incudes a tension anchor and a generally J-shaped single-ended hook adapted to engage the tension for vertical adjustment. | 4 |
The application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 202,410, filed Oct. 31, 1980 and now abandoned.
The present invention relates to the electrodeposition of gold on substrates. More particularly, the invention pertains to improving the corrosion resistance of cobalt-hardened gold coatings which are electrodeposited on various substrates.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is well known in the metallizing art to electrodeposit, also referred to as electrolytic deposition and electroplating, cobalt-hardened gold coatings on substrates. In conventional procedures a deposition bath comprising ions of metal to be deposited and a suitable electrolyte is provided, the article or object to be plated is immersed in or otherwise contacted with the bath while connected as the cathode to an external current source, and a metal electrode is connected as the anode to the same current source. During electroplating operations ions of the metal to be deposited are reduced in the bath to zero valent metal which plates out on the workpiece or substrate surface.
The use of cobalt to harden gold coatings is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,905,601 which will be discussed below in greater detail.
It has been found, however, that such conventional cobalt-hardened gold coatings do not have the high degree of corrosion resistance which is an important property for some commercial purposes. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a system or process for preparing special cobalt-hardened, gold electrodeposits with markedly improved corrosion resistance and cosmetic appearance such as brightness, smoothness. In some instances it has been possible to achieve such desirable results at substantially reduced thicknesses of metal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention it has now been found that cobalt-hardened gold coatings having improved corrosion resistance can be obtained by initially coating the workpiece or substrate with a ductile, stress-free nickel deposit.
The necessary nickel coating on the substrate is derived from a specially prepared electroplating bath which, preferably, can be utilized with insoluble anodes. In general, the nickel electroplating baths will contain a nickel salt such as nickel sulfate, as a source of nickel ions, and boric acid or citric acid as the electrolyte. Although other conventional additives may be employed, it has been found essential to use ortho-formyl benzene sulfonic acid as the brightener and perfluorocyclohexyl potassium sulfonate, as the wetting agent.
Following the electrodepositing of the ductile, stress-free nickel coating the workpiece is subjected to the electrodeposition of the outer coating comprising cobalt-hardened gold.
By practicing the foregoing sequential electrodeposition steps the cobalt-hardened gold coating was characterized by a superior corrosion resistance as compared to the corrosion resistance of the same cobalt-hardened gold coating without the intermediate ductile, stress-free nickel coating. On the other hand, the superior corrosion was not attained even with the intermediate ductile, stress-free nickel coating when the gold was hardened with, for example, iron rather than cobalt.
Corrosion resistance is measured by Western Electric's manufacturing specification WL 2316.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The nickel salt electroplating bath useful in the initial coating step of the present invention will have the following formulation:
______________________________________Component Concentration g/l______________________________________Nickel Salt 30 to 105 (as Ni)Electrolyte 20 to 100O--formyl benzene sulfonic acid 0.25 to 3.0Perfluorocyclohexyl potassium sulfonate 0.02 to 0.2______________________________________
The preferred sources of the nickel metal are nickel sulfate, nickel citrate, nickel carbonate, and the like. These salts are preferably employed in an amount of from about 135 to 470 g/l to provide the desired nickel metal concentration.
Electrolytes which are most useful for the present purposes are boric acid, citric acid, and the like. The preferred amounts used in preparing the electroplating baths of this invention will range from about 22.5 to 45 g/l. The use of boric acid is especially preferred.
The organic components of the nickel bath are usually the brighteners and the wetting agents. In formulating the special electroplating bath of this invention the specific brightener employed is ortho-formyl benzene sulfonic acid. The required wetting agent is perfluorocyclohexyl potassium sulfonate, which has the formula: ##STR1##
For most purposes the pH of the electroplating bath is adjusted to a range of about 2 to 5, preferably 2.5 to 4.5. The compounds used to effect the pH adjustment include nickel carbonate, sulfuric acid, potassium citrate, or citric acid.
The baths of the present invention are operated at temperatures of about 46 to 57 degrees C. and at relatively high current density of up to about 1000 ASF, and preferably about 100 to 600 ASF. The ability to use such high current densities is another important advantage of the electroplating baths of the present invention.
Nickel deposited on various substrates when utilizing the baths of this invention are characterized by being semibright, ductile, and low-stressed. Furthermore, it is possible to use insoluble anodes in carrying out both the initial and second coating steps. The insoluble anodes which can be employed include, for example, platinized titanium, platinized tantalum, platinized columbium (niobium) as well as a platinum metal anode itself. Additionally, titanium anodes having mixed oxide coatings, such as ruthenium dioxide-titanium dioxide coatings, may also be used.
The electroplating of hardened gold deposits can be carried out utilizing the baths and the processes described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,905,601 Rinker and Duva (1959). The disclosure of this patent is, therefore, incorporated herein by reference. Although cobalt-hardened gold outer coatings are preferred, it will be understood that other metal hardeners such as indium, or nickel may also be employed in the practice of the present process which involves the use of a high speed gold treating process following the application of a high speed nickel treating process to form the initial or intermediate coating on the substrate or workpiece.
The electroplating bath useful for the gold plating step will comprise (1) a weak, stable, organic acid, (2) gold as a cyanide (potassium gold cyanide, for example), and (3) one or more base metal salts soluble in the bath.
Examples of acids which may be employed are formic, acetic, citric, tartaric, lactic, kojic, or similar acids and mixtures of these acids. The acid should be present in proportions of about 10 to 150 grams per liter and may be partially neutralized with ammonium or alkali hydroxide to give a pH of about 3-5. It is this weak organic acid and the procedure of maintaining the bath within a limited pH range that produces the desired effect of a gold alloy deposition.
The gold may be added as the double cyanide of gold and an alkali metal, potassium gold cyanide for example, and may be present in proportions of about 8 grams per liter to 26 grams per liter of gold, preferably 12.
Base metal salts which may be added comprise the sulfates, sulfamates, formates, acetates, citrates, lactates, tartrates, fluoborates, borates, phosphates, etc., of nickel, zinc, cobalt, indium, iron, manganese, antimony, copper, etc. These metal salts are added in the proportion of from 0.5 to 5 grams per liter. Very satisfactory results are obtained when two of such base metal salts are included in the bath. Although the addition of base metal salt is necessary, it does not matter which salt or mixture of salts is added as long as the added salts are soluble and compatible with all other bath ingredients.
The bath may be operated at a current density of 1 to 100 amperes per square foot. Moderate to rapid agitation improves the operation. The bath may be operated at normal room temperature (70° F.) which is advantageous in that no themostatic regulation is necessary but higher or lower temperatures of from 50 degrees to 120 degrees F. may be employed. The maximum cathode/anode ratio should be about 4:1.
The preferred electroplating bath useful for the second coating step will have the following formulation:
______________________________________Component Concentration g/1______________________________________Acetic Acid and Sodium Citrate 100 to 300Formic Acid 10 to 50 mls/lGold (as potassium gold cyanide) 12 to 26Cobalt (as sulfate) 0.5 to 1.75Water Remainder______________________________________
The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following illustrative embodiment:
EXAMPLE
A first electrolytic bath was prepared by dissolving the following components:
______________________________________ g/l______________________________________Nickel (as sulfate) 75Boric Acid 40O--Formyl Benzene Sulfonic Acid 1.5Perfluorocyclohexyl potassium sulfonate 0.1Water Remainder______________________________________
A second electrolytic bath was prepared by dissolving the following components:
______________________________________ g/l______________________________________Citric Acid (as potassium citrate) 200Formic Acid 20 mls/lGold (as potassium gold cyanide) 12Cobalt (as sulfate) 1.5Water Remainder______________________________________
The pH of this bath is adjusted to about 4.8 to 5.2 by the addition of an alkali or acid.
Run A
The substrate, commercial copper plated circuit board, is first treated in the nickel electroplating bath to give a semi-bright, ductile, and stress-free nickel deposit having a thickness between about 2.5 to 5μ. The thus coated substrate is then treated in the second or gold electroplating bath to give a bright, smooth, and hard gold deposit. This coating has a thickness of from about 1 to 2μ. The corrosion resistance of the resulting product, as measured in accordance with Western Electric's manufacturing specification WL 2316, is found to be outstanding.
Run B
When the step of electrodepositing the nickel coating is omitted, the resulting product's corrosion resistance is substantially reduced. | A method of electrodepositing a gold alloy layer having improved corrosion protection is disclosed. Prior to the gold layer an underlayer of ductile, low-stress nickel is electrodeposited from a solution containing ortho-formyl benzene sulfonic acid and perfluorocyclohexyl potassium sulfonate. | 2 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention generally relates to imaging systems, and, more particularly, to a system and method for multimode imaging.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Numerous optical imaging system designs have been developed, each with its own imaging techniques. In the context of microscopy, wide field imaging techniques have been employed in certain systems, while confocal imaging techniques have been used in other systems.
[0005] Wide-field imaging involves illuminating a sample and detecting the image of substantially the entire field of view. Wide-field imaging has been used for numerous applications. Fluorescence microscopy is an example of one application that has utilized wide field imaging.
[0006] Confocal imaging utilizes a specialized illumination and detection arrangement that images only a selected portion of the imaging system's field of view. In addition to conventional imaging optics, confocal imaging includes a detector having a field of view, an aperture that defines a subset of a field of view, and an illumination system that illuminates an area of sample that is optically conjugated to the field of view. Confocal imaging is capable of providing better axial resolution than wide field imaging by rejecting out of focus light and enabling optical sectioning. In the context of fluorescence microscopy, confocal imaging improves the signal to noise ratio by rejection of background fluorescence that may come from supporting medium, or outside the subset of the imaging area.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A system and method for multimode imaging of at least one sample is disclosed. According to one embodiment of the invention, the system includes at least one light source; an optical system selected responsive to a mode of operation of the imaging system; and a detector capable of selective reading of pixels. The at least one sample is moved relative to the optical system using a sample movement technique selected from the group consisting of step sample moving and continuous sample moving.
[0008] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for multimode imaging of at least one sample is disclosed. The method includes the steps of (1) selecting a mode of operation for the imaging system; (2) transmitting light from at least one light source through an optical system selected in response to the mode of operation for the imaging system; (3) moving the at least one sample relative to the optical system using a sample movement technique selected from the group consisting of step sample moving and continuous sample moving; and (4) selectively reading pixels with a detector.
[0009] The mode of operation may be wide field mode, fixed line confocal mode, scanning line confocal mode, point confocal mode, or through transmission mode.
[0010] The optical system may include a beam forming element that is selected in response to the mode of operation for the imaging system, a beam deflecting device that deflects the light on the sample, and a beam collimator that collimates the light. The beam forming element may include Powell lenses, cylindrical lenses, diffraction gratings, holographic elements, focusing mirrors, conventional lenses having spherical surfaces, conventional lenses having aspherical surfaces, and combinations thereof. The beam collimator may be a lens-based collimator and a mirror-based collimator. The beam deflecting device may include a scanning mirror and at least one actuator. The system may further include at least one optical filter.
[0011] It is a technical advantage of the present invention that a system and method for multimode imaging is disclosed. It is another technical advantage of the present invention that the system may operate in wide field mode, fixed line confocal mode, scanning line confocal mode, point confocal mode, or through transmission mode. It is still another technical advantage of the present invention that the step sample moving and continuous sample moving are used to move the sample.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] For a more complete understanding of the present invention, the objects and advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for multimode imaging according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0014] FIGS. 2 a - 2 d are schematics of step sample moving techniques according to embodiments of the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a schematic of a step sample moving technique using wide field mode according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a schematic of a step sample moving technique using line confocal mode according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] FIGS. 5 a - 5 b are schematics of continuous sample moving techniques according to embodiments of the present.invention;
[0018] FIG. 6 is a schematic of a continuous sample moving technique using line confocal mode according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 7 is a schematic of a continuous sample moving technique using line confocal mode with multiple samples according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 8 is a schematic of a continuous sample moving technique using line confocal mode with multiple samples according to another embodiment of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 9 is an illustration of a slide having alignment marks used for registration according to one embodiment of the present invention; and
[0022] FIG. 10 are illustrations of registration techniques using alignment marks according to embodiments of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0023] The system and method of the present invention are suitable for use with wide field, true (point) confocal, and line confocal microscopes Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/184,444 entitled “Method and Apparatus for Fluorescent Confocal Microscopy”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/320,676 entitled “Autofocus Method And System For An Automated Microscope”; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/320,675 entitled “System And Method For Fiber Optic Bundle-Based Illumination For Imaging System.” The disclosures of these documents are hereby specifically incorporated by reference in its entirety.
[0024] Preferred embodiments of the present invention and their advantages may be understood by referring to FIGS. 1-10 , wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 1 , a system for multimode imaging according to one embodiment of the present invention is schematically presented and includes one or more light sources 110 1 - 110 n to excite fluorescent (or fluorescently stained or labeled) target 150 and one or more detectors 190 to detect fluorescent emissions. System 100 may contain other components as would ordinarily be found in confocal and wide field fluorescent microscopes. The following sections describe these and other components in more detail. For a number of the components there are multiple potential embodiments.
[0026] For illustration only, excitation light is illustrated as dashed line 101 , while reflected light is illustrated as dashed line 102 .
[0027] Light sources 110 1 - 110 n may include any source capable of delivering light of the excitation wavelength to the target. Examples of suitable light sources include lasers, laser diodes, light emitting diodes, and lamps. Other light sources may be used as appropriate.
[0028] In one embodiment, two or more lasers covering the optical spectrum from the near IR to the near UV are provided as light sources 110 1 - 110 4 . Any practical number of lasers can be used, and the number of light sources provided may depend on the number of fluorescent dyes present in the sample that require different excitation light wavelengths.
[0029] As disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/184,444, light from the light sources is coupled to the rest of the system by either delivering the light as a free space beam of the appropriate spatial and temporal parameters, such as diameter, direction and degree of collimation or, as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/320,675, via fiber optic light delivery system. In the free space embodiment (not shown), a laser selection module is used to select the laser to be transmitted through free space. In the fiber optic light delivery embodiment, shown in FIG. 1 , light from light sources 110 1 - 110 n is delivered through fiber optic bundle 120 or via a fiber optic beam combiner.
[0030] In one embodiment, light source 115 may be provided behind sample 150 . This allows system 100 to operate in through transmission mode. Light source may be any suitable light source, including lasers, laser diodes, light emitting diodes, lamps, and combinations thereof. Other light sources may be used as appropriate.
[0031] Light exiting either fiber optic bundle 120 or free space may be provided to beam collimator 125 . Beam collimator 125 may be a lens-based collimator or a mirror-based collimator. Beam collimator 125 converts a diverging beam into a collimated beam. Alternately, beam collimator 125 may be used as a beam expander.
[0032] The excitation light may pass through beam forming element 130 . Beam forming element 130 allows system 100 to operate in line confocal mode, point confocal mode, or in wide field mode. Beam forming element 130 may perform a beam collimator/expander function.
[0033] In one embodiment, if system 100 is operated in line confocal mode, beam forming element 130 may convert the collimated beam of laser light into a focused beam diverging in one direction only. The full divergence angle of the output beams Dq may calculated by the following equation:
Dq= 2* arctan( D/( 2* f ))
where f is the focal length of microscope objective 145 , and D is the linear dimension of the imaging area on target 150 along the axis of the line. In one embodiment, a Powell lens, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,299, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, may be used. In another embodiment, a cylindrical lens may be used.
[0034] Other suitable beam forming elements 130 include focusing mirrors, diffraction gratings and holographic elements.
[0035] In another embodiment, if system 100 is to be operated in wide field mode, beam forming element 130 may be a conventional lens with spherical or aspherical surfaces. In another embodiment, beam forming element 130 may be a focusing mirror. The necessary beam forming element 130 may be automatically moved into position once a corresponding mode of operation is selected.
[0036] Following beam forming element 130 , light is directed by beam deflecting device 140 , such as a scanning mirror. Beam deflecting device 140 is used to adjust a position of the illumination area, such as line, point, or wide field on sample 150 .
[0037] In one embodiment, beam deflecting device 140 may include a narrow mirror centered on, or axially offset from, the rear of microscope objective 145 . This embodiment has a geometry and reflective property as follows:
Width ˜ 1/10 times the diameter of the rear aperture of the objective; Length ˜1.6 times the diameter of the rear aperture of the objective; Optically flat; and Highly reflective 300 nm to 800 nm.
[0042] These particular properties of the mirror provide several key advantages. First, it makes it possible to use a single mirror for all excitation wavelengths. Relative to a multiband dichroic mirror this greatly increases the flexibility in adapting the system to a wide range of light sources.
[0043] Second, it uses the rear aperture of the objective at its widest point. This leads to the lowest achievable level of diffraction which in turn yields the narrowest achievable width of the line of laser illumination at the sample.
[0044] Third, the field of view that can be achieved is large as is possible with the simple one-tilting-mirror strategy. By using two mirrors, or using a single mirror having two axes of rotation, one can simultaneously change the direction of the beam and translate the beam.
[0045] Beam deflecting device 140 may also be a dichroic mirror. The design of the dichroic mirror will be such that the radiation from all excitation lasers is efficiently reflected, and that light in the wavelength range corresponding to fluorescence emission is efficiently transmitted. An example of a suitable dichroic mirror is a multi-band mirror based on Rugate technology.
[0046] In one embodiment, beam deflecting device 140 is selected according to the mode of operation. For example, if system 100 is operated in true (point) confocal mode, beam deflecting device 140 may be a dichroic mirror that may be scanned in two directions. In another embodiment, if system 100 is operated in wide field mode or in line confocal mode, beam deflecting device may be a narrow mirror that may be fixed or scanned in one direction. The necessary beam deflecting device 140 may be automatically or manually moved into position once a corresponding mode of operation is selected.
[0047] Beam deflecting device 140 may be scanned in one or two directions by actuator 135 . In one embodiment, actuator 135 may be a galvanometer with an integral sensor for detecting the angular position. The galvanometer is driven by a suitably-tuned servo system. The bearing system is based on flexures to effectively eliminate wear and issues with friction in the bearing. An example of a galvanometer is the Cross Flexure Pivot Suspension Moving Magnet Galvanometer, available from Nutfield Technology, Inc., 49 Range Road, Windham, N.H. 03087-2019.
[0048] In one embodiment, when system 100 is operated in line confocal mode, actuator 135 moves beam deflecting device 140 to cause excitation light to move across sample 150 .
[0049] In another embodiment, when system 100 is operated in true (point) confocal mode, actuator 135 moves beam deflecting device 140 in two directions to cause light 120 to move across sample 150 .
[0050] In yet another embodiment, when system 100 is operated in wide field mode, actuator 135 may fix beam deflecting device 140 relative to sample 150 . This may be at, for example, a 45 degree angle with respect to the axis of illumination. In still another embodiment, when system 100 is operated in wide field mode, actuator 135 may move beam deflecting device 140 relative to sample 150 at a frequency that is greater than the frequency at which detector 190 acquires light. Such movement may provide a more uniform light field over sample 150 .
[0051] Detector 190 is provided for detecting fluorescence from sample 150 . In one embodiment, detector 190 may include CMOS and CCD detectors that are capable of detecting the fluorescent light and generating an image. Detector 190 may be capable of an independent reset and readout of pixels (random access feature).
[0052] In one embodiment, multiple detectors may be provided, as discussed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/184,444.
[0053] Optical filter 180 may be provided to transmits the reflected light attenuate the light at other wavelengths. In one embodiment, optical filter 180 may be a linear variable filter (e.g., Schott Veril filter). In another embodiment, standard, dye-specific fluorescence filters may be used. In yet another embodiment, band pass filters for providing multispectral imaging may be used. In another embodiment, no filter may be used.
[0054] In one embodiment, additional aperture 187 may be provided in front of detector 190 . In one embodiment, additional aperture 187 is used when system 100 operates in line confocal mode. Additional aperture 187 may be a physical slit in a nontransparent material, such as steel, aluminum, ceramics, etc.
[0055] In such an embodiment, the width of physical slit may be narrower than the pixel width of the pixels in detector 190 . This provides an increase in the degree of confocality of system 100 . In one embodiment, the width of the physical slit in additional aperture 187 may be adjustable. This allows the width of the physical slit may be adjusted to provide widths at other than pixel widths. For example, the width of the physical slit may be one and one-half pixel widths.
[0056] The insertion and removal of additional aperture 187 may be automatic or it may be manual. Similarly, the adjustment of the width of the physical slit may be automatic or it may be manual.
[0057] In one embodiment, if the physical limitations of detector 190 do not allow placement of additional aperture 187 directly above the pixels in detector 190 , an additional optical system (not shown) may be located between additional aperture 187 and detector 190 to re-image the physical slit on detector 190 . For example, the additional optical system can be a relay lens.
[0058] The remainder of system 100 , including microscope objective 145 , sample support 155 , optical filter 165 , actuator 170 for optical filter 165 , image forming lens 175 , and actuator 185 for optical filter 180 , is fully described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/184,444.
[0059] Although the system and method of the present invention is described in the context of the system of FIG. 1 , it should be recognized that the present invention is not limited to such a system. Similarly, although the system and method of the present invention is described in the context of a fluorescent system, it should be recognized that the system and method of the present invention may be used in a non-fluorescent system.
[0060] As discussed above, the system of the present invention may operate in wide field, true (point) confocal, and line confocal modes. Line confocal mode includes both fixed line confocal mode and scanning line confocal mode. In fixed line confocal mode, beam deflecting device 140 is fixed thereby fixing the position of the illumination line over sample 150 . In scanning line confocal mode, beam deflecting device 140 scans the illumination line over sample 150 .
[0061] To image a sample, the system of the present invention may use a variety of techniques to adjust the relative position of the sample and the illumination system relative to each other. Such techniques will be discussed below.
[0062] In one embodiment, the relative position between the illumination system and the sample may be adjusted by moving the sample. This may be accomplished by moving the sample support, on which sample is provided. An example of a system to accomplish this is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,388,788, entitled “Method and apparatus for screening chemical compounds,” the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
[0063] In another embodiment, the relative position between the illumination system and the sample may be adjusted by moving the illumination system. For example, this may involve moving the entire illumination system, or it may involve moving only a portion of the illumination system. In yet another embodiment, the relative position between the illumination system and the sample may be adjusted by a combination of moving the sample and the illumination system.
[0064] Referring to FIGS. 2 a - d , the relative position between the illumination system and the sample may be adjusted using a “step sample moving” technique. In general, in step sample moving, during image acquisition, the relative position of the sample and the illumination system remains fixed. Step sample moving can be used when the system is operated in several modes, including wide field mode and line confocal mode.
[0065] Step sample moving is used to detect a sequence of images of sample 200 . In this technique, the image area of sample 200 is “broken” into a plurality of smaller image areas 250 1 , . . . 250 n . Each image area 250 n is imaged separately before moving to the next image area 250 n+1 to image that image area 250 n+1 . In one embodiment, the image areas 250 1 , . . . 250 n may be imaged by row. In another embodiment, the image areas 250 1 , . . . 250 n may be imaged by column. In yet another embodiment, the imaging may be based on the location of items of interest. For example, the movement may be random if sample 200 has many small objects, such as cells, that are randomly distributed over the slide or well.
[0066] FIGS. 2 a - 2 d illustrate different ways of implementing the step sample moving technique. In FIG. 2 a , sample 200 is imaged by rows using a relative movement that is similar to the movement of a typewriter (e.g., left to right, carriage return, left to right) according to one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2 b , sample 200 is imaged by rows in both directions. In FIG. 2 c , sample 200 is imaged by columns in one direction. In FIG. 2 d , sample 200 is imaged by columns in both directions. Other movement directions and techniques may be used as desired.
[0067] Each image area 250 n may be imaged so that it overlaps with its adjacent image areas.
[0068] Referring to FIG. 3 , in one embodiment, the system may operate in wide field mode, and the step sample moving technique is used. In this embodiment, a wide field “snapshot” is taken of each image area 250 1 - 250 n separately. During each “snapshot,” both sample 200 and the illumination system remain fixed relative to each other. Sample 200 is imaged as discussed above.
[0069] Referring to FIG. 4 , in one embodiment, the system may operate in scanning line confocal mode, and the step sample moving technique may be used. In this embodiment, the illumination system illuminates line 260 on each image area 250 1 - 250 n separately. In one embodiment, during this imaging, both sample 200 and the illumination system remain fixed relative to each other. In this embodiment only the scanning portion of the illumination system moves and causes illumination line 260 to move across sample 200 . Sample 200 is imaged as discussed above.
[0070] Although FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate only one type of step sample moving technique, it should be recognized that other step sample moving techniques may be used as desired.
[0071] FIGS. 5 a and 5 b illustrate the “continuous sample moving” technique according to another embodiment of the present invention. In general, in continuous sample moving, during image acquisition, the relative position of the sample and the illumination system is adjusted, while the optics of the illumination system remain fixed. Continuous sample moving is preferably used when the system operates in fixed line confocal mode, but it may also be used when the system operates in other modes, such as wide field mode.
[0072] In one embodiment, additional aperture 187 may be employed when continuous sample moving and fixed line confocal mode are used.
[0073] Continuous sample moving in combination with fixed line confocal mode allows for an image larger than the field of view of the imaging system to be acquired in a single image. Accordingly, continuous sample moving can also be used to image more than one sample, i.e., batch sample processing, in a single image.
[0074] As shown in FIG. 5 a , the system may operate in fixed line confocal mode and sample 200 is imaged in one direction by moving sample 200 relative to the illumination system in one direction. Sample 200 is returned to its initial position and the process is repeated. In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 5 b , the sample may be imaged in both directions. Other movement directions and techniques may be used as desired.
[0075] Alternatively, illumination line 260 may be moved to cover another linear section of the sample as the relative position of the sample is moved back to its initial position as shown in FIG. 5 a or b . In this case, the sample is imaged as it passes under the beam in both directions.
[0076] In another embodiment, the system may operate in wide field mode and continuous sample moving may be used. In this embodiment, illumination light is provided to the sample in pulses as the sample moves relative to the illumination system.
[0077] An example of the continuous sample moving technique while the system operates in fixed line confocal mode is shown in FIG. 6 . In this figure, a sample having a dimension of 15×15 mm is provided on a standard microscope slide. An illumination line from the illumination system is provided, and may have a length of 0.7 mm. The magnification is 40×. The scanning speed is 100 mm/second. The detector is a fast CCD/CMOS camera.
[0078] In this embodiment, the sample must move relative to the illumination system to make 22 passes to complete the imaging of the sample. The total scan length is 330 mm. The ideal scan time is 330/100, equaling 3.3 seconds per standard microscope slide. Correction for additional delays for sample support acceleration, deceleration, sample support shift between lines, etc, is 300-400% of the ideal scan time. The realistic scan time is 15 seconds.
[0079] Referring to FIG. 7 , the imaging system according to the present invention can be operated with multiple samples 700 1 , 700 2 , . . . 700 n . Illumination line 760 is provided and samples 700 1 , 700 2 , . . . 700 n are moved relative to illumination line 760 . In the embodiment of FIG. 7 , the continuous sample moving technique provides scanning in one direction. In the embodiment of FIG. 8 , the continuous sample moving technique provides scanning in both directions. Any number of specimen could be imaged using the arrangements shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 .
[0080] FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary embodiment of the present invention as applied to batch slide tissue imaging. Samples 800 , 805 , 810 , 820 and 825 are provided on slides (not shown) and each has a size of 15×15 mm. The illumination line may have a length of 0.7 mm. For this example, there are 50 slides in a batch. More or fewer slides may be provided. The magnification is 40×, and the scanning speed is 200 mm/second. The detector is a fast CCD/CMOS camera. The sample support length is 1000 mm.
[0081] Similar to the example of FIG. 6 , the number of passes per slide is 22. However, the total scan length is 22000 mm. The ideal scan time is 110 s/batch. Correction for additional delays for sample support acceleration, deceleration, sample support shift between lines, etc, is 50% of the ideal scan time. This is smaller than for single slide scanning. The corrected batch scan time is 165 seconds. The average scan time is 3 seconds per slide.
[0082] In order to assist in registering samples on slides, at least one alignment mark may be provided on the substrate of the slides. For example, referring to FIG. 9 , slide 900 is provided with sample 910 and cover slip 920 . A plurality of alignment marks 930 are provided in slide 900 . Alignment marks 930 may be formed by scribing or etching the surface of slide 900 or cover slip 920 . Although crosses are depicted as alignment marks in FIG. 9 , it should be recognized that other shapes, types, number, and location of alignment marks may be used as necessary and desired.
[0083] Registration of a sample can be performed in a variety of ways. In one embodiment, registration can be performed prior to the high resolution imaging. In another embodiment, registration can be performed at the same time as the high resolution imaging.
[0084] In one embodiment, the excitation light is directed to sample 910 and illuminates alignment marks 930 . Successively, the light can be partially absorbed, scattered, reflected or most generally, emitted with a different characteristics, such as a longer wavelength, a modified intensity, etc. The emitted light differs detectably from the background and therefore, an image of the alignment mark can be registered by detector 190 (shown in FIG. 1 ) or by a separate detector (not shown). This image is registered with each fluorescent channel and can be used, exemplary, during image analysis in a way allowing selecting an area of interest from the tissue sample image.
[0085] As depicted in FIG. 10 , several methods of registration can be used during imaging based on a characteristic of the emitted light. For example, in one embodiment, the edges of alignment marks may be detected when the excitation light is scattered on the edges, producing characteristic double spike signal in the image space. Such an embodiment is provided in FIG. 10 a . In another embodiment, a “W-shaped” signal can be formed due to the reflectivity change on the mark, shown in FIG. 10 b . In another embodiment, if the alignment mark was delineated on the substrate in a form of a Fresnel zone target, a single spike signal will be formed due to diffraction on the target. This is illustrated in FIG. 10 c . In still another embodiment, a fluorescent signal will be formed if a luminophore material was incorporated into the alignment mark or exemplary, due to a fluorescence behavior of the scribed or etched mark. Such is shown in FIG. 10 d.
[0086] In one embodiment, reflected light is detected from the alignment marks as well as from the edges of the cover slip. In one embodiment, the alignment mark is recorded with the sample image. The detection of the alignment marks may also be used to control the relative movement of the sample and the illumination system.
[0087] Other embodiments, uses, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. The specification and examples should be considered exemplary only. | A system and method for multimode imaging of at least one sample is disclosed. The system includes at least one light source; an optical system selected responsive to a mode of operation of the imaging system; and a detector capable of selective reading of pixels. The at least one sample is moved elative to the optical system using a sample movement technique selected from the group consisting of step sample moving and continuous sample moving. The method includes the steps of (1) selecting a mode of operation for the imaging system; (2) transmitting light from at least one light source through an optical system selected in response to the mode of operation for the imaging system; (3) moving the at least one sample relative to the optical system using a sample movement technique selected from the group consisting of step sample moving and continuous sample moving; and (4) selectively reading pixels with a detector. | 6 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to thin rubbery coating compositions applied to fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) to inhibit propagation of micro cracks to the surface of molded parts. The cracks which are inhibited are a cosmetic blemish on the surface of FRP and do not seriously degrade the mechanical or structural integrity of the part.
BACKGROUND
Various fiber reinforced plastic parts such as cured sheet molded compounds (SMC) can form cracks which appear at about 0.02-0.3 percent strain which affect surface appearance and can lead to rejection of a structurally and mechanically sound molded part. These cracks can nucleate other types of failures in subsequent coatings on the molded part.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A laminate having enhanced surface appearance comprising a fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) and a thin coating made from a liquid rubber and liquid epoxy polymer is disclosed. It is an object of the invention to reduce and mask surface cracking without sacrificing physical properties of the laminate. This coating which functions as a primerlike coating could replace in-mold coatings presently used to enhance surface appearance, reduce porosity, and reduce sink marks on molded products from thermosetting FRP from sheet molded compound (SMC), bulk molding compounds (BMC), and thick molding compounds (TMC). Specifically, this invention is useful in automotive body parts, furniture, sporting goods, chemical processing equipment, and the like.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows the four point bending test where deformation is supplied by a micrometer screw. FIG. 2 shows a coated FRP material developing cracks during deformation. As the strain increases in the fiberglass reinforced substrate, the cracks therein begin to open up. At higher strains the cracks propagate into the rubber and eventually reach the surface.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Surface appearance of thermosetting FRP such as SMC, BMC and TMC is degraded by the presence of small cracks which can form at tensile strains from bending that are generally as low as 0.3 percent. The structural integrity of the material is not affected by the cracks, hence, this invention relates to a coating composition and procedure which masks them. The substrate for this material is generally a fiber reinforced plastic FRP made from a thermoset resin such as sheet molding compound (SMC). The substrate is generally made from a composition, which may be a polyester resin or vinyl ester resin that are crosslinkable with ethylenically unsaturated monomers such as styrene. Reinforcing fibers and assorted fillers are often added to increase strength and rigidity. Additional resins, processing aids, colorants and environmental protectorants can also be used.
The matrix material of the invention is generally an unsaturated polyester resin. One preferred resin is based on the reaction of 1,2 propylene glycol, and an ethylenically unsaturated diacid or anhydride. Other suitable unsaturated polyester resins which can be utilized in the present invention are well known and include products of the condensation reaction of low molecular weight diols, (that is, diols containing from 2 to 12 carbon atoms and desirably from 2 to 6 carbon atoms) with dicarboxylic acids or their anhydrides containing from 3 to 12 carbon atoms and preferably from 4 to 8 carbon atoms provided that at least 50 mole percent of these acids or anhydrides contain ethylenical unsaturation. Examples of diols include 1,2-propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, 1,3-propylene glycol, diethylene glycol, di-1,2-propylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, neopentyl glycol, and the like. A preferred diol is 1,2 propylene glycol. Mixtures of diols may also be advantageously used. Preferred acids include fumaric acid, maleic acid, whereas preferred anhydrides include maleic anhydride. Often, mixtures of acids and/or anhydrides are utilized with the preferred acids or anhydrides and such compounds include phthalic anhydride, isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid, adipic acid, glutaric acid, and the like, catalyzed by compounds such as organotitanates and organo tin compounds such as tetrabutyl titanate or dibutyl tin oxide, and the like.
Various other types of unsaturated polyesters can be utilized. Another type is described in R. J. Herold U.S. Pat. No. 3,538,043 which is hereby fully incorporated by reference. Typically, the polyesters are made by interpolymerization of maleic anhydride with oxiranes substituted with alkyls containing from 0 to 4 carbon atoms. Examples of oxiranes include ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, and butylene oxides. In addition to maleic anhydride, other anhydrides can be utilized in amounts up to 50 mole percent (i.e. from 0 to 50 mole percent) of the total anhydride charge, wherein said anhydride has from 4 to 10 carbon atoms, such as phthalic anhydride, nadic anhydride, methyl nadic anhydride, tetrahydrophthalic anhydride, succinic anhydride, and cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylic acid anhydride. The molar ratio of oxirane to anhydride can be from about 1.0 to about 2.0, and preferably from about 1.0 to about 1.3.
In the preparation of the unsaturated polyesters from oxiranes and anhydrides, small amounts from about 5 to about 30 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the polyester forming monomers of initiators are utilized. Examples of specific initiators include polyols, for example diols, triols, tetrols, having from 2 to 12 carbon atoms, or dicarboxylic acids containing from 3 to 10 carbon atoms, as for example fumaric acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, and adipic acid. The molecular weight of the polyol is generally less than 500, preferably less than 200. Diols and dicarboxylic acid initiators result in linear, difunctional polyester chains with an average of two hydroxyl end groups per polymer chain. Triols produce polyester chains with an average of 3 arms and 3 hydroxyl end groups, and tetrols result in 4 arm chains with 4 hydroxyl end groups. Various catalysts can be utilized such as a zinc hexacyano cobaltate complex, and the like, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,538,043 which is hereby fully incorporated by reference.
Regardless of whether an unsaturated polyester made from an oxirane or a diol is utilized, the molecular weight thereof is from about 1,000 to about 10,000 and preferably from about 1,200 to about 5,000. The polyester portion of the solution of polyester resin in ethylenically unsaturated monomer can be present from about 50 to about 80 and preferably about 60 to about 70 weight percent based on the total polyester resin weight of the polyester and ethylenically unsaturated monomers. The polyester resin, consisting of the polyester and ethylenically unsaturated monomers, can be from about 10 percent to about 80 percent by weight, and preferably 10 to about 30 percent of the composite fiber reinforced plastic.
Another important component of a typical molding composition of the present invention are ethylenically unsaturated monomers or crosslinking agents such as a polymerizable vinyl or allyl compounds, such as a vinyl substituted aromatic having from 8 to 12 carbon atoms, as for example styrene, a preferred monomer, vinyl toluene, divinyl benzene, diallyl phthalate, and the like; acrylic acid esters and methacrylic acid esters wherein the ester portion is an alkyl having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms such as methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, N-butyl acrylate, 2-ethyl-hexyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, and the like. Other unsaturated monomers include vinyl acetate, diallyl maleate, diallyl fumarate, vinyl propionate, triallylcyanurate, and the like. Mixtures of the above compounds can also be utilized. The total amount of the unsaturated monomers generally varies from about 20 percent to about 50 percent and desirably from about 30 percent to about 40 percent by weight based upon the total weight of the ethylenically unsaturated monomers and the polyester.
The fiber can generally, be any reinforcing fiber such as glass, aramid, nylon, polyester, graphite, boron, and the like. Fiber structure suitable for incorporation into the matrix include generally individual fibers, various types of woven fibers, or any general type of nonwoven fibers. Included within the woven class is any general type of woven fabrics, woven roving, and the like. Generally included within the nonwoven class is chopped strands, continuous filaments or rovings, reinforcing mats, nonreinforcing random mats, fiber bundles, yarns, non-woven fabrics, etc. Coated fiber bundles, comprising about 5 to about 50 or 150 strands, each having about 10 to about 50 fibers, highly bonded together with a conventional sizing agents such as various amino silanes, are preferred. The fiber structure may be randomly distributed within the matrix or be arranged in selected orientations such as in parallel or cross plies or arranged in mats or woven fabrics, etc. The fibers may comprise from about 5 percent up to about 85 percent by weight of the composite and preferably from 20 percent to 50 percent by weight of the composite. The specific quantity of fiber structure in the composite can be varied consistent with the physical properties desired in the final composite molded article.
Various other components or additives can optionally be utilized to form the molding compound composition. For example, various thermoplastic polymers (low profile or low shrinkage compounds) can be utilized. Typical low profile compounds include polyvinyl acetate, saturated polyesters, polyacrylates or methacrylates, saturated polyester urethanes, and the like. The amount of such polymers is from about 10 parts by weight to about 50 parts by weight, with from about 20 parts by weight to about 40 parts by weight being preferred based upon the weight of unsaturated polyester and the amount of ethylenically unsaturated monomer in the mixture. Other additives which can also be utilized include internal mold release agents such as zinc stearate; mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, Dolomite, clays, talcs, zinc borate, perlite, vermiculite, hollow glass, solid glass microspheres, hydrated alumina, and the like. Generally, mineral fillers can be used in weight percentages of the total composition up to 80 and desirably from about 20 to about 70, such that a final composition could be made up primarily of filler.
In addition to polyesters, other suitable matrix materials include vinyl ester resins. The general structure of a typical vinyl ester resin is ##STR1## where R is a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group. Vinyl ester resins are prepared by reacting epoxy resins such as the addition products of 1-chloro-2,3-epoxypropane with 2,2'-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane with either methacrylic or acrylic acid. The terminal unsaturation can be crosslinked with styrene in the same fashion as an unsaturated polyester. These compounds can be substituted on an equivalent weight basis for the unsaturated polyester resins of this invention for up to 100 percent of the unsaturated polyester resin component.
Conventional catalysts can be used to cure the matrix. Examples of such catalysts for the cure of unsaturated polyester or vinyl ester resins include organic peroxides and hydroperoxides such as benzoyl peroxide, dicumyl peroxide, cumene hydroperoxide, paramethane hydroperoxide, and the like, used alone or with redox systems; diazo compounds such as azobisisobutyronitrile, and the like; persulfate salts such as sodium, potassium, and ammonium persulfate, used alone or with redox systems; and the use of ultraviolet light with photo-sensitive agents such as benzophenone, triphenylphosphine, organic diazos, and the like. The amounts of these catalysts generally varies from about 0.1 to about 5; and desirably from about 0.2 to about 2 parts by weight based upon 100 parts by weight of unsaturated polyester, vinyl ester resins, and ethylenically unsaturated monomers.
The commercial manufacture of FRP depends on the particular molding operations to be performed and the structure of the molded part. The general requirements are that the resin components be intimately mixed and any fillers or fibers are well distributed in the resin and their surfaces wetted or contacted with the resin to assure strong interfacial bonding between the components. These mixing and molding operations are well known. In the SMC examples used in this embodiment, the polyester resin with its additives and catalysts is well mixed. Chopped fiberglass fibers randomly oriented are mixed into the resin. The composite material is further mixed to assure good fiber wetting and is sandwiched into a sheet between two carrier films. This sheet is collected and allowed to mature. The carrier films are removed before molding. The SMC sheet is molded in compression molds at pressures up to 2000 psi and temperatures up to 350° F. (177° C.). The molding temperature depends on the part thickness, the in-mold time, and the catalyst chosen for polymerizing the ethylenically unsaturated monomer and crosslinking the polyester resin.
The coating for the substrate of the current invention is generally the reaction product of a liquid epoxy and an amine-terminated rubbery polymer. The amine-terminated liquid rubber has one or more end groups that are amine groups known to be reactive with epoxy groups. Desirably 50 percent of the amine-terminated polymers have both ends converted to amines and preferably 85 percent are so converted. Examples of rubbery material include amine-terminated butadiene-acrylonitrile (ATBN) which is a copolymer of butadiene and acrylonitrile. These copolymers are prepared in accordance with conventional techniques well known to the art and to the literature and are generally made from one or more monomers of acrylonitrile or an alkyl derivative thereof with one or more conjugated dienes and optionally one or more monomers of acrylic acid, or an ester thereof. Examples of acrylonitrile monomers or alkyl derivatives thereof include acrylonitrile and alkyl derivatives thereof having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms such as methacrylonitrile, and the like. The amount of the acrylonitrile or alkyl derivative monomer is from about 5 percent to about 40 percent by weight and preferably from about 7 percent to about 30 percent by weight based upon the total weight of the nitrile containing copolymer.
The conjugated diene monomers generally have from 4 to 10 carbon atoms with from 4 to 6 carbon atoms being preferred. Examples of specific conjugated diene monomers include butadiene, isoprene, hexadiene, and the like. The amount of such conjugated dienes is generally from about 60 percent to about 95 percent by weight and preferably from about 70 percent to about 93 percent by weight based upon the total weight of the nitrile rubber forming monomers. Such mono or difunctional nitrile rubbers can be readily prepared generally containing either hydroxyl or carboxyl or amine functional groups as end groups and are commercially available such as from The BFGoodrich Company under the trade name Hycar®.
The amine-terminated flexible polymer segments are generally liquid polymers that enhance the toughness and pliability of polymers or copolymers. Flexible polymers having other functional end groups such as OH, COOH, or epoxy can be converted to amine functional end groups through known chemical reactions such as reacting a carboxyl terminated flexible polymer with diamines to change the terminal ends of the polymer to amine groups.
The molecular weight of these amine-terminated liquid rubbery polymers ranges generally from about 1000 to about 6000, desirably from about 2000 to about 4000, and is preferably around 3,500. The amount of amine-terminated liquid rubbery polymer is from about 200 to about 900 parts by weight, desirably from about 300 to about 600 parts by weight, and preferably about 475 parts by weight (pbw) based upon 100 parts by weight of an epoxy resin. Another criteria for the ratios of liquid polymer to epoxy resin is the equivalent ratios of functional epoxy groups to amine reactive groups. This ratio can vary from about 4:1 to about 1:2, and is preferably about 2:1 to about 1:1.2.
The coating for the substrate may also contain fillers, such as silica, talc, or conductive carbon black; antioxidants, antiozonants, processing aids, plasticizers, and coloring pigments.
The coating can contain curative components for the epoxy amine reaction. These can consist of various amine-containing compounds that can function as coreactants or catalysts and Lewis acids. The curative component can be present from about 0.1 to about 15 parts, desirably from about 0.2 to about 10 parts, and preferably 0.5 to about 3 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the epoxy resin and amine-terminated rubbery polymer. These can be tertiary amines and Lewis acid catalysts that generally function as catalysts only. Other curative components that can function as co-reactants are aliphatic amines, amido amines, and phenol/urea/melamine formaldehyde compounds. These curative components that react as co-reactants are generally present at 20 weight percent or less and desirably 10 weight percent or less based on the weight of the amine-terminated rubbery polymers.
The preferred curative components are tertiary amines and salts of tertiary amines such as Ancamine® K61B 2-ethyl hexanoic acid salt of 2,4,6 tris (N, N dimethylaminomethyl) phenol; tris(dimethylaminomethyl) phenol; N-benzyldimethylamine; dimethylaminomethyl phenol; diazabicycloundecene; triethylene diamine; and phenol, 2 ethylhexcanoic acid, formic acid, and p-toluenesulfonic acid salts of diazabicycloundecene. The curing temperature for the epoxy-amine reaction is controlled by the choice of curative components and their amounts. The curing temperature can vary from 25° C. to about 200° C.
The reaction of the amine-terminated rubbery polymer with the epoxy forms a rubbery coating on the FRP. The rubbery coatings are typically about 1 to about 200 μm thick, desirably about 1 to about 100 μm thick, and preferably from about 2 to about 40 μm thick.
The epoxy resin component of the invention is comprised of one or more of the curable resins containing more than one 1,2-epoxy group per molecule. Epoxy compounds can be any monomeric or polymeric compound or mixtures of compounds having an epoxy equivalency greater than one, that is, wherein the average number of epoxy groups per molecule is greater than one, with monomeric epoxides having two epoxy groups being currently preferred. Epoxy compounds are well known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,467,171; 2,615,007; 2,716,123; 3,030,336; and 3,053,855. Useful epoxy compounds include the polyglycidyl ethers of polyhydric polyols, such as ethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1,2-propylene glycol, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,2,6-hexanetriol, glycerol and 2,2-bis(4-hydroxy cyclohexyl) propane; cycloaliphatic epoxy resins made from epoxidation of cycloolefins with peracids; the polyglycidyl esters of aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, or aromatic polycarboxylic acids, such as oxalic acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, terephthalic acid, 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid, hexahydrophthalic acid, and dimerized linoleic acid; the polyglycidyl ethers of polyphenols, such as bisphenol A, 1,1-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl) isobutane, and 1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene; and novolak resins, such as epoxy phenol novolak resins, epoxy cresol novolak resins, aromatic glycidal amine resins such as triglycidal derivative of p-aminophenol.
One effective epoxy resin is a DGEBA such as Epon 828 made from bisphenol A and epichlorohydrin having 2 functional epoxy groups and a molecular weight of from 360 to 384. Preferred epoxy resins have low molecular weights such as from 200 to about 1000. Solvents are used to lower the viscosity of the coating so it can be sprayed. Generally, any solvent that is compatible with the system can be used. A specific example is toluene. The amount of toluene is an effective amount to produce 1 to 60 percent solids content in solution. Preferably for spray coating solids are from about 2 to about 10 percent solids content.
Any method resulting in a consistent coating may be used such as spraying, brushing, rolling and dip coating. The finish should be suitable for automotive exterior body panel applications. With the amine terminated butadiene-acrylonitrile and Epon 828 system, the material is then cured at about 176° F. (80° C.) for about 30 minutes. A second curing step is done with a temperature of about 248° F. (120° C.) for two hours in an air oven. The cure cycle for other systems would depend on the reactivity of the functional groups at a specific temperature and the presence of any curative component for the epoxy-amine reaction. The temperature range for curing includes 25°-200° C.
FOUR POINT BENDING TEST METHOD
Samples of molded SMC 7113 (fiberglass reinforced sheet molded compound available from GenCorp) having physical dimensions of 0.10 inches thick, approximately 0.5 inches wide and 3.0 inches long (0.25×1.3×7.6 cm) were mounted in the four point bending device shown in FIG. 1. The composition of SMC 7113 is given in Table 1 and the material can be cured at 1000 psi (6.9 MPa or more pressure) at 150° C. for at least 2 minutes. The specimen had been cut with a diamond saw and polished with 60 grit and subsequently 400 grit paper. An applied force was produced by turning the micrometer and deforming the sample as shown in FIG 1.
The strain was calculated as ##EQU1## where t is the sample thickness, D is the displacement at the loading points,
L 1 is the distance from the load point to the nearer support point, i.e., =b-a or d-c (a, b, c & d shown in FIG. 1).
and L 2 is the distance from the load point to the center of the beam, i.e., =0.1/2 (c-b).
The micrometer screw was slowly turned a short distance (example 1/4 turn on a 40 thread per inch thumbscrew at a rate of 0.38 inch/minute). After each incremental turn, the specimen was wiped with India ink and examined for hairline cracks. Any cracks were recorded along with the strain level at which they were discovered. Cracked samples were discarded and uncracked samples were further strained.
COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE
Two groups of SMC 7113 sheets were tested. The first sixty specimens had an average strain to first crack of 0.20 percent with a standard deviation of 0.07. The second 120 specimens had an average strain to first crack of 0.35 with a standard deviation of 0.08.
TABLE 1______________________________________Typical composition of 7113 SMC.Paste______________________________________Unsaturated Polyester 13.8%, by weightLow Profile Additive 9.2%Styrene 3.7%Inhibitor 0.005%Peroxide Catalyst 0.25%Viscosity Reducer 0.8%Mold Release 1.0%Calcium Carbonate 69.8%MgO 1.4%TOTAL: 100.______________________________________ Fiber Glass: 1 inch long chopped strand fiberglass Final SMC Composition: 25 parts fiberglass based on 75 pasts paste.
EXAMPLE A
Amine-terminated poly(butadiene-acrylonitrile) Hycar 1300X16 ATBN (475 parts by weight) from BFGoodrich was dissolved along with Epon 828 (100 parts by weight), in toluene to produce a 2 to 10 percent solids content in solution. This solution of ATBN and Epon 828 was airbrushed onto a 0.10 inches thick×0.5 inches wide×3.0 inches long (0.25×1.3×7.62 cm) SMC 7113 specimen. The thickness of the coating was adjusted by changing the concentration of rubber in the toluene solution. Coatings of between 10-100 μm were achieved. These were dried and then cured at 80° C. for 30 minutes and 120° C. for 2 hours. They were then mounted in the four point bending device using a micrometer to record strain. The specimens were strained to predetermined levels, metalized with gold and examined for cracks in SEM. The rubber coatings of 12 μm thickness were effective at masking cracks at strain levels up to 1.6 percent or more.
EXAMPLE B
The above-coated samples in Example A were also exposed to -40° F. (-40° C.) temperature for 30 minutes and then tested in the four point bending apparatus. In these tests, the 12 μm thick rubbery coating was also effective at masking cracks up to 1.6 percent strain or more.
EXAMPLE C
The coated samples in Example A were exposed to 300° F. (149° C.) temperatures similar to what automobile body panels would be exposed to during curing of paint finishes. They were then tested on the four point bending device. In these tests the 12μm thick rubbery coating was effective at masking cracks up to 1.6 percent strain or more.
EXAMPLE D
SMC specimens similar to those in Example A were coated with the same amine-terminated poly(butadieneacrylonitrile) at a coating thickness of about 150 μm. These samples were conditioned at either -40° F. (-40° C.) or 300° F. (-149° C.) for 30 minutes before testing. They were tested for adhesion using a 90° peel test and an Instron 1122 with a controlled displacement rate. These results are shown in Table 2.
TABLE 2______________________________________ADHESION TEST RESULTSCoated SMC Samples Conditionedat Low and High Temperatures Peel Force per InchExcursion Temperature of Width°F. °C. g/in Kg/m______________________________________-40 -40 2900 114.2 70 21 1900 74.8 300 149 2400 94.5______________________________________
The adhesion was not impaired by the exposure to severe temperatures. The increase in peel force in the cold specimen was attributed to the additional force necessary to bend the rubbery coating near its Tg temperature. The higher peel force after 300° F. (149° C.) exposure was attributed to additional curing of the rubbery coating or additional rubber/SMC contact during heating.
EXAMPLE E
Several commercially available coatings for flexible plastics were used as comparisons to the ATBN epoxy coating of this invention. The coatings were U04KD004 Weatherable Black Conductive Primer (bumper paint) from BASF, Flexible Clearcoat for Rigid or Flexible Substrates from BASF Code No. E86CA112 (Acrylic Enamel aka GM 998-4852, Chrysler MS-PA41-1), Universal White Basecoat for Automotive Applications from BASF Code No. E98WD403, and Tempo No. 20-19L Black Bumper Paint
Elongations of the conductive primer was estimated to be about 15 percent. Elongations of the bumper paint was estimated to be >15 percent. Elongation of the white basecoat and clearcoat were estimated as at least 5 percent. The ATBN epoxy system had an elongation of at least 100 percent.
These coatings were applied with a draw bar on a standard SMC 7113 sheet disclosed in Example A. Runs 1 through 6 had a 2 mil (44μm) thick coating while runs 7-10 inadvertently received a 4 mil (88μm) thick coating. The results of percent elongation at first visible crack and multiple crack experiments are shown in Table 3. Runs 2 through 4 show a slight increase in percent elongation at first crack with any coating. Runs 5 through 10 show that the use of coatings with higher elongation give greater percent elongation at crack with the Epon 828 epoxy and ATBN coating giving the highest value. These coatings were dried and cured similarly to the coatings in Example A. They were then strained to predetermined extents and examined for microcracks by an equivalent procedure to that set out in Example A except that the strain to the appearance of first crack and to appearance of multiple cracks was recorded.
TABLE 3______________________________________ % Elongation atTrialRun System First Crack Multiple Crack______________________________________1 1 SMC 7113 control .58 1.05 (no paint)2 SMC + primer .71 --3 SMC + top coat .68 --4 SMC + clear coat .70 --5 SMC + primer + .77 -- top coat + clear coat6 SMC + bumper .98 1.21 paint + top coat + clear coat2 7 SMC + top coat + .73 1.45 clear coat8 SMC + primer + 1.14 1.97 → >2 top coat + clear coat9 SMC + bumper 1.27 >2 paint + top coat + clear coat (.74)*10 SMC +DGEBA 1.9 → >2 (1.29) >2 epoxy - ATBN coat + top coat + clear coat (.95)*______________________________________ *Values in parenthesis are elongations where the crack first appeared at the top coat clear coat interface. Paints used: Primer; BASF U04KD004A Black Conductive Primer Top Coat; BASF E98WD403 White Enamel Clear Coat; BASF E86CA112 Flexible Clear Coat Acrylic Enamel Bumper Paint; Tempo No. 2019L Bumper Black DGEBA epoxyATBN; ATBN 1300 × 16/Epon 828/Toluene, weight ratios 33/7/60
This invention has utility in auto body parts, furniture, sporting goods, chemical processing equipment, and the like.
The composite material of the invention provides a molded part having better surface crack resistance. Parts can be molded to form automotive body panels, automotive structural components such as load bearing support members, aircraft components, housings for various electrical and household goods, sporting goods such as golf club shafts, rackets, etc. The substrate is preferably an FRP prepared from a sheet molding compound (SMC). However, FRP substrates in accordance with the invention can be made from wet lay-up, resin transfer molding, bulk molding, and the like. The finished substrate is then coated to inhibit crack propagation to the surface.
While in accordance with the Patent Statutes, the best mode and preferred embodiment has been set forth, the scope of the invention is not limited thereto, but rather by the scope of the attached claims. | A method for enhancing the surface appearance of thermoset FRP wherein a thin rubbery coating is applied to a sheet molded compound (SMC). This coating, when applied to FRP inhibits propagation of micro cracks to the surface of compliant rubbery coating of the parts, while not sacrificing the physical properties of the molded parts. The coating also supplies a suitable smooth surface for automotive body panel applications that serves as a substrate for further paint applications. | 8 |
This application is a non-provisional application claiming priority to provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 60/459,981 filed Apr. 4, 2003.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an apparatus and method for the process of separating gas from a liquid path.
Perfusion circuits used to perfuse organs, tissues or the like (hereinafter generally referred to as organs) should be free of agents that can create emboli. These emboli are often comprised of gases such as air. Typically emboli range in volume between 1 ml and 0.01 ml but are not limited to these sizes. Gases may be introduced into perfusion circuits through leaks in the circuits, but are more often the result of bubbles trapped in components and geometric facets of the circuits. Gases may also be drawn out of the perfusion liquid by negative pressure due to liquid dynamics, cavitations and eddies and velocity changes throughout the liquid path.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is desirable to separate bubbles from a perfusion liquid utilizing the buoyancy of the bubbles with respect to the liquid.
Embodiments of this invention provide systems and methods that separate gases from a liquid path, particularly useful in helping preserve organs and tissues for storage and/or transport.
Embodiments of this invention provide systems and methods to remove gases from a dynamic liquid path and manage the removed gases and liquid path.
Embodiments of this invention provide a means to remove gases from a dynamic liquid path using the buoyant property of the gases in a less buoyant liquid using ingress and egress ports for liquid and gas flow located on substantially the same plane.
Embodiments of this invention provide separate points of egress for liquid and gases.
Embodiments of this invention provide liquid channels formed by housing halves to substantially reduce sharp corners for gas entrapment.
Embodiments of this invention provide an organ cassette which allows an organ to be easily and safely moved between apparatus for perfusion, storing, analyzing and/or transporting the organ. The organ cassette may be configured to provide uninterrupted sterile conditions and efficient heat transfer during transport, recovery, analysis and storage, including transition between the transporter, the perfusion apparatus and the organ diagnostic apparatus.
Embodiments of this invention provide systems and methods for transporting an organ in a transporter, especially for transport over long distances. The organ transporter may be used for various organs, such as the kidneys, and may be adapted to more complex organs such as the liver, having multiple vascular structures, for example the hepatic and portal vasculatures of the liver. The organ transporter may include features of an organ perfusion apparatus, such as sensors and temperature controllers, as well as cassette interface features.
These and other features and advantages of this invention are described in, or are apparent from, the following detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of systems and methods according to this invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIGS. 1A-1D shows perspective views of various embodiments of an organ cassette according to the invention;
FIGS. 2A and 2B show an embodiment of an organ cassette of the present invention;
FIG. 3 shows an exterior perspective view of an organ transporter according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 shows a cross-section view of an organ transporter of FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 5 shows an alternative cross-section view of an organ transporter of FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 6 shows an exploded view of the housing and cover of a bubble trap device of the invention from the rear;
FIG. 7 shows a close-up view of a mounting slot and snap receiver of a bubble trap device according to the invention;
FIG. 8 shows an enlarged view of the interior of the housing of a bubble trap device according to the invention;
FIG. 9 shows an exploded view of the housing and cover of a bubble trap device of the invention from the front;
FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of the cover of FIG. 9 ;
FIG. 11 shows a cross-sectional view of the housing to cover interface of a bubble trap device according to the invention;
FIG. 12 shows a diagram of the liquid and gas path within a bubble trap device according to the invention;
FIG. 13 shows a diagram of the bubble trap device of FIG. 12 tilted clockwise;
FIG. 14 shows a diagram of the bubble trap device of FIG. 12 tilted counter-clockwise; and
FIG. 15 shows a tube frame for holding a tube frame and the bubble trap according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
For a general understanding of various features of the invention, reference is made to the drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals have been used throughout to designate like elements.
The invention is described herein largely in the context of apparatus and methods involved in transport, storage, perfusion and diagnosis of tissues and organs. However, the inventive apparatus and methods have many other applications, and thus the various inventive structures, devices, apparatus and methods described herein should not be construed to be limited to, particular contexts of use. Various features of the disclosed invention are particularly suitable for use in the context of, and in conjunction and/or connection with the features of the apparatus and methods disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/645,525, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
FIG. 1 shows a cassette 65 which holds an organ 60 to be perfused. Various embodiments of the cassette 65 are shown in FIGS. 1A-1D . The cassette 65 is preferably formed of a material that is light but durable so that the cassette 65 is highly portable. The material may also be transparent to allow visual inspection of the organ.
Preferably the cassette 65 includes side walls 67 a , a bottom wall 67 b and an organ supporting surface 66 , which is preferably formed of a porous, perforated or mesh material to allow liquids to pass therethrough. The cassette 65 may also include a top 67 d and may be provided with an opening(s) 63 for tubing (see, for example, FIG. 1D ). The opening(s) 63 may include seals 63 a (e.g., septum seals or o-ring seals) and optionally be provided with plugs (not shown) to prevent contamination of the organ and maintain a sterile environment. Also, the cassette 65 may be provided with a closeable and/or filtered air vent 61 (see, for example, FIG. 1D ). Additionally, the cassette 65 may be provided with tubing for connection to an organ and/or to remove medical liquid from the organ bath, and a connection to an organ and/or to remove medical liquid from the organ bath, and a connection device(s) 64 for connecting the tubing to, for example, tubing 50 c , 81 , 82 , 91 and/or 132 , (see, for example, FIG. 1D ) of an organ storage, transport, perfusion and/or diagnostic apparatus.
The cassette 65 , and/or the organ support, opening(s), tubing(s) and/or connections(s), may be specifically tailored to the type of organ and/or size of organ to be perfused. Flanges 67 c of the side support walls 67 a can be used to support the cassette 65 disposed in an organ storage, transport, perfusion and/or diagnostic apparatus. The cassette 65 may further include a handle 68 which allows the cassette 65 to be easily handled, as shown, for example, in FIGS. 1C and 1D . Each cassette 65 may also be provided with its own mechanism (e.g., stepping motor/cam valve 75 (for example, in the handle portion 68 , as shown in FIG. 1C )) for fine tuning the pressure of medical liquid perfused into the organ 60 disposed therein, as discussed in more detail below. Alternatively, pressure may, in embodiments, be controlled by way of a pneumatic chamber, such as an individual pneumatic chamber for each organ (not shown), or by any suitable variable valve such as a rotary screw valve or a helical screw valve.
FIGS. 2A and 2B show an alternative embodiment of cassette 65 . In FIG. 2A , cassette 65 is shown with tubeset 400 . Tube set 400 can be connected to an inlet tube port connector 11 , bubble outlet tube port connector 10 and liquid outlet tube port connector 9 of a bubble trap device according to this invention. When the tube set 400 is connected to the bubble trap device, the cassette 65 can be readily moved between various apparatus, and preferably allows cassette 65 to be moved between various apparatus without jeopardizing the sterility of the interior of cassette 65 . For example, when the cassette 65 , and the accompanying tube set 400 and bubble trap device, is placed in a transporter, the tube set 400 and bubble trap device are preferably connectable to the transporter to secure the tube set 400 and bubble device to the transporter during operation. The tube set 400 and bubble trap device can also be connected to an organ perfusion, storage and/or diagnostic apparatus. Additionally, the tube set 400 can be connected to any number of devices that are connected to the perfusion, storage, diagnostic, transport and/or other apparatus.
Preferably, cassette 65 is made of a sufficiently durable material that it can withstand penetration and harsh impact. Cassette 65 is provided with a lid, preferably two lids, an inner lid 410 and an outer lid 420 . The lids 410 and 420 may be removable or may be hinged or otherwise connected to the body of cassette 65 . Clasp 405 , for example, may provide a mechanism to secure lids 410 and 420 to the top of cassette 65 . Clasp 405 may additionally be configured with a lock to provide further security and stability. A biopsy and/or venting port 430 may additionally be included in inner lid 410 or both inner lid 410 and outer lid 420 . Port 430 may provide access to the organ to allow for additional diagnosis of the organ with minimal disturbance of the organ. Cassette 65 may also have an overflow trough 440 (shown in FIG. 2B ). Overflow trough 440 is a channel present in the top of cassette 65 . When lids 410 and 420 are secured on cassette 65 , overflow trough 440 provides a region that is easy to check to determine if the inner seal is leaking. Perfusate may be poured into and out of cassette 65 and may be drained from cassette 65 through a stopcock or removable plug.
Cassette 65 and/or both lids 410 and 420 may be constructed of an optically transparent material to allow for viewing of the interior of cassette 65 and monitoring of the organ and to allow for video images or photographs to be taken of the organ. A perfusion apparatus or cassette 65 may be wired and fitted with a video camera or a photographic camera, digital or otherwise, to record the progress and status of the organ. Captured images may be made available over a computer network such as a local area network or the internet to provide for additional data analysis and remote monitoring. Cassette 65 may also be provided with a tag that would signal, e.g., through a bar code, magnetism, radio frequency, or other means, the location of the cassette, that the cassette is in the apparatus, and/or the identity of the organ to perfusion, storage, diagnostic and/or transport apparatus. Cassette 65 may be sterile packaged and/or may be packaged or sold as a single-use disposable cassette, such as in a peel-open pouch. A single-use package containing cassette 65 may also include tubeset 400 .
Cassette 65 is preferably configured such that it may be removed from an organ perfusion apparatus and transported to another organ perfusion apparatus in a portable transporter apparatus, such as, for example, a conventional cooler or a portable container such as that disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/161,919, or U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,438 to Fahy, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
In various exemplary embodiments according to this invention, when transported, the organ may be disposed on the organ supporting surface 66 and the cassette 65 may be enclosed in a preferably sterile bag 69 , as shown, for example, in FIG. 1A . When the organ is perfused with medical liquid, effluent medical liquid collects in the bag 69 to form an organ bath. Alternatively, cassette 65 can be formed with a liquid tight lower portion in which effluent medical liquid may collect, or effluent medical liquid may collect in another compartment of an organ storage, transport, perfusion and/or diagnostic apparatus, to form an organ bath. In either case, the bag 69 would preferably be removed prior to inserting the cassette into an organ storage, transporter, perfusion and/or diagnostic apparatus. Further, where a plurality of organs are to be perfused, multiple organ compartments may be provided. Alternatively, an organ in the dual-lid cassette can be transported of FIG. 2A and additionally carried within a portable organ transporter.
FIG. 3 shows an external view of an embodiment of transporter 1900 of the invention. The transporter 1900 of FIG. 3 has a stable base to facilitate an upright position and handles 1910 for carrying transporter 1900 . Transporter 1900 may also be fitted with a shoulder strap and/or wheels to assist in carrying transporter 1900 . A control panel 1920 is preferably also provided. Control panel 1920 may display characteristics, such as, but not limited to, infusion pressure, power on/off, error or fault conditions, flow rate, flow resistance, infusion temperature, bath temperature, pumping time, battery charge, temperature profile (maximums and minimums), cover open or closed, history log or graph, and additional status details and messages, some or all of which are preferably further transmittable to a remote location for data storage and/or analysis. Flow and pressure sensors or transducers in transporter 1900 may be provided to calculate various organ characteristics including pump pressure and vascular resistance of an organ, which can be stored in computer memory to allow for analysis of, for example, vascular resistance history, as well as to detect faults in the apparatus, such as elevated pressure.
Transporter 1900 preferably has latches 1930 that require positive user action to open, thus avoiding the possibility that transporter 1900 inadvertently opens during transport. Latches 1930 hold top 1940 in place on transporter 1900 in FIG. 3 . Top 1940 or a portion thereof may be constructed with an optically transparent material to provide for viewing of the cassette and organ perfusion status. Transporter 1900 may be configured with a cover open detector that monitors and displays whether the cover is open or closed. Transporter 1900 may be configured with an insulating exterior of various thicknesses to allow the user to configure or select transporter 1900 for varying extents and distances of transport. In embodiments, compartment 1950 may be provided to hold patient and organ data such as charts, testing supplies, additional batteries, hand-held computing devices and/or configured with means for displaying a UNOS label and/or identification and return shipping information.
FIG. 4 shows a cross-section view of a transporter 1900 . Transporter 1900 contains cassette 65 and pump 2010 . Cassette 65 may preferably be placed into or taken out of transporter 1900 without disconnecting tubeset 400 from cassette 65 , thus maintaining sterility of the organ. In embodiments, sensors in transporter 1900 can detect the presence of cassette 65 in transporter 1900 , and depending on the sensor, can read the organ identity from a barcode or radio frequency or other “smart” tag that may be attached or integral to cassette 65 . This can allow for automated identification and tracking of the organ and helps monitor and control the chain of custody. A global positioning system may be added to transporter 1900 and/or cassette 65 to facilitate tracking of the organ. Transporter 1900 may be interfaceable to a computer network by hardwire connection to a local area network or by wireless communication while in transit. This interface may allow data such as perfusion parameters, vascular resistance, and organ identification and transporter and cassette location to be tracked and displayed in real-time or captured for future analysis.
Transporter 1900 also preferably contains a filter 2020 to remove sediment and other particulate matter, preferably ranging in size from 0.05 to 15 microns in diameter or larger, from the perfusate to prevent clogging of the apparatus or the organ. Transporter 1900 preferably also contains batteries 2030 , which may be located at the bottom of transporter 1900 or beneath pump 2010 or at any other location but preferably one that provides easy access to change batteries 2030 . Batteries 2030 may be rechargeable outside of transporter 1900 or while within transporter 1900 and/or are preferably hot-swappable one at a time. Batteries 2030 are preferably rechargeable rapidly and without full discharge. Transporter 1900 may also provide an additional storage space 2040 , for example, at the bottom of transporter 1900 , for power cords, batteries and other accessories. Transporter 1900 may also include a power port for a DC hookup, e.g., to a vehicle such as an automobile or airplane, and/or for an AC hookup.
FIG. 5 shows an alternative cross-section of transporter 1900 . In FIG. 5 , the transporter 1900 may have an outer enclosure 2310 which may, for example, be constructed of metal, or preferably a plastic or synthetic resin that is sufficiently strong to withstand penetration and impact. Transporter 1900 contains insulation 2320 , preferably a thermal insulation made of, for example, glass wool or expanded polystyrene. Insulation 2320 may be various thicknesses ranging from 0.5 inches to 5 inches thick or more, preferably 1 to 3 inches, such as approximately 2 inches thick. Transporter 1900 may be cooled by coolant 2110 , which may be, e.g., an ice and water bath or a cryogenic material. In embodiments using cryogenic materials, the design should be such that organ freezing is prevented. An ice and water mixture is preferably an initial mixture of approximately 1 to 1, however, in embodiments the ice and water bath may be frozen solid. Transporter 1900 can be configured to hold various amounts of coolant, preferably up to 10 to 12 liters. An ice and water bath is preferable because it is inexpensive and generally can not get cold enough to freeze the organ. Coolant 2110 preferably lasts for a minimum of 6 to 12 hours and more preferably lasts for a minimum of 30 to 50 hours without changing coolant 2110 . The level of coolant 2110 may, for example, be viewed through a transparent region of transporter 1900 or be automatically detected and monitored by a sensor. Coolant 2110 can preferably be replaced without stopping perfusion or removing cassette 65 from transporter 1900 . Coolant 2110 is preferably maintained in a watertight compartment 2115 of transporter 1900 . Compartment 2115 preferably prevents the loss of coolant 2110 in the event transporter 1900 is tipped or inverted. Heat is conducted from the walls of the perfusion reservoir and cassette 65 into coolant 2110 enabling control within the desired temperature range. Coolant 2110 is a failsafe cooling mechanism because transporter 1900 automatically reverts to cold storage in the case of power loss or electrical or computer malfunction. Transporter 1900 may also be configured with a heater to raise the temperature of the perfusate.
Transporter 1900 may be powered by batteries or by electric power provided through plug 2330 . An electronics module 2335 may be provided in transporter 1900 . Electronics module 2335 may be cooled by vented air convection 2370 , and may further be cooled by a fan. Preferably, electronic module 2335 is positioned separate from the perfusion tubes to prevent the perfusate from wetting electronics module 2335 and to avoid adding extraneous heat from electronics module 2335 to the perfusate. Transporter 1900 preferably has a pump 2010 that provides pressure to perfusate tubing 2360 to deliver perfusate 2340 to organ 2350 . Transporter 1900 may be used to perfuse various organs such as a kidney, heart, liver, small intestine and lung. Transporter 1900 and cassette 65 may accommodate various amounts of perfusate 2340 , for example up to 3 to 5 liters. Preferably, approximately 1 liter of a hypothermic perfusate 2340 is used to perfuse organ 2350 .
Cassette 65 and transporter 1900 are preferably constructed to fit or mate such that efficient heat transfer is enabled. The geometric elements of cassette 65 and transporter 1900 are preferably constructed such that when cassette 65 is placed within transporter 1900 , the elements are secure for transport.
FIGS. 6-8 show the housing 2 and the housing cover 1 which, together make up a bubble trap device of the invention. The bubble trap device is designed and configured for connection to and use with the tube set 400 discussed above with respect to FIG. 2A . The housing 2 and/or the cover 1 of the bubble trap device may be constructed of an optically clear material to allow for viewing of the interior of the bubble trap device, monitoring liquid located therein, and/or helping an infra-red temperature sensor measure the temperature of the perfusate.
The housing 2 of the bubble trap device is connected in line with a liquid path by way of inlet tube port connector 11 , bubble outlet tube port connector 10 and liquid outlet tube port connector 9 . Inlet tube port connector 11 is the primary path of ingress of liquid into the vertical entrance channel 8 . The vertical entrance channel 8 is preferably located in the housing 2 and connected to the entrance turn around channel 7 which is connected to the entrance separation chamber 6 . The entrance separation chamber 6 is connected to an opening in the separation chamber 12 . Accordingly, when housing 2 and housing cover 1 are secured together, liquid flowing into the housing will flow through the vertical entrance channel 8 , entrance turn around channel 7 , and entrance separation chamber 6 before reaching the separation chamber 12 .
When liquid and gas flow out of chamber 12 , there are two paths of exit. Gas can flow out of the bubble outlet tube port connector 10 . Liquid will leave the separation chamber 12 through a liquid exit separation chamber 5 . The liquid and/or gas will then flow through the horizontal liquid channel exit 4 and then through the vertical channel exit 3 before exiting from the housing 2 by way of the liquid outlet tube port connector 9 . When gas flows out of the bubble outlet tube port connector 10 , it will first flow from the separation chamber 12 through the outlet port 13 before exiting out through the bubble outlet tube port connector 10 . It should be appreciated that the orientation of the channels located within the housing 2 can be configured in any manner as long as they provide a channel for the passage of the liquid and gas. For example, the vertical entrance channel 8 can be situated in a less than vertical manner.
The inlet tube port connector 11 , the bubble outlet tube port connector 10 and the liquid outlet tube port connector 9 can provide a connection between the tube set 400 and the bubble trap device.
According to exemplary embodiments of this invention, the selected exit path may be controlled by opening and closing flow valves. During operation, a sensor (i.e., an ultrasonic sensor) associated with the inlet tube port connector 11 may detect the presence of bubbles. Preferably a liquid outlet tube port valve (not shown) associated with liquid outlet tube port connector 9 is open as the separation chamber 12 collects gas from bubbles. The captured gas may be expelled from separation chamber 12 by opening a valve (not shown) associated with the bubble outlet tube port 10 while closing the valve associated with the liquid outlet tube port connector 9 . It should be appreciated that this operation may be performed at preset time intervals or in response to a signal, such as a signal from a sensor, such as an optical or ultrasonic inlet tube port sensor, that manipulates the valves. The sensor may be any known or later developed sensor which is capable of performing the above discussed operation. A sensor may be associated with the liquid outlet tube port connector 9 to detect the presence of bubbles, whereby a signal can be sent to the control panel 1920 of transporter 1900 that will stop pump 2010 until a user corrects the problem.
FIGS. 9-11 show a preferred mating geometry between a housing 2 and cover 1 . The mating of the housing 2 and cover 1 provides a preferred way to form the entrance vertical channel 8 , the entrance turn around channel 7 , the liquid exit vertical channel 3 and the horizontal liquid channel exit 4 . In addition, the mating can form the separation chamber 12 . After mating the housing 2 and cover 1 , the inlet entrance vertical channel 8 and entrance turn around channel 7 receive the outlet vertical channel protrusion 23 and outlet turn around channel protrusion 22 , respectively. Similarly, the liquid exit vertical channel 3 and the horizontal liquid channel exit 4 and outlet channels receive vertical liquid outlet channel protrusion 18 and horizontal liquid outlet channel protrusion 19 . The mating of channels 3 , 4 , 7 , and 8 with protrusions 18 , 19 , 22 , and 23 form a passageway, preferably of cylindrical cross-section, normal to the direction of liquid flow, as best seen in FIG. 11 . The mating configurations are preferably configured to minimize the potential for emboli entrapment by substantially eliminating sharp corners.
A similar mating feature can exist between the separation chamber 12 and the separation chamber protrusion 21 . The mating between the housing 2 and the cover 1 , and the accompanying channels 3 , 4 , 7 , and 8 and protrusions 18 , 19 , 22 , and 23 , can provide a sealed liquid path due to an interference fit between mating side walls of the housing 2 and the cover 1 . This is especially preferred if the primary hermetic seal for the device is formed by ultrasonically welding the housing and cover together. The cover 1 can contain an ultrasonic energy director 25 . The ultrasonic energy director 25 melts when placed against the housing and exposed to the energy and pressure of the ultrasonic welder. It should be appreciated that any method of hermetically sealing the device is within the scope of the invention.
The assembled bubble trap device is preferably provided with a feature for aligning, locating and/or fixing the bubble trap device to one or more additional components, such as a tube frame set (not shown). A mounting alignment slot 15 , for example, may be formed in the housing 2 and/or the cover 1 upon mating of the housing 2 and cover 1 to form the assembled bubble trap device, as best seen in FIG. 7 . The mounting alignment slot 15 may provide a location in two axes, allowing the bubble trap device to be translated through a third axis. A mounting receiver notch 14 may be located in the direction of a third axis and receive a snap protrusion or similar device located on a mating component. Other methods can also be used to provide a connection between the bubble trap device and at least one other additional component.
FIG. 12 shows an exemplary embodiment of a bubble trap device according to this invention. In FIG. 12 , the bubble trap device is configured with the inlet tube port connector 11 located on substantially the same plane as the bubble outlet tube port connector 10 and the liquid outlet tube port connector 9 . Having substantially single plane ingress and egress ports for liquid and air flow allows for easier connection of the bubble trap device with the tubeset 400 . Additionally, substantially single plane ingress and egress ports provides for easier manufacturing assembly processes of the bubble trap device. The substantially single plane orientation of the inlet tube port connector 11 , the bubble outlet tube port connector 10 and the liquid outlet tube port connector 9 , inter alia, permits connecting tubing, such as tube set 400 , to reside in a substantially single plane without bending or twisting of the tubes in tube set 400 . It also facilitates the tiltability of the device as discussed below.
In various exemplary embodiments, the inlet tube port connector 11 , the bubble outlet tube port connector 10 and the liquid outlet tube port connector 9 can be positioned at various other locations on housing 2 . For example, at least one of the inlet tube port connector 11 , the bubble outlet tube port connector 10 and the liquid outlet tube port connector 9 can be can be located on one or more of the sides, top, or bottom of the housing 2 . Additionally, any one of the connectors 9 , 10 , 11 can be oriented at an angle other than ninety degrees or normal to the surface of the housing 2 . It should be appreciated that the inlet tube port connector 11 , the bubble outlet tube port connector 10 and the liquid outlet tube port connector 9 can be provided at any location or orientation on the housing 2 that allows appropriate ingress and egress of liquid and gas between channels 3 , 4 , 7 , and 8 and the separation chamber 12 within the bubble trap device.
FIGS. 13 and 14 show the advantageous range of tilt of preferred embodiments of the bubble trap device. This bubble trap device is designed with the liquid exit separation point 5 in approximately the center of separation chamber 12 and approximately opposite outlet port 13 . This location of features allows the bubble trap device to be tilted at various angles θ and α, depending on selection of liquid level and port locations, and can permit tilting at various angles including, for example, up to about 90, for example 90, 89, 88, 87, . . . , 1 degree, approximately 45-90, e.g., up to 70, degrees from side-to-side and front to back. It should be appreciated that the angle of tilt could increase or decrease depending on the amount of liquid and gas located within separation chamber 12 . The large angle of tilt for the bubble trap device is especially desirable in embodiments associated with an organ transporter or the like, which may undergo substantial tilting during handling and transportation. When the bubble trap device is connected to the tube set 400 , the large acceptable angle of tilt ensures that the bubble trap device functions when the cassette and transporter are not completely horizontal.
FIG. 15 shows a tube frame 200 of embodiments of the invention. The tube frame, may be used for holding tube set 400 discussed with respect to FIG. 2A . The tube frame 200 is preferably formed of a material that is light but durable, such as for example plastic, so that tube frame 200 is highly portable. The tube frame 200 is designed to hold the tubing of the tube set 400 in desired positions. In FIG. 15 , tube frame 200 is shown holding the tubes of tube set 400 of FIG. 2A . It should be appreciated that there may be other numbers of tubes that comprise tube set 400 . Having the tubing in set positions allows for easier installation and connection with devices such as cassette 65 as shown in FIG. 12 . The cassette 65 and tube frame 200 are then preferably mated with transporter 1900 .
When tube frame 200 is mated with cassette 65 , the tube set 400 is preferably already connected with the cassette 65 . For example, tube 270 provides an inlet to a pump 2010 from the stored liquid at the bottom of cassette 65 . The liquid travels through tube 290 and back out outlet 280 through a filter which may, for example, be located inside or outside, for example, below, cassette 65 . After traveling through the filter, the liquid will travel to tube 240 and into the bubble trap 210 . A sample port 295 may be provided with tube frame 200 to allow for drawing liquid out of or injecting liquid into the tube 240 . Liquid travels into the bubble trap 210 in tube 240 and travels out of bubble trap 210 in tube 260 , which carries the liquid into the cassette, for example, to infuse and/or wash the organ. Tube 250 will carry liquid or gas leaving the bubble trap 210 into cassette 65 bypassing infusion of, but optionally washing, the organ.
It should be appreciated that tube frame 200 can hold other devices in addition to tubes. For example, tube frame 200 can hold a bubble trap device 210 and a pressure sensor 220 used to control pump 2010 . It should also be appreciated that tube frame 200 and tube set 400 can be connected to a variety of devices such as the organ perfusion device 1 or an organ diagnostic device, as well as a cassette and/or transporter.
In various exemplary embodiments, tube frame 200 is preferably attachable to a portion of the transporter 1900 . The tube frame 200 may be connected to transporter 1900 , and other devices, by way of snaps 230 or other structure that will securely hold the tube frame to the device. Sensors, for example mechanical or electrical sensors, in transporter 1900 , or other devices, can be provided to detect the presence of tube frame 200 in transporter 1900 . If the tube frame 200 is not properly attached to the transporter, the sensors may be configured to send an appropriate alert message to control panel 1920 for notifying the user of a problem. If no action is taken to properly attach tube frame 200 in a given amount of time automatically set or programmed by the user, transporter 1900 can be programmed to prevent the beginning of perfusion. It should be appreciated that if perfusion has begun and tube frame 200 is not appropriately set, the transporter can be programmed to stop perfusion.
Another valuable feature of the tube frame is that makes the stationary surface for the tube 250 , and tube 260 . These tubes are used to route perfusion solution either directly to the organ or, bypassing the organ, into the reservoir. It is desirable to have tube 250 and tube 260 located in a relatively fixed position so that the routing may be done by pinching the tubing so that no liquid can pass. The tubes may, for example, be pinched by a solenoid (not shown) located on transporter 1900 that drives a blade that pinches tube 250 and/or tube 260 against the tube frame 200 .
The above described apparatus and method of the bubble trap device, cassette and transporter may be used for child or small organs as well as for large or adult organs with modifications as needed of the cassette. The organ cassette can be configured to the shapes and sizes of specific organs or organ sizes.
While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations may be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the embodiments of the invention as set forth herein are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. | The invention is targeted at the process of separating gas, such as air, from a liquid path. Specifically, the invention provides a means to remove gas from a dynamic liquid path, manage the removed gas and liquid path. The invention provides a means to remove gas from a dynamic liquid path using the buoyant property of gas in a less buoyant liquid, having ingress and egress ports for liquid and gas flow, and separate points of egress for liquid and trapped gas and integral liquid channels. | 0 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a collapsible portable display cart of the type which has a base for storing merchandise on shelves, which can be raised to permit shelves to be extended to display merchandise, and has a top canopy which covers the base for storage, and is raised with the shelves to permit access to the merchandise.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Carts for storing, transporting and displaying merchandise are common and can be seen in many locations such as airport terminals and shopping malls. The typical cart is of rectangular configuration, may have a base with two sets of wheels, and open sides with a fixed overhead canopy, with the merchandise usually stacked in the center of the cart. Such carts do not provide ideal or efficient display of merchandise, are difficult to secure, take up a large amount of space for the quantity of merchandise displayed, do not provide for adequate storage of merchandise, and suffer from other shortcomings.
The collapsible display cart of the invention does not suffer from prior art problems and provides many positive advantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has now been found that a collapsible, portable, display cart can be obtained, which provides for optimum merchandise display, with a plurality of shelves for merchandise display and with a canopy that can be raised for display, and lowered for secure storage or transport of the merchandise.
The principal object of the invention is to provide a collapsible, portable, display cart for displaying and storing a variety of merchandise.
A further object of the invention is to provide a collapsible, portable, display cart that provides for secure storage and transport of merchandise.
A further object of the invention is to provide a collapsible, portable, display cart that has a plurality of shelves that can be raised and lowered, and extended to display merchandise.
A further object of the invention is to provide a collapsible, portable, display cart that is easy to use.
A further object of the invention is to provide a collapsible, portable, display cart that is simple to construct, is durable and enjoys a long service life.
Other objects and advantageous features of the invention will be apparent from the description and claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part hereof in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the collapsible, portable, display cart of the invention in condition for merchandise storage or transport,
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cart of FIG. 1 in the merchandise display condition,
FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but illustrating the canopy in uncovered condition;
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the operating mechanism of the cart of FIG. 1 in retracted, or closed position;
FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but with the operating mechanism in extended position;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the cart in retracted or closed position,
FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing a portion of the cart in open condition;
FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the cart;
FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the locking/unlocking chain mechanism in position to move to open position, and;
FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 with the chain mechanism in position to move to closed position.
It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawings herein are merely illustrative and that various modifications and changes can be made in the structures disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.
Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
When referring to the preferred embodiment, certain terminology will be utilized for the sake of clarity. Use of such terminology is intended to encompass not only the described embodiment, but also technical equivalents which operate and function in substantially the same way to bring about the same result.
Referring now more particularly to the drawings and FIGS. 1-3 and 6 , 7 , a collapsible display cart 10 is therein illustrated. The cart 10 includes a base 11 , of box like rectangular configuration, and open at the top, which has a pair of pneumatic tires 12 carried in swivel brackets 14 , which are mounted to a metallic base panel 15 at the front of base 11 .
A pair of pneumatic tires 12 A are provided carried in stationary brackets 14 A, which are also mounted to the panel 15 at the rear of base 11 .
The base panel 15 is secured to a metal base frame 16 , which is of tubular construction, and has end members 17 , with side members 18 connected thereto. The end members 17 have vertically extending members 20 connected thereto, with upper side members 21 extending between and connecting the vertical members 20 .
Spanning the vertical members 20 at each end are end panels 25 , which are secured to the members 20 in any preferred manner such as by welding.
Referring additionally to FIGS. 4 and 5, the end panels 25 each have a vertical channel member 26 secured thereto, and to the end members 17 , with a second vertical channel member 27 engaged therewith, and a third vertical member 28 secured to the second member 27 .
A fourth channel member 29 is carried in the third channel member 28 , and a fifth channel member 30 is carried in the fourth channel member 29 .
The second channel members 27 are secured to drawer slide panels 31 , which are at each end of the cart 10 , inside vertical members 20 , and end panels 25 .
The vertical channel members, 27 , 28 and 29 are extended and retracted in relation to channel member 26 by a series of sprockets mounted thereto which are connected by an endless chain, to be described.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the channel members 26 each have a sprocket 35 rotatably mounted therein, connected to a sprocket 36 by a chainloop 37 , which is connected to a sprocket 38 rotatably mounted on channel member 29 , and a sprocket 39 rotatably mounted on channel member 30 .
The chain 37 is engaged with a cable 62 . A gear box 41 , is provided which is preferably of 40:1 reduction, which box is carried on the front of cart 10 and on the bottom of base panel 15 . The box 41 has an arm 42 extending therefrom, connected to a torque limiter 43 of well known type which is connected to a shaft 67 for rotation of the gear box mechanism (to be described) to move chain 37 for rotation of sprockets 35 , 36 , 38 , and 39 to extend and retract channel members 27 , 28 , 29 and 30 , to be described. The torque limiter prevents overwinding of cable 62 .
Referring additionally to FIGS. 8-10 the chain 37 is shown coming out of fixed channel 26 and extends to a link 61 of cable 62 , which extends over a center spool 63 , which is rotatably mounted to base frame 16 . From spool 60 cable 62 extends to a spool 66 carried on the shaft 67 of gear box 41 .
The cable 62 is also connected by a turnbuckle 68 to a chain 37 , which extends into a channel 26 at the rear of cart 10 .
The spool 66 has a control assembly 70 connected thereto to control the direction of rotation of spool 66 , and the consequent raising, lowering of the drawer slide panels 31 , to be described.
The directional control assembly 70 includes locking cogs 71 , a tension spring 72 , connected to a locking dog 73 , which is rotatably mounted by pin 74 to box 41 . The locking dog 73 has a shoulder stud 75 , which is engaged by cable 62 , as shown in FIG. 9 . When arm 42 is rotated counter clockwise to raise the drawers and canopy assembly, the tension of the cable 62 across shoulder stud 75 cause dog 73 to disengage from cog 71 . As long as there is tension on cable 62 the cable spool 66 is free to rotate in either direction. The mechanism is designed to cause the dog 73 to engage if the drawer/canopy assembly meets an obstruction when being lowered (such as a drawer being left out). When the drawer/canopy assembly meets an obstruction or reaches the bottom of its intended travel, the cable 62 will start to become slack as it is no longer lifting any weight. When cable 62 becomes slack, it allows tension spring 72 to pull down on the dog 73 , causing it to engage cog 71 . This stops continued clockwise rotation of spool 66 causing the torque limiter 43 to slip and preventing operation beyond the design limits of the cart.
As shown in FIG. arm 42 is rotated clockwise to lower the drawer/canopy assembly into base 11 .
The slide panels 31 each have a plurality of drawer slides 45 attached to each side of member 27 , and consisting of a fixed member 46 , and a slidable member 47 . The slide panels 31 have a pair of stationary brackets 48 , which support fixed drawers 49 , which extend end to end between panels 31 with bottoms 50 , and open curb members 51 along the front and rear to restrain merchandise (not shown) carried on the drawers 49 .
The drawer slides 45 have drawers 52 attached thereto, which extend end to end between slide panels 31 , and movable in and out on slides 45 .
The drawers 52 have bottoms 53 , and open curb members 54 along the front and rear edge of the drawers, to restrain merchandise (not shown) carried on the drawers 52 .
The fifth channel members 30 as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 are connected to a canopy frame 55 of tubular construction, which includes a header 56 , a top frame 58 connected to header 56 , and a plurality of vertical supports 59 connected to the top frame 58 . As shown in FIG. 2, a canopy cover 57 is provided, preferably of lightweight well known fabric, which is connected to top frame 58 , and supports 59 . The canopy frame 55 and cover 57 as shown in FIG. 1 in the closed position extend over the outside of base 11 .
The base 11 is also provided with a pair of sliding doors 75 on each side, carried between base frame 16 and upper side members 21 , with handles 76 and slide locks 77 , for access to base 11 as required.
When it is desired to display merchandise, or to gain access to merchandise (not shown) the gear box arm 42 is rotated counterclockwise, causing cable 62 to wind onto spool 66 and chain 37 to be moved, and through rotation of sprockets 35 , 36 , 38 and 39 cause channel members 27 , 28 , 29 and 30 to extend raising slide panels 31 and canopy frame 55 , until the panels are in the upward position out of base 11 , whereby drawers 52 can be extended and access had to them, and to drawers 49 as shown in FIG. 2 . The arm 42 is rotated in the clockwise direction to move slide panels 31 and drawers 49 and 52 back into base 11 , until the canopy 55 and cover 57 cover base 11 .
It will thus be seen that structure has been provided with which the objects of the invention are achieved. | A collapsible display cart for storing, transporting and displaying merchandise which has a base with shelves for holding merchandise, which can be raised and extended, at least one pair of wheels for moving the cart and a canopy for covering the base in closed condition. | 0 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a mounting device for the head of a golf club on the handle.
2. Description of Background and Other Information
A golf club is conventionally made of a metal handle, and the head is connected to it by an upward extension called the "neck". The assembly of the head and the handle generally occurs by fitting and bonding, particularly by gluing, of the handle on the neck. The head of the golf club constitutes the official hitting component. For the hit to be correct, it is necessary that this head rest completely flat on the ground, the handle of the club then forming the angle in relation to the horizontal plane of the ground, this angle constituting the angle called the "lie" of the handle.
It can be easily conceived that the angle of lie of a golf club varies as a function of the player and essentially depends on his playing position and height. In the case of a club such as a "putter", the three angles of lie are generally defined corresponding to three positions of the golf player, namely, a median position and two extreme positions obtained by a shift of about 2° from the axis of the handle on either side of the median position. It is attempted, particularly in the case of the precision clubs such as "putters", to be able to easily modify the angle of lie in a manner to adjust it to the playing position of the player.
Different solutions have been proposed to resolve this problem, and particularly that consisting of deforming the neck after assembling the golf club. In the case of traditional "putters", that is "putters" in which the upper part of the head supporting the neck possesses a certain malleability in relation to the head, strictly speaking, the deformation occurs at the level of this upper part and is progressively distributed along the length of it.
On the contrary, in certain "putters" called "swan neck", the upper part of the head has a structure which gives it a rigidity so that it cannot bend. In this case, the bending stress is supported by the neck and is exercised on it at the level of the connection zone between the base and the upper part of the head. However, this zone is particularly narrow so that the bending stress often leads to a break in the base of the neck or an abrupt break in the alignment between it and the handle.
It has also been proposed to adjust the angle of lie to the desired value by using a system of shims provided on the neck and/or on the inside of the handle, whose relative thicknesses are combined to pass incrementally from a median value of the angle of lie to the upper or lower values, as disclosed in commonly owned French Application No. 88.06187 filed on Jun. 2, 1988.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The goal of the present invention is a device to remedy these drawbacks, allowing for the adjustment in exact and progressive fashion of the angle of lie without the risk of damaging the golf club.
To this end, the object of the present invention is a golf club with a head provided, on its upper part, with a neck on which is attached the lower part of the handle, by mutual fitting of the neck and the handle, characterized in that the base of the contact surface between the external side of the neck (or the handle) and the internal side of the handle (or neck) is distant from the base of the neck by which it connects to the upper part of the head, by a predetermined length equal to the length which will eventually be bent.
Thus, according to the invention, the bending effort applied on the neck is distributed along a given length of it, and it is easily adjustable as a function of the material used.
The present invention thus permits, in considering the length of the neck subject to bending as a function of the material constituting the head of the golf club, regulation of the stress inside the neck such that it occurs beyond the elastic limit and within the rupture limit of the material.
In a variation, the length of the neck subject to bending is determined by a ring, made of a compressible or ductile material, around the neck between its base and the lower end of the golf club handle, the thickness of this ring determining the length of the neck subject to bending. In this manner, on the one hand the separation is determined in an exact and easy fashion, and on the other, during the bending exercised by the handle of the club on the neck, the lower end of the handle compresses the ring, permitting one to obtain a precise adjustment between it and the upper part of the head of the club.
In an interesting variation on the invention, an intermediary compressible ring is used to assure the seal during the gluing operation between the handle and the neck of the head of the golf club, necessary so that the glue does not overflow.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The above and additional objects, characteristics, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawing which is presented as a non-limiting example, in which:
FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-section of the head and the lower part of the golf club handle according to the state of the art;
FIG. 2 is a partial cross-section on a larger scale of the junction between the upper part of the head and the lower part of the golf club handle in FIG. 1, after adjusting the angle of lie;
FIGS. 3 and 4 are partial cross-sections of a golf club according to the invention, before and after adjusting the angle of lie, respectively; and
FIGS. 5-10 are partial cross-sections of different variations on the construction of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In these figures we have, for reasons of clarity, illustrated only the elements of the head and the golf club handle which are part of the assembly.
In FIGS. 1 and 2 a golf club, more precisely a "putter" of the "swan neck" type, with a head 1 whose lower flat side 2 rests on the horizontal ground plane P, and whose upper part 5 is extended by a tapered neck 7 on which is attached by gluing the lower part of a tubular handle or shaft 9 fitted onto the neck.
A lengthwise axis xx' of the assembly constituted by the neck 7 and the handle 9 forms, in the position illustrated in FIG. 1, an angle a called "the angle of lie" with the horizontal ground plane P.
When one wishes to modify the angle of lie a, a bending pressure is exerted on the handle 9, for example towards the front of the head 1 as indicated by arrow F1 in FIG. 2; when one wishes to increase the angle of lie, to move the axis xx' of handle 9 from the position AA' where it possesses the angle of lie a, to position BB' (FIG. 2) where it possesses an angle of lie b greater than angle a We can determine that during this pressure the stress exerted by the bending force F1 on the handle 9 is applied at the level of a juncture between the base 7a of the neck 7, by which the latter connects to the upper part of the head 1, and the lower end of the handle 9. This pressure is thus concentrated in a short region, horizontally and longitudinally, in the direction of axis xx', leading to the generation of significant stress in the material used, and can lead in certain cases, according to the nature of the material used, to the beginning of a fracture 8, or a break, pure and simple.
In FIGS. 3 and 4 of the upper part 24 of the head of the golf club is extended upward by a tapered neck 26. The neck 26 is engaged in the lower end part of a tubular handle 28 whose lower end 28c rests against the upper part 24 of the head. The base 26a of the tapered neck 26 is encircled by a ring groove 30 hollowed in the upper surface of the upper part 24 of the head of the golf club. The lower part of the internal side of the handle 28 is hollowed out along a length d from its lower end by a shallow internal ring-shaped recess 32 of essentially constant depth. As a result, below a lower end of the contact area between the internal surface of the handle and the external surface of the neck, the lower part of the internal side of the handle is no longer in contact with the neck 26 along the length d. Consequently, as in FIG. 4, when a bending pressure is exerted on the handle 28 in a given direction, for example in the direction of arrow F2 if one wants to increase the angle of lie, the bending pressure applied during this movement is exerted from this point along the entire length d of the neck 26 which is not in contact with the internal side of the handle 28. In this manner, the bending pressure is distributed along the portion of the neck of length d, and no longer concentrated in a particular section, and the resulting deformation of the neck is, as a consequence, progressive. The stress is thus less than it was when it was concentrated in the base 26a of the neck 26.
As a function of the material used to make the head of the golf club, one can, by varying the length d in an appropriate manner, limit the stress rate inside the material such that it occurs within a determined range of values, especially beyond the elastic limit of the material, such that the latter retains the deformation applied to it, and within the rupture limit, in order to avoid breaking the neck 26.
During the deformation of the neck 26 by the action of force F2 tending to increase the angle of lie, the part 28a of the handle 28 situated on the side towards which the pressure F2 is exerted, approaches the base 26a of the neck 26, which is possible because of the presence of the ring groove 30, receiving its lower end 28c, while the part 28b of the handle 28 which is situated on the opposite side moves away from the base 26a of the neck 26, as seen in FIG. 4.
In FIG. 5, the neck 35 connects to the upper part of the head of the club by a flared part 37. The internal side of the tubular handle 28 has, at a distance from its lower end 28c, a ring-shaped shoulder 39 coming in contact with the upper end 40 of the neck 35, in a way which provides a space of length d1 between the base 35a of the neck 35 and the lower end 28c of the handle. As in FIGS. 3 and 4, the internal side of the lower part of the handle 28 is hollowed along a length d2 from its lower end by an interior ring-shaped recess 41 allowing for the provision in this spot between the external side of the neck 35 and the internal side of the handle 28, of a ring-shaped space along the length d2. Thus, the base 35b of the contact surface between the external side of the neck 35 and the internal side of the handle 28 is at a distance of d=d1+d2 from the base 35a of the neck 35, representing the length of a neck submitted to bending. The recess 41 also permits the lower part of the handle 28 to shift in relation to the neck 35 at the beginning of the bending operation.
In the variation represented in FIG. 6, a ring 42 made of a compressible material, of thickness d, is placed on the neck 44 of the head of a golf club between the upper part 45 of this head, around the base 44a of the neck 44 and the lower end of the handle 47. In this way, during a movement causing the handle 47 to bend in the direction F3, the part 47a of the handle 47 which is located on the side towards which the pressure F3 is exerted can penetrate, at its lower end, the interior of the compressible ring 42, while the part 47b of the handle which is situated on the opposite side moves out of this ring. In order to avoid the creation of an unesthetic space after the bending operation, before this occurs one can, during the assembly and before gluing, place an axial pressure on the handle 47, in order to make it penetrate into the interior of the elastic ring, so that after bending, the part of the handle 47b does not come out of the ring 42.
In the variation illustrated in FIG. 7, an elastic ring 50 is placed on the neck 52 of the head of a golf club and its upper part is hollowed by a coaxial cylindrical cavity 54 of a larger diameter receiving the lower part of the handle 56 of the club. A bottom 58 of this cavity, which constitutes a stop for the lower end of the handle 56, is at a distance d from the base 52a of the neck 52, representing the length of the latter when bent. In this construction form, the opposing end parts 56a, 56b of the handle 56 can shift inside the elastic ring 50 without the resulting deformations being visible from the exterior, which permits the achievement of a juncture surface between the neck of the club and the handle which is esthically satisfactory.
In addition, the elastic ring 50 plays the role of a sealing joint during the assembly operation, since it constitutes an elastic blocking system preventing the glue put between the neck and the internal periphery of the handle to come back out, which avoids delicate cleaning operations.
One can, of course, modify the details of the operation, without going beyond the framework of the invention. Thus, as shown in FIG. 8, the ring-shaped recess 72 of length d existing between the external side of the neck 70 and the internal side of the handle 74 can be made by hollowing out this recess in the neck 70 where it connects to the upper part 24 of the head of the golf club, starting at the base 70a of the neck.
In the variation of construction represented in FIG. 9, the lower end part 76a of the handle 76 of the golf club is solid and tightly fitted in an axial direction into the tubular-shaped neck 78, open at its upper end. This lower end part of the handle 76 has a diameter less than that of the rest of the handle and is equal to the internal diameter of the tubular neck 78 and its length is less than the value d of the length of the tubular neck 78. The handle 76 is pressed against the upper end of the tubular neck 78 by the intermediary of a shoulder 80 which is formed in the connecting zone of the two parts of different diameters. Because of this arrangement, the lower end 76b of the handle 76 is maintained at a distance d from the base 78a of the neck 78, with a free space between the lower end 76b of the handle 76 and the base 78a of the neck 78.
In the variation of construction represented in FIG. 10, the lower part of the handle 82 is made of a solid rod whose diameter is equal to the internal diameter of the tubular neck 78, and which is engaged in this neck. The lower end 82a of the handle 82 is maintained at a distance d from the base 78a of the neck 78 by a block 84 of thickness d, in a compressible and possibly elastic material.
In the case of the two forms of construction described above, referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, the stress to which the tubular neck 78 is subjected when a bending force is exerted on the handle 76, 82 distributed along the entire length of the lower section of the tubular neck 78 which is left free between the lower end of the handle and the base 78a of the neck 78. | A golf club with a head provided, on its upper part, with a neck on which is affixed the lower part of a handle by the neck and the handle fitting into each other. The base of the contact surface of the golf club, between the external side of the neck and the internal side of the handle, is distant from the base of the neck, by which the latter connects to the upper part of the head, at a predetermined length which is equal to that which will eventually be subjected to bending. | 0 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This Application is a Continuation-in-Part of PCT/CA 98/00504, filed May 22, 1998, in which the United States of America was designated and elected, and which remains pending in the International phase until Dec. 4, 1999, which in turn claims priority from U.S. application Ser. No. 60/048,558, filed Jun. 4, 1997, and the benefit of 35 U.S.C. 119(e).
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention is in the technical field of papermaking, and, more particularly, in the technical field of wet-end additives to the papermaking stock or furnish. In particular the invention relates to a papermaking stock, a method for increasing or enhancing the retention of components of a papermaking stock during the manufacture of paper, and a method of producing paper. In an especially important embodiment the methods are carried out in relatively “closed” mill water systems while simultaneously increasing drainage and decreasing the amount of deposits from colloidal hydrophobic particles often referred to as “stickies” or “pitch” on the paper machine.
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] The manufacture of paper is a complex process which can be broken down into a series of less involved processes. One of the more important processes occurs at the paper machine. At this location, an aqueous cellulosic suspension, stock, furnish or slurry is formed into a paper sheet. The cellulosic suspension is made by providing a thick stock, diluting the thick stock to form a thin stock, draining the thin stock on a forming fabric to form a sheet, and drying the sheet.
[0004] The cellulosic slurry is generally diluted to a known consistency (based on percent dry weight of solids in the slurry) of less than 2 percent. Ideally, the consistency is between 0.8 and 1.5 percent.
[0005] The cellulosic slurry is generally, but not necessarily, a mixture of chemical, mechanical and secondary (e.g., deinked) pulps. For example, this includes all paper and board furnishes based on mechanical pulp and, in part, semi-bleached kraft pulp, unbleached kraft pulp, and/or unbleached sulfite pulp. The mechanical pulps may be stone-groundwood, pressure groundwood, thermomechanical pulp, or semi-chemical mechanical pulp. Other pulps may include deinked pulps, reslushed newsprint or any secondary fiber source.
[0006] Cellulosic slurries of high quality pulps can also be used to produce fine paper grades (e.g., photocopying paper), tissue or toweling sheets. These slurries include highly bleached mechanical or chemical pulps.
[0007] It is common to include various inorganic materials, such as bentonite and alum, and/or organic materials, such as various natural, modified natural, or synthetic polymers in the thin or thick stock for the purpose of improving the drainage and retention processes.
[0008] Such materials can be added for diverse purposes such as, for example, pitch control, increased drainage and retention, improved formation, increased wet and dry strength, defoaming, facilitation of release from drying rolls, and decolorization of effluents.
[0009] In addition, many grades of paper include substantial levels of inorganic fillers such as, for example, kaolinite, calcium carbonate, and titanium dioxide. The percentage of mineral filler added to a papermaking slurry may vary between 0 and 35% by weight of dry paper depending on the type of sheet being formed.
[0010] In the papermaking process, much of the pulp is separated from the fibers, fillers, and pigments by filtration. The filtrate, which is called the white water, contains a large amount of unretained colloidal particles which may be fibre fragments, mineral fillers, deinking plant materials, or pigment particles. The poor retention of these is a consequence of the difficulty in the filtration of material characterized by colloidal or nearly colloidal dimensions. Poor fines retention is a serious problem because it results in the loss of valuable cellulosic material and the additional loading of water treatment facilities.
[0011] The least expensive and oldest dewatering method is simple gravity drainage. More expensive methods which are also used include vacuum, pressing, and evaporation. Drainage may be accomplished either horizontally or vertically, by one side of the forming sheet only or by both sides.
[0012] In practice, a combination of such methods is employed to dewater or dry the sheet to the desired water content. Since drainage is the first dewatering method and the least expensive, improvement in the efficiency of drainage will decrease the amount of water required to be removed by other more costly methods such as drying. This will improve the overall efficiency of the process.
[0013] The papermaking fibers employed in papermaking are often of low grade and are predominantly of the mechanical type and include groundwood, thermomechanical pulp, deinked secondary fibers, semi-chemical pulps, and semi-bleached chemical kraft pulps. The cellulosic fibers thus produced are rarely very “clean” and are rarely completely separated from the residual process liquors which contain substantial levels of both organic and inorganic impurities. These impurities are derived from the pulping process and by-products which are naturally present in wood (Linhart F., Auhorn W. J., Degen H. J. and Lorz R., Tappi J. 70(10) 79-85 (1987), Sunberg K., Thornton J., Pettersson C., Holmbom B., and Ekman R., J. Pulp Paper Sci., 20(11), J317-321 (1994)). These are often referred to as detrimental substances because they interfere with the function of many additives.
[0014] Detrimental substances increase the cationic demand of the pulp slurry. The cationic demand is the number of equivalents of cationic charge that has to be added to the slurry to neutralize the excess anionic charge of the pulp slurry. The cationic demand is usually met using a low molecular weight (<500 000) highly charged synthetic cationic polyelectrolyte. These polymers are, for example, the following: polyethyleneimines, polyamines having a molecular weight of more than 50,000, polyamidoamines modified by grafting onto ethyleneimine, polyamidoamines, polyetheramines, polyvinylamines, modified polyvinylamines, polyalkylamines, polyvinylimidoazoles, polydiallydialkyl ammonium halides, in particular polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride. These polyelectrolytes are soluble in water and are used in the form of aqueous solutions.
[0015] The cationic demand of pulps used for making, for instance, newsprint is often above 1000 meq./mL of stock so that improvements only become significant with polymer weights of above 1000 grams dry polymer per tonne dry weight of paper. Such large amounts render treatment uneconomical.
[0016] Impurities in papermaking furnishes which need to be neutralized by the cationic polymer are present in solution as dispersed colloidal particles, and/or dissolved substances such as lignosulfonates and sulfites, kraft lignin, hemicelluloses, lignans, humic acids, dispersed wood resins, rosin acids and chemical by-products. These impurities impart a large negative charge on the surfaces of cellulose fibers and other materials when they are dispersed in water.
[0017] Recently, due to environmental legislation, the level of the aforementioned impurities in papermachine white-water systems has further increased. This increase is a consequence of the increased tendency for paper mill operations to “close up” the paper machine white water systems and recycle as much white water as much as possible.
[0018] A second problem often associated with the manufacture of paper is the accumulation of wood resin and synthetic hydrophobic materials on the surfaces of the process equipment. Wood resin is usually defined as the material in wood which is insoluble in water, but soluble in organic solvents (Mutton, D. B., “Wood Extractive and Their Significance to the Pulp and Paper Industries” Chap. 10, Wood Resins, Ed. W. E. Hills, Academic Press, New York (1962)). The weight of wood resin from all species of trees consists usually of 1-5% based on total weight. From the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,396 it is seen that increased reuse of mill white water causes a build-up in the concentration of water-borne resins (Allen L. H. and Maine C. J., Pulp Paper Can., 79(4): pp. 83-90 (1978)) and exacerbates the tendency for pitch deposition (Allen L. H., Tappi J., 63(2), pp. 82-87, (1980)). Many chemicals used to combat foam in pulp and paper mills end up dispersed in the aqueous phase of a pulp suspension and co-deposit with wood resin (Dorris G. M., Douek M., and Allen L. H., J. Pulp Paper Sci., 11(5): J149-154 (1985); Dunlop-Jones N. and Allen L. H., J. Pulp Paper Sci., 15(6): J235-241 (1989)). The presence of high amounts of dissolved and dispersed resin in paper machine process liquids usually also leads to reduced paper strength and runnability (Wearing, J. T., Ouchi, M. D., Mortimer, R. D., Kovacs, T. G., and Wong, A., J. Pulp Paper Sci., 10(6): J178 (1984)). Synthetic hydrophobic materials are usually introduced via deinked pulps and have similar chemical and physical properties to wood resins.
[0019] U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,396 teaches the use of a centrifugal deresination of the pulp and paper process liquids as an economical method to remove detrimental colloidal pitch. Furthermore U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,468,396 and 4,313,790 teach further prior art for reducing the concentrations of dissolved and dispersed resin which include the use of alum, dispersants, talc (Allen L. H., Tappi J., 63(2): pp. 82-87 (1980)); Douek M. and Allen L. H., J. Pulp Paper Sci., 17(5): J171-177 (1991)), sequestrants and a number of non-chemical methods such as bleeding the system, discarding of wash water, the use of a Frotapulper, followed by caustic extraction, as described by MoDo, and saveall flotation. Most of these methods are either too expensive under most circumstances or the practice is no longer tolerated.
[0020] In light of the aforementioned discussions, there has been ongoing extensive research into the development of new retention aids which increase retention and improve drainage in closed, highly contaminated systems. Traditional retention aids have had only a limited success in accomplishing these goals.
[0021] Increased retention and drainage allow significant economic benefits for a mill. Increased retention allows for cost savings in terms of reduced fibre consumption, cleaner machine operations, and decreased cost of effluent treatment. Increased drainage allows increased savings in terms of lower steam consumption brought about by a dryer sheet at the drying section.
[0022] In U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,790, inventors Pelton, Allen and Nugent have shown that a combination of kraft lignin or modified kraft lignin and poly(ethylene oxide) effectively increases fines retention and decreases pitch deposition on a papermaking machine in a papermaking process. A possible drawback to this system is the fact that mineral filler retention is not very high.
[0023] One method extensively used in the industry to improve the retention of cellulosic fines, mineral fillers, and other furnish components on the fiber mat is the use of a coagulant/flocculant dual polymer program system. The coagulant and flocculant are added ahead of the paper machine. In such a system a low molecular weight (usually <500, 000), highly charged polyelectrolyte coagulant or cationically modified starch is added first to the furnish. This has the effect of reducing the cationic demand of the furnish and reducing the negative surface charges present on the particles in the furnish. This initial addition of the coagulant accomplishes an initial degree of agglomeration and also tends to fixate mineral fillers and colloidal pitch/stickies to the fibers. The addition of the coagulant is then followed by the addition of the flocculant. Such flocculant is generally, but not necessarily, a high molecular weight anionic, cationic, or neutral synthetic polymer which bridges the particles or agglomerates. Such a combination increases drainage and retention.
[0024] Another system employed to provide an improved combination of retention and drainage is described in Canadian Patents 1,168,404 and 1,255,856 by inventors Langeley and Litchfield. The above patents describe the addition of bentonite prior to a high shear point followed by the addition of a cationic or anionic polymer after the shear point. The initial addition of bentonite is thought to absorb the detrimental substances present in solution. The shearing generally is provided by one or more stages of the papermaking process such as the centriscreening. At these shear points the shearing breaks down the large flocs formed prior to the shear point. This system is sold under the tradename Organosorb/Organopol.
[0025] Canadian Patents 1,322, 435 and 1,259,153 call for the addition of low molecular weight synthetic polyelectrolyte and/or high molecular weight cationic flocculant prior to a shear point followed by the addition of bentonite after the shear point. This system is often referred to as the Hydrocol system.
[0026] U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,444 by Lorz, Auhom, Linhart, and Matz teaches the addition of bentonite to a thick stock followed by the addition of a coagulant to the thin stock prior to a shear point and the subsequent addition of a high molecular weight cationic or anionic flocculant after the shear point.
[0027] The system described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,150 teaches the combination of cationic starch followed by colloidal silica to increase the amount of material retained in the sheet. Yet another variation of the system is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,643,801 and 4,795,531 which use, in addition to starch, synthetic polymers.
[0028] Additional systems to improve drainage and retention have also been proposed. South African Patent 2 389/90 corresponding to U.S. Ser. No. 397,224 teaches the use of a single, high molecular weight cationic polymer.
[0029] U.S. Pat. No. 5,089,520 suggests a drainage and retention program in which a cellulose papermaking slurry is treated with a high molecular weight cationic (meth)acrylamide polymer prior to at least one shear stage followed by the addition of a low molecular weight anionic polymer at least one shear stage subsequent to the addition of the cationic polymer.
[0030] U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,164 by Novak and Fallon provides a method for improving the retention of mineral fillers and cellulose fibers on cellulose fiber sheet. This is accomplished by the addition of an effective amount of high molecular weight cationic polymer prior to a shear point followed by the addition of a high molecular weight anionic flocculant after the shear point. The difficulty with the use of the aforementioned chemistries in “closed” mill systems is their loss of effectiveness as retention and drainage aids (Allen, L. H., Polverari, M., Levesque B., and Francis D. U., 1998 Tappi, Coating/Papermakers Conference, New Orleans, Book 1, pp. 497-513 (1998)). A further difficulty with retention aids is that some polymer chemistries work better in some mills and worse in others.
[0031] WO 95/03450 teaches the use of cationic multi armed star-like polymers (hereinafter referred to as CMA-PAM) as an effective component to improve the retention of fines fraction by structural characteristics of multi armed polymer chains connected with one starting point on the compound. The CMA-PAM were synthesized by using pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA) as the starting point. The three acrylate bonds are then reacted with the monomers acrylamide (AM) and dimethylamino-ethylacrylate (DMAEA-MC). Ammonium persulfate (APS) was used as the initiator. The structure formed is said to be star-like because the linear DMAEA-MC-AM chains extend from the central starting point, PETA. Depending on the DMAEA-MC-AM ratios the viscosity of the CMA-PAM vary between 86 and 450 centipoise (cP) and the charge densities do not exceed 1.5 meq./g at pH=7. The star-like structure was found to be more resistant to shear than linear PAM.
[0032] WO 95/03450 is thus concerned with polyols as starting compound; linear AM and DMAEA-MC chains are “attached” to the polyol OH groups. The maximum number of branches from the center is 4; these are not dendrimers. Dendrimers, while also starting from a central point, continue to “branch out” with every subsequent reaction.
[0033] Agents are also added to some papers, during fabrication to improve the wet strength of the product paper; wet strength agents are generally required for requiring wet strength papers such as tissue and towel, but are not required for printing papers. The function of a wet strength agent is different from the function of agents for enhancing retention of papermaking stock components and of agents for increasing drainage and there is no correlation between these different agents employed for different functions in papermaking.
[0034] Thus melamine formaldehyde and urea formaldehyde are among the most commonly employed wet strength agents in paper manufacture but have no utility as retention aids.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0035] It is an object of this invention to provide a method of enhancing retention of components of a papermaking stock in a cellulosic sheet formed from the stock.
[0036] It is a particular object of this invention to provide a method of producing paper employing a dendrimeric polymer to enhance retention of components of a papermaking stock in the paper formed from the stock.
[0037] It is still another object of the invention to provide a papermaking stock containing a dendrimeric polymer to enhance retention of papermaking components of the stock in a cellulosic sheet formed from the stock.
[0038] In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided a papermaking stock comprising: an aqueous paper-forming cellulosic dispersion of papermaking components comprising cellulosic papermaking fibers and papermaking additives in an aqueous vehicle, characterized in that said dispersion contains a dendrimeric polymer as an agent to enhance retention of said components in a cellulosic sheet formed from said dispersion in papermaking, and in an amount to effect such enhanced retention and provide a cellulosic sheet having an enhanced content of the papermaking components as compared with a cellulosic sheet from a corresponding aqueous paper-forming cellulosic dispersion of papermaking components free of said dendrimeric polymer, said dendrimeric polymer being capable of developing a positive charge at an operating pH of papermaking.
[0039] In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of enhancing retention of components of a papermaking stock in a cellulosic sheet formed from said stock in papermaking, said stock comprising an aqueous paper-forming cellulosic dispersion of papermaking fibers and papermaking additives in an aqueous vehicle, characterized by the inclusion in said dispersion of a dendrimeric polymer being capable of developing a positive charge at an operating pH of papermaking in an amount to enhance retention of said components in the cellulosic sheet.
[0040] In accordance with still another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of producing paper comprising forming a cellulosic sheet from a papermaking stock comprising an aqueous paper-forming cellulosic dispersion of papermaking components comprising papermaking fibers and papermaking additives in an aqueous vehicle characterized by enhancing retention of said components in the cellulosic sheet by the enhancing method of the invention, recovering a cellulosic sheet from the stock having an enhanced content of the papermaking components as compared with a cellulosic sheet formed from a corresponding aqueous paper-forming cellulosic dispersion of papermaking components free of the dendrimeric polymer, and recovering an aqueous fraction of the stock having a diminished content of the papermaking components.
[0041] Still further the invention provides paper produced by the aforementioned process of the invention.
[0042] In still another aspect of the invention there is provided a cellulosic paper sheet derived from an aqueous paper-forming cellulosic dispersion of papermaking components and a dendrimeric polymer capable of developing a positive charge at an operating pH of papermaking, said paper sheet containing said dendrimeric polymer and having an elevated content of the papermaking components of the dispersion, as compared with a paper sheet derived from a corresponding dispersion free of said dendrimeric polymer.
[0043] In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention there is provided use of a dendrimeric polymer to enhance retention of components of a papermaking stock in a cellulosic sheet formed from the stock, said polymer being capable of developing a positive charge at an operating pH of papermaking.
[0044] Thus a process has been discovered for the increase or enhancement of fines and filler retention and a decrease of pitch and/or stickies deposition during the manufacture of paper or paperboard, which involves the addition to the papermaking suspension of a dendrimeric polymer typically as a polymer solution. This system has also shown itself to be effective in “closed” mill systems.
[0045] Alternatively, the dendrimeric polymer may be added to the diluted filler slurry, prior to addition of the filler slurry to the paper stock, when producing filled grades or to the undiluted thick stocks, prior to dilution.
[0046] When the present invention is practiced, the retention of fines and filler is increased which in turn results in decreased fines in the white water which, in turn, facilitates a lower head box consistency, a higher headbox freeness, and a more even distribution of fines and filler in the cellulosic sheet. In addition, practise of this invention fixes dispersed wood resin and stickies in the cellulosic sheet and results in a decrease in problems due to pitch deposition on the paper machine.
[0047] Other benefits from the practice of this invention include increased drainage, increased white water reuse, increased closure, lower energy consumption, and increased fines retention.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0048] Using this invention it is possible to make any grade of paper, for example newsprint, board, and the so-called groundwood specialty grades. Tissue, toweling, and other fine papers can also be produced by practising the invention.
[0049] Papers and paperboards may be produced using, as the principle raw material groundwood (GWD), thermomechanical pulp (TMP), chemithermomechanical pulp (CTMP), pressurized groundwood (PGW), bleached kraft (BK), semi-bleached kraft (SBK), unbleached kraft (UBK), sulfite or sulfate pulps. Other suitable pulps such as deinked (DIP) and refiner mechanical pulp (RMP) may also be used. Each of these pulps may contain short or long fibers.
[0050] It is also possible to produce both filler free and filler containing papers. The maximum filler content of the paper is typically 40%, by weight, based on oven dried fiber but is generally 0 to 35%, by weight, and preferably between 5 to 15%, by weight. Examples of suitable fillers are clay, kaolin, chalk, talc, precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), ground calcium carbonate (GCC), titanium dioxide, calcium sulfate, barium sulfate, alumina, satin white, organically synthesized fillers, or mixtures thereof.
[0051] A wet strength agent, for example, a melamine formaldehyde or a urea formaldehyde may be added to the papermaking stock, in addition to the dendrimeric polymer of the invention, especially in the case of papers requiring wet strength papers such as tissue and towel.
[0052] In most cases, however, especially in printing papers, no wet strength agent is required and the dendrimeric polymer is added to the papermaking stock without the addition of a wet strength agent.
[0053] In particular, the papermaking stock may be free of wet strength agents.
[0054] The dendrimeric polymer enhances retention of papermaking components in a cellulosic sheet formed from a cellulosic dispersion of papermaking components and produces a cellulosic sheet having an enhanced content of the papermaking components as compared with a cellulosic sheet formed from a second cellulosic dispersion which differs only in that it is free of the dendrimeric polymer.
[0055] On the other hand, an aqueous fraction of the papermaking stock of the invention separated from the cellulosic sheet formed from the stock, has a diminished content of papermaking components, as compared with an aqueous fraction separated from the aforementioned second cellulosic dispersion free of the dendrimeric polymer.
[0056] The term dendrimeric macromolecules is understood as embracing very generally highly branched macromolecules that emanate from a central core and are synthesized through a stepwise, repetitive reaction sequence. Dendrimeric macromolecules are often referred to as “starburst” polymers. Dendrimers are a new class of macromolecules with a hyperbranched structure. This structure is well defined in terms of chemical composition and three-dimensional configuration. Dendrimers are synthesized in a stepwise manner, which provides unique control over chemical and physical properties. This control allows for the development of products which are tailored to specific applications. For example the end groups of the dendrimers are very well accessible for all kinds of modification reactions. Examples of modified end groups include carboxylic or fatty acid derivatives (Tomalia, D. A., Naylor, A. M., and Goddard, W. A., Angew. Chem. Intl. Ed. Engl., 29, 138-175 (1990); Frechet J. M., Science, 263, 1710-1715 (1994)).
[0057] Due to the repetitive reaction sequence in the synthetic procedure, dendrimers can be obtained with a chosen number of generations and end-groups. These structures are well defined in terms of both chemical composition and three dimensional configuration. Since dendrimers are synthesized in stages, one is afforded unique control over their chemical and physical properties such as size, shape, reactivity, solubility, and three dimensionality. This control allows the development of products which are tailored to specific applications. Reference is made to the following literature citing the synthesis of dendrimers: (Newkome G. R. et al., Macromolecules, 26(9), 2394-2396 (1993); Jansen et al., Science, 266, 1226-1229 (1994); Frechet, J. M., Science, 263, 1710-1715 (1994); Tomalia, D. A., Naylor, A. M., and Goddard, W. A., Angew. Chem. Intl. Ed. Engl., 29, 138-175 (1990); Biswas P. And Cherayil B. J., J. Chem. Phys., 100(4), 3201-3209 (1994); Kim Y. and Beckerbauer R., Macromolecules, 27, 1968-1971 (1994); Mourey T. et al., Macromolecules, 25, 2401-2406 (1992); Kremers J. A. and Meijer E. W., J. Org. Chem., 59(15), 4262-4266 (1994); van Genderen M. H. P. et al., Rec. T. Chimiques des Pays-Bas, 113(12), 573-574 (1994)).
[0058] The nomenclature of dendrimers is described in Newkome, J. Polymer Science, Part A; Polymer Chemistry, 31, (1993), pages 611-651.
[0059] For one type of dendrimer, poly(propylene imine), an efficient large scale synthesis has been described (de Brabander-van der Berg, E. M. M. and Meijer, E. W., Angew. Chem. Intl. Ed. Engl., 32-38, 1308 (1993)).
[0060] The repetitive reaction sequence involves a Michael addition of two equivalents of acrylonitrile to a primary amino group, followed by hydrogenation of the nitrile groups to primary amine groups. Diaminobutane (DAB) is used as the core molecule. Each complete reaction sequence results in a new “generation” with a larger diameter and twice the number of reactive functional end groups. For example, starting with diamino butane (DAB), double Michael addition of acrylonitrile yields a species with four cyano groups (DAB-dendr-(CN) 4 ). Catalytic hydrogenation with H 2 /Raney-Co results in a molecule with four primary amine groups (DAB-dendr-(NH 2 ) 4 ). Repeating this sequence yields dendrimers with 2 n cyano or amine end groups, where n is an integer of 2 to 1000, preferably 2 to 100 and more preferably 2 to 20, thus there may be, for example, 8, 16, 32, 64 or 128 such end groups. These end groups may be further reacted or grafted with other molecules to yield the desired surface and/or internal core chemistries.
[0061] Similarly ethylene diamine (EDA) may be used instead of diaminobutane (DAB) as the core molecule.
[0062] The hyperbranched dendrimeric structure contains primary, secondary and tertiary amines (at various ratios ranging from 0 to 100%). At lower pH values, the primary, secondary and tertiary amines become protonated thereby developing a positive charge. The charges are developed by the interior as well as the surface amine groups. For example, for one type of dendrimer, poly(propylene imine), both the interior tertiary amines as well as the surface primary amines are cationically charged at pH values below 8.
[0063] For the purpose of this invention it is necessary that the dendrimeric polymer develop a positive charge at the desired operating pH, and, in particular, this positive charge may be achieved with the end groups. The groups which yield the positive charge may be any suitable groups, for example, amino groups, as for example, primary, secondary, or tertiary amines or quarternized amine functionalities.
[0064] Suitably n is chosen such that the dendrimer is readily dispersible in water, and preferably soluble in water. A particularly advantageous subclass of dendrimer has a weight average molecular weight of less than about 50,000. Especially preferred dendrimers have a positive charge of at least 1.5 meq/gram and more preferably at least about 6 meq/gram, most preferably 14 to 19 meq/gram, measured by colloid titration at a pH of 5.
[0065] A preferred class of dendrimers are poly(propylene imines) in which the core monomer is a diamino lower alkane of 2 to 10 carbon atoms, preferably 2 to 6 carbon atoms, for example, ethylene diamine (EDA) or diaminobutane (DAB), and the core monomer is reacted with acrylonitrile.
[0066] Suitably the dendrimers employed in this invention are prepared by the repetitive reaction sequence involving a Michael addition of two equivalents of acrylonitrile to a primary amine group followed by a hydrogenation of the nitrile groups to primary amines. Diaminobutane and ethylenediamine are preferred core molecules. The end groups are preferably primary amines.
[0067] By way of example the molecular weights of the dendrimers used in this invention are 300 and 7,166 Daltons for DAB(PA) 4 which is 4-cascade:1,4-diaminobutane-[4]:propylamine and DAB(PA)64 which is 64-cascade:1,4-diaminobutane:(1-aza-butylidene) 64 propylamine, respectively and 517 and 1430 Daltons for EDA 4 and EDA 8 , respectively. The respective charge densities at pH 5 are 18.2 meq./gram net and 14.9 meq./gram net for DAB(PA) 4 and DAB(PA) 64 , respectively and 17.0 meq./gram net and 16.4 meq./gram net for EDA 4 and EDA 8 respectively. For comparative purposes, the charges of a typical poly(DADMAC) or branched polyethyleneimine at pH 5 are approximately 5.5 meq./gram net and 5.9 meq./gram net.
[0068] In the process of this invention, the dendrimers are preferably added to the pulp slurry or stock as an aqueous solution before the papermaking stock reaches the paper machine headbox. Ideally, the point of addition is sufficiently before the headbox to enable complete mixing of the polymer into the pulp but after all points of extreme turbulence, such as fan pumps and pressure screens. However, other points of addition may be suitable, either before or after shear locations.
[0069] Additionally, the dendrimeric polymers may be added directly to a desired point of addition, such as for example the machine headbox, blend chest, mixing chest, thick stock chests, save-all, or the dilution white water silos/supply lines. Alternatively, the dendrimeric polymers may be mixed directly with the filler slurries or other chemicals prior to their addition to the pulp slurries.
[0070] The dendrimeric polymer is added to the pulp or filler slurry in an effective amount. The amount of dendrimeric polymer added can vary depending on several factors, for example, the dendrimeric molecular weight, the dendrimeric surface charge at the operating pH, the pulp used, and the type of surface chemistry. The amount can be determined by those skilled in the art for any particular product or process. However, in general terms, the dendrimeric polymer will be added at a rate between 0.1 and 20 percent by weight based on the weight of oven dried pulp; a preferred embodiment incorporates a range of between 0.1 percent and 5 percent by weight.
[0071] The dendrimeric polymers may also be used in conjunction with other papermaking additives for different purposes including improving drainage and retention performance. These additives include various inorganic materials, such as bentonite and alum, and/or organic materials, such as various natural, modified natural, or synthetic polymers which are included in the thin or thick stock for the purpose of improving the drainage and retention process. These can be added, optionally, at locations prior to or after to the addition of the dendrimeric polymer. They may also be added at the same location or variations thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING
[0072] [0072]FIG. 1 illustrates schematically a modified drainage jar (MDDJ) employed in the experiments illustrating the invention.
MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0073] With further reference to FIG. 1, a modified dynamic drainage jar 10 has a drainage tank 12 , a stirrer 14 and level sensing electrodes 16 and 18 .
[0074] Tank 12 has a papermachine wire 20 disposed in a lower region above an outlet 22 . Outlet 22 communicates with a vacuum flask 24 which is operatively connected to a vacuum pump and gauge 26 . A ball valve 28 functions to open and close outlet 22 .
[0075] Stirrer 14 is operatively controlled by a stirrer control 30 , and electrodes 16 and 18 are operatively connected to a timer 32 .
[0076] In order to disclose more clearly the nature of the present invention the following examples illustrating the invention are given:
[0077] A. i) The Approach
[0078] The performances of different dendrimer polymers, used alone or with a polyacrylamide, were measured in the laboratory in TMP newsprint pulps at three levels of system closure. In this specification the degree of system closure is defined in terms of fresh water makeup to the machine. Accordingly, the levels of system closure used were: 55, 20, and 2 m 3 /t. Additionally the dendrimers were tested on two board stocks, a filled stone groundwood-DIP-ultra high yield sulfite newsprint furnish, a peroxide bleached TMP furnish, and a hydrosulfide bleached TMP furnish.
[0079] ii) Pulps and White Waters
[0080] Headbox pulp and wire pit white water samples were taken from two integrated TMP newsprint mills. Mill A was modem and the fresh water usage, 20 m 3 /t, was typical of TMP newsprint mills built in the last ten years. Mill B had a fresh water usage of 55 m 3 /t, typical of an older facility. Retention aids were not employed in either mill. Mill A produces 100% TMP from 40% spruce and 60% fir. Mill B produces 100% TMP from 75% spruce and 25% fir.
[0081] Simulated white water for an advanced closure level was prepared in the laboratory by washing pulp collected from the secondary refiner discharge in Mill B. The apparatus for white water preparation consisted of a stock tank, screw press, white water tank and pumps (Francis D. W. and Ouchi M. D. (to be published)). It was operated in batch mode. The unwashed pulp at 30% consistency was diluted to 2% consistency with fresh water and agitated for 30 minutes at 60° C. The pulp suspension was then dewatered to approximately 44% consistency with the screw press and the pressate was recycled to dilute the next batch of pulp. This cycle was repeated for 13 more batches until the desired contaminant level was attained. A small volume of fresh water was added after batch 10 to produce the desired volume of white water. Gravity clarification was used to remove the suspended solids.
[0082] The contaminant level in the paper machine white water depends on a number of factors in addition to the fresh water usage, including the white water management strategy and the choice of dewatering equipment. Therefore, it is not possible to directly relate the contaminant level of the simulated white water to a mill closure level. The simulated white water corresponded to the white water expected in a fully integrated white water system with a process fresh water addition of about 2 m 3 /t.
[0083] Headbox stock was also obtained from a third newsprint mill producing newsprint using groundwood (GWD), deinked (DIP), and ultra high yield sulfite (UHYS) pulps. Clay content in the sheet is nominally 5-7%.
[0084] Two board stocks were obtained from a corrugated medium producer. The first stock was 100% old corrugated container (OCC) and the second stock was 50% OCC/50% NSSC (neutral sulfite semi-chemical). The NSSC was produced using spruce chips.
[0085] Lastly, three other newsprint furnishes were obtained:
[0086] (i) A supercalendered newsprint furnish composed of 69% peroxide bleached TMP, 6% kraft, and 25% broke with a normal clay content of 22%.
[0087] ii) A standard newsprint furnish composed of 75% hydrosulfite TMP and 25% broke with no clay.
[0088] iii) A standard newsprint furnish composed of 50% hydrosulfite bleached TMP, 25% deinked fibre and 25% broke.
[0089] iii) Polymer Preparation
[0090] The polymer solutions were prepared with twice-distilled water produced in a glass distillation apparatus. Solutions were freshly prepared every day at a concentration of 1% active ingredients. DAB(PA) 4 and DAB(PA) 64 were obtained as 100% and 97.5% active solutions, and the EDA polymers were obtained as 100% active solutions, based on total weight. The cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) was prepared by mixing 1 gram of the solid polymer and adding 99 grams of twice-distilled water. The polymer solution was then diluted to 0.25% actives prior to use.
[0091] iv) Charge Densities of the Polymers by Colloid Titration
[0092] The cationic demands were determined using a modified polyelectrolyte titration technique outlined by Horn (Horn D., Progr. Coll. Poly. Sci., 65, 255-264 (1978)) at pH 5. 10 mL of a 0.01% active ingredients wt/wt polymer solution was diluted to 100 mL and titrated with PVSAK to a pink end-point.
[0093] v) Retention and Drainage Measurements
[0094] Retention and drainage measurements were done in three ways: (1) using the Dynamic Drainage Jar (DDJ), using the modified Dynamic Drainage Jar (MDDJ), and using a modified DDJ for gravity drainage measurements (FDDJ) as described in the following three sections. All measurements were done at 60° C. and at a pH of 5.2.
[0095] vi) 1) Modified Dynamic Drainage Jar (MDDJ)
[0096] First pass- retention (FPR) with mat formation (nominal basis weight 80-120 g/m 2 ), drainage rate, and consistency after vacuum were obtained using our modified dynamic drainage jar (MDDJ) method (Yaraskavitch I. M., Allen L. H. and Heitner C., Pulp Pap. Sci. , 16(3), J87-93 (1990)). All polymer concentrations are expressed as net active ingredients in the results. The modified drainage jar is illustrated in FIG. 1. The MDDJ is fitted with a nylon machine wire with an 86:60 mesh.
[0097] The headbox stocks were diluted with white water to ˜0.15% consistency. To do so, the white water was previously filtered once through a Reeve Angel 202 (Trade-mark) filter paper to remove all the suspended solids. Headbox stock from mill A was diluted with filtered white water from mill A and headbox stock from mill B was diluted with filtered white water from mill B or filtered simulated white water at 2 m 3 /t. These were the 20 m 3 /t, 55 m 3 /t, and 2 m 3 /t furnishes, respectively.
[0098] With the propeller rotating at 500 rpm, air was bubbled under the screen in order to keep the sample from draining into the part of the MDDJ below the screen where it would not be properly mixed. 15 seconds after pouring the furnish into the MDDJ, the dendrimer being tested was added. At 30 seconds, the CPAM was added (if required). 50 seconds after pouring the stock into the MDDJ, the polymer being tested was added to the MDDJ. After 50 seconds, the airflow was stopped and the vacuum was applied to the vacuum flask at 20 cm Hg. At exactly one minute, the drainage valve was opened allowing the sample to drain. The level sensing electrodes measured the drainage time and when the timer had stopped, full vacuum (64 cm Hg) was applied for 40 seconds.
[0099] The mat was peeled off the screen and weighed. The sample was placed in a centrifuge tube equipped with a screen and centrifuged at 5000 RPM (4500 g) for 30 minutes using a Sorvall RC-3B (Trade-mark) centrifuge with an HG-4L rotor. The mat was reweighed, dried overnight in an oven at 105° C. and the dry weight was recorded. The response of the wet web to vacuum was evaluated by calculating the consistency of the mat after exposure to vacuum (i.e., dryness), and the water retention values (WRV) are reported as the consistency after centrifugation (Tappi Useful Method UM256; Scallan A. M. and Charles J. E., Svensk Papperstidn. 75, 699-703 (1977)).
[0100] The consistency of a 100 mL sample of the total filtrate collected during vacuum was used to calculate the first-pass retention (FPR) with mat formation. A minimum of three runs was performed for each experimental point from which an average was calculated. An additional 25 mL of filtrate were collected for turbidity measurements.
[0101] vii) Dynamic Drainage Jar (DDJ)
[0102] The Dynamic Drainage Jar (DDJ) is fully described in Pulp Paper Can., 80(12):T425 (1979). The DDJ was fitted with a 40 mesh stainless steel wire screen and a nozzle consisting of the tip of 25 mL pipette. For all experiments the stock in the DDJ was stirred at 500 RPM. 15 seconds after the stock is added into the DDJ, the dendrimer is added. If required the CPAM was added at 30 seconds. After 45 seconds the nozzle was opened allowing the white water to flow out.. The first 25 mL portion was discarded. The next 100 mL portion was collected. The consistency (solids content) of the white water was determined gravimetrically after filtration and drying of the Whatman 40 (Trade-mark) filter pad at 105° C. The first pass retention was calculated. If needed, the filter pads were washed and the ash content was determined according to TAPPI test procedure T-211.
[0103] viii) Free Dynamic Drainage Jar
[0104] Drainage measurements were carried out using a standard D.D.J. which was slightly modified to allow unrestricted drainage. The modification consisted of a 2 cm opening at the bottom of a standard D.D.J. and a further 0.5 cm opening on the side of the standard D.D.J. located below the screen. This allowed any white water flowing through the screen to be freely evacuated. The FDDJ was equipped with a 40 mesh screen and a glass funnel deposited on the top of the DDJ. The glass funnel is stoppered with a rubber plug. Essentially the experiment is carried out by adding the polymers in the same manner as they are added in the DDJ experiments: a standard DDJ is fitted with a plexiglass bottom, the polymers are added, and after 45 seconds, the stirrer is stopped. The furnish is added into the glass funnel and the rubber stopper is quickly removed. The furnish drops into the FDDJ and the time required to drain 100 mL is measured.
[0105] B. i) Pilot Machine Trial
[0106] The pilot machine had a trim of 330 mm and consisted of a twin-former, a three roll inclined press followed by an extended nip press, a forth press, and a reel for collection of pressed wet paper. The operating speed of the pilot machine was 600 m/min. The first two press nips were loaded to 45 to 90 kN/m while the third and fourth press nips were operated at 300 and 100 kN/m, respectively. The paper machine had no dryers: the wet paper samples were cut from the reel and were either used to determine the web-web properties or dried between blotters on a rotary photographic dryer for subsequent evaluation of dry paper.
[0107] The headbox opening was 0.00369 m 2 . The fibre flux through the machine was 748 kg/hour. The targeted sheet basis weight was 45 g/m 2 . The machine wire used was an MT Series Monoflex 2000 (Trade-mark) by JWI.
[0108] The stock ash was 11.71%. The reslushed stock consistency was 2.8%. At the beginning of the trial one ton of SCC newsprint paper was reslushed and diluted to about 1% consistency. Paper was produced on the pilot machine and subsequently discarded in order to produce white water with a steady-state consistency. The white water produced was stored in a white water tank. Following production of the white water, another ton of newsprint was reslushed and stored in the thick stock tank. Headbox stock for the pilot trial was produced by diluting the thick stock with the produced white water in the white water tank.
[0109] The reslushed peroxide bleached newsprint used to produce the pilot machine headbox stock was composed of 75% virgin fibre (80% peroxide bleached TMP, 10% hydrosulfite TMP, 9% kraft) and 25% broke. The stock produced had a freeness of 55 mL CSF, an ash content of 11.71% and a pH of 5.1. The headbox consistency for the pilot trial was approximately 0.85%.
[0110] ii) Polymers Preparation
[0111] The flocculant used was a 10% mole ratio cationic polyacrylamide. 200 liters of 0.05% flocculant solution were prepared by dispersing the polymer in water at room temperature and agitating the polymer until full dilution had been accomplished. The DAB(PA) 4 dendrimer retention aid was prepared by diluting, with agitation, the 100% actives liquid to a concentration of 0.5% actives. 750 liters of solution were prepared at room temperature.
[0112] The 0.5% solution of dendrimer retention aid was metered to the pulp suspension at an inlet at the fan pump to ensure good mixing. The polyacrylamide solution was metered after the fan pump. The temperature of the headbox stock was maintained at 50° C. The time for the pulp to travel from the injection points to the headbox for the polyacrylamide and dendrimer retention aid was estimated to be 5 seconds and 7 seconds, respectively. The pH was monitored at 4 minute intervals and was kept constant at 5.1 by slow addition of 10% sulfuric acid into the returning white water flow.
[0113] iii) Experimental Procedure
[0114] The pilot plant trial was run by dividing the total trial into 11 time periods. Each time period had a duration of 30 minutes. Sampling of the machine headbox and white water was done at every 4 minute interval in conjunction to pH monitoring.
[0115] Headbox and white water samples were used to measure the change of FPR, FPAR, turbidity and cationic demand as a function of polymer dosage.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
[0116] For this experiment the gravity drainage rate was measured using the FDDJ. Stocks at 2 m 3 /t and 55 m 3 /t were prepared from the headbox stock obtained from Mill B. The headbox stock was 100% TMP and contained no additives or fillers. The headbox stock were diluted to a consistency of 0.48% and 0.47% for the 55 m 3 /t and 2 m 3 /t furnishes, respectively. Dilution for the 55 m 3 /t stock was done using filtered machine white water. The dilution for the 2 m 3 /t stock was accomplished using filtered recirculated white water from our laboratory screw press. Branched modified PEI (BM-PEI) a highly charged polyethyleneimine coagulant was also tested for comparative purposes. (BM-PEI) was prepared at 1% net actives. All polymer dosages are based on net actives. The diluted furnish was heated to 60° C. and mixed at 500 R.P.M prior to each experiment. As can be seen from the data in Table I, the increased addition of both dendrimer polymers increases the drainage rate of the furnish. The effect of dendrimer addition is most pronounced in the 55 m 3 /t stock. A four-fold improvement in drainage was obtained with the first generation dendrimer. The improvement in drainage for the 2 m 3 /t was not as pronounced. In either case both dendrimer polymers outperformed BM-PEI at an equivalent net dosage.
Example 2
[0117] For this experiment the first-pass retention (FPR) was measured using the D.D.J.. Stocks at 2 m 3 /t and 55 m 3 /t were prepared from the headbox stock obtained from Mill B. The headbox stock was 100% TMP and contained no additives or fillers. The headbox stocks were diluted to consistencies of 0.52% and 0.54% for the 55 m 3 /t and 2 m 3 /t furnishes, respectively. Dilution for the 55 m 3 /t stock was done using filtered machine white water. The dilution for the 2 m 3 /t stock was accomplished using filtered recirculated white water from our laboratory screw press. BM-PEI, a highly charged polyethyleneimine coagulant was also tested for comparative purposes. BM-PEI was prepared at 1% net actives. All polymer dosages are based on net actives. The furnish was heated to 60° C. and mixed at 500 R.P.M. As can be seen from the data, the increased addition of the dendrimer polymer increases the first-pass retention of the furnish (Table II). The first-pass retention is again most improved in the 55 m 3 /t furnish. A gain of over 15% is noted at the highest polymer concentration. In both cases, the dendrimer polymers outperform Polymin SKA.
Example 3
[0118] For this experiment the first-pass retention (FPR), dryness, WRV, drainage rate using the electrodes (E), drainage rate using the dry spot (DS), and turbidity were measured using the modified D.D.J.. (MBDJ) Stocks at 2 m 3 /t and 55 m 3 /t were prepared from the headbox of Mill B. The headbox stock was 100% TMP and contained no additives or fillers. The headbox stocks were diluted to a consistency of 0.16% and 0.18% for the 55 m 3 /t and 2 m 3 /t furnishes, respectively. Dilution for the 55 m 3 /t stock was done using filtered machine white water. The dilution for the 2 m 3 /t stock was accomplished using filtered recirculated white water from a laboratory screw press. BM-PEI, a highly charged polyethyleneimine coagulant was also tested for comparative purposes. BM-PEI was prepared at 1% net actives. All polymer dosages are based on net actives. For these experiments CPAM was also used. The dendrimer was added to the stock prior to the addition of the CPAM. The furnish was heated to 60° C. and mixed at 500 R.P.M. As can be seen from the results in Table III ((a) and (b)), the addition of the dendrimers, with or without the further addition of CPAM, improves the measured properties: the FPR is seen to increase, the measured turbidity decreases, the drainage rates (E) and (DS) increase, and the dryness and WRV values increase. However, the results are less pronounced for 2 m 3 /t.
Example 4
[0119] For this experiment the first-pass retention (FPR), first-pass ash retention (FPAR), dryness, drainage rate using the electrodes (E), drainage rate using the dry spot (DS), and turbidity were measured using the modified D.J.. A stock at 20 m 3 /t was prepared from the headbox of Mill A. The headbox stock was 100% TMP and contained no additives. The filler content in the stock was 20%. The headbox stock was diluted to a consistency of 0.16% using filtered white water from the papermachine. BM-PEI, a highly charged polyethyleneimine coagulant was also tested for comparative purposes. BM-PEI was prepared at 1% net actives. All polymer dosages are based on net actives. The furnish was heated to 60° C. and mixed at 500 R.P.M. As seen from the results in Table IV, the use of the dendrimer polymers increases dryness, drainage rates, FPR, and FPAR. Both dendrimers outperform BM-PEI at equivalent actives dosages.
Example 5
[0120] Headbox stock was obtained from a third newsprint mill producing newsprint using a furnish composed of groundwood (GWD), deinked (DIP), and ultra high yield sulfite (UHYS) pulps. The clay content in the sheet is nominally 5-7%. The first-pass ash retention (FPAR) was measured using the DDJ. The furnish was loaded with additional clay. The final clay content was 30.5%. The clay was treated with dendrimer prior to addition to the stock. The headbox stock consistency was 0.84% after dilution with filtered white water. The Furnish was heated to 60° C. and mixed at 500 R.P.M. Results in Table V indicate that the addition of either of the dendrimers increases FPR.
Example 6
[0121] Two board stocks were obtained from a corrugated medium producer. The first stock was 100% old corrugated container (OCC) and the second stock was 50% OCC/50% NSSC (neutral sulfite semi-chemical). The NSSC was produced using spruce chips. For this experiment the first-pass retention (FPR), WRV, and drainage rate using the electrodes (E) were measured using the modified D.J.. The stock consistencies were 1.15% for the OCC and 1.20% for the 50% OCC/50% NSSC as received from the mill. These stocks were used as is and the consistency was not adjusted. The Furnish was heated to 60° C. and mixed at 500 R.P.M. Results in Table VI indicate a marked improvement in drainage rate for the 100% OCC furnish and a slight improvement in WRV and FPR. On the other hand the dendrimer only slightly improved the WRV and FPR for the 50% NSSC/50% OCC stock and was detrimental to the drainage rate.
Example 7
[0122] The same stocks as in Example 6 were used. For this experiment the gravity drainage rate was measured using the FDDJ. The stock consistencies were 1.15% for the OCC and 1.20% for the 50% OCC/50% NSSC. The Furnish was heated to 60° C. and mixed at 500 R.P.M. The drainage rate is seen in Table VII to increase substantially for the 100% OCC stock. The improvement in drainage for the 50% OCC/50% NSSC stock was only slight.
Example 8
[0123] Illustrated in this example is the effect of the dendrimers on dispersed resin particle concentration. The same headbox stock as used in example I (55 m 3 /t headbox stock) was used for this example. The concentration of colloidally dispersed wood resin in the D.J. was determined (Allen L. H., Trans. Tech. Sect. CPPA, 3, 32, 1977). In this procedure the resin particle concentrations were determined with a hemacytometer and microscope which was fitted with a 40× objective lens and gave an overall magnification of 800×. The results are shown in Table VIII as a function of the concentrations of the two dendrimers. At the highest polymer concentrations the dispersed resin in the white-water was reduced by 97% by the DAB(PA) 64 and 63% by the DAB(PA) 4 . The furnish was heated to 60° C. and mixed at 500 R.P.M.
Example 9
[0124] Headbox stock was obtained from a newsprint mill producing supercalendered newsprint using a furnish composed of 69% peroxide bleached TMP, 6% Kraft and 25% broke. The clay content in the sheet was nominally 22.17%. The first-pass retention (FPR) was measured using the standard D.D.J. The headbox stock consistency was 0.89%. The furnish was heated to 50° C. and mixed at 1200 R.P.M. The dendrimer was added first followed by the addition of 500 g/ton of a 10% mole ratio cationic polyacrylamide. Results in Table IX indicate that the addition of dendrimers increases FPR.
Example 10
[0125] Headbox stock was obtained from a newsprint mill producing standard newsprint using a furnish composed of 75% hydrosulfite bleached TMP and 25% broke. The furnish contained no clay. The first-pass retention (FPR) and first pass ash retention (FPAR) were measured using the standard D.D.J. The headbox stock consistency was 0.85%. The furnish was heated to 50° C. and mixed at 1200 R.P.M. The dendrimer was added first followed by the addition of 500 g/ton of a 10% mole ratio cationic polyacrylamide. Results in Table X indicate that the addition of dendrimers increases FPR and FPAR.
Example 11
[0126] Headbox stock was obtained from a newsprint mill producing standard newsprint using a furnish composed of 50% hydrosulfite bleached TMP, 25% deinked pulp and 25% broke. The furnish contained no clay. The first-pass retention (FPR) and pitch counts were measured using the standard D.D.J.. The headbox stock consistency was 1.01%. The furnish was heated to 50° C. and mixed at 1200 R.P.M. The dendrimer was added first followed by the addition of 500 g/ton of a 10% mole ratio cationic polyacrylamide. Results in Table XI indicate that the addition of dendrimers increases FPR and decreases pitch counts.
Example 12
[0127] The results of the pilot machine trial are presented in Table XII. The procedures and polymer preparation are described in the preceding section. Results indicate that the dendrimer polymer increases FPR and FPAR while decreasing turbidity and cationic demand.
TABLE I Polymer Dosage Drainage Rate (mL/s) Polymer (kg/t) 2 m 3 /t 55 m 3 /t DAB(PA) 4 0 5.4 11.6 5 9.3 17.4 10 10.4 36.9 15 10.9 48.1 20 11.3 48.8 DAB(PA) 64 0 5.4 11.6 5 7.5 43.3 10 7.7 39.4 15 8.6 35.3 20 9.2 35.0 BM-PEI 0 5.4 11.6 5 5.7 14.8 10 6.6 15.7 15 7.4 16.9 20 8.0 21.6
[0128] [0128] TABLE II Polymer Dosage FPR (%) Polymer (kg/t) 2 m 3 /t 55 m 3 /t DAB(PA) 4 0 53.2 61.2 0 5 52.2 64.6 10 53.5 74.5 15 53.9 75.6 20 54.1 77.2 DAB(PA) 64 0 53.2 61.2 5 53.1 69.2 10 53.8 72.0 15 57.2 77.2 20 58.4 80.2 BM-PEI 0 53.2 61.2 5 53.0 61.6 10 53.8 63.0 15 53.5 68.0 20 53.3 72.8
[0129] [0129] TABLE III(a) MODIFIED DYNAMIC DRAINAGE JAR (closure: 2 cubic meters/tonne) Drain- age Drain- Polymer Dry- Rate age First-Pass Dosage Turbidity ness WRV (E) Rate(DS) Retention Polymer (kg/t) (NTU) (%) (%) (mL/s) (mL/s) (%) DAB(PA) 64 0 427 21.3 41.8 10.8 10.1 81.0 5 424 24.9 42.2 9.3 8.9 82.8 10 422 24.2 43.9 8.6 7.4 81.5 15 416 23.9 43.5 8.0 6.3 77.8 20 355 20.9 42.6 6.5 4.9 78.3 DAB(PA) 4 0 427 21.3 41.8 10.8 10.1 81.0 5 404 21.4 42.3 11.7 11.2 81.1 10 382 22.9 43.0 11.8 11.4 81.6 15 316 24.4 43.6 13.7 13.8 82.0 20 218 25.3 44.2 23.9 21.2 82.8 BM-PEI 0 427 21.3 41.8 10.8 10.1 81.0 5 422 23.3 41.6 11.5 14.6 81.8 10 69 23.5 43.0 10.0 12.9 81.4 15 365 24.3 43.3 10.3 11.9 82.1 20 282 24.3 43.6 10.8 10.0 82.3 DAB(PA) 64 / 0/0 482 21.3 43.8 10.8 10.1 81.0 CPAM 0/2 460 23.6 43.1 12.5 10.2 84.2 5/2 440 22.3 43.1 9.5 10.2 84.9 10/2 418 22.4 43.0 10.8 10.5 86.3 15/2 355 22.5 43.0 13.2 12.0 86.5 20/2 308 23.2 43.2 14.0 14.1 86.8 DAB(PA) 4 / 0/0 482 21.3 43.8 10.8 10.1 81.0 CPAM 0/2 460 22.6 43.1 12.5 10.2 84.2 5/2 389 23.0 43.5 12.5 10.2 83.2 10/2 309 23.4 44.1 11.8 10.2 82.5 15/2 236 24.4 44.8 9.7 10.7 82.4 20/2 172 25.8 45.2 7.7 12.8 82.2
[0130] [0130] TABLE III(b) MODIFIED DYNAMIC DRAINAGE JAR (closure: 55 cubic meters/tonne) Drain- age Drain- Polymer Dry- Rate age First-Pass Dosage Turbidity ness WRV (E) Rate(DS) Retention Polymer (kg/t) (NTU) (%) (%) (mL/s) (mL/s) (%) DAB(PA) 64 0 195 15.2 40.8 29.4 23.9 77.4 5 191 20.0 41.7 31.8 24.4 77.5 10 144 23.2 43.0 32.6 25.0 78.9 15 112 23.9 43.1 33.4 25.7 80.4 0 111 27.6 43.7 33.5 26.1 81.9 DAB(PA) 4 0 191 15.2 40.8 29.4 23.9 77.4 5 119 21.8 42.2 33.3 27.5 78.3 10 47 23.3 45.1 36.6 28.8 82.0 15 29 24.5 45.4 38.4 32.3 83.3 20 28 26.1 45.5 42.2 32.6 84.7 BM-PEI 0 195 15.2 40.8 29.6 24.0 77.4 5 190 21.3 39.2 25.3 19.1 84.0 10 180 21.5 38.6 25.4 17.8 85.6 15 176 22.1 38.8 25.4 17.6 85.5 20 174 22.1 38.8 25.5 16.9 86.3 DAB(PA) 64 / 0/0 250 21.0 40.2 35.2 26.6 82.4 CPAM 0/2 148 21.8 40.3 21.5 19.1 83.6 5/2 143 23.1 43.9 12.4 10.7 87.0 10/2 136 22.8 43.6 18.2 15.8 86.7 15/2 134 21.4 42.2 19.8 18.9 86.0 20/2 126 21.3 41.5 22.0 21.3 86.9 DAB(PA) 4 / 0/0 250 21.0 40.2 35.2 26.6 82.4 CPAM 0/2 148 1.8 40.3 21.5 19.1 83.6 5/2 123 22.2 40.3 23.6 21.3 84.0 10/2 93 22.4 40.0 28.1 26.9 85.0 15/2 79 22.8 40.0 28.8 27.5 86.0 20/2 62 23.2 40.0 29.6 28.6 86.8
[0131] [0131] TABLE IV Drain- Drain- First- age age pass First- Polymer Dry- Rate Rate Ash pass Dosage ness (E) (DS) Retention Retention Polymer (kg/t) (%) (mL/s) (mL/s) (%) (%) DAB(PA) 4 0 21.9 11 12 38.1 72.8 1.13 21.4 9.59 10.2 75.5 79.8 2.26 21.2 8.34 8.98 76.7 77.9 3.39 23.6 8.29 8.77 78.0 75.8 4.51 20.5 8.17 8.66 79.1 73.7 DAB(PA) 64 0 21.9 11.0 12.0 38.1 72.8 1.02 25.1 11.0 13.5 74.8 84.8 2.05 25.2 10.8 11.7 73.1 79.7 3.07 26.4 10.9 11.7 74.6 75.9 4.09 27.7 10.9 12.1 74.9 72.3 BM-PEI 0 21.9 11.0 12.0 38.1 72.8 1.09 22.4 12.5 13.7 46.1 77.7 2.17 21.4 11.7 13.5 53.8 78.2 3.26 22.4 10.9 13.3 59.4 75.3 4.34 20.1 10.4 13.4 61.9 72.4
[0132] [0132] TABLE V Polymer Dosage FPAR Polymer (kg/t) (%) DAB(PA) 4 0 6 5 14.6 10 16.5 15 17.8 20 17.7 DAB(PA) 64 0 6 5 14.2 10 18.5 15 18.1 20 23.1
[0133] [0133] TABLE VI DAB(PA) 64 Drainage First-pass Polymer Dosage WRV Rate (E) Retention Stock (kg/t) (%) (mL/s) (%) 100% OCC 0 2.08 88.7 94.5 0.5 2.11 127 95.4 1 2.11 124 95.7 2 2.14 122 100.0 4 2.17 106 96.8 8 2.19 102 97.8 50% OCC/ 0 2.08 88.6 94.5 50% NSSC 0.5 2.13 86.2 99.3 1 2.31 78.5 99.1 2 2.21 72.1 99.2 4 2.14 58.3 99.5 8 2.13 52.4 99.6
[0134] [0134] TABLE VII DAB(PA) 64 Polymer Dosage Drainage Rate Stock (kg/t) (mL/s) 100% OCC 0 8.9 0.5 16.9 1 18.6 2 19.7 4 29.9 8 33.2 50% OCC/ 0 2.3 50% NSSC 0.5 2.8 1 2.8 2 2.8 4 3.5 8 3.6
[0135] [0135] TABLE VIII Polymer Particle Percent Dosage Count Reduction Polymer (kg/t) (millions/ml) (%) DAB(PA) 64 0 149 — 5 137 8.05 10 123 17.44 15 82 44.97 20 54 63.76 DAB(PA) 4 0 116 — 5 63 45.69 10 27 76.73 15 6.2 94.66 20 3.5 96.98
[0136] [0136] TABLE IX Polymer Dosage FPR Polymer (kg/t) (%) DAB(PA) 4 0 44.34 2 46.89 4 47.55 8 47.65 DAB(PA) 64 0 44.34 2 50.12 4 51.41 8 50.18 EDA 4 0 44.34 2 47.82 4 47.12 8 47.43 EDA 8 0 44.34 2 46.75 4 47.25 8 47.21 Linear polyethylene imine 0 44.34 2 48.95 4 48.76 8 50.31
[0137] [0137] TABLE X Polymer Dosage FPR FPAR Polymer (kg/t) (%) (%) DAB(PA) 4 0 32.4 30.5 2 34.7 30.6 4 34.9 30.3 8 35.3 30.1 DAB(PA) 64 0 32.4 30.5 2 35.9 30.2 4 35.7 30.3 8 39.7 30.6 EDA 4 0 32.4 30.5 2 36.4 30.5 4 37.8 30.4 8 37.8 30.3 EDA 8 0 32.4 30.5 2 36.1 30.7 4 36.8 30.3 8 39.7 29.8 Linear polyethylene imine 0 32.4 30.5 2 34.7 30.3 4 36.0 30.3 8 38.8 30.4
[0138] [0138] TABLE XI Polymer Dosage FPR Pitch Particles Polymer (kg/t) (%) (millions/ml) DAB(PA) 4 0 27.5 227 2 29.0 153 4 30.5 109 8 30.4 93 DAB(PA) 64 0 27.5 227 2 31.6 116 4 30.5 54 8 30.8 23 EDA 4 0 27.5 227 2 33.0 131 4 34.1 82 8 33.2 73 EDA 8 0 27.5 227 2 30.9 169 4 29.2 158 8 29.8 116 Linear Polyethylene imine 0 27.5 227 2 32.1 81 4 33.1 30 8 33.2 12
[0139] [0139] TABLE XII Polymer Dosage Cationic Time (kg/t) FPR FPAR Demand Period DAB(PA) 4 CPAM (%) (%) Turbidity (mEq./L) 1 0 0 64.8 0.5 132 1.28 2 0 0.05 73.2 5.5 80 0.84 3 0 0 65.0 2.7 70 0.78 4 0.5 0 70.9 23.8 4 0.67 5 1.0 0 73.8 18.7 2 0.62 6 2.0 0 76.2 20.4 1 0.41 7 0 0 64.8 2.8 1 0.38 8 1.0 0 73.1 25.6 1 0.22 9 0 0 66.4 10.1 1 0.12 10 1.0 0.05 78.2 33.8 1 0.14 11 0 0 78.6 32.4 1 0.04 | A papermaking stock and a method for improving the retention of pulp fines, mineral fillers, dispersed wood resin, and/or synthetic hydrophobic stickies and cellulose fibers in a cellulosic fiber sheet, employs dendrimeric polymers for increasing the retention of fines, fillers, dispersed hydrophobic particles, and cellulosic fibers. The application in the paper industry provides a means of (1) increasing the retention of fillers in paper and decreasing the loss of filler materials in white water waste from papermaking; (2) increasing the retention of cellulosic fines and fibers in the paper-making process; increasing drainage on the paper machine; and (3) removing a significant fraction of the wood resin, plastics, and stickies from the process stream thus enabling a greater extent of reuse of filtrates and, hence, less effluents from mills, fewer problems from wood resins such as deposit formation, loss of strength of product, and contamination of product with dirt particles. | 3 |
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for registering, that is, accurately aligning and positioning flexible textile sheets, reregistering flexible sheets, particularly textile sheets. The textile sheets are in the process of being delivered from upstream processing units, such as cutting machines, to downstream processing units, such as sewing machines. The apparatus and method may be advantageously utilized in the sewing industry, particularly in the ready-made clothing industry.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A garment, whether a shirt, a skirt, a pair of pants or the like is, comprised of a plurality of individual textile segments which are sewn together, or otherwise joined, in order to provide the garment. The segments are not only individually shaped but also have a number of sizes corresponding to the number of sizes in which the garment is supplied. It can be appreciated, therefore, that the manufacture of a single garment is a rather complicated undertaking.
Clothing manufactured by the ready-made clothing industry must be relatively inexpensive. Conventional practice in this industry has been to layer a plurality of individual textile sheets into a stack. The sheets are usually of various colors and the entire stack is cut or punched in a single operation so that all of the sheets of the stack are of the same size and style. Each of the cut sheets therefore forms a segment of a garment. It can be appreciated, therefore, that each segment of each garment is cut or punched in a similar operation with the result that a large number of stacks of garment sections must be provided prior to the preparation of even a single garment.
Manufacture of a single garment requires the sewing together of the segments. Each of the segments is individually removed from its associated stack. The segments are thus separated one after another from the associated stack and they are delivered to the appropriate processing units, in particular the sewing machines. The delivery process requires much hand manipulation due to the need to assure that only a single segment is removed from each of the stacks. One skilled in the art can appreciate that the variously layered segments are frequently stuck together at their edges. This tendency to stick together has been a major problem and was only recently resolved by the separating mechanisms and processes invented by the present applicants and accorded U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,981,495 and 4,437,655. Once the segments have been separated from their stacks, then they must be registered so as to be in the exact position ready for processing.
Bijttebier, U.S. Pat. No. 3,438,018, discloses a system for registering textile sheets. That patent, however, discloses a vibration system for registering the sheets. The vibration system is, however, frequently too slow in operation to be useful with automated sewing machines and the like.
Consequently, one skilled in the art can appreciate that a relatively high speed system for transporting and registering textile segments would be advantageous in facilitating the automation of the ready-made clothing industry. The disclosed invention provides such a registering apparatus and method and provides a conveyor having a smooth upper surface adapted for conveying a garment segment from a first processing unit to a second processing unit. A movable abutment means is angularly disposed relative to the longitudinal direction of the conveyor and is adapted for engaging one edge of the garment segment and for thereby positioning the segment so as to be in the appropriate position upon arrival at the second processing unit. A drive system for the conveyor and the abutment means is provided so that the conveyor and the abutment means move at the same velocity. This means that the velocity component of the abutment means in the direction of movement of the conveyor means is essentially equal to the velocity of this conveyor means. Additionally, another conveyor is superposed on the abutment means in order to maintain the segments in the flattened condition and prevent the edge thereof from becoming curled.
OBJECTS OF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A primary object of the disclosed invention is to provide a method and apparatus for registering textile sheets which is continuous and simple to operate at high speed.
Yet another object of the disclosed invention is to provide a speed control system assuring that the main conveyor and the abutment means move at the same rate of speed.
Yet a further object of the disclosed invention is to provide an abutment means forming an angle of less than 30° with the direction of movement of the main conveyor belt.
Still a further object of the disclosed invention is to provide a suction system for maintaining the sheets on the primary conveyor belt.
According to the invention, the sheets or segments are deposited one after the other on a first conveyor. The conveyor has a smooth upper surface in order to allow easy sliding of the segments. The sheets are advanced progressively with at least one of their edges engaging a movable abutment during moving with the conveyor. The abutment means runs at the same velocity as the conveyor and is in contact with the smooth upper surface thereof. Means are provided for flattening the sheets against the conveyor during their movement in order to prevent curling of the edges.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention are readily apparent in view of the following description and drawings of the above described invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other objects and advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawngs, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a top plan view with portions broken away of the registering device of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view with portions broken away taken along the section 2--2 of FIG. 1 and viewed in the direction of the arrows; and,
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the section 3--3 of FIG. 1 and with phantom lines indicating pivoting thereof.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The apparatus, as best shown in FIGS. 1-3, includes a ground supported frame 25. Conveyor means 1 are mounted to frame 25 and flexible sheets 12 are deposited one after the other at a first end 24 of frame 25. The sheets 12 are, generally, delivered by a device 11 which can be a sheet separating and transporting unit, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,018.
The conveyor means 1 comprises an endless belt 4 having a smooth outer surface. Speed rollers 6 are rotatably mounted to frame 25 and are adapted for driving belt 4. The rollers 6 and the belt 4 are adapted for transporting the sheets 12 from device 11 to feed-in mechanism 8 of a second mechanism 8 of a second processing unit, (not shown). The belt 4, preferably, is a single belt but those skilled in the art can appreciate that a number of adjacent closely spaced belts may perform the same function.
The registering operation essentially relates to the cooperation of the running belt 4 and the abutment means 3 which moves in contact with the smooth surface of belt 4 and at the same speed or velocity as the belt 4. The abutment means 3 includes, preferably, a conveyor belt or abutment belt 2 driven by drive pulley 5. Preferably, the conveyor belt 2 has a width approximately 20% of the width of belt 4 to save space and to prevent kinking of the belt 2.
The abutment means 3 is arranged with a controllable orientation so that its direction of movement forms an angle of less than 30°, and preferably less than 15°, with the direction of movement of belt 4, for example, an angle of 5°. An actuator 27 is mounted to frame 25 and is adapted for angularly displacing the abutment means 3 relative to the longitudinal direction of movement of the belt 4. The actuator 27 may include an hydraulic cylinder and piston assembly, an electric motor driven worm gear, or other displacement means which are well known to those skilled in the art. The actuator 27 is adapted to adjust the direction or positioning of the abutment means 3 so that the movement of belt 2 provides a suitable transverse velocity or displacement component for sheet 12 with respect to the moving direction of conveyor means 1.
A rotatable shaft 30 is mounted to frame 25 at generally end 24. Drive pulley 5 is mounted to shaft 30 and conveyor belt 2 is rotated by pulley 5.
Pulley 5 has a convex surface 32 which is contoured and radius chosen so that the running velocity of the belts 2 and 4 will be the same. This means that the velocity compartment of belt 2 in the direction of the movement of belt 4 is essentially equal to the speed of belt 4. Pulley 5 is driven by a drive transmission 14, as will be explained herein later. A second shaft 34 is rotatably mounted to frame 25, and spaced from and angularly disposed relative to shaft 30. Shaft 34 is, preferably, adjacent feed-in mechanism 8. Pulley 33 is mounted to shaft 34 and engages belt 2 in order to facilitate the advancement or rotation of belt 2. Actuator 27 is engageable with pulley 33 and is adapted for shifting or displacing pulley 33 transverse of the direction of movement of the belt 4. Shaft 34 is angularly disposed to approximate an arc for belt 2 pivoting on pulley 5.
The transverse shifting of pulley 33 on shaft 34 permits the angle with belt 4 to be adjusted to thereby permit orientation of sheets 12 in any number of selected positions. Actuator 27 is engageable with pulley 33 and is adapted for shifting pulley 33 to thereby effectuate displacement of the belt 2. The convex surface 32 of pulley 5 is uniquely adapted for confirming to the angular positioning of the belt 2 with the effect that the belt 2 pivots on the convex surface 32 as the pulley 33 is laterally shifted. The convex surface 32, therefore assures the continuous training of the belt 2 on its pulleys 5 and 33 while also assuring that belt 2 maintains proper velocity conformation with belt 4. Surface 32 serves to prevent kinking of the belt 12 as it is angularly repositioned.
An alignment plate 31 is disposed above belt 4, as best shown in FIG. 3, and adjacent belt 2. Plate 31 has an oblique side edge 29 which is adapted for engagement with side edge 26 of belt 2. The oblique edge 29 serves to ensure that the belt 2 runs in a well defined path and thereby serves to maintain the belt 2 in its proper orientation. An adjustment means 28 is mounted to frame 25 and is engageable with oblique plate 31. The adjustment means 28 cooperates with the actuator 27 so that shifting of pulley 36 causes associated shifting of alignment plate 31. The cooperation of the actuator 27 and means 28 serves to assure that the belt 2 will always be in its proper orientation. Consequently, shifting of the pulley 2 and the alignment plate 31 facilitates the proper registering of the sheets 12 and also permits accommodation when different sheets 12 are utilized. Consequently, the actuator 25 and means 28 permit the abutment means 3 to be utilized regardless of which of the many sheets or segments 12 is being transported by the belt 4.
The apparatus further includes flattening means 9 cooperating with the conveyor means 1 and the abutment means 3. The flattening means 9 consists of a driven conveyor belt or flattening belt 10 having a smooth outer surface. Belt 10 runs with its underside in the same direction as the upper side of belt 4 and at the same speed. A shaft 35 is rotatably mounted to frame 25 and is adapted for driving belt 10. The belt 10 is disposed above belt 4 and is adapted for bearing against the sheets 12, particularly the contact edge 13 thereof, and for maintaining the sheets 12 in the proper alignment. The belt 10 thereby prevents curling of the sheets 12.
The sheets 12, which are transported by the belt 4, are progressively advanced and have an edge 13 thereof engaging the side edge 37 of belt 2. The edge 13 is aligned with the side edge 37 of belt 2 at a desired angle of less than 30° with the direction of movement of the belt 4. The presence of the flattening belt 10 prevents the edges 13 from curling up against or under the edge 37 of the belt 2.
The belt 4, preferably, includes a plurality of holes or apertures 7 therethrough. An aspirator 15 is then connected to the frame 25 at the entrance section 24 of the sheets 12 between the belts 4 and 10 and is adapted for aspirating air through the holes 7 in order to urge the sheets 12 into contact with the belt 4. The aspirating effect of the aspirator 15 is sufficient, particularly in combination with the flattening belt 10, to maintain the sheets 12 in engagement with the belt 4 in a flat condition.
Guiding block 16 is disposed above flattening belt 10 and is adapted for engaging the flattening belt 10 when the belt 10 is lifted by aspiration of air through hose 39. The lifting of the belt 10 prevents the flattening belt 10 from hampering the sliding of the sheets 12 on belt 4 against the edge 37 of the belt 2. A suitable distance between the upper surface of the sheets 12 and the underside of the flattening belt 10 is at least 1 mm and, preferably, not more than 5 mm. A slight blowing action may be exerted at the take-over slip 17 by means of blower fan 18 in order to ensure a smooth take-over of the sheets 12 by the feed-in device 8 at the outlet end of the registering apparatus.
The assembly of flattening device 9, abutment device 3 and feed-in device 8 can be mounted in one frame which is then pivotally fixed to the frame 25 of conveyor 1 in pivots 19. The assembly can be lifted by handle 20. Lowering the frame causes gear 21 to engage driving gear 22. Driving gear 22 is coupled to driving motor pulley 23. It can be appreciated, therefore, that driving motor pulley 23 drives belt 4 and gear 22. Gear 22, which is engageable with gear 21, drives belt 10 and thereby also chain transmission 14 because of pulley 38 mounted to shaft 35 and chain 40 extending therebetween. Consequently, rotation or movement of the belt 10 causes a corresponding rotation of the belt 2 because of the chain transmission 14 stretching between pulley 38 of shaft 35 and pulley 41 of shaft 30.
It is possible to move the abutment means 3 back and forth in a direction transverse to the advancement direction of the conveyor means 1 because of the actuator 27 and adjustment means 28. The apparatus also permits a cessation in the advancement of the sheets 12 for a time interval even while the conveyor means 1 continues to move. This permits segments 12 to be placed in a holding pattern in the event of a malfunction downstream by the secondary processing units. The sheets 12 can be stopped by urging them against the smooth surface of the conveyor 4 by an appropriate action of the flattening belt 10. The smooth outer surface of the belt 4 facilitates this cessation of movement.
In some cases, the sheets 12 are secondarily treated after initial registering by a processing unit while sliding on the smooth surface of the conveyor means 1. The sheets 12 can be reregistered after a first processing and may be reprocessed by other processing units a number of times while they are on the smooth surface of the conveyor means 1. Preferably, the belts 4, 2 and 10 have a speed ranging from 5 to 30 meters per minute. The belt speed be e.g. maintained at approximately 15 meters per minute when the processing unit downstream is a seam sewing machine.
In another embodiment, the conveyor means 1 may be arranged to move back and forth cyclically between the place of deposition of the sheets 12 at the end 24 and the processing units. Preferably, this is in synchronization with the processing cycles of the various processing units.
The invention is not limited to the embodiment described above as it may be desirable, at least in some case, to replace the conveyor belts 4, 2 and 10 with a system using transportation plates having a smooth surface. The sheets 12 are then deposited one after the other onto the transportation plates which move back and forth between a position of receipt of the sheets 12 and a position of delivery of the sheets 12 to a feed-in device 8 for a processing unit. After deposition of the sheets 12 on the transportation plate 12, a flattening plate is brought over the transportation plate and moved with it to the delivery station. At the same time, abutment means, in the form of a lath suitably interposed between the transportation plates and the flattening plate and coupled to the transportation plate, moves in direction transverse to the transportation plate. This transverse movement forces the sheet 12 to slide on the transportation plate so as to align itself with at least one edge 13 against the abutment lath and so to register the sheet 12 during its transportation in the desired position for delivery to the processing unit.
Although this invention has been described as having a preferred design, it is understood that it is capable of further modifications, uses and/or adaptations of the invention following in general the principles 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, as may be applied to the central features hereinbefore set forth, and fall within the scope of the invention of the limits of the appended claims. | A process and apparatus for registering flexible sheets has a first conveyor belt with a smooth sheet contacting surface movably mounted to a frame. A movable abutment belt is mounted to said frame and juxtaposed with said conveyor belt. The conveyor belt and the abutment belt move at the same rate of speed so that a sheet deposited on said conveyor belt is engaged by and aligned with said abutment belt and is thereby registered during advancement between said inlet end and said outlet end. | 3 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a tower structure movable along and to be anchored relative to a floor track extending along one marginal portion of an area in which a vehicle is anchored having a frame, subframe or body portion to be straightened. The tower structure supports a hydraulically actuated pull arm therefrom for oscillation about an axis extending transversely of the pull arm and the tower and adjustably positionable along the latter and the tower structure includes a foot portion releasably engaged with the floor track and relative to which the tower structure may be angularly displaced about an upstanding axis. Tower structures including the general structural and operational features of the instant invention are classified in class 254, subclass 228.
2. Description of Related Art
Various different forms of pull towers including some of the general structural and operational features of the instant invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,492,855, 3,698,230, 3,796,084, 4,309,895, 4,475,716, 4,507,951 and British Patent No. 1,373,287.
However, these previously known forms of pull tower structures do not include all of the structural and operational features of the instant invention wherein the pull tower may be positioned longitudinally along a floor mounted track, anchored relative to the track against sliding movement therealong, angled with respect to a plane normal to the track and utilized to apply a horizontal or inclined pull between the tower structure and an associated vehicle frame, subframe or body component.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The swivel pull tower of the instant invention includes a base and an upright post extending upwardly from the base. The base includes foot structure for engagement with one longitudinal marginal edge of a track flange anchored relative to a vehicle repair area floor by bolts spaced along the flange, extending downwardly therethrough and anchored relative to the floor. The foot structure is mounted from the base of the tower for angular displacement about an upstanding axis relative to the tower and includes structure for engaging the track flange anchoring bolts in a manner to prevent sliding movement of the foot along the track flange. The upright includes a generally horizontal pull arm supported therefrom for angular displacement about a horizontal axis extending transversely of the pull arm and the upright and vertically adjustable along the latter. A hydraulic ram is operatively connected between the pull arm and the upright for shifting the pull arm longitudinally relative to the upright and one end of the pull arm includes first anchor structure selectively releasably engagable with links of an associated pull chain. In addition, the upright includes second anchor structure selectively releasably engageable with links of the associated pull chain.
The main object of this invention is to provide a pull tower for use in straightening vehicle body portions, subframe portions and frame portions with the lower end of the tower anchorable to selected longitudinally spaced portions of a floor mounted track flange.
Another object of this invention is to provide a pull tower having a foot portion releasably engageable with a corresponding track flange and relative to which the tower may be angularly displaced about a vertical axis.
A further object of this invention is to provide a pull tower in accordance with the preceding objects wherein the foot portion of the pull tower includes structure thereon abutingly engageable with anchor bolts spaced along and utilized to anchor the flange of the associated track to a floor area, whereby to prevent sliding movement of the foot portion along the track during a pull exerted by the tower at an angle relative to a plane normal to the track.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a pull tower having a pull arm supported therefrom for longitudinal shifting transversely of the tower and with one end of the pull arm including anchor structure for selectively releasably anchoring a pull chain link to the arm.
Another object of this invention is to provide a pull tower and pull arm assembly in accordance with the preceding objects and wherein second anchor structure is provided for releasably anchoring a selected pull chain link relative to the tower.
A final object of this invention to be specifically enumerated herein is to provide a height adjustable pull tower in accordance with the preceding objects and which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be of simple construction and easy to use so as to provide a device that will be economically feasible, longlasting and relatively troublefree in operation.
These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a typical installation of the pull tower of the instant invention;
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the assemblage shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane designated by the section line 3--3 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially upon the plane designated by the section line 4--4 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the first chain link anchor structure; and
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the second chain link anchor structure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now more specifically to the drawings the numeral 10 generally designates a typical repair shop floor defining an area 12 thereover in which a vehicle 11 may be stationarily anchored and a track 14 extends along one marginal portion of the area 12 and includes vertically offset upper and lower flanges 16 and 18 defining opposite side longitudinal marginal portions of the track 14. The flange 18 is downwardly abutted against the floor 10 and longitudinally spaced portions of the flange 16 are anchored relative to the floor 10 through the utilization of upstanding threaded studs 20 having their lower ends anchored relative to the floor 10 and their upper ends secured through openings provided therefor in the flange 16 by the utilization of nuts 22. The studs 20 and the corresponding openings in the flange 16 are spaced apart longitudinally of the latter approximately 12 inches. In addition, upstanding flange members 24 are disposed lengthwise transversely of the flange 16 beneath the latter on opposite sides of each stud 20 and provide backing for the flange 16 on opposite sides of each nut 22.
The swivel pull tower of the instant invention is referred to in general by the reference numeral 26 and includes a horizontally elongated base member 28 and a tubular upright 30 having its lower end anchored relative to a first end portion 32 of the base member 28. The upright 30 is braced relative to the base member 28 through the utilization of an inclined brace 34 extending and secured between the second end portion 36 of the base member 28 and the front or inner side 38 of the upright 30. The first end portion 32 of the base member 28 projects outwardly beyond the rear side 40 of the upright 30 and has a vertical bore 41 formed therethrough. The tower 26 includes a foot assembly referred to in general by the reference numeral 42 and the foot assembly includes an angle member 44 including a horizontal flange 46 and a vertical flange 48. The foot assembly 42 additionally includes an upstanding threaded shank 50 laterally abutted against and secured to the vertical flange 48 centrally intermediate the opposite ends of the angle member 44 and the shank lower end is secured to the horizontal flange 46 and a pair of upstanding plates 52 paralleling the vertical flange 48 have their lower ends anchored relative to the horizontal flange 46 and spaced apart opposing edges abutted against and secured to the side of the shank 50 remote from the vertical flange 48, the plates 52 being spaced apart and extending longitudinally of the angle member 44.
A bearing plate 54 has an opening formed therethrough upwardly through which the shank 50 is received and the upper edges of the plates 52 and the vertical flange 48 are coextensive and abutted by and secured to the underside of the bearing plate 54.
The approximate mid-height portions of the plates 52 include horizontally outwardly projecting abutment plates 56 supported therefrom and spaced longitudinally apart along the angle member 44. The upper end of the shank 50 is rotatably received through the bore 41 in the first end portion 32 of the base member 28 and secured therethrough by a threaded nut 58. The underside of the base member 28 bears against the upper surface of the bearing plate 54 and the base member 28 may pivot relative to the foot assembly including the bearing plate 54 about the center axis of the shank 50.
The horizontal flange 46 of the foot assembly 42 may be hooked beneath the free longitudinal edge of the flange 16 with the abutment plates 56 disposed above the flange 16 and embracingly receiving a selected nut 40 therebetween. The foot assembly 42 extends along the flange 16 approximately 6 inches and the studs 20 are spaced apart at approximately one foot intervals along the track 14. Thus, the foot assembly 42 also may be disposed between adjacent studs 20 with the side of one abutment flange 56 remote from the other abutment flange 56 abutted against a nut 22.
The opposite side plates 60 of the upright 30 have registered vertically spaced bores 62 formed therethrough and an elongated guide 58 is provided and incorporates a pair of short opposite side plates 64 disposed on opposite sides of the upright 30 and including one set of corresponding ends 66 interconnected by a transverse connecting plate 68 extending and secured therebetween and having a central circular opening 70 formed therethrough. The other set of corresponding ends 72 of the plates 64 have a short length of pipe 74 loosely extending therebetween and one side of the pipe 74 includes a lateral projection 76 centrally intermediate the opposite ends of the pipe 74 for a purpose to be hereinafter more fully set forth. The upper marginal edges of the plates 64 include opposite side bars 78 secured thereto and extending therealong and the rear or outer ends 80 of the bars 78 curve upwardly and have a transverse pin 82 extending and secured therebetween. The free end of the extendable piston portion 84 of a shock absorber 86 is anchored relative to the longitudinal center of the pin 82 and the cylinder portion 88 of the shock absorber 86 is anchored relative to an upper extension 90 of a rear Plate 92 comprising the rear extremity of a pull arm assembly referred to in general by the reference numeral 94. The lower marginal edges of the plates 64 include opposite side bars 96 secured thereto and extending therealong and the rear or outer ends of the bars 96 project rearward of the plates 64 and have a transverse pin 98 extending and secured therebetween including a laterally offset midportion 100 to which one end of a coiled expansion spring 102 is anchored, the other end of the expansion spring 102 being anchored relative to the central portion of the lower marginal edge of the rear plate 92.
The forward or inner end portions of the plates 64 include a pair of upper and lower pins 104 and 106 extending and secured therebetween and an anchor plate 108 is vertically slidable between the plate 68 and the upper and lower pins 104 and 106. The anchor plate 108 includes a keyhole-shaped opening 110 formed therein and an abutment tab 111 abuttingly engageable with the pins 104 and 106 to limit upward and downward shifting of the plate 108.
The pull arm assembly 94 includes a pair of opposite side plates 112 having longitudinal slots 114 formed therein and the rear ends of the plates 112 are interconnected by the rear plate 92. The forward ends of the plates 112 are interconnected by a front plate 116 having a central cylindrical opening 118 formed therein and a pair of opposite side anchor Plates 120 are pivotally supported from the front end of the pull arm assembly 94 immediately inward of the front plate 116. The anchor plates 120 are swingable to closed positions tightly abutted against the inner side of the front plate 16 with the free marginal edges of the anchor plates 120 closely spaced apart to define a narrow slot therebetween and open positions with the free swinging edges of the plates 120 swung inwardly away from the front plate 116 to define a wider slot therebetween. An actuating lever 122 is carried by one of the plates 120 and is operatively connected to a crank arm 124 carried by the other plate 120 through the utilization of a connecting link 126. In addition, an expansion spring 128 is operatively connected between the crank arm 124 and the distant side plate of the pull arm assembly 94, whereby the plates 120 are yieldingly biased toward their closed positions defining a narrow slot therebetween.
The upper end of the upright 30 is closed by a top plate 130 supporting a winch assembly 132 thereabove. The winch assembly 132 includes axially spaced winding drums 134 on opposite sides of the upright 30 and each of the winding drums 134 has one end of a cable 136 secured thereto for winding thereon and the other ends of the cables 136 are anchored relative to anchor members 138 carried by the longitudinal midportions of the bars 78.
The plates 64 include central openings 140 formed therethrough registered with the slots 114 and registrable with a corresponding pair of bores 62. A latch and pivot pin 142 is insertable through the slots 114, the openings 140 and a selected pair of bores 62 in order to maintain the pull arm assembly 94 in adjusted position vertically along the upright 30.
The cylinder portion 146 of a hydraulic ram referred to in general by the reference numeral 148 has its base end anchored relative to the rear plate 92 through the utilization of fasteners 150 and the ram 148 includes an extendable piston portion 152 whose free end includes an endwise outwardly opening recess 154 in which the projection 76 is secured. A pin 156 extends through the pipe 74, corresponding openings 140 provided therefor in the plates 64 and also through the slots 114. The opposite ends of the pin 156 are secured through the slots 114 by washers 158 and cotter pins 160.
In operation, the foot assembly 42 of the swivel pull tower 26 is engaged with a selected longitudinally spaced portion of the flange 16 of the track 14 with the abutment plates 56 embracingly engaging a selected nut 22 therebetween. Inasmuch as the foot assembly 42, during operation of the tower 26, will be pulled into tight seated engagement with the outer longitudinal edge of the flange 16 and the plates 56 are disposed on opposite sides of a corresponding nut 22, the foot assembly 42 will be prevented from shifting longitudinally of the track 14. The upright 30 and base member 28 may then be angularly displaced as desired in order to effect a pull on a vehicle portion disposed in the area 12 with the direction of pull inclined relative to a vertical plane disposed normal to the track 14. The free end of a chain section 180 may be anchored relative to the vehicle portion upon which a pull is to be exerted and the other end of the chain section 180 may have a vertically disposed link 182 thereof passing through the opening 118 and snugly received through the narrow slot defined between the adjacent edges of the plates 120 when the latter are in their closed positions. Then, the hydraulic ram 148 may be actuated to extend the piston portion 152 and the pipe 74 will exert a push on the rear or outer side 40 of the upright 30. This will cause rearward movement of the pull arm assembly 94 and exert a pull on the chain section 180. When the ram 148 has been fully extended, the end of the chain section 180 adjacent the upright 30 may be pulled through the wider upper portion of the keyhole-shaped opening 110 formed in the plate 108. Then, with an upward pull exerted on the bale 184 carried by the plate 108 the hydraulic pressure on the ram 148 may be slowly released until the abutment plates 120 close and the plate 108 may be upwardly shifted to engage the narrow portion of the keyhole-shaped opening 110 about a vertically disposed link 182 of the chain section 180. Thereafter, further release of hydraulic pressure to the ram 148 will allow the expansion spring 102 to collapse the ram 148 and the pull arm assembly 94 may move in a forward direction along the tensioned chain section and the plates 120 will automatically be swung to the open position to allow the pull arm assembly 94 to move along the tensioned chain section. When the ram 148 is fully retracted, it may again be actuated toward an extended position and the plates 120 will subsequently swing to the closed positions, automatically, and engage a horizontal link 182 of the chain section 180 and exert a further pull on the chain section 180. At this time, that portion of the chain anchored relative to the plate 108 will become slack and the plate 108 will automatically slide, by gravity, to the lower position thereby enabling the end of the chain section 108 to slide through the circular opening 70 and the wider upper circular opening portion of the opening 110 formed in the plate 108. This process may be repeated until the desired pull on the associated vehicle portion is accomplished.
During extension of the hydraulic ram 148 the pipe 74 bears against the rear or outer side 40 of the upright 30 in order to longitudinally shift the pull arm assembly 94 in a rearward direction relative to the upright 30.
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. | An elongated horizontal base is provided including inner and outer ends and a depending foot assembly is carried by the outer end and supported therefrom for angular displacement relative to the base about an upstanding axis. The foot assembly is adapted for anchoring in a stationary position relative to a floor area above which a vehicle having a body, subframe or frame portion to be straightened may be stationarily positioned and an upright projects upwardly from the base outer end and has a horizontally elongated pull arm pivotally supported therefrom for angular displacement about a horizontal axis extending transversely of the upright, base and pull arm. The axis is centrally spaced between the opposite ends of the pull arm and the latter is mounted for guided longitudinal shifting relative to the axis. The forced structure is operatively connected between the pull arm and the upright for longitudinally shifting the pull arm in a direction displacing the inner end toward the upright and the inner end includes chain section link anchoring means. | 8 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an active matrix display device having an active matrix display portion which is structure by formation of a thin film transistor (hereinafter, referred to as a TFT) over a substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, display devices typified by a liquid crystal display device and a light-emitting device have been known as active matrix display devices using active elements such as TFTs. In these active matrix display devices, pixel density can be increased. In addition, the active matrix display devices are small and lightweight, and consume low power. Accordingly, products using active matrix display devices such as a monitor for a computer, a television, and a monitor for a car navigation system have been developed as one of flat panel displays in substitution for a CRT display.
In addition, each of these active matrix display devices has a structure including an active matrix substrate. For example, in a case of a liquid crystal display device, display is performed in the following manner: a substrate (an active matrix substrate) provided with a pixel portion including a first electrode (a pixel electrode) and the like in addition to a plurality of TFTs and wirings and a substrate (an opposite substrate) provided with a second electrode (an opposite electrode), a light-shielding film (a black matrix), a colored film (a color filter), and the like are attached to each other; a space between these substrates is filled and sealed with a liquid crystal material; and liquid crystal molecules are oriented by an electric field which is applied between the pixel electrode and the opposite electrode to control the amount of light from a light source.
Note that, in the active matrix substrate, the wirings (a source line, a gate line, a storage capacitor line, and the like) formed in the pixel portion are electrically connected to lead wirings (also referred to as a common line, a ground line, or a ground line) which are formed in the periphery of the pixel portion in order to secure a function and an optimum layout of the active matrix substrate. Conventionally, these lead wirings have an advantage that the manufacturing process can be simplified because the lead wirings can be manufactured in the same process with the use of the same conductive material as the component formed in the pixel portion.
However, these lead wirings are long in length and wiring resistance thereof is increased even with the use of a low-resistant metal. Therefore, as compared with the wirings of the pixel portion, it is necessary to increase the width of the lead wirings. However, in order to increase the width of the lead wirings, there has been a problem that the area of a frame portion (a peripheral region over the substrate other than the pixel portion) is increased.
In downsizing the display device, it is important to narrow a frame thereof in order to form a panel having a large display region, and various attempts have been made (for example, see Patent Document 1: Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2000-187237).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a display device where expansion of a frame portion over a substrate, which results from formation of a lead wiring over an active matrix substrate, is minimized to realize a narrow frame.
According to one feature of a display device of the present invention, a chamfer portion is formed at least at an end portion of an active matrix substrate having a pixel portion of a pair of substrates disposed to be opposed to each other, and wirings (a source line, a gate line, a storage capacitor line, a leading out wiring, and the like) over the active matrix substrate are electrically connected by a common wiring formed in the chamfer portion.
According to a specific structure relating to the display device of the present invention, a display device includes at least a pair of substrates disposed to be opposed to each other; a wiring formed up to the end portion of an opposite surface of one of the pair of substrates; a chamfer portion formed at the end portion of the substrate where the wiring is formed; and a common wiring formed in the chamfer portion and vicinity thereof. In the display device, the wiring is electrically connected to the common wiring in the chamfer portion or vicinity thereof.
According to another structure relating to the display device of the present invention, a display device includes at least a pair of substrates each having a different area disposed to be opposed to each other; a chamfer portion, which is at the end portion of the opposite surface of the substrate having a larger area of the pair of substrates, formed in a position where the substrate having a smaller area is not overlapped; a wiring formed up to vicinity of the chamfer portion; and a common wiring formed in the chamfer portion and vicinity thereof. In the display device, the wiring is electrically connected to the common wiring in the chamfer portion or vicinity thereof.
According to another structure relating to the display device of the present invention, a display device includes at least a pair of substrates disposed to be opposed to each other; a plurality of thin film transistors formed over an opposite surface of one of the pair of substrates; a wiring electrically connected to at least one of the plurality of thin film transistors; a chamfer portion formed at the end portion of the substrate where the plurality of thin film transistors and the wiring are formed; and a common wiring fondled in the chamfer portion and vicinity thereof. In the display device, the wiring is electrically connected to the common wiring in the chamfer portion or vicinity thereof.
According to another structure relating to the display device of the present invention, a display device includes at least a pair of substrates disposed to be opposed to each other; a plurality of thin film transistors formed over an opposite surface of one of the pair of substrates; a source line electrically connected to at least one of the plurality of thin film transistors; a leading out wiring electrically connected to an external circuit; a chamfer portion formed at the end portion of the substrate where the plurality of thin film transistors, the source line, and the leading out wiring are formed; and a common wiring formed in the chamfer portion and vicinity thereof. In the display device, the source line and the leading out wiring are electrically connected to the common wiring in the chamfer portion or vicinity thereof.
Note that, in each of the above structures, the common wiring is formed to include a conductive material containing at least one of Ag, Au, Cu, Ni, Pt, Pd, Ir, Rh, W, Al, Ta, Mo, Cd, Zn, Fe, Ti, Si, Ge, Zr, Ba, and Nd, or indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO), which is a transparent conductive film.
In the present invention, a display device refers to a device using a liquid crystal element or a light-emitting element, namely, an image display device. In addition, the following are all included in a display device: a module in which a connector, for example, an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit), a TAB (Tape Automated Bonding) tape, or a TCP (Tape Carrier Package) is attached to a display panel (a liquid crystal display panel or a light-emitting panel); a module provided with a printed wiring board at the end of a TAB tape or a TCP; and a module in which an IC (integrated circuit) or a CPU (central processing unit) is directly mounted on a display panel by a COG (chip on glass) method.
A narrow frame of a display panel can be realized because a common wiring can be formed in the end portion of the substrate in substitution for a lead wiring over an active matrix substrate so that expansion of a frame portion over the substrate can minimally be suppressed by implementation of the present invention. In addition, the common wiring of the present invention can be formed thick in film thickness in its manufacturing; therefore, it is possible to reduce wiring resistance thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings:
FIG. 1 is a view explaining a structure of the present invention;
FIGS. 2A to 2F are views each explaining a manufacturing method of a display panel of the present invention;
FIGS. 3A and 3B are views each explaining the structure of a display panel of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a view explaining a structure of the present invention;
FIGS. 5A to 5E are views each explaining a manufacturing method of a display panel of the present invention;
FIGS. 6A and 6B are views each explaining a manufacturing method of a display panel of the present invention;
FIGS. 7A to 7E are views each explaining a manufacturing method of an active matrix substrate of the present invention;
FIGS. 8A to 8D are views each explaining a manufacturing method of an active matrix substrate of the present invention;
FIGS. 9A and 9B are views each explaining a display panel of the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a view explaining a module of the present invention; and
FIGS. 11A to 11E are views each explaining an electronic device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiment modes of the present invention will be explained hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be easily understood that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, unless such changes and modifications depart from the purpose and the scope of the present invention, they should be construed as being included therein.
Embodiment Mode 1
This embodiment mode will explain a liquid crystal panel used for a liquid crystal display device as an example of a display panel used for a display device. Specifically, a liquid crystal material is sandwiched between an active matrix substrate and an opposite substrate by a One Drop Filling (ODF) method. After attaching the both substrates, an element forming surface side of the end portion of the active matrix substrate is chamfered, a common wiring is formed in a chamfer portion or the like, and wirings (a source line, a gate line, a storage capacitor line, a leading out wiring, and the like) formed over the active matrix substrate are electrically connected by the common wiring. A case having such a structure will be explained. Note that the leading out wiring is an extracted portion of the source line, a gate line, the storage capacitor line, or the like, which is formed outside the pixel portion, and which connects the pixel portion and an external circuit.
FIG. 1 shows a cross section of the end portion of a liquid crystal panel where a liquid crystal material 103 is sandwiched between an active matrix substrate 101 and an opposite substrate 102 and the both substrates are attached to each other with a sealant 104 . Note that, although not shown here, over a surface (an opposite surface) of the active matrix substrate 101 where the opposite substrate 102 is disposed, a wiring (a leading out wiring) or the like used so as to be connected to an external driver circuit or the like is formed, in addition to a plurality of pixel electrodes, a plurality of elements such as thin film transistors (TFTs) that form a pixel portion, and a plurality of wirings (a source line, a gate line, a storage capacitor line, and the like). The plurality of elements such as TFTs is electrically connected to the pixel electrode or the wirings (a source line, a gate line, a storage capacitor line, and the like).
Thus, a wiring 105 shown in FIG. 1 shows the wirings (a source line, a gate line, a storage capacitor line, and the like) that is electrically connected to the elements such as TFTs that form the pixel portion, or the wiring (a leading out wiring) used so as to be connected to an external driver circuit or the like. The wiring 105 is formed up to the end portion of the active matrix substrate 101 .
In the case of Embodiment Mode 1, the area of the opposite substrate 102 is smaller than that of the active matrix substrate 101 and there is a portion where the opposite substrate 102 is not overlapped over the active matrix substrate 101 in attaching the active matrix substrate and the opposite substrate. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1 , the end portion of the active matrix substrate 101 can be chamfered. Note that, in order to easily form an auxiliary electrode, which will be formed later, the end portion of the surface of the opposite substrate 102 , which is opposite to the surface where the active matrix substrate 101 is disposed, may be chamfered as well.
In addition, a common wiring 107 formed of a conductive material is formed in the chamfered portion (hereinafter, referred to as a chamfer portion 106 ). Note that the common wiring 107 is formed so as to be electrically connected to the wiring 105 over the active matrix substrate 101 in a connection portion 108 .
The common wiring 107 is formed in the chamfer portion 106 as described above; therefore, the wiring pattern formed over the active matrix substrate can have a minimum shape. Accordingly, the area of a peripheral portion other than the pixel portion over the substrate can be made smaller than the conventional one (that is, a frame can be narrowed).
Here, a specific manufacturing method of the liquid crystal panel shown in FIG. 1 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2F and FIGS. 3A and 3B . Note that the common reference numerals are used in FIGS. 2A to 2F and FIGS. 3A and 3B .
First, as shown in FIG. 2A , a plurality of active matrix substrates 203 are formed over a first substrate 201 , and the periphery of a pixel portion 204 of each active matrix substrate is coated with a sealant 205 . Then, after dropping a liquid crystal material 206 onto the region surrounded with the sealant 205 , a second substrate 202 , where a plurality of opposite substrates 207 are formed, is attached to the first substrate 201 ( FIG. 2B ).
Note that a known liquid crystal material can be used as the liquid crystal material 206 which is used here.
Next, a liquid crystal panel shown in FIG. 2C is obtained after separation of the attached substrates in accordance with dotted lines of FIG. 2B . Note that the liquid crystal panel shown in FIG. 2C has a structure where the active matrix substrate 203 and the opposite substrate 207 are attached with the sealant 205 .
Then, only the opposite substrate 207 is separated from the separated liquid crystal panel in accordance with a dotted line of FIG. 2C to obtain a structure shown in FIG. 2D . The area of an opposite substrate 208 that is obtained in such a manner gets smaller than that of the active matrix substrate 203 . In the liquid crystal panel shown in FIG. 2D , a connection portion to a driver circuit is formed on two sides denoted by reference numeral 209 , and a chamfer portion is formed on the other two sides denoted by reference numeral 210 in order to form a common wiring. Note that a chamfer portion may also be formed on the sides where the connection portion to a driver circuit is formed.
Specifically, the sizes of the active matrix substrate and the opposite substrate are preferably made to be those shown in FIG. 3A . In other words, in FIG. 3A , a region a ( 209 ) including two sides where the connection portion to the driver circuit is formed is to be provided with a distance (a) from the opposite substrate 208 to the end portion of the active matrix substrate 203 , and a region b ( 210 ) including the other two sides where the connection portion to the driver circuit is not formed is to be provided with a distance (b) from the opposite substrate 208 to the end portion of the active matrix substrate 203 . Note that, in this case, the relation between the distances (a) and (b) satisfies the distance (a)>the distance (b).
In addition, FIG. 3B shows a state where a chamfer portion 212 is formed in the region b ( 210 ) of the liquid crystal panel shown in FIG. 3A , and FIG. 2E shows a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A′ of FIG. 3B . Note that, in order to form the chamfer portion 212 , a known method, for example, grinding with the use of a grindstone such as diamond or chamfer using a laser can be used. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 2E , in the present invention, the shape of the chamfer portion 212 has an angle (θ), where a flat surface of a substrate and a flat surface where the chamfer portion 212 is formed are intersected, to be a chamfer angle, and the chamfer angle (θ) may satisfy 0°<θ<90° or may have a shape having a curved surface (an R surface).
Moreover, in forming the chamfer portion 212 , first, part of wirings 211 which are formed up to the end portion of the active matrix substrate 203 is chamfered along with the end portion of the active matrix substrate 203 . However, in order to electrically connect a common wiring formed in the subsequent step to the wiring 211 , it is necessary to leave part of the wirings 211 between the chamfer portion 212 and the end portion of the opposite substrate 208 .
Then, by forming common wiring 214 in a portion shown by a region c ( 213 ) of FIG. 3B , all of the wirings 211 formed over the active matrix substrate 203 can be connected electrically.
Note that, as the manufacturing method of the common wiring 214 , sputtering, evaporation, droplet discharging, PVD, CVD, coating, or the like can be used, and as the conductive material used to form the common wiring 214 , for example, a metal element such as Ag, Au, Cu, Ni, Pt, Pd, Ir, Rh, W, Al, Ta, Mo, Cd, Zn, Fe, Ti, Si, Ge, Zr, Ba, or Nd, an alloy material containing the metal element as its main component, a compound material such as metal nitride containing the metal element, or a conductive material using a plurality thereof can be used. With the use of these conductive materials, the wiring resistance can be reduced.
In addition, indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO) formed by using a target in which zinc oxide (ZnO) of 2 to 20 wt % is further mixed with indium oxide containing silicon oxide, or the like, which is used as a transparent conductive film, can also be used. In the case of using these materials, a light-transmitting wiring can be formed, which is effective in increasing an aperture ratio of a pixel portion.
Moreover, in the present invention, a conductive material for forming the common wiring 214 can be formed partially or entirely provided for the opposite substrate 208 depending on a structure of a liquid crystal panel or a property of the conductive material. In particular, in a case of an IPS (In-Plain Switching) mode liquid crystal panel, it is preferable to form the common wiring 214 so as to entirely cover the upper surface of the opposite substrate 208 .
Note that FIG. 2F shows a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A′ of FIG. 3B , in which the common wiring 214 is formed. As shown in FIG. 2F , the wiring 211 is electrically connected to the common wiring 214 in a connection portion 215 .
Through the above, the chamfer portion is formed at the end portion of the active matrix substrate, and the common wirings, which electrically connect the wirings formed in the pixel portion or the like, are formed in the chamfer portion. Accordingly, the area of the wirings conventionally led to the peripheries of pixels can be reduced; therefore, a frame of the liquid crystal panel can be narrowed.
Embodiment Mode 2
This embodiment mode will explain a liquid crystal panel used for a liquid crystal display device as an example of a display panel used for a display device. Specifically, after attaching an active matrix substrate, an element forming surface side of the end portion which is chamfered in advance, to an opposite substrate, a liquid crystal material is sandwiched between the both substrates, a common wiring is formed in a chamfer portion or the like, and wirings (a source line, a gate line, a storage capacitor line, a leading out wiring, and the like) formed over the active matrix substrate are electrically connected by the common wiring. A case having such a structure will be explained.
FIG. 4 shows a cross section of the end portion of a liquid crystal panel formed by being injected with a liquid crystal material 403 after attaching an active matrix substrate 401 , which is chamfered in advance, and an opposite substrate 402 to each other with a sealant 404 . Note that, although not shown here, over a surface (an opposite surface) of the active matrix substrate 401 where the opposite substrate 402 is disposed, a wiring (a leading out wiring) or the like used so as to be connected to an external driver circuit or the like is formed, in addition to a plurality of pixel electrodes, a plurality of elements such as thin film transistors (TFTs) that form a pixel portion, and a plurality of wirings (a source line, a gate line, a storage capacitor line, and the like). The plurality of elements such as TFTs is electrically connected to the pixel electrode or the wirings (a source line, a gate line, a storage capacitor line, and the like).
Thus, a wiring 405 shown in FIG. 4 shows the wirings (a source line, a gate line, a storage capacitor line, and the like) that is electrically connected to the elements such as TFTs that form the pixel portion, or the wiring (a leading out wiring) used so as to be connected to an external driver circuit or the like. The wiring 405 is formed up to the end portion of the active matrix substrate 401 .
In the case of Embodiment Mode 2, the case is shown, where the chamfer portion is formed at each end portion of the surfaces of the active matrix substrate 401 and the opposite substrate 402 facing to each other. However, it is not always necessary to form chamfer portions at the end portions of the both substrates, and a chamfer portion may be formed at least at the end portion of the active matrix substrate 401 .
In addition, a common wiring 407 formed of a conductive material is formed in the chamfered portion (hereinafter, referred to as a chamfer portion 406 ). Note that the common wiring 407 is formed so as to be electrically connected to the wiring 405 over the active matrix substrate 401 in a connection portion 408 .
The common wiring 407 is formed in the chamfer portion 406 as described above; therefore, the wiring pattern formed over the active matrix substrate can have a minimum shape. Accordingly, the area of a peripheral portion other than the pixel portion over the substrate can be made smaller than the conventional one (that is, a frame can be narrowed).
Here, a specific manufacturing method of the liquid crystal panel shown in FIG. 4 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5E and FIGS. 6A and 6B . Note that the common reference numerals are used in FIGS. 5A to 5E and FIGS. 6A and 6B .
First, as shown in FIG. 5A , a plurality of active matrix substrates are formed over a first substrate 501 , and after the separation of these active matrix substrates, a plurality of active matrix substrates 503 are obtained. Note that FIG. 6A shows the first substrate 501 in detail. In addition, the first substrate 501 is separated like a dotted line shown in FIG. 6A to obtain a plurality of active matrix substrates 503 shown in FIG. 6B .
In addition, a plurality of opposite substrates are formed over a second substrate 502 , and after the separation of these opposite substrates, a plurality of opposite substrates 504 are obtained. Note that the opposite substrates 504 are separated so as to have a smaller area than that of the active matrix substrate. Then, each end portion of the active matrix substrate 503 and the opposite substrate 504 is chamfered to obtain an active matrix substrate 503 a having a chamfer portion 505 and an opposite substrate 504 a having a chamfer portion 506 . Note that, in order to form the chamfer portions ( 505 and 506 ), a known method, for example, grinding with the use of a grindstone such as diamond or chamfer using a laser can be used. Note that, as with the explanation in Embodiment Mode 1, the shape of the chamfer portions ( 505 and 506 ) of the case of this embodiment mode also has an angle (θ), where a flat surface of a substrate and a flat surface where the chamfer portions ( 505 and 506 ) are formed are intersected, to be a chamfer angle, and the chamfer angle (θ) may satisfy 0°<θ<90° or may have a shape having a curved surface (an R surface).
Moreover, in forming the chamfer portion 505 , first, part of wirings 511 which are formed up to the end portion of the active matrix substrate 503 is chamfered along with the end portion of the active matrix substrate 503 .
In Embodiment Mode 2, since a connection portion to a driver circuit is formed on two sides of the active matrix substrate 503 , the chamfer portions are each formed on the other two sides of the active matrix substrate 503 and two sides of the opposite substrate corresponding thereto.
Next, the active matrix substrate 503 a and the opposite substrate 504 a are attached to each other with a sealant 507 ( FIG. 5B ). Note that the sealant 507 surrounds the pixel portion of the active matrix substrate 503 a so that an inlet is formed, and the both substrates are disposed so that each of the chamfer portions ( 505 and 506 ) faces inside.
Also in the case of Embodiment Mode 2 as in the case of Embodiment Mode 1, in a region c ( 508 ) including two sides where the connection portion to the driver circuit is formed, a distance (a)>0 from the opposite substrate 504 a to the end portion of the active matrix substrate 503 a is provided. Note that a region d ( 509 ) including the other two sides where the chamfer portion is formed is not to be provided with a distance from the opposite substrate 504 a to the end portion of the active matrix substrate 503 a.
Then, as shown in FIG. 5C , a liquid crystal material 510 is injected between the attached both substrates (the active matrix substrate 503 a and the opposite substrate 504 a ), and a liquid crystal panel is obtained by sealing of the inlet. Note that, as the liquid crystal material 510 which is used here, a known liquid crystal material can be used.
In addition, FIG. 5D shows a cross-sectional view of the region d ( 509 ) of the liquid crystal panel after the liquid crystal injection. In the chamfer portion 505 , part of the wirings 511 , which is formed beforehand over the active matrix substrate 503 a , is chamfered along with the end portion of the active matrix substrate 503 a . With such a structure, a common wiring 512 formed that will be formed in the subsequent step and the wiring 511 can be electrically connected easily.
Then, as shown in FIG. 5E , the wirings 511 formed over the active matrix substrate 503 a can be electrically connected by formation of the common wiring 512 . Note that, as the manufacturing method of the common wiring 512 in the case of Embodiment Mode 2, a coating method is preferably used in terms of favorable processing workability in consideration of a place where the chamfer portion is formed or the like, and as the material used to form the common wiring 512 , a conductive paste material, for example, a conductive paste material such as a metal element such as Ag, Au, Cu, Ni, Pt, Pd, Ir, Rh, W, Al, Ta, Mo, Cd, Zn, Fe, Ti, Si, Ge, Zr, Ba, or Nd, or an alloy material containing the metal element as its main component is preferably used.
After attaching the active matrix substrate, an element forming surface side of the end portion which is chamfered in advance, to the opposite substrate, a liquid crystal material is sandwiched between the both substrates with the use of a liquid crystal injection method, and the common wiring is formed in the chamfer portion or the like. Embodiment Mode 2 explains such a case; however, a method (ODF) for attaching the active matrix substrate, an element forming surface side of the end portion which is chamfered in advance, to the opposite substrate can be used after sandwich of the liquid crystal material between the both substrates.
Through the above, the chamfer portion is formed at the end portion of the active matrix substrate, and the common wirings, which electrically connect the wirings formed in the pixel portion or the like, are formed in the chamfer portion. Accordingly, the area of the wirings conventionally led to the peripheries of pixels can be reduced; therefore, a frame of the liquid crystal panel can be narrowed.
Embodiment Mode 3
As the manufacturing method of the active matrix substrate that can be used for Embodiment Mode 1 or 2, this embodiment mode will particularly explain a manufacturing method of an amorphous silicon thin film transistor (TFT) and a pixel electrode formed in a pixel portion (reference numeral 204 of FIG. 3B and reference numeral 513 of FIGS. 6A and 6B ) over an active matrix substrate, with reference to FIGS. 7A to 7E and FIGS. 8A to 8D . Note that explanation will be given in FIGS. 7A to 7E and FIGS. 8A to 8D with the common reference numerals.
As shown in FIG. 7A , a first conductive film 702 is formed over a substrate 701 . The first conductive film 702 can be formed using a film formation method such as sputtering, PVD, CVD, droplet discharging, printing, or electroplating. As the material that is used to form the first conductive film 702 , for example, a metal element such as Ag, Au, Cu, Ni, Pt, Pd, Ir, Rh, W, Al, Ta, Mo, Cd, Zn, Fe, Ti, Si, Ge, Zr, Ba, or Nd, an alloy material containing the metal element as its main component, a compound material such as metal nitride containing the metal element, or a material using a plurality thereof can be used. Since these materials are a low-resistant conductive material, the wiring resistance can be reduced.
In addition, as the material used to form the first conductive film 702 , indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO) formed by using a target in which zinc oxide (ZnO) of 2 to 20 wt % is further mixed with indium oxide containing silicon oxide, or the like, which is used as a transparent conductive film, can also be used. In the case of using these materials, a light-transmitting wiring can be formed, which is effective in increasing an aperture ratio of a pixel portion.
A glass substrate, a quartz substrate, a substrate formed from an insulating substance such as ceramic such as alumina, a plastic substrate, a silicon wafer, a metal plate, or the like can be used for the substrate 701 .
Although not shown here, in order to prevent an impurity from mixing into a semiconductor film or the like from the substrate 701 , a blocking film such as a silicon nitride film, a silicon oxide film, a silicon nitride oxide film, or a stacked film thereof may be formed over the substrate 701 .
Next, a gate electrode 703 and a gate line 704 are formed by patterning of a first conductive film 702 ( FIG. 7B ). In a case where the first conductive film 702 is formed by a film formation method such as sputtering or CVD, a mask is formed over the conductive film by droplet discharging, a photolithography step, exposure of a photosensitive material using a laser beam direct drawing apparatus and development, or the like. Then, the conductive film is patterned into a desired shape using the mask.
Since the pattern can be directly formed when a droplet discharging method is used, the gate electrode 703 and the gate line 704 are formed by discharging and heating a liquid substance in which the above metal particles are dissolved or dispersed in an organic resin from an outlet (hereinafter, referred to as a nozzle). The organic resin may be one or more kinds of organic resins serving as a binder, solvent, a dispersing agent, and a coating agent of metal particles. Typically, polyimide, acrylic, a novolac resin, a melamine resin, a phenol resin, an epoxy resin, a silicon resin, a furan resin, a diallyl phthalate resin, and other known organic resins are given.
Note that the viscosity of the liquid substance is preferably 5 to 20 mPa·s for preventing drying and for allowing the metal particles to be discharged smoothly from the outlet. The surface tension of the liquid substance is preferably 40 mN/m or less. Note that the viscosity and the like of the liquid substance may be set appropriately in accordance with a solvent to be used or the application.
Although the diameter of the metal particle contained in the liquid substance may be several nm to 10 μm, it is preferably as small as possible in order to prevent a nozzle from clogging and to make high-resolution patterns. Much preferably, each metal particle has a grain diameter of 0.1 μm or less.
Then, an insulating film 705 is formed. The insulating film 705 is formed to have a single layer structure or a stacked layer structure of a silicon oxide film, a silicon nitride film, a silicon oxynitride film, a silicon nitride oxide film, other insulating films containing silicon, or the like by a film formation method such as CVD or sputtering. A thickness of the insulating film 705 is preferably 300 to 500 nm, and much preferably 350 to 480 nm.
Next, a first semiconductor film 706 is formed. The first semiconductor film 706 can be formed by a film formation method such as CVD or sputtering. The first semiconductor film 706 can be formed using any of an amorphous semiconductor film, an amorphous semiconductor film partially containing a crystalline state, and a crystalline semiconductor film, each of which contains silicon, silicon-germanium (SiGe), or the like as its main component and has a different crystalline state. In addition, the first semiconductor film 706 may also contain an acceptor element or a donor element such as phosphorus, arsenic, or boron in addition to the above main component. A thickness of the first semiconductor film 706 is preferably 40 to 250 nm, and much preferably 50 to 220 nm.
Then, a second semiconductor film 707 having one conductivity type is formed over the first semiconductor film 706 . The second semiconductor film 707 is formed by a film formation method such as CVD or sputtering. A film formed here such as an amorphous semiconductor film, an amorphous semiconductor film partially containing a crystalline state, or a crystalline semiconductor film, each of which contains silicon or silicon-germanium (SiGe) as its main component and has a different crystalline state, contains an acceptor element or a donor element such as phosphorus, arsenic, or boron in addition to the above main component ( FIG. 7C ).
As shown in FIG. 7D , a first mask 708 is formed in a desired location over the second semiconductor film 707 , and each part of the first semiconductor film 706 and the second semiconductor film 707 is etched using the masks; therefore, a first semiconductor film 709 and a second semiconductor film 710 are obtained, respectively, which are patterned ( FIG. 7D ). Note that the first semiconductor film 709 serves as a channel formation region of a TFT 714 which will be formed in the subsequent step.
After removing the first mask 708 , a second conductive film 711 is formed over the second semiconductor film 710 and the insulating film 705 . Note that a thickness of the second conductive film 711 is preferably 100 nm or more, and much preferably 200 to 700 nm. As the conductive material used for the second conductive film 711 , a film formed of a metal element such as Ag, Au, Cu, Ni, Pt, Pd, Ir, Rh, W, Al, Ta, Mo, Cd, Zn, Fe, Ti, Si, Ge, Zr, or Ba, a film formed of an alloy material containing the element as its main component, a film formed of a compound material such as metal nitride, or the like can be given.
Second masks ( 712 a and 712 b ) are formed over the second conductive film 711 , and part of the second conductive film 711 is etched to be formed into a desired shape. Second conductive films ( 713 a and 713 b ) which are patterned here serve as a source electrode or a drain electrode of the TFT ( FIGS. 8A and 8B ). In order to form the second conductive film 711 into a desired shape, a method can be employed, by which a mask is formed over the second conductive film 711 by droplet discharging, a photolithography step, exposure of a photosensitive material using a laser beam direct drawing apparatus and development, or the like to etch the second conductive film 711 into a desired shape using the mask.
After removing the second masks ( 712 a and 712 b ), part of the second semiconductor film 710 is etched using the patterned second conductive film ( 713 a and 713 b ) as masks; therefore, a source region 715 a and a drain region 715 b of a TFT 714 are formed ( FIG. 8C ).
Note that, here, in the second conductive films ( 713 a and 713 b ), a portion ( 713 a ) overlapped with the source region 715 a is to be a source electrode 716 a , and a portion ( 713 b ) overlapped with the drain region 715 b is to be a drain electrode 716 b.
Through the above, the TFT 714 including the gate electrode 703 , the insulating film 705 , the first semiconductor film (a channel formation region) 709 , the source region 715 a , the drain region 715 b , the source electrode 716 a , and the drain electrode 716 b is formed ( FIG. 8C ).
Next, a protective film 717 is formed. Note that the protective film 717 is formed to have a single layer structure or a stacked layer structure of a silicon oxide film, a silicon nitride film, a silicon nitride oxide film, and a silicon oxynitride film by a film formation method such as plasma CVD or sputtering. A thickness of the protective film 717 is preferably 100 to 500 nm, and much preferably 200 to 300 nm.
An opening is formed in a location which is part of the protective film 717 and overlapped with the drain electrode 716 b to form a pixel electrode 718 electrically connected to the drain electrode 716 b in the opening ( FIG. 8D ).
The pixel electrode 718 can be formed using a film formation method such as sputtering, evaporation, CVD, or coating. As the material used to form the pixel electrode 718 , a transparent conductive film such as indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO) formed by using a target in which zinc oxide (ZnO) of 2 to 20 wt % is further mixed with indium oxide containing silicon oxide, or MO containing silicon oxide as its composition can be used, and the pixel electrode 718 is formed by patterning of a conductive film formed of the above material. Note that a thickness of the pixel electrode 718 is 10 to 150 nm, and preferably 40 to 120 nm.
In addition, in a case of using a light-shielding substrate such as alumina, a silicon wafer, or a metal plate, as the material used to form the pixel electrode 718 , a metal element such as Ag, Au, Cu, Ni, Pt, Pd, Ir, Rh, W, Al, Ta, Mo, Cd, Zn, Fe, Ti, Si, Ge, Zr, Ba, or Nd, an alloy material containing the metal element as its main component, a compound material such as metal nitride containing the metal element, or a material using a plurality thereof can be used.
Through the above steps, the active matrix substrate that can be used for the present invention can be formed. In addition, such a chamfer portion that is explained in Embodiment Mode 1 or 2 is formed at the end portion of such an active matrix substrate, and a common wring is formed in the chamfer portion in substitution for the wiring formed in the periphery of the pixel portion. Accordingly, a narrower frame of a display panel than that of a conventional display panel can be realized. Note that the structure of the display panel will be explained in detail in Embodiment Mode 4.
Embodiment Mode 4
This embodiment mode will explain a structure of the liquid crystal display panel of the present invention with reference to FIGS. 9A and 9B by exemplification of a liquid crystal display panel. FIG. 9A is a top view of a liquid crystal display panel in which a liquid crystal material is sandwiched between an active matrix substrate 901 and an opposite substrate 902 . FIG. 9B corresponds to a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A′ in FIG. 9A .
In FIG. 9A , a portion 905 surrounded by a dotted line is a pixel portion. This embodiment mode has a structure where the pixel portion 905 is formed in a region surrounded by a sealant 903 and a driver circuit portion is mounted outside of the liquid crystal display panel through an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) 923 .
The sealant 903 used for sealing a space between the active matrix substrate 901 and the opposite substrate 902 contains a gap material for maintaining the distance of the enclosed space. The space surrounded by the active matrix substrate 901 , the opposite substrate 902 , and the sealant 903 is filled with a liquid crystal material.
Next, the cross-sectional structure will be explained with reference to FIG. 9B . The pixel portion 905 is formed over a first substrate 907 which forms the active matrix substrate 901 and includes a plurality of semiconductor elements typified by TFTs. In addition, in this embodiment mode, a source line driver circuit and a gate line driver circuit are included in the driver circuit portion mounted outside.
The pixel portion 905 is provided with a plurality of pixels, and a first electrode 911 as a pixel electrode is electrically connected to a driving TFT 913 through a wiring. An orientation film 915 is formed over the first electrode 911 , the driving TFT 913 , and a gate line 914 .
On the other hand, a second substrate 908 , which forms the opposite substrate 902 , is provided with a light-shielding film 916 , a colored layer (color filter) 917 , and a second electrode 919 as an opposite electrode. The second electrode 919 is provided with an orientation film 920 .
In the liquid crystal display panel shown in this embodiment mode, a portion in which a liquid crystal material 912 is sandwiched between the first electrode 911 formed over the active matrix substrate 901 and the second electrode 919 provided for the opposite substrate 902 is a liquid crystal element 910 .
Reference numeral 921 denotes a columnar spacer that is provided to control a distance (cell gap) between the active matrix substrate 901 and the opposite substrate 902 . The columnar spacer 921 is formed by etching of an insulating film into a desired shape. Note that a spherical spacer may be used as well.
Various signals and potential to be given to the pixel portion 905 are supplied from an FPC 923 through a connection wiring 922 . The connection wiring 922 and the FPC 923 are electrically connected to each other with an anisotropic conductive film or an anisotropic conductive resin 924 . Note that a conductive paste such as solder or silver paste may be used instead of the anisotropic conductive film or the anisotropic conductive resin.
In addition, each pixel formed in the pixel portion 905 in matrix is connected in a vertical direction or a horizontal direction by a wiring 925 . Note that, in the present invention, since a plurality of the wiring 925 over the active matrix substrate 901 are formed separately, a common wiring 926 is formed so as to be in contact with the wiring 925 to be able to electrically connect the wirings 925 .
Although not shown, a polarizing plate is fixed by an adhesive onto one or both of the surface of the active matrix substrate 901 and the surface of the opposite substrate 902 . Note that a retardation film may be provided additionally to the polarizing plate.
The liquid crystal display panel explained through the above is formed with the use of the active matrix substrate where the common wiring is formed in the chamfer portion in substitution for the wirings formed in the periphery of the pixel portion as explained in Embodiment Mode 1 or 2. Therefore, a narrower frame of a display panel than that of a conventional display panel can be realized.
Embodiment Mode 5
This embodiment mode will explain a module formed by connection of an external circuit such as a power supply circuit or a controller to a liquid crystal display panel (a liquid crystal module here), which is exemplified as the display panel of the present invention formed by implementation of Embodiment Modes 1 to 4, which displays color images using white light, with reference to a cross-sectional view of FIG. 10 .
As shown in FIG. 10 , an active matrix substrate 1001 and an opposite substrate 1002 are firmly fixed by a sealant 1003 , and a liquid crystal material 1005 is provided between the active matrix substrate 1001 and the opposite substrate 1002 ; therefore, a liquid crystal display panel is formed.
Note that a chamfer portion of the active matrix substrate 1001 is formed by chamfering of an end portion thereof. Then, a common wiring 1021 is formed in the chamfer portion so as to be in contact with a wiring 1020 for electrically connecting a plurality of pixels formed in a pixel portion of the active matrix substrate 1001 .
A colored film 1006 formed over the active matrix substrate 1001 is required in order to display color images. In a case of the RGB system, a colored film corresponding to each color of red, green, and blue is provided corresponding to each pixel. Orientation films 1018 and 1019 are formed inside the active matrix substrate 1001 and the opposite substrate 1002 . In addition, polarizing plates 1007 and 1008 are provided outside the active matrix substrate 1001 and the opposite substrate 1002 . A protective film 1009 is formed on the surface of the polarizing plate 1007 to reduce the external impact.
A connection terminal 1010 provided over the active matrix substrate 1001 is connected to a wiring board 1012 through an FPC 1011 . The wiring board 1012 includes an external circuit 1013 such as a pixel driver circuit (an IC chip, a driver IC, or the like), a control circuit, or a power supply circuit.
A back light unit includes a cold cathode tube 1014 , a reflecting plate 1015 , an optical film 1016 , and an inverter (not shown), which functions as a light source to emit light to the liquid crystal display panel. The liquid crystal display panel, the light source, the wiring board 1012 , the FPC 1011 , and the like are held and protected by a bezel 1017 .
The module shown through the above includes the display panel using the active matrix substrate, the frame of which is narrowed, by formation of the common wiring in the chamfer portion in substitution for the wirings formed in the periphery of the pixel portion as explained in Embodiment Mode 4. Therefore, even in the case of forming the module, a smaller size (a narrowed frame) can be realized as compared with the conventional case.
Embodiment Mode 6
As electronic devices provided with the display device of the present invention, a television device (also simply referred to as a television or a television receiver), a camera such as a digital camera or a digital video camera, a telephone device (also simply referred to as a telephone set or a telephone), an information terminal such as a PDA, a game machine, a monitor for computer, a computer, an audio reproducing device such as a car audio system or an MP3 player, an image reproducing device provided with a recording medium, such as a home-use game machine, and the like are given. Preferred modes thereof will be explained with reference to FIGS. 11A to 11E .
A television device shown in FIG. 11A includes a main body 8001 , a display portion 8002 , and the like. The display device of the present invention can be applied to the display portion 8002 . Note that, as the display device of the present invention, a display panel including an active matrix substrate, the frame of which is narrowed, is used by formation of a chamfer portion at the end portion of the substrate and formation of a common wiring in the chamfer portion in substitution for the wirings conventionally formed in the periphery of the pixel portion. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a television device, the size of which is made smaller (the frame of which is narrowed) and the wiring resistance of which is reduced as compared with a conventional television device.
An information terminal device shown in FIG. 11B includes a main body 8101 , a display portion 8102 , and the like. The display device of the present invention can be applied to the display portion 8102 . Note that, as the display device of the present invention, a display panel including an active matrix substrate, the frame of which is narrowed, is used by formation of a chamfer portion at the end portion of the substrate and formation of a common wiring in the chamfer portion in substitution for the wirings conventionally formed in the periphery of the pixel portion. Accordingly, it is possible to provide an information terminal device, the size of which is made smaller (the frame of which is narrowed) and the wiring resistance of which is reduced as compared with a conventional information terminal device.
A digital video camera shown in FIG. 11C includes a main body 8201 , a display portion 8202 , and the like. The display device of the present invention can be applied to the display portion 8202 . Note that, as the display device of the present invention, a display panel including an active matrix substrate, the frame of which is narrowed, is used by formation of a chamfer portion at the end portion of the substrate and formation of a common wiring in the chamfer portion in substitution for the wirings conventionally formed in the periphery of the pixel portion. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a digital video camera, the size of which is made smaller (the frame of which is narrowed) and the wiring resistance of which is reduced as compared with a conventional digital video camera.
A telephone set shown in FIG. 11D includes a main body 8301 , a display portion 8302 , and the like. The display device of the present invention can be applied to the display portion 8302 . Note that, as the display device of the present invention, a display panel including an active matrix substrate, the frame of which is narrowed, is used by formation of a chamfer portion at the end portion of the substrate and formation of a common wiring in the chamfer portion in substitution for the wirings conventionally formed in the periphery of the pixel portion. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a telephone set, the size of which is made smaller (the frame of which is narrowed) and the wiring resistance of which is reduced as compared with a conventional digital video camera.
A liquid crystal monitor shown in FIG. 11E includes a main body 8401 , a display portion 8402 , and the like. The display device of the present invention can be applied to the display portion 8402 . Note that, as the display device of the present invention, a display panel including an active matrix substrate, the frame of which is narrowed, is used by formation of a chamfer portion at the end portion of the substrate and formation of a common wiring in the chamfer portion in substitution for the wirings conventionally formed in the periphery of the pixel portion. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a liquid crystal monitor, the size of which is made smaller (the frame of which is narrowed) and the wiring resistance of which is reduced as compared with a conventional liquid crystal monitor.
A display device includes an active matrix substrate, the frame of which is narrowed, is used by formation of a common wiring in the chamfer portion, which is formed at the end portion of the substrate, in substitution for the wirings formed in the periphery of the pixel portion. With the use of the display device for a display portion thereof, it is possible to provide an electronic device, the size of which is made smaller (the frame of which is narrowed) as compared with a conventional electronic device.
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application serial No. 2006-021722 filed on Jan. 31, 2006 in Japanese Patent Office, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. | It is an object of the present invention to provide a display device where expansion of a frame portion over a substrate, which results from formation of a lead wiring over an active matrix substrate, is minimally suppressed to realize a narrow frame. According to one feature of a display device of the present invention, a chamfer portion is formed at least at an end portion of an active matrix substrate having a pixel portion of a pair of substrates disposed to be opposed to each other, and wirings (a source line, a gate line, a storage capacitor line, a leading out wiring, and the like) over the active matrix substrate are electrically connected by a common wiring formed in the chamfer portion. | 6 |
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a division of Ser. No. 07/229,793 filed Aug. 4, 1988, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,175, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 06/879,065 filed June 26, 1986, now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disc driving unit, and more particularly to a disc driving unit that has a spindle for rotating a magnetic disc or similar disc member.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, a disc driving unit such as a magnetic disc driving unit applied to a magnetic disc apparatus for recording and/or reproducing an information on and/or from a magnetic disc as a magnetic recording medium has a spindle for rotating a disc member, a pulley connected to this spindle for transmission of a rotating force and a bearing which rotatably supports the spindle.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a conventional magnetic disc driving unit. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a base of the magnetic disc apparatus. The base 1 has a recess portion 1a formed with a shape of a deep plate and a cylindrical portion 1b connecting with a bottom of the recess portion 1a.
A spindle 2 is rotatably disposed in the recess portion 1a, and clamps a magnetic disc (not shown) with a member such as a center cone. A shaft 2b of the spindle 2 is rotatably supported by the cylindrical portion 1b through bearings 3a and 3b.
A round recess 2a is formed on the upper edge of the spindle 2.
The bearings 3a and 3b are formed as ball bearings holding steel balls between their outer and inner rings. The upper side bearing 3a is fixed to the cylindrical portion 1b of the base 1 by press fitting or adhering the outer ring to the portion positioned by a cir-clip or a retaining ring 5 which is inserted into the groove 1c formed on the inside surface of the cylindrical portion 1b. The outer ring of the lower bearing 3b is attached to the cylindrical portion 1b so as to move up and down with an extremely small clearance with respect to the cylindrical portion 1b.
In the space between the upper and lower bearings 3a and 3b are disposed a spacer 6 and a belleville spring 7.
Reference numeral 4 denotes a pulley for transmitting a rotation to the spindle 2. The pulley 4 has a recess 4a and the cylindrical portion 1b is positioned in the recess 4a. The pulley 4 has a boss 4b that couples with the inner ring of the bearing 3b in the central portion of the recess 4a.
A screw 9 is attached to this boss 4b. The screw 9 screws into the shaft 2b of the spindle 2 so that the spindle 2 and the pulley 4 are formed into a single integrated structure.
Reference numeral 8 denotes a belt, which forms a connection between a drive source not shown and the pulley 4 so as to transmit a rotation.
The screw 9 aligns the center of rotation of the spindle 2 and the pulley 4. The bearing 3b is positioned through the spacer 6 and is applied an initial pressure by the belleville spring 7 so that a gap in the diametrical direction of the bearings 3a and 3b is eliminated, and a run-out of the rotation of the spindle 2 is kept to a minimum.
When the drive source (not shown) is activated, the pulley is rotated via the belt 8 so that the spindle 2 which is integrated with the pulley 4 rotates and the magnetic disc is rotated.
In this type of conventional disc driving unit, however, because the bearings 3a and 3b support a shaft 2b with a diameter smaller than the spindle 2, if there is any play in the bearings 3a and 3b, this play increases on the spindle 2 during rotation. Consequently, it is not possible to provide high accuracy or high planarity in the rotation of the spindle.
To prevent the play, it is necessary to mount the bearings and other components with an extremely small mounting error. Consequently, all components must have high accuracy.
Moreover, conventional disc driving units have a large number of components so that each component requires much greater accuracy, and a larger number of assembly steps are also required. This meant that conventional disc driving units had the disadvantage of high manufacturing costs.
Furthermore, since an overall thickness of an unit is determined by the thickness of components, an arrangement like the conventional unit having a large number of components has the disadvantage that it is extremely difficult to keep the unit slim.
Furthermore, the bearings 3a and 3b are disposed underneath the spindle 2 so that the overall height of the unit is increased, further hindering a slim design.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to eliminate the disadvantages of a conventional arrangement.
It is another object of the present invention to provide at low cost a disc driving unit having an arrangement that can rotate a spindle with high rotational accuracy and planarity.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a disc driving unit so arranged that the number of its components and the number of assembly steps is low.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a slim disc driving unit.
In the first aspect of the present invention, a disc driving unit comprises:
a spindle for rotating a disc member;
a first bearing element of a bearing formed integrally with the spindle; and
a second bearing element of the bearing disposed on a base of the unit opposite to the first bearing element and engaged with the first bearing element.
Here, rolling members may be interposed between the first and the second bearing elements, so that the bearing may be in the form of a rolling bearing. The spindle may be a cylindrical member, and the first bearing element may be formed on an outer surface of the cylindrical member in the form of an inner ring having a race surface engaging with the rolling members. The spindle may be a hollow cylindrical member, and the first bearing element may be formed on a surface of a hollow portion of the hollow cylindrical member in the form of an outer ring engaging with the rolling members.
The disc driving unit may further comprise a center cone having an engaging surface engaging with the spindle for positioning and holding the disc. The radius of the first bearing element may be substantially equal to or greater than a radius of the engaging surface of the center cone.
In the second aspect of the present invention, a disc driving unit comprises:
a spindle for rotating a disc member;
a first bearing element of a bearing formed integrally with the spindle;
a second bearing element of the bearing disposed on a base of the unit in an opposite attitude to the first bearing element and engaged with the first bearing element; and
a pulley for winding a belt member co-operatably disposed on the spindle so as to transmit a rotation of a motor.
Here, the pulley may be formed integrally with the spindle on an outer surface of a cylindrical member. The pulley and the spindle may be securely integrated.
A disc driving unit may further comprise a center cone having an engaging surface engaging with the spindle for positioning and holding the disc. The radius of the first bearing element may be substantially equal to or greater than a radius of the engaging surface of the center cone.
The above and other objects, effects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional disc driving unit;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a disc driving unit according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of a disc driving unit according to the present invention; and
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a still further embodiment of a disc driving unit according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 2 shows a magnetic disc driving unit used in a magnetic disc apparatus as a first embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 11 in FIG. 2 denotes a spindle having a top mounting surface 11d and a race surface 11a formed around its upper circumference for holding balls of a bearing. That is, the spindle 11 itself forms an inner ring of the bearing.
An outer ring 12 of the bearing is disposed outside the spindle 11 via balls 13. An inside circumference of the outer ring 12 is formed with a race surface 12a to hold the balls 13. The outer ring 12 is fixed by press fitting against or adhering to a circular opening 10a formed on a base 10 of the unit and having a flange on its inner edge.
The spindle 11 is higher than the outer ring 12. However, in contrast to the prior art arrangement of FIG. 1, as can be seen in FIG. 2, the mounting surface 11d is substantially coplanar with the upper surface 12b of the outer ring 12 and the upper surface 10b of the base 10. The shape, arrangement and dimensions of the internal and external diameters of a portion of the spindle 11 which is above the upper surface 12b of the outer ring 12 and upper surface 10b of the base 10 are determined so as to correspond respectively with those of the upper portion of the conventional spindle 2 (see FIG. 1). That is, in this embodiment, a radius of the inner ring is greater than a radius of the center cone 21.
When a magnetic disc 20 is clamped on the top mounting surface 11d of the spindle 11, a center cone 21 applies a predetermined pressure P to the magnetic disc 20 on an upper surface 11c of the spindle 11 so that the magnetic disc 20 is clamped.
A lower portion of the center cone 21 penetrates inside the spindle 11 and does not protrude below the spindle 11.
A portion of the spindle 11 below the lower edge of the outer ring 12 and the lower surface of the flange on the base 10, that is the external circumference of a lower portion of the race surface 11a is formed with a groove 11b that has a V-shaped cross section. A V-belt 14 which is wound on a pulley attached to a drive shaft of a motor (not shown) winds through the groove 11b. Then, the rotation of the motor rotates the inner ring 11c through the V-belt 14.
In this embodiment, then, the spindle 11 is formed integrally of the portion which is the inner ring of the bearing and the portion that is the pulley.
When the spindle 11 is rotated by the V-belt 14, if the magnetic disc 20 is not clamped the balls 13 are not subject to pressure and are free, so that there are no particular restrictions on the rotational accuracy of the spindle 11. On the other hand, when the magnetic disc is clamped, that is when the magnetic disc apparatus is operating and writing or reading data, the center cone 21 applies a pressure P to the spindle 11 so that the balls 13 are subjected to pressure, eliminating the gap in the diametrical direction and maintaining the predetermined rotational accuracy.
In this embodiment, the spindle 11 has the inner ring of the bearing and the pulley in an integrated arrangement so that far fewer components are required that in a conventional arrangement. Consequently, the assembly process can be much simplified and the errors during assembly can be reduced significantly.
Furthermore, since the rotational accuracy during operation depends only on the accuracy of the bearing, a high rotational accuracy is obtained by securing the accuracy of the bearing. Moreover, the thickness of the spindle represents the thickness of the overall unit so that it is possible to obtain a slim design.
In the above arrangement, the V-belt winds around the outer circumference of the spindle 11 below the base 10. It is also possible to wind the belt above the base 10 by making the upper portion of the spindle 11 protrude higher that the upper surface of the base 10. A flat belt can also be used instead of the V-belt 14.
FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. No explanation will be made of the reference numerals in FIG. 3 which denote the same parts as in FIG. 2.
In this embodiment, a spindle and a pulley are not formed integrally, but are arranged in an integral structure after being manufactured individually.
A outer ring of a bearing has a ball supporting member 32 and a holding member 33 which holds the balls. Butt portions of these members 32 and 33 are formed into tapered surfaces 32a and 33a, respectively, so as to form a V-shaped groove.
After the balls 13 are disposed between the tapered surface 32a of the support member 32 and a race surface 31a of a spindle 31, they are held in place by the holding member 33 which is engaged on the inner side of the supporting member 32.
The holding member 33 can be fixed either by press fitting, adhesion, by cutting an internal thread and an external thread on the supporting member 32 and the holding member 33, respectively, and screwing the holding member 33 in the supporting member 32, or by cutting screw threads on the members 32 and 33 and screwing a screw in the threads.
Again, in contrast to the prior art arrangement of FIG. 1, the mounting surface 31b is substantially coplanar with the upper surface 35 of the holding member 33 and the upper surface 10b of the base 10.
Reference numeral 34 denotes a pulley. The pulley 34 is fixed by press fitting a protrusion 34b formed in its center to the inner side of the spindle 31. Adhesion or a screw can also be used to fix the pulley 34.
The pulley 34 has a V-shaped groove 34a around its external circumference. The V-belt 14 is stretched through this groove. The height of the spindle 31 is determined so that the lower edge of the center cone 21 does not touch the protrusion 34b on the pulley 34.
The second embodiment of the present invention in which the spindle and the pulley are manufactured individually and then arranged in an integrated structure offers the same advantages as the first embodiment explained above.
FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, an outer ring of a bearing, a spindle and a pulley are arranged integrally. That is, a spindle 41 has a portion 41a that forms the outer ring, and is arranged so that the shape, construction and dimensions such as the inner and outer diameters of the upper end portion correspond to those of the upper end portion of the spindle 2 in the conventional arrangement. In this embodiment, a radius of the outer ring is substantially equal to a radius of the center cone.
Again, in contrast to the conventional apparatus of FIG. 1, the upper surface 40B of the base or chassis 40 and the portion 41a at which the spindle 41 is supported by the chassis 40 via ball bearings 13 are substantially coplanar.
The outer circumference of the spindle 41 is formed with a groove 41b and a V-belt 14 is wound through the groove 41b. An inner ring 42 is fixed to a supporting portion 40A disposed protrudingly from a base or chassis 40. The arrangement of the third embodiment offers the same advantages as the embodiment shown in FIG. 2.
In the above embodiments, ball bearings are used as the bearings, but other bearings such as roller bearings can also be used.
The disc driving unit according to the present invention as explained above in which the pulley and the inner ring or the outer ring of the bearing are arranged integrally in the spindle is not limited to a magnetic disc driving unit in a magnetic disc apparatus, but can also be used widely in disc driving units for various types of discs such as, for example, an optical disc driving unit of an optical disc unit for performing recording and/or reproducing using an optical disc as an optical recording medium.
As explained above, the disc driving unit according to the present invention has an arrangement in which the pulley and the inner ring or the outer ring of the bearing are integrated in the spindle, so that both the number of components and of assembly steps are greatly reduced, thereby significantly reducing manufacturing costs and lowering the error during assembly to produce a high rotational accuracy.
Furthermore, in the present invention, the bearing is disposed on the inside or outside of the spindle, so that the spindle and the bearings are substantially in the same horizontal plane. This makes it possible to obtain high rotational accuracy and planarity of the spindle and of disc members loaded on this spindle. Moreover, this arrangement allows for a very low overall height of the driving apparatus, so that a slim unit can be obtained. | A disc driving unit is arranged so that a spindle for rotating a disc member, a pulley coupled to the spindle to transmit a rotational force to the spindle, and an inner or outer ring of a bearing to support the spindle rotatably are formed integrally. This arrangement greatly reduces a number of components in the unit so that the assembly process can be greatly simplified. Moreover, the error during assembly can be kept small. Furthermore, the bearing is disposed inside the rotating plane of the spindle, so that the rotational accuracy and planarity of the spindle are improved, and the overall height of the unit can be minimized. | 6 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention pertains to lightweight structural wall panels for buildings and, more particularly, to such panels having a hollow core interior construction that may be adapted for use in industrial, commercial and residential building structures.
[0002] The potential for the use of hollow core elements in the construction of buildings and other structures has been known for many years. Hollow cores of corrugated or honeycomb paper or metal sheet material, enclosed by upper and lower skin panels or sheets, have long been used or proposed for use as floor, wall and roof panels for buildings. However, the use of such hollow core panels has been inhibited because of difficulties in fabricating the panels in an efficient and cost effective manner.
[0003] In my co-pending patent application Ser. No. 11/476,474, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Manufacturing Open Core Elements from Web Material”, filed Jun. 28, 2006, and Ser. No. 11/769,879, bearing the same title and filed Jun. 28, 2007, both of which applications are incorporated by reference herein, there are disclosed systems and techniques for manufacturing hollow core panels of widely varying dimensions using corrugating techniques and a unique lay-up process. Those systems and techniques are applied to make building wall panels of diverse constructions.
[0004] In addition, the building wall panels described herein are useful in the construction of buildings utilizing floor and roof constructions described in my co-pending patent application Ser. No. 11/485,823, entitled “Hollow Core Floor and Deck Element”, filed Jul. 13, 2006, and Ser. No. 11/777,002, bearing the same title and filed on Jul. 12, 2007, which applications are also incorporated by reference herein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] In a basic embodiment of the present invention, a building wall panel is provided that includes a rectangular peripheral outer frame having vertical edge frame members and upper and lower horizontal edge frame members joined to the ends of the vertical edge frame members, the frame enclosing an open core element that is defined by a plurality of fluted strips of a web material bonded together by interposed smooth unfluted webs, said open core element having the smooth webs horizontally disposed in use and the flutes oriented perpendicular to the plane of the frame to define with the frame parallel inner and outer panel faces. The frame and at least a portion of the open core element are filled with a closed cell foam. A skin sheet is attached to and covers the inner face of the panel, and an outer layer is attached to and covers the outer face of the panel. The skin sheet preferably comprises a two-layer composite including an inner impervious layer and an outer paper layer. The outer layer may comprise any of several materials used as exterior wall panels, including plywood, oriented strand board, plastic, and steel. In a particularly preferred embodiment, a portion of the open core element is filled, within the frame, with a layer of gypsum.
[0006] In one embodiment of the invention, suited particularly to forming the external wall of a commercial or industrial building, a wall panel comprises a rectangular peripheral outer frame that includes vertical edge frame members and upper and lower horizontal edge frame members that are joined to the ends of the vertical edge frame members. The frame encloses an open core element made from a plurality of fluted strips of a web material that are bonded together and have flutes oriented perpendicular to the plane of the frame to define, with the frame, parallel inner and outer panel faces. Closed cell foam fills at least a portion of the open core element. An inner steel skin sheet is attached to and covers the inner panel face. An intermediate steel skin sheet is disposed between and lies parallel to the inner and outer panel faces. The intermediate steel skin sheet is attached at its peripheral edge to the frame and divides the open core element into inner and outer core elements. An outer layer is attached to and covers the outer panel face.
[0007] The rectangular peripheral frame is preferably made of wood and comprises two-piece vertical edge frame members and two-piece horizontal edge frame members. The intermediate steel skin sheet is sandwiched between and attached to the two-piece vertical and horizontal edge frame members. The wall panel also includes interior wood frame members that extend between and are attached to the vertical edge frame members. The interior frame members lie parallel to the horizontal edge frame members. The interior wood frame members are attached to one piece of the two-piece frame members and positioned on one side of the intermediate skin sheet. Preferably, the interior wood frame members extend laterally and horizontally between the intermediate skin sheet and the inner skin sheet. The outer core element is filled with closed cell foam.
[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the open core element includes smooth webs that are interposed between and bonded to the flute tips of adjacent fluted strips. The core element is oriented with the smooth webs horizontally disposed. The web material preferably comprises paper and the paper web is treated to make it waterproof. The outer panel cover layer could be made of a number of different materials, including steel, wood, plywood, oriented strand board, particle board and plastic.
[0009] The interior wood frame members provide for the attachment of floor and roof supports to the wall panel. The supports are attached to the inner skin sheet with fasteners that extend through the interior skin sheet, the interior wood frame member and the inner or front steel skin sheet. The floor and roof supports typically comprise steel angle sections.
[0010] In another embodiment, suited particularly to residential building construction, the building wall panel has a peripheral frame that encloses an open core element having a plurality of fluted strips of a web material bonded together with the flutes oriented perpendicular to the plane of the frame and defining therewith parallel opposite faces. A continuous layer of gypsum inside the frame fills a portion of the open core element adjacent one panel face. The first skin sheet covers the face adjacent the gypsum layer and a second skin sheet covers the other panel face. The gypsum layer is formed flush with the panel face and the first skin sheet includes a vapor barrier sheet that covers the gypsum layer and a paper sheet covering the vapor barrier sheet. The remainder of the open core element may be filled with a closed cell foam. The second skin sheet comprises a substrate layer that is bonded to the foam filled core element. The substrate layer may be made of plywood, oriented strand board, particle board or the like.
[0011] In an embodiment particularly suited to outer wall construction, a layer of concrete forms a continuous layer inside the frame and fills a portion of the open core element. The layer of concrete is placed flush with the inner face of the panel and is covered by the first skin sheet. A gypsum layer is positioned inside and covers the inside surface of the concrete layer. The remainder of the open core element may be filled with a closed cell foam. Preferably, the open core element includes smooth unfluted webs that are interposed between and are bonded to the flute tips of adjacent fluted strips, and the core element is oriented with the smooth unfluted webs horizontally disposed.
[0012] When used an interior wall panel, the gypsum layer lies flush with the face in which it is formed and is covered by the first skin sheet. The panel includes another gypsum layer inside the frame, flush with the other face and filling another portion of the open core element.
[0013] One method for making a building wall panel, in accordance with the present invention, comprises the steps of (1) forming a hollow core element from strips of a fluted web material and bonding the strips together to form a rectangular core panel having parallel front and rear faces with the flutes oriented perpendicular to the faces, (2) providing an enclosing peripheral frame for the core panel, (3) supporting the frame on a horizontal surface, (4) filling the frame to a selected depth with a liquid gypsum mixture, (5) pressing one face of the core panel into the frame and through the liquid gypsum to the supporting surface and forcing the gypsum into the open core panel to the selected depth, and (6) allowing the liquid gypsum to set sufficiently to form a self-supporting gypsum layer.
[0014] The foregoing method also preferably includes the steps of (1) attaching a paper cover sheet to the face of the frame supported on the horizontal surface before filling, and (2) causing the liquid gypsum to cover the surface of the sheet and to bond thereto after setting. The method may also include the step of providing the inside face of the cover sheet with a barrier layer that is impervious to moisture.
[0015] Another variant of the method of the present invention comprises the steps of (1) filling the frame to a selected depth with a liquid concrete mixture before the liquid gypsum filling step, (2) filling the frame atop the liquid concrete to the selected depth with said liquid gypsum mixture, (3) continuing the pressing step through the liquid gypsum to press the core panel face through the liquid concrete to the supporting surface and (4) allowing the liquid concrete to set sufficiently to form a self-supporting layer joined to the self-supporting gypsum layer.
[0016] Another embodiment of a method of the subject invention for making a building panel comprises the steps of (1) forming a hollow core element from strips of a fluted web material that are bonded together to form a rectangular core panel. The core panel has a front face and a rear face with the flutes of the web material oriented perpendicular to the faces, (2) enclosing the core panel in a peripheral frame, (3) pressing one face of the framed core panel into a liquid gypsum mixture and forcing the liquid gypsum into a portion of the hollow core element on one face of the panel, and (4) allowing the liquid gypsum to set sufficiently to form a self-supporting gypsum layer.
[0017] The method also preferably includes the step of applying a paper cover sheet to the front face of the panel. The front face of the core panel and the gypsum layer are preferably formed coplanar with a front face of the frame and the paper cover sheet covers the front face of the frame.
[0018] The method may also include the steps of (1) inverting the frame, (2) pressing the other face of the frame core panel into the liquid gypsum mixture and forcing the liquid gypsum into a portion of the hollow core element at the other face, and (3) allowing the liquid gypsum in the other face portion of the panel to dry sufficiently to form a self-supporting gypsum layer.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a two story commercial building utilizing a modular construction including wall panels of the subject invention.
[0020] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a wall panel of the subject invention used in the construction of the FIG. 1 building.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 3 - 3 of FIG. 2 .
[0022] FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 4 - 4 of FIG. 2 .
[0023] FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional detail of the joint between two interconnected wall panels.
[0024] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an arrangement of two interconnected wall panels made in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.
[0025] FIG. 7 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 7 - 7 of FIG. 6 .
[0026] FIG. 8 is a sectional detail of one embodiment of the wall panel of FIG. 6 .
[0027] FIG. 9 is a sectional detail of another embodiment of the wall panel shown in FIG. 6 .
[0028] FIG. 10 is a horizontal sectional detail of a further embodiment of the wall panel of FIG. 6 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0029] In FIG. 1 , there are shown the components of a two story building 10 utilizing lightweight hollow core elements for the second floor 12 and roof 13 , as described in my above identified co-pending patent applications, and the wall panels 11 which are the subject of the present invention. Each wall panel 11 , for the building shown, is 8 ft. wide and 28 ft. long. As shown in FIG. 2 , the wall panel 11 may be provided with through openings 14 for windows and/or doors, but the openings are of course optional. The bottom edge of the panel 11 is provided with a series of J-bolts 16 for anchoring in a concrete floor or footing 16 shown in FIG. 1 . The FIG. 2 panel also has attached to its inner face 17 a pair of steel angle sections 18 , which provide support for the FIG. 1 second floor 12 and roof 13 .
[0030] Each wall panel 11 is enclosed by a rectangular wooden frame 20 . The frame includes vertical edge frame members 21 and horizontal upper and lower edge frame members 22 . The ends of the horizontal members 22 may be joined to the ends of the vertical frame members 21 in any suitable manner, including adhesives, mechanical fasteners, or both. Referring particularly to FIG. 3 , the vertical edge frame members 21 are of two-piece construction, including a front edge portion 23 and a rear edge portion 24 . Similarly, as shown in FIG. 4 , the horizontal edge frame members 22 are also of two-piece construction and include a front edge portion 25 and a rear edge portion 26 .
[0031] The front inner face 17 of the panel 11 is covered with a thin steel sheet 27 which may be 0.060 in. thick (about 1.5 mm) and covers the entire inner front face including the face of the frame 20 . The steel sheet 27 is bonded to the face of the frame 20 with a suitable adhesive, such as an epoxy.
[0032] The front edge portions 23 and 25 of the two-piece frame may be 3 in.×5 in. in cross section and the corresponding rear edge portions 24 and 26 may be 3 in.×3 in. in cross section. An interior steel skin sheet 28 , of the same size (0.060 in.) and shape as the front steel skin sheet 27 , is sandwiched between the front and rear portions of the two-piece frame members 21 and 22 . The interior skin sheet 28 is secured by bonding with a suitable adhesive as described above. The outer or rear face 30 of the panel 11 is enclosed by an outer layer 31 of any suitable material, including another thin steel skin sheet, plywood, oriented strand board, or the like.
[0033] The interior of the wall panel 11 is filled substantially completely with open core elements 32 of the type made in accordance with the teachings of my above identified co-pending patent applications. Briefly, the open core element 32 is made from a plurality of fluted strips of a web material, such as paper, that are bonded together by interposed smooth unfluted webs. The open core elements 32 which are formed in a rectangular shape are sized to be fully enclosed by the wooden frame 20 . The core elements are oriented such that the flutes are perpendicular to the plane of the frame and the skins sheets 27 and 28 . Preferably, the open core elements 32 are also oriented, in use, with the smooth webs horizontally disposed.
[0034] In the embodiment shown, a thin layer of gypsum 33 fills a portion of the open core element 32 directly against the inside surface of the front skin sheet 27 . The gypsum layer 33 is formed by methods which will be described hereinafter. Between the back face of the gypsum layer 33 and the interior steel skin sheet 28 , the open core element 32 is left open. The open core element 32 between the other face of the interior steel skin sheet 28 and the outer layer 31 is filled with a closed cell foam material 29 for insulating purposes. This helps maintain the front skin sheet 27 and interior skin sheet 28 at roughly the same temperature, thereby limiting distortion of the skins resulting form thermal differential.
[0035] The sectional detail in FIG. 5 shows how two corner wall panels 11 are connected. A steel angle member 35 is positioned in the open corner and fastened by its flanges 36 to the outside faces of the adjoining vertical edge frame members 21 . The angle member 35 may be suitably bored to receive lag screws 37 driven into the frame members 21 .
[0036] The wall panel 11 also includes interior wood support members 38 to which the wall supporting angle sections 18 are attached. Each wooden support member 38 may conveniently comprise a 3 in.×5 in. piece that extends between and is attached to the front edge portion 23 of the vertical edge frame members 21 . The floor and roof supporting angle sections 18 ( FIG. 1 ) are attached to an interior support member 38 with bolts 40 that extend from the interior of the panel 11 , through the interior steel skin sheet 28 , the support member 38 , the front steel skin sheet 27 and the vertical flange 41 of the angle member 18 .
[0037] The vertical edge frame members 21 of the frame 20 run the full 28 ft. height of the panel. These vertical frame members provide structural column support for the floor and roof members, particularly in the panels away from the building corners. Because of the difficulty in obtaining one-piece 28 ft. members, shorter vertical edge frame members 21 , suitably spliced, are preferable.
[0038] As may be seen in FIG. 3 , the front edge portion 23 of the vertical edge frame members 21 are provided with corner notches 42 . The front steel skin sheet 27 overlies the notches 42 and suitable sealing strips may be inserted therein as the panels are assembled edge-to-edge. In addition, one of the rear edge portions 24 of a vertical edge frame member 21 may also be provided with a sealing strip 43 that abuts the face of the vertical edge frame member of the next adjacent panel. The panels may be bonded together with a suitable adhesive or by mechanical fasteners.
[0039] FIG. 6 shows a pair of interconnected wall panels in accordance with another embodiment of the invention which are particularly suitable for residential construction. The panels may each be 8 ft. high and 10 ft. long. Each panel is closed on its edges by a frame 45 that includes vertical edge frame members 46 and horizontal top and bottom edge frame members 47 . The vertical edge frame members 46 are provided with complimentary tongue-and-groove profiles 48 to help close and strengthen the glue joint therebetween when assembled edge-to-edge.
[0040] The interior of the frame 45 is filled with an open core element, as described with respect to the preceding embodiments. Thus, the open core element 50 may be made in accordance with the teaching of my above identified pending patent applications. The frame 45 is covered on an inside face with a two-part layer 51 comprising an inner vapor barrier 52 and a paper cover sheet 53 . The open core element 50 just inside the vapor barrier 52 is filled with a gypsum layer 54 . If the overall wall panel thickness is about 4 in., the gypsum layer 54 may be 1 in. thick. The remainder of the open core element 50 , from the inner face of the gypsum layer to an outside cover layer 55 , is filled with a closed cell foam 56 . The outside cover layer may be plywood or oriented strand board to which conventional siding may be applied.
[0041] A variation in the wall panel 44 of FIG. 8 is shown in FIG. 9 . The FIG. 9 construction is identical to the FIG. 8 panel, except, in the FIG. 9 construction, a thin concrete layer 57 is formed on the inside face against the two-part cover layer 51 . The concrete layer provides additional load bearing support, particularly in the vertical direction. Abutting the inside face of the concrete layer 57 is a gypsum layer 58 which is essentially the same as the gypsum layer 54 in the FIG. 8 embodiment, except for its location. In either case, the gypsum layer 54 or 58 provides a protective fire wall, as well as additional structural support, in the same manner as conventional gypsum wallboard.
[0042] In FIG. 10 , there is shown a sectional detail of a wall panel 60 that is particularly well suited for interior residential construction. The interior wall panel 60 has a wooden frame that comprises vertical edge frame members 61 that may be identical to the edge frame members of the FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 embodiments. Horizontal edge frame members, not shown, may also be identical to those previously described. The frame contains an open core element 62 which is filled at opposite panel faces with identical gypsum layers 63 , each of which is covered on the outside face by a paper layer 64 . The paper layer 64 extend over and is bonded to the opposite faces of the panel frame 59 . The open core element 62 between the gypsum layers 63 may be left open or filled with a closed cell foam material. The thickness of the vertical edge frame members 61 may be made just slightly less than the thickness of the open core element 62 , to provide a slight edge relief along the panel edges which would accommodate conventional drywall taping. In addition, plastic wire chase tubes may be run in the interior open core element between the gypsum layers so the fire barrier would not be broken. Junction boxes may be pre-installed and a ground wire or wire pull also put in place.
[0043] A convenient, efficient and effective method of providing a wall pane] with one or two gypsum layers, which is applicable to the FIG. 10 embodiment, as well as other described embodiments, will now be described with respect to FIG. 10 . First, a hollow core element 62 is made in a rectangular shape sized to fit closely within the frame 59 . As described above, the open core elements 62 are disposed with the flutes extending perpendicular to the panel faces. The frame 59 is covered on one face by a paper layer 64 and supported on a horizontal surface. A liquid gypsum mixture is poured into the frame from the open backside to a selected depth, e.g. ¾ in. (about 19 mm). The rectangular core panel is then pressed into the frame and through the liquid gypsum all the way to the paper layer 64 on the supporting surface. The liquid gypsum is forced into the face portion of the open core panel to the depth selected. The liquid gypsum is then allowed to set sufficiently to form a self-supporting gypsum layer.
[0044] While the panel is intended for exterior building wall construction, the inside of the paper layer 64 is provided with an impervious barrier layer in the manner described previously with respect to other embodiments. To form the gypsum layer 63 in the other face of the panel, a number of alternate methods may be used. Preferably, the open core element, with the set first gypsum layer 63 in place, is removed from the frame, inverted and reinserted into the frame after a second layer of liquid gypsum has been poured therein. The core element is then pressed into the second liquid gypsum layer, in the manner previously described, and the gypsum layer is allowed to set. Alternately, a second layer of liquid gypsum may be filled into the frame after the first gypsum layer has set, the frame immediately inverted with a paper covered supporting layer held on to the back face, and the liquid gypsum permitted to settle into the position of the second layer where it is held until the gypsum sets. It may also be possible to provide the second layer by inverting the entire frame containing the core element and the first set gypsum layer and pressing the entire assembly into a thin pool of liquid gypsum to the selected depth.
[0045] To form the composite two-layer arrangement of FIG. 9 , the wooden frame 45 would first be filled with a layer of liquid concrete (Portland cement and sand) to a desired depth, e.g. ½ in. (13 mm), and a layer of liquid gypsum poured immediately a top the liquid concrete layer to a selected depth, ¾ in. (19 mm). The open core element 50 is then pressed downwardly through the gypsum layer and then the concrete layer until it reaches the horizontally supported front face of the frame covered with a suitable two-ply vapor barrier/paper cover layer. | Building wall panels having lightweight hollow core interiors include embodiments suitable for interior and exterior walls, for industrial, commercial or residential buildings, and for multi-story structures. Various methods for making these wall panels are disclosed, including the formation of cast gypsum firewall layers. | 4 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-061519 filed on Mar. 17, 2010, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD
The embodiments discussed herein are related to a technique for generating a two-dimensional image from a three-dimensional solid image.
BACKGROUND
In the case that a solid image that has been prepared on the basis of the three-dimensional coordinate system is to be displayed on a two-dimensional image display device such as an analog display, the solid image is projected onto a display screen of the image display device from one viewpoint as a reference.
The solid image is displayed on the display screen in the form of polygons or a wire frame. In the case that the solid image is displayed in the form of polygons, the solid image is formed by a plurality of polygons such as triangles or the like. In order to project the solid image onto the display screen, coordinates of vertexes of each polygon of the three-dimensional coordinate system are transformed to those of a polygonal two-dimensional plane. After transformed, each polygonal plane is painted out by being subjected to a shading process, a texture mapping process, luminance processing and the like. A solid image which has been projected onto the display screen from a certain viewpoint may be correctly generated by writing pixels over one another in order in which a pixel which is positioned distant from the viewpoint is written earlier than others.
A lenticular display is available as an image display device which is configured to display a solid image which has been projected from a plurality of viewpoints, in contrast to the analog display that displays the solid image which has been projected from one viewpoint. The lenticular display is configured to display a solid image in such a manner that its form changes as the viewpoint is shifted by generating two-dimensional images obtained by projecting one solid image from a plurality of viewpoints and compositing the plurality of generated two-dimensional images with one another.
In the case that a process of projecting an image onto a display screen is executed by setting a plurality of viewpoints which are arranged in a line, the more the number of viewpoints is increased, the more the throughput is increased. A technique for generating two-dimensional images which have been projected onto a display screen from a plurality of viewpoints by interpolation arithmetic processing executed using two-dimensional images which have been projected onto the display screen from two viewpoints is proposed as disclosed, for example, in “A 36 fps SXGA 3D Display Processor with a Programmable 3D Graphics Rendering Engine”, Seok-Hoon Kim et al, IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, 2007, pp. 276-277, 2007.
SUMMARY
According to an aspect of the embodiment, an image generating method includes: generating first and second projected two-dimensional images of a front object seen from first and second viewpoints, the front object being a part of the three-dimensional image divided by a predetermined boundary surface; interpolating the first and second projected two-dimensional images to generate a first interpolated two-dimensional image of the front object seen from a third viewpoint locating on a straight line connecting the first and second viewpoint; generating third and fourth projected two-dimensional images of a rear object seen from the first and second viewpoints, the rear object being another part of the three-dimensional image divided by the predetermined boundary surface; interpolating the third and fourth projected two-dimensional images to generate a second interpolated two-dimensional image of the rear object seen from the third viewpoint; and overwriting the first interpolated two-dimensional image on the second interpolated two-dimensional image.
The object and advantages of the embodiment will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example of a two-dimensional image of a solid image which has been projected onto a display screen from one of a plurality of viewpoints;
FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating an example of a two-dimensional image of the solid image which has been projected onto a display screen from another viewpoint;
FIG. 1C is a diagram illustrating an example of a two-dimensional image of the solid image which has been projected onto a display screen from a further viewpoint;
FIG. 2 is a top plan view illustrating an example of a positional relation among a solid image and viewpoints;
FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of an image obtained by dividing one solid image into a near view image and a distant view image and individually interpolating the images so divided;
FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating an example of an image obtained by dividing one solid image into a near view image and a distant view image and individually interpolating the images so divided;
FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating an example of an image obtained by dividing one solid image into a near view image and a distant view image and individually interpolating the images so divided;
FIG. 3D is a diagram illustrating an example of an image obtained by partitioning one solid image into a near view image and a distant view image and individually interpolating the images so divided;
FIG. 3E is a diagram illustrating an example of an image obtained by dividing one solid image into a near view image and a distant view image and individually interpolating the images so divided;
FIG. 3F is a diagram illustrating an example of an image obtained by dividing one solid image into a near view image and a distant view image and individually interpolating the images so divided;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an image generator;
FIG. 5 is a detailed block diagram illustrating examples of a CPU and a memory;
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of one detailed flowchart of an image generating process;
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of another detailed flowchart of an image generating process; and
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a further detailed flowchart of an image generating process.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
Next, embodiments of the invention will be described. Incidentally, combinations of configurations in respective embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the invention.
FIG. 1A to FIG. 1C are diagrams illustrating examples of two-dimensional images of a solid image which has been projected onto a display screen from a plurality of viewpoints, in which FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example of a two-dimensional image obtained by projecting the solid image onto the display screen from the front, FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating an example of a two-dimensional image obtained by projecting the solid image onto the display screen from an left end viewpoint and FIG. 1C is a diagram illustrating an example of a two-dimensional image obtained by projecting the solid image onto the display screen from a right end viewpoint. Incidentally, in the examples illustrated in the drawings, the left end and the right end of the image are positions of viewpoints which are determined in accordance with a display limit of a display device that displays the image.
In FIG. 1A , a solid 1 is present in a near view when observed from the position of each viewpoint as a reference. A square through-hole is formed in the center of the solid 1 . Solids 2 , 3 and 4 are present in a distant view when observed from the position of each viewpoint as the reference. In the case that the solid image is observed from the front viewpoint, a part of the solid 3 which is present in the distant view is observed through the hole in the solid 1 . In the examples illustrated in the drawings, the near view is information on an image which is present in the front of a position for which a threshold value is set in advance using a display screen as a reference surface and the distant view is information on an image which is present at the rear of the position for which the threshold value is set in advance using the display screen as the reference.
When the solid image is observed from the left end viewpoint as illustrated in the example in FIG. 1B , the solid 3 is not observed through the hole formed in the center of the solid 1 . Thus, data on a part of the solid 3 is not included in a two-dimensional image obtained by projecting the solid image onto the display screen from the left end viewpoint.
When the solid image is observed from the right end viewpoint as illustrated in the example in FIG. 1C , the solid 3 is not observed through the hole formed in the center of the solid 1 . Thus, data on a part of the solid 3 is not included in a two-dimensional image obtained by projecting the solid image onto the display screen from the right end viewpoint.
Therefore, if an interpolated image observed at the front viewpoint of the solid 1 is generated from the two-dimensional image in FIG. 1B and the two-dimensional image in FIG. 1C , an inaccurate two-dimensional image in which the solid 3 is not observed through the hole in the center of the solid 1 will be generated.
In the case that an image is projected onto the display screen from the left end viewpoint and the right end viewpoint, an accurate two-dimensional image which is observed from an arbitrary viewpoint may be generated by interpolation by avoiding such a situation that a part which will be in the dead angle from both of the left end and right end viewpoints is generated.
FIG. 2 is a top plan view illustrating an example of a positional relation among a solid image and viewpoints. In the drawing, the solids 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 are pieces of three-dimensional image information disposed in a three-dimensional space 5 . These pieces of three-dimensional image information are stored in a storage which will be described later. A display screen 6 is a two-dimensional plane onto which the solids 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 are projected from viewpoints A, B and C as references. A boundary surface 7 is a boundary surface along which the solids 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 which are in the three-dimensional space 5 are divided into two groups of the solid 1 in the near view and to the solids 2 , 3 and 4 in the distant view. The boundary surface 7 is disposed in parallel with the display screen 6 .
The viewpoints A, B and C indicate viewpoint coordinate positions virtually located on the same coordinate system as that of the three-dimensional space 5 . The viewpoints A, B and C are arranged in al line. The viewpoint A indicates the position at which the display screen 6 is observed from the front and corresponds to the scene in FIG. 1A . The viewpoint B indicates the position at which the display screen 6 is observed from the left end and corresponds to the scene in FIG. 1B . The viewpoint C indicates the position at which the display screen 6 is observed from the right end and corresponds to the scene in FIG. 1C .
The coordinate system of the solids 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 is transformed to the two-dimensional coordinate system using the viewpoints A, B and C as references to project two-dimensional images obtained by observing the solids 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 from the respective viewpoints A, B and C onto the display screen 6 .
In this embodiment, an image generator generates near view two-dimensional images which are obtained at the left end viewpoint B and the right end viewpoint C on the basis of the solid 1 which indicates the image information positioned in the front of the boundary surface 7 in the three-dimensional image information stored in the storage. Then, the image generator generates by interpolation a two-dimensional image of the solid 1 which is observed at the front viewpoint A as a reference on the basis of the near view two-dimensional images so generated. Then, the image generator generates distant view two-dimensional images which are observed at the left end viewpoint B and the right end viewpoint C on the basis of the solids 2 , 3 and 4 which indicate the image information positioned at the rear of the boundary surface 7 . The image generator generates by interpolation a distant view two-dimensional image which is observed at the front viewpoint A as a reference on the basis of the distant view two-dimensional images so generated. Then the image generator composites the near view and distant view two-dimensional images so generated by interpolation each other on the basis of distances of these images from the boundary surface 7 .
Owing to execution of the above mentioned processing, regardless of presence of a part which will be in the dead angle when observed from both of two viewpoints, the image generator is allowed to generate a two-dimensional image which has been projected onto the display screen from a viewpoint other than the above two viewpoints with accuracy by interpolation arithmetic processing executed using two-dimensional images which have been projected from the above two viewpoints.
FIG. 3A to FIG. 3F are diagrams illustrating examples of separate interpolation of images in the distant view and the near view. FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C are diagrams illustrating examples of interpolation of images in the distant view. FIG. 3D to FIG. 3F are diagrams illustrating examples of interpolation of images in the near view.
FIG. 3A illustrates an example of a two-dimensional image obtained by projecting a three-dimensional image of a solid image from which the solid 1 in the near view has been deleted onto the display screen from the left end viewpoint. Each piece of vertex information on each of vertexes of polygons included in the two-dimensional image which has been projected onto the display screen includes depth information corresponding to the distance of each vertex measured from the display screen. Deletion of the solid 1 allows projection of the entire of the solid 3 onto the display screen. The depth information may be information on the distance of each vertex measured from the boundary surface along which a solid image is divided into near view image and distant view image. Owing to preparation of the depth information as the vertex information, an accurate two-dimensional image in which the distance of the image measured from each viewpoint is taken into consideration may be generated by separately generating near view and distant view two-dimensional images by execution of interpolation arithmetic processing and then compositing these two-dimensional images with each other on the basis of the depth information of each vertex.
FIG. 3B illustrates an example of a two-dimensional image obtained by projecting a three-dimensional image in which the solid 1 in the near view has been deleted from the solid image onto the display screen from the right end viewpoint. Each piece of vertex information of each of vertexes of polygons included in the two-dimensional image which has been projected onto the display screen includes depth information corresponding to its distance measured from the display screen. Deletion of the solid 1 allows projection of the entire of the solid 3 onto the display screen.
FIG. 3C illustrates an example of a two-dimensional image which is obtained by performing interpolation on the basis of the two-dimensional images illustrated in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B and by projecting the solid image onto the display screen from the front viewpoint. Depth information of each of vertexes of polygons included in the two-dimensional image obtained by interpolation is obtained by performing interpolation arithmetic processing on the depth information of each of vertexes of polygons included in the original two-dimensional image. Deletion of the solid 1 allows accurate generation of an interpolated two-dimensional image of the solid 3 .
FIG. 3D illustrates an example of a two-dimensional image obtained by projecting the three-dimensional image of the solid 1 which has been deleted from the image illustrated in FIG. 3A onto the display screen from the left end viewpoint. FIG. 3E illustrates an example of a two-dimensional image obtained by projecting the three-dimensional image of the solid 1 which has been deleted from the image in FIG. 3B onto the display screen from the right end viewpoint. Each piece of vertex information on each of vertexes of polygons included in the two-dimensional image which has been projected onto the display screen includes depth information corresponding to its distance measured from the display screen. FIG. 3F illustrates an example of a two-dimensional image which is obtained by performing interpolation on the basis of the two-dimensional images in FIG. 3D and FIG. 3E and by projecting the solid 1 onto the display screen from the front viewpoint. Depth information on each of vertexes of polygons included in the two-dimensional image obtained by interpolation is obtained by performing interpolation arithmetic processing on depth information on each of vertexes of polygons included in the original two-dimensional image.
Each of vertexes of polygons included in the interpolated two-dimensional images in FIG. 3C and FIG. 3F which have been generated by interpolation includes depth information. The two-dimensional image which has been projected onto the display screen from the front viewpoint may be generated with accuracy by execution of interpolation arithmetic processing, by drawing the image in FIG. 3F over the image in FIG. 3C on the basis of depth information included in each of vertexes of polygons included in each two-dimensional image.
As described above, a slid image is divided into distant view image and near view image, interpolated images of the distant view image and the near view image are separately generated, and then the interpolated images are composited with each other on the basis of depth information on each vertex. Owing to execution of the above mentioned processing, regardless of presence of a part which will be in the dead angle when observed from both of two viewpoints, it is allowed to generate a two-dimensional image which has been projected onto a display screen from a viewpoint other than the above two viewpoints with accuracy by interpolation arithmetic processing executed using two-dimensional images which have been projected onto the display screen from the above two viewpoints.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an image generator 10 which implements the image generating process illustrated in FIG. 3 . The image generator 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 , a memory 12 , an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 13 , an input unit 14 and an image display unit 15 .
The CPU 11 is a control section that generates a two-dimensional image in the case that a solid image has been projected onto a display screen from a certain viewpoint and generates an interpolated image from a plurality of two-dimensional images. The image generator 10 may include a GPU (Graphic Processing Unit) used for arithmetic operation involving image processing in addition to the CPU.
The HDD 13 stores therein vertex information on a frame that forms a solid image as a processing object, pixel information on a texture and the like. The HDD 13 stores therein a result of arithmetic operation which is performed using the CPU 11 and is temporarily stored in the memory 12 . An SSD (Solid State Drive) including a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory or the like may be used in place of the HDD.
The memory 12 temporarily stores therein information which is to be arithmetically processed using the CPU 11 in the vertex information of the frame, the pixel information on the texture and the like stored in the HDD 13 . The memory 12 temporarily stores therein a result of arithmetic processing performed using the CPU 11 .
The input unit 14 is a unit through which conditions or the like of image processing are input into the image generator 10 . As examples of the input unit 14 , a keyboard, a mouse and the like may be given.
The image display unit 15 is a unit on which a result of execution of image processing is visually displayed. As an example of the image display unit 15 , the above mentioned lenticular display may be given. An image to be output to the image display unit 15 is generated using the CPU 11 . The CPU 11 generates an output image conforming to the output format of the image display unit 15 .
Owing to the above mentioned configuration, the image generator 10 is allowed to generate a two-dimensional image which has been projected onto the display screen from an arbitrary viewpoint for a three-dimensional image stored in the HDD 13 in accordance with conditions which have been input into it using the input unit 14 and to visually output the generated two-dimensional image onto the image display unit 15 .
FIG. 5 is a detailed block diagram illustrating examples of the CPU 11 and the memory 12 according to the embodiment. The CPU 11 processes data stored in the memory 12 by executing a program and outputs a result of execution of data processing to the memory 12 . The program which is executed using the CPU 11 may be stored either in the memory 12 or in a memory dedicated to the CPU 11 .
The CPU 11 executes image dividing means 20 , vertex processing means 21 , pixel generating means 22 , pixel interpolating means 23 and image compositing means 25 in accordance with programs.
The image dividing means 20 divides a three-dimensional image into near view image and distant view image in accordance with a previously set threshold value. The image dividing means 20 temporarily removes the three-dimensional image in the near view or in the distant view which is an out-of-object in the three-dimensional images so divided. As an example of the threshold value, a boundary surface which is disposed in parallel with the display screen may be given.
The boundary surface which functions as the threshold value may be a plane along which vertexes of a plurality of mutually adjacent polygons included in a three-dimensional image are divided to be positioned in the front or at the rear of a boundary surface which is set on the basis of a viewpoint concerned. The CPU 11 is allowed to set the boundary surface by judging on which side of the boundary surface the vertexes of polygons included in one of a plurality of three-dimensional images are divided to be positioned.
Three-dimensional image information is defined by a plurality of polygons. Each polygon is defined by respective pieces of positional information on vertexes of the polygon. In the case that one of the vertexes of each polygon is positioned in the front of the boundary surface, the polygon may be regarded to be positioned in the front of the boundary surface, and in the case that all the vertexes of each polygon are positioned at the rear of the boundary surface, the polygon may be regarded to be positioned at the rear of the boundary surface.
Even in the case that one three-dimensional image is positioned intersecting the boundary surface, the CPU 11 is allowed to divide the three-dimensional image into image parts positioned in the front and at the rear of the boundary surface by dividing the three-dimensional image in units of polygons. Even in the case that a three-dimensional image includes a part which would be in the dead angle when observed from two viewpoints, the CPU 11 is allowed to generate a two-dimensional image which has been projected from a viewpoint other than the above two viewpoints by execution of interpolation arithmetic processing, by dividing one three-dimensional image into two parts in the vicinity of an area where the dead angle may be present.
The number of boundary surfaces need not be limited to one and a plurality of boundary surfaces may be set in accordance with the number of dead angles of each three-dimensional image. An accurate two-dimensional image may be generated by execution of interpolation arithmetic processing even from a three-dimensional image having a plurality of dead angles, by dividing the three-dimensional image into two groups of near view image and distant view image along each of all the boundary surfaces.
The vertex processing means 21 transforms the coordinates of the vertexes of polygons included in a three-dimensional image which has been judged as a processing object using the image dividing means 20 to those of the vertexes of polygons included in a two-dimensional image which has been projected onto the display screen from an arbitrary viewpoint. The vertex processing means 21 calculates the distance of each vertex measured from the display screen which is obtained upon coordinate transformation from the three-dimensional image to the two-dimensional image as depth information and writes it into the memory 12 as part of the vertex information after coordinate transformation. The vertex processing means 21 calculates the luminance of each vertex on the basis of light source information such as the position, the intensity and the like of a light source and writes it into the memory 12 as part of the vertex information.
The pixel generating means 22 allocates pixel data to each of vertexes of polygons included in the two-dimensional image which has been projected onto the display screen on the basis of the luminance calculated using the vertex processing means 21 . The pixel generating means 22 calculates information on pixels which form a plane surrounded by a plurality of vertexes by executing interpolation arithmetic processing on the basis of the pixel information allocated to each vertex. The pixel generating means 22 applies a texture to each plane by performing a texture mapping process. The above mentioned pixel generating process is generally called a “rasterizing” process.
The pixel interpolating means 23 generates and outputs information on the two-dimensional image which has been projected onto the display screen from an arbitrary viewpoint by calculating interpolation on the basis of information on the two-dimensional images which have been projected onto the display screen from two viewpoints. The pixel interpolating means 23 extracts two vertexes corresponding to vertexes as interpolation objects from right end and left end image information and executes interpolation b arithmetic processing on the vertexes. The pixel interpolating means 23 executes interpolation arithmetic processing also on depth information of each vertex to calculate the depth information on each of vertexes of polygons included in the interpolated image.
The image compositing means 25 composites near view and distant view two-dimensional images which have been separately projected onto the display screen with each other on the basis of the depth information on each vertex. In the case that one of the near view and distant view images is to be projected onto another image, the image compositing means 25 may calculate again the pixel value of each two-dimensional image by taking a relation in projection between the near view and distant view images into consideration in compositing the two-dimensional images with each other.
The memory 12 includes image information 30 , removed image information 27 , right end and left end image information 28 and interpolated image information 29 .
The image information 30 is the entire or part of image information on a three-dimensional image to be projected onto the display screen. The image information 30 includes vertex information 24 and pixel information 26 . Likewise, the removed image information 27 , the right end and left end image information 28 and the interpolated image information 29 include the vertex information and the pixel information as in the case in the image information 30 . However, illustration thereof is omitted in FIG. 5 .
The vertex information 24 is position information of vertexes of polygons included in the three-dimensional image to be projected onto the display screen. The vertex information 24 is the entire or part of the three-dimensional image information which has been read out of the HDD 13 conforming to the throughput of the CPU 11 and the storage size of the memory 12 .
The pixel information 26 is vertex information of each vertex and information on pixels included in a plane surrounded by the vertexes. The pixel information 26 includes color information and luminance information of each pixel. The pixel information 26 is output using the pixel generating means 22 . The pixel information 26 may include information on textures to be allocated to respective planes. Although, in this embodiment, the pixel information 26 and the vertex information 24 are defined as different pieces of information, the pixel information may be defined as part of the vertex information 24 .
The removed image information 27 is image information on a part which has been excluded from processing objects in the three-dimensional image which has been divided into the near view and distant view images. The image information on the removed part may be processed by temporarily storing the image information on the part which has been excluded from the processing objects without performing again the dividing process.
The right end and left end image information 28 is information on images obtained by projecting a three-dimensional image onto the display screen from the left end and right end viewpoints. In this embodiment, the three-dimensional image to be projected onto the display screen from the right end and left end viewpoints is a three-dimensional image obtained after removing the near view or distant view image.
Each of vertexes of polygons included in the image which has been projected onto the display screen has depth information. The depth information is information on a distance from the display screen to each vertex. In the case that the three-dimensional image is projected onto the display screen, information on the viewpoint-based depth (the depth measured on the basis of each viewpoint) of each vertex is lost. In this embodiment, the near view and the distant view images are separately generated by interpolation and then are composited with each other taking the depth information into consideration and hence information on the display-screen-based depth (the depth measured on the basis of the display screen) of each vertex is stored as information on each vertex.
The interpolated image information 29 is information on an interpolated image which has been projected onto the display screen from an arbitrary viewpoint on the basis of the right end and left end image information 28 . Interpolation arithmetic processing for generating the interpolated image information 29 is executed using the image interpolating means 23 . The interpolated image information 29 also includes information on the depth of each vertex which has been calculated by execution of interpolation arithmetic processing.
As described above, the image generator 10 is allowed to generate, by execution of interpolation arithmetic processing using the two-dimensional images which have been projected onto the display screen from two viewpoints, the two-dimensional image which has been projected onto the display screen from a viewpoint other than the above two viewpoints with accuracy, by making the CPU 11 execute the respective means on the basis of respective pieces of information which are temporarily stored in the memory 12 .
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a detailed flowchart of an image generating process. The flowchart in FIG. 6 is executed using the CPU 11 . The CPU 11 generates a distant view two-dimensional image, generates a near view two-dimensional image and then composites these two two-dimensional images with each other.
The CPU 11 generates the right end and left end image information 28 by executing processes from step S 11 to step S 17 (S 10 ). The CPU 11 reads the vertex information 24 included in the image information 30 out of the memory 12 and executes the vertex processing means 21 (S 11 ). The vertex processing means 21 performs coordinate transformation on the read vertex information 24 on the image of the three-dimensional coordinate system to generate an image of the two-dimensional coordinate system which has been projected onto the display screen from the left end or right end viewpoint. The vertex processing means 21 generates the depth information on each of vertexes of polygons included in the image which has been transformed to the image of the two-dimensional coordinate system.
The CPU 11 executes the image dividing means 20 on each of vertexes of polygons included in the image which has been transformed to the image of the two-dimensional coordinate system to calculate the displacement amount of the vertex (S 12 ). The displacement amount D of each vertex may be calculated from an equation D=C/W wherein W denotes depth information and C denotes a constant. The longer the distance of each vertex from the display screen is, the deeper the depth information W is. Thus, the value of the vertex displacement amount D of each of vertexes of polygons included in the near view image is larger than that of each of vertexes of polygons included in the distant view image. Although, in the embodiment, the vertex displacement amount is used as the reference in order to divide the solid image into the near view image and the distant view image, the depth information may be used as the reference.
The CPU 11 generates a displacement amount judging flag for each vertex using the image dividing means 20 (S 13 ). The image dividing means 20 calculates the vertex displacement amount D of each vertex and compares it with a previously set threshold value DTH. In the case that the vertex displacement amount D of each vertex is larger than the threshold value DTH, the image dividing means 20 sets the value of the displacement amount judging flag to “1”. In the case that the displacement amount D is smaller than the threshold value DTH, the image dividing means 20 sets the value of the displacement amount judging flag to “0”. The displacement amount judging flag is stored as part of the vertex information.
As described above, the three-dimensional image in the above mentioned embodiment may be an aggregate of polygons. The image dividing means 20 reads information on vertexes which may define each of the polygons included in the image concerned. In the case that the value of the displacement amount judging flag which is included in the read vertex information as the flag of at least one of the vertexes of each of the polygons is “1”, the image dividing means 20 removes the polygon as a graphic of a large displacement amount (S 14 ). The CPU 11 outputs all the graphics to be removed as the removed image information 27 to the memory 12 (S 15 ). The removed mage information 27 may be, for example, index information which is stored such that the vertex information on each of the vertexes which may define each polygon to be removed may be referred to. In the above mentioned case, the removed image information 27 is image information on the near view image.
The CPU 11 executes a pixel generating process on image information obtained after execution of the removing process using the pixel generating means 22 (S 16 ). In the above mentioned case, the image information obtained after execution of the removing process is image information on the distant view image. The CPU 11 outputs the right end and left end image information 28 which has been generated using the image generating means 22 to the memory 12 .
The CPU 11 repeats execution of the process at step S 19 [the number of viewpoints—2] times to calculate an interpolated image obtained at each viewpoint (S 18 ). At step S 18 , the right end viewpoint and the left end viewpoint are included in the number of viewpoints. Thus, in the case that the interpolated image which is obtained at one viewpoint between the right end and left end viewpoints is calculated, the number of times that the CPU 11 repeats execution of the process at step S 19 is one.
The CPU 11 executes the pixel interpolating means 23 at step S 19 . The pixel interpolating means 23 executes interpolation arithmetic processing on the interpolated image information 29 on the image which has been projected onto the display screen from an arbitrary viewpoint. The pixel interpolating means 23 executes interpolation arithmetic processing also on the depth information on each vertex.
The CPU 11 repeats execution of processes from step S 21 to step S 24 [the number of viewpoints] times (S 20 ). The CPU 11 repeats execution of the processes to composite the distant view and near view two-dimensional images which have been projected onto the display screen from the respective viewpoints with each other.
The CPU 11 reads the removed image information 27 stored in the memory 12 (S 21 ). The CPU 11 reads the vertex information included in the removed image information 27 in order to generate the two-dimensional images which have been projected onto the display screen from respective viewpoints. The CPU 11 executes a process of coordinate transformation to the two-dimensional images which have been projected onto the display screen from the respective viewpoints on the read vertex information using the vertex processing means 21 (S 22 ). The vertex processing means 21 calculates the depth information of each vertex and outputs it to the memory 12 .
In this embodiment, the vertex processing means 21 also generates a removed image which has been projected onto the display screen from each viewpoint other than the right end and left end viewpoints. Load on the CPU may be reduced by executing the vertex processing only on the removed image information 27 in compassion with a case in which the vertex processing is executed on all pieces of image information.
A two-dimensional image for the near view image which has been regarded as a removed image may be generated by performing interpolation arithmetic processing as in the case in the two-dimensional image for the distant view image. The CPU 11 is allowed to generate the removed image which has been projected onto the display screen from each viewpoint with arithmetic load which is smaller than that exerted in execution of the vertex processing by generating the two-dimensional image by interpolation arithmetic processing.
The CPU 11 generates pixel information on the respective vertexes and the plane surrounded by the vertexes with respect to the removed image which has been projected onto the display screen from each viewpoint (S 23 ).
The CPU 11 composites the information on the near view images which have been projected onto the display screen from the respective viewpoints with the image information on the distant area images which have been projected onto the display screen from the respective viewpoints in units of viewpoints (S 24 ). The CPU 11 executes the compositing process on the basis of the depth information of vertexes of polygons included in each image using the image compositing means 25 . The near view two-dimensional image and the distant view two-dimensional image may be generated with accuracy by executing the compositing process on the basis of the depth information.
As described above, a solid image is divided into distant view image and near view image, interpolated images for the distant and near views are separately generated, and then the interpolated images are composited with each other on the basis of depth information. Owing to execution of the above mentioned processing, regardless of presence of a part which will be in the dead angle when observed from both of two viewpoints, it is allowed to generate with accuracy a two-dimensional image which has been projected onto the display screen from a viewpoint other than the above two viewpoints by interpolation arithmetic processing executed using the two-dimensional images which have been projected onto the display screen from the above mentioned two viewpoints.
In addition, even in the case that a plurality of dead angles are present, it may be allowed to generate an accurate two-dimensional image by dividing the solid image into image parts on the basis of the distance from each viewpoint to each position where each dead angle is present and respectively obtaining respective interpolated images for the divided image parts of the solid image.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of another detailed flowchart of the image generating process. The flowchart in FIG. 7 is executed using the CPU 11 . The CPU 11 generates a near view two-dimensional image, thereafter generates a distant view two-dimensional image and then composites the above mentioned two two-dimensional images with each other.
The CPU 11 repeats execution of the processes from step S 31 to step S 39 [the number of viewpoints] times to generate the near view two-dimensional image projected from each viewpoint (S 30 ). Incidentally, the right end viewpoint and the left end viewpoint are also included in the above mentioned number of viewpoints.
Then, the CPU 11 reads the vertex information 24 out of the memory 12 and executes the vertex processing means 21 (S 31 ). The vertex processing means 21 performs coordinate transformation on the read vertex information 24 of the three-dimensional coordinate system to generate the image of the two-dimensional coordinate system which has been projected onto the display screen from each viewpoint. The vertex processing means 21 generates depth information on each of vertexes of polygons included in the image which has been transformed to the image of the two-dimensional coordinate system.
The CPU 11 executes the image dividing means 20 on each of the vertexes of polygons included in the image which has been transformed to the image of the two-dimensional coordinate system to calculate the displacement amount of each vertex (S 33 ). The method of calculating the vertex displacement amount D of each vertex is as described above.
Then, the CPU 11 generates the displacement amount judging flag for each vertex using the image dividing means 20 (S 34 ). The method of determining the displacement amount judging flag is as described above.
The image dividing means 20 reads vertex information on each of vertexes of respective polygons included in the three-dimensional image. In the case that the value of at least one of the read displacement amount judging flags of the vertexes which may define each polygon is “0”, the image dividing means 20 regards the image which includes the polygon concerned as the image of a small displacement amount and removes it (S 35 ).
The CPU 11 judges whether the in-process viewpoint is the right end or left end viewpoint (S 36 ). In the case that the in-process viewpoint is the right end or left end viewpoint (S 36 : YES), the CPU 11 outputs the image information on the removed near view image part as the removed image information 27 to the memory 12 (S 37 ). The removed image information 27 may be, for example, index information which stores vertex information on the vertexes which may define the polygon included in the image to be removed. In the above mentioned case, the removed image information 27 is image information on the distant view image.
In the case that the in-process viewpoint is not the right end viewpoint or the left end viewpoint (S 36 : NO), the CPU 11 executes the pixel generating process on the image information obtained after execution of the image removing process using the pixel generating means 22 (S 38 ). In the above mentioned case, the image information obtained after execution of the image removing process is image information on the near view image. The CPU 11 outputs the image information which has been generated using the pixel generating means 22 to the memory 20 as the image information 30 of a large displacement amount (S 39 ).
The CPU 11 repeats execution of the processes from step S 41 to step S 44 on the images which have been projected from the right end and left end viewpoints (S 40 ). By repeating execution of the processes, the CPU 11 is allowed to generate the two-dimensional images which have been projected onto the display screen from the right end and left end viewpoints with respect to the removed image information 27 .
Then, the CPU 11 reads the removed image information 27 out of the memory 12 (S 41 ). The CPU 11 executes the pixel generating process on the removed image information 27 so read using the pixel generating means 22 (S 43 ). In the above mentioned case, the removed image information 27 is image information on the near view image. The CPU outputs the right end and left end image information 28 on the near view image which has been generated using the pixel generating means 22 to the memory 12 (S 44 ).
The CPU 11 repeats execution of the process at step S 46 [the number of viewpoints—2] times (S 45 ). The CPU 11 executes the pixel interpolating means 23 at step S 46 . The pixel interpolating means 23 performs interpolation arithmetic processing on the interpolated image information 29 on the near view image which has been projected onto the display screen from an arbitrary viewpoint on the basis of the right end and left end image information 28 on the near view image which has been output to the memory 12 . The pixel interpolating means 23 also performs interpolation arithmetic processing on the depth information on each vertex.
The CPU 11 repeats execution of the process at step S 48 [the number of viewpoints] times (S 47 ). The CPU 11 composites distant view and near view two-dimensional images which have been projected onto the display screen from the respective viewpoints with each other using the image compositing means 25 (S 48 ). The CPU 11 executes the compositing process on the basis of the depth information on each of vertexes of polygons included in each image. By performing the compositing process on the basis of the depth information, it is allowed to generate the accurate two-dimensional image from the near view two-dimensional image and the distant view two-dimensional image.
As described above, the solid image is divided into the distant view and near view images, interpolated images of the distant view and the near view are separated generated, and then the interpolated images are composited with each other on the basis of the depth information. Owing to execution of the above mentioned processing, regardless of presence of a part which will be in the dead angle from both of two viewpoints, it is allowed to generate with accuracy the two-dimensional image which has been projected onto the display screen from a viewpoint other than the above two viewpoints by interpolation arithmetic processing executed using two-dimensional images which have been projected onto the display screen from the above two viewpoints. Incidentally, it is allowed to composite the distant view and near view images with each other with accuracy by using the depth information regardless of which image is processed first after the solid image has been divided into the distant view and rear view images.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a further detailed flowchart of the image generating process. The flowchart in FIG. 8 is executed using the CPU 11 . The CPU 11 divides a solid image into two groups of distant view and near view images, thereafter separately generates distant view and near view two-dimensional images and then composites the generated two two-dimensional images with each other. In this embodiment, the CPU 11 may be a multi-processor which may execute in parallel processes of projecting the near view and distant view images simultaneously.
The CPU 11 generates right end and left end image information 281 on the near view image and right end and left end image information 282 on the distant view image by executing the processes from step S 51 to step S 58 (S 50 ). The CPU 11 reads the vertex information 24 out of the memory 12 to execute the vertex processing means 21 (S 51 ). The vertex processing means 21 performs coordinate transformation on the read vertex information 24 of the image of the three-dimensional coordinate system and generates the image of the two-dimensional coordinate system which has been projected onto the display screen from the left end or right end viewpoint. The vertex processing means 21 generates depth information on each of vertexes of polygons included in the image which has been coordinate-transformed to the two-dimensional coordinate system.
The CPU 11 executes the image dividing means 20 on each of vertexes of polygons included in the image so transformed to the two-dimensional coordinate system and calculates the vertex displacement amount of each vertex (S 52 ). The CPU 11 generates the displacement amount judging flag for each vertex using the image dividing means 20 (S 53 ). The CPU 11 removes the image of a large displacement amount on the basis of the displacement amount flag so generated (S 54 ). In the above mentioned case, the image including the polygon vertex of the large displacement amount is the near view image.
The CPU 11 executes the pixel generating process on the image information obtained after execution of the image removing process using the pixel generating means 22 (S 55 ). In the above mentioned case, the image information obtained after execution of the image removing process is the distant view image information. The CPU 11 outputs the right end and left end image information 282 on the distant view image which has been generated using the pixel generating means 22 to the memory 12 (S 58 ).
The CPU 11 executes the pixel generating process on the removed image information using the pixel generating means 22 in parallel with execution of image processing on the distant view image (S 56 ). In the above mentioned case, the removed image information is image information on the near view image. The CPU 11 outputs the right end and left end image information 281 on the near view image which has been generated using the pixel generating means 22 to the memory 12 (S 57 ).
The CPU 11 repeats execution of the process from step S 61 to step S 63 [the number of viewpoints—2] times (S 60 ). The CPU 11 performs interpolation arithmetic processing on interpolated image information 292 which has been projected onto the display screen from an arbitrary viewpoint using the pixel interpolating means 23 on the basis of the right end and left end image information 282 on the distant view image which has been output to the memory 12 (S 61 ). The pixel interpolating means 23 performs interpolation arithmetic processing also on the depth information on each vertex.
The CPU executes interpolation arithmetic processing on the near view image using the pixel interpolating means 23 in parallel with execution of the image processing on the distant view image (S 62 ). The CPU 11 executes interpolation arithmetic processing on interpolated image information 291 on the interpolated image which has been projected onto the display screen from an arbitrary viewpoint on the basis of the right end and left end image information 281 on the near view image which has been read out of the memory 12 (S 62 ). The pixel interpolating means 23 performs interpolation arithmetic processing also on the depth information on each vertex included in the interpolated image information 291 .
The CPU 11 repeats execution of the process at step S 66 [the number of viewpoints] times (S 65 ). The CPU 11 composites the distant view and near view two-dimensional images which have been separately projected onto the display screen from respective viewpoints with each other (S 66 ). The CPU 11 executes the compositing process on the basis of the depth information on each of vertexes of polygons included in each image using the image compositing means 25 . With respect to the right end and left end viewpoints, the CPU 11 composites the near view right end and left end image information 281 and the distant view right end and left end image information 282 with each other. In addition, with respect to a viewpoint other than the right end and left end viewpoints, the CPU 11 composites the near view interpolated image information 291 and the distant view interpolated image information 292 with each other. By executing the compositing process on the basis of the depth information, the compositing process may be executed with accuracy with no change in relation between the near view two-dimensional image and the distant view two-dimensional image with respect to the distance from each viewpoint.
As described above, a solid image is divided into two groups of distant view and near view images, interpolated images of the distant view and near view images are separately generated and then the interpolated images are composited with each other on the basis of depth information. Owing to execution of the above mentioned processing, regardless of presence of a part which will be in the dead angle when observed from both of two viewpoints, it is allowed to generate with accuracy a two-dimensional image which has been projected onto the display screen from a viewpoint other than the above two viewpoints by interpolation arithmetic processing executed using two-dimensional images which have been projected onto the display screen from the above two viewpoints. In addition, efficient generation of the two-dimensional image is allowed by performing a process of generating a distant view two-dimensional image and a process of generating a near view two-dimensional image in parallel with each other.
All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although the embodiments of the present inventions have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. | An image generating method includes: generating first and second projected two-dimensional images of a front object seen from first and second viewpoints, the front object being a part of the three-dimensional image divided by a predetermined boundary surface; interpolating the first and second projected two-dimensional images to generate a first interpolated two-dimensional image of the front object seen from a third viewpoint locating on a straight line connecting the first and second viewpoint; generating third and fourth projected two-dimensional images of a rear object seen from the first and second viewpoints, the rear object being another part of the three-dimensional image divided by the predetermined boundary surface; interpolating the third and fourth projected two-dimensional images to generate a second interpolated two-dimensional image of the rear object seen from the third viewpoint; and overwriting the first interpolated two-dimensional image on the second interpolated two-dimensional image. | 6 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for determining at least one operational transmit power over a physical channel for respective ones of at least one tone.
Such a method is already known in the art, e.g. from the article entitled “Distributed Multi-user Power Control for Digital Subscriber Lines”, from Wei YU, Georges GINIS and John M. CIOFFI, published in the IEEE Journal of Selected Areas in Communications (J-SAC) of June 2002.
Spectrum management and power control are central issues in the design of interference-limited multi-user digital communication systems, such as Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) systems.
As the demand for higher data rates increases, spectrum management and power control emerge as central issues for the following two reasons: first, high-speed DSL systems are evolving toward higher frequency bands, where the crosstalk problem is more pronounced. Second, remotely deployed DSL can potentially emit strong crosstalk into neighboring lines.
FIG. 1 illustrates the latter issue. 3 transceiver unit pairs RT 1 /CP 1 , CO 1 /CP 2 and CO 2 /CP 3 are connected via twisted pairs L 1 , L 2 and L 3 respectively. The twisted pairs L 1 , L 2 and L 3 are bundled together in the binder B on the way to the central office CO. Because of their close proximity, the lines create electromagnetic interference into each other. Near-end crosstalk (NEXT) refers to crosstalk created by transmitters located on the same side as the receiver. Far-end crosstalk (FEXT) refers to crosstalk created by transmitters located on the other side. NEXT is usually much stronger than FEXT. To avoid NEXT, DSL makes use of frequency division multiplexing, wherein upstream (from customer premises) and downstream (to customer premises) signals are assigned distinct frequency bands.
In order to shorten the loop length with the purpose of increasing the data rate, the transceiver unit RT 1 is deployed closer to the customer premises CP 1 , e.g. by means of an optical fiber OF. This is referred to as remotely or RT deployed DSL, as opposed to centrally or CO deployed DSL.
The signal from the transceiver unit CO 1 is attenuated to a certain extent when it starts coupling with the line L 1 in the binder B, thereby creating a weak FEXT F 12 . On the contrary, the signal from the transceiver unit RT 1 is much stronger when it starts coupling with the line L 2 , thereby creating a stronger FEXT F 21 .
Several power control methods have been proposed in the Literature.
The cited document discloses a power control method, wherein each transceiver unit allocates power by waterfilling against the background noise and interference from other transceiver units. The power allocation of one transceiver unit affects the interference seen by other transceiver units. This in turn affects their power allocation so there is a coupling between the power allocation of the different users. Iterative waterfilling employs an iterative procedure whereby each transceiver unit waterfills in turn until a convergence point is reached.
The disclosed power control method is a realization of dynamic spectrum management. It adapts to suit the direct and crosstalk channels seen by the transceiver units in each specific deployment. The result is a much less conservative design hence higher performance.
Yet, the disclosed power control method leads to transmit Power Spectral Density (PSD) which may exceed the spectral masks defined in DSL standards. Hence, it does not satisfy spectral compatibility rules under method A. Instead, it relies on method B tests to ensure compatibility. These tests are highly complex. Furthermore, it is unclear whether spectral compatibility of iterative waterfilling under method B can be guaranteed for all deployment scenarios.
An other deficiency of the disclosed power control method is that it essentially implements flat Power Back-Off (PBO) over short loops, such as those seen on RT deployed DSL. In this scenario, it inherits all of the problems associated with flat PBO.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to palliate those deficiencies.
According to the invention, this object is achieved due to the fact that said method comprises the steps of
determining a transmit power over said physical channel for each individual tone of said at least one tone such that said transmit power maximizes a weighted function of a data rate achievable over said physical channel and over said individual tone, and at least one concurrent data rate achievable over respective ones of at least one modeled neighboring channel and over said individual tone, with the constraint that said transmit power conforms to a transmit power mask, determining therefrom a total data rate achievable over said physical channel and over said at least one tone, and at least one total concurrent data rate achievable over respective ones of said at least one modeled neighboring channel and over said at least one tone, adjusting each weight of said weighted function such that said at least one total concurrent data rate is greater than or equal to respective ones of at least one target data rate, and such that said total data rate is maximized, with the constraint that each weight of said weighted function is identical over said at least one tone, thereby determining by iteration said at least one operational transmit power.
Normally, the power allocation problem is non-convex. This results in a numerically intractable problem which cannot be solved, or cannot be solved with reasonable processing capabilities.
However, the following simplifications leads to a nearly optimal PBO solution:
Each tone of said at least one tone is considered separately in the optimization process. The transmitted signal must conform to a transmit power mask. Each weight of said weighted function is identical over said at least one tone.
Since the solution lies within a spectral mask, there is no issue of spectral compatibility.
This technique is amenable to autonomous implementation through the definition of a protected service (worst case-victim), which will typically be a CO deployed DSL. Yet, power allocation is still based on the channel as seen on the RT deployed DSL. As a result, the solution is not overly conservative.
Varying the desired rate for the protected service allows different tradeoffs to be achieved between reach of CO deployed DSLs and data rates of RT deployed DSLs. This trade-off can be varied to suit each geographical region. Hence, the carrier can offer the most profitable service portfolio based on the demography of customers within an area.
This technique has application for RT deployed Asymmetric DSL (ADSL) and RT deployed Very high speed asymmetric DSL (VDSL), when legacy ADSL systems must be protected. This technique achieves significant gains over traditional static spectrum management, where RT deployed VDSL is prohibited from transmitting in the ADSL band.
This technique has also application for upstream VDSL transmitters, where signal from far-end transmitters must be protected from the large crosstalk caused by near-end transmitters.
The result is a simple, autonomous PBO method applicable interalia to CO and RT deployed DSL.
The present invention also relates to a transceiver unit comprising:
a transmitter unit adapted to transmit at least one tone over a physical channel, a power control unit coupled to said transmitter unit, and adapted to determine at least one operational transmit power over said physical channel for respective ones of said at least one tone.
By implementing the present power control method in said power control unit, similar objectives are achieved.
The present invention also relates to a digital communication system comprising:
at least one transceiver unit, a communication adaptation module coupled to said at least one transceiver unit via a data communication network, each of said at least one transceiver unit comprising: a transmitter unit adapted to transmit at least one tone over a physical channel, said communication adaptation module comprising: a power control unit adapted to determine at least one operational transmit power over said physical channel for respective ones of said at least one tone.
By implementing the present power control method in said power control unit, similar objectives are achieved.
With this embodiment, the transceiver units are released from the burden of computing the transmit powers and processing resources saving is achieved, yet at the expense of the network resources required for centralizing the necessary information from the local entities, and of their operational autonomy.
Said data communication network stands for whatever type of network adapted to convey data between any of its ports, being a Local Area Network (LAN) such as an Ethernet bus, a Wide Area Network (WAN) such as an ATM broadband network or the Internet, etc, and irrespective of the underlying communication technology being used, being circuit-switched or packet-switched communication, being wired or wireless communication, etc.
The scope of the present invention is not limited to DSL communication systems. The present invention is applicable to whatever type of digital communication system conveying data over discrete tones, being by means of Discrete Multi-Tones (DMT) modulation, Single Carrier modulation, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) modulation, etc, and to whatever type of physical transmission medium, being coaxial cables, optical fibers, the atmosphere, the empty space, etc, wherein the crosstalk is a potential source of noise, not necessarily the predominant one.
Another characterizing embodiment of the present invention is that the determination of said transmit power is restricted to a pre-determined discrete set of data rates as enforced by a coding and/or modulation scheme used over said physical channel.
This simplification allows a solution to be found with lower complexity.
Another characterizing embodiment of the present invention is that said weighted function is a weighted sum.
Other mathematical functions with a weight operation, with said data rate and said at least one concurrent data rate as input, possibly with another optimization objective, can be thought of.
Further characterizing embodiments of the present invention are mentioned in the appended claims.
It is to be noticed that the term ‘comprising’, also used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted to the means listed thereafter. Thus, the scope of the expression ‘a device comprising means A and B’ should not be limited to devices consisting only of components A and B. It means that with respect to the present invention, the relevant components of the device are A and B.
Similarly, it is to be noticed that the term ‘coupled’, also used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted to direct connections only. Thus, the scope of the expression ‘a device A coupled to a device B’ should not be limited to devices or systems wherein an output of device A is directly connected to an input of device B. It means that there exists a path between an output of A and an input of B which may be a path including other devices or means.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other objects and features of the invention will become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by referring to the following description of an embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 represents a remotely deployed DSL system
FIG. 2 represents a interference channel model,
FIG. 3 represents a DSL transceiver unit according to the present invention,
FIG. 4 represents the rate regions of different PBO methods, including the proposed scheme,
FIG. 5 represents a DSL communication system according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Consider the interference channel model depicted in FIG. 2 . There are N neighboring channels C 1 to C N connecting respective ones of N transmitters X 1 to X N to respective ones of N receivers Y 1 to Y N .
Denote the direct channel transfer function from the transmitter X n to the receiver Y n as H nn . Denote the crosstalk channel transfer function from the transmitter X m to the receiver Y n as H nm (m≠n).
In addition to the interference, each receiver also experiences zero-mean Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN), the PSD of which is denoted as σ n 2 .
Denote the PSD of each transmitted signal as S n .
The achievable data rate R n over the channel C n (while treating all interference as noise) is given by the Shannon Formula:
R n = ∫ 0 F max log 2 ( 1 + S n ( f ) · H nn ( f ) 2 Γ ( σ n 2 ( f ) + ∑ m ≠ n S m ( f ) · H nm ( f ) 2 ) ) ⅆ f ( 1 )
where the SNR-gap is denoted as Γ. The SNR-gap Γ defines the gap between a practical coding and modulation scheme and the channel capacity. The SNR-gap Γ depends on the coding and modulation scheme being used, and also on the target probability of error. At theoretical capacity, Γ=0 dB.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the signal is sampled at a sampling frequency F s , which is at least twice the signal bandwidth. The signal is captured over a time window T c that matches one DMT symbol, i.e. the frequency spacing 1/T c matches the tone spacing.
The achievable data rate R n is then given by:
R n = ∑ k = 1 K log 2 ( 1 + S n , k · H nn , k 2 Γ ( σ n , k 2 + ∑ m ≠ n S m , k · H nm , k 2 ) ) 1 T c ( 2 )
where:
the set of tones over which the present optimization process is conducted is denoted as {f 1 , . . . , f K ), f 1 to f K being harmonic frequencies of the fundamental frequency 1/T c , S n,k =S n (f k ), H nm,k =H nm (f k ), σ n,k 2 =σ n 2 (f k ).
In one embodiment of the present invention, {f 1 , . . . , f K ) is defined by the applicable DSL standard.
In another embodiment, {f 1 , . . . , f K ) is a subset thereof.
Denote the number of bits a particular tone f k can be loaded with over the channel C n as B n,k .
We have:
B n , k = ⌊ log 2 ( 1 + S n , k · H nn , k 2 Γ ( σ n , k 2 + ∑ m ≠ n S m , k · H nm , k 2 ) ) ⌋ ( 3 )
where └x┘ rounds down to the nearest value in the set {b 0 =0, b 1 , . . . , b L }. The set {b 0 , b 1 , . . . , b L } is the set of all possible bit loading values as defined by the applicable DMT modulation scheme.
FIG. 3 depicts a DSL transceiver unit RT 1 adapted to transmit a DMT modulated signal over a twisted pair L 1 .
With respect to the present invention, the transceiver unit RT 1 comprises the following functional blocks:
a power control unit PC, a transmitter unit TX, a receiver unit RX, a hybrid circuit H, a line adaptator T.
The power control unit PC is coupled to both the transmitter unit TX and the receiver unit RX. The transmitter unit TX and the receiver unit RX are both coupled to the hybrid circuit H. The hybrid circuit H is coupled to the line adaptator T.
The transmitter unit TX accommodates the necessary means for encoding user and control data and for modulating DSL tones with the so encoded data. The transmitter unit accommodates the necessary means for controlling the transmit power of each tone, as determined by the power control unit PC.
The receiver unit RX accommodates the necessary means for demodulating a DSL signal and for decoding user and control data from the so-demodulated signal.
The hybrid circuit H is adapted to couple the transmitter unit TX′ output to the twisted pair L 1 , and the twisted pair L 1 to the receiver unit RX's input. The hybrid circuit H accommodates an echo cancellation means to avoid the transmitted unit TX's signal to couple into the receiver unit RX's input.
The line adaptator T is adapted to isolate the transceiver unit RT 1 from the twisted pair L 1 , and to adapt the input and output impedance of the transceiver unit RT 1 to the line characteristic impedance.
The power control unit PC is adapted to determine by iteration the operational transmit powers of the DSL tones.
The power control unit PC comprises the following functional blocks:
a first agent A 1 , a second agent A 2 , a third agent A 3 .
The first agent A 1 is coupled to the second agent A 2 , to the transmitter unit TX and to the receiver unit RX. The second agent A 2 is coupled to the third agent A 3 . The third agent A 3 is coupled to the first agent A 1 .
The first agent makes use of the foregoing interference channel model, wherein the channel C 1 stands for the line L 1 . The first agent A 1 assumes then N−1 neighboring channels C 2 to C N interfering with the line L 1 .
Denote a particular bit loading out of the set {b 0 , b 1 , . . . , b L ) as b l .
Denote a particular tone as f k .
Denote the transmit power required to load the tone f k with b l bits over the line L 1 as S 1,k,l .
We can write from the equation (3):
s
1
,
k
,
l
=
σ
1
,
k
2
+
∑
m
≠
1
S
m
,
k
·
H
1
m
,
k
2
H
11
,
k
2
(
2
b
1
-
1
)
Γ
(
4
)
The peer transceiver unit at the other end of the line L 1 , presently CP 1 , determines some channel information from measurements performed on the received signal and noise.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the first agent A 1 makes uses of the transmit power and the corresponding bit loading as computed by the peer transceiver unit for the tone f k , denoted as SR 1,k and BR 1,k respectively.
The receiver unit RX is adapted to forward those pieces of information, denoted as IR in FIG. 3 , to the first agent A 1 .
We have:
σ
1
,
k
2
+
∑
m
≠
1
S
m
,
k
·
H
1
m
,
k
2
H
11
,
k
2
=
1
(
2
BR
1
,
k
-
1
)
Γ
SR
1
,
k
and:
s
1
,
k
,
l
=
(
2
b
1
-
1
)
(
2
BR
1
,
k
-
1
)
SR
1
,
k
(
5
)
In another embodiment, the first agent A 1 makes use of the noise and the direct channel transfer function as measured by the peer transceiver unit.
In still another embodiment, the first agent A 1 makes use of the Channel Signal to Noise Ratio (C-SNR) as measured by the peer transceiver unit
(
CSNR
1
,
k
=
H
11
,
k
2
σ
1
,
k
2
+
∑
m
≠
1
S
m
,
k
·
H
1
m
,
k
2
)
.
The first agent A 1 determines S 1,k,l for all the bit loading b 1 to b L (S 1,k,o =0 dB) by means of the equation (5).
A bit loading b l for which the corresponding transmit power S 1,k,l does not conform to some pre-determined transmit power mask is discarded.
Next, the first agent A 1 determines for each S 1,k,l the bit loading achievable over the neighboring channels C 2 to C N , denoted as B 2,k,l to B N,k,l respectively.
The first agent A 1 makes use of some level of knowledge regarding the neighboring systems and the transmission environment.
The following data are assumed to be preliminarily known:
N−1 transmit PSD S 2 to S N for the transmitters X 2 to X N respectively N−1 noise PSD σ 2 2 to σ N 2 for the channels C 2 to C N respectively, N−1 direct transfer function magnitudes |H 22 | to |H NN | for the channels C 2 to C N respectively, N−1 crosstalk transfer function magnitudes |H 21 | to |H N1 | from the transmitter X 1 to the receivers Y 2 to Y N respectively.
In one embodiment of the present invention, those data are held in a non-volatile storage area.
In another embodiment, the transceiver unit RT 1 further comprises communication means adapted to retrieve all or part of those data from a remote server.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the first agent A 1 makes use of a crosstalk channel model, wherein the transfer function magnitude |H m1 | for the tone f k is given by:
| H m1,k | 2 =K m ·f k 2 ·l B ·( e −α m,k · m ) 2 (2 ≦m≦N ) (6)
where:
K m is a coupling constant between the line L 1 and the channel Cm, the theoretical length over which the line L 1 is bundled together with the channels C 2 to CN is denoted as l B , the theoretical signal attenuation of the tone f k over the channel Cm is denoted as α m,k , the theoretical length of the channel through which the crosstalk signal from the transmitter X 1 into the receiver Y m attenuates is denoted as l m .
The bit loading B 2,k,l to B N,k,l achievable over the neighboring channels C 2 to C N for a given S 1,k,l are obtained by means of the following equation:
B m , k , l = ⌊ log 2 ( 1 + S m , k · H mm , k 2 Γ ( σ m , k 2 + S 1 , k , l · H m1 , k 2 ) ) ⌋ ( 2 ≤ m ≤ N ) ( 7 )
combined with the equation (6)
The interference between the channels C 2 to C N are assumed to be included in the noise model σ m 2 .
In another embodiment, the first agent A 1 makes use of another crosstalk channel model as known to a person skilled in the art.
The first agent A 1 computes a weighted sum of the bit loading achievable over the line L 1 and the bit loading achievable over the channels C 2 to C N :
J
k
,
l
=
w
1
·
b
l
+
∑
m
=
2
N
w
m
·
B
m
,
k
,
l
(
8
)
The first agent A 1 determines the bit loading b lk that maximizes the weighted sum J k,l :
l k =argmax l ( J k,l ) (9)
The transmit power of the tone f k over the line L 1 that maximizes the weighted sum J k,l is then given by:
S
1
,
k
=
S
1
,
k
,
l
k
=
(
2
b
l
k
-
1
)
(
2
bR
1
,
k
-
1
)
SR
1
,
k
(
10
)
The corresponding bit loading over the line L 1 is given by:
B 1,k =b lk (11)
The corresponding bit loading over the channels C 2 to C N is given by:
B
m
,
k
=
B
m
,
k
,
l
k
=
⌊
log
2
(
1
+
S
m
,
k
·
H
mm
,
k
2
Γ
(
σ
m
,
k
2
+
S
1
,
k
,
l
k
·
H
m1
,
k
2
)
)
⌋
(
2
≤
m
≤
N
)
(
12
)
The first agent A 1 re-iterates the procedure for all the tones f 1 to f K .
The first agent A 1 makes B 1,k to B N,k available to the second agent A 2 for all the tones f 1 to f K , e.g. by means of a share memory area and one or more software trigger.
The second agent A 2 sums up B 1,k over all the tones f 1 to f K , thereby determining a total bit loading B 1 :
B
1
=
∑
k
=
1
K
B
1
,
k
(
13
)
The second agent A 2 sums up B 2,k to B N,k over all the tones f 1 to f K , thereby determining N−1 total concurrent bit loading B 2 to B N :
B
m
=
∑
k
=
1
K
B
m
,
k
(
2
≤
m
≤
N
)
(
14
)
The third agent A 3 adapts the weight w 1 to w N such that B 2 to B N are respectively greater than or equal to target rates BT 2 to BT N , and such that B 1 is maximized.
In one embodiment of the present invention:
w
1
=
1
-
∑
m
=
2
N
w
m
If any of the total concurrent bit rate B 2 to B N is lower than its target rate then the corresponding weight is increased by dichotomy. If any of the total concurrent bit rate B 2 to B N is greater than its target rate then the corresponding weight is decreased by dichotomy.
In another embodiment, the third agent A 3 adjust the weights w 1 to w N by means of another algorithm as known to a person skilled in the art.
The new weight values are made available to the first agent A 1 , which in turn determines new transmit powers therefrom, and so on.
The process keeps on until a convergence criteria is met, e.g. the interval wherein each weight is presently assumed to be is less than a pre-determined threshold ε.
The third agent A 3 notifies the first agent A 1 of the process completion. Thereupon, the first agent A 1 makes the lastly determined S 1,k available to the transmitter unit TX for all the tones f 1 to f K .
The transmitter unit TX applies the transmit power S 1,1 to S 1,K to the tones f 1 to f K respectively.
It would be apparent to a person skilled in the art that bit loading or bit rate could have been be used interchangeably (actually, the bit loading is the number of bits a tone conveys over a DMT symbol period).
FIG. 4 represents the rate regions of different PBO methods, including the proposed scheme. In this numerical analysis, PBO is assumed to be applied to a RT deployed ADSL interfering with a CO deployed ADSL. The proposed scheme achieves significant performance gains over existing methods: with 1 Mbps as target data rate on the CO deployed ADSL, the RT deployed ADSL achieves 1,7 Mbps with flat PBO, 2,4 Mbps with reference noise, 3,7 Mbps with iterative waterfilling and 6,7 Mbps with the proposed scheme.
Another characterizing embodiment of the present invention is depicted in FIG. 5 .
With respect to the present invention, the DSL communication system S comprises the following functional blocks:
a communication adaptation module CAM, a transceiver unit RT 2 , a data communication network DCN.
The communication adaptation module CAM is coupled to the transceiver unit RT 2 via the data communication network DCN.
With respect to the present invention, the communication adaptation module CAM comprises the following functional blocks:
the previously described power control unit PC, which comprises the previously described agents A 1 to A 3 , a communication means COM 1 , an input/output port I/O 1 .
The first agent A 1 is coupled to the second agent A 2 and to the communication means COM 1 . The second agent A 2 is coupled to the third agent A 3 . The third agent A 3 is coupled to the first agent A 1 . The communication means COM 1 is coupled to the input/output port I/O 1 .
The input/output port I/O 1 accommodates the necessary means for encoding and transmitting data over the data communication network DCN, and for receiving and decoding data from the data communication network DCN.
The communication means COM 1 accommodates the necessary means for communicating via the data communication network DCN with a transceiver unit, and for checking the integrity of the messages exchanged over the data communication network DCN.
More specifically, the communication means COM 1 is adapted to receive from a transceiver unit the channel information IR necessary for computing the operational transmit powers of this transceiver unit, and to forward them to the first agent A 1 .
The communication means COM 1 is further adapted to send to a transceiver unit the operational transmit powers S 1,1 to S 1,K as determined by the power control unit PC for this transceiver unit.
With respect to the present invention, the transceiver unit RT 2 comprises the following functional blocks:
the previously described transmitter unit TX, the previously described receiver unit RX, the previously described hybrid circuit H, the previously described line adaptator T, a communication means COM 2 , an input/output port I/O 2 .
The transmitter unit TX and the receiver unit RX are both coupled to the hybrid circuit H. The hybrid circuit H is coupled to the line adaptator T. The communication means COM 2 is coupled to the transmitter unit TX, to the receiver unit RX and to the input/output port I/O 2 .
The input/output port I/O 2 accommodates the necessary means for encoding and transmitting data over the data communication network DCN, and for receiving and decoding data from the data communication network DCN.
The communication means COM 2 accommodates the necessary means for communicating via the data communication network DCN with a communication adaptation module, and for checking the integrity of the messages exchanged over the data communication network DCN.
More specifically, the communication means COM 2 is adapted to forward the necessary channel information IR, as reported by a peer transceiver unit, to a communication adaptation module for further processing.
The communication means COM 2 is further adapted to receive from a communication adaptation module the operational transmit powers S 1,1 to S 1,K , and to forward them to the transmitter unit TX.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the communication adaptation module CAM is housed by a network manager, and is coupled to the transceiver units via a WAN, such as an ATM network.
In another embodiment, the communication adaptation module CAM is mounted on a card and plugged into a card slot of a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM). The communication adaptation module CAM is coupled to the DSLAM's transceiver units via a local bus, such as an Ethernet bus, and to the remotely deployed transceiver units via their respective link to the DSLAM.
A final remark is that embodiments of the present invention are described above in terms of functional blocks. From the functional description of these blocks, given above, it will be apparent for a person skilled in the art of designing electronic devices how embodiments of these blocks can be manufactured with well-known electronic components. A detailed architecture of the contents of the functional blocks hence is not given.
While the principles of the invention have been described above in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation on the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. | A power control method for transceiver units conveying data over discrete tones. The method includes the steps of: determining a transmit power over a physical channel for each individual tone, such that this transmit power maximizes a weighted function of data rates achievable with this tone over the physical channel and over modeled neighboring channels, with the constraint that this transmit power conforms to a transmit power mask, summing up the data rates over the whole set of tones, adjusting the weights such that the total data rates over the modeled neighboring channels reach some target data rates, and such that the total data rate over the physical channel is maximized, with the constraint that each weight is identical over the whole set of tones. | 7 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system for detecting an abnormality of an automotive engine for a motor vehicle, and more particularly to a system which detects an abnormality by deviations of learning coefficients.
In one type of electronic fuel-injection control, the amount of fuel to be injected into the engine is determined in accordance with engine operating variables such as mass air flow, engine speed and engine load. The amount of fuel is determined by an injection pulse width. Basic injection pulse width T P can be obtained by the following formula.
T.sub.P =K×Q/N
where Q is mass air flow, N is engine speed, and K is a constant.
Desired injection pulse width T i is obtained by correcting the basic injection pulse T P with engine operating variables. In a learning control system, the desired injection pulse width is calculated by a following equation.
T.sub.i =T.sub.P ×(COEF)×α×K.sub.a
where COEF is a coefficient obtained by adding various correction or compensation coefficients such as coefficients on coolant temperature, full throttle open, engine load, etc., α is a feedback correcting coefficient of an O 2 -sensor provided in an exhaust passage, and K a is a correcting coefficient by learning (hereinafter called learning coefficient). Coefficients, such as coolant temperature coefficient and engine load, are obtained by looking up tables in accordance with sensed informations. The value of the learning coefficient K a is derived from a RAM in accordance with engine load.
In order to obtain these informations, various sensors are provided in the engine. Those sensors inherently deteriorate in output characteristics with time. Accordingly, if the air-fuel ratio deviates largely from a desired air-fuel ratio because of the deterioration of a sensor, a warning for abnormality of the engine should be given to a driver of the vehicle.
Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 55-112695 discloses a diagnose system in which the number of occurrences of an abnormal signal from a sensor is counted, and when the number exceeds a predetermined number, a warning is given.
However, in the engine, since the output of a sensor varies largely in accordance with engine operating conditions, such a system is not available.
On the other hand, in the learning control system, all the learning coefficients are arranged in a form of a lookup table comprising a plurality of rows and columns in accordance with the engine load. Coefficients in divisions at intersections of rows and columns are initially set to the same value, that is the number "1". This is caused by the fact that the fuel supply system is to be designed to provide the most proper amount of fuel without the coefficient K a . However, every automobile can not be manufactured to have a desired function, resulting in same results. Accordingly, the coefficients K a are updated by learning at every automobile, when it is actually used. If an abnormality occurs in the engine, the learning coefficients are largely changed by the updating. When a coefficient in a division exceeds a predetermined limit range, the division is registered as an abnormal division When the number of registered abnormal divisions exceeds a predetermined number, it is determined that the air-fuel ratio control system becomes abnormal. The abnormality is warned and the value of each coefficient is set to one for the fail-safe.
There are a common driving condition range in which the motor vehicle is commonly driven and common divisions included in common driving condition range. Accordingly, the common divisions are frequently updated and liable to be registered as abnormal divisions earlier than other divisions. If the predetermined number of the abnormal divisions for the detection of abnormality is larger than the number of the common divisions, the coefficients in divisions other than the common divisions are rarely updated. As a result, the detection of abnormality retards. To the contrary, if the number of the abnormal divisions is smaller than the number of the common divisions, the system is regarded as abnormal in spite of slight noises.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a system which may exactly detect the abnormality of an engine by abnormal coefficients in the common divisions.
Accordingly to the present invention, there is provided a system for detecting abnormality of a combustion engine having a fuel injector, the system having a table provided with a plurality of divisions each of which storing a coefficient, detector means for detecting the operating condition of the engine and for producing a feedback signal dependent on the condition, a calculator for producing a basic fuel injection pulse width in accordance with engine operating conditions, corrector means for correcting the basic fuel injection pulse width by a coefficient derived from the table and by the feedback signal, updating means for updating coefficients in the table with values relative to the feedback signal, and abnormal coefficient detector means. The abnormal coefficient detector means comprising first means for determining a number of updating times larger than a predetermined first number of times and for producing a first signal, second means responsive to the first signal for determining a fact that a number of divisions in which each coefficient is out of a predetermined limit range is larger value than a predetermined second number and for producing a second signal, third means responsive to the second signal for deriving a fact that a coefficient exceeding the limit range in a particular division is updated a number of times more than a predetermined number of times, and for producing an abnormality signal, holding means responsive to the abnormality signal for holding all of coefficients in the table to a standard value.
In an aspect of the invention, the particular division is determined in accordance with engine operating conditions, and the third means produces the abnormality signal when the coefficient is successively updated more than the predetermined number of times. The system further comprises a warning indicator responsive to the abnormality signal for indicating the abnormality.
The other objects and features of this invention will become understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration showing a fuel injection system for an automotive engine according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the system of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the operation of the system; and
FIG. 4 is a lookup table storing learning coefficients.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1, an internal combustion engine 1 for a vehicle is supplied with air, passing through an air cleaner 2, an intake pipe 3, a throttle valve 4, and an intake manifold 6. A mass air flow meter 11 is provided in a bypass 8 at the downstream of the air cleaner 2. The air flow meter 11 comprises a hot wire 10 for detecting the quantity of intake air in the intake pipe 3 and a temperature compensator plug 9. An output signal of the air flow meter 11 is supplied to an electronic control unit 17 comprising a microcomputer. An O 2 sensor 13 and a catalytic converter 12 are provided in an exhaust passage 7. A throttle position sensor 14 is provided adjacent the throttle valve 4 for producing a throttle position signal θ. A coolant temperature sensor 15 is provided on a water jacket 1a of the engine 1 for producing a temperature signal Tw. A crank angle sensor 16 is mounted adjacent a disk 16a secured to a crankshaft 1b of the engine 1 for detecting engine speed. Output signals from these sensors 13, 14, 15 and 16 are supplied to the control unit 17. The control unit 17 determines a pulse width for fuel injected from injectors 5.
Referring to FIG. 2, the control unit 17 has a basic injection pulse width calculator 18 which is supplied with an air flow signal Q representing intake air quantity at the air flow meter 11 and with an engine speed signal N from the crank angle sensor 16 for calculating a basic injection pulse width Tp.
The output signal Tp is applied to an output injection pulse width calculator 19, where an output injection pulse width Ti is calculated by correcting the basic injection pulse width Tp in accordance with engine operating conditions as described hereinafter. A feedback correction quantity calculator 20 is provided for calculating a feedback correcting value λ in accordance with a feedback signal from the O 2 sensor 13.
An air-fuel ratio correcting coefficient calculator 28 produces a correcting coefficient in accordance with the engine speed signal N, throttle position signal 8 and temperature signal Tw. A peak-to-peak value detector 21 is supplied with an output signal of the O 2 sensor and with the feedback correcting value from the calculator 20, and produces a peak-to-peak value signal. The control unit 17 further comprises a learning coefficient calculator 22 and a learning coefficient table 23 connected to the calculators 19 and 22 by bass lines. As shown in FIG. 4, the learning coefficient table 23 is a three-dimensional table having a plurality of divisions (8×8=64), each storing a learning coefficient Ka. The division is divided in accordance with engine speed N and basic injection pulse width Tp which represent the engine load.
The learning coefficient calculator 22 calculates an arithmetical average LMD of maximum and minimum values in the output of the peak-to-peak value detector 21 and calculates a new learning coefficient Kn by the following equation.
Kn=Ka+M·ΔLMD
where ΔLMD is a difference of the LMD from a desired value in feedback control, and M is a constant.
Further, the calculator 22 detects a corresponding division in accordance with engine speed N and basic injection pulse width Tp and updates the coefficient Ka in the detected division with the new coefficient Kn, when a steady state of engine operation continues during a predetermined cycles of the output signal of the O 2 sensor 13.
The output injection pulse width calculator 19 calculates the output injection pulse width Ti based on the outputs of the calculators 18, 20 and 28 and the updated coefficient derived from the table 23. The pulse width Ti is supplied to injectors 5 through a driver 24.
In accordance with the present invention, an abnormal coefficient detector 25 connected to the table 23 by a bass line is provided for detecting corresponding divisions in accordance with engine speed N and basic injection pulse width Tp, and for producing an abnormality signal as described hereinafter. The abnormality signal is fed to a warning indicator 27 through a driver 26.
The abnormality detecting operation will be described hereinafter with reference to FIG. 3. There is provided a predetermined number Nx for the whole sum of updating times, a predetermined limit range ALP for the value of learning coefficient, a predetermined number Ny for updated divisions, and a predetermined number of times Nz for the sum of successive updating times in one division. The number of updating times is counted by a counter at every updating of a coefficient in the table.
At a step 101, it is determined whether the number of updating times exceeds the predetermined number Nx. When the number of updating times is smaller than the number Nx, the program exits the routine. If the updating exceeds the set number Nx, even if at only one division of the table, the program proceeds to a step 102. At step 102, it is determined whether the number of divisions coefficients in which exceed the limit range ALP exceeds the predetermined number Ny. The range ALP is, for example, ±20% of the initial one (that is K =0.8˜1.2). If the number of divisions is larger than the number Ny, the program goes to a step 103 where the present engine operating condition is detected from engine speed N and basic fuel injection pulse width Tp. At a step 104, a division in the table which corresponds to the detected engine operating condition is detected. At a step 105, it is determined whether the number of updating times at the detected division exceeds the set number Nx. If the number is smaller than the set number Nx, an Nz counter for the number Nz is reset at a step 111. When the number is larger than the number Nx, it is determined whether the value of the coefficient in the detected division is out of the limit range ALP at a step 106. If the answer is YES, it is determined whether the coefficient in the detected division is successively updated a number of times more than the predetermined number of times Nz (Nz>2). If the updating times is smaller than the times Nz, the Nz counter is counted up by one at a step 112. If the coefficient is successively updated more than the times Nz, the abnormality signal is produced from the abnormal coefficient detector 25 at a step 108. Further, at a step 109, the abnormality is indicated by the warning indicator 27. At the same time, at a step 110, the abnormal coefficient detector 25 supplies a hold signal to the learning coefficient calculator 22 which operates to hold all of coefficients in the table to the standard value one (Ka =1).
In accordance with the present invention, since the number of updating times as a whole is determined, after which a coefficient in a particular division is detected to determine the abnormality, the detection is exactly performed.
While the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it is to be understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration and that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. | A learning control system has a table storing learning coefficients in divisions thereof. An abnormality detecting system has a section for determining a number of updating times of coefficients in the table, and for determining a fact that a number of divisions in which each coefficient is out of a predetermined limit range is larger value than a predetermined second number. The section produces an abnormality signal when a coefficent exceeding the limit range in a particular division is updated a number of times more than a predetermined number of times. In accordance with the abnormality signal, all of coefficients in the table are held to a standard value. | 5 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a method for monitoring/adjusting production in a knitting machine, and a monitoring/adjusting device therefor.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the knitting technology, electronic data processing is increasingly employed not only for machine control purposes but also for monitoring/adjusting the production. Furthermore, it is conventional to establish a masterpiece by calculating or producing on the basis of target yarn amounts and to use the masterpiece as a reference for the production of a machine or of an entire machine series. In this case comparisons are carried out with the masterpiece, e.g. with the help of the consumed yarn amounts and/or the developments of the yarn consumption. The yarn consumption is an important aspect for a knitting mill and the specialised personnel. In case of simple, plain knitted and straight tube fabrics and equipment of the circular knitting machine with positive feeding devices, the yarn tensions vary. However, the yarn amounts remain constant in relation to the machine speed such that it does not cause any problems with respect to monitoring and evaluating the yarn consumption. Furthermore, methods exist according to which the yarn amount is measured by means of a measuring roll running in the yarn path, and according to which the measured values are evaluated centrally, however, such methods require excessively high technical efforts and complicate the re-setting, adjustment and changing of the machine setting considerably.
In a device known from EP 0 452 800 A the respective yarn amount is determined and evaluated centrally with the help of measurements of the yarn speed by means of special sensors in the yarn path. The yarn amounts consumed in the masterpiece are used for comparisons with the knitted goods in order to detect and display erroneous uses, incorrect yarn speeds and incorrect machine operation cycles.
In the case of jacquard goods or so-called body stockings, however, non-positive feeding devices of different types operating with different yarn conveying principles are used for different yarn qualities, sometimes even of different producers, at one and the same knitting machine. In such cases, the monitoring and detection of the individual yarn amounts until now is impossible with reasonable control equipment and apparatus efforts. Basically, however, consecutive, sequential or final information of the yarn amounts of such specially equipped knitting machines would be important for the knitting mill owner and the specialised personnel in order to judge and optimise the efficiency of the production, to realise fluctuations of production parameters during the production early on, to save time and labour effort for the pre-setting, changes of the setting and adjustment, and to achieve an optimisation of the quality and continuous high quality with fewer defective goods.
According to a method known from DE 82 24 194 U the yarn amount is measured per revolution of the knitting machine. For this purpose a scanner is co-acting with a band commonly driving all feeding devices provided at the knitting machine. The method can only be used for positive feeding devices at the knitting machine, which positive feeding devices commonly are driven by a band. All feeding devices operate with equal feeding rates and with identical yarn conveying principles.
According to a method as known from EP 0 489 307 A, the entrance speed of each yarn into a knitting system is constantly maintained equal or proportional to an entrance speed which is predetermined by a self-learning cycle on the basis of a masterpiece. Control of the entrance speeds is carried out during the production run of the knitting machine. Furthermore, during the production run a driven actuator, e.g. a roller, pulls the yarn from a storage bobbin such that the yarn is fed during the production run with a constant yarn quantity. The actuator determines the entrance speed of the yarn. The self-learning cycle is carried out prior to the start of the production run of the knitting machine without using the actuators in order to find out respective decisive yarn quantities. The actuators correspond to positive feeding devices. The actuators are identical among each other and operate with equal yarn conveying principles. A sensing roller is provided as a sensor at each yarn between the actuator and the yarn guide into the knitting system of the knitting machine. The sensing roller measures the yarn quantity and informs a console unit or a microprocessor also provided for the drive control of the respective actuator. The roller sensing the yarn quantity is an undesirable additional mechanical load for the yarn and emits imprecise measuring results due to unavoidable slip.
Further prior art is contained in EP 0 752 631 A, EP 0 959 742 A, EP 0 600 268 A, DE 82 24 194 U, EP 0 420 836 A, EP 0 385 988 A, EP 0 489 307 A.
The setting procedure of a knitting machine prior to production or after a change of the settings is particularly time consuming and requires special knowledge, particularly when the knitting machine is equipped with non-positive feeding devices which may even originate from different producers, and even differentiate from each other in terms of the respective yarn conveying principles, because each feeding device including its peripheral, yarn influencing accessory assemblies has to be associated with the respective knitting system and has to be adjusted to an individual and optimum operation. In this case simply achievable information on the individual yarn amounts was of invaluable advantage since a yarn amount deviating from a target indicates for such a feeding device not only a fault condition or a trend, but even allows a direct conclusion to the kind of a fault which then could be corrected rapidly and at that point. Furthermore, in view of this aspect there is considerable demand for a method for an efficient monitoring adjustment of the production for knitting machines having non-positive feeding devices, and for a device allowing for a simpler pre-setting, changing of settings and the adjustment of a knitting machine or even of a knitting machine series.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method of the kind as disclosed above as well a device for carrying out the method which allow a simple and comfortable monitoring/adjustment of the production despite the fact of the existence of non-positive yarn feeding principles of feeding devices of different types which even operate according to different conveying principles.
By carrying out the method such that each individual yarn amount is continuously measured with the help of detected actual rotational signals of the feeding device, a sufficiently precise yarn amount information is achieved from the actual rotational signals under consideration of the storage body circumferential length and without the need to use separate sensors for these tasks. Actual rotational signals are used in any event which result from the operation of the feeding device. Even though several non-positive feeding devices are used at the knitting machine which feed yarn of different qualities and/or elasticity according to at least two different yarn conveying principles, and which even may originate from different producers, the actual rotational signals can be detected easily. According to the method, the individual yarn amounts are detected precisely and deliver information for the monitoring/adjustment of the production. One reason for different feeding device types is that the feeding devices have to cope with different yarn tensions and/or yarn speeds, with one type having better capabilities than another type. Within the frame of the method the individual yarn amounts are not measured primarily to gain the total yarn amount but to indicate with the help of the yarn amounts certain fault conditions in order to allow one to survey and optimise the production in a simple way. As a secondary product, the total yarn amounts can also then be detected with little additional effort. The method is expedient for circular knitting machines, however, it also can be implemented for flat knitting machines. The method concentrates on the recognition that especially in the case of non-positive feeding devices the actual fed yarn amounts allow one to draw conclusions as to a proper operation in the knitting system, at the feeding device and in the yarn path and in view of trends towards a fault condition or even conclusions of certain fault conditions.
From the continuous or final comparison of the individual yarn amounts with corresponding and predetermined target yarn amounts, e.g. of a masterpiece, and within at least one range of tolerance, the operation of each feeding device and at the associated knitting system can be monitored precisely. Critical production conditions and even the reasons therefor can be determined, and measures can be initiated even during the production or after the production in order to correct fault conditions. The method may be upgraded in that a fault condition detected with the help of the comparison of the yarn amounts, which fault condition in most cases is associated with a certain kind of a fault, is corrected automatically, e.g. within a closed adjustment regulation loop using the result of the comparison as the regulation guiding value. Such adjustments can be carried out at the knitting system or at the feeding device or at the peripheral accessory assemblies of the feeding device, because mainly those operation elements mentioned as a selection have an influence on the yarn amount, such that a fault condition occurring at one of these operation elements can be shown ideally with the help of a tolerance variation of the yarn amount in comparison to the yarn amount of the masterpiece. In this case it is important to adapt the width of the range of tolerance used for the comparison even to parameters of the yarn quality and/or the yarn path.
By means of the computerised monitoring/adjustment device, a user friendly tool is offered to the specialised personnel at the knitting machine (circular knitting machine or flat knitting machine) which is important in view of efficient production and short pre-setting procedures, and which may be used to comfortably adjust the pattern of the associations of the feeding devices out of the stock directly at the user surface. So to speak, each feeding device is fictively taken from the stock in view of the yarn quality/elasticity and the position relative to a knitting system and then is operatively associated already in the user surface to the respective knitting system intended for processing this yarn. This allows one to considerably simplify the pre-setting or a change of the setting of the knitting machine, to save time, and to reduce the labour effort. With the assumption that e.g. the circular knitting machine is equipped with a sufficiently huge stock of non-positive feeding devices among which there are at least two operating according to different yarn conveying principles, the device creates a link between the feeding devices and the circular knitting machines as needed for an efficient production, and such that troublesome setting operations at the feeding devices and/or in the machine control are reduced to a minimum. It is obvious that association patterns specific for a respective knitted article may be stored and used or retrieved again upon demand or that an association pattern created for knitted goods in the user surface can be transferred to each further knitting machine producing the same knitted article. For example, a keyboard or the like and/or the display designed as a touch screen may be used as the input/indication-section of the unit.
Expediently, the yarn amounts are measured by detected actual rotational signals, e.g. calculated, and are compared with corresponding target yarn amounts. Since among different yarn feeding device types each comparison is carried out only in view of yarn amounts of one feeding device type, it is possible that the yarn amounts of differing feeding devices are measured in different ways such that a measured value of a yarn amount of one type of a feeding device first does not correspond to the same measured value of the yarn amount of another type. First when the total yarn amount or a yarn amount specific for the knitted goods is to be determined, a conversion or conversion calculation is made into equal length units or weight units. According to the method it is possible to carry out each comparison with the masterpiece with the help of the detected actual rotational signals, e.g. with the help of the type of the signal and/or the number of signals and/or the frequency of the signals in order to detect an individual fault condition or a fault trend, before real yarn amounts or yarn weights are determined.
The method primarily is adapted to the production of knitted goods in circular knitting machines having different feeding device types which operate simultaneously or subsequently and with non-positive yarn feeding principles according to at least two different yarn conveying principles. For example, less elastic yarn is fed by a feeding device including a rotatable storage body, while more elastic yarn is fed by a feeding device including a stationary storage body and a winding element which rotates. Such differing types are selectively used depending on the expected yarn tension and/or the yarn speed. Such equipment of a circular knitting machine is expedient e.g. for so-called body stockings or jacquard knitted goods. However, this equipment may also be of advantage for other high quality knitted goods in which differing yarn qualities and/or different elastic yarns are knitted. The same prerequisites could even be used for flat knitting machines.
In case of a feeding device having a rotating storage body, one actual rotation signal may be scanned per revolution of the storage body. This signal then represents a yarn amount corresponding with the circumferential length of the storage body. In order to achieve a higher resolution it also is possible to scan a predetermined number of actual rotational signals per revolution of the storage body, each of which represents the same part of the circumference of the storage body. In order to simplify the control, the scanning e.g. is carried out by scanning the rotation of the drive motor.
In case of a feeding device having a stationary storage body, expediently, a plurality of actual rotational signals are scanned which represent equal parts of one yarn winding. Since in the case of a very elastic yarn the windings resting on the stationary storage body may be stretched out, the measurement is more precise if the withdrawn yarn itself is allowed to generate the actual rotational signal.
In view of the method it is expedient to adjust the width of the range of tolerance used for the individual comparison in case of a more elastic yarn, e.g. larger than in the case of a less elastic yarn, since in case of a more elastic yarn parameters occurring along the yarn path gain bigger influence.
According to the method an individual yarn amount comparison cannot only be carried out within a single range of tolerance, but subsequently or parallel even within several ranges of tolerance having increasing widths. In this way and by using a narrow range of tolerances, first a trend can be displayed from the comparison with the development of the yarn amount in the masterpiece in order to derive an alarm signal upon demand, which alarm signals call the specialised personnel to particularly monitor the yarn path, the feeding device or the knitting system, respectively. The next and broader range of tolerance can then be used to derive an adjustment measure in case that the range of tolerance is exceeded. Then the specialised personnel manually carries out adjustments along the yarn path, at the feeding device or at the knitting system, respectively, or such adjustments are even initiated automatically. The largest range of tolerance, finally, may be used to switch off the knitting machine, because an out of tolerance condition then indicates a fault condition which can no longer be corrected.
Especially in the case of a more elastic yarn, conditions in the yarn path may be monitored continuously, e.g. with the help of the tension of the yarn, and may be used e.g. for the adaptation of the width of the range of tolerance used for the comparison and/or to process the scanned actual rotational signals. In case of feeding devices having a rotating storage body, the yarn tension could be measured at the withdrawal side, which yarn tension is important for controlling the drive motor, and then could be used for tuning the actual rotational signals in view of very precise measurements of the yarn amount.
On a further user surface of the display of the production monitoring/adjusting device, the operations of the feeding devices associated with the respective knitting systems may be displayed during the production of a knitted article by the individual yarn amounts in comparison with yarn amounts of the masterpiece, preferably within ranges of tolerance depending e.g. on the yarn quality and/or the respective yarn conveying principle. This expediently may be realised with the help of pictogram strips or bars representing the yarn amounts. The strips or bars are associated with addressed or identified feeding devices and the associated knitting system. An out of tolerance condition optically may be highlighted and e.g. highlighted by a light signal or in acoustic fashion.
Existing knitting machines of such types may be simply retrofitted with the monitoring/adjustment device for the production. In such a case, expediently, the device is positioned within a housing beside the knitting machine or in a cut-out of the foot part of the knitting machine.
Alternatively, the monitoring/adjustment device may be integrated with the display and the inputting/indicating section into the main control system of the knitting machine. This is of advantage in order to allow one to use the same actuation elements for the monitoring/adjustment and even the display of the machine control as otherwise used for the machine control.
Knitting machine feeding devices having rotatable storage bodies are used for less elastic yarns, while feeding devices having stationary feeding bodies, a rotatable winding element, and a counting sensor assembly for yarn windings at the withdrawal side are used for more elastic yarns. In order to allow one to produce different knitted goods, it is recommended that a stock of feeding devices be provided at the knitting machine which is larger than the number of feeding devices operating in production.
The device, expediently, allows one to configure a user surface in which for one or more produced knitted goods, the total yarn amount/the single yarn amount or total yarn weight/single yarn weight can be shown in length units and/or weight units.
Since there is a plurality of data which has to be transmitted rapidly for monitoring/adjusting the production, since many connection locations are needed for fetching data and processing data, and since the cabling should be as simple as possible and should assure high safety of the operation, it is expedient to interlink the knitting machine and its control, the production monitoring/adjustment device, and the feeding devices including the peripheral accessory assemblies in a data bus system, preferably in a rapid CAN-bus system. The feeding devices may be connected in fixed or selective fashion to the bus via interface adapters. Those adapters, at least for some of the used feeding devices, are designed such that the derived needed actual rotational signals for the measurement of the yarn amount are taken by them directly at the feeding device or as pulses which are available in any event from the operation of the feeding device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be explained with reference to the drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration of a circular knitting machine having several knitting systems,
FIG. 2 is a diagram of feeding device equipment of a knitting system and the interlinking between the feeding devices and a production monitoring/adjusting device,
FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a user surface in the display of the monitoring/adjusting device, and
FIG. 4 shows the configuration of a further user surface.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A circular knitting machine RM in FIG. 1 has a cylinder 1 and a machine control MC and is equipped with a production monitoring/adjusting device LR. Distributed along the circumference of the cylinder 1 are several knitting systems 2 , e.g. the knitting systems (1) to (12). At least one feeding device R, E, S, and in this case three different types of feeding devices, is operatively associated with selected ones of the knitting systems (1) to (12) (indicated by full lines). The equipment of the respective knitting system with the feeding devices may vary, however, depending on the knitted goods and/or the processed yarn quality and/or the yarn colour and/or the yarn elasticity. The operatively associated feeding devices are indicated in groups 3 . Additionally, additional ones of such feeding devices (indicated at 3′) may be provided ready for use for a selective operative association (indicated by dotted lines). The knitting machine RM, e.g. is pre-set for the production of body stockings. Alternatively, it may be a circular knitting machine of a jacquard type. The feeding devices are non-positive feeding devices which feed the respective yarns according to at least two different yarn conveying principles. All feeding devices are, e.g. within a bus system, connected to the production monitoring/adjusting device LR. The device LR comprises a computerised unit 4 ′ having an inputting/indicating section 4 , a calculator section C and at least one display D. In the display D different user surfaces may be configured, e.g. an indicated user surface UF for showing the total yarn amount M of one knitted article KF or of a series of knitted goods, respectively.
The monitoring/adjusting device LR may be provided in a separate housing W beside the circular knitting machine RM and may be connected to the knitting machine control MC. Instead, e.g., the device LR may be contained in a not shown detail cut-out in the foot part K of the knitting machine. Alt ernatively, the monitoring/adjusting device LR may be integrated into the knitting machine control MC in order to also use the inputting/indicating section and/or the display D of the knitting machine control MC. The arrow 5 indicated by a dotted line shows that information, association patterns, setting commands or e.g. the total yarn amount M may be transferred to a not shown controlling/monitoring centre, or may be transferred via an on-line connection to knitting machines producing the same knitted goods KF, or may be transferred by means of a handheld controller or an electronic data carrier to further knitting machines of the same kind.
The term non-positive yarn feeding means that there is no fixed correlation between the operation speed of the cylinder and the speed by which the respective feeding device is feeding the yarn, but that the respective yarn tension is maintained essentially constant but the individual yarn amount is varying, in a comparison to a positive feeding principle. In the case of positive feeding the yarn tension varies, however, the fed yarn amount remains constant. The at least two different yarn conveying principles which are used in the available feeding devices mean that along the yarn path differing braking conditions and deflection conditions are present, and that according to one yarn conveying principle yarn windings are intermediately stored for withdrawal on a rotatable storage body while according to the other yarn conveying principle yarn windings are intermediately stored on a stationary storage body such that the yarn is spooled off depending on consumption. This will be explained in more detail with the help of FIG. 2 .
In FIG. 2, four feeding devices E, S, R, and optionally S, are operatively associated with the knitting system (1). Those feeding devices may as well be selectively operatively associated with the different knitting systems (1) to (12) at the cylinder 1 in FIG. 1 . The feeding device E by means of its rotating storage body 7 withdraws the yarn Y, e.g. through a braking device 6 , from a supply B, stores yarn windings on the storage body, and is feeding the yarn tangentially via a tension scanning device 8 and a yarn guiding element 9 to the knitting system (1) of which a needle 10 is shown. An adapter A scans actual rotational signals s 1 , e.g. of the drive motor of the storage body 7 . These actual rotational signals s 1 may be processed in dependence from the measured yarn tension in an electronic assembly 11 which is controlled by the device 8 , and are then transmitted via an electronic assembly 12 and a signal line 13 ′, e.g. within a bus system, to the production monitoring/adjusting device LR. The device LR then calculates the individual yarn amount m1 of the feeding device E on the basis of the actual rotational signals s 1 as transmitted. The individual yarn amounts m1 may, if desirable, be converted into certain measurement units.
The production monitoring/adjusting device LR is interlinked with the knitting machine control MC and receives e.g. so-called trig signals tr from the knitting machine control MC.
The next shown feeding device S of the group 3 is equipped with a rotatably driven storage body 7 ′ and is as well feeding the knitting system (1) with another yarn Y. The yarn Y tangentially approaches the storage body 7 ′ and is withdrawn overhead of the storage body 7 ′ through a central eyelet. By means of an adapter sensor A′, e.g. monitoring the rotation of the drive motor of the storage body 7 ′, actual rotational signals s 2 are scanned from the motor shaft which for that purpose may be prolonged and then are transmitted to the monitoring/adjusting device LR within a daisy-chain DC. The respective yarn windings are allowed to slip on the storage bodies 7 , 7 ′.
The feeding device R is of a type having a stationary storage body 7 ″ on which adjacently contacting or separated yarn windings intermediately can be stored as formed by a winding element 7 which is driven for rotation. The yarn windings consecutively are withdrawn overhead of the storage body 7 ″ and are fed as shown to the needle 10 of the knitting system (1). The drive motor of the winding element 7 is contained in a housing 15 carrying a counting sensor assembly CS at a housing outrigger 14 . The counting sensor assembly CS derives actual rotational signals s 3 directly from the yarn which rotates during withdrawal. The actual rotational signals s 3 are transmitted over the daisy-chain DC via the adapter sensor A′ of the feeding device S to the monitoring/adjusting device LR for the production.
If necessary, the daisy-chain DC may be extended by a connection 13 to a feeding device S which only is indicated in dotted lines and which may belong to the reserve or stock 3 ′ and which is ready for operation. By the scanned actual rotational signals s 2 , s 3 or S n , the necessary information relating to the respective individual yarn amounts m2 to m n of the feeding devices S, R, S are transmitted via the daisy-chain to the monitoring/adjusting device LR. By an evaluation of the received information, the monitoring/adjusting device LR has knowledge about each individual yarn amount after the start of production and/or the momentary development of the yarn amounts and/or the total yarn amount M for the produced knitted goods belonging to the production series, and particularly, e.g. under consideration of the trig signals tr in association with the machine run.
A masterpiece of the knitted article to be produced may be used as a production reference. The masterpiece either actually has been produced e.g. with a certain association pattern of the feeding devices to selected knitting systems, or is calculated fictively, and is characterised by the single individual yarn amounts of the entire masterpiece and/or the individual yarn amounts per machine cycle or per machine partial cycle, respectively, and/or by the individual yarn amounts up to a predetermined point in time within the production of the masterpiece. Expediently, the masterpiece has been made or calculated under operation conditions optimised in view of the quality desired. Each knitted article KF produced is continuously related to the masterpiece or sequentially is compared to the masterpiece with the help of the individual yarn amounts m1 to m n . The phenomena of the explained types of feeding devices, namely that in the case of a non-positive yarn feed and according to different yarn conveying principles, an out of tolerance deviation of the individual yarn amount from the corresponding yarn amount of the masterpiece indicates a fault condition along the yarn path and/or at the knitting system and is used here in order to optimise the production or to monitor the production in view of occurring trends or to derive adjusting measures from the comparisons, respectively, in order to correct occurring trends towards defective goods. Adjustment measures as derived then may be carried out manually or automatically by devices e.g. using the respective result of a comparison as a regulating guide value factor within a closed regulating loop. The type of a feeding device respectively employed depends e.g. on the yarn tension and/or the yarn speed with which the feeding device has to cope.
A yarn amount decreasing out of tolerance may be an indication that the loop width in the knitting system has decreased due to contamination or wear or the like, or that a braking condition, guiding condition or deflection condition along the yarn path upstream and/or downstream of the feeding device has become too forceful by contamination or the like. Depending on the type of the respective feeding device, differing adjusting measures may be needed along the yarn path. This is inversely true also for individual yarn amounts increasing out of tolerance in comparison to the corresponding masterpiece yarn amounts. Furthermore, the total yarn amount or the total yarn weight can be determined for each knitted article on the basis of the individual yarn amounts. Alternatively, the total yarn amount or the total yarn weight, respectively, may be pre-calculated in view of the desired production number and e.g. then may be used for the calculation of the efficiency of the production, for the logistic of the yarn supply or the control of the in-house yarn stock.
As the different types of yarn feeding devices differently measure the individual yarn amounts, it is expedient to convert the individual yarn amounts into equal amount units or weight units.
The adapter A of the type E of a feeding device e.g. counts several pulses per revolution of the motor. Each pulse represents a certain yarn amount. The adapter sensor A 1 of the type S of a feeding device e.g. counts each revolution of the motor by one pulse, such that each pulse represents a yarn amount corresponding to the circumferential length of the storage body. The counting sensor assembly CS of the type R of a feeding device e.g. counts several pulses per yarn winding withdrawn, such that each pulse represents a certain partial length of a yarn winding. The individual yarn amounts e.g. may be added up continuously for the feeding devices associated with each operating knitting system by using the trig signals emitted by the machine control MC, and then may be compared with the corresponding yarn amounts of the masterpiece in order to monitor in this fashion that each knitted article produced already corresponds very closely to the masterpiece during the production. This will be explained with the help of FIG. 4 .
FIG. 4 illustrates schematically a user surface UF 2 configured in the display D. In the display D, one field is provided for each knitting system SYST (1) to (12). The user surface UF 2 is called up at the inputting/indicating section 4 . The respective knitted article KF is identified, optionally with specifications, within a field 26 . Separating lines 22 separate the fields from each other. The fields may be shown consecutively, in groups, or alone by scrolling in the user surface. Each operating knitting system is identified within a field 21 . The masterpiece P is illustrated by a centre line 23 showing yarn amounts m1′, to m n ′ set to zero and is completed by at least one range of tolerance T1, T2, T1′, T2′. Horizontal strips or bars 24 contain the deviations between respective yarn amounts m1 to m n and m1′ to m n ′. The yarn amounts m1′ to m n ′ of the masterpiece e.g. may be associated with the momentary point in time within the production cycle of a knitted article. During the production of a knitted article KF, the positive or negative deviations at m1 to m n are shown in the strip 24 and are monitored within the respective range of tolerance T1, T1′ or T2, T2′, respectively. Additionally, e.g. by identification S (1), R (12), E (1) the strip 24 is marked to the operatively associated feeding devices. Identical types of feeding devices e.g. are illustrated in strip 24 having the same grey colour tone. In case that an individual amount, e.g. the yarn amount of the feeding device E (1) exceeds the range of tolerance T1 as indicated at 25 , then that excess may be highlighted optically and/or acoustically or may be transmitted to a supervising location. As a further alternative, an adjusting measure may even be derived and initiated on the basis of the excess. However, the adjusting measure could even be derived and initiated first when the scanned range of tolerance T2 is exceeded. Then a machine switch off signal may even be generated.
Target yarn amounts m1′ to m n ′ of the masterpiece P are stored in the monitoring/adjusting device for all operating knitting systems. The individual yarn amounts m1 to m n are calculated on the basis of the information transmitted via the transmitting paths 13 , 13 ′ or via a data bus, and then are superimposed with the target yarn amounts.
Furthermore, the monitoring/adjusting device LR serves to carry out the pre-setting of the circular knitting machine RM. This is explained with the help of FIG. 3 . In FIG. 3 another user surface UF 1 is configured in the display D. The user surface UF 1 contains several fields 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 and sub-fields 20 , 26 . In the right half of the user surface UF 1 , the available feeding devices which are installed ready for operation at the knitting machine are shown in the fields 16 below AF in addressed format. As shown there are e.g. three groups, namely all feeding devices S identified by address numbers (1) to (16), further the feeding devices E identified by address numbers (1) to (16), and finally the feeding devices R identified by address number (1) to (16). The field 17 e.g. provides further information and/or is used to fictively place those feeding devices which are not needed for the knitted article identified in field 26 . In the left half of the user surface UF 1 the knitting systems are illustrated below each other in field 18 by SYST (1) to (12). In the field 19 associated with field 18 , sub-fields 20 are provided which belong to the respective knitting systems. By using the inputting/indicating section 4 , or in case of a touch screen by directly manipulating the display D, the feeding devices of the desired types are associated with each knitting system one after the other and e.g. in dependence from the yarn which is intended to be knitted there. Such a condition is indicated for the knitting system (1) to which the feeding devices S (1), R (12) and E (1) are associated. The feeding devices associated with the respective knitting system are then either shadowed or extinguished within field 16 . In this way the selected knitting systems are pre-set consecutively. Feeding devices of different types which are not associated with any knitting system either remain in the field 16 or automatically are transferred into the field 17 . By means of the thus formed association pattern, already associated feeding devices are activated for operation within the bus system.
The final association pattern which is partially indicated in FIG. 3 is stored and associated with the knitting article KF. In case that the masterpiece already has been produced or calculated with the same association pattern, the masterpiece association pattern belonging to the knitted article KF even may be called up directly in one turn for presetting the knitting machine. Furthermore, the association pattern either may be transferred by means of a handheld controller or an electronic data carrier or via an on-line connection to each further circular knitting machine also equipped with a monitoring/adjusting device LR for the production in order to simplify the pre-setting also of the other circular knitting machine.
The system is variable. With the help of the individual yarn amounts and the masterpiece, in each case a respective feeding device E may be used as a master feeder with its yarn amount. Feeding devices of the same type then have to follow the master feeder by their individual yarn amounts. In this case the comparison is carried out between the yarn amount of the master feeder and the individual yarn amounts of all yarn feeding devices of the same type. By equipping the circular knitting machine as mentioned above with the non-positive feeding devices which also differ from each other in view of the yarn conveying principles, even plain knitted fabric can be knitted. In case of knitting plain fabric, the master feeder monitoring principle as mentioned is expedient in order to assure that the same yarn amount is fed at each operating knitting system. In this case the master feeder yarn amount profile in the masterpiece is used as a permanent reference for the comparisons carried out while the production is monitored and when carrying out adjustments.
The total yarn amount M as mentioned in connection with FIG. 1 may be the total yarn amounts of one knitted article or of the total production of knitted goods. It is possible to separately evaluate the single total yarn amounts for each type of a feeding device, and to indicate or to store or even to compare the evaluation results in order to optimise the efficiency of the production.
Furthermore, it is possible, to additionally equip the circular knitting machine with positive feeding devices, to measure the yarn amounts of the positive feeding devices and to consider the measured yarn amounts in the total yarn amount. Measuring the yarn amount of positive feeding devices does not create significant problems as the yarn amount remains constant in proportion to a machine cycle or the machine speed, respectively, and for that reason can be made easily.
Each operating knitting system (1) to (12) of the knitting machine is able to knit a single yarn or to knit alternatingly or simultaneously several yarns. The masterpiece may be knitted with relatively tough yarns instead in order to achieve precise information on the yarn amounts. The yarns knitted in the produced knitted goods, however, may be more elastic or more stretchable or more complicated for knitting than the yarns used for the masterpiece. A yarn stretch occurring then during the knitting process e.g. may be considered among others by the width of the range of tolerance respectively applied. A broader range of tolerance may be used for the comparison in case of a more elastic yarn than for a less elastic yarn. Measuring points for the braking conditions upstream and/or downstream of the feeding device may be provided for all non-positive feeding devices, independent from the respective yarn conveying principle. The measuring points may be connected to the monitoring/adjusting device in order to allow one to judge the yarn path conditions or variations of the yarn path conditions, respectively.
Although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed in detail for illustrative purposes, it will be recognized that variations or modifications of the disclosed apparatus, including the rearrangement of parts, lie within the scope of the present invention. | In order to monitor/adjust production in a circular knitting machine including several knitting systems and several yarn feeder devices, yarn is fed to active knitting systems from several supply devices operating according to at least two different yarn feeding principles, and in a non-positive manner. The individually fed amounts of yarn are continuously measured by means of scanned real rotation signals of the feeder devices. In order to obtain monitoring information and/or adjustment measures, comparisons are made with corresponding set amounts of yarn within at least one range of tolerance, the extent of which is adapted at least to yarn quality and/or yarn path parameters. At least one user interface can be configured in a display in a computerised production monitoring/adjustment device, whereby it is possible to select therein each individual yarn feeder device according to an optimum yarn transport principle for a specific knitting system, from a plurality of yarn feeder devices which are arranged on the knitting machine in an operative state. | 3 |
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a system and a method for controlling at least one device, said system comprising at least a controllable unit associated with said at least one device and a plurality of nodes for transmitting control signals to said at least one controllable unit.
BRIEF DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART
In control system wherein control points, sensors and actuators are included, such as for example home automation systems, certain priority rules may be established, e.g. in order to ensure that commands having a higher priority than other ones will be executed immediately and further to ensure that such commands may prevent lower-prioritized commands from being executed e.g. during a certain time period.
Normally, such priority levels are arranged in a decreasing manner, for example in the order: user security, product or environment protection, user manual control, automatic comfort control. Thus, if for example a command signal is sent from a rain sensor to a window operator, signaling that an open window must be closed due to rainfall, i.e. at a environment control level, a subsequent command signal from a temperature sensor indicating a high temperature that would e.g. cause the window to be opened in order to ventilate, i.e. at an automatic comfort control level, the command signal sent from the temperature sensor will due to the priority be prevented from causing an action for as long as the rain sensor signal has effect. Most home automation technologies are designed in such a manner that when a certain priority level is activated, all the lower levels are locked.
This may, however, create confusion and dissatisfaction with the control system at the user, since he/she may not understand why a command signal sent from, e.g. a remote control is not executed. For example, a terrace awning may be locked in a top position since the wind is blowing and the wind speed is above a predefined level, e.g. signaled by a signal from a wind speed sensor in the system. However, if the user tries with his/her remote control to control the awning to go down, e.g. because the sun is shining, the user cannot understand why the awning is not going down. The user may thus think that the remote control is at fault, that the awning is faulty or that the system as a whole is malfunctioning.
Further, a control system may be configured for blocking certain actuations in certain circumstances, which may be preferable normally, but which may be in contradiction to user requirements at certain times. For example, a system may be set up to prevent the blinds from being raised when the sun is shining e.g. in order to protect the furniture, carpet etc. from the sun. In certain cases the user may wish to overrule such a setting and raise the blinds with a remote control.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Thus, the invention provides a control system and a method of controlling such a system that provide an improvement in relation to the prior art systems.
Further, the invention provides such a control system and such a method of controlling such a system by means of which it is avoided that the user may be confused in such situations.
The invention provides such a control system and such a method of controlling such a system by means of which it is made possible to improve the management capability of a control system, e.g. a home automation system, for example by allowing that the execution of commands from a specific type of node may be prevented.
The invention relates to a system for controlling at least one device such as for example an operator for a door, a gate, a window, blinds, shutters, a curtain, an awning or a light source, said system comprising at least a controllable unit associated with said at least one device and a plurality of nodes for transmitting control signals to said at least one controllable unit, wherein at least one of said plurality of nodes for transmitting control signals are configured for transmitting a command originator, said command originator comprising an identification of a predetermined type of the node, from which the signal originates.
Hereby, it is achieved that if a command signal sent from another node in the system, e.g. a remote control, to the controllable unit is rejected because a previous command/control signal has locked the controllable unit, the controllable unit may inform said another node of the cause.
If the example given above is considered, where a terrace awning are locked in a top position since the wind is blowing and the wind speed is above a predefined level, e.g. signaled by a signal from a wind speed sensor in the system, and where the user tries with his/her remote control to control the awning to go down, e.g. because the sun is shining, the user can be informed from the awning in a response signal, for example an acknowledge signal comprising a non-execution status and an indication that the command cannot be executed since a wind sensor has blocked for movement of the awning.
It will be understood that the command signal may be transmitted from another type of controller than a user-operated remote control, but that also in such cases the information regarding the type of e.g. the blocking node or sensor will provide useful information to the controller.
Preferably, said at least one controllable unit may be configured for transmitting information relating to said command originator in response to a received control signal, the execution of which is denied in consequence of a previous control signal, to which the command originator was related.
Hereby, it is achieved that the user may be informed of the cause of the non-execution of the control signal that has been transmitted from e.g. a remote control.
According to a further advantageous embodiment, said node, from which a denied control signal was transmitted, may comprise means for indicating information relating to a command originator, e.g. a visual signal corresponding to the type of the node.
Hereby, the user may be informed in a straightforward and intelligible manner of the cause, for example by an icon or symbol that emerges on e.g. the display of the remote control, for example a wind sensor pictogram that furthermore may flash or in another manner draw the attention of the user.
Advantageously, said at least one controllable unit may be configured for storing information relating to a command originator received with a control signal, and said at least one controllable unit may further be configured for rejecting a control signal originating from a node having a corresponding command originator.
Hereby, it is made possible to have the controllable unit in a selectable manner reject certain control signals instead of having all control signals rejected when an action is blocked. It will for example be possible to reject signals coming from a wind sensor, whereas a signal coming from a sun sensor may lead to the execution of an action.
Further, with reference to the example given above, where a system may be set up to prevent e.g. the blinds from being raised when the sun is shining e.g. in order to protect the furniture, carpet etc. from the sun, such a situation may be overruled by the user, if it is desired. In accordance with this embodiment, the user may send a signal to e.g. an awning or a blind, informing the system that a signal received from a sun sensor must be blocked, thus allowing the user to raise the blinds or retract the awning as desired, even though the sun is shining. For example, a remote control may be equipped with e.g. a “sun sensor-blocking” function key or the like.
Preferably, said at least one controllable unit may comprise means for storing and handling command originator information.
Advantageously, said means for storing and handling command originator information may comprise timer functions means, whereby it is achieved that blockings may be made time-dependable.
The invention also relates to a method of operating a device such as for example an operator for a door, a gate, a window, blinds, shutters, a curtain, an awning or a light source, which device is associated with a controllable unit, said controllable unit being designed for receiving control signals from a plurality of nodes in a control system and activating said device in accordance with said control signals, whereby a command originator is assigned to a control signal, said command originator comprising an identification of a predetermined type of the node, from which the signal originates.
Hereby, it is achieved that if a command signal sent from another node in the system, e.g. a remote control, to the controllable unit is denied or rejected, e.g. the command signal does not lead to an actuation because a previous command signal has locked the controllable unit, the controllable unit may inform said another node of the cause.
Preferably, said at least one controllable unit may transmit information relating to said command originator in response to a received control signal, the execution of which is denied in consequence of a previous control signal, to which the command originator was related.
Hereby, it is achieved that the user may be informed of the cause of the non-execution of the control signal that has been transmitted from e.g. a remote control.
According to a further advantageous embodiment, information relating to a command originator, e.g. a visual signal corresponding to the type of the node, may be indicated by the node, from which a denied control signal was transmitted.
Hereby the user may be informed in a straightforward and intelligible manner of the cause, for example by an icon or a symbol that emerges on e.g. the display of the remote control, for example a wind sensor pictogram that furthermore may flash or in another manner draw the attention of the user.
Advantageously, information relating to a command originator received with a control signal may be stored by said at least one controllable unit, and said at least one controllable unit may further reject a control signal originating from a node having a corresponding command originator.
Hereby, it is made possible to have the controllable unit in a selectable manner reject certain control signals instead of having all control signals rejected when an action is blocked. It will for example be possible to reject signals coming from a wind sensor, whereas a signal coming from a sun sensor may be executed.
Further, with reference to the example given above, where a system may be set up to prevent e.g. the blinds from being raised when the sun is shining e.g. in order to protect the furniture, carpet etc. from the sun, such a situation may be overruled by the user, if it is desired. In accordance with this embodiment, the user may send a signal to e.g. an awning or a blind, informing the system that a signal received from a sun sensor must be blocked, thus allowing the user to raise the blinds or retract the awning as desired, even though the sun is shining. For example, a remote control may be equipped with e.g. a “sun sensor-blocking” function key or the like.
Preferably, said at least one controllable unit may comprise means for storing and handling command originator information.
According to a further advantageous embodiment, said stored command originator information may be rejected at the lapse of a time period, whereby it is achieved that blockings may made time-dependable.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
The invention will be explained in further detail below with reference to the figures of which
FIG. 1 shows in a schematic manner an example of a control system in accordance with the invention,
FIG. 2 shows an example of a priority and command management table in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, and
FIG. 3 shows an example of a priority and command level management table in accordance with a further aspect of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An example of a control system according to an embodiment of the invention, e.g. a home automation system or part thereof, is illustrated in FIG. 1 . Here, a building, a house or the like 1 is illustrated in a schematic manner, showing in detail only a part of the house or a room where a window 2 is located. The window 2 may be provided with a window actuator, operator or opener 4 , which may comprise a drive mechanism generally designated 6 and a controllable node 5 , e.g. a node comprising a radiofrequency receiver and control means. Further, the window 2 may be provided with an awning 3 , which is retractable as indicated, operated by means of an operator 8 . This operator 8 may comprise a drive engine generally designated 9 and a controllable node 10 , e.g. a node comprising a radiofrequency receiver and control means.
The control system may also comprise one or more sensors such as e.g. a wind speed sensor 12 , a sunlight sensor 16 and a rain sensor 19 . Such sensors may as indicated comprise a sensor part, e.g. an anemometer 13 and a photometer 17 , respectively, and a transmitter part, e.g. 14 and 18 , respectively, which transmitter parts may e.g. comprise RF-means or may rely on wired transmission. The rain sensor 19 may be integrated with the window 2 , but will also comprise a sensor part and a transmitter part (not illustrated). Further sensors or controllers may be provided, also inside the room, for example in the form of a temperature sensor etc.
Further, the control system may comprise one or more remote controls 20 and 22 as shown for operating the controllable devices, e.g. the window opener 4 and the awning 3 . These remote controls may be similar, e.g. comprise similar properties, but the may also differ, e.g. have different properties as regards e.g. priority. One, e.g. the remote control 20 may for example be a master control while another, e.g. the remote control 22 may be a slave remote control.
These remote controls 20 and 22 and the sensors 12 , 16 and 19 may all transmit control signals to the controllable units, e.g. the controllable nodes 5 and 10 , associated with the window 2 and the awning 3 , respectively. It will be understood that the terms “control signals” in this respect comprise any signal transmitted from a node such as a sensor or a remote control to a controllable unit, including signals representing measured values etc., and that the controllable unit may or may not react upon such a signal, e.g. in accordance with certain predefined or established rules.
For example, a signal transmitted from the wind sensor 12 to the controllable unit 10 associated with the awning 3 can lock the awning, e.g. maintain the awning 3 in its retracted position, when the wind speed exceeds a predefined level. The command or control signal sent from the wind speed sensor 12 comprises information regarding the type of equipment that has sent the signal, e.g. “wind sensor”, and this information is stored in the controllable unit 10 associated with the awning 3 . If a control signal is transmitted from e.g. the remote control 20 commanding the awning 3 to roll out, the controllable unit 10 will determine that the command is blocked by a wind sensor and a response signal, e.g. an acknowledgement is sent back to the remote control 20 with the information that the action cannot be executed, caused by a wind sensor.
It is understood that if the system shown in FIG. 1 comprises two or more wind sensors placed at different locations, the controllable unit 10 at the awning would have stored the information that the command signal causing the locking was transmitted from a wind sensor, i.e. the type of control node, and not necessarily the specific wind sensor. The information transmitted to the remote control 20 would also in this example specify that the action was non-executable caused by a wind sensor. Information regarding the particular wind sensor would not provide the user with any useful information.
Further, it is understood that when a control signal comprising command originator information is transmitted to a controllable node, which signal causes the controllable node to e.g. perform an action and lock the device hereafter, a timer function may be involved as well. For example, if a signal from the rain sensor 19 causes the window operator 4 to close and lock, e.g. controlled by the node 5 , which also stores the information that a rain sensor has caused this action, a timer may be set up to maintain the locking for a period of e.g. 10 minutes after the occurrence of a rain sensor signal to the node 5 .
Further, command originator information, i.e. the information regarding the type of equipment, from which a control signal has been sent, may also be used for deciding whether or not a command may be executed.
For example, when a control signal from e.g. the rain sensor 19 is received at the controllable node 10 , whereafter e.g. the awning is locked in a retracted position, it may be registered that the disablement is related to a certain type of node, e.g. sensor or remote control. Further, this may as explained above, also be in dependence on a timer. It will also be understood that more than one signal giving such information may be transmitted to the controllable node, each giving rise to a set-up as explained.
Thus, the reception of such a signal at a node can lead to an entry in e.g. a table 32 as shown in FIG. 2 , wherein each row 36 , 37 , 38 corresponds to an incoming signal by means of which an action has been disabled as indicated in the column 34 . The first column thus comprises the type of equipment, from which a command signal cannot be executed. For example, the “sensor X” may be a sun sensor, “sensor Y” may be a rain sensor, and the “remote control” may be a master remote control. It will be understood that other types of controllers may be involved as well. Further, for each of these, a timer function 35 may be active, e.g. indicating for how long the blocking is active. It will be understood that for all entries in the table the node will also have a record of the originator, from which each of the signals have been transmitted, e.g. the “source originator” as indicated in the column 39 in the table 32 .
Further, the node may also have a record of the originator for other control signals that do not lead to a blocking but only relates to e.g. an activation of a device.
As indicated in FIG. 1 , such a table 32 may be allocated to each of the controllable nodes, e.g. 5 and 10 in the system.
When a control signal is received at such a node, the command originator is identified. If the control signal is of a nature that leads to a locking of activation, the command originator is stored as initially explained. If the control signal initiates a locking of activation for certain types of equipment, i.e. certain originator types, an entry is made in the table 32 and a timer function 35 is set up. Further, it is noted that if the control signal involves a function e.g. an activation that has to take place, this is evaluated in view of the content of the table, e.g. in order to examine if the function is prohibited by the content of the table. If the function is excluded from being executed, a response signal to that effect may as previously explained be sent e.g. back to the node in question.
Each time a control signal is received at the controllable node, the table 32 is updated, e.g. if a timer function has lapsed, the entry is deleted from the table, before the control signal is evaluated in regard to the content of the table.
It will be understood that the table for practical reasons will be limited as regards the number of entries. If a control signal is received that has a content requiring an entry to be made when the table is full, different solutions are possible. The simplest solution is to reject the control signal. However, other manners of handling such a situation are possible. For example, it may be decided that the entry with the smallest remaining timer value may be excluded etc.
It will be understood that a command originator system in accordance with the invention may be combined with other handing systems and methods used in control systems, e.g. home automation systems. As an example hereof and in accordance with a further aspect of the invention a priority and level management handling may be included, which will be explained in further detail in the following.
In order to manage priorities, e.g. in a system as illustrated in FIG. 1 , the signals from the sensor and control nodes may be provided with priority indications at a number of levels, and when these are received at the controllable nodes, they may be registered and stored in a management table, and an evaluation is performed on the basis of the stored information in the table. On the basis of this evaluation the device associated with the controllable unit is operated, e.g. activated, stalled, stopped, reversed, etc.
Such a management table may be combined with a command originator system as described above into a table, that may take the place of the table 32 indicated in FIG. 1 that is associated with each of the controllable nodes, e.g. the nodes 5 and 10 in this example.
The details of such a table will be further explained with reference to FIG. 3 , which shows an example of such a management table 40 for a controllable node or device in a control system.
The priority levels may in accordance with usual practice be arranged in a decreasing way, for example in the following order: Human security, product or environment protection, user manual operation, automatic comfort control. A number of levels may be defined, for example eight levels as shown at 41 in FIG. 3 , ranging from the highest level 0 to the lowest level 7, and of these levels the four lowest may be designated to comfort automatic control levels, levels 3 and 2 may be designated to user manual control, while levels 1 and 0 thus are designated for product or environment protection and human security, respectively.
When a signal is received from a node, the content of this signal that relates to priority or priorities on certain command levels leads to the storing of an entry in a management table as shown in FIG. 3 . Here, each row corresponds to a signal transmitted from a node to the specific controllable node, and it will be understood that each controllable node comprises such a management table. For each command the table may comprise a priority, e.g. “enable” or “disable” that will lead to a corresponding setting in the table. If the received signal does not specify “enable” or “disable” for a priority level, the evaluation will not be influenced by the signal on this level. Further, the command signal may also indicate a period of time, in which the command must be stored in the table, for example 15 minutes from receipt of the command. Thus, the table will also contain a column 43 indicating a timer operation, e.g. indicating the total time period for the command in question or the remaining time for the command. It is obvious that the controllable nodes comprise timer means for managing the table 40 .
When the table is established and when a new command comprising priority indications is received, an entry is made in the table, the table is evaluated and the result is registered in the evaluation row 45 . Different rules and algorithms may be used for performing the evaluation. For example as shown in FIG. 3 , for each level it is indicated that a command level is disabled when it contains at least one “disable” priority. Another manner of evaluating the table could for instance be to evaluate based on a majority.
An incoming new command signal that contains a command on a level, that is disabled, cannot be executed, whereas a command on a level that is not disabled, can be executed.
As mentioned, the evaluation is performed each time a new command signal comprising priority indications is received, but when a command is removed from the table because the time period has lapsed, the evaluation may also be re-evaluated. Further, it will be understood that the table may be re-evaluated with regular intervals.
When a command is received, which does not comprise priority indications that will lead to an entry, but only require e.g. an activation to be performed, such a command is executed if the level in question is enabled.
As shown in FIG. 3 , the table 40 also comprises a column 46 indicating the command originator, e.g. as indicated that the first entry stems from a slave remote control, that the second entry stems from a sun sensor, that the third entry stems from a rain sensor etc. In this manner and as previously explained, information can be transmitted back to a control node in case a command is rejected, which information may serve to inform the user of the reason for the non-execution of the desired activation.
In this manner, the command originator information may also find use in connection with a level and priority management system.
It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular examples described above and illustrated in the drawings but may be modified in numerous manners and used in a variety of applications within the scope of the invention as specified in the claims. | System and method for controlling at least one device ( 2, 3 ) such as for example an operator for a door, a gate, a window, blinds, shutters, a curtain, an awning or a light source. The system includes at least one controllable unit ( 10, 14 ) associated with the at least one device and a plurality of nodes ( 12, 16, 19, 20, 22 ) for transmitting control signals to the at least one controllable unit ( 10, 14 ). At least one of the plurality of nodes ( 12, 16, 19, 20, 22 ) for transmitting control signals are configured for transmitting a command originator, the command originator including an identification of a predetermined type of the node ( 12, 16, 19, 20, 22 ), from which the signal originates. | 6 |
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/015,180, which is a divisional of U.S. Pat. No. 9,267,292, which is a divisional of U.S. Pat. No. 9,021,748, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/782,625 filed Mar. 14, 2013. The foregoing prior applications and patents are incorporated herein by reference.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY-SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
[0002] (Not Applicable)
THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT
[0003] (Not Applicable)
REFERENCE TO AN APPENDIX
[0004] (Not Applicable)
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The invention relates broadly to structures used to keep debris from gutters, and more particularly to a structure for preventing leaves from entering into gutters.
[0006] Rain gutters (also known as eavestroughs or, gutters) are narrow channels or troughs that collect and divert water flowing off of a roof. Gutters have been disposed at roof edges for centuries to catch precipitation and either redirect it to a storage vessel, such as an underground cistern, or away from the foundation of the building to prevent the precipitation from damaging the building to which the gutters are attached. Conventional gutters mount to a face of the building, such as a soffit fascia, with the lip of the rear edge of the gutter just under the drip edge of the building's roof. When water runs down the roof, it falls under the force of gravity into the gutter, collects in pools and flows by gravity out of the inclined gutter into a vertical downspout. The downspout carries the water to a storage vessel or away from the foundation of the building.
[0007] Solid particles that fall onto roofs also fall into uncovered gutters. For example, sticks, leaves, seeds, needles and other particles fall onto roofs, typically from overhanging trees, and then roll or slide into gutters. Smaller particles in small quantities can be carried by rain water out of gutters and are harmless, other than when they deteriorate in cisterns and cause spoilage. However, sticks and larger particles, or small particles in larger quantities, cannot be carried away by the water flowing in a gutter. Such sticks and particles collect together to form a barricade, and then smaller particles are filtered by the debris to block the satisfactory flow of water from the gutter into the downspout. The water then collects in the gutter and creates a sanitary hazard and/or overflows, thereby damaging the building and gutter and defeating the purpose of the gutter system.
[0008] There are numerous systems for preventing, or reducing, the infiltration of particles into the open tops of gutters. These are placed over gutters to keep water flowing instead of being clogged by leaves and debris. These systems include porous, filtering materials, such as expanded metal and polymer screens, along with solid “caps” that drive solid particles over the cap while depending on the surface tension of water to flow over the cap and gutter and around a solid panel into the gutter. Brush-like structures have also been placed in gutters, and coiled, spring-shaped wire structures have been placed in gutters to extend along the length of the gutter. One problem with the coil apparatus is that leaves and other debris that are low-hanging through the wires cannot clear the far edge of the gutter as they move downhill and they catch the far edge of the gutter. The surface tension method using a sheet-type cap over the gutter appears to be the best at self-clearing, but it can cause a mold slime-like formation in the darkened gutter.
[0009] The prior art of which the inventor is aware provides advantages over an open-top gutter, but also disadvantages. To applicant's knowledge, all prior art fails to provide sufficient certainty that debris will neither clog the gutter nor the filtering apparatus. Therefore, the need exists for a method and means for keeping gutters clear of leaves and other debris while allowing sunlight and airflow into the gutter, which reduces mold and slime buildup on the filter and gutter.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The invention contemplates a means to bridge over a gutter to allow leaves and other debris to slide off the roof, across the bridging structure above the gutter, and onto the ground without dropping into or catching onto, the gutter or filter. This is accomplished with a novel bridging structure that is described herein and shown in the illustrations. The structure has a plurality of rods aligned parallel to and along the downward sliding direction of the leaves and other debris. These rods are positioned substantially parallel and as close to one another as possible to prevent significant debris from falling into the gutter between the rods while still allowing the water to pass through into the gutter through the openings between the rods.
[0011] Except for very small particulate, the apparatus prevents most or all debris that comes into contact with a roof from entering the gutter, while still allowing rain and other liquid and small particulate to be carried away in a desirable manner by the gutter and downspouts. The apparatus also allows wind to blow up through the gutter filter to dislodge leaves and other debris, as well as dry out the gutter by the sun penetrating through the aligned rods of the apparatus.
[0012] The apparatus is referred to herein as a gutter leaf slide bridge (GLSB). The GLSB is designed so that the water and small quantities of very small particles that constitute non-clogging debris fall into the gutter, and larger debris, such as leaves, sticks and large seeds, roll or slide across the GLSB beyond the outside edge of the gutter and fall to the ground. The GLSB allows sunlight and air movement through the gutters beneath it, thereby preventing a slimy mold buildup in the gutter found with many systems that enclose the gutter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a side schematic view illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 2 is a side schematic view illustrating an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 3 is a top schematic view illustrating a mechanism for forming a portion of the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 4 is a side schematic view illustrating an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 5 is a side schematic view illustrating an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 6 is a side schematic view illustrating an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 7 is a side view in section illustrating a fastener portion for the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 8 is a side schematic view illustrating an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 9 is a schematic view in perspective illustrating an alternative embodiment of a portion of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 10 is a side schematic view illustrating an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 11 is a front schematic view illustrating the embodiment of FIG. 1 .
[0024] FIG. 12 is a front schematic view illustrating an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
[0025] FIG. 13 is a magnified schematic view illustrating the embodiment of FIG. 12 .
[0026] In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the specific term so selected and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose. For example, the word connected or terms similar thereto are often used. They are not limited to direct connection, but include connection through other elements where such connection is recognized as being equivalent by those skilled in the art.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0027] U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/782,625 filed Mar. 14, 2013 and U.S. Non-provisional application Ser. No. 14/210,699 filed Mar. 14, 2014 are hereby incorporated in this application by reference.
[0028] In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 11 , the GLSB 10 uses substantially parallel, spaced rod members 12 to form the bridge that supports the debris as it is carried across the upwardly facing opening of the gutter 14 to the far edge 14 f of the gutter 14 . The rod members 12 can be made of any metal, such as steel or aluminum, or plastic, polymer-reinforced composites or any other suitable material. The rod members 12 preferably range in diameter from about 0.03 to about 0.06 inches. The rods should be of minimum diameter possible and the sizes listed can be combined with larger rods or smaller rods. Of course, other diameters are contemplated if they are sufficiently strong and otherwise suitable. The rods are a length that allows them to span the distance across the gutter 14 that is required to carry and support debris over the gutter 14 . As an example, for a conventional piece of five inch wide aluminum gutter, the rod member 12 is a length that permits it to overhang the far edge 14 f by about one-half to one and one-half inches. Therefore, useful rods could be six to seven inches long, depending on how and where the rods are attached to the building or gutter.
[0029] The rods are preferably spaced laterally from each next adjacent rod to form a gap therebetween of about one-quarter of an inch or less, but this distance can be modified as will become apparent to the person of ordinary skill. Each rod member 12 is preferably aligned substantially perpendicular to the gutter's longitudinal axis, although a small angle is possible as will become apparent from the description herein. When aligned substantially perpendicular to the gutter's longitudinal axis, the rod members 12 are aligned with their longitudinal axis substantially along the direction debris and water flow down the roof 20 when under the influence of gravity. That is, the rod members 12 are substantially parallel, or only slightly transverse, to the direction water and debris flow down the roof 20 under the influence of gravity (wind and other effects may vary the direction). The rods are also substantially parallel to one another. This configuration allows the rod members 12 to provide as little resistance to continued flow of debris over the gutter, while allowing water to flow between the rod members 12 into the gutter with little resistance. In order to maintain the rods parallel to one another, the rods themselves preferably have a spring effect that is substantial enough that if a rod is bent to one side, upon release it returns substantially to its original position. This “spring effect” can arise by using spring steel, for example.
[0030] Each rod member 12 can be mounted at the gutter 14 near the inner edge of the gutter 14 i. The rod members 12 extend from or near the roof's edge 20 e in cantilevered fashion above and beyond the far edge 14 f of the gutter 14 , as shown in FIGS. 1 and 11 . A vertical gap, g, is formed between the top surface of the far edge 14 f of the gutter and the lower surfaces of each of the rod members 12 . The vertical gap, g, is to allow leaves and leaf-like debris that have portions (stems, thorns, etc.) that may extend downwardly through the gaps between the rods to flow to the ends of the rods without resistance, such as from catching on the gutter's far edge, as the debris slides down the parallel rod members 12 . The vertical gap between the far ends of the rods and the top of the gutter allows leaves and other debris that are low-hanging between and beneath the rods to slide past the end of the gutter as they move downhill along the rods, and not catch thereon.
[0031] The rod members 12 are substantially parallel and form a “comb-like” structure over the gutter 14 with the “teeth” of the “comb” being formed by the rod members 12 . A spine or frame 12 f, to which the rods mount, is substantially perpendicular to the rods and attaches uphill of the gutter 14 . The rod members 12 are cantilevered to as far beyond the far edge 14 f of the gutter 14 as is necessary to assure most or all debris completely bypasses the gutter 14 and falls away from the gutter. The back or “spine” of the “comb” preferably attaches to the house structure 30 , roof edge 20 e, or inner edge 14 i of the gutter 14 , but the frame 12 f can simply rest upon the surface of the roof 20 . The rods 12 are preferably angled substantially parallel, or slightly transverse, to the roof 20 , so that a generally downhill slope results. The frame can be integrated into the lower edge 20 e of the roof 20 , such as by inserting rods into spaced apertures disposed along a half-round piece of plastic, wood or metal that is attached at the lower edge of the roof, within the thickness of the lower edge 20 e.
[0032] In one embodiment contemplated, the frame of the “comb” is integral to the gutter's inner edge 14 i, having been mounted there during manufacture of the gutter. In another embodiment contemplated, rubber or other flexible roofing sheet material that is self-adhesive is adhered to the roof and over the frame of the comb-shaped structure to direct water falling down the roof over the frame of the comb. The rods can extend through apertures formed in the rubber sheet so that the sheet extends beneath the rods a short distance after passing over the frame and toward the roof edge 20 e. The rods cantilever above the gutter's far edge.
[0033] The rods' lengths can be a few inches to about a foot or even more depending on whether the rear attachment point of the rods is at the back of the gutter or on the roof. Thus, the rods preferably extend from just above and just beyond the far edge 14 f of the gutter to as far back toward or on the roof 20 as is necessary to reach the desired mounting or resting point of the frame. The rods 12 are sloped downward from the rear attachment point at the frame to the far edge 14 f of the gutter 14 to form a self-clearing leaf slide that guides leaves and leaf-like debris along a continuously sloped structure away from the sloped roof, onto the sloped rods and then off of the rods to the ground or a container for collection.
[0034] One type of GLSB uses short lengths of rods attached to a frame formed from a pipe 150 or round drill stock, as shown in FIG. 2 . The pipe 150 is attached above the rear edge 114 i of the gutter 114 with u-bolts (not visible) or a novel snap-in fastening device that allows the pipe 150 to pivot within the u-bolts or other fastener in the manner of a hinge. This pivoting is along an angle of about 30 to 90 degrees to an “up position” (see dashed lines in FIG. 2 ) from the rods' 112 operable location above the front gutter edge 114 f. The pivoting allows access to the inside of the gutter 114 for periodic cleaning or other maintenance. As noted above, the pipe 150 can be mounted to a structure that is deliberately formed in the gutter during manufacture of the gutter (see FIG. 6 ), or the pipe 150 can be retro-fitted, or the pipe can be mounted to the house's roof 120 or fascia.
[0035] One advantage of the pipe 150 structure shown in FIG. 2 is that the water tends to be driven downwardly, perpendicular to the rods 112 . As the water flows off the roof 120 it immediately flows along the curved surface of the pipe 150 , which is substantially perpendicular to the rods 112 at the intersection of the rods 112 with the pipe 150 . By directing the flow of water perpendicular to the rods at the intersection, this configuration reduces the probability that the water will cling by surface tension to the rods 112 and flow off the ends of the rods rather than fall into the gutter 114 . Thus, when the pipe 150 forms an approximately ninety-degree angle with the rods 112 at their intersection, there is a substantial structural and functional advantage.
[0036] Another GLSB is made from a wire mat 200 , as shown in FIG. 3 . The mat 200 can be about one foot wide, and is made by bending one strand of wire 202 back and forth around a die that consists of a plurality of dowels 204 or other prepared, solid structures at each side to form parallel wires that serve as the rods spaced about one quarter inch apart (see FIG. 3 ). Once the wire 202 is wound through and around the dowels 204 , the dowels are moved apart by force to remove any slack in the wire 202 and form the final length of the rods. The curved portions at the ends of each pair of rods can be cut off, or they can be retained and bent downwardly and inwardly to allow the debris to clear the curved ends as it falls off the rods, and also direct water into the gutter using surface tension on the rods. In this case the downwardly bent portions may not touch the gutter, but form a barrier to prevent larger rodents and other creatures from entering the gutter. The curved portions can be bent downwardly and inwardly to form a support leg that rests upon the far edge of the gutter as described herein, which also provides a barrier for pests.
[0037] As shown in FIG. 4 , one side of the mat 200 so formed is attached to the roof 220 (such as by a screw 210 extending through the roof side curved portions) and the other side of the mat 200 cantilevers above the far edge 214 f of the gutter 214 . The vertical gap, g 2 , formed between the front gutter edge 214 f and the underside of the mat 200 can be maintained by forming support structures at periodic intervals along the mat's length using parts of the mat formed. For example, during manufacture of the wire mat 200 , some of the wire 202 can be bent toward the gutter to form spaced “legs” 240 under the mat 200 that rest on the far edge 214 f of the gutter (see FIG. 5 ). These legs are spaced supports that contact the gutter 214 and space the gutter 214 from the mat 200 . A continuous GLSB can be made using this configuration because the top surfaces of the rods extend past the far edge of the gutter.
[0038] The mat 200 can be bent in its long direction along the roof to fit into a valley formed between two intersecting and transverse roof sections. A rubber roofing material can be adhered over the uppermost portion of the mat and the roof in order to force water and debris onto the top of the mat. Such a configuration permits the mat to carry debris out of the valley where it would otherwise collect, but water is permitted to flow through the rods to the gutter. Preferably, the lower ends of the rods extend over the far edge of the intersecting gutters' corner (or any vertical shield that is mounted to the gutter lip at this corner to direct the large volume of water from the valley into the gutter) in order to bridge entirely over the gutter.
[0039] By using wire stock from a large spool of wire at the job site, a mat can be formed on-site of desired width, wire spacing and length using special wire-forming equipment made for this purpose. As the wire (about one-sixteenth inch diameter) comes off the reel it is work-hardened and made straight. Next it is placed in a flat die having dowels at each end of the mat's width to wrap around and form the wire spacing of the rods. The dowels at each end are pulled apart for forming the final length of the mat (see FIG. 3 ). The flat mat formed is cut into lengths, for example three feet long. Then the mat can be bent to curve the mat for each field need of gutter width and height to roof relationship. A gap can be formed between the far edge of the gutter and the wire mat bridge. Also a cantilever (ideal) mat can be formed by attaching a bent mat to the roof and cutting off the opposite end to form separate rods 212 as shown in the illustration of FIG. 4 .
[0040] In one embodiment, the invention is formed in units of a specific length, such as three feet, and each unit is attached to other units in series. The attached collection of units is mounted along the gutter's length. The length of each unit of the apparatus (as measured along the gutter's length) can be on the order of a few feet for ease of installation of each unit. Alternatively, the apparatus can be constructed to be continuous along the length of the gutter in some embodiments so that there are no connectors or weaknesses that might be present in a series of connected units that depend on the installer's skill in connecting them.
[0041] The invention can take the form of a “comb” with the “teeth” being the rods, rails or bridging components and the transverse spine being a frame to which the rods mount. Alternatively, the invention can be in the form of disks with spacers like a large diameter washer spaced with a smaller diameter washer. Alternatively, a broom-like device can be used with the broom straws acting as the bridge over the gutter, and the straws cantilevering above the ends of gutter the same as the comb teeth forming a gap.
[0042] As the parallel rods are made closer and closer together, this decreasing gap improves the action of sieving debris. However, the closer the rods are together the more likely capillary action will occur, which could cause some of the water to cling to, and flow along, the rods past the far edge of the gutter, thereby defeating the purpose of the gutter. The surface tension of the water and its velocity direction as it comes off the roof or rod-holding device can be in the direction of the rods. This problem can be reduced or eliminated by using finer and flatter rods. Another solution is to form sawtooth-shaped (when viewed from the side) and/or v-shaped (when viewed from the end) profiles on the bottoms of the rods that cause the water to have a smaller surface to cling to so it drops off into the gutter before reaching the ends of the rods.
[0043] An alternative solution can be obtained by placing the rods at an angle to the water direction coming off the roof, and another uses the surface tension of the water clinging to a sheet that the rods pass though to drop the water below the rods. For example, if a rubber sheet is adhered at its top edge to the roof and extends a short distance down the roof to cover the frame of the rods, the rods of the invention can pierce the sheet, which causes the rods to extend transversely (at an angle to the sheet) beyond the sheet's point of attachment to the roof. The sheet thus extends from above the rods to below the rods with the rods extending through the sheet. This configuration creates a flow path for water to flow onto the sheet from the roof, down the sheet and through the rods by clinging to the sheet due to surface tension. In this configuration, the water follows the sheet down through the rods, rather than following the rods at an angle to the sheet.
[0044] Shorter rods could be passed under and between the main rods 12 , 112 and 212 that carry off the leaves, and the shorter rods (which do not have to be as long as the main rods) cause the water on the bottoms of the main rods to be more likely to fall into the gutter, rather than be carried over the ends of the main rods and past the gutter. Such shorter rods could also help support the upper rods that cantilever over the far, outer edge of the gutter. Additionally, smaller diameter (e.g., one-thirty second of an inch) or shorter (or both) rods can be alternated with the preferred main rods (e.g., one sixteenth of an inch diameter) described herein to help carry smaller debris and thereby reduce the amount of matter that can hang down between the rods as the matter passes over the far lip of the gutter. This is illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13 , in which the main rods 612 a are twice the diameter and long enough to reach past the far edge of the gutter, and the smaller diameter rods 612 b are substantially the same length, but half the diameter. The smaller diameter rods 612 b can be shorter, and preferably do not carry substantial weight of larger debris that falls onto the main rods 612 a. Instead, the row of smaller diameter rods 612 b filter the smaller debris that falls past the larger main rods 612 a, and, because they are smaller diameter, the rods 612 b promote water falling into the gutter 614 , rather than flowing past the gutter's far edge. Furthermore, the smaller diameter rods 612 b may be shorter than the gutter's width, so that even if water flows to their ends and then drops, the water falls into the gutter 614 . If a second row of smaller diameter rods is placed beneath the row of larger diameter rods, the gaps between the smaller rods can be smaller than the gaps between the larger rods.
[0045] If metal sheeting is used to hold the rods, the sheeting could be formed to have rods and bring the water into the gutter. This could also be done as a plastic or metal molding and look much like a hair comb with its teeth hanging out over the end of the gutter and the spine of the comb (above the teeth) attached to the roof above the gutter.
[0046] In order to test the embodiments discussed above, a work table was made to hold a roof section having a gutter section at the low end and a water flow device at the high end. The roof section can be held at different slopes and different type roofing was placed on the table and different flow rates were selected. Leaves and roof debris was placed between the water source and the gutter on the roof section and the results were observed under closely controlled conditions.
[0047] The testing work supports the efficacy of the embodiments described herein. Most of the testing used one-sixteenth inch diameter rods and flat rods turned on edge (thinnest edges up and larger surfaces facing the next-adjacent rod). The testing showed that holding the rods parallel to one another is very important. The rods need to spring back to their original positions if they are deformed downwardly against the far edge of the gutter or laterally to a non-parallel relation. Furthermore, the capillary attraction of water to and between the rods increased as the rods were moved closer together and increased as the diameter of the rods increased.
[0048] The GLSB method and structures described herein show promise, because during testing the GLSB embodiments cleared a range of debris made up of small and large leaves, seed pods, twigs, and pine needles with a minimum of small debris going into the gutter. The amount that went into the gutter was cleared by normal flow of water in the gutter to the down spout. GLSB rods can be incorporated into a gutter so that the rods are manufactured along with the gutter and the two are integral. Different climate locations and debris types could call for different solutions to reduce cost and maintenance.
[0049] Applicant's studies show the cantilevered ends of the GLSB rods allow the debris to clear the end of the gutter. However, when the lower edges of the distal ends of the rods are held against the upper, outer edge of the gutter, leaves and debris are held back and do not slide off the ends of the rods. The studies thus far show that the slide made of thin rods perpendicular to the gutter's length and held above the outside edge of the gutter work better than the surface tension leaf rejection method that is conventional.
[0050] The water was brought below the rods of some embodiments by having the rods pass through metal or plastic sheeting as described above. The rods of other embodiments have been attached through plastic piping (having a one inch diameter and a one-eighth inch wall) and in others into one-quarter inch diameter solid rod stock. The sheeting can be part of the drip edge on the roof's edge, the sheeting can be part of the one inch diameter pipe between the drip edge and the gutter, and the sheeting can be part of the one-quarter inch rod on the roof itself.
[0051] Both the one inch diameter piping and the one-quarter inch solid rod can be mounted using a fastener that forms a hinge means for pivoting the GLSB rods to access the gutter for cleaning. This can be by rotating the pipe or rod to lift the GLSB rods. Stops can be put on the pipe or holding rod to define the maximum down and/or up position.
[0052] Rods can be formed by cutting a sheet along spaced, parallel lines and twisting the formed flat segments 90 degrees. Although this is an inexpensive method for forming GLSB rods, there can be problems with water attraction (capillary action) and holding the rods parallel.
[0053] The method of attaching the rods (teeth) to the back of the gutter, when the “comb” design is being used, will now be described in detail. For a new gutter system using GLSB or for a flat, high-back gutter already in use, a holding device 360 can be attached to the upper part of the back edge of the gutter 314 that allows the GLSB to be snapped in place, moved up or taken off easily, as shown in FIG. 6 . The holding device 360 can be molded out of plastic or metal that is attached to a conventional gutter 314 , or the holding device 360 can be extruded as part of a plastic gutter. In the illustrations of FIGS. 7 and 8 , the pivot structure 400 defines a C-shaped opening 402 for the cylindrical frame 408 of the comb-shaped device 412 to snap into. The lower tip 404 of the “C” provides a limit for downward movement of the rods of the device 412 , because the rods will rest against the lower tip 404 and maintain the vertical spacing between the rods and the far edge of the gutter. In order for the rods to move any lower, they must be bent. However, the rods can be lifted upwardly for cleaning as shown in FIG. 8 in dashed lines.
[0054] As shown in FIG. 8 , the frame 408 of the comb-shaped structure 412 is mounted in the holding device 400 in such a way (such as a friction fit) that pivoting up or down is possible when a sufficient force is applied. However, it is preferred that downward pivoting does not occur without deliberately moving the rods, in order to maintain the space between the lip of the gutter 414 and the bottom of the rods. As shown in FIG. 9 , the comb can be molded or made from wire 500 attached to a dowel 502 , and that dowel 502 can serve as a frame and be inserted in the holding device 400 as shown above, with the wire 500 serving as the rods.
[0055] As shown in FIG. 9 , the wire 500 has curved ends 504 that join adjacent pairs of wire. This means that any large debris sliding down the wires can catch in the curved ends 504 and not fall off the structure. It is preferred to either cut the curved ends off back to the straight portions of the wire 500 , or bend the curved ends downward toward the gutter (not visible) and back to allow the debris to clear the curved ends. The curved ends can form legs that support the wire 500 at the far edge of the gutter when the wire contacts the far edge of the gutter.
[0056] This detailed description in connection with the drawings is intended principally as a description of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and is not intended to represent the only form in which the present invention may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth the designs, functions, means, and methods of implementing the invention in connection with the illustrated embodiments. It is to be understood, however, that the same or equivalent functions and features may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention and that various modifications may be adopted without departing from the invention or scope of the following claims. | A gutter protecting apparatus includes a plurality of substantially parallel rods extending in a downward slope from near a roof edge to and beyond the far side of the gutter. The rods extend substantially perpendicular to the gutter's length and to a frame to which the rods connect at the upper edge. Preferably, the lower rod ends are spaced above and slightly beyond the far edge of the gutter to allow debris to pass the gutter without catching. Legs can extend down from some rods to the gutter's far edge to provide support. The apparatus can be pivotably mounted to the roof, the fascia or the gutter, permitting access beneath. The apparatus forms a cage-like covering over the gutter to exclude matter and small creatures, while allowing the liquid to flow past. Sunlight bypassing the rods and movement of air through the gutter make the water exiting the downspout cleaner. | 4 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Control of fluid flow through various parts of a wellbore is important for optimizing production. Valves to control fluid flow have been developed and are widely used. In some situations it is sufficient to use a valve with only two settings, fully open and fully closed. In other situations it is desirable to be able to choke the flow without shutting it off completely. As wells become more sophisticated there is a desire for increasing accuracy in flow control.
[0002] The increasing sophistication of wells also includes an increase in operating costs and consequently an increase in cost for time in which a well is not producing. Failure of flow control valves is, therefore, a costly and undesirable condition. Accordingly, the art is in need of highly durable flow control valves that have highly accurate flow control.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Disclosed herein is a valve. The valve includes, a first tubular member having at least one port extending through a wall thereof and a second tubular member at least partially radially aligned with the first tubular member. The first tubular member and the second tubular member are sealably connected at an interface therebetween, one of the first tubular member and the second tubular member supporting at least one sealable member capable of sealingly engaging the other of the first tubular member and the second tubular member, and having a portion movable relative to the interface, the movable portion being located on a first side of the at least one sealable member that is opposite a second side of the at least one sealable member on which the interface is located.
[0004] Further disclosed herein is a valve. The valve includes a first tubular member having at least one port extending through a wall thereof, a second tubular member radially aligned with and moveable relative to the first tubular member, one of the first tubular member and the second tubular member supporting at least two metal members capable of sealingly engaging the other of the first tubular member and the second tubular member.
[0005] Further disclosed herein is a method for controlling fluid flow. The method includes, selectively deforming at least one selectively deformable member disposed between two tubular members that are radially aligned with one another, at least one of the at least one deformable member being positioned between a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet. The method further includes regulating flow of fluid by deforming the at least one deformable member positioned between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet sufficiently to achieve a desired flow rate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way. With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numbered alike:
[0007] FIG. 1 depicts a tubular valve with a single sealable member in an unactuated position;
[0008] FIG. 2 depicts the tubular valve with a single sealable member of FIG. 1 with the valve in an actuated position;
[0009] FIG. 3 depicts an alternate tubular valve with a single sealable member in an unactuated position;
[0010] FIG. 4 depicts the tubular valve with a single sealable member of FIG. 3 with the valve in an actuated position;
[0011] FIG. 5 depicts a tubular valve with dual sealable members with one sealable member in an unactuated position and the other sealable member in an actuated position; and
[0012] FIG. 6 depicts a tubular valve with dual sealable members with both sealable members sealingly engaged.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0013] A detailed description of several embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures.
[0014] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , an embodiment of the tubular valve 10 is illustrated. The tubular valve 10 includes a first tubular member 14 , a second tubular member 18 and a sealable member 22 . The sealable member 22 is supported by the second tubular member 18 and is sealably engagable with the first tubular member 14 in response to a selectable repositioning of the sealable member 22 . Referring specifically to FIG. 1 , the sealable member 22 is not sealably engaged with the first tubular member 14 when the sealable member 22 is in an unactuated position 26 as shown. Referring specifically to FIG. 2 , the sealable member 22 is sealably engaged with the first tubular member 14 when the sealable member 22 is in an actuated position 30 as shown. An annular space 34 exists between an inner surface 38 , of the first tubular member 14 , and an outer surface 42 , of the second tubular member 18 , and provides a fluid flow path therethrough. In the actuated position 30 the sealable member 22 sealably engages the inner surface 38 thereby fully occluding the annular space 34 and closing the tubular valve 10 to fluidic flow therethrough. By contrast, in the unactuated position 26 , the sealable member 22 does not occlude the annular space 34 at all and thereby defines a fully open condition of the tubular valve 10 . The sealable member 22 can also occlude a fractional portion of the annular space 34 between fully closed and fully open. When doing so the amount of occlusion varies in proportion to the amount of extension of the sealable member 22 between the unactuated 26 and the actuated 30 positions. It should be noted that while the foregoing embodiment has the sealable member 22 supported by the second tubular member 18 , alternate embodiments could just as well have a sealable member supported by, or integrated into, the first tubular member 14 . Such an alternate embodiment could have a sealable member extend radially inwardly to sealably engage with the outer radial surface 42 of the second tubular member 18 , for example.
[0015] Repositioning of the sealable member 22 , in the second tubular member 18 , is in one embodiment due to construction thereof. The sealable member 22 is formed from a section of the second tubular member 18 that has three lines of weakness 46 , 50 , and 54 , specifically located both axially of the tubular member 18 and with respect to an inside surface 58 and the outer surface 42 of the second tubular member 18 . In one embodiment, a first line of weakness 46 and a second line of weakness 50 are defined in this embodiment by diametrical grooves formed in the outer surface 42 of the second tubular member 18 . A third line of weakness 54 is defined in this embodiment by a diametrical groove formed in the inside surface 58 of the second tubular member 18 . The three lines of weakness 46 , 50 , and 54 each encourage local deformation of the tubular member 18 in a radial direction that tends to cause the groove to close. It will be appreciated that in embodiments where the line of weakness is defined by other than a groove, the radial direction of movement will be the same but since there is no groove, there is no “close of the groove.” Rather, in such an embodiment, the material that defines a line of weakness will flow or otherwise allow radial movement in the direction indicated. The three lines of weakness together encourage deformation of the tubular member 18 in a manner that creates a feature such as the sealable member 22 in the actuated position 30 . The feature is created, then, upon the application of an axially directed mechanical compression of the tubular member 18 such that the actuated position 30 of the sealable member 22 is formed as the tubular member 18 is compressed to a shorter overall length. Other mechanisms can alternatively be employed to actuate the tubular member 18 between the unactuated 26 and the actuated 30 positions of the sealable member 22 . For example, the sealable member 22 may be repositioned to the actuated position 30 by pressurizing the inner surface 38 , for example.
[0016] The tubular valve 10 has the further capability however of allowing the sealable member 22 to be repeatedly repositioned. More specifically the sealable member 22 may be repeatedly repositioned to the unactuated position 26 ( FIG. 1 ), or any position between the fully unactuated position 26 and the fully actuated position 30 ( FIG. 2 ). This variability of extension of the sealable member 22 allows the fluid flowing through the annular space 34 to be choked to any desirable level. Such repositioning is effected, in one embodiment, by the application of an axially tensive load on the second tubular member 18 , thereby elongating the second tubular member 18 in the process. Control, therefore, of the amount of extension of the sealable member 22 into the annular space 34 , in this embodiment, is determined by the amount of axial compression or elongation of the second tubular member 18 about the sealable member 22 .
[0017] Compression and elongation of the second tubular member 18 can be controlled by relative movement of a first portion 62 , of the second tubular member 18 , with respect to a second portion 66 , of the second tubular member 18 . Similarly, movement of the first tubular member 14 relative to the second portion 66 can control the same compression and elongation, since the first portion 62 is attached to the first tubular member 14 by, for example, threads 70 . As such, since there is no relative motion between the first portion 62 and the first tubular member 14 , motion of the second portion 66 can be made relative to either the first portion 62 or the first tubular member 14 thereby controlling the actuation of the tubular valve 10 .
[0018] The annular space 34 , through which the sealable member 22 extends, defines a fluidic flow path that is to be throttled or choked by an amount of actuation of the sealable member 22 . Thus, choke control of a desired flow path can be achieved by fluidically connecting the desired flow path to the annular space 34 . For example, a port 76 that extends radially through the first tubular member 14 positioned downhole of the sealable member 22 provides flow from radially outside the first tubular member 14 into the annular space 34 . In such an embodiment the flow from outside the first tubular member 14 to an uphole directed annulus 80 is controllable via the sealable member 22 . In an alternate embodiment, such as one where the uphole directed annulus 80 is dead headed, for example, a port 84 through the second portion 66 of the second tubular member 18 can fluidically connect the annular space 34 , uphole of the sealable member 22 to an inside of the second tubular member 18 . In so doing the tubular valve 10 can control flow in either direction between the outside of the first tubular member 14 to the inside of the second tubular member 18 .
[0019] In one embodiment disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2 the sealable member 22 is an integral part of one of the two tubular members 14 , 18 and the tubular members 14 , 18 may both be made of metal. In such an embodiment the seal created between the sealable member 22 and the first tubular member 14 is a metal-to-metal seal. Such a metal-to-metal seal can have excellent durability in a high pressure, high temperature and caustic environment commonly experienced in wellbores.
[0020] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 an alternate embodiment of the tubular valve 110 with an elastomeric seal is illustrated. The tubular valve 110 includes a first tubular member 114 , a second tubular member 118 and a sealable member 122 . The sealable member 122 is supported by the second tubular member 118 and is sealably engagable with the first tubular member 114 in response to a selectable repositioning of the sealable member 122 . Referring specifically to FIG. 3 , the sealable member 122 is not sealably engaged with the first tubular member 114 when the sealable member 122 is in an unactuated position 126 as shown. Referring specifically to FIG. 4 , the sealable member 122 is sealably engaged with the first tubular member 114 when the sealable member 122 is in an actuated position 130 as shown. An annular space 134 exists between an inner surface 138 , of the first tubular member 114 , and an outer surface 142 , of the second tubular member 118 , and provides a fluid flow path therethrough. In the actuated position 130 the sealable member 122 sealably engages the surface 138 thereby fully occluding the annular space 134 and closing the tubular valve 110 to fluidic flow therethrough. By contrast, in the unactuated position 126 the sealable member 122 does not occlude the annular space 134 at all and thereby defines a fully open condition of the tubular valve 110 . The sealable member 122 can also occlude a fractional portion of the annular space 134 between fully closed and fully open. When doing so the amount of occlusion varies in proportion to the amount of extension of the sealable member 122 between the unactuated 126 and the actuated 130 positions. It should be noted that while the foregoing embodiment has the sealable member 122 supported by the second tubular member 118 , alternate embodiments could have a sealable member supported by, or integrated into, the first tubular member 114 . Such an alternate embodiment could have a sealable member extend radially inwardly to sealably engage with the outer radial surface 142 of the second tubular member 118 , for example. Multiple sealable members could also be incorporated into embodiments as will be discussed in detail below.
[0021] Repositioning of the sealable member 122 , supported by the second tubular member 118 , is due to construction thereof. The sealable member 122 is formed from an elastomeric band 146 that circumferentially surrounds a reduced dimension portion 150 of an uphole portion 154 of the second tubular member 118 . The elastomeric band 146 is positioned axially between the uphole portion 154 and a downhole portion 158 of the second tubular member 118 . Movement of the uphole portion 154 towards the downhole portion 158 compresses the elastomeric band 146 axially which results in the elastomeric band 146 increasing in size diametrically until the band 146 males contact with the inner surface 138 . The actuated position 130 is created, then, upon the application of an axially directed mechanical compression of the tubular member 118 such that the actuated position 130 of the sealable member 122 is formed as the tubular member 118 is compressed to a shorter overall length.
[0022] The tubular valve 110 has the further capability however of allowing the sealable member 122 to be repeatedly repositioned. More specifically the sealable member 122 may be repeatedly repositioned to the unactuated position 126 ( FIG. 1 ), or any position between the fully unactuated position 126 and the fully actuated position 130 ( FIG. 2 ). This variability of extension of the sealable member 122 allows the fluid flowing through the annular space 134 to be choked to any desirable level. Such repositioning is effected, in one embodiment, by the application of an axially tensive load on the second tubular member 118 , thereby elongating the second tubular member 118 in the process. Control, therefore, of the amount of extension of the sealable member 122 into the annular space 134 , in this embodiment, is determined by the amount of axial compression or elongation of the second tubular member 118 about the sealable member 122 .
[0023] Compression and elongation of the second tubular member 118 can be controlled by relative movement of the uphole portion 154 with respect to the downhole portion 158 of the second tubular member 118 . Similarly, relative movement of the uphole portion 154 relative to the first tubular member 114 can control this compression and elongation, since the downhole portion 158 is attached to the first tubular member 114 by threads 162 . As such, since there is no relative motion between the downhole portion 158 and the first tubular member 114 , motion of the uphole portion 154 can be made relative to either the downhole portion 158 or the first tubular member 114 . Thus controlling these relative motions can control the actuation of the tubular valve 110 .
[0024] The annular space 134 , through which the sealable member 122 extends, defines a fluidic flow path that is to be throttled or choked by an amount of actuation of the sealable member 122 . Thus, choke control of a desired flow path can be achieved by fluidically connecting the desired flow path to the annular space 134 . For example, a port 176 that extends radially through the first tubular member 114 positioned downhole of the sealable member 122 provides flow from radially outside the first tubular member 114 into the annular space 134 . In such an embodiment the flow from outside the first tubular member 114 to an uphole directed annulus 180 is controllable via the sealable member 122 . In an alternate embodiment, such as one where the uphole directed annulus 180 is dead headed, for example, a port 184 through the uphole portion 154 of the second tubular member 118 can fluidically connect the annular space 134 , uphole of the sealable member 122 to an inside of the second tubular member 118 . In so doing the tubular valve 110 can control flow in either direction between the outside of the first tubular member 114 to the inside of the second tubular member 118 . It should be noted that although components are labeled herein with terms such as uphole (i.e. uphole portion) and downhole (i.e. downhole portion), these terms are only used to define relative positioning of the components and as such could have these terms reversed or replaced with other terms to define relative positioning of the components.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 5 an alternative embodiment of the tubular valve 210 is illustrated. The tubular valve 210 includes a first tubular member 214 , a second tubular member 218 , a first sealable member 220 , and a second sealable member 222 . In this embodiment the sealable members 220 and 222 are supported by the second tubular member 218 and are sealably engagable with the first tubular member 214 in response to a selectable position of the sealable members 220 , 222 . The sealable member 220 is not sealably engaged with the first tubular member 214 as the sealable member 220 is in an unactuated position 226 as shown. The sealable member 222 is sealably engaged with the first tubular member 214 as the sealable member 222 is in an actuated position 230 as shown. An annular space 234 exists between an inner surface 238 , of the first tubular member 214 , and an outer surface 242 , of the second tubular member 218 , and provides a fluid flow path therethrough. In the actuated position 230 the sealable member 222 sealably engages the surface 238 thereby fully occluding the annular space 234 . By contrast, in the unactuated position 226 the sealable member 220 does not occlude the annular space 234 at all. The sealable members 220 , 222 can also occlude a fractional portion of the annular space 234 between fully closed and fully open. When doing so the amount of occlusion varies in proportion to the amount of extension of the sealable members 220 , 222 between the unactuated 226 and the actuated 230 positions. It should be noted that while the foregoing embodiment has the sealable members 220 , 222 supported by the second tubular member 218 , alternate embodiments could have sealable members supported by, or integrated into, the first tubular member 214 . Such an alternate embodiment could have sealable members extend radially inwardly to sealably engage with the outer radial surface 242 of the second tubular member 218 , for example. Alternatively, embodiments could also have one or more sealable members supported by or integrated into the second tubular member 218 and simultaneously have one or more sealable members supported by or integrated into the first tubular members 214 .
[0026] Repositioning of the sealable members 220 , 222 , in the second tubular member 218 , is due to construction thereof. The sealable members 220 , 222 are formed from sections of the second tubular member 218 in the same way that the sealable member 22 of FIGS. 1 and 2 is formed of a section of the second tubular member 18 and therefore will not be described in detail again here. One difference, however, in this embodiment is that tubular valve 210 has two sealable members 220 and 222 , and thus a third portion 260 of the second tubular member 218 is movable relative to a first portion 262 and a second portion 266 of the tubular member 218 . In fact, by having each portion 260 , 262 , 266 be movable independently relative to each of the other portions 260 , 262 , 266 , the two sealable members 220 and 222 are independently extendable to any desired amount of extension. It should be noted that alternate embodiments could have more than two sealable members 220 , 222 . And, regardless of how many sealable members 220 , 222 are used, each could be independently repositionable.
[0027] In the embodiment of the tubular valve 210 , for example, the first two sealable members 220 , 222 could be repositioned independently of one another. To do so simply requires independent control over the movement of the three portions 260 , 262 and 266 relative to one another. Moving the third portion 266 relative to the portions 262 , 260 , held stationary, for example, will allow repositioning of the second sealable member 222 without repositioning the first sealable member 220 . Similarly, by moving the third portion 266 and the second portion 262 in unison relative to the first portion 260 , held stationary, allows for repositioning of the first sealable member 220 without repositioning of the second sealable member 222 . Thus, a series of valves can be independently controllable to choke fluid flow therethrough. Additionally, the valves can be set to control fluid flow in various ways depending upon how the annular space 234 about the sealable members 220 , 222 is ported. The embodiment of the tubular valve 210 , described below, is one example of how improved resolution of choke control can be attained through porting.
[0028] In an embodiment of the tubular valve 210 a first ports 276 in the first tubular member 214 includes multiple ports 276 a , 276 b , 276 c and so forth. Having a plurality of ports 276 allows for an additional level of flow control between the ports 276 and a second port 280 , for example, located in the second tubular member 218 . This additional level of flow control results from the axial movement of the second sealable member 222 , relative to the ports 276 , provided by repositioning of the first sealable member 220 . For example, the ports 276 c and 276 d could be located downhole of the sealable member 222 while the ports 276 a and 276 b could be located uphole of the sealable member 222 , as shown. Then, in response to repositioning of the first sealable member 220 , the second sealable member 222 can move in a downhole direction relative to the ports 276 . Such movement could be settable, based upon the geometry of the first sealable member 220 and the spacing of the ports 276 , such that all of the ports 276 are located uphole of the second sealable member 222 , for example. Resolution could be increased further still by selective distribution of the ports 276 about the first tubular member 214 . For example, the ports 276 can be distributed axially, perimetrically or a combination of both axially and perimetrically relative to the tubular member 214 . It should be noted that while repositioning of the first sealable member 220 causes axial movement of the second sealable member 222 it also results in a change in the extension of the first sealable member 220 into the annular space 234 , which in itself will effect the choking level of the fluid therethrough. An alternate embodiment that provides for axial movement of a sealable member relative to ports without choking in an alternate location will be reviewed below.
[0029] Referring to FIG. 6 a partial cross sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the tubular valve 310 that incorporates a plurality of metal sealable members is illustrated. A first tubular member 314 has a port 318 extending through a wall 322 thereof. The port 318 permits fluid communication between an outside of the first tubular member 314 and annular flow channels to be described in more detail below. A second tubular member 324 is coaxially located radially inwardly of the first tubular member 314 and is axially slidably engaged with the first tubular member 314 . The tubular members 314 , 324 are made of a rigid material such as metal, for example. The second tubular member 324 supports a first sealable member 332 and a second sealable member 334 . Both sealable members 332 , 334 fully occlude an annular space 336 that exists between an outer surface 340 , of the second tubular member 324 , and an inner surface 344 , of the first tubular member 314 . The sealable members 332 , 334 are made of metal and are elastically deformable and as such are deformed radially by the compression between the surfaces 340 and 344 . The elastic deformation of the sealable members 332 , 334 maintains a sealing force between outward extensions 348 , of sealable members 332 , 334 , and the surface 344 and inward extensions 352 , of sealable members 332 , 334 and the surface 340 .
[0030] The forgoing structure allows the tubular valve 310 to selectively port the outside of the first tubular member 314 with either a first annular flow channel 356 or a second annular flow channel 360 that exists between the first tubular member 314 and the second tubular member 324 . The first annular flow channel 356 is positioned between the sealable members 332 , 334 while the second annular flow channel 360 is positioned on an uphole side (shown in FIG. 6 ) or a downhole side of the sealable members 332 , 334 . By selective axially movement of the second tubular member 324 relative to the first tubular member 314 the port 318 can be fluidically coupled to only the first annular flow channel 356 , only the second annular flow channel 360 or a portion of both annular flow channel 356 , 360 . As such, the tubular valve 310 can be used to choke the flow between either channel 356 , 360 and the exterior of the first tubular member 314 . It should be noted, however, that by positioning the port 318 in the second tubular member 324 the flow control can be between the either channel 356 , 360 and the interior of the second tubular member 324 . Additionally, by placing ports in both tubular members 314 , 324 flow control can be established between the outside of the first tubular member 314 and the inside of the second tubular member 324 . The port 318 , in alternate embodiments, may include a plurality of ports arranged axially only, perimetrically only, or both axially and perimetrically about a circumference of the tubular member 314 to thereby increase resolution of the flow control provided per unit of movement of the tubular members 314 , 324 relative to one another.
[0031] While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment or embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims. | Further disclosed herein is a method for controlling fluid flow. The method includes, selectively deforming at least one selectively deformable member disposed between two tubular members that are radially aligned with one another, at least one of the at least one deformable member being positioned between a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet. The method further includes regulating flow of fluid by deforming the at least one deformable member positioned between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet sufficiently to achieve a desired flow rate. | 8 |
[0001] The application claims priority to Korean Application No. 10-2006-0064113, filed on Jul. 7, 2006, which is herein expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field
[0003] The present invention relates to a cool-air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator which is capable of increasing an amount of cool air supplied to a storage chamber of the refrigerator. The device also increases an internal volume of storage chamber by minimizing a space occupied by a driving motor of the cool-air supplying apparatus.
[0004] 2. Background
[0005] Generally, a refrigerator is provided with a cooling system which supplies cool air to a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber which are separated by a partition wall. A cool-air supplying apparatus, in the form of a fan, is typically used to move the cool air from the refrigerating apparatus into the storage chambers.
[0006] FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a conventional art cool-air supplying apparatus of a refrigerator. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of illustrating a connection structure between a fan and a motor. FIG. 2 is a lateral cross section view illustrating the cool-air supplying apparatus of FIG. 1 installed in a refrigerator.
[0007] As shown in FIG. 1 , a conventional art cool-air supplying apparatus of a refrigerator is provided with a fan 220 comprising a body 223 , a plurality of blades 221 and a fan-shroud 222 . The body 223 has a motor-axis insertion hole 224 of a protruding shape which is coupled with a shaft 251 of a motor 250 . The plurality of blades 221 are provided around the circumference of the body 223 . The fan-shroud 222 is connected with the upper side of the blades 221 so as to support the upper sides of the blades 221 .
[0008] The motor-axis insertion hole 224 is provided in the center of the body 223 of the fan 220 . Once the shaft 251 of the motor 250 is inserted into the motor-axis insertion hole 224 , a driving force of the motor 250 is transmitted to the fan 220 , which allows the fan assembly to blow cool air.
[0009] As shown in FIG. 2 , the fan 220 is provided between a shroud 260 and a grill 270 located adjacent a storage space of a refrigerator. The motor 250 is mounted on a rear wall 110 of the refrigerator. The shroud 260 is provided with an orifice 261 to guide the cool air to an inlet of the fan 220 . Also, the grill 270 is provided with cool-air discharge holes 280 to discharge the cool air into the storage space. The motor 250 is positioned within the cool air duct 112 opposite to the fan 220 . As a result, the motor 250 partially obstructs the flow of cool air through the cool air duct 112 . Also, because the motor 250 and the fan 220 occupy a relatively large space, the internal cooling space of refrigerator is decreased by a height (L 1 ) of the motor 250 and fan 220 .
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like elements, and wherein:
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of illustrating a connection structure between a fan and a motor provided in a conventional art cool-air supplying apparatus;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a lateral cross section view illustrating a conventional art refrigerator having the cool-air supplying apparatus of FIG. 1 ;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a cross section view illustrating an inner structure of a refrigerator having a cool-air supplying apparatus;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a cross section view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3 ;
[0015] FIG. 5A is a perspective view illustrating a connection structure between a fan and a motor;
[0016] FIG. 5B is a cross section view taken along line V-V of FIG. 5A ;
[0017] FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a shape of a fan provided in a cool-air supplying apparatus;
[0018] FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating a shape of a fan provided in a cool-air supplying apparatus;
[0019] FIG. 8A is a graph illustrating a power consumption based on a blade height of a fan as shown in FIG. 7 , and FIG. 8B is a graph illustrating a noise change based on a blade height of a fan as shown in FIG. 7 ;
[0020] FIG. 9A is a graph illustrating a power consumption based on an inside diameter of a fan-shroud as shown in FIG. 7 , and FIG. 9B is a graph of illustrating a noise change based on an inside diameter of a fan-shroud as shown in FIG. 7 ;
[0021] FIG. 10A is a graph illustrating a power consumption based on an inside diameter formed by a blade, and FIG. 10B is a graph illustrating a noise change based on an inside diameter formed by a blade;
[0022] FIG. 11A is a graph illustrating a power consumption based on an inlet angle of a blade of a fan as shown in FIG. 6 , and FIG. 11B is a graph illustrating a noise change based on an inlet angle of a blade of a fan as shown in FIG. 6 ; and
[0023] FIG. 12A is a graph illustrating a power consumption based on an outlet angle of a blade of a fan as shown in FIG. 6 , and FIG. 11B is a graph of illustrating a noise change based on an outlet angle of a blade of a fan as shown in FIG. 6 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] Referring to FIG. 3 , a refrigerator 100 including fans 500 and 700 is provided with cool-air inlets 240 and 340 and a cooling system. The refrigerator 100 has an inner space including a freezing chamber 200 and a refrigerating chamber 300 divided by a partition wall 400 . In this embodiment, separate refrigerator systems are provided for the refrigerating chamber 300 and the freezing chamber 200 . In other embodiments, a single refrigerating system would supply cool air to both chambers. In still other embodiments, only a freezing chamber, or only a refrigerating chamber would be provided.
[0025] The cooling systems are provided with evaporators 230 and 330 , cool-air ducts 210 and 310 , and fans 500 and 700 . The fans 550 , 700 draw air from the storage chambers via the cool air inlets 240 , 350 . The cool air is drawn across the evaporators 230 , 330 , which cools the air. The fans then blow the cooled air into the cool air ducts 210 and 310 , which supply the cool air to the storage spaces. The fans 500 and 700 are located in the cool-air ducts 210 and 310 , to thereby supply the cool air to the storage spaces.
[0026] A cool-air supplying apparatus of the freezing chamber 200 is basically identical to that of the refrigerating chamber 300 . Hereinafter, the cool-air supplying apparatus of the freezing chamber 200 will be explained in detail.
[0027] As shown in FIG. 4 , the cool-air duct 210 is divided into two areas ‘A’ and ‘B’ with respect to an orifice 261 . An inlet of the fan 500 , or an upper portion of a fan-shroud 520 , is in communication with the orifice 261 . The cool air is drawn into the ‘A’ area after passing across the evaporator 230 . The cool air is then supplied to the inside of the storage space through the orifice 261 and the ‘B’ area by the rotation of the fan 500 provided in the ‘B’ area.
[0028] The fan 500 is provided with a plurality of blades 510 , a body 530 , the fan-shroud 520 , and a motor 600 . The plurality of blades 510 are arranged around the circumference of the fan 500 . The body 530 is rotated together with the blades 510 since the body 530 is connected with the blades 510 . The body 530 has a recessed part 531 provided in a height direction of the fan 500 . The fan-shroud 520 is provided so as to fix and support the plurality of blades 510 . Also, at least one portion of the motor 600 is inserted into the recessed part 531 of the body 530 , and the motor 600 drives the fan 500 .
[0029] Preferably, the fan 500 and the rotor of the motor 600 are attached to each other so that the fan 500 and the rotor of the motor 600 are rotated together. By locating the motor inside the recessed part 531 of the fan, it is possible to decrease the space occupied by the fan 500 and the motor 600 , thereby increasing the internal volume available in the refrigerator.
[0030] As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B , the motor 600 includes a stator 620 , a rotor 630 positioned at a predetermined interval from the stator 620 and provided outside the stator 620 , and magnets 631 provided on an inner surface of the rotor 630 . The outer surface of the rotor 630 is coupled to the inner surface 532 of the recessed part 531 , so that the fan 500 and the rotor of the motor 600 are rotated together. That is, because the inner surface 532 of the recessed part 531 is coupled to the outer surface of the rotor 630 , it is possible to decrease the length of the rotation axis 632 which connects the motor 600 and the fan 500 with each other. As a result, the total height of the fan 500 and the motor 600 is decreased.
[0031] In some embodiments, the rotor 630 may be formed as one body with the inner surface 532 of the recessed part 531 . In this instance, the magnets would simply be directly attached to the inner surface 532 of the recessed part 531 of the fan.
[0032] Each blade 510 has a predetermined height and width. Also, the blades 510 are slantways provided with a predetermined angle relative to the circumference of the fan 500 . The fan-shroud 520 is provided at one end of each of the blades 510 such that the blades 510 are stably combined with the fan-shroud 520 . The body 530 is combined with the lower end of each of the blades 510 . Thus, the blades 510 are held between the body 530 and the shroud 520 .
[0033] In the central portion of the body 530 , there is the inner space into which the motor 600 is inserted. Also, the body 530 has the recessed part 531 which is coupled with the motor 600 through an opening thereof. At least one portion of the motor 600 is combined with the inner surface 532 of the recessed part 531 so that the fan 500 and the rotor of the motor 600 are coupled together. As a result, it is possible to decrease the total height (L 2 ) of the motor 600 and the fan 500 .
[0034] The cool-air duct 210 of the refrigerator is divided into two areas ‘A’ and ‘B’ by the shroud 260 . The orifice 261 allows cool air to pass from the ‘A’ side to the ‘B’ side. The inlet of the fan 500 or the fan-shroud 520 is provided in the circumference of the orifice 261 .
[0035] The fan 500 is provided between the orifice 261 and a grill 270 . The motor 600 is provided in the ‘B’ area adjacent to the grill and the storage space. That is, the fan 500 and the motor 600 are provided in the ‘B’ area, which is adjacent to the storage space. Thus, the inlet of the fan 500 or the fan-shroud 520 is in communication with the orifice 261 , so the motor 600 doesn't obstruct the passage of cool air through the cool-air duct 210 . As a result, the cool air flows smoothly through the cool-air duct.
[0036] The shroud 260 , including the orifice 261 , is provided at a predetermined interval from the rear wall 110 of the refrigerator, to thereby form the “A” side of the cool-air duct 210 . The grill 270 is provided at a predetermined interval from the shroud 260 . The motor 600 can be attached to the grill 270 , and more particularly, is positioned between the shroud 260 and the grill 270 .
[0037] It is possible to optimize the design of the fan 500 to thereby maximize the flow of cool air blown into storage space, to minimize power consumption, and to minimize the amount of noise generated when the fan 500 and the motor 600 are rotated together. Hereinafter, the power consumption and the noise generated in the refrigerator 100 based on the detailed shape of the fan and the optimal design will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 to 12 .
[0038] Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7 , each blade 510 provided in the fan 500 has a predetermined height (H) and a predetermined width. The plurality of blades 510 are provided between the fan-shroud 520 and body 530 along the circumference of the fan 500 . The blades 510 are formed so that the inner edges of the blades form an angle ‘θ 1 ’ with respect to a tangential surface of a circle formed along an inner diameter Di formed by the blades. The outer edges of the blades also form an angle ‘θ 2 ’ with respect to a tangential surface of the fan-shroud 520 .
[0039] Preferably, the inside diameter (Di) of the circle formed by the inner edges of the plurality of blades 510 is 55% to 62% of the outside diameter (Do) of the fan 500 .
[0040] Preferably, the inlet angle ‘θ 1 ’ between the inner edges of the blades 510 and a tangent line of the above-mentioned circle has an angle of 31 to 33 degrees.
[0041] Preferably, the outlet angle ‘θ 2 ’ between the outer edges of the blades 510 and a tangent line of the outside diameter of the fan 500 has an angle of 33 to 35 degrees.
[0042] The values of the inside diameter (Di), the inlet angle ‘θ 1 ’, and the outlet angle ‘θ 2 ’ according to the shape of the blades 510 are determined based on the optimal design of the fan 500 , which will be explained with reference to graphs shown in FIGS. 8 to 12 .
[0043] First, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B , the power consumption and the noise generated by the fan 500 are the lowest when the height (H) of the blade is about 19% to 23% of the outside diameter (Do) of the fan.
[0044] Referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B , the power consumption and the noise are the lowest when the inside diameter (Ds) of the fan-shroud 520 is about 70% to 85% of the outside diameter (Do) of the fan.
[0045] As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B , the power consumption and the noise are the lowest when the inside diameter (Di) is about 55% to 62% of the outside diameter (Do) of the fan.
[0046] As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B , the power consumption and the noise are the lowest when the inlet angle ‘θ 2 ’ has an angle of 31 to 33 degrees with respect to the outside of the fan 500 .
[0047] As shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B , the power consumption and the noise are the lowest when the outlet angle ‘θ 1 ’ has an angle of 33 to 35 degrees with respect to the inside of the fan 500 .
[0048] By forming the fan so that it has dimensions that fall within the above-listed optimal parameters, it is possible to minimize the noise generated by the fan. In addition, the optical design ensures a good flow of cool air.
[0049] A cool-air supplying apparatus as described above has several advantages. Because the fan and the motor are formed as one body, and are rotated together, the space occupied by the fan and the motor is decreased. This allows the internal volume of the refrigerator to be increased. Furthermore, it also improves the flow of cool air because the motor does not impede the flow of cool air. Also, by optimizing certain characteristics of the fan, as explained above, the noise and power consumption can be reduced.
[0050] As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims. All changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds, are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.
[0051] Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the purview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments.
[0052] Although a number of illustrative embodiments have been described, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art. | A cool-air supplying apparatus of a refrigerator includes a fan that has a body and a plurality of blades mounted around a circumference of the body. A motor of the cool-air supplying apparatus is mounted at least partially in a recess formed within the fan body. A rotor of the motor is coupled to the inner surface of the recess so that the fan and rotor rotate together as one body. Because the motor is mounted within a recess of the fan body, an overall height of the combined fan and motor is smaller than in conventional cool-air supplying devices. As a result, when the cool-air supplying apparatus is mounted within a cool-air supply duct of a refrigerator, more space within the refrigerator can be devoted to the storage space, which increases the internal capacity of the refrigerator. In addition, less room within the cool-air supply duct is consumed by the motor, which increases the flow of cool air through the duct. | 5 |
The invention relates to a method for controlling the supply of electrical energy to at least one electromagnetic device serving to activate a gas exchange valve. Furthermore, the invention relates to the use of a sliding mode controller.
WO 92-02712 discloses a control device in which a measured position value of a gas exchange valve of a combustion engine is compared with a desired position (predetermined in dependence on the operating parameters of the combustion engine). Depending on the deviation of the measured position value from the desired position, an electromagnetic device assigned to the gas exchange valve is driven in such a way that the movement profile of the gas exchange valve is approximated to the desired profile that has been determined.
The operation of combustion engines with electromagnetically activated gas exchange valves has shown that the possibilities for the open-loop or closed-loop controller devices which are known in this connection are limited for example with regard to the minimization of the (capture) velocities at the upper and lower end positions of the gas exchange valve, the minimization of the energy needed to activate the gas exchange valve, the reduction of the duration of the opening and closing movements, the realization of different movement profiles, the stabilization of the control, the minimization of the evolution of noise and/or the compensation of inaccuracies on account of production tolerances, wear or temperature influences.
The present invention is thus based on the object of proposing a control device for supplying energy to an electromagnetic device for activating a gas exchange valve by means of which the reliable approximation of predetermined opening and closing movements of the gas exchange valve and/or the fixing thereof in end positions can be realized.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object is achieved according to the invention by means of comparison of the measured movement signal or of a signal generated from the movement signal with a desired signal by forming a differential signal. Forming a differential signal in this way is possible in a simple manner. If appropriate, the signal generated from the movement signal is, by way of example, a differentiated movement signal, a multiplicity of different methods being known from control technology for carrying out the differentiation. The differential signal is subsequently subjected to sliding mode control, by means of which the control aim, for example optimization of the movement path of the gas exchange valve, minimization of the energy supplied to the electromagnetic device, and/or minimization of noise, is possible in a simple, efficient and/or cost-effective manner.
A further proposal according to the invention is characterized by transferring knowledge about sliding mode control to the control of the supply of electrical energy to an electromagnetic device for activating a gas exchange valve. This opens up a multiplicity of new possibilities of controller configuration as well as new control strategies and control aims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred exemplary embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing, in which:
FIG. 1 shows a gas exchange valve which can be activated by an electromagnetic device,
FIG. 2 shows a displacement-time signal of a subregion of the movement of the gas exchange valve,
FIG. 3 shows a velocity-time signal of a subregion of the movement of the gas exchange valve (time derivative of the signal according to FIG. 2 ),
FIG. 4 shows an acceleration-time signal of a subregion of the movement of the gas exchange valve (time derivative of the signal according to FIG. 3 ),
FIG. 5 shows an illustration of a subregion of the movement of the gas exchange valve in the phase plane (velocity as a function of the displacement),
FIG. 6 shows an illustration of a subregion of the movement and of two different desired movements of the gas exchange valve with the acceleration as a function of the displacement,
FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a control device, and
FIG. 8 shows an alternative embodiment of a subregion of the control device according to FIG. 7 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
According to FIG. 1, an activating device 10 of a gas exchange valve 11 is provided with an electromagnetic device 12 , a measuring device 13 for acquiring a movement quantity, and a control device 14 , to which a measurement signal from the measuring device 13 is fed and which regulates the supply of energy to the electromagnetic device 12 . The electromagnetic device 12 is preferably provided with an electromagnet 15 , acting as an opening magnet, and an electromagnet 16 , acting as a closing magnet, which, in order to influence the movement of the gas exchange valve 11 , exert forces in the longitudinal direction of the said valve on an armature 17 assigned to the gas exchange valve. The electromagnets 15 , 16 are connected to one another via a housing part 19 , assigned to the cylinder head 18 , and each have exciter coils 20 , 21 and pole faces 22 , 23 facing the armature.
The force acting between the armature 17 and the pole faces 22 , 23 depends on the current in the exciter coils or the voltages across the latter. The armature 17 is clamped in between two valve springs 24 , 25 , oriented in the axial direction of the gas exchange valve 11 , in such a way that when the exciter coils 20 , 21 are de-energized, the gas exchange valve 11 assumes an equilibrium position x G , for example centrally between the pole faces 22 , 23 . When the exciter coils 20 , 21 are correspondingly energized, a valve plate 26 of the gas exchange valve 11 comes to bear on a valve seat 28 (for example) in an upper end position, sealing a combustion space 27 in the process. In a lower end position, for example, corresponding to the maximum opening of the inlet and outlet opening 29 formed between the gas exchange valve 11 and the valve seat 28 , the armature 17 comes to bear on the pole face 23 . The outlet opening 29 connects a gas exchange duct 30 to the combustion space 27 .
The explanations below are not intended to be restricted in respect of the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 . Rather, the features essential to the invention can be used for any desired electromagnetic valve controllers of one or more inlet and/or outlet ducts of at least one combustion space. Moreover, in order to simplify the explanation, only the movement and the control of the movement of a gas exchange valve 11 after being released from the lower end position (for example open position) until reaching the upper end position (for example closed position), in other words for example the closing movement, is described below. The features according to the invention can equally be used in connection with the movement control of the opening movement or of the entire movement cycle of the gas exchange valve.
By means of a sensor 31 , a movement quantity of the gas exchange valve 11 is acquired, in particular contactlessly. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 7, the displacement x of the gas exchange valve is acquired. In alternative embodiments, it is possible alternatively or additionally to acquire the velocity V and/or the acceleration a. The measurement methods used may include all the known measuring methods, in particular a pressure measuring pick-up at the stationary spring base of a valve spring 24 , 25 , a permanent magnet moved with the gas exchange valve relative to a magnetic field sensor fixed to the housing, detection of a change in induction on account of a core moved with the gas exchange valve 11 , or a laser measurement method.
The desired profile of the displacement x of the gas exchange valve as illustrated in FIG. 2 is a harmonic function, namely x S (t)=A cos ωt+x G , where the gas exchange valve starts in the lower end position for t=0 and reaches the upper end position for t E . The resulting desired profile for the velocity V S (acceleration a S ) is, in accordance with FIG. 3 (FIG. 4 ), the velocity v S (t)=−Aωsin ωt (the acceleration a S (t)=−Aω 2 cos ωt). FIG. 5 shows the illustration of the desired signal in the phase plane, that is to say the velocity v S as a function of the displacement x S . FIG. 6 illustrates the acceleration a S as a function of the displacement x S . In the case of the displacement signal assumed to be a harmonic function according to FIG. 2, the acceleration as is linearly dependent on the displacement x S , the acceleration amounting to zero at the instant of passing through the equilibrium position x G .
In the undamped and undisturbed case, that is to say for example without disturbing gas forces or friction influences, the desired profiles illustrated are produced without actuating forces of the electromagnetic device 12 for linear valve springs 24 , 25 , for which desired profiles the upper end position is reached (ideally) without any shocks with v(t E =0). For operation with the gas exchange valve exposed to disturbing forces, in particular friction, damping and gas forces or nonlinearities of the valve springs 24 , 25 , control forces have to be applied by means of the electromagnetic device 12 for the purpose of approximation to the desired signals FIG. 2 to FIG. 6 .
Furthermore, control forces have to be applied in order to obtain desired profiles which are designed to deviate from FIGS. 2 to 6 , result from the operating conditions, for example, and can be adapted thereto. Relevant operating parameters are, for example, the load range, engine speed, engine temperatures or gas temperatures.
The straight line 53 in FIG. 6 corresponds to the desired signal of the acceleration for obtaining the harmonic movement. The desired curve 54 is an alternative movement form for which the gas exchange valve 11 approaches the upper end position without acceleration. A further possible desired curve is a Gaussian function for the velocity profile. The curve profiles that have been mentioned are not intended to mean a restriction in respect of the waveforms that can be used. If one profile of a movement profile is stipulated, the remaining movement profiles result (in accordance with FIGS. 2 to 6 ) from the known conformities to laws.
A control strategy according to the invention is illustrated in FIG. 7 . The input variable of the control device 14 is the measurement signal 32 from the measuring device 13 , the displacement x in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7 . An approximation of the velocity v (signal 34 ) is determined from the measurement signal 32 by means of a differentiator 33 . The desired velocity vs (signal 35 ) can be determined from the measured displacement x (signal 32 ) by means of an element 36 . The differential signal 37 of the deviation Δv of the velocity v from the desired velocity v S is produced by way of Δv=v S −v. The differential signal 37 is fed to a controller unit 56 . The controller unit has a differentiator 38 , at the output of which the amplified differential signal 37 is added to the signal Δã, thereby resulting in an approximated differential acceleration 39 where Δa=Δã+K Δv. The differential acceleration 39 is thus generated from the differential signal 37 by means of a PD element. The differential acceleration 39 is applied to a control block 40 , whose output signal 41 is generated from the differential acceleration 39 by means of a control function 42 . The signal 45 that is fed to the electromagnetic device 12 , in particular the current of the exciter coil 20 or 21 , is generated from the output signal 41 by means of a P element 43 and an output stage 44 .
In the exemplary embodiment illustrated, the control function 42 is a (smoothed) signum function which is used to generate signals 45 which have identical magnitudes, but correspond to the sign of the differential acceleration 39 , outside the smoothing range of the signum function. As an alternative, it is conceivable to generate a signal 45 identical to zero by corresponding zero shifting of the ordinate of the control function 42 for one sign of the differential acceleration 39 and to output a defined value for the other sign of the differential acceleration, with the result that the control unit 14 controls the signal 45 between two discrete valves. Adaptation of the signal 45 to different magnitudes of the differential acceleration 39 can be obtained by the P element 43 having a gain which is dependent on a movement quantity, in particular the differential acceleration.
In the element 36 , the desired velocity is determined by way of a phase curve which is stored in tabular form, in the form of a characteristic family or by means of mathematical modelling. In this case, it is possible to store and use different desired value profiles in dependence on measured operating parameters 46 . Relevant operating parameters are, for example, the crank angle, the engine speed, the engine load, engine temperature, the gas pressure or gas temperatures. The desired value profiles can be generated in accordance with the modelling by means of a microprocessor; in particular, adaptation to the operating parameters takes place during operation of the combustion engine. This is possible, for example, for mathematical modelling by means of parameters of the mathematical modelling which are dependent on the operating parameters.
Known blocks for the determination (of an approximation) of the time derivative of a signal, for example a D element or Kalmann filtering, can be used as differentiators 33 , 38 .
Further control functions 42 can be selected according to selection methods and criteria which are known for sliding mode controllers. In order to stabilize the control or stabilize the movement around the desired movement, it is necessary that a Ljapunov stability criterion be fulfilled by the control function chosen. Given such a selection of the control function, the actual curve 55 of the acceleration remains in direct proximity to the desired curve 54 , cf. FIG. 6 .
In a departure from the block diagram illustrated in FIG. 7, the method according to the invention and the use according to the invention can be designed as follows (unless mentioned otherwise, the signal processing is effected for example in accordance with the description referring to FIG. 7 ):
According to the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 8 with signal routing as shown by the solid lines, a determination (of an approximation) of the velocity signal 47 is effected by a measured displacement signal 49 being applied to a differentiator 48 . An approximation of the acceleration signal 50 is determined by means of a differentiator 51 . The desired signal of the acceleration 52 is determined by means of an element 53 , to which the measured displacement signal 49 is fed as an input signal, in which, for example, the desired profile of the acceleration 52 as a function of the displacement 49 in accordance with FIG. 6 is stored in tabular form or, in the case of a linear dependence, multiplication of the displacement signal 49 by a constant and with the addition of a further constant is effected. The subtraction of the approximate value of the acceleration signal 50 from the desired value of the acceleration 52 results in a differential acceleration 39 which is processed further in an analogous manner to the differential acceleration 39 in FIG. 7 .
As an alternative, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 8, it is possible to feed the approximation signal of the velocity, instead of the displacement signal, to the element 53 if the dependence of the acceleration on the velocity can be mapped by means of the element 53 .
The determination of the two time derivatives by means of the differentiators 48 , 51 can also be effected by means of one block, in particular by means of a Wiener filter.
If the velocity is measured directly by a suitable measurement sensor, the measurement signal can be fed directly as signal 47 , so that the differentiator 48 is not necessary.
In the case of direct measurement of the acceleration and also of the time since the beginning of the movement operation, for example the release of the armature from the lower end position, the desired value of the acceleration that is necessary for determining the differential acceleration can be generated by means of an element which maps the desired acceleration as a function of the time that has elapsed since the beginning of the movement.
In order to realize a holding force, the control strategy can be changed when the displacement x of the upper or lower end region (or of a tolerance region around these) is reached. By way of example, at this point in time until the gas exchange valve 11 is released again, a constant holding current may be output by the control device. | Method for controlling the supply of electrical energy to an electromagnetic device and use of a sliding mode controller. Control devices are known in which, in order to obtain a desired movement of an electromagnetically activated gas exchange valve, the supply of electrical energy is controlled as a function of a measured position of the gas exchange valve. The novel method is intended to optimize the control with respect to the movement forms to be obtained, the formation of noise and/or the required use of electrical energy. In a control device according to the invention, a differential signal is generated using the movement signal or a signal generated from the movement signal, and using a desired signal. The supply of electrical energy to the activating device of the gas exchange valve is controlled by means of a sliding mode controller using the differential signal. | 5 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a synchronous rectifier, and more particularly, to a synchronous rectifier utilizing a transformer to drive synchronous rectifying transistors.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In present power supply products, the synchronous rectifier often utilizes a transformer to drive synchronous rectifying transistors for achieving efficient rectifying operation. As shown in the FIG. 1 , it is a schematic diagram of a conventional synchronous rectifier 10 . In FIG. 1 , the synchronous rectifier 10 includes: a input unit 11 , a control unit 12 and an output unit 13 . Meanwhile, the input unit 11 further includes a signal detecting circuit 111 , a rectifying circuit 112 , a signal amplified circuit 113 , a first transformer T 1 , a second transformer T 2 , a third transformer T 3 and a bridge rectifying circuit constructed by four transistors, Qa, Qb, Qc and Qd. Furthermore, the output unit 13 includes a first rectifying inductor L 1 , a second rectifying inductor L 2 , a rectifying capacitor C, a fourth transformer T 4 , a first and a second switch control circuit 131 , 132 , and a third and a fourth switch circuit 133 , 134 . Of course, in the first switch control circuit 131 further includes a transistor Q 1 , a first diode D 1 , a first resistor R 1 , and a first induction coil L 11 . And the second switch control circuit 132 further includes a transistor Q 2 , a second diode D 2 , a second resistor R 2 , and a second coil L 22 . And then the third and the fourth switch control circuits 133 , 134 can be a transistor Q 3 and Q 4 . The first transformer T 1 further includes a first side coil T 11 , and a second side coils T 12 , T 13 . And the second transformer T 2 further includes a second side coil T 21 , and a second side coils T 22 , T 23 . Besides, the third transformer T 3 includes a first side coil T 31 and a second side coil T 32 . And the fourth transformer T 4 includes a first side coil T 41 and a second side coil T 42 . The theory and the drawbacks of the conventional synchronous rectifier now represent as below.
After an AC input current Iin detected by the detecting circuit 111 , then the AC input current Iin is transformed to the second coil T 32 through the first side coil T 31 of the third transformer T 3 . Meanwhile, the control unit 12 produces a rectifying control signal In to the input unit 11 to control the conducting sequences of the transistor Qa, Qb, Qc and Qd, and to proceed the power transmission. The rectifying control signal In is amplified by the signal amplifying circuit 113 and then have a control signal Iac and Ibd.
Because the control signal Iac is transformed to the second coil T 12 and T 13 through the first coil T 11 of the first transformer T 1 , the gate electrode of the transistors Qa and Qc, which are electrically connected to the second side coil T 12 and T 13 , can generate a gate voltage Vag and a gate voltage Vcg. Therefore, the control signal Iac can control the transistors Qa and Qc to be in a turn on state or a turn off state. By the same reason, the control signal Ibd can make the transistor Qb and Qd to generate a gate voltage Vbg and a gate voltage Vdg on the gate electrodes thereof through the second transformer T 2 . And make the transistor Qb and Qd to be in a turn on state or a turn off state. Therefore, by the bridge switch circuit consisted of the four transistors Qa, Qb, Qc and Qd, the direct input current Vin can be transformed to the output unit 13 through the fourth transformer T 4 .
Furthermore, the current signal Ip 1 and the voltage signal Vp 1 are inputted into the fourth transformer T 4 of the output unit 13 , and then be transformed by the first side coil T 41 of the fourth transformer T 4 , and then the second side coil T 42 produces another one current signal Ip 2 and voltage signal Vp 2 . The first and second switch control circuits 131 , 132 are electrically connect to the second side coil T 42 . So that the first induction coil L 11 of the first switch control circuit 131 can produce a current Ip 21 according to the current signal Ip 2 . Besides, the transistor Q 1 's gate electrode forms a gate voltage V 1 g to control the transistor Q 1 in the turn on or the turn off state. Of course, according to the current signal Ip 2 , the second induction coil L 22 of the second switch control circuit 132 can produce a induction current Ip 22 . And the transistor Q 2 's gate electrode forms a gate voltage V 2 g to control the transistor Q 2 to be turned on or turned off.
So, depends on the switching between the turned-on states and the turned-off states of the transistors Q 1 and Q 2 , and co-operates with the first and second rectifying inductors L 1 and L 2 , the rectifying action of the rectifying capacitor C can transform the current signal Ip 2 into a rectifying output signal for outputting itself. Certainly, the rectifying output signal includes a rectifying output current lout and a rectifying output voltage Vout.
According to the above explanation, the conventional synchronous rectifier's 10 control scheme, which is for controlling the conduction state of the transistors Q 1 and Q 2 , is mainly depended on the induction currents Ip 21 and Ip 2 produced by the first and second induction coils L 11 , L 23 , and depended on the gate voltages V 1 g , V 2 g formed in the transistor Q 1 , Q 2 , to drive the transistors Q 1 and Q 2 . However, by the restriction of the leaking induction phenomenon, the conventional synchronous rectifier 10 is can't constructs an accurate driving control signal, e.g. the gate voltages V 1 g , V 2 g . Therefore, the goodwill for raising the efficiency of rectifying is not so well as the prediction of the conventional synchronous rectifier 10 .
Furthermore, please refer to the FIG. 2 ( a ), which is the wave form drawing of the driving control signal of the conventional synchronous rectifier 10 for controlling the first and second switch control circuits 131 , 132 . The FIG. 2 ( a ) includes the wave forms of the gate voltages V 1 g , V 2 g for driving the transistors Q 1 , Q 2 , and the wave form of the voltage signal Vp 2 , which is transformed form the voltage signal Vp 1 by the first side coil T 41 of the fourth transformer T 4 , and then form in the second side coil T 42 . It is obviously that the gate voltages V 1 g , V 2 g can change its level follow the exchanges between the high level H and the low level L of the voltage signal Vp 2 . Furthermore, FIG. 2 ( a ) shows the transient response of the gate voltages V 1 g , V 2 g in different times t 1 ˜t 8 . But, according to the FE 1 which represents the falling edge waveform of the gate voltage V 1 g in time t 5 and the FE 2 which represents the falling edge waveform of the gate voltage V 2 g in time t 7 , it can be understood that while the gate voltage V 1 g is from a high level H to a low level L, the gate voltage V 2 g varies at the same time. However, because of the leaking induction phenomenon, the gate voltage V 2 g should passes a raising period that it can completes a transformation from a low level L to a high level H. By the same reason, while the gate voltage V 2 g is from a high level H to a low level L, the gate voltage V 1 g should passes a raising period that it can completes a transformation from a low level L to a high level H. Therefore, the transistors Q 1 , Q 2 is controlled by the gate voltages V 1 g , V 2 g so that the cross conduction phenomenon is hard to overcome.
And in the FIG. 1 , the functions of the third, fourth switch control circuits 133 , 134 , which are individually connect to the gate electrodes of transistors Q 1 , Q 2 , should cooperate with the FIG. 2 ( b ) which shows the conventional synchronous rectifier 10 electrically connected to another synchronous rectifier 50 . In the FIG. 2 ( b ) the conventional synchronous rectifier 10 is parallelly connected to another power supply 5 . It is often to provide a output current detector S connected to a common output terminal of the power supplies 1 and 5 , for preventing a reverse current Ir, which is produced by the input unit 51 of the synchronous rectifier 50 , passing the aforesaid parallel connection to destroy the power supply 1 or make it malfunction. While the output current detector S detects the reverse current Ir, the output current detector S creates a sensing signal Is to the control unit 12 of the synchronous rectifier 10 , and then the control unit 12 produces a voltage signals V 3 g and V 4 g , and separately sends the voltage signal V 3 g and V 4 g to the gate electrode of the transistors Q 3 and Q 4 . So the transistors Q 1 and Q 2 can be forced to cut off the connection with the transistors Q 3 and Q 4 for preventing the power supply 1 from being destroyed by the reverse current Ir.
However, the weakness of the prior art is that although the output current detector S connect with the output terminal of the synchronous rectifier 10 can solve the problem from the reverse current Ir, but the electric power loss will increase when the electric load getting high. So, the prior art cannot really effectiveness to increase the transportation efficiency of the electric power.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a synchronous rectifier which can solve the cross conduction problem.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a synchronous rectifier preventing the reverse current to destroy the power supply in the parallel connection without increasing the power loss.
According to as aspect embodiment of the present invention, a synchronous rectifier includes an input unit outputting a process signal in response to an AC input signal, a control unit electrically connected to the input unit and including a pulse-time control circuit for producing a first driving signal and a second driving signal, and an output unit electrically connected to the input unit and the control unit, and having a first switch control circuit and a second switch control circuit in response to the first driving signal and the second driving signal respectively for transforming the process signal into an output signal while the first switch control circuit and the second switch control circuit are free for a cross conduction.
Preferably, the input unit further includes a signal detecting circuit for detecting and inputting the AC input signal, and a rectifying circuit electrically connected to the signal detecting circuit and the control unit for rectifying the AC input signal in response to a rectifying signal from the control unit so as to output the process signal.
Preferably, the signal detecting circuit is a current detecting circuit
Preferably, the rectifying circuit includes a plurality transformer and a plurality of transistors.
Preferably, the rectifying circuit includes a first, a second and a third transformer, and a bridge rectifier having four transistors.
Preferably, the first and the second transformer transfers the rectifying signal to a gate terminal of the four transistors for producing a gate control voltage.
Preferably, the third transformer transforms the AC input signal to the rectifying circuit.
Preferably, the four transistors are MOSFETs.
Preferably, the input unit further includes a signal amplifying circuit electrically connected to the control unit and the rectifying circuit for amplifying and outputing the rectifying signal to the rectifying circuit.
Preferably, the signal amplifying circuit is a current amplifier.
Preferably, the pulse time control circuit includes a pulse width modulator and an adjustable time-pushing circuit.
Preferably, the adjustable time-pushing circuit cooperates with the pulse width modulator to produce the first and the second drive signals, and the rectifying signal, and adjusts and sets periods of the first and the second pulse time.
Preferably, the control circuit further comprises a signal cut-off circuit electrically connected to the signal detecting circuit and the pulse time control circuit for producing the first and the second drive signals in response to the AC input signal in a specific signal state, thereby the first and the second switch control circuits both being introduced to a cut-off state for preventing the synchronous rectifier from an external signal.
Preferably, the signal cut-off circuit is a low current cut-off circuit.
Preferably, the low current cut-off circuit comprises plural voltage comparators.
Preferably, the specific signal state is a low current state.
Preferably, the external signal is an inversed current produced by an dditional synchronous rectifier parallelly connected to the synchronous rectifier.
Preferably, the first and the second switch control circuits are MOSFETs.
Preferably, the first and the second drive signals are respectively inputted into gates of the first and the second MOSFETs for producing gate control voltages.
Preferably, the output unit further comprises a first filtering inductor circuit and a second wave filtering inductor circuits individually connected to drain terminals of the first and the second MOSFETs and a filtering capacitor circuit electrically connected to the first and the second filtering inductor circuits, and source terminals of the first and the second MOSFETs, wherein the first and the second filtering inductor circuits and the filtering capacitor circuit rectify and transform the process signal into the output signal in response to the conducted state and the non-conducted state of the first and the second MOSFETs.
Preferably, the first and the second filtering inductor circuits are filtering inductors.
Preferably, the wave filter capacitor circuit is a wave filter capacitor.
Preferably, the output unit further comprises a fourth transformer electrically connected to the rectifying circuit, and the first and the second MOSFETs for transforming the process signal to the drain terminals of the first and the second MOSFETs.
Preferably, the first driving signal and the second driving signal both have a first and a second state.
Preferably, the second driving signal is retained in the second state for a period of a first pulse time and then transformed into the first state while the first driving signal is transformed from the first state into the second state.
Preferably, the first driving signal is retained in the second state for a period of a first pulse time and then transformed into the first state while the first driving signal is transformed from the first state into the second state.
Preferably, the first state is a high level and the second state is a low level.
Preferably, the first state is a low level and the second state is a high level.
Preferably, while the process signal is in the first state, the first driving signal is in the second state and the second driving signal is in the first state
Preferably, while the process signal is in the second state, the first driving signal is in the first state and the second driving signal is in the second state.
Preferably, the first switch control circuit is set in one of a conducted state and a non-conducted state according to one of the first state and the second state of the second driving signal.
Preferably, the second switch control circuit is set in one of a conducted state and a non-conducted state according to one of the first state and the second state of the first driving signal.
According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a synchronous rectifier, comprising an input unit outputting a process signal in response to an AC input signal, a control unit electrically connected to the input unit and including a pulse-time control circuit, producing a first driving signal and a second driving signal, and an output unit electrically connected to the input unit and the control unit, and having a first switch control circuit and a second switch control circuit in response to the first driving signal and the second driving signal respectively for transforming the process signal into an output signal while the first switch control circuit and the second switch control circuit are free for a cross conduction, wherein the input unit further comprises a signal detecting circuit for detecting and inputting the AC input signal, and a rectifying circuit electrically connected to the signal detecting circuit and the control unit for rectifying the AC input signal in response to a rectifying signal from the control unit, so as to output the process signal.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood through the following descriptions with reference to the drawings, wherein:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing block structure diagram of the conventional synchronous rectifier;
FIG. 2 ( a ) is a wave diagram showing the wave form of the driving control signal of the switch control circuits of the conventional synchronous rectifier;
FIG. 2 ( b ) is a schematic view showing the conventional synchronous rectifier is parallel connecting to another synchronous rectifier;
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing block structure diagram of the preferred embodiment of the synchronous rectifier of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the detail electrical connections between the control unit, the input unit and the output unit of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 5 is a wave diagram showing the wave forms of the first and second driving control signals of the first and second switch control circuits of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention will now described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. Please refer to FIG. 3 . FIG. 3 shows the block structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It shows clearly in the drawing that the present invention's synchronous rectifier 20 has an input unit 21 , a control unit 22 and an output unit 23 . The input unit 21 includes a signal detecting circuit 211 , a rectifying circuit 212 , signal amplifying circuit 213 , a first transformer T 1 , a second transformer T 2 , a third transformer T 3 and a bridge rectifier having four transistors Qa, Qb, Qc and Qd. And, the output unit 13 includes a first filtering inductor circuit L 1 (ex: a first filtering inductor), a second filtering inductor circuit L 2 (ex: a second filtering inductor), and a filtering capacitor circuit C, a fourth transformer unit T 4 , a first and a second switch control circuits 131 , 132 . Certainly, the first switch control circuit can be a transistor Q 1 , and the second switch control circuit can be a transistor Q 2 . The transistors Q 1 and Q 2 can be MOSFETs.
The control unit 22 includes a pulse-time control circuit 221 and a signal cut-off circuit 222 . And the pulse-time control circuit 221 further comprises a pulse width modulation 2211 (PWM) and an adjustable time-pushing circuit 2212 . Because of respecting an alternative input current Iin, the pulse-time control circuit 221 can produce a first and a second driving signals V 1 g and V 2 g inputted individually to the gate electrodes of the transistors Q 1 and Q 2 . And the signal cut-off circuit 222 can also produce the first and the second driving signals V 1 g and V 2 g because of respecting the alternative input current Iin thereby.
Besides, the first transformer T 1 further includes a first side coil T 11 and two second side coils T 12 , T 13 . And the second transformer T 2 has a first side coil T 21 and two second side coils T 22 , T 23 . Furthermore, the third transformer T 3 includes a first side coil T 31 and a second side coil T 32 . And the fourth transformer T 4 includes a first side coil T 41 and a second side coil T 42 .
The working theory of the embodiment in the FIG. 3 now will be explained as hereafter. The signal detecting circuit 211 can make the alternative input signal Iin inputted therein be transformed by the first side coil T 31 of the third transformer T 3 , to the second side coil T 32 . Meanwhile, the control unit 22 produces the rectifying signal In to the input unit 21 to make the transistors Qa, Qb, Qc and Qd rectifying the AC input signal Iin. Wherein, the rectifying signal In will include a control signal Iac and Ibd after be amplified by the signal amplifying circuit 213 .
Because, the control signal Iac is transformed to the second side coils T 12 , T 13 by the first side coil T 11 of the transformer T 1 , the gate electrodes of the transistors Qa, Qc, which electrical connect to the second side coils T 12 , T 13 , can individually form a gate voltages Vag and Vcg. Therefore, the control signal Iac can control the transistors Qa and Qc in the conducted state or a non-conducted state. By the same reasons, through the second transformer T 2 , the control signal can individually produces gate voltages Vbg, Vdg on the gate electrodes of the transistors Qb and Qd, and then makes the transistors Qb and Qd in the conducted state or the non-conducted state. So, by the bridge rectifying circuit constructed by the four transistors Qa, Qb, Qc and Qd, the alternative input signal Iin can be rectified, and then includes a current signal Ip 1 and voltage signal Vp 1 , then be outputted to the output unit 23 .
The current signal Ip 1 is outputted into the fourth transformer T 4 of the output unit 23 . Through the transformation of the first side coil T 41 of the fourth transformer T 4 , the second side coil T 42 occurs another one current signal Ip 2 and one voltage signal Vp 2 . Besides, through the first and the second driving signal V 1 g and V 2 g produced by the control unit 23 , the transistors Q 1 and Q 2 can exchanging the conducted/non-conducted state therebetween. So, by corresponding with the rectifications of the first and the second filtering inductors L 1 and L 2 , and the filtering capacitor C, the current signal Ip 2 can be changed into a filtering output signal then be outputted. Certainly, the filtering output signal includes a filtering output current Iout and filtering output voltage Vout. Wherein, the filtering inductors L 1 , L 2 are individual connect to the drain electrodes of the transistors Q 1 , Q 2 . And the filtering capacitor C electrically connects to the source electrodes of the first and the second filter inductors L 1 , L 2 and transistors Q 1 , Q 2 .
According to the above explanation, the embodiment of the FIG. 3 has no similar elements like the third and fourth switch control circuit 133 and 134 , the schema for controlling the transistors Q 1 and Q 2 in the conducted state or the non-conducted state is taken on by the control unit 22 in the present invention. So the preferred embodiment of the present invention will not occurs the unconquerable cross-conduction phenomenon like the conventional synchronous rectifier 10 's control schema occurs.
Please refer to the FIG. 4 , it shows the detail electric structures between the control unit 22 , input unit 21 , and the output unit 23 . In FIG. 4 , the alternative input signal Iin detected by the signal detecting circuit 211 can be inputted into the PWM 2211 , and by cooperating with the adjustable time-pushing circuit 2212 , the PWM 2211 can produce the first and the second drive signal V 1 g and V 2 g . Of course, the driving circuits P 1 , P 2 of the transistor Q 1 , Q 2 of the adjustable time-pushing circuit 2212 , are the driving step for producing the first and the second drive signal V 1 g and V 2 g . Besides, by changing the parameters of the PWM 2211 , and the resistor value and the capacitor value of the adjustable time-pushing circuit 2212 , the time sequences of the first and the second drive signal V 1 g and V 2 g can be changed respectively. Therefore, it is clear that the PWM 2211 provides a flex method to control or adjust the time sequences to the first and the second drive signal V 1 g and V 2 g.
In FIG. 4 , the signal cut-off circuit 222 is provided, which includes the first, second and third voltage comparing circuits VC 1 , VC 2 and VC 3 , and a transistor Q 5 . The first, second and third voltage comparing circuits VC 1 , VC 2 and VC 3 , and a transistor Q 5 produce the first and the second drive signals V 1 g and V 2 g , and to force the first and the second switch control circuit 231 , 232 ( FIG. 3 ) into a cut-off state, while the alternative input signal Iin (please refer to the FIG. 3 , the first side coil T 31 of the third transformer T 3 ) is in a special state (ex: a low current state), for preventing an external signal (ex: the reverse current Ir of the FIG. 2 ( b )) reversal inputted from the output unit 23 and destroys synchronous rectifier 20 . Furthermore, when a power supply, which has the synchronous rectifier 20 , connects to another power supply which also has another synchronous rectifier, while the first and the second voltage comparing circuits VC 1 and VC 2 find out that the alternative input signal Iin is in a low current state, the third voltage comparing circuit VC 3 produces the first and the second drive signal V 1 g and V 2 g to force the first and the second switch control circuit 231 , 232 to cut-off, for preventing the invasion of the reverse current Ir. On the other sides, for conforming that the first and the second switch control circuit 231 , 232 are really cut-off, the first and the second voltage comparing circuits VC 1 and VC 2 will cut-off the transistor Q 5 when the AC input signal Iin is in the low current state. The reason is because the collector of the transistor Q 5 is electrical connects with the drive control circuits P 1 and P 2 of the transistors Q 1 and Q 2 (the connection is signed as+Vcc_d). So, while the transistor Q 5 is cut-off by the first and the second voltage comparing circuits VC 1 and VC 2 , will also bring the drive control circuits P 1 and P 2 of the transistors Q 1 and Q 2 in a cut-off state. Therefore, it can be confirmed that the first and the second drive signals V 1 g and V 2 g produced by the drive control circuits P 1 and P 2 of the transistors Q 1 and Q 2 , can force the first and the second switch control circuit 231 , 232 in a cut-off state. Simply speaking, the present invention will not increases the electric power loss occurred by the output current detector S of the conventional synchronous rectifier 10 .
Besides, the control unit 22 and the output unit 23 can be used to solve the cross-conduction occurred by the conventional first and second switch control circuit 131 , and 132 . Please refer to the FIG. 5 , showing the wave forms of the first and second driving control signals V 1 g and V 2 g of the first and second switch control circuits 231 and 232 of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The FIG. 5 displays the wave forms of the first and second driving control signals V 1 g and V 2 g produced by the control unit 22 , and the wave form of the voltage signal Vp 2 which is transformed by first side coil T 41 of the fourth transformer T 4 , and then produced at the second side coil T 42 . It is clearly like the FIG. 2 ( a ), the first and second driving control signals V 1 g and V 2 g must change the electric levels thereof by following the first state (ex: a low level L) or the second state (ex: a high level H) of the voltage signal Vp 2 , and have different transient states at different times from t 1 to t 8 in the FIG. 2 ( a ). However, the differences between the FIG. 2 ( a ) and FIG. 5 is that the gate voltages V 1 g and V 2 g in FIG. 2 ( a ) proceed with the transient states at the same time. Therefore, in the FIG. 1 , the transistors Q 1 and Q 2 occur the cross conduction because influences of the gate voltages V 1 g and V 2 g . However, in the FIG. 5 , the transients of the first and second driving control signals V 1 g and V 2 g do not occurr at the same time. On the contrary, during the transient state, there are time-laggings td 1 , td 2 between the first and second driving control signals V 1 g and V 2 g . For examples, while the PWM 2211 transform the first driving control signal V 1 g from the fist state (a low level state L) into the second state (a high level state H), the PWM 2211 still maintains the second driving control signal V 2 g in the second state for the time-lagging td, and then transform the second driving control signal V 2 g into the first state. Or on contrary, while the PWM 2211 transform the second driving control signal V 2 g from the first state into the second state, the PWM 2211 still maintains the first driving control signal V 1 g in the second state for the time-lagging td 2 , and then transform the first driving control signal V 1 g into the first state. So, the first and the second switch control circuit 231 , 232 controlled by the first and second driving control signals V 1 g and V 2 g will not occur the cross conductions.
Therefore, by the application of the disclosures of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the cross conduction problem occurred by the conventional product. Moreover, the present invention can not only prevent the reverse current reverse flows from a output terminal of the power supplies in parallel connection to destroy the power supplies or make them to be malfunction, and but also won't increasing of the power loss. So, the present invention has a highly commercial application.
While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures. | A synchronous rectifier, comprising an input unit outputting a process signal in response to an AC input signal, a control unit electrically connected to the input unit and including a pulse-time control circuit, producing a first driving signal and a second driving signal, and an output unit electrically connected to the input unit and the control unit. And the output unit has a first switch control circuit and a second switch control circuit in response to the first driving signal and the second driving signal respectively for transforming the process signal into an output signal while the first switch control circuit and the second switch control circuit are free for a cross conduction. | 8 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to directional boring machines for substantially horizontal, trenchless earth boring and, more particularly, to an earth boring directional boring drill bit blade having fluid conduits and high pressure spray nozzles located within the boring drill bit blade where a fluid spray is used for cooling and steering a drill string.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Using boring machines for drilling horizontal bore holes under a roadway or other obstruction is a well known practice. The process of providing such horizontal bore holes is often generally referred to as "trenchless" digging, since an open trench is not required. When high pressure sprays are used in connection with such boring mechanism to control the direction of drilling, it is often called "directional boring". A boring string comprises connected links of pipe that drive the boring drill bit blade while providing fluid under pressure to the blade for cooling or steering, or both. One example of a directional boring system is available from bor-mor, Inc., Lino Lakes, Minn. This system is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,488 to Lessard, et al., entitled "Truck Mounted Boring System", which is assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Some other examples of horizontal boring mechanisms including known boring drill bit blade designs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,880 issued Sep. 22, 1993 to Lee, et al. In that invention, a boring drill bit blade assembly is disclosed as being affixed to the front of a tapered portion of a tool body. Fluid is injected from the tool body through a nozzle and impinges on the outer surface of the boring drill bit blade to aid in the drilling action by cooling and lubricating the boring drill bit blade.
Boring drill bit blades currently used with directional boring machines for drilling horizontal bore holes have an extremely limited life span due at least in part to overheating during boring. Known boring drill bit blade designs, as disclosed in the Lee, et al. patent, teach that a stream of fluid is directed from a tool body to an exterior surface of the boring drill bit blade. Such a design positions the high pressure spray nozzle a significant distance behind the cutting edge of the boring drill bit blade. It is believed that the more distance that exists between the cutting edge and the nozzle, the less effective the jet stream of fluid will be in steering a boring string.
One motive of this invention is to provide a means to quickly and efficiently cool and steer bore hole boring drill bit blades through the means of internal fluid conduit and spray mechanisms.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a directional boring drill bit blade for mounting onto a boring tool. The boring tool provides fluid to the directional boring drill bit blade. The blade includes an earth boring directional boring drill bit blade body and at least one fluid conduit through said earth boring directional drill bit blade body.
In contrast to the prior art, the present invention provides high pressure fluid spray at the cutting edge of a directional earth boring drill bit blade. The apparatus of the invention thereby provides improved steering or control of the directional boring drill bit blades by ejecting fluid under pressure through internal ports or through nozzles embedded in the boring drill bit blade.
Further, since the fluid conduits of the present invention are located within the boring drill bit blade itself, the internal fluid conduits provide more effective cooling of the boring drill bit blade during use. It is believed that this will result in a longer lasting boring drill bit blade.
Further, in contrast to the prior art, the present invention provides an improved directional earth boring drill bit blade. The directional earth boring drill bit blade includes a boring drill bit blade body having at least one fluid conduit through said boring drill bit blade body. A fluid nozzle is affixed to said at least one fluid conduit. The boring drill bit blade body is adapted to be mounted to a boring tool body.
In one aspect of the invention, the directional earth boring drill bit blade comprises a plurality of conduits, each affixed to one of a plurality of nozzles located at a forward end of said boring drill bit blade body so as to direct fluid flow forward of a direction of boring.
In another example of the invention, the directional earth boring drill bit blade of the invention may further comprise a substantially flat cutting edge located at a forward end of said boring drill bit blade body.
In another example of the invention, the directional earth boring drill bit blade of the invention may further comprise a substantially rounded cutting edge located at a forward end of said boring drill bit blade body.
In yet another example a boring drill bit blade built in accordance with the present invention, the boring drill bit blade body may further comprise an inlet port in fluid communication with said plurality of conduits.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art through the description of the preferred embodiment, claims and drawings herein wherein like numerals refer to like elements.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
To illustrate this invention, a preferred embodiment will be described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a top view of one embodiment of an improved directional boring drill bit blade made in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows a front view of the directional boring drill bit blade shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 shows a top view of a boring tool body employing the directional boring drill bit blade made in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 4 shows a cross sectional view of a directional boring drill bit blade mounted to the boring tool body illustrated in FIG. 3.
FIG. 4A shows an expanded view of a portion of the boring tool body of FIG. 4.
FIG. 5 shows a top view of an alternative embodiment of a directional boring drill bit blade made in accordance with the present invention having a substantially flat, planar cutting edge.
FIG. 6 shows a top view of an yet another alternative embodiment of a directional boring drill bit blade made in accordance with the present invention having a rounded cutting edge.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The examples described herein with reference to the figures are intended to be by way of illustration and not limitation. For example, while the examples illustrated show a plurality of fluid outlets and fluid conduits, it will be understood by those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that, in some cases, only one fluid outlet port may be used. Further, the use of nozzles or spray jets is optional and there may be applications where it is desirable to fabricate a blade of the present invention without a nozzle or jet at the outlet port. Such a design may be useful when injecting highly viscous or abrasive fluids, for example. In some embodiments, the number of nozzles used and their placement may be varied depending upon the application for which the boring drill bit blade is intended to be used.
Referring now to FIG. 1, one example of a directional boring drill bit blade made in accordance with the present invention is shown. A directional boring drill bit blade 10, includes a plurality of conduits 12, 14, 16 and 18 within a boring drill bit blade body 11. Each of the conduits are in fluid communication with the others and with a fluid input port 30. A sealing means 32, as for example an O-ring, is seated within a recess 34 surrounding the inlet port 30. Each of the plurality of fluid conduits 12, 14, 16 and 18 may advantageously terminate in a nozzle or jet. A plurality of such nozzles, 40, 42, 44 and 46 may be inserted into the front of the boring drill bit blade body 11 using well known fastening means.
In one example embodiment of the directional boring drill bit blade of the invention, the nozzles 40, 42, 44 and 46 may preferably be advantageously comprised of sapphire nozzles of the type which are commercially available and known in the art or equivalent devices. Of course, other nozzle types may be substituted depending upon the particular application. A plurality of mounting holes 50, may be advantageously drilled through the boring drill bit blade 10. The mounting holes may be machined to accept standard bolts, dowels or other fasteners.
Referring now to FIG. 2, which shows a front view of a directional boring drill bit blade of the invention, while continuing to refer to FIG. 1, there shown are the plurality of nozzles 40, 42, 44 and 46. The boring drill bit blade 10 may include a tip 70 optionally having a substantially trapezoidal configuration. In this example, the tip 70 is juxtaposed between nozzles 42 and 44 which are located substantially along a plane defined by surface 72 which is offset behind and adjacent to the tip 70. Nozzles 42 and 44 are positioned to direct a stream of fluid along a forward direction. Nozzles 46 and 40 are generally disposed at an acute angle with reference to nozzles 42, 44 in mirror image fashion. In this way, since the blade rotates while boring, jets of water 80 may be directed to substantially circumscribe a path along the direction of boring of the boring drill bit blade. Generally the direction of boring may be along a substantially horizontal line in a forward direction, that is, from left to right when viewing FIG. 1.
Note that the shape of the tip 70 may have various configurations depending upon particular boring applications. Other examples of blade configurations are discussed hereinbelow.
Now referring to FIG. 3, a top view of a boring tool body employing a directional boring drill bit blade of the invention is shown schematically. A mounting surface 120 comprises a substantially flat, angled surface having mounting holes 51 which are positioned to register with the corresponding mounting holes 50 on the directional boring drill bit blade 10 so that the boring drill bit blade may be fastened using bolts, dowels or equivalent fastening elements. In particular embodiments, the directional boring drill bit blade 10 may also include an extended rearward portion 121 which may be a separate piece or may be fabricated integrally with the directional boring drill bit blade.
An outlet port 100 is in fluid communication with the fluid conduit 94 and is located to register over the inlet port 30 of the directional boring drill bit blade 10. In this way, fluid enters inlet 95, flows through conduit 94 into the boring drill bit blade 10 and out of the nozzles located in the forward portion of the boring drill bit blade 10.
Now referring to FIG. 4, a cross section of a boring tool body of the type employed by the present invention is shown. A boring tool body 90 comprises a fluid conduit 94 including an inlet 95. The fluid tool body 90 may also comprise a threaded rearward portion 110 which is suitably sized to accept a standard drill pipe stem. The directional boring drill bit blade 10 attaches by conventional fastening means to surface 120 of the tool body. As with conventional boring drill bit blades, surface 120 may preferably be angled so that the directional boring drill bit blade 10 forms an acute angle relative to a central axis 87 of the tool body 90.
The boring tool body 90 may also typically include a cavity 89 for housing a locating transmitter of the type well known in the art. Such transmitters are used to determine the orientation of the drill body while it is under ground without having to remove the boring tool body.
In operation, the tool body 90 rotates generally about an axis 87 passing through its center as generally indicated by arrow 85 while it is driven forward. Fluid 80 is introduced into the inlet 95 through the fluid conduit 94 and into the directional boring drill bit blade 10 where it is sprayed out of the plurality of nozzles forward of the boring tool body 90.
Referring now to FIG. 4A, an expanded view of a cross section of a portion of the boring tool body of FIG. 4 is shown illustrating the relationship between the conduit 18, the inlet port 30 and the tool body outlet port 100. Also shown is a sealing element 32 which may comprise, for example, an O-ring made substantially of rubber or equivalent sealing material. In operation, fluid is injected into inlet port 30 from outlet port 100 and then flows through the nozzles at the front of the boring drill bit blade 10.
The boring drill bit blade 10 may be fabricated from materials substantially comprising steel, carbide, ceramics or any other suitably hard endurable material or combinations of materials suitable for earth boring. The selection of material is dependent upon the type of ground encountered during boring which may include, for example, sand, clay, rock, gravel and other types of ground compositions.
Now referring to FIG. 5, an alternative embodiment of an improved directional boring drill bit blade made in accordance with the present invention is shown. A boring drill bit blade 410 comprises a central conduit 412 within a boring drill bit blade body 411. The central conduit 412 may advantageously be in fluid communication with a plurality of outlet conduits 414 and 416. The central conduit 412 and each of the outlet conduits 414 and 416 are in communication with nozzles 440,442 and 444, respectively which are affixed into the front of the directional boring drill bit blade 410. The nozzles are positioned to direct water substantially forward of the boring drill bit blade 410. The front of boring drill bit blade 410 defines a substantially flat, planar cutting edge 470. The nozzles 440,442 and 444 may advantageously be aligned to eject fluid in a direction which is approximately perpendicular to the plane defined by the cutting edge 470. The boring drill bit blade 410 may advantageously include an O-ring 432 inserted into a recess surrounding the inlet port 430. A plurality of mounting holes 450 sized to accommodate bolts or other fasteners are provided through the boring drill bit blade 410. A plurality of dowel holes 452 may also advantageously be provided if dowels are used for fastening the blade to a tool body.
Now referring to FIG. 6, another alternative embodiment of an improved directional boring drill bit blade made in accordance with the present invention is shown, wherein the cutting edge has a substantially rounded shape. A boring drill bit blade 710 comprises a plurality of conduits 712,714 and 716 within a boring drill bit blade body 711. Each of the conduits 712, 714 and 716 are in communication with a nozzle 740, 741 and 742, respectively which are inserted into the front of the directional boring drill bit blade 710. The nozzles are positioned to direct water substantially forward of the boring drill bit blade 710. The boring drill bit blade 710 also includes a cutting edge 770 having a generally rounded edge. The boring drill bit blade 710 may advantageously include an O-ring 732 inserted into a recess surrounding the inlet port 730. A plurality of mounting holes 750 sized to accommodate bolts or other fasteners are provided through the boring drill bit blade 710. A plurality of dowel holes 752 may also advantageously be provided if dowels are used for fastening the blade to a tool body.
In operation, control of the fluid flow through the nozzles may be advantageously used to steer the boring tool body under ground. In this way, obstacles such as rocks or pipes may be avoided. The flow of fluid, typically water, through the boring drill bit blade 10 also operates to cool the boring drill bit blade 10. It is believed that this cooling action will increase the useful life of a directional boring drill bit blade made in accordance with the present invention. It has been found that fluid pressures of, for example, 100 psi to 5000 psi may be used to control steering depending upon ground conditions. In one mode of operation, the directional boring drill bit blade of the invention performed well using fluid under hydraulic pressure of 1200 psi.
The invention has been described herein in considerable detail in order to comply with the Patent Statutes and to provide those skilled in the art with the information needed to apply the novel principles and to construct and use such specialized components as are required. However, it is to be understood that the invention can be carried out by specifically different equipment and devices, and that various modifications, both as to the equipment details and operating procedures, can be accomplished without departing from the scope of the invention itself. | A directional earth boring drill bit blade includes an earth boring drill bit blade body having a cutting edge and having at least one fluid conduit through said earth boring drill bit blade body. A fluid nozzle is affixed to said at least one fluid conduit at the cutting edge. The earth boring drill bit blade body is adapted to be mounted to a boring tool body. The at least one conduit and nozzle cooperate to channel fluid so as to cool the directional boring drill bit blade and control steering while boring. | 4 |
[0001] This application is based on U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/217,149 filed on Jul. 8, 2000, which is incorporated by reference herein as fully as if set forth in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to a rubber stamp positioning device. More specifically, this invention relates to a rubber stamp positioning device for accurately positioning an image from a rubber stamp on a substrate.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] There are many devices currently employed to accurately position images on a surface using rubber or plastic stamps or similar marking devices, hereinafter collectively referred to as stamps. Most stamps are produced from opaque materials such that the exact position of the stamping element cannot be seen as the stamp is being used, making exact placement of the stamped image difficult. Even if the stamp is transparent, it still may be difficult to achieve exact placement of the stamped image.
[0004] Various devices have been brought forth in an attempt to aid the user in positioning the stamped image. A typical positioning device consists of an inverted T or L shaped piece, typically fabricated from a piece of ½ inch thick clear plastic. Wood has also been used as the material for the positioning device. A sheet of clear plastic or translucent paper is positioned such that one corner is at the juncture of the horizontal and the vertical elements of the positioning device and the edges of the sheet are aligned to the edges of the positioning device. The stamp to be positioned is inked and aligned over the sheet with one corner at the juncture of the horizontal and vertical elements of the positioning device and its edges against the edges of the positioning device.
[0005] While being held against the edges of the positioning device, the stamp is moved downward to the surface of the sheet, imprinting a reference image. The sheet is then placed on the surface onto which the image is to be stamped and positioned such that the reference image is at a location on the surface where the stamped image is to be imprinted. While holding the sheet in position, the positioning device is brought back into position such that the edges are aligned against the edges of the sheet. While holding the positioning device in place, the sheet is removed, the stamp is re-inked, the stamp is placed against the edges of the positioning device and moved downward against the surface, stamping the image.
[0006] There are several problem associated with the construction and operation of the currently employed stamp positioning devices. Typically, the positioning devices currently available are constructed of acrylic plastic or smoothly finished wood, both of which have a low coefficient of friction, making them difficult to hold in place during use.
[0007] Another drawback in the current designs of stamp positioning devices is the height of the guide edges along which the stamp is placed, typically they are only slightly taller than the rubber die and mounting cushion of the stamp being positioned. This leads to difficulty in positioning the stamp against the guide edges in preparation for stamping. Frequently, because the stamp has to be held so close to the surface in order to be aligned against the short guide edges of the positioning the device, it is not uncommon that the stamp will inadvertently contact the surface before it is properly aligned. It is also not uncommon that in the act of lowering the stamp along the short guide edges that pressure applied by the user that is not completely vertical will force the top of the stamp to angle over the guide edges and cause the stamped image to be mis-positioned.
[0008] In another example of a problem associated with the prior art, typically the guide edges of the positioning device are both relatively long compared with the stamp or stamp mount. As such, because the stamps are normally grasped along opposing edges, one of the edges of the positioning devices usually interferes with the user's grasp on the stamp while they hold it along the guide edge.
[0009] In yet another example of a short coming found in the prior art of the stamp positioning devices, the use of heavy clear plastic materials to construct the positioning sheet frequently leads to misplaced stamped images. When using such sheets, which typically are an ⅛ inch thick, the reference image is of great enough distance from the intended surface that, if the user is not directly over top of the reference image, the resulting parallax can easily result in the final image being placed improperly. In the past, alternative reference sheets have been constructed of a thin translucent paper, such as tracing paper. However, the use of materials like these frequently leads to poor results either because the paper is folded or bent, or it slips under the guide edges.
[0010] Thus, there exists a need in the field of crafts, particularly in the field of stamp positioning devices to provide a more accurate means of positioning a stamp image on a surface.
SUMMARY
[0011] The present invention looks to overcome the drawbacks associated with the prior art. More specifically, the present invention provides a stamp positioning device having first and second guide edges, where the guide edges are tall enough to allow placement of the stamp against the guides without the likelihood of accidently marking the substrate before the stamp is positioned. In addition, the first or main guide edge, is much longer in length than the second, such that the first guide edge extends for length sufficient, so as to provide stability to the device during use. The second guide edge, is shorter than the edge of the stamp or stamp mount, such that when a user grips the stamp mount with their fingers and thumb positioned on opposite sides of the stamp, the shorter second guide edge will not interfere with the user's grasp when positioning the stamp.
[0012] The present invention also provides a non-slip base attached to the bottom of the device which provides better contact with the work surface, thus reducing accidental slippage during operation.
[0013] Additionally, the present invention provides for a thin plastic sheet which is significantly thinner that the standard ⅛″ plastic sheets used in the prior art. This thickness is such that it will not create substantial parallax, even if the user is viewing the reference image from an angle other than perpendicular to the working surface. However, the plastic sheet is also of a thickness and sturdiness greater than that of tracing paper or other comparable materials so as to provide stability.
[0014] To this end the present invention provides for a stamp alignment device for use with a stamp having a height comprised of a base having first and second stamp guide edges. The first stamp guide edge and the second stamp guide edge connect in a substantially perpendicular manner creating an angled receiving area. At least one portion of each of the stamp guide edges are tall enough to allow placement of the stamp against the guides without the likelihood of accidently marking the substrate before the stamp is positioned.
[0015] The stamp alignment device further comprises a non-slip surface attached to the bottom of the base and has a thickness. The non-slip surface has first and second non-slip surface guide edges that correspond to the first and second stamp guide edges of the base.
[0016] Additionally, a reference sheet is provided having a thickness no greater than the thickness of the non-slip surface. The reference sheet has at least one substantially right angled corner configured to be placed into the first and second non-slip surface guide edges. Thus, when the reference sheet is placed along the first and second non-slip surface guide edges, and the stamp is placed along the first and second stamp guide edges and pressed onto the reference sheet, a reference image is deposited on the reference sheet so that the reference sheet can be moved across a substrate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] [0017]FIG. 1 is an angled elevation view of a stamp positioning device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0018] [0018]FIG. 1A is a plan view of a stamp positioning device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0019] [0019]FIG. 2 is a under side plan view of a stamp positioning device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0020] [0020]FIG. 3 is an elevation view of stamp and a stamp positioning device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0021] [0021]FIG. 4 is a flow chart for the operation of a stamp positioning device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0022] [0022]FIG. 5 is an illustration of a stamp positioning device, stamp and a reference sheet as positioned during operation in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0023] [0023]FIG. 6 is an illustration of a reference sheet and a substrate as positioned during operation in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] [0024]FIG. 7 is an illustration of a reference sheet, a substrate, and a stamp positioning device as positioned during operation in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0025] [0025]FIG. 8 is an illustration of stamp, a substrate and a stamp positioning device as positioned during operation in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and
[0026] [0026]FIG. 9 is an illustration of substrate with a stamped image thereon at a final stage of operation in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0027] In one embodiment of the present invention, a stamp positioning device 10 is comprised of a base 12 having a main segment 14 having at least one first stamp guide edge 16 . Base 12 also has a cross segment 18 , having at least one second stamp guide edge 20 disposed thereon, extending away from first stamp guide edge 16 at a substantially perpendicular angle. A non-slip surface 24 is attached to the underside of base 12 such that it extends across the under surface of base 12 forming first and second non-slip surface guide edges 19 and 21 . An image sheet 26 is provided for positioning within image sheet receiving area 22 , upon which a reference image 28 is placed using stamp 30 . Contoured areas provide gripping surfaces at the front 40 and top 42 of the positioning device.
[0028] Structure
[0029] In one embodiment of the present invention as illustrated in FIG. 1, base 12 is composed of main segment 14 having at least one first stamp guide edge 16 disposed thereon and a cross segment 18 having at least one second stamp guide edge 20 . For the purposes of illustrating the salient features of the structure of the present invention, first stamp guide edge 16 of main segment 14 and second stamp guide edge 20 of cross segment 18 will be used to discuss the structure and dimensions of base 12 of device 10 , as these two component portions of device 10 comprise the principal functional aspects of base 12 . References to main segment 14 and cross segment 18 which form first stamp guide edge 16 and second stamp guide edge 20 respectively will only be used as necessary. FIG. 1A provides a top view of device 10 so as to provide a more detailed view of the features of device 10 .
[0030] First stamp guide edge 16 is approximately 3″-6″ inches and preferably 4½″ inches long, however it can be of any length substantially suited to provide a guide edge to image sheet 26 . The stamp mount 32 and first stamp guide edge 16 is approximately ¾″-1½″ inches and preferably 1¼″ inches in height, however any height can be used so as long a portion of the edge located near the connecting point with second stamp guide edge 20 is at least tall enough to permit the stamp to be accurately positioned against the guide edges 16 and 20 and still provide adequate clearance between the inside surface of stamp 30 and the surface upon which it will be imported, for all of the stamps 30 that are intended to be used with device 10 . The bottom of base 12 of device 10 must be essentially flat where it meets substrate 36 to prevent image sheet 26 from sliding under guide edges 16 and 20 .
[0031] The height of first guide edge 16 can vary along the length of main segment 14 , as seen in FIG. 1, so long as the portion located nearer to the intersection of first and second guide edge 16 and 20 is sufficiently tall enough to allow proper placement of stamp mount portions 32 of stamps 30 . To this end, the heights of first stamp guide edge 16 can vary in size in several permutations of device 10 such that each of the permutations of device 10 are intended to be used with a different style/height stamps 30 .
[0032] In one embodiment of the present invention, main segment 14 is approximately ¾″-1¼″ inches and preferably 1″ wide such that two first guide edges 16 and 16 ′ are formed having smooth, linear surfaces. The upper surface of main segment 14 can be of any contour, either flat, smooth, rounded or rough, which ever provides the user with proper comfort and ease of use during operation. The variation in height along the length of main segment 14 also provides a contoured upper surface having front 40 and top 42 gripping surfaces. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the smooth side surfaces, which form first guide edges 16 and 16 ′ are substantially vertical relative to the work surface.
[0033] For the purposes of illustration of the salient features of the present invention, first stamp guide edge 16 will be discussed alone, however, it should be noted that first stamp guide edge 16 ′ maintains the same structure and function so long as it substantially conforms to the above described dimensions. The base of th device must be essentially flat where it meets the working surface/substrate to prevent the imaging sheet from sliding under the guide edge.
[0034] In one embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG. 1, second stamp guide edge 20 disposed on cross segment 18 is disposed substantially perpendicular to first stamp guide edge 16 , forming a substantially 90 degree angle at their intersection point. Second stamp guide edge 20 is approximately ⅜″-⅝″ inches and preferably ½″ long the length of cross segment 18 , in one direction extending away from the intersection with first stamp guide edge 16 .
[0035] The length of second stamp guide edge 20 may vary, but it is typically a length significantly smaller than that of stamp 30 or stamp mount portions 32 for stamps 30 that are intended to be used with device 10 . This configuration prevents second stamp guide edge 20 from interfering with a user's fingers gripping stamp 30 or stamp mount portion 32 . As with first stamp guide edge 16 , various permutations of second stamp guide edge 20 may vary size depending on the size of stamp 30 .
[0036] In one embodiment of the present invention, also illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 1A, cross segment 18 can extend perpendicular to main segment 14 in more than one direction. For example, cross segment 18 extends across the width of main segment 14 so as to create two second guide edges 20 and 20 ′. Second stamp guide edge 20 ′, as pictured, is a mirror image of second stamp guide edge 20 thus allowing for device 10 to be used easily by both left and right handed users.
[0037] Alternatively, (not pictured) second stamp guide edge 20 ′ may be different in length, and other dimensions, from second stamp guide edge 20 . Although they maintain substantially the same function, second stamp guide edge 20 ′ could be used with different style or size stamps 30 , assuming of course that first stamp guide edge 16 ′ is also of comparable dimensions. For the purposes of illustrating the salient features of the present invention, first stamp guide edge 16 and second stamp guide edge 20 and reference sheet receiving area 22 formed by them will be used.
[0038] Second stamp guide edge 20 , approximately ¾″-1½″ inches in height and preferably 1¼″, is at least as tall as stamp 30 intended to be used with base 12 . Second stamp guide edge 20 is shorter in length than stamp 30 but it is at least as tall as stamp 30 near the intersection point with first stamp guide edge 16 and for most if its length along cross segment 18 , so as to provide stability to stamp 30 and stamp mount 32 during operation. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, second stamp guide edge 20 is substantially vertical along its height.
[0039] Cross segment 18 is approximately ½″-1″ inch thick, however this can vary according to various permutations of base 12 . In fact, the side opposite of second stamp guide edge 20 does not have to be flat or vertical along its height so the thickness of cross segment 18 can vary along its length, even on a single device.
[0040] In one embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG. 2, non-slip surface 24 is attached to the underside of base 12 so as to provide friction between base 12 and the work surface so that base 12 does not slip during operation. Non-slip surface 24 is a firm material with a relatively high coefficient of friction such as high density rubber or a E.V.A. compound and is approximately 1 mm thick, attached via a pressure sensitive adhesive. However, it should be noted that non-slip surface 24 can be constructed of any suitable material which would prevent base 12 from sliding on the work surface during use.
[0041] Non-slip surface 24 should be thin relative to the height of first and second stamp guide edges 16 and 20 . Non-slip surface 24 can be manufactured to be a part of base 12 , or it can be affixed after manufacture. The material, can be of any substance that displays appropriate qualities. The thickness of non-slip surface 24 , although preferably 1 mm may vary so long as it performs its intended function, however, non-slip surface 24 should be thicker than image sheet 261
[0042] Non-slip surface 24 covers almost all of the under surface of base 12 creating first and second non-slip surface edges 19 and 21 respectively. Edges 19 and 21 of non-slip surface 24 line up along the same plane as first stamp guide edge 16 and second stamp guide edge 20 . This configuration forms a continuous contiguous edge between guide edges 16 and 20 and first and second non-slip surface edges 19 and 21 of non-slip surface 24 such that first stamp guide edge 16 and second stamp guide edge 20 extend not only the height of main segment 14 and cross segment 18 respectively but additionally the height of non-slip surface 24 . It should be noted that non-slip surface 24 does not need to cover the entire bottom of base 12 , so long as it provides a good non-slip agent to base 12 and provides first and second non-slip surface guide edges 19 and 21 contiguous with first and second stamp guide edges 16 and 20 .
[0043] In one embodiment of the present invention, at the meeting point of first and second non-slip surface guide edges 19 and 21 as they exist substantially planer with first and second stamp guide edges 16 and 20 , an image sheet receiving area 22 is formed so as to receive reference sheet 26 . As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 1A and 2 , image sheet receiving area 22 is substantially 90 degrees, however, it should be noted that any angle can be used which compliments the shape of the intended stamp 30 and stamp mount portion 32 .
[0044] In one embodiment of the present invention, image sheet 26 is approximately 1 mm inches thick, between 5″-7″ inches square and is constructed of polypropylene sheet, one side being essentially smooth and the other side being lightly textured. The purpose of the textured side is to reduce the beading up of water based dye inks on the surface of sheet 26 , thereby rendering the stamped image more visible on the sheet. However, it should be noted that, image sheet 26 can be constructed of similar material and of similar size so long as it can maintain the functions required by device 10 . For example, image sheet 26 can be of varying thickness, so long as it is not as thick as non-slip surface 24 and not to thick so as to cause significant parallax when a user views of reference image 28 from an angle other than perpendicular to the work surface. Likewise, image sheet 26 can be constructed of any material that is transparent or translucent and is capable of receiving reference image 28 from stamp 30 . Also, image sheet 26 can be of many different shapes so long as it has at least one region that is substantially complementary to image sheet receiving area 22 , which, as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 1A and 2 , is a 90 degree corner.
[0045] For the purposes of illustrating the salient features of the present invention, image sheet 26 , is square with all four corners are 90 degrees and thus complimentary to image sheet receiving area 22 .
[0046] In one embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG. 3, stamp 30 refers to any stamp 30 which is designed to imprint an image 34 onto a substrate 36 . Stamp, 30 maintains a stamp die 38 which is preferably composed of rubber although it can be of any made of similar materials such as plastic or other materials. Die 38 , which is attached to mount portion 32 via a stamp cushion 35 , is used to stamp image 34 onto substrate 36 and to stamp reference image 28 onto image sheet 26 .
[0047] Stamp 30 also maintains stamp mount portion 32 . Mount portion 32 is the portion of stamp 30 which is placed in along guide edges 16 and 20 so as to place images 28 and 34 onto their respective destinations as will be discussed below. The shape of mount portion 32 is preferably complementary to the angle of intersection between first and second stamp guide edges 16 and 20 such that the edges of mount portion 32 line up against first stamp guide edge 16 and second stamp guide edge 20 allowing for proper positioning of images 28 and 34 . For the purposes of illustration, mount portion 32 is square such that it readily conforms with the 90 degree angle formed by first stamp guide edge 16 and second stamp guide edge 20 at image sheet receiving area 22 .
[0048] It should be noted that it is merely advantageous that stamp mount portion 32 be complementary to the angle of intersection between first and second guide edges 16 and 20 , and that other mount portion 32 shapes that can be used with consistency. For example, if stamp mount portion 32 were octagonal it would still be able to be used in base 12 even if the meeting position of first stamp guide edge 16 and second stamp guide edge 20 form a 90 degree square angle. In fact, even a circular stamp mount portion 32 could be used in a 90 degree angled base 12 , however, it would be important to keep track of the facing of die 38 . For illustrative purposes in demonstrating the salient features of the present invention, stamp mount portion 32 will be square, however, this is in no way intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
[0049] Operation
[0050] In one embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in flow chart FIG. 4, at a first step 100 , the user selects a stamp 30 and a base 12 of appropriate size and dimension to accommodate stamp 30 .
[0051] Next, at step 102 , as illustrated in FIG. 5, the user places base 12 and image sheet 26 onto a work surface. Image sheet 26 is slid into position into image sheet receiving area 22 so that at least one corresponding corner is abutted against first and second non-slip surface guide edges 19 and 21 which extend contiguous with first and second stamp guide edges 16 and 20 down to the work surface.
[0052] Once image sheet 26 is in position, at step 104 , stamp 30 is inked and placed firmly against first and second stamp guide edges 16 and 20 and lowered onto image sheet 26 , thus stamping reference image 28 onto sheet 26 . For the most effective results, second stamp guide edge 20 is shortened, as described above, such that when a user is gripping stamp 30 on opposite sides of mount portion 32 , the fingers are positioned on stamp 30 on the edge away from second stamp guide edge 20 and the thumb is positioned on stamp 30 on the edge against second stamp guide edge 20 . Because second stamp guide edge 20 is cut away for some portion of stamp 30 and mount portion 32 , the user's thumb will have enough room to securely hold and lower stamp 30 against image sheet 26 and not accidently push the stamp away from second stamp guide edge 20 .
[0053] When stamping reference image 28 onto image sheet 26 , the position of base 12 and sheet 26 on the work surface is irrelevant so long as base 12 and sheet 26 are properly aligned to each other. These steps are not used to place stamp 30 onto substrate 36 but are merely used to gauge the final position of stamp 30 relative to first stamp guide edge 16 and second stamp guide edge 20 when it is used in conjunction with base 12 . However, it is important that image sheet 26 is firmly abutted against first and second non-slip surface guide edges 19 and 21 of non-slip surface 24 as they are disposed contiguous with first and second stamp guide edges 16 and 20 . Also, reference image 28 is stamped, mount portion 32 of stamp 30 is flush against first and second stamp guide edges 16 and 20 .
[0054] Next at step 106 , as illustrated in FIG. 6, after reference image 28 is placed on image sheet 26 , substrate 36 is placed onto the work surface. Image sheet 26 is then placed on top of substrate 36 . Because image sheet 26 is made of a transparent or translucent plastic-like substance, substrate 36 is viewable through image sheet 26 . This allows the user to position reference image 28 exactly where they wish image 34 to eventually appear.
[0055] After reference image 28 is properly positioned on substrate 36 , at step 108 , as illustrated in FIG. 6, base 12 is repositioned against image sheet 26 such that image sheet 26 is again located in reference sheet receiving area 22 with its edges resting squarely against first and second non-slip surface edges 19 and 21 of non-slip surface 24 . Next, at step 110 , image sheet 26 is removed from substrate 36 while base 12 is held firmly in place with the aid of non-slip surface 24 .
[0056] With image sheet 26 removed, at step 112 , stamp 30 is inked and lowered along first and second stamp guide edges 16 and 20 onto substrate 36 , as illustrated in FIG. 8. As described above, stamp 30 and mount portion 32 are carefully held flush against first and second stamp guide edges 16 and 20 . Lastly, at step 112 , as illustrated in FIG. 9, base 12 and stamp 30 are removed from substrate 36 leaving image 34 in its proper place.
[0057] While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes or equivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art. It is therefore, to be understood that this application is intended to cover all such modifications and changes that fall within the true spirit of the invention. | The present invention provides for a stamp alignment device for use with a stamp having a height comprised of a base having first and second stamp guide edges. The first stamp guide edge and the second stamp guide edge connect in a substantially perpendicular manner creating an angled receiving area. At least one portion of each of the stamp guide edges is substantially higher than the height of the stamp mount. The stamp alignment device further comprises a non-slip surface attached to the bottom of the base and has a thickness. The non-slip surface has first and second non-slip surface guide edges that correspond to the first and second stamp guide edges of the base. Additionally, an image sheet is provided having a thickness less than the thickness of the non-slip surface. The image sheet has at least one substantially right angled corner configured to be placed into the first and second non-slip surface guide edges. Thus, when the image sheet is placed along the first and second non-slip surface guide edges, and the stamp is placed along the first and second stamp guide edges and pressed onto the image sheet, a reference image is deposited on the image sheet so that the image sheet can be moved across a substrate. Once the sheet is positioned the alignment device is brought into contact with the edges of the sheet, the sheet is removed and the alignment device is used to guide the stamp into position, aiding in the accurate placement of the stamped image. | 1 |
FIELD OF INVENTION
The invention relates to a device for feeding signals between a common line and two or more ports. The invention also relates to a dielectric phase shifter and a method of manufacturing a dielectric phase shifter.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Traditionally tuneable antenna elements consist of power splitters, transformers, and phase shifters cascaded in the antenna arrangement. In high performance antennas these components strongly interact with each other, sometimes making a desirable beam shape unrealisable.
A number of canonical beam-forming networks have been proposed in the past, to address these problems.
FIG. 1 is a plan view of part of a phase shifter described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,949,303. An input terminal 100 is coupled to an input feedline 101 . A feedline 102 branches off from junction 103 and leads to a first output terminal 104 . A second output terminal 105 is coupled to feedline 102 at junction 110 by a meander-shaped loop 106 . A dielectric slab 107 partially covers feedline 102 and loop 106 and is movable along the length of the feedline 102 and over loop 106 .
The leading edge 108 of the slab 107 is formed with a step-like recess 109 , as shown in FIG. 2 . The step-like recess 109 is dimensioned to minimize reflection of the radio wave energy propagating along the feedlines.
This arrangement suffers from several shortcomings.
Firstly, recess 109 of the moveable dielectric body 107 operates like a transformer increasing wave impedance in the direction from input terminal 100 to the output terminals. In order to have equal impedance at the input and all outputs, the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,949,303 requires additional transformers between junction 110 and output terminal 104 .
Secondly, all feedlines apart from 101 , which is the first from input terminal 100 , cross the edge of the dielectric plate twice. Therefore the reflection at two recesses can add up to double the reflection at one recess depending on the position of the dielectric plate.
Thirdly, the relative positions of the output terminals impose constraints on the layout, which may be incompatible with physical realisations of beam-forming networks for some applications.
Fourthly, it can be difficult to accurately and consistently fabricate the recess 109 in slab 107 .
Fifthly, this approach is not suitable for a linear array containing an odd number of output ports.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to address one or more of these shortcomings of the prior art, or at least to provide a useful alternative.
A first aspect of the invention provides a device for feeding signals between a common line and two or more ports, the device including a branched network of feedlines coupling the common line with the ports, at least one of the feedlines having a transformer portion of varying width for reducing reflection of signals passing through the network; and a dielectric member mounted adjacent to the network which can be moved along the length of at least one of the feedlines to synchronously adjust the phase relationship between the common line and one or more of the ports, the dielectric member having one or more transformer portions for reducing reflection of signals passing through the network.
The first aspect of the invention provides a means for integrating two types of transformer into the same device. As a result the wave impedance at the common line can be better matched to the wave impedance at the ports, whilst maintaining a relatively compact design.
Typically the feedline transformer portion includes a step change in the width of the feedline.
The transformer portion in the dielectric member may be provided by a recess in the edge of the member, as shown in FIG. 2 . However, in the preferred embodiments described below, the transformer portion is provided in the form of a space or region of reduced permittivity.
A second aspect of the invention provides a device for feeding signals between a common line and two or more ports, the device including a branched network of feedlines coupling the common line with the ports via one or more junctions; the one or more junctions including a main junction which includes the common line; and a dielectric member mounted adjacent to the network which can be moved along the length of at least one of the feedlines to synchronously adjust the phase relationship between the common line and one or more of the ports, wherein the main junction does not overlap with the dielectric member
The second aspect of the invention provides an alternative arrangement to the arrangement of FIG. 1 . In contrast to the system of FIG. 1 (in which the dielectric member overlaps the junction 103 ), the dielectric member does not overlap with the junction. This may be achieved by forming a space in the dielectric member.
A third aspect of the invention provides a device for feeding signals between a common line and two or more ports, the device including a branched network of feedlines coupling the common line with the ports via one or more junctions; and a dielectric member mounted adjacent to the network which can be moved to synchronously adjust the phase relationship between the common line and one or more of the ports, wherein the dielectric member has a first region of relatively high permittivity, and a second region of relatively low permittivity which overlaps with at least one of the junctions.
The third aspect provides similar advantages to the second aspect.
Typically the dielectric member is formed with a transformer portion for reducing reflection of signals passing the leading or trailing edge of the space or region of reduced permittivity. In contrast to the arrangement of FIG. 1 , the wave impedance at the transformer portion can decrease in the direction of the ports.
A variety of transformer portions may be used. For instance the leading and/or trailing edges of the space or region of reduced permittivity may be formed as shown in FIG. 2 . However in a preferred embodiment the dielectric member is formed with at least one second space or region of relatively low permittivity adjacent to an edge of the first space or region, wherein the or each second space or region is relatively short compared to the first space or region in the direction of movement of the dielectric member, and wherein the position and size of the or each second space or region are selected such that the or each second space or region acts as an impedance transformer.
A fourth aspect of the invention provides a device for feeding signals between a common line and two or more ports, the device including a branched network of feedlines coupling the common line with the ports; and a dielectric member mounted adjacent to the network which can be moved to adjust the phase relationship between the common line and one or more of the ports, wherein the dielectric member is formed with a first space or region of relatively low permittivity, and at least one second space or region of relatively low permittivity adjacent to and spaced from an edge of the first space or region, wherein the or each second space or region is relatively short compared to the first space or region in the direction of movement of the dielectric member, and wherein the position and size of the or each second space or region are selected such that the or each second space or region acts as an impedance transformer.
The fourth aspect of the invention relates to a preferred form of transformer, which is easier to fabricate than the transformer of FIG. 2 . The transformer is also easier to tune according to the requirements of the feed network (by selecting the position and size of the second space or region).
A fifth aspect of the invention provides a device for feeding signals between a common line and an array of ports, the array of ports including a central port and two or more phase shift ports, the device including a branched network of feedlines coupling the common line with the array of ports; and a dielectric member mounted adjacent to the network which can be moved to synchronously adjust the phase relationship between the common line and the two or more phase shift ports whilst maintaining a constant phase relationship between the common line and the central port.
The following comments relate to the devices according to the first, second, third, fourth and fifth aspects of the invention.
Typically the device includes a first ground plane positioned on one side of the network. More preferably the device also has a second ground plane positioned on an opposite side of the network.
Typically the feedlines are strip feedlines.
The dielectric member may be formed by joining together a number of dielectric bodies. However preferably the dielectric member is formed as a unitary piece.
Typically the dielectric member is elongate (for instance in the form of a rectangular bar) and movable along its length in a direction parallel to an adjacent feedline.
Typically the device has three or more ports arranged along a substantially straight line.
A variety of delay structures, such as meanders or stubs, may be formed in the feedlines.
A sixth aspect of the invention provides a method of manufacturing a dielectric phase shifter, the method including the step of removing material from an elongate dielectric member to form a space at an intermediate position along its length.
The sixth aspect of the invention provides a preferred method of manufacturing a dielectric member, which can be utilised in the device of the second, third or fourth aspects of the invention, or any other device in which such a design is useful. The space may be left free, or may be subsequently filled with a solid material having a different (typically lower) permittivity to the removed material. This provides a more rigid structure.
The space may be an open space (for instance in the form of a rectangular cut-out) formed in a side of the dielectric member. Alternatively the space may be a closed space (for instance in the form of a rectangular hole) formed in the interior of the dielectric member.
The member can then be mounted adjacent to a feedline with its length aligned with the feedline, whereby the dielectric member can be moved along the length of the feedline to adjust a degree of overlap between the feedline and the dielectric member.
Typically the feedline is part of a branched network of feedlines coupling a common line with two or more ports. Typically the space or region of relatively low permittivity overlaps with a junction of the branched network.
A seventh aspect of the invention provides a dielectric phase shifter comprising an elongate dielectric member formed with a space at an intermediate position along the length of the elongate member.
For instance a notch or recess may be formed in a side of the member, or a hole formed in the interior of the member.
An eighth aspect of the invention provides a dielectric phase shifter device including an elongate dielectric member formed with a space or region of relatively low permittivity at an intermediate position along the length of the elongate member, wherein the space or region is formed in a side of the dielectric member.
A ninth aspect of the invention provides a dielectric phase shifter device including an elongate dielectric member formed with a space or region of relatively low permittivity at an intermediate position along the length of the elongate member, wherein the space or region is formed in the interior of the dielectric member.
A tenth aspect of the invention provides a device for feeding signals between a common line and two or more ports. The device includes a branched network of feedlines coupling the common line with the ports via one or more junctions, the one or more junctions include a main junction, which includes the common line. Also included is a dielectric member mounted adjacent to the network having a region of relatively high permittivity and one or more transformer portions for reducing reflection of signals passing through the network. The dielectric member can be moved along the length of at least one of the feedlines to synchronously adjust the phase relationship between the common line and one or more of the ports. The dielectric member is formed with a second region having a space or region of relatively low permittivity, the second region overlapping the main junction.
A tenth aspect of the invention provides a method of manufacturing a dielectric phase shifter including the steps of forming a region of relatively low permittivity by removing material from an elongate dielectric member to form a space at an intermediate position along its length and filling the space with a solid material having a different permittivity relative to the removed material.
An eleventh aspect of the invention provides an elongate dielectric member formed with a space at an intermediate position along the length of the elongate member, the region of relatively low permittivity including a space filled with a solid material having a different permittivity relative to the removed material.
A twelfth aspect of the invention provides an elongate dielectric member having a first region of relatively low permittivity and at least one second region of relatively low permittivity adjacent to and spaced from an edge of the first region, where each region of relatively low permittivity is formed at an intermediate position along the length of the elongate dielectric member, the second region is relatively short compared to the first region, and each second region is positioned and dimensioned such that the second region acts as an impedance transformer.
The device can be used in a cellular base station panel antenna, or similar.
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 reference to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Several embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a prior art device;
FIG. 2 is side view of the edge of the prior art device shown in FIG. 1 ;
FIGS. 3 a to 3 c are three plan views (width reduced ⅓ of length reduction) of a 10-port device for an antenna beam-forming network with integrated tuneable multi-channel phase shifter, with the movable dielectric bars in three different positions;
FIG. 4 is a cross-section taken along a line A—A in FIG. 3 a;
FIG. 5 is a cross-section taken along a line B—B in FIG. 3 b;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view (width reduced ⅓ of length reduction) of the right hand side of the device of FIG. 3 b;
FIG. 7 is a graph showing the variation in permittivity ∈ r , of the movable dielectric bars 47 a and 47 b taken along a portion of feedline 16 ;
FIG. 8 is a graph showing the variation in permittivity ∈ r of the movable dielectric bars 47 a and 47 b taken along a portion of feedline 17 ;
FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view of a segment of an alternative movable dielectric bar;
FIGS. 10 a to 10 c are three plan views (width reduced ½ of length reduction) of a 5-port device for an antenna beam-forming network with integrated tuneable multi-channel phase shifter, with the movable dielectric bars in three different positions;
FIG. 11 is a cross-section taken along a line C—C in FIG. 10 a;
FIG. 12 is a cross-section taken along a line D—D in FIG. 10 c;
FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view (width reduced by ½ of length reduction) of the movable dielectric bar;
FIG. 14 is a schematic plan view of a 3-port device with a stripline formed with stubs;
FIG. 15 is a schematic plan view of a 3-port device with a stripline formed as meander line; and
FIG. 16 is a cross section of a device as shown in FIG. 10 with an asymmetrical stripline arrangement.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In this written description, the use of the disjunctive is intended to include the conjunctive. The use of definite or indefinite articles is not intended to indicate cardinality. In particular, a reference to “the” object or thing or “an” object or “a” thing is intended to also describe a plurality of such objects or things.
The preferred arrangements described below provide a tuneable multi-channel phase shifter integrated with a beam-forming network for a linear antenna array. In order to control the beam direction and beam shape of this antenna array we need to provide certain phase relations between the radiating elements. For subsequent control and changing the beam direction these phase relations should be varied in a specific manner. The beam-forming network also includes circuit-matching elements to minimise signal reflection and maximise the emitted fields.
A 10-port feedline network with integrated phase shifter for a phased array antenna is shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 . Conductor strips 1 to 18 form a feedline network (the dotted area in FIG. 3 ). These conductor strips can be fabricated from conducting sheets (e.g. brass or copper) or PCB laminate by for example etching, stamping, or laser cutting. It should be noted that, for the purposes of clarity, the width dimension of the device has been reduced by ⅓ of the length reduction in the representation of FIGS. 3 a – 3 c . As a result the view of the feedline is somewhat distorted in places.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , the feedline network 1 to 18 is positioned between fixed dielectric blocks 43 a , 43 b , 46 a , and 46 b , and movable dielectric bars 47 a and 47 b . The whole assembly is enclosed in a conducting case, made of metal blocks 48 a and 48 b . The whole assembly forms a dielectric loaded strip-line arrangement.
The pair of sliding dielectric bars 47 a and 47 b is housed between the metal blocks 48 a and 48 b , in the space between the fixed dielectric blocks 43 a , 43 b , 46 a , and 46 b . For clarity the contour of the upper bar 47 a is outlined by a bold line in the three plan views of FIG. 3 . The bar 47 a is shown in three different positions in FIGS. 3 a , 3 b and 3 c . The lower bar 47 b has an identical profile to the upper bar 47 a . The bar profiles are formed by cutting portions of material from a single piece of dielectric material.
FIG. 4 shows a cross section along line A—A in FIG. 3 a , where the bars 47 a and 47 b have no off-cuts and entirely fill the space between the metal blocks 48 a , 48 b and the dielectric blocks 43 a , 43 b , 46 a , and 46 b . FIG. 5 shows a cross section taken along line B—B in FIG. 3 b , where the bars 47 a and 47 b have off-cuts 49 a and 49 b and partially fill the space between the metal blocks 48 a , 48 b and the dielectric blocks 43 a , 43 b , 46 a , and 46 b . All off-cuts in the bars 47 a and 47 b have well defined locations and dimensions, which depend on the desired phase and power relations at ports 20 to 28 . Simultaneously, the off-cuts serve as circuit-matching transformers for the feedline network.
The bars 47 a and 47 b can be continuously moved along their length to provide a desired phase shift. The movement of bars 47 a and 47 b provides simultaneous adjustment of the phase shift at all ports 20 to 28 . The locations and dimensions of the off-cuts are chosen so that the movement of bars 47 a and 47 b within certain limits alters the phase relations between the ports 20 – 28 in a specified manner without changing the impedance matching at the input port 19 .
To provide the desired division of power at each junction of the feedline network, circuit-matching transformers are integrated into the feedline network. An example of such circuit-matching elements is sections 11 and 12 near main junction 33 and section 29 in strip conductor 2 . Here the circuit matching is achieved by varying the width of the feedline section. The length and width of these circuit-matching sections 11 and 12 is selected to minimise signal reflection at the main junction 33 . In a preferred arrangement the sections 11 and 12 both have lengths of approximately λ\4 (where λ is the wavelength in the feedline corresponding to the centre of the intended frequency band). These types of circuit-matching transformers will be referred to below as fixed transformers.
Another example of a circuit-matching element in this device is shown in FIG. 6 . Off-cut 52 and projection 51 on the moveable dielectric bar serve as an impedance matching transformer for the feedline segment 17 between junctions 37 and 38 . This transformer matches the wave impedances between the part of stripline 17 where it crosses the left edge of projection 51 , and the part of stripline 17 where it crosses the right edge of off-cut 52 . This type of circuit-matching transformer will be referred to below as a moveable transformer. The length of the feedline between junction 38 and the right edge of off-cut 52 as well as the length of the feedline between junction 37 and the left edge of projection 51 vary with movement of the bars 47 a , 47 b . However the sum of the two lengths remains constant, regardless of the position of the bars 47 a and 47 b (within their working range), thus maintaining proper matching.
All of the movable and fixed transformers in the device decrease the wave impedance along the feedline network in the output direction. Therefore the steps in width-variation in the fixed transformers are smaller, and the lengths of the fixed transformers are shorter, when compared with a similar device having no moveable transformers. The reduced length of the fixed transformers enables greater movement of the moveable bars along a length of stripline with uniform width, thus allowing more phase shift. The smaller steps in width variation in the fixed transformers result in lower return loss.
An alternative type of moveable transformer is positioned between junctions 33 and 37 ( FIG. 6 ). The transformer is similar to the moveable transformer between junctions 37 and 38 , but in this case is formed by two projections 41 , 42 and two off-cuts 44 , 45 .
The moveable transformers act as cascaded impedance transformers as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 which illustrate variation of ∈ r along the feedlines adjacent to the cut-outs/projections 41 , 42 , 44 , 45 , 51 and 52 .
The pattern of the strip conductors in FIG. 3 serves as a power distribution network for antenna radiating/receiving elements (not shown) connected to ports 20 to 28 . The conductor pattern contains multiple splitters and circuit-matching elements. Thus the device can deliver an incoming signal from common port 19 to the ports 20 to 28 with specified phase and magnitude distribution (transmit mode). Also, the device can combine all incoming signals from ports 20 to 28 to the common port 19 , with a predefined phase and amplitude relationship between the incoming signals (receive mode).
An alternative topology for the movable dielectric bars 47 a and 47 b is shown in FIG. 9 . In FIG. 9 , the off-cuts of the bars 47 a and 47 b are filled with a dielectric material 80 of different permittivity to the bar material, for instance polymethacrylimite.
A 5-port feedline network with an integrated multi-channel phase shifter for a phased array antenna is shown in FIGS. 10 to 13 . The cross section is in principle is similar to the one for the 10-port device, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 . However, in contrast to the layout of the 10-port device, input port 60 is positioned in line with output ports 61 to 64 .
Conductor strips (shown as a dotted area in FIG. 10 ) form the conductor pattern of the feedline network. These conductor strips can be fabricated from conducting sheets (e.g. brass or copper) or PCB laminate by for example etching, stamping, or laser cutting. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 , the feedline network is positioned between fixed dielectric blocks 67 a , and 67 b , and movable dielectric bars 68 a and 68 b . The whole assembly is enclosed in a conducting case, made of metal blocks 69 a and 69 b . The whole assembly forms a dielectric loaded strip-line arrangement. For clarity, the contour of the upper bar 68 a is outlined by a bold line in the three plan views of FIG. 10 . The bar 68 a is shown in three different positions in FIGS. 10 a , 10 b , and 10 c . The lower bar 68 b has an identical profile to the upper bar 68 a . The bar profiles are formed by removing portions of bar material, as shown in FIG. 13 .
FIG. 11 shows a cross section taken along line C—C in FIG. 10 a where the moveable bars 68 a , 68 b have off-cuts 92 a , 92 b and partially fill the space between the metal blocks 69 b , 69 b next to fixed dielectric blocks 67 a , 67 b . FIG. 12 shows a device cross section taken along line D—D in FIG. 10 c where the bars 68 a , 68 b have no off-cuts and entirely fill the space between the metal blocks 69 a , 69 b next to fixed dielectric blocks 67 a , 67 b . All off-cuts in the bars 68 a and 68 b have well defined locations and dimensions, which depend on the desired phase and power distribution at ports 61 to 64 . Simultaneously, the off-cuts serve as matching transformers for the feedlines.
The bars 68 a and 68 b can be continuously moved along their length to provide a desired phase shift. The movement of bars 68 a and 68 b provides simultaneous adjustment of the phase shift at all ports 61 to 64 . The locations and dimensions of the off-cuts are chosen so that the movement of bars 68 a and 68 b within certain limits alters the phase relations between the ports 61 to 64 in a specified manner and provides suitable matching at the input port 60 .
Alternatively, the off-cuts 90 to 93 shown in FIG. 13 could be filled with a dielectric material of different permittivity to the bar material. Alternative topologies for the bars 68 a and 68 b are described in the section with the 10-port device description.
To provide the desired division of power at each junction of the strip conductor, circuit-matching transformers are integrated into the distribution network formed by the strip conductors in FIG. 10 . Examples of such fixed circuit-matching elements are sections 65 and 66 near junction 69 , sections 72 and 73 near junction 70 , and sections 74 and 75 near junction 71 . Here the circuit matching is achieved by varying the dimensions of the feedline section. The length and width of these circuit-matching sections 65 , 66 and 72 to 75 is selected to minimise signal reflection at the junctions 69 to 71 . The off-cuts 90 to 93 in the dielectric bar 68 a move only along a uniform portion of the feedline network.
The off-cuts 90 and 92 change the phase shift between outputs 61 to 64 when the dielectric bar 68 a moves. The off-cuts 91 and 93 are the moveable transformers decreasing the wave impedance in the output direction from input 60 to outputs 61 to 64 . In order to have equal wave impedances at the input and all four outputs, the transformers of the 5-port device must decrease the wave impedance along the paths from the input to each output 61 to 64 by a factor of ¼. The fixed and moveable transformers of the 5-port device shown in FIG. 10 facilitate this decrease in the following manner. The sections 65 and 66 decrease the wave impedance to ¾, the sections 72 and 73 to 10/16, the off-cuts 91 to ⅔, and the off-cuts 93 to ⅘ of the values at the beginning of each section.
It is possible to increase the phase shift per unit of bar-movement by changing the layout of the feedline network and creating a delay line. This delay line may be formed with short stubs (shown in FIG. 14 ) or arranged in a meander pattern (shown in FIG. 15 ). The arrangements shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 result in a non-linear dependence of phase shift and bar position, still suitable for antennas with variable downtilt.
Thus the proposed device provides a beam-forming network for an antenna array with electrically controllable radiation pattern, beam shape and direction. The new arrangement integrates the adjustable multi-channel phase shifter and power distribution circuitry into a single stripline package.
The feedline network, as described above for the 5-port and 10-port device is symmetrical and contains two ground-planes 69 a and 69 b and two moveable dielectric bars 68 a and 68 b . It is possible to use a different arrangement containing one ground plane and one dielectric moveable bar, as shown in FIG. 16 , to realise a multi-channel phase shifter. This non-symmetrical arrangement provides a simpler design, although it yields less phase shift and higher insertion loss than in a symmetrical arrangement.
Principles of Operation
The operation of the feedline network 2 of the 10-port device will now be described with reference to the transmit mode of the antenna. However it will be appreciated that the antenna may also work in receive mode, or simultaneously in transmit mode and receive mode.
Phase Relationships:
An input signal on common line 10 ( FIG.3 ) propagates via impedance-matching transformers 11 and 12 to main junction 33 . At main junction 33 the signal is split and it propagates via subsequent feedlines and a series of splitters to nine ports 20 to 28 . Radiating elements (not shown) are connected, in use, to the nine ports 20 to 28 . The amplitude and phase relationships between the signals at the nine ports 20 to 28 determine the beam shape and direction in which the beam is emitted by the antenna. The angle between the beam direction and horizon is conventionally known as the angle of ‘downtilt’. The beam can be directed to the maximum ‘downtilt’ direction by creating the maximum phase shift ΔP between each pair of neighbouring ports.
Referring now to FIG. 6 , feedline 5 leads from main junction 33 to central port 24 . Feedline 5 , branching off from splitter 33 , is formed by folded lengths of stripline with an impedance matching step 32 . Regardless of the position of the bars 47 a and 47 b , there is no change in permittivity along the path of the strip conductor between junction 33 and port 24 (as can be seen in FIGS. 3 a, b and c ). Therefore, the electrical length of the feedline between main junction 33 and central port 24 remains constant at all positions of the dielectric bars.
The dimensions of this device are chosen in a way that with the bars 47 a and 47 b set in the extreme left position shown in FIG. 3 b , the ports 20 to 28 are in phase (that is, ΔP is zero). Moving the bars 47 a and 47 b to the right simultaneously changes the electrical length of certain parts of the feed network between the bars 47 a and 47 b . For feedline 16 between junctions 33 and 37 in FIG. 6 , moving the bars 47 a and 47 b to the right decreases the length of feedline 16 covered by projection 40 and simultaneously increases the open length of feedline 16 between main junction 33 and the left edge of projection 41 . With the permittivity ∈ r of the projections being higher than the permittivity of the off-cuts, as shown in FIG. 7 , moving bars 47 a and 47 b to the right will therefore decrease the length feedline 16 with higher ∈ r and increase the length with lower ∈ r . As a result this will decrease the phase difference ΔP between junctions 33 and 37 .
For the feedline 17 between junctions 37 and 38 , moving the bars 47 a and 47 b to the right decreases the length of this feedline covered by projection 50 , and simultaneously increases the length of this feedline between junction 37 and the left edge of projection 51 .
The dimensions of the device are also chosen so that regardless of the positions of bars 47 a and 47 b (within their working range) there is a phase shift ΔP/2 between each pair of neighbouring ports. With the bars in the middle position ( FIG. 3 a ) the phase shift relative to port 24 is −2*ΔP degree at left-hand port 20 , and +2*ΔP degree at right-hand port 28 . With the bars in the extreme right position ( FIG. 3 c ) the phase shifts relative to port 24 are −4*ΔP degree at left-hand port 20 , and +4*ΔP degree at right-hand port 28 .
The amount of phase shift ΔP is determined by the permittivity of the material used for bars 47 a and 47 b , and the off-cut shape. The permittivity of the dielectric materials used affects the phase velocity of the signals travelling in the feedline network. Specifically, the higher the permittivity, the lower the phase velocity or longer the electrical length of transmission line. Thus, by varying the length of dielectric bar sections that overlap (as viewed from the perspective of FIG. 3 ) the strip conductors of the feedlines, it is possible to control the phase shift between the signal at the ports 20 to 28 . A dielectric material “Styrene” or polypropylene is used for fabricating the moveable dielectric bars 47 a , 47 b.
The layout of the feedline network, and the locations and sizes of the off-cuts in bars 47 a and 47 b can be altered to obtain different phase relationships between the ports 20 to 28 .
The operation of the feedline network 2 of the 5-port device will now be described with reference to the transmit mode of the antenna. However it will be appreciated that the antenna may also work in receive mode, or simultaneously in transmit mode and receive mode.
An input signal on feedline 60 ( FIG. 10 ) propagates via impedance-matching transformers 65 and 66 to a junction 69 . From the junction 69 the signal is fed via junction 70 to ports 61 and 62 , and via junction 71 to ports 63 and 64 . Radiating elements (not shown) are connected, in use, to the four ports 61 to 64 . The phase relationship between the signals at the four ports 61 to 64 determines the beam shape and direction in which the beam is emitted by the antenna.
The position of the dielectric bars 68 a and 68 b controls the phase relationship between the ports 61 to 64 . The following refers to a device with the off cuts of bars 68 a and 68 b shaped as shown in FIGS. 10 and 13 . The location and size of the off-cuts is chosen to obtain phase relationships as described below.
With the bars 68 a and 68 b set in the middle position, shown in FIG. 10 b , the ports 61 to 64 have specified phase relationships. Moving for example the bars 68 a and 68 b to the left changes simultaneously the electrical length of certain parts of the feedline network between the bars 68 a and 68 b . For example, when moving bars 68 a and 68 b from the middle position ( FIG. 10 b ) to the extreme left ( FIG. 10 a ) the length of the feedline between junction 69 and the left edge of off-cut 90 increases, and the length of the feedline between the left edge of 91 and junction 70 decreases simultaneously. The off-cuts 92 have a smaller width than off-cut 90 to change the variable phase shift between outputs 61 and 62 by only half the amount than between outputs 61 and 63 . With the moving bars 68 a and 68 b at the extreme left position ( FIG. 10 a ) the phase shift relative to port 61 is −ΔP at port 62 , −2*ΔP at port 63 and −3*ΔP at port 64 .
The amount of phase shift ΔP is determined by the permittivity of the material used for bars 68 a and 68 b , and the off-cut shape. The permittivity of dielectric materials used affects the phase velocity of the signals travelling in the feedline network. Specifically, the higher the permittivity, the lower the phase velocity or longer electrical length of transmission line. Thus, by varying the length of dielectric bar sections that overlap (as viewed from the perspective of FIG. 1 ) the strip conductors of the feedlines, it is possible to control the phase shift between the signal at the ports 20 to 28 . A dielectric material “Styrene” is used for fabricating moveable dielectric bars 68 a and 68 b.
The offcuts in the dielectric bars may be removed by a stamping operation, or by directing a narrow high pressure stream of fluid onto the material to be removed.
Specific embodiments of an adjustable antenna feed network with integrated phase shifter according to the present invention have been described for the purpose of illustrating the manner in which the invention may be made and used. It should be understood that implementation of other variations and modifications of the invention and its various aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and that the invention is not limited by the specific embodiments described. It is therefore contemplated to cover by the present invention any and all modifications, variations, or equivalents that fall within the true spirit and scope of the basic underlying principles disclosed and claimed herein. | A device for feeding signals between a common line and two or more ports. The device including a branched network of feedlines coupling the common line with the ports. The feedlines have transformer portions of varying width for reducing reflection of signals passing through the network. A dielectric member is mounted adjacent to the network and can be moved to synchronously adjust the phase relationship between the common line and one or more of the ports. The dielectric member also has transformer portions for reducing reflection of signals passing through the network. At least one of the junctions of the network does not overlap with the dielectric member, or overlaps a region of reduced permittivity. | 7 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electronic musical instrument to an (EMI), especially EMI provided with a limited number of tone generators (called a key assigner system) which generates tone signals of various feet. In the EMI, there are tone signals such as 16', 8', 4' (defined here as octave series), and tone signals such as 51/3', 22/3' (defined as non-octave series in this description).
2. Description of the Prior Art
The tone signals generated in the non-octave series, for instance 51/3', is 7 semi-tones higher than the tone signal of 8'. In other words, the tone signal generated as 51/3' when the key for note C is pressed, has the same frequency of the tone signal generated in 8' when the key for note G is pressed. To generate the non-octave series tone signals in a usual EMI with the key assigner system, for example, to generate the quint series tone signal such as 51/3' or 22/3', it is necessary to obtain the highest signal which has a frequency 3 times higher than the highest pitch signal necessary in usual octave series tone generators. There then must be a divider to divide such a signal by 2 to supply the non-octave series tone generator (TG), and another divider to divide the signal by 3 to supply the octave series TG. A binary counter in each TG then divides the highest pitch signal supplied to each TG to obtain the tone signals.
Therefore, there is a problem with respect to the tone signals generated by the system described above: such signals are pure temperament and not temperament (the standard) and the frequency is different between temperament and pure temperament. Moreover, because the frequency of the highest pitch signal is 3 times higher than usual, it is necessary to use high speed devices.
On the other hand, printed circuit boards are often shared. FIG. 1 shows the usual EMI using the key assigner system. Referring to FIG. 1, element 1 is the keyboards. Element 2 is a generator assigner (GA). GA 2 detects the key stroke and selects a TG not being used out of several TGs then, GA 2 supplies the assignment signals which consist of (1) note data which represents the note name of the tone signal to be generated by the TG, (2) octave data which represents the octave number of the tone signal to be generated by the TG, and (3) a key-on signal which indicates that the key is being pressed. GA 2 may be a circuit which has the same function described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 50-33407/1975 which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,799. Element 3 is a top octave synthesizer (TOS) which generates the 12 highest pitch signals corresponding to each note (C, C♯, - - - , B). Element 4-1 through 4-n are tone generators which generate tone signals according to the assignment signals supplied by the GA 2. Element 5 is a note selector and is controlled by note data supplied by GA 2 so as to select one highest pitch signal out of the 12 highest pitch signals supplied by TOS 3. Element 6 is a binary counter. Binary counter 6 consists of 7 stages of toggle flip flops, and is arranged so as to divide the highest pitch signal (applied by a note selector 5) into 7 pitch signals. The frequency of the outputs from terminal Q0 through Q6 follows the equation below:
(output from Qn)=2·(output from Qn+1) (1)
where 0≦n≦5.
Element 7-1 through 7-4 are octave selectors which select one pitch signal out of 7 pitch signals supplied by the binary counter 6. The octave data is applied to the octave selectors 7-1 through 7-4 as the control input. Element 8-1 through 8-4 are keyers which control the amplitude of the pitch signals supplied by the octave selectors 7-1 through 7-4. The busbar selectors 9-1, 9-2, and 9-3 distribute the pitch signals applied by the keyers 8-2 through 8-4 to the output terminals specified by the assignment signals (octave data). Tone color filters are connected to each output terminal.
The operation of the circuit shown in FIG. 1 is as follows:
When a key is pressed, GA 2 supplies the assignment signal to the TG which is not otherwise being used. Every key is determined by note name and octave number. In this embodiment, GA 2 supplies note data, octave data and key-on signal. The note data consists of a 4 bit digital signal N0, N1, N2, N3 as shown in Table 1. The octave data consists of a 2 bit digital signal O1, O2 as shown in Table 2. The key-on signal indicates that the key is being pressed.
On the other hand, when TG 4-1 receives the assignment signals, at first, the note selector 5 selects one highest pitch signal out of the 12 highest pitch signals supplied by TOS 3 according to the note data N3 through N0. The binary counter 6 divides the highest pitch signal selected by note selector 5 and outputs 7 pitch signals from output terminals Q0 through Q6. The octave selectors 7-1 through 7-4 determine the range of pitch signals in response to the octave data O2 and O1 supplied by GA 2. The relationship between the output signal from terminal X and octave data O2 and O1 is shown in Table 3. For example, if the octave data O2 and O1 is 01, octave selector 7-1 selects the pitch signal connected to the input terminal X1. That is, the pitch signal outputted from the output terminal Q1 of the binary counter 6 is selected.
Now, the difference in frequency between the each output of octave selectors 7-1 through 7-4 is one octave, because the same octave data O2 and O1 is applied to control the octave selectors 7-1 through 7-4, but the inputs to terminals X0 through X3 of octave selectors 7-1, 7-2, 7-3, 7-4 are one octave different from each other. This is also true for terminals X1 through X3 of the octave selectors 7-1 through 7-4. The pitch signals outputted by octave selectors 7-1 through 7-4 are modulated in amplitude by the keyers 8-1 through 8-4. The output from the keyer 8-1 is outputted from TG 4-1 as 2' tone signal. The outputs from the keyers 8-2 through 8-4 are distributed to the specified tone color filters through the busbar selectors 9-1 through 9-3 as 4', 8', 16' tone signals respectively according to the octave data applied to the busbar selectors 9-1, 9-2, and 9-3. Here, the busbar selectors 9-1 through 9-3 distribute the input signal as shown in Table 4. In other words, the busbar selectors 9-1 through 9-3 output the tone signal from terminal X0 when the octave data is 00, from terminal X1 when the octave data is 01, from terminal X2 when the octave data is 10, from terminal X3 when the octave data is 11.
If one tries to use the TG surrounded by the dotted line as the quint series TG, TG 4-1 has the following defects.
TGs 4-1 through 4-n operate correctly when both note data and octave data are as shown in Table 1 and 2 respectively. Therefore, when the C1 key is pressed, TG 4-1 operates correctly as the quint series TG if GA 2 supplies note data 1000 and octave data 00, instead of note data 0001 and octave data 00. As shown in Table 5, octave data O1, O2 is 00 for C1 through E1, but octave data must be 01 for F1 through B1. That is, octave data for the note names F through B are equal to the octave data for the note names C through E plus one, respectively. Therefore, the octave data from F4 through B4 must be a repetition of C4 through E4 for the octave data consists of 2 bit digital signals. That means the frequency of the tone signal for F4 through B4 is the same as the frequency of the tone signal for F3 through B3 respectively.
Concerning the distribution of the pitch signals outputted by the busbar selectors 9-1 through 9-3, terminal X0 outputs 5 pitch signals (C1 through E1), but the terminal X3 outputs 19 pitch signals (F3 through B3, C4 through B4). This means the tone color filter connected to the terminal X3 has to take care of 19 tone signals. Therefore, the tone color of the highest tone signal outputted by that tone color filter is different from the tone color of the lowest tone signal outputted by that tone color filter.
Because the tone color filter is selected by the octave data, it outputs the same number of tone signals if the octave data for quint series TG and the octave data for octave series TG are the same. But in that case, the TG generates a tone signal one octave lower than it is supposed to generate for the keys F through B.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is made to solve the defects described above.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic musical instrument that can generate octave series tone signals and non-octave series (e.g. quint series) tone signals by using a common circuit configuration or a common assignment signal.
This object can be accomplished by an electronic musical instrument comprising: a generator assigner which outputs assignment signals composed of note data representing the name of the particular note whose tone signal has been designated by a particular key stroke, and octave data representing the octave number of the selected tone; and at least one tone generator which has at least one pitch signal generator and at least one octave controller, wherein said pitch signal generator is controlled by the above mentioned note data and generates the highest frequency pitch signal corresponding to the note name of the tone selected, and further, at least one of said at least one tone generator produces plural signals by dividing said highest frequency pitch signal, and wherein said octave controller is controlled by said octave data and selects pitch signals from said plural signals, and said pitch signals have octave numbers corresponding to the tone selected, and further, this octave controller contains a circuit for modifying the octave number of the pitch signals in accordance with said note data.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be clear by the following detailed description considered together with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional EMI using the key assigner system;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of another embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 4 and 5 are block diagrams of circuits for obtaining tone signals having octave relationships with each other;
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of still another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a connection diagram of note selectors;
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an octave selector;
FIG. 9 is a logic diagram of a decoder shown in FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is a logic diagram of another embodiment of an octave selector; and
FIG. 11 is a block diagram for selecting a pitch signal according to note data.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 2 shows the embodiment of the present invention. Refering to FIG. 2, Element 4-2 is the TG which generates tone signals according to the assignment signals supplied by GA 2. Element 5 is the note selector which selects one highest pitch signal out of the 12 highest pitch signals (C, C♯, - - - , B) sent from TOS 3. The relationship between the output signal and the note data N3, N2, N1, N0 is shown in Table 1. Element 6 is a binary counter. The binary counter 6 divides the highest pitch signal obtained by the note selector 5 and supplies 7 pitch signals from the terminal Q0 through Q6. Element 7-1 through 7-4 are octave selectors which select one pitch signal out of 4 pitch signals sent from the terminals Q0 through Q3, Q1 through Q4, Q2 through Q5, Q3 through Q6 respectively of the binary counter 6 according to the octave data 02, 01. The function of octave selectors 7-1 through 7-4 is the same as that shown in FIG. 1. Element 10-1 and 10-2 are 2 to 1 selectors which select one signal out of 2 signals inputted to the terminals X0 and X1 according to the control signal supplied by AND gate 11. The function of 2 to 1 selectors 10-1 and 10-2 is shown in Table 7. Element 8-1 through 8-4 are keyers which control the amplitude of the input signal. Element 9-1 through 9-3 are busbar selectors which function the same fashion as the ones shown in FIG. 1.
The operation of the circuit shown in FIG. 2 is as follows.
When the key is pressed, GA 2 supplies the assignment signals that correspond to the key being pressed to the TG 4-2. Here, the assignment signals consist of N3, N2, N1, N0, O2, O1, and K0, wherein N3 through N0 represent note data, O2 and O1 represent octave data, and K0 indicates whether the key is being pressed or not. According to the assignment signals supplied by GA 2, the first note selector 5 selects one pitch signal out of 12 the highest pitch signals generated by TOS 3. This signal is divided into 7 pitch signals by the binary counter 6 and outputted from the terminals Q0 through Q6. The relationship in frequency of the output from the terminals Q0 through Q6 is as shown in the equation (1). These signals are supplied to the octave selectors 7-1 through 7-4, whereas: the outputs from the terminals Q0 through Q3 of the binary counter 6 are connected to the input terminals X3 through X0 respectively of the octave selector 7-1, and the outputs from the terminals Q1 through Q4 of the binary counter 6 are connected to the input terminals X3 through X0 respectively of the octave selector 7-2, the output from the terminals Q2 through Q5 of the binary counter 6 are connected to the input terminals X3 through X0 respectively of the octave selector 7-3, and the output from the terminals Q3 through Q6 of the binary counter 6 are connected to the input terminals X3 through X0 respectively of the octave selector 7-4.
Each of the octave selectors selects one out of its 4 inputs according to the octave data O2 and O1. Here, as described in FIG. 1, the output of the octave selector 7-1 is applied to the terminal X0 of the 2 to 1 selector 10-1, the output of the octave selector 7-2 is applied to the terminal X1 of the 2 to 1 selector 10-1 and the terminal X0 of the 2 to 1 selector 10-2, the output of the octave selector 7-3 is applied to the terminal X1 of the 2 to 1 selector 10-2 and to the keyer 8-3, and the output of the octave selector 7-4 is applied to the keyer 8-4 only. The 2 inputs X0 and X1 of the 2 to 1 selectors 10-1 and 10-2 differ by one octave from each other; therefore, when the control signal connected to the terminal C is "0", the outputs of the 2 to 1 selectors 10-1 and 10-2 are one octave higher than the output when the control signal is "1". The control signal applied to the terminal C is the logical product of the Most Significant Bit (MSB) of note data (which is N3) and the "octave series/quint series switching signal" (for further description, abbreviated as the O/Q signal). When the O/Q signal OQ is "0", the TG 4-2 operates as the octave series TG, when and O/Q signal OQ is "1", the TG operates as the quint series TG.
To use the TG 4-2 as the octave series TG, "0" must be given as the O/Q signal. Then the output of the AND gate 11 is always "0" so that each of the 2 to 1 selectors 10-1 and 10-2 always outputs the signal supplied to the terminal X0. This situation is exactly the same as the operation shown in FIG. 1.
To use the TG 4-2 as the quint series TG, "1" should be given as the O/Q signal. The output from the AND gate 11 is equal to the MSB of note data N3. Therefore the signal which controls the 2 to 1 selectors 10-1 and 10-2 are equal to the note data N3. In the circuit as described above, if GA 2 supplies the note data shown in Table 5 and the octave data shown in Table 2, TG 4-2 will output the 22/3' tone signal from the output terminal O2, and the 51/3' tone signal from output terminals 041 through 044 without any defects described in FIG. 1. For example, GA 2 supplies 0001 as the note data, and 00 as the octave data when the key for F1 is pressed. (The output terminals O81 through O84 and O161 through O164 output signals but they are not used in this embodiment.)
The details of the operation are described as follows.
Suppose the O/Q signal OQ is "1", then the output of AND gate 11 is equal to the note data N3. If the C1 key is pressed in the keyboard 1, then GA 2 supplies 1000 as the note data and 00 as the octave data. According to the note data, note selector 5 selects the highest pitch signal of the G note generated by TOS 3. The binary counter 6 divides the signal sent from note selector 5 and produces 7 octave pitch signals. Octave data O2, O1's values are both 0 here, and the octave selectors 7-1 through 7-4 output the pitch signal supplied to the terminals X0. Therefore, the octave selectors 7-1, 7-2, and 7-3 respectively output the pitch signals sent from the terminals Q3, Q4, Q5, of the binary counter 6. The outputs of octave selectors 7-1 through 7-3 are applied to the 2 to 1 selectors 10-1 and 10-2. Now the control signal of the 2 to 1 selectors 10-1 and 10-2 involves for both: the input signal of AND gate 11, the O/Q signal OQ, and the note data N3. When these three signals are all "1", the output of the AND gate 11 is "1", and the 2 to 1 selectors 10-1 and 10-2 select the input signal supplied to the terminal X1 and output from the terminal X. In other words, 2 to 1 selector 10-1 outputs the pitch signal supplied by the octave selector 7-2 which is equal to the output from the terminal Q4 of the binary counter 6, and the 2 to 1 selector 10-2 outputs the pitch signal supplied by the octave selector 7-3 which is equal to the output from the terminal Q5 of the binary counter 6. Therefore, the output signals O2 and O41 of the TG 4-2 are the signals sent from Q4 and Q5 respectively of the binary counter 6. The operation is the same for C♯1 through E1 keys except the note data is different from the operation of the C1 key.
Next when the key F1 is pressed, GA 2 supplies 0001 as the note data, and 00 as the octave data to the TG 4-2. For the note selector 5, binary counter 6, and octave selectors 7-1 through 7-4, everything operates the same as the operation mentioned for the case when the key C1 is pressed, except the note selector 5 selects the highest pitch signal of G instead of C. Therefore, the input terminals X0 and X1 of the 2 to 1 selector 10-1 receive the pitch signal outputted by the terminals Q3 and Q4 respectively of the binary counter 6, and the input terminals X0 and X1 of the 2 to 1 selector 10-2 receive the pitch signal outputted by the terminal Q4 and Q5 respectively of the binary counter 6. Now, concerning the control signal applied to the 2 to 1 selectors 10-1 and 10-2, when the MSB of the note data (N3), which is then the input of the AND gate 11, is "0", the output of the AND gate 11 is always "0". Therefore, the 2 to 1 selectors 10-1 and 10-2 output the signal applied to the terminal X0, and TG 4-2 outputs the pitch signal sent from the terminals Q5 and Q4 of the binary counter 6 from the output terminals O2 and O41, respectively. As a result, the outputs from the keyers 8-1 through 8-4 are the same as when GA 2 supplied 0001 as the note data and 01 as the octave data in FIG. 1. But concerning the busbar selector, because it is not necessary to change the octave data as the note name changes from C, to C♯, to - - - , to B, as shown in Table 5, the number of pitch signals outputted from each output terminal of the busbar selectors 9-1 through 9-3 is the same and there is no unbalance of distribution.
When the high frequency keys, such as F4 through B4, are pressed, the octave data O2, O1 are both 1 (in FIG. 1, it must be 100 which is impossible to express with the 2 bit octave data O2, O1) therefore, the repetition of the pitch signal does not occur.
FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, 4-3 is a TG, 5 is a note selector, 6 is a binary counter, 7-1 and 7-2 are octave selectors, 8-1 through 8-4 are keyers, and 9-1 through 9-3 are busbar selectors. The operation of the above elements is similar to what is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Elements 12-1 and 12-2 are octave selectors, in this case the octave selectors 12-1 and 12-2 have 3 bits control input. Element 13 is an adder. Here, the relationship between inputs and outputs of adder 13 and octave selectors 12-1 and 12-2 are as shown in Tables 8 and 9, respectively.
The operation of the circuit shown in FIG. 3 is as follows.
According to the note data N3 through N4, note selector 5 selects one of the highest frequency pitch signals C through B which are generated by TOS 3. The selected highest frequency pitch signal is then divided into 7 pitch signals and outputted from the terminals Q0 through Q6 by binary counter 6. The octave selectors 7-1, 7-2, 12-1 and 12-2 select one pitch signal out of Q0 through Q6.
The operation of octave selectors 12-1 and 12-2 is as follows.
The O/Q signal OQ is applied to the inverter 14, and the output of the inverter 14 and the MSB of the note data N3 are applied to the NOR gate 15. The output of the NOR gate 15 is then applied to the input B of the adder 13. The adder 13 outputs the addition of octave data O2, O1, which is applied to inputs A0 and A1, and the output of the NOR gate 15, which is applied to the input B, to control the octave selectors 12-1 and 12-2. Therefore, when O/Q signal OQ is "0", NOR gate 15 is always "0", and the outputs of the adder 13 outputs, C0, C1 and C2, are equal to octave data O1, octave data O2, and "0", respectively. In other words, octave selectors 12-1 and 12-2 output the signal applied to input terminal X0 from the output terminal X while octave selectors 7-1, 7-2 output the signal applied to input terminal X0 from the output terminal X. This operation of the octave selectors 12-1, 12-2, 7-1 and 7-2 is exactly the same as octave series TG.
When the O/Q signal OQ is "1" the situation is as follows.
The output of the NOR gate 15 is the inverse of note data N3 so that, as shown in Table 10, the output is "0" when the keys C through E are pressed and is "1" when keys F through B are pressed. This output is connected to the adder 13. The adder 13 outputs octave data without any change when the keys C through E are pressed, and the adder 13 outputs the sum of 1 and octave data when the keys F through B are pressed. Therefore, octave selectors 12-1 and 12-2 select a pitch signal one octave higher for F through B keys compared with C through E keys. The operation of the octave selectors 12-1 and 12-2 is similar to that of 2 to 1 selectors 10-1 and 10-2 shown in FIG. 2. Thus, the octave selectors 12-1 and 12-2 respectively output pitch signals for 22/3', 51/3'. The operation of the keyers 8-1 through 8-4 and the busbar selectors 9-1 through 9-3 is the same as that previously described for FIG. 2.
Besides, in the embodiments shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, 7 pitch signals (the outputs of the binary counter 6) are obtained by dividing the highest pitch signals selected out of 12 highest pitch signals (C through B) supplied from the TOS 3 by the note selector 5. This operation performed by the TOS 3, the note selector 5, and the binary counter 6 may be performed by the circuit shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, element 16 is a programmable counter. It divides the master clock by N to obtain the highest pitch signal of the note specified by the key stroke. The value of N is determined by the data supplied by the Read Only Memory (ROM) 17. The ROM 17 has the note data N3 through N0 as addressing inputs. Therefore, the value of N of the programmable counter 16 varies according to the note data in order to obtain the highest pitch signal of the note specified by the key stroke. Binary counter 6 divides the highest pitch signal obtained by the programmable counter 16 to output 7 pitch signals.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the binary counters 6-1 through 6-12 divide the highest pitch signal supplied by TOS 3 to respectively obtain the 7 pitch signals. The multiplexers (MPX) 18-1 through 18-12 respectively multiplex the 7 pitch signals supplied by the binary counters 6-1 through 6-12. Then, in TG 4-4, note selector 5 selects one of the multiplexed pitch signals according to the note data. Demultiplexer (DMPX) 19 demultiplexes the signal supplied by the note selector 5 to obtain the 7 pitch signals.
Besides, the programmable counter 16 may be a usual type of programmable counter, such as RCA's CMOS integrated circuit CD-4059A.
FIG. 6 is another embodiment of the present invention. For the device or circuit which operates the same as described previously, the same notation is used and no detail description is repeated. Referring to FIG. 6, the TG 4-1 is the TG for the octave series, and the TG 4-2 is the TG for the quint series. In the following description, the assignment signals supplied by the GA 2 are assumed to be the same as shown in Table 1 and 2.
TG 4-1 and 4-2 operate as follows. At the moment of the key stroke, GA 2 supplied assignment signals to TG 4-1 and 4-2. Note selectors 5-N and 5-Q each select the highest pitch signal sent from TOS 3 according to the note data. In this embodiment, the same note data is supplied to both note selectors 5-N and 5-Q; however, each note selector is made to select different highest pitch signals. FIG. 7 shows the detail of note selectors 5-N and 5-Q. In FIG. 7, the note selectors 5-N and 5-Q are the same circuit, and select one out of 12 inputs (X1 through X12) according to the control signal (here, the note data N3 through N0) applied to terminals A through D. The truth table of this note selector is shown in Table 11. As shown in FIG. 7, the inputs to the note selector 5-Q (the highest pitch signals C through F♯) are shifted to the right and the highest pitch signals G through B are respectively connected to the terminals X1 through X5 so as to select the highest pitch signal different from that selected by note selector 5-N, even though it is controlled by the same note data.
TG 4-1, which is for octave series TG, has no difference from the usual TG. The operation of the quint series TG 4-2 is as follows:
As mentioned earlier, the note selector 5-Q selects the highest pitch signal from several pitch signals to supply them to octave selector 20. GA 2 supplies the octave data and note data to TG 4-2. The octave data is the same as that supplied to octave selector 7. The note data is the same as that one supplied to note selector 5-N. Therefore, the octave selector 20 selects pitch signals determined by octave data as shown in Table 2 and modified by note data to supply keyer 8-2. Keyer 8-2 then controls the amplitude of pitch signals output from TG 4-2.
Describing octave selector 20, when the note data is 0110 through 1100, which means the keys F through B are pressed, it selects the pitch signal whose octave number is one octave higher than the octave number determined only by the octave data. Therefore, TG 4-2 generates pitch signals naturally so that the output from octave selector 20 rises a half tone without lowering one octave when the key E, then the key F (which is next to the key E) are pressed.
By constraining the TG to operate as described, the problem of the TG generating pitch signals one octave lower than it should is avoided. Both the octave series tone signals and the quint series tone signals can be obtained without increasing the TOS.
FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the octave selector 20 shown in FIG. 6. Referring to FIG. 8, 21-1 through 21-3 are 4 to 1 selectors which select one out of 4 inputs according to the octave data. 22 is a decoder which outputs "1" or "0" according to the note data. The truth table of the decoder 22 is shown in Table 12 (col. of decoder 22).
The operation of what is shown in FIG. 8 is as follows.
Each of 4 to 1 selectors 21-1 through 21-3 selects one pitch signal from the 4 pitch signals supplied to them according to the octave data. Each of the outputs of the 4 to 1 selectors 21-1 through 21-3 differs by one octave, and the input to terminal X0 of the 2 to 1 selectors 10-1 and 10-2 is one octave higher than the input to terminal X1. Note data is applied to decoder 22 to control the outputs of the octave selector 20. The decoder can be a logic circuit such as that shown in FIG. 9.
FIG. 10 is another embodiment of the quint series octave selector 20 shown in FIG. 6. In FIG. 10, element 23 is a decoder which outputs "0" or "1" according to note data, and its truth table is shown in Table 12 (col. of decoder 23). Element 24 is an adder which takes the sum of the octave data and the output of decoder 23. Element 25-1 and 25-2 are 5 to 1 selectors which select one pitch signal out of 5 pitch signals according to adder 24.
The operation of what is shown in FIG. 10 is as follows.
When the note data is 0110 through 1100, decoder 23 supplies a "1" to adder 24. Adder 24 then adds 1 to the octave data and supplies it to the 5 to 1 selectors 25-1 and 25-2 to select pitch signals which are one octave higher than the pitch signals determined by the original octave data.
Besides, the decoder circuit shown in FIG. 9 is only for the case when the GA 2 supplies the note data as shown in Table 1. It is obvious that the note data may be encoded in any format; therefore if note data were determined as shown in Table 13, then the MSB of the note data, which means the data N3, can control the 2 to 1 selectors 10-1 and 10-2 directly.
In the description noted above, the embodiment shown selects pitch signals which are one octave higher according to the note data by controlling the octave data or the octave selector. But the TG could easily and naturally be constructed so as to have an octave selector which selects a pitch signal out of pitch signals which are made one octave higher beforehand according to the note data.
FIG. 11 is an embodiment for the case when the octave selector selects the pitch signal out of pitch signals which are made one octave higher beforehand according to the note data. In FIG. 11, an input signal of binary counter 6-4 is selected by both the octave data and the note data and supplied to the octave selector 20.
As described above, by controlling the octave number of pitch signals with both octave data and note data, the present invention will provide octave series tone signals and quint series tone signals without designing another TG circuit. For the quint series tone signals, they are not pure temperament so that tone signals are not beating when they do not occur. It is not necessary to raise the frequency of the clock signal as described in the usual EMI, and therefore, a device for high frequency signals is not necessary. The same octave data can be applied to both the octave series TG and the quint series TG without generating any pitch signal which has the wrong octave number; therefore, the unbalance in distribution by busbar selectors is avoided without any hardware.
TABLE 1______________________________________NOTE NOTE DATANAME N.sub.3 N.sub.2 N.sub.1 N.sub.0______________________________________C 0 0 0 1 C♯ 0 0 1 0D 0 0 1 1 D♯ 0 1 0 0E 0 1 0 1F 0 1 1 0 F♯ 0 1 1 1G 1 0 0 0 G♯ 1 0 0 1A 1 0 1 0 A♯ 1 0 1 1B 1 0 0 0______________________________________
TABLE 2______________________________________OCTAVE OCTAVE DATARANGE -02 -01______________________________________1 0 02 0 13 1 04 1 1______________________________________
TABLE 3______________________________________OCTAVE DATA OUTPUT-02 -01 X______________________________________0 0 X.sub.00 1 X.sub.11 0 X.sub.21 1 X.sub.3______________________________________
TABLE 4______________________________________OCTAVE DATA OUTPUT-02 -01 X.sub.0 X.sub.1 X.sub.2 X.sub.3______________________________________0 0 X -- -- --0 1 -- X -- --1 0 -- -- X --1 1 -- -- -- X______________________________________ --: HIGH IMPEDANCE
TABLE 5__________________________________________________________________________N.sub.3N.sub.2 N.sub.1 N.sub.0 -02 -01 N.sub.3 N.sub.2 N.sub.1 N.sub.0 -02 -01 N.sub.3 N.sub.2 N.sub.1 N.sub.0 -02 -01 N.sub.3 N.sub.2 N.sub.1 N.sub.0 -02 -01__________________________________________________________________________C.sub.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 C.sub.2 1 0 0 0 0 1 C.sub.3 1 0 0 0 1 0 C.sub.4 1 0 0 0 1 1C.sub.1 ♯ 1 0 0 1 0 0 C.sub.2 ♯ 1 0 0 1 0 1 C.sub.3 ♯ 1 0 0 1 1 0 C.sub.4 ♯ 1 0 0 1 1 1D.sub.1 1 0 1 0 0 0 D.sub.2 1 0 1 0 0 1 D.sub.3 1 0 1 0 1 0 D.sub.4 1 0 1 0 1 1D.sub.1 ♯ 1 0 1 1 0 0 D.sub.2 ♯ 1 0 1 1 0 1 D.sub.3 ♯ 1 0 1 1 1 0 D.sub.4 ♯ 1 0 1 1 1 1E.sub.1 1 1 0 0 0 0 E.sub.2 1 1 0 0 0 1 E.sub.3 1 1 0 0 1 0 E.sub.4 1 1 0 0 1 1F.sub.1 0 0 0 1 0 1 F.sub.2 0 0 0 1 1 0 F.sub.3 0 0 0 1 1 1 F.sub.4 0 0 0 1 1 1F.sub.1 ♯ 0 0 1 0 0 1 F.sub.2 ♯ 0 0 1 0 1 0 F.sub.3 ♯ 0 0 1 0 1 1 F.sub.4 ♯ 0 0 1 0 1 1G.sub.1 0 0 1 1 0 1 G.sub.2 0 0 1 1 1 0 G.sub.3 0 0 1 1 1 1 G.sub. 0 0 1 1 1 1G.sub.1 ♯ 0 1 0 0 0 1 G.sub.2 ♯ 0 1 0 0 1 0 G.sub.3 ♯ 0 1 0 0 1 1 G.sub.4 ♯ 0 1 0 0 1 1A.sub.1 0 1 0 1 0 1 A.sub.2 0 1 0 1 1 0 A.sub.3 0 1 0 1 1 1 A.sub.4 0 1 0 1 1 1A.sub.1 ♯ 0 1 1 0 0 1 A.sub.2 ♯ 0 1 1 0 1 0 A.sub.3 ♯ 0 1 1 0 1 1 A.sub.4 ♯ 0 1 1 0 1 1B.sub.1 0 1 1 1 0 1 B.sub.2 0 1 1 1 1 0 B.sub.3 0 1 1 1 1 1 B.sub.4 0 1 1 1 1 1__________________________________________________________________________
TABLE 6______________________________________terminal output tone signals______________________________________X.sub.0 C.sub.1, . . . , E.sub.1X.sub.1 F.sub.1, . . . , B.sub.1, C.sub.2, . . . , E.sub.2X.sub.2 F.sub.2, . . . , B.sub.2, C.sub.3, . . . , E.sub.3X.sub.3 F.sub.3, . . . , B.sub.3, C.sub.4, . . . , B.sub.4
TABLE 7______________________________________INPUT OUTPUTX.sub.0 X.sub.1 C X______________________________________0 -- 0 01 -- 0 1-- 0 1 0-- 1 1 1______________________________________
TABLE 8______________________________________INPUT OUTPUTA.sub.1 A.sub.0 B C.sub.2 C.sub.1 C.sub.0______________________________________X.sub.1 X.sub.0 0 0 X.sub.1 X.sub.00 0 1 0 0 10 1 1 0 1 01 0 1 0 1 11 1 1 1 0 0______________________________________
TABLE 9______________________________________INPUT OUTPUTC.sub.2 C.sub.1 C.sub.0 X______________________________________0 0 0 X.sub.00 0 1 X.sub.10 1 0 X.sub.20 1 1 X.sub.31 0 0 X.sub.4______________________________________
TABLE 10______________________________________KEY PRESSED OUTPUT of NOR GATE______________________________________C 0 C♯ 0D 0 D♯ 0E 0F 1 F♯ 1G 1 G♯ 1A 1 A♯ 1B 1______________________________________
TABLE 11______________________________________TRUTH TABLECONTROL INPUTS OUTPUTA B C D X______________________________________0 0 0 1 X.sub.10 0 1 0 X.sub.20 0 1 1 X.sub.30 1 0 0 X.sub.40 1 0 1 X.sub.50 1 1 0 X.sub.60 1 1 1 X.sub.71 0 0 0 X.sub.81 0 0 1 X.sub.91 0 1 0 X.sub.101 0 1 1 X.sub.111 1 0 0 X.sub.12______________________________________
TABLE 12______________________________________TRUTH TABLE OF DECODERNOTE DATA OUTPUTN.sub.3 N.sub.2 N.sub.1 N.sub.0 DECODER 22 DECODER 23______________________________________0 0 0 1 1 00 0 1 0 1 00 0 1 1 1 00 1 0 0 1 00 1 0 1 1 00 1 1 0 0 10 1 1 1 0 11 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 1 0 11 0 1 0 0 11 0 1 1 0 11 1 0 0 0 1______________________________________
TABLE 13______________________________________ NOTE DATANOTE NAME N.sub.3 N.sub.2 N.sub.1 N.sub.0______________________________________C 0 0 1 1 C♯ 0 1 0 0D 0 1 0 1 D♯ 0 1 1 0E 0 1 1 1F 1 0 0 0 F♯ 1 0 0 1G 1 0 1 0 G♯ 1 0 1 1A 1 1 0 0 A♯ 1 1 0 1B 1 1 1 0______________________________________ | An electronic musical instrument has a generator assigner for supplying note data and octave data by key stroke entry, a top octave synthesizer for generating 12 of the highest pitch signals for each note, a circuit for selecting one highest pitch signal from the 12 highest pitch signals according to note data, a binary counter for dividing one highest pitch signal to produce several pitch signals, and circuits for selecting one pitch signal out of several pitch signals obtained by the binary counter. The circuits are further controlled by both octave data and note data to generate octave series tone signals and non-octave series tone signals such as quint series tone signals. | 8 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to displacement on demand engines, and more particularly to a control system for detecting spark during displacement on demand transitions.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Displacement on Demand (DOD) engines deactivate one or more cylinders when full engine power is not needed. Running on fewer cylinders reduces pumping losses and improves fuel economy. An engine control system transitions from a deactivated mode to an activated mode when full power is required or for stability as the engine nears idle.
Spark knock is caused by auto-ignition of a fuel/air mixture in the cylinders. High pressure waves propagate and cause an audible “knocking” sound. Audible spark knock causes customer dissatisfaction and can lead to engine damage. Some engine control systems detect spark knock and vary spark advance to reduce spark knock. A knock sensor monitors a knock frequency in each cylinder during part of the power stroke.
The output of the knock sensors provides an instantaneous noise value (INST). Knock occurs when the instantaneous noise value exceeds a knock threshold (TH). The difference between the instantaneous noise value and the threshold determines a knock intensity, which is used to reduce spark. A mean average deviation (MAD) is calculated based on the difference between the average and the instantaneous noise values. The updated MAD values are used to calculate the knock threshold for the subsequent combustion event for the cylinder.
The knock threshold defines a boundary between acceptable noise (no knock) and unacceptable noise (knock). The filtered instantaneous noise (INST) value is used to vary the gain of a band pass filter (BPF). The gain is used to increase or attenuate knock depending on the value of background noise.
An exemplary method for controlling spark knock is shown in FIG. 1 . Spark knock control 10 begins with step 12 . In step 14 , control determines if the engine is operating. If the engine is operating, control measures an instantaneous noise in step 16 . If the engine is not operating, control ends in step 52 . In step 16 , an instantaneous noise value is measured. In step 18 , control determines if knock is present. If knock is present, a current average for knock is updated in step 22 . If knock is not present, a current average for no knock is updated in step 20 . The average calculations are represented by the following exemplary formulas:
For no knock:
AVE current =AVE prior +[( INST−AVE prior )( FC )]
For knock:
AVE current =AVE prior +[( INST−AVE prior )( FC )( KM )]
where FC is a detection filter coefficient and (KM) is a knock multiplier. The (KM) is applied to minimize the effect of a large instantaneous value.
If no knock is detected, control determines if the instantaneous noise value is less than the average noise value in step 24 . If the instantaneous noise value is less than the average noise value, a new MAD value is calculated in step 26 . An exemplary MAD calculation is represented by the following exemplary formula:
MAD=MAD PREV (1 −Filt Coeff )+( AVE current −INST )( Filt Coeff )
MAD is calculated using a first order lag filter. A new threshold is determined in step 28 . An exemplary threshold is represented by the following formula:
TH=AVE current +( MAD current )( MAD mult )
where MAD mult is a MAD multiplier. The MAD multiplier is a function of engine speed and load. In step 30 , control determines if knock is present. If knock is present, a current knock gain average is updated in step 36 . If knock is not present, a current no knock gain average is updated in step 32 . The gain average calculations are represented by the following exemplary formulae:
For no knock:
GAINAVG current =GAINAVG prior +[( INST −GAINAVG prior )( FC gain )]
For knock:
GAINAVG current =GAINAVG prior+[( INST −GAINAVG prior )( FC gain )( KM gain)]
where FC gain is a gain average filter coefficient and (KM gain ) is a gain average knock multiplier.
In step 40 control determines if GAINAVG current is greater than a maximum GAINAVG threshold. If GAINAVG current is greater than the maximum GAINAVG threshold, the knock signal gain is decreased in step 48 and control returns in step 50 . If GAINAVG current is not greater than a maximum GAINAVG threshold, control determines if GAINAVG current is less than a minimum GAINAVG threshold in step 44 . If GAINAVG current is less than a minimum GAINAVG threshold, the knock signal gain is increased in step 46 and control ends in step 50 . If GAINAVG current is not less than a minimum GAINAVG threshold, control returns in step 50 . The equations set forth with respect to AVE current , MAD current , and GAINAVG current are hereinafter collectively referred to as “the knock equations”. The knock equations are updated for each firing event in each cylinder.
Performing knock detection on a DOD engine presents potential drawbacks. When cylinders are deactivated, the running cylinders operate at a higher load, which increases the combustion noise of the running cylinders. While the deactivated cylinders contribute no spark knock noise, background and mechanical noise is detected from the knock sensors that are associated with the deactivated cylinders. The measured noise reduces the average value of the deactivated cylinders. When the deactivated cylinders are reactivated, the threshold is artificially low based on the reduced average value. Acceptable noise may be incorrectly characterized as spark knock, resulting in false retard.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A method according to the invention minimizes false spark knock detection for a displacement on demand engine having activated and deactivated modes. The engine is operated in the activated mode. Knock detection is performed on all cylinders of the engine during the activated mode. The engine is operated in the deactivated mode. Knock detection is performed on activated cylinders during the deactivated mode. Knock detection is disabled for deactivated cylinders during the deactivated mode.
A method according to the invention minimizes false spark knock detection for a displacement on demand engine having activated and deactivated modes. The engine is operated in the activated mode. A knock threshold is established. Knock detection is performed on all cylinders of the engine during the activated mode using the knock threshold. The engine is operated in the deactivated mode. The knock threshold is increased for the transition period. Knock detection is performed on all cylinders of the engine during the deactivated mode using the increased knock threshold.
A method according to the invention minimizes false spark knock detection for a displacement on demand engine having activated and deactivated modes. A noise value is measured in each cylinder of the engine. A threshold knock value is established based on the measured noise value for each cylinder of the engine. One or more cylinders are deactivated. The noise in the deactivated cylinders is frozen and ignored. The deactivated cylinders are reactivated. The threshold knock value is updated for the deactivated cylinders based on the measured noise values from activated cylinders. Knock is determined for the reactivated cylinders based on the updated threshold.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating prior art steps of performing knock detection;
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an engine control system that minimizes false spark knock detection for DOD engines according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating steps for minimizing false spark knock detection during cylinder deactivation for a DOD engine according to a first method of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating steps for minimizing false spark knock detection during cylinder deactivation for a DOD engine according to a second method of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating steps of performing the modified spark knock detection of FIG. 4; and
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating steps for minimizing false spark knock detection during cylinder deactivation for a DOD engine according to a third method of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses. For purposes of clarity, the same reference numbers will be used in the drawings to identify similar elements. As used herein, activated refers to operation using all of the engine cylinders. Deactivated refers to operation using less than all of the cylinders of the engine (one or more cylinders not active). The present invention applies to engines having various cylinder configurations such as 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 16 cylinders.
Referring now to FIG. 2, an engine control system 110 according to the present invention includes a controller 112 and an engine 116 . The engine 116 includes a plurality of cylinders 118 each with one or more intake valves and/or exhaust valves (not shown). The engine 116 further includes a fuel injection system 120 and an ignition system 124 . An electronic throttle controller (ETC) 26 adjusts a throttle area of an intake manifold 28 based upon a position of an accelerator pedal (not shown) and a throttle control algorithm that is executed by the controller 112 . One or more sensors 134 and 132 such as a manifold pressure sensor and/or a manifold air temperature sensor sense pressure and/or air temperature in the intake manifold 128 . The controller 112 receives pedal position information from brake and accelerator pedal position sensors 130 and 140 . An output of the engine 116 is coupled by a torque converter clutch 154 to a transmission 158 .
An Electronic Spark Control (ESC) system 122 communicates with the knock sensors 138 and 148 located adjacent to the banks 134 and 144 of the engine 116 . While the ESC system 122 is shown within the controller 112 , it will be appreciated that the ESC system 122 and the controller 112 may include one or more controllers. In addition, while the knock sensors 138 and 148 are associated with the cylinder banks 134 and 144 , respectively, it will be appreciated that alternative configurations may be used. For example, one knock sensor for each cylinder may be used or alternatively one sensor for the whole engine.
The controller 112 determines the cylinder 118 that is currently being fired. A multiplexer (MUX) 142 communicates with the controller 112 and determines the knock sensor 138 or 148 output that should be used for the current fired cylinder. For example, if a first cylinder 118 is fired in the bank 134 , the MUX 142 uses an instantaneous noise value reading from the knock sensor 138 . During deactivation, the ESC system 122 disregards the signal from the deactivated cylinders and performs calculations on the cylinders that are fired.
During normal engine operation, the ESC system 122 receives information based on noise detected at the knock sensors 138 and 148 . The ESC 122 uses the information to control the spark knock by varying spark advance. In general, spark knock is declared when an instantaneous noise value (INST) exceeds a threshold (TH) value. This may be characterized by the following exemplary formula.
Knock=( INST )−( TH )
As a result, if a knock value is greater than 0, then the knock value is used to calculate the amount of spark retard that is needed to suppress the knock in that cylinder. In one embodiment, the spark retard is proportional to the knock value.
With reference now to FIG. 3, steps for detecting spark for a DOD engine according to a first method are shown generally at 156 . In the first method, knock detection is performed for activated but not deactivated cylinders. Control begins in step 160 . In step 164 , control sets a current cylinder index equal to 1. In step 168 , control determines if the cylinder identified by the cylinder index is in deactivated mode. If the identified cylinder is in deactivated mode, control determines if the cylinder index is equal to the number of cylinders (N) in the engine 16 in step 170 . If the identified cylinder is not in deactivated mode, control performs knock detection in step 10 (FIG. 1 ). If the cylinder index is equal to the number of cylinders (N) in the engine 116 , control ends in step 180 . If the cylinder index is not equal to the number of cylinders in the engine 116 , the cylinder index is incremented by one in step 178 and control loops back to step 168 .
Turning now to FIG. 4, steps for detecting spark for a DOD engine according to a second method are shown generally at 166 . The spark detecting method 166 includes similar steps as described with respect to spark detection method 156 . In the second method, a modified spark knock detection is performed for deactivated cylinders in step 174 .
The modified spark knock detection 174 is shown in FIG. 5 and includes similar steps as knock detection 10 in FIG. 1 . However, in step 188 , a modified knock threshold is established to raise the threshold. The modified knock threshold may be characterized by the following formula;
TH raised =AVE current +( MAD current )( MAD mult +TransOffset)
where TransOffset is a transient offset and a function of engine RPM.
With reference now to FIG. 6, steps for detecting spark for a DOD engine according to a third method are shown generally at 200 . In the third spark detection method 200 , the knock equations for each deactivated cylinder are updated using values from adjacent activated cylinders when transitioning from deactivated to activated mode. Spark detection begins in step 212 . In step 216 , control determines if the engine 116 is transitioning from deactivated mode to activated mode. In step 220 , a cylinder index is set equal to 1. If the engine 116 is not transitioning to activated mode, control loops to step 216 . If the engine 116 is transitioning to activated mode, control determines if the cylinder identified by the cylinder index is a deactivated cylinder in step 222 . If the identified cylinder is not a deactivated cylinder, knock detection is performed in step 10 (FIG. 1 ). If the identified cylinder is a deactivated cylinder, the knock equations are updated with adjacent activated cylinder knock detection values in step 226 .
In step 230 , control determines if the cylinder index is equal to the number of cylinders (N) in the engine 116 . If the cylinder index is equal to the number of cylinders (N) in the engine 116 , control ends in step 240 . If the cylinder index is not equal to the number of cylinders in the engine 116 , the cylinder index is incremented by 1 in step 232 and control loops back to step 222 .
Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoing description that the broad teachings of the present invention can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this invention has been described in connection with particular examples thereof, the true scope of the invention should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings, the specification and the following claims. | False spark knock detection is minimized for a displacement on demand engine having activated and deactivated modes. The engine is operated in the activated mode. Knock detection is performed on all cylinders of the engine during the activated mode. The engine is operated in the deactivated mode. Knock detection is performed on activated cylinders during the deactivated mode. Knock detection is disabled for deactivated cylinders during the deactivated mode. | 5 |
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a tie for binding materials to be tied such as reinforcing bars, a tie assembly, and a tie attachment device.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
Conventionally, reinforcing bars are arranged inside of concrete columns and walls in reinforced concrete buildings. For example, in a reinforced concrete column, a plurality of reinforcing bars are arranged along the direction of the column, and reinforcing bars are further arranged in horizontal direction intersecting with the reinforcing bars in a horizontal direction. Such reinforcing bars are installed prior to pouring concrete in a framework and an intersectional portion of the reinforcing bar in the vertical direction (vertical reinforcement) and the reinforcing bar in the horizontal direction (horizontal reinforcement) are fixed by twisting a wire. Such procedure of twisting wires takes time and effort, thus connection and fixation tools for fixing intersectional reinforcing bars and devices for twisting wires have been proposed, as follows:
[Patent document 1] Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2005-320816; [Patent document 2] Japanese Published Unexamined Utility Model Application No. S60-87930; [Patent document 3] Japanese Published Unexamined Utility Model Application No. S61-20625; and [Non-patent document 1] Binding machine http://www9.ocn.ne.jp/{tilde over ( )}tairiku/PicHomePage0/vw 7.html
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
However, while the conventional connecting tools described above save the effort of twisting wire for binding, it is bulky for preparing large amounts because the ties are in complicated forms. For this reason, it is inconvenient to carry. Also, there is a problem of difficulty in the attachment work.
Further, the binding machine described in non-patent document 1 is a device having a motor driven by electricity and binds reinforcing bars by twisting wires around, however, the machine is not suitable for working for a long time due to its large weight, and there is a problem of a further increase of the weight when a battery is used because the power wire supplying electricity disturbs the work.
The present invention has been made in consideration of these issues, and it is therefore an objective of the present invention to: 1) provide a reinforcing bar tie which connects intersectional reinforcing bars; 2) provide a tie assembly that connects a plurality of ties for easy attachment; and 3) provide a tie attachment device for each attachment to the intersectional portion of the reinforcement bars.
The objectives are achieved by the present invention described as below.
(1) A tie for twisting around at an intersectional portion of a plurality of materials to be tied to bind these materials, wherein the tie consists of a wire rod made of elastic material formed in an arc, where the clearance between both ends is larger than the minimum width of the bound portion of material to be tied when both ends are opened within an elastic deformation range, and the maximum inner diameter in a restored state is smaller than the maximum width of the bound portion of materials to be tied.
(2) The tie according to (1) above, wherein the tie is for binding a pair of materials to be tied.
(3) The tie according to (2) above, wherein an intersectional portion of crossed material to be tied is a bound portion.
(4) The tie according to (2) above, wherein the bound portion is a portion of overlap of materials to be tied which are arranged in parallel.
(5) The tie according to any one of (1) to (4) above, wherein both ends of said arc wire rod have curved portions curving opposite to the direction of the curve of the arc.
(6) The tie according to any one of (1) to (5) above, wherein said wire rod has a rupture portion to be ruptured when a deformation value exceeds an elasticity limit.
(7) The tie according to (6) above, wherein said rupture portion is provided on the midsection of an axial direction of said wire rod.
(8) The tie according to (6) or (7) above, wherein said rupture portion is a portion smaller in area of cross-section of said wire rod than another portion.
(9) The tie according to (8) above, wherein said rupture portion is a groove or a cut formed in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of said wire rod.
(10) The tie according to one of any (1) to (9) above, wherein a portion of both end portions of said wire rod is crossing in a restored state.
(11) The tie according to one of any (1) to (10) above, wherein said wire rod having one, or two or more loops formed in an arc as an overall shape and a portion is configured by curving outward.
(12) A tie assembly for connecting an inserting member inserted between both ends of a tie through a thin walled connecting portion, wherein the tie consists of a wire rod made of elastic material formed in an arc, the clearance between both ends is larger than the minimum width of the bound portion of material to be tied when both ends are opened within an elastic deformation range, and the maximum inner diameter in a restored state is smaller than the maximum width of the bound portion of material to be tied.
(13) A tie attachment device consisting of;
a guiding member positioned between both ends of a tie for guiding to a direction, wherein a tie consists of a wire rod made of elastic material formed in an arc, the clearance between both ends is larger than the minimum width of the bound portion of material to be tied when both ends are opened within an elastic deformation range, and the maximum inner diameter in a restored state is smaller than the maximum width of the bound portion of material to be tied;
a storing portion positioned between said guiding member for storing the material to be tied;
an extruding member positioned posterior to said guiding member for extruding a tie forward; and
an operation means for advancing said extruding member;
wherein said extruding member is capable of reciprocal motion between a standby position forming a reception space to house a tie between said guiding member, and an attachment position where both ends of a tie exceeding the frond end of the guiding member.
(14) The tie attachment device according to (13) above, wherein a groove for guiding both end portions of the tie is formed on an outer face of said guiding member.
(15) The tie attachment device according to (13) or (14) above, wherein the tie attachment device for feeding a tie to a reception space has a reception portion between said guiding member and said extruding member.
(16) The tie attachment device according to (15) above, wherein a tie assembly is housed in said reception portion, wherein the tie assembly connects an inserting member inserted between both ends of a tie through a thin walled connecting portion, and the tie consists of a wire rod made of elastic material formed in an arc, the clearance between both ends is larger than the minimum width of the bound portion of material to be tied when both ends are opened within an elastic deformation range, and the maximum inner diameter in a restored state is smaller than the maximum width of the bound portion of material to be tied; and
a biasing member is provided in said reception portion for biasing said tie assembly to the reception space.
(17) The tie attachment device according to one of any (13) to (16) above, wherein said operating means has an operation lever provided slidably, and a connecting member provided slidably to said operation lever at the opposite side of supporting point of the operation lever,
wherein an extruding rod has a extruding member fixed to its front end, and is inserted into a connecting hole formed on said connecting member, and moving the connecting member and the extruding rod as a unit by obliquely contacting the connection hole of the connecting member to the extruding rod when the operation lever is pulled.
According to the invention described herein, when opening both ends within the elasticity distortion range the clearance between both ends are larger than the minimum width of a bound portion of the material to be tied, thereby material to be tied can be guided to inside by opening both ends, and bundling of the material to be tied can be tightened and fixed by the restoration strength of the wire rod because the maximum inner diameter in a restored state is smaller than the minimum width of the bound portion of the material to be tied.
According to the invention described herein, the material(s) can be bound more securely by using the invention when binding a pair of materials to be tied. According to the invention described herein, providing an intersectional portion of crossed materials to be tied as the bound portion, the crossed materials to be tied can be bound in an intersectional state. According to the invention described herein, binding a plurality of material to be tied which are arranged in parallel and attaching these to the outside of the bound portion, thereby these can be tightened from outside and it is easy to bind them.
According to the invention described herein, both ends of an arc wire rod have a curved portion curved opposite to the curving direction of the arc thereby it is easy to insert the inserting body between both ends of the arc wire rod and the work of opening both ends against the elastic force can easily be done. According to the invention described herein, the wire rod has a rupture portion to be ruptured when a deformation value exceeds the elasticity limit, thereby the arc wire rod can easily be ruptured by expanding and exceeding the elasticity limit and the work of removing a tie from the bound portion can easily be done.
According to the invention described herein, when opening both ends of the arc wire rod, the rupture portion is located in a center portion, the position where stress is concentrated the most, thereby the tie can easily be ruptured and removed. According to the invention described herein, the rupture portion is a portion smaller in area of cross section compared to other portions, thereby the concentration of stress is further accelerated and the rupture operation can easily be done. According to the invention described herein, the rupture portion is a groove or a cut formed in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the wire rod, thereby the process of forming the rapture portion can be made easily.
According to the invention described herein, the wire rod is in a shape that both ends intersect in a restoration state, thereby a large distortion amount can be taken when binding and the tightening force can further be increased. According to the invention described herein, because the wire rod has a loop when both end of the tie are expanded, the length of wire rod will be longer, distortion on the wire rod is equalized and reduced, and a distortion amount (the width of both ends expanded) can further be increased. Also, the contacting portion of the tie and materials to be tied can be increased, thereby further securely binding.
According to the invention described herein, a plurality of ties can be carried as a unit by a tie assembly connecting inserting member inserted slidably between both ends of a tie through a thin walled connecting portion. Consequently, when attaching ties at a work site where a number of bound portions exist, work can be done by removing ties from the end in order, thereby working efficiency can be increased. According to the invention described herein, by operating the operation means to progress extruding member, the tie positioned in the reception space is pushed out forward. The tie is pushed open while progressing, and detached from the guiding member and attached to the materials to be tied when both ends of the tie are in a position exceeding the materials to be tied housed between the guiding member. By using such a device, attachment of the tie to materials to be tied can be made easily and quickly.
According to the invention described herein, a groove is formed on an external face of the guiding member to guide both end portions of a tie, thus, the tie can be guided to the position exceeding the front end of the guiding member. According to the invention described herein, a storing portion is provided between the guiding member and the extruding member to feed the tie into the reception space, thereby the tie can easily be loaded to the tie attachment device. According to the invention described herein, the tie assembly is housed in a storing portion and the bias member is provided in the storing portion thereby the attachment operation of the tie can be made continuously without an operation of loading one tie at a time. This increases the efficiency of the binding work.
According to the invention described herein, by sliding the operation lever, the connecting member extrudes the extruding member forward. When the connecting member moves forward, it contacts the connecting hole of the connecting member obliquely against the extruding rod, which further applies a force to move it forward, thereby the edge of the connecting hole is pressed by the extruding rod, which strengthens the connection of the extruding rod and the connecting member, and the extruding rod moves as a unit with the connecting member. Consequently, the extruding rod extrudes the extruding member and the tie is attached. The point for applying the force to slide the operation lever acts as a point of application and the connecting hole acts as a point of action. Further, adjusting the length of the operation lever generates a force to easily extrude the tie manually, and a simple and lightweight attachment device can be configured without driving equipment, such as motors.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a tie.
FIG. 2 is an overall plane view of a tie in a restored state.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of an inserting member.
FIG. 4 is a side view showing a tie assembly.
FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view of a tie attachment device.
FIG. 6 is an overall side view of a tie attachment device.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state when the tie is attached.
FIG. 8 is an overall plane view showing a tie in another configuration.
FIG. 9 is an overall plane view showing a tie in another configuration.
FIG. 10 is a plane view of a tie showing a state of attachment to a bound portion.
FIG. 11 is an overall plane view of another configuration example of a tie.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Detail of embodiments according to the present invention is hereinafter explained referring to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a tie according to present invention, and FIG. 2 is an overall plane view of a tie in a restored state. The tie 1 is configured by forming a wire rod 10 consisting of elastic material in a generally tonic shape, and a metal spring material is used as an elastic material. In this embodiment, a cross section of the wire rod 10 is formed in a circular form and end portions alternately overlapping each other and forming a toric shape when in a non-deformed state (restored state) as shown in FIG. 2 .
Both end portions 11 a and 11 b of the wire rod 10 having curved portions 110 a and 110 b curved opposite to the curving direction of the wire rod 10 , and an inserting member 2 is inserted between the curved portions 110 a and 110 b in a loaded state as shown in FIG. 1 . The inserting member 2 pushes open both ends of wire rod 10 , forming a clearance between the curved portions 110 a and 110 b while the wire rod 10 is in an elastic deformation state. Therefore, when the inserting member 2 is removed from the tie 1 with inserting member 2 inserted, a force to return to the restored state is acting. Also, a suppressed stress is consistently acting from the curved portions 110 a and 110 b in a direction to sandwich and attempt to crush the inserting member 2 .
FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the inserting member 2 , and FIG. 4 is a side view of the tie assembly 100 . The inserting member 2 is a plate form member having a thickness longer than the length of the wire rod 10 of tie 1 , and the side face of both ends contact the curved portions 110 a and 110 b are provided with depressed portions 21 a and 21 b having curvatures according to the curves of curved portions 110 a and 110 b . Also, a groove 23 is formed in a circumferential direction on the side face of inserting member 2 , and both ends of the groove are connected to curved portion grooves 22 a and 22 b from the depressed portions 21 a and 21 b . The groove 23 and the curved portion grooves 22 a and 22 b are formed in a shape corresponding to the cross section shape of wire rod 10 . Also, the groove 23 is formed on a position closer to one of the upper face 211 a or lower face 211 b (one side) in the thickness direction of the inserting member 2 .
When attached to the tie 1 , the groove 23 is formed on a side face 24 , the side of the tie 1 is positioned, and the side face 24 is formed in a convex along the curve of the tie 1 . Also, on a plane of the side where the groove 23 is formed, a fit portion 26 in a depressed shape that the rear end of a guiding member (described later) to be engaged, is formed. This fit portion 26 is formed to conform to the rear end portion of the guiding member, and in a shape that the width and the depth gradually decreases so that the opening portion is the deepest. Connecting portions 27 a and 27 b are provided to front end side end portions of the upper 211 a and lower 211 b faces of the inserting member 2 , and by these connecting portions 27 a and 27 b , inserting members 2 layered in the thickness direction are alternately connected. The connecting portions 27 a and 27 b are specially formed as thin-walled, and configured to be able to be ruptured with a small shear stress.
As shown in FIG. 4 , a plurality of inserting members 2 are serially coupled by the connecting portions 27 a and 27 b , and the ties 1 are attached to each inserting member 2 . In this way, a tie assembly 100 is configured. The inserting members 2 configured as above consist of, for example, a synthetic resin. FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view of a tie attachment device 6 , and FIG. 6 is an overall side view of the same. The tie attachment device 6 is provided with a guiding member 61 which guides the tie 1 so as to fit outside of the binding portion of the reinforcing bars while opening the tie 1 , a storing portion 62 positioned posterior to the guiding member 61 to store the tie 1 , an extruding member 63 positioned posterior to the storing portion 62 , an extruding rod 64 having the extruding member 63 fixed to its front end, a main body 65 to support the extruding rod 64 so as to move freely in an antero-posterior direction, an operation lever 66 slidably supported by the main body 65 , and a connecting member 664 having a connecting hole 665 in which the operation lever 66 is inserted.
The guiding member 61 has guiding portions 611 a and 611 b that respectively press curved portions 110 a and 110 b on both ends of the tie 1 from outside. The guiding portions 611 a and 611 b are connected at their rear ends (back ends) and are configured to form a gradually increasing space 610 toward their front ends to gradually increase the clearance between the curved portions 110 a and 110 b on both ends of the tie 1 . As shown in FIG. 5 , the gradually increasing space 610 is formed between the guiding portions 611 a and 611 b . The guiding member 61 is fixed on a base material 60 protruding anterior to the main body 65 , and onto the base material 60 , a reception space 620 to be described later is provided between the main body 65 and the guiding member 61 . The intersectional portion (bound portion) of a vertical reinforcement Sr 1 and a horizontal reinforcement Sr 2 is housed in the gradually increasing space 610 , and between the top ends of guiding portions 611 a and 611 b is an opening 612 for bringing the reinforcing bars into the gradually increasing space 610 .
Outer side faces of each guiding portion 611 a and 611 b are guiding faces that contact the curved portions 110 a and 110 b of tie 1 and guide in a way that twist around a reinforcing bar inside the gradually increasing space 610 while pressing open the curved portions 110 a and 110 b , and grooves 613 a (not shown) and 613 b formed to this guiding face along the axial direction of the guiding portions 611 a and 611 b . One side (lower side in FIG. 5 ) of grooves 613 a (not shown) and 613 b is formed higher and the other side (upper side in FIG. 5 ) is formed lower, and configured to position the main body of wire rod 10 , from the tie 1 , to the side that is formed lower.
The grooves 613 a (not shown) and 613 b are provided to the guiding portions 611 a and 611 b continuously from the rear end to the top end. In the back end portion of the guiding member 61 , the guiding portions 611 a and 611 b are integrated, with the height and width gradually decreasing towards the posterior, and the rear end is formed in an acute angle. To this rear end, the inserting member 2 of loaded tie 1 is layered, and the fit portion 26 of inserting member 2 is fitted to the rear end portion 615 of guiding member 61 . A reception space 620 is provided posterior to the guiding member 61 to house the tie 1 , further, the extruding member 63 is provided posterior to the reception space 620 . The extruding member 63 is formed in an arc along the curve of wire rod 10 , and a groove 631 (not shown) is formed to place the tie 1 inside. By this groove 631 (not shown), the tie 1 is prevented from separating from the extruding member 63 .
Also, the curvature of extruding member 63 is formed to conform to the curvature of wire rod 10 when the tie 1 is pressed open to the maximum by the guiding member 61 as described later, instead of the curvature of tie 1 when housed inside the reception space 620 . The top end of extruding rod 64 is connected posterior to the extruding member 63 , and the extruding rod 64 supports the extruding member 63 so as to move freely in an antero-posterior direction. The extruding member 63 contacts the main body 65 , and being slidably supported in an axial direction by said main body 65 . The main body 65 is provided with a front support portion 651 and a back support portion 652 that slidably support the extruding rod 64 , and a grip portion 656 projected in a direction almost perpendicular to the extruding rod 64 .
The inserting hole to insert the extruding rod 64 formed on the front supporting portion 651 is formed sufficiently larger than the diameter of extruding rod 64 , and a play occurs between the inserting hole and the extruding rod 64 . A plate-shaped lock member 654 is provided posterior to the back supporting portion 652 . One end of the lock member 654 is slidably supported by the main body 65 , and a inserting hole 654 a is formed in center portion to insert the extruding rod 64 . A compression spring 655 is inserted between the other end of lock member 654 and the main body 65 .
The lock member 654 is maintained by the compression spring 655 in a position against the extruding rod 64 . At this time, the edge of inserting hole 654 b touches the side face of extruding rod 64 and maintains the extruding rod 64 to be incapable of sliding backwards, thereby locking the backward movement of extruding rod 64 . This lock is released by pressing in the lock member 654 against the compression spring 655 and positioning perpendicular to the extruding rod 64 , thereby the extruding rod 64 is in a state capable of moving backwards.
The operation lever 66 is slidably supported pivotally at a supporting point 663 to the front side of grip portion 656 , and the handle portion 661 is configured to approach and depart to/from the grip portion 656 . The connecting member 664 is slidably supported pivotally to the end portion on the opposite side of the grip portion 661 centering on the supporting portion 663 through the supporting point 662 . In the center of connecting member 664 , a connecting hole 665 is formed to insert the extruding rod 64 , and the diameter of connecting hole 665 is formed to be slightly larger than that of extruding rod 64 . Also, the compression spring 653 is inserted between the connecting member 664 and front supporting portion 651 which biases the connecting member 664 in a posterior direction.
In such configuration, the supporting point 662 is extruded forward when sliding the operation lever 66 to the grip portion 656 . By the movement of supporting point 662 , the connecting member 664 slants to the extruding rod 64 , thereby the edge of connecting hole 665 contacts the side face of extruding rod 64 . This contact increases a friction coefficient of the connecting hole 665 and extruding rod 64 , and the extruding rod 64 and connecting member 664 move forward as a unit against the biasing force of compression spring 653 . When returning the operation lever 66 to the original position, the connecting member 664 is in a position almost perpendicular to the extruding rod 64 by the biasing force of compression spring 653 , thereby contacting the edge of the connecting hole 665 and the extruding rod 64 is released and only the connecting member 664 returns to the original position. Also, on the upper side of reception space 620 , reception portion 62 is provided to house a tie assembly 100 , the housed tie assembly 100 is pushed into the reception space 620 by the spring 621 as a biasing member provided between the inner wall of reception portion 62 and the feeding member 622 .
In addition, a bursiform collecting portion 67 is provided beneath the gradually increasing space 610 having an opening toward said gradually increasing space 610 . The collecting portion 67 receives inserting member 2 dropped from the gradually increasing space 610 in its inside and collects them. In the tie assembly 100 , the tie 1 positioned undermost is positioned in the reception space 620 . The fit portion 26 of inserting member 2 fits into the rear end portion 615 of guiding member 61 and the tie 1 in the reception space 620 . When the tie 1 inside the reception space 620 is extruded forward by the extruding member 63 , first, the curved portions 110 a and 110 b detach from the depressed portions 21 a and 21 b of inserting member 2 , and move into the grooves 613 a and 613 b provided on the guiding portions 611 a and 611 b of guiding member 61 .
When the extruding member 63 is further extruded forward, the tie 1 progresses while the curved portions 110 a and 110 b are pressed open right and left by the guiding portions 611 a and 611 b . Next, the rear end portion of wire rod 10 contacts the inserting member 2 , and the wire rod 10 fits within the groove 23 of inserting member 2 , thereby further extruding inserting member 2 forward. At this time, connecting portions 27 a and 27 b connected adjacent to inserting portion 2 in the tie assembly 100 , and the undermost inserting member 2 is detached from the tie assembly 100 .
The detached inserting portion 2 moves along with tie 1 , drops downward as it reaches the gradually increasing space 610 , and is collected in the collecting portion 67 . Meanwhile, the bound portion which is an intersection of the horizontal reinforcement Sr 2 and the vertical reinforcement Sr 1 , is positioned within the gradually increasing space 610 , and the curved portions 110 a and 110 b of tie 1 guided by the guiding member 61 so as to go around outside the bound portion. As the curved portions 110 a and 100 b of tie 1 reach the top end of guiding member 61 , the tie 1 detaches from the guiding member 61 , decreases its diameter by the restoration force of the wire rod 10 , and attaches to the bound portion which is an intersection of the vertical reinforcement Sr 1 and horizontal reinforcement Sr 2 , as shown in FIG. 7 .
The tie 1 is configured such that the inner diameter in the restored state as shown in FIG. 2 is smaller than the sum of diameters of binding horizontal reinforcement Sr 2 and vertical reinforcement Sr 1 , and the distance between the curved portions 110 a and 110 b is larger than the sum of the diameters of binding horizontal reinforcement Sr 2 and vertical reinforcement Sr 1 when expanded within the elasticity limit of wire rod 10 . In addition, in order for the tie 1 to be able to be easily removed after the attachment, the tie 1 can be configured such that a groove or a cut is formed on the center portion, thereby it can easily be plastically deformed or ruptured at the groove or cut when deformed to exceed an elasticity limit. In this case, the rupture portion configured by forming a groove or a cut may be a site where the form of the wire rod 10 in the axial direction is discontinuous, or it may be a site where an area of cross section is smaller compared to other portions. Alternatively, it may be a site with a different composition. The site with the different composition can be provided by applying treatment different from other parts, such as quenching, annealing, or shot-peening.
FIG. 8 is a plane view showing a tie 1 A having loop 12 a formed on a center position of the wire rod 10 A. The loop 12 A is an annular section formed outside by curving the wire rod 10 A opposite to the main body portion formed in an arc. By providing the loop 12 A, distortion on the wire rod 10 A which occurs when opening both end portions 11 a and 11 b , can be even equalized and decreased as a whole thereby a larger opening W of both end portions 11 Aa and 11 Ab can be realized. This enables use of a smaller wire rod.
The tie 1 B shown in FIG. 9 has a plurality of loops 14 B 1 - 14 B 5 at even intervals, and contacting portions 15 B 1 - 15 B 6 are provided in-between these loops 14 B 1 - 14 B 5 . For this tie 1 B, the clearance of both ends 11 Ba and 11 Bb can also be widened when deformed, and each contacting portion 15 B 1 - 15 B 6 can be in pressure contact against intersectional reinforcing bars as shown in FIG. 10 , thereby increasing contacting portions against the reinforcing bars. This increases the binding strength of the bound portion.
FIG. 11 is an overall plane view of another configuration example of a tie. A tie 1 C has a loop 12 C on the center of a wire rod, and wire rods 13 Ca and 13 Cb on both sides of the loop are formed in line symmetrical across a center line L which runs through the loop 12 C. That is, the wire rods 13 Ca and 13 Cb are formed by extending a pair of wire rods which is parallel in a same direction with reference to the loop 12 C as a base end, towards a direction away from the center line L, curving it to the direction of center line L at the curved portions 141 Ca and 141 Cb, and curving outward (direction away from the center line L) at the curved portions 143 Ca and 143 Cb on the top end side of curved portion 141 Ca and 141 Cb, further curving towards the center line L at the curved portion 142 Ca and 142 Cb on the top end side. The wire rods 13 Ca and 13 Cb are configured with an elastic material as the tie in the embodiments described above. Top end portions 11 Ca and 11 Cb of each wire rod 13 Ca and 13 Cb are curved outward and configured to slide and contact easily to the grooves 613 a and 613 b of guiding member 61 . As described above, in the tie 1 C, the wire rods 13 Ca and 13 Cb on left and right are in line asymmetry wave forms, thus reception retention portions 151 and 152 are formed between the wire rods 13 Ca and 13 Cb to house a horizontal reinforcement and a vertical reinforcement respectively. Each of the reception retention portions 151 and 152 according to this embodiment are in virtually rectangle forms and in the forms that retain horizontal reinforcement and vertical enforcement respectively, thereby increasing contact portions of the horizontal reinforcement and the vertical reinforcement with the wire rods 13 Ca and 13 Cb, which improves the retaining force. Also, the form of each reception retention portion 151 and 152 is not limited to a rectangle, and may be in other polygonal shapes or a circular shape. | The present invention provides a reinforcing bar tie the enables the connection intersecting reinforcing bars. The invention houses a tie made of an elastic member in a reception space, and extrudes it with an extruding member. At this time, the curved portions provided on both ends of the tie advance while guiding portions of a guiding member push them open, and are guided to an intersecting position of two reinforcing bars. Further, by extruding with the extruding member the tie detaches from the guiding member and winds around the intersection of the two reinforcing bars with a force sufficient to couple the two reinforcing bars together. | 4 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for positioning a device, such as a display screen.
[0002] Many devices, such as video monitors, instrument panels, protective barriers and display screens and other displays, are used in applications in which they must be kept in sight or remain conveniently accessible to a user. These devices may be used alone or as components of complex systems, such as medical imaging systems or machine tools. The user must often change position within a prescribed area while needing to keep the screen or other device in view.
[0003] Video monitors, in particular, often swivel or are located on stands which swivel or pivot or may be moved to a position using a scissor, yoke or other style support. A problem is that the user or other person must, typically, physically move the monitor or monitors. There may be a risk of repetitive stress injury (RSI) if the motion is frequent or the monitor or assembly containing one or more monitors, is heavy. There is, in any case, a considerable loss of efficiency.
[0004] Manual positioning and repositioning of monitors or other devices at an optimal position requires time, which the user may not have, or which may disrupt the activity underway. Not only may the inconvenience be considerable, but the risk to an operator, patient or others may be significant if, for example, both hands are required to position a screen, or if the operator must be in an inconvenient position or must divert his or her attention from other work, to move a video monitor or other device.
[0005] Thus, in many cases, a user's having to continually adjust the position of a device while using it, is not only inconvenient and inefficient, but can also pose a risk of injury to the user and others. Medical systems must often be operated using both hands. As the operator moves, the monitor or other device does not. Straining for an improved view may cause RSI, but may also increase the time required for a medical procedure.
[0006] Work related injuries could be reduced by the use of automated positioning of monitors. Clinical ultrasound, in particular, has ergonomic deficiencies. As many as 80% of sonographers report RSI's causing absence sometime during their careers. About 28% leave the practice due to RSI's. This not only is an immense human toll, but it further stresses the limited supply of sonographers so that longer hours and fewer breaks are often reported. The Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography suggests “Ergonomically Designed Ultrasound Equipment,” including an external monitor.
[0007] Current systems for automatic positioning have limited capabilities, particularly as to limitations on how the device is supported, range of movement and ability to adjust position and take obstacles into account, and are not very effective in addressing these problems. For example, two U.S. patents disclose systems providing limited tracking of a user and video monitors with limited movement. U.S. Pat. No. 6,348,928 to Jeong discloses a system in which a visual display unit is capable of automatically rotating a display screen rightward or leftward following the viewer by detecting body temperature. U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,141 to Hazra discloses a method and apparatus used with a display in which a physical relationship between the display and the viewer is determined and monitored and the display is rotated or moved on a table top to maintain the physical relationship.
[0008] One challenge to such systems is that the ideal position for the monitor or other device is often unobtainable, because of obstacles or other inherent limitations on the field of movement or view.
[0009] It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method of moving, without human effort or attention, a screen or other device to a desired, predetermined position.
[0010] Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus and method of changing the desired position of a screen or other device as a user of the screen or other device moves.
[0011] These and still further objects of the present invention will become apparent upon considering the following detailed description for the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] In accordance with the invention, an achievable position nearest to an optimal position for use of a device is calculated, and, without effort or attention by a user, the device is positioned accordingly. Improved efficiency and ergonomics are provided because, among other reasons, user interaction is not required.
[0013] These objects are accomplished in one aspect of the invention by providing an apparatus comprising a sensor, which detects the presence and position of a subject, typically a user of a system, and transmits that information to a processor operatively connected to an arm assembly. The apparatus tracks the position of the user, particularly his or her face and/or eye locations so that the screen is automatically positioned to allow the user an optimal view. The screen position can be updated at time intervals or by defining a boundary of motion before an update occurs.
[0014] The sensor is typically a camera performing imaging using visible light. Infrared cameras, among other alternatives, can be used for the sensor, although the specific markers of additional heat can more readily identify two alternative users at a distance.
[0015] The sensor may also be a transmitter which detects and relays information about the location and orientation of the user, by means of, for example, a array of electromagnetic coils. Multiple sensors may be used.
[0016] Data from the sensor is input to a processor subsystem which identifies the user's location and determines an optimal position and orientation for the device. The processor subsystem may be in a distributed computing environment.
[0017] The processor is a computer or computers, which calculates a location of the screen and the path the arm assembly will follow to move the screen to that location. This calculation is based on the capabilities of the actuators of the controlling machine of the arm assembly, size of the monitor and nearby forbidden regions such as walls, patient location, etc.
[0018] The mathematics of inverse kinematics can be used to find a vector of joint position variables satisfying the constraints of a given kinematic model of a mechanism and a set of position constraints on selected bodies making up that mechanism.
[0019] Typically, in moving to an achievable position nearest an optimal position, the apparatus will simply position the device at a “joint limit.” In a more complex system, if, for example, the person's face is turned, then the system may compute position by first determining the position in space N inches (e.g. let N=18) from the center-of-eye position. The orientation of the eyes is next calculated. If the head is tipped, the eye-angle may be recorded. This defines the optimal location and orientation of the center of the devise as well as the direction the device is to be facing. This optimal location (end-point) can be used as input directly to some robotic systems, or the inverse kinematics may be computed.
[0020] The arm assembly is a unit capable of structurally supporting and positioning a device in 3-dimensional space with 3-6 degrees of freedom. The device is connected to an end of the arm assembly. The arm assembly may be supported from a single point, such as a pole, footing or wall plate, and the arm assembly.
[0021] The arm assembly can comprise and be positioned using a controlling machine of, for example, motors such as servo or stepper motors. Commonly, these machines are positioned either by directing individual motor “setpoints,” or by providing a location for an end effector, whereby the joint values are computed using inverse kinematics. Motors may be revolute or prismatic, which rotate about an axis, or linearly along an axis.
[0022] Degrees of freedom are independent parameters needed to specify a position of a body in a space. For example, the position in space of a hinged door can be set by one parameter, an opening angle. A hinged door thus has one degree of freedom. The position of a lawn mower operating on a flat patch of grass can be set by x- and y-position coordinates relative to x- and y-axes which are perpendicular to each other. A lawn mower on a flat surface thus has two degrees of freedom. The position and orientation of an object in three dimensional space can be set by specifying six degrees of freedom, three position coordinates and three orientation angles.
[0023] Robotic units capable of locating a device by specifying two to six degrees of freedom are commercially available and may advantageously be used as the arm assembly. Techniques for control and coordination of electromechanical machinery having multiple, interacting degrees of freedom are well known. For example, an arm manufactured by Unimation, Inc. under the tradename PUMA 560 can position an object in space at a location specified by six degrees of freedom.
[0024] The arm assembly may also have the ability to position a device with redundant degrees of freedom, i.e. degrees of freedom in excess of six, even though only six are necessary parameters for fixing the position and orientation of the device.
[0025] In one embodiment, the present invention is a system, which tracks the position of a user, particularly his or her face, neck and/or eye locations so that a screen automatically positions itself so that it is in front of a user, but giving the user the best possible view of a person or object, through the screen. The screen can be positioned to prevent, for example, the scatter of material such as blood or other fluids from a surgical procedure from reaching the operator. The screen may be a lens and thyroid protector, i.e. a plate of lead glass or other material, which absorbs radiation generated by a diagnostic or interventional x-ray procedure before it reaches the user. The screen position can be updated every N seconds, or by defining a boundary of motion before an update occurs.
[0026] An infrared or other proximity detector may be provided to detect an obstacle (such as another piece of equipment) or second person, in addition to the user, present near the arm or device. The detector can be interfaced with the controlling machine to prevent movement of the arm and device while the obstacle or second person is nearby.
[0027] These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiment(s) described hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] In the drawings:
[0029] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a monitor stand according to the invention.
[0030] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method of positioning the screen of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0031] FIG. 1 shows a monitor stand 1 embodying the present invention. A monitor 2 is mounted on an arm assembly (here, a vertical arm) 3 . The arm assembly 3 is supported on a column 4 . A sensor 5 on the monitor 2 receives an image 6 of a user 7 and transmits the image data to a processor 10 .
[0032] The sensor 5 may be a camera, which is integrated into a monitor. The image 6 is detected, and face identified by the processor 10 . The monitor 2 has rotating motors or height-adjusting motors. A nominal distance such as 18 inches (about 0.5 meters) is often preferred for comfortable reading. The monitor is ideally positioned so that the user's eyes are centered relative to the screen. If the height is not adjustable, or the height is at the maximum, then the screen may be angled up or down to improve visibility. This then assumes that the monitor has additional degree of freedom.
[0033] In this simple example, the monitor 2 in a multi-user workspace may self-adjust to height only. The sensor 5 detects that the next person is, for example, 6′6″, and the processor 10 determines that the ideal height adjustment 8 is to be 1 foot higher than the neutral position. It may, however, be that the possible range of motion is only +8 inches. In that case, the monitor will extend by 8 inches, the nearest achievable position.
[0034] In a simple example, coordinates for predetermined positions may be stored. The recognition of the user can then simply set the device position at the location and orientation of the nearest predetermined position. In this case, no adaptive positioning occurs.
[0035] The monitor 2 may also have a greater range of motion in 3-dimensional space. In another case, the monitor 2 may even be ‘held toward’ the user, but back off as the user nears, allowing complete hands free operation of the screen. The optimal viewing pose for the monitor may comprise distance and orientation (typically ‘straight ahead’, zero degrees, 0.5 meters). Range of motion must be tested to ensure that the monitor has a limited range of motion, not affecting the workspace.
[0036] Although the sensor 5 is shown as a camera embedded in a monitor, this is not a requirement. The location of the sensor is also irrelevant as long as its performance is not disturbed by the monitor or other surrounding objects. For example, an RF transponder, as the sensor has different location requirements (e.g. sensitivity to radiofrequency interference or RFI) than a camera requiring line-of-sight.
[0037] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method of the present invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 2 , positioning a monitor or other screen using the system of the present invention comprises seven main steps. The process starts at 200 . A maximum window of allowable positions (which may include intermediate positions during motion), of the controlling joints that place the monitor are defined 201 . This window is sometimes called a work envelope or configuration space. The range of permissible joint angles in all combinations defines the window. They may be pre-defined, entered manually by a technician, or trained by moving the joints in combination and storing joint angles (such as from an encoder device). This calculation may include the position or limitations of the monitor or sensing device (e.g. camera), as well as any frequently anticipated machines in the local area.
[0038] The sensor is calibrated 202 with the location of the viewer or other user. In calibrating the sensor, the sensor data is processed using one or more algorithms to recognize and determine the coordinates of a person or object, as discussed below, to recognize a viewer and place the viewer by determining coordinates of the recognized viewer in 3-dimensional space. Ideally, for many embodiments of the invention, the viewer location is the position and orientation of the midpoint of the eyes. A distance and/or orientation offset from a location of a wearable sensor (e.g. RF transponder) may be used, or the viewer location may be calculated directly from the sensor (e.g. calculation of eye position from camera image).
[0039] For applications such as medical imaging systems, the comfortable monitor distance may be defined for each user. Further, it is important that the screen not move too frequently, which may also be defined for each user or type of situation.
[0040] The ideal viewing position for the monitor is calculated 203 . For example, a location 18 inches or 45 cm from the user, positioned with the top of the screen aligned with the center of the user's eyes may be considered optimal.
[0041] The achievable position nearest to the ideal viewing position is calculated 204 .
[0042] The screen is moved 205 to the achievable position using actuators of a controlling machine, for example, a robot. The robot will be limited to stay within the work envelope by the settings defined in step 201 .
[0043] The viewer location is calculated 206 and compared 207 to a repositioning criterion. Recalculation of the viewer location is directed 208 until the repositioning criterion is met 209 . For example, the criterion may be the viewer's having moved a distance (Δx, Δy, Δz) or rotated an angle (Δrx, Δry or Δrz) greater than a calculated threshold value. The repositioning criterion may also depend on a minimum or maximum amount of time having passed e.g. 5 seconds.
[0044] If the repositioning criterion is met 209 , the ideal viewing position based on the revised viewer location is calculated 203 and the steps 204 , 205 , 206 and 207 are repeated to set and maintain the new achievable position. The following example repositioning criterion establishes whether the user has moved substantially (for this application) and the monitor was not recently moved: Assuming that the user's mid-eye position is defined by x, y, z, if (Δx 2 +Δy 2 +Δz 2 >6) and (time_since_last_movement>10 seconds) then reposition_monitor.
[0045] If the location is outside the “reach” of the monitor, then the nearest point is found by tracing the eye-position through the monitor position to a location within the reachable locations. Ideally, the trace is the minimum distance. For multiple joint angles, the trace can be calculated by using the minimum distance in the “configuration space” of the arm and attached device, and simulated using a method, such as the path planning disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,887, Animation of Path Planning, L. Dorst and K. Trovato, which is herein incorporated by reference and made a part hereof.
[0046] Vision systems have been used to track objects. The cameras needed are currently inexpensive. There are many algorithms and techniques used to track objects from video sequences. For example, a detection and tracking module which extracts moving objects trajectories from a video stream is disclosed by G. Medioni et al., “Event Detection and Analysis from Video Streams,” published by the University of Southern California Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems.
[0047] A gesture recognition system which locates face features in image frames is known from, for example, an article by J.B. Bishop et al. in “Automatic Head and Face Gesture Recognition,” Technical Report no. FUTH TR001, published Sep. 1, 2001 by Future of Technology and Health, LC, Iowa City, Iowa. A 3-D Face Recognition approach that is able to recognize faces in video sequences independent of face pose is disclosed by V. Krüger et al. in “Appearance-based 3-D Face Recognition from Video,” University of Maryland Center for Automation Research, College Park, Md. and The Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa.
[0048] Yet another 3-D face recognition approach is a commercial product of Seeing Machines, Inc. of Can berra, Australia called “faceLAB™ V1.1.” This product can not only track head position, but also eye gaze, blinks and other, more subtle, behaviors.
[0049] A survey paper entitled “Object Detection and Tracking in Video”, dated November, 2001, by Zhong Guo of the Department of Computer Science, Kent State University lists a number of approaches used for object detection and tracking, including deformable template matching and region based approaches to object tracking using motion information.
[0050] These methods can identify and provide an approximate location of an area of interest, including position and/or orientation of a pre-defined object such as a reflector, or even a person's face. There are also well-known stereoscopic and other techniques to determine the distance of an object from the camera. These methods typically analyze image geometry from views from two cameras. Image data from a single camera may be used. For example, Daphna Weinshall, Mi-Suen Lee, Tomas Brodsky, Miroslav Trajkovic and Doron Feldman, in an article entitled, “New View Generation with a Bi-centric Camera”, Proceedings: 7 th European Conference of Computer Vision , Copenhagen, May 2002, have proposed methods to extract 3D information from 2D video gathered from a single, uncalibrated camera.
[0051] Using only position (and not orientation), Tuttle in U.S. Pat. No. 5,914,671 describes a system for locating an individual where a portable wireless transponder device is worn. Other radio (RF) techniques can be used to identify the position and orientation of a person or other object. Components which can compute the position and orientation of a small receiver as it moves through space, are commercially available. A system comprising a power supply, receiver, transmitter and hardware and software to generate and sense magnetic fields and compute position and orientation and interface with a host computer, is, for example, available under the name ISOTRAK II from Polhemus, Inc. of Colchester, Vt. That system tracks six degrees of freedom in the movement of an object.
[0052] There are numerous ways, in addition to those mentioned above, to detect the location of an object. From that information, an estimate of the relative location of the person's eye midpoint may be calculated.
[0053] The devices to be positioned are not limited to video monitors, other display screens and protective shields.
[0054] The device may be a “cooperating device” that follows the movements of a user during a task, for example, a camera maintained in position with respect to a surgeon's hands or with respect to an instrument during surgery. The present invention may also, for instance, dynamically move speakers with respect to a listener's ears, or a keyboard with respect to the hands, or phone cradle and keys to match the height of a user.
[0055] The sensor may indicate that no user has been working with the system for N (e.g. 30) minutes, so that the device moves to a more neutral position, one more readily configured for the next user, or to a “rest” position out of the way of people who may be in the area.
[0056] The user has the ability to remove areas from the configuration space for the arm and device movement.
[0057] A cautionary note or symbol, e.g., a flashing border or notice on a display screen, may be displayed if the arm and device are in certain areas of the configuration space.
[0058] The processor may also monitor the user's position with respect to an object and provide an indication, warning notice or alarm if a user's position has changed in a way that might cause a display to confuse a user, in particular, if the user moves so that the orientation of the image displayed would appear to change.
[0059] “Comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps. “A” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several means recited in the claims. | An apparatus and method for automatically positioning a device. A sensor detects the position of a user. In response to signals from the sensor, a processor determines an ideal position for use of the device. Next, coordinates for movement of an arm supporting the device and for positioning of the device at an achievable position nearest to the ideal position are calculated, taking into account restraints, such as limitation on the sensors, actuators and motors that move the device, and nearby obstacles such as walls. The arm adjusts to move the device to the achievable position. The device is repositioned at intervals as the user moves. Once no user is detected, then the device is moved to a default position. | 0 |
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF INVENTION
This invention relates to a sling hook and, more particularly, to a sling hook equipped with a curved slot in the sleeve portion to facilitate installation by twisting rather than threading as is conventional.
The hook with which the instant invention is concerned is advantageously employed in conjunction with wire rope to support loads for movement from one place to another--as in loading of ships, land vehicles, in logging, etc. The sling hook is a unitary member having a curved bill at one end and a sleeve or wire rope receiving passageway at the other, illustrated generally in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,381,531 and 4,073,042.
Although the art workers have tried for many years to avoid the laborious threading operation (wherein the end of the rope is threaded through the eye of the sleeve--see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,420,487 and 1,572,347--the commercial art has remained static and tolerated these difficulties. For example, the hook sleeve portion must be threaded onto the rope before the rope ends are fashioned into eyes or loops. Notwithstanding the great advantage of being able to have the eyes or loops formed in the ends of the wire rope at an earlier time and at a different place from the installation of the hook, the art has put up with this disadvantage.
Another factor always present in the mind of the user is the safety or integrity of the hook. Should either the hook or rope fail, there is the possibility of great injury (as well as property damage). Prior art hooks have been characterized by the lack of any way of quickly establishing whether the hook has been stressed beyond its yield point and thus is potentially unsafe.
The instant invention overcomes these disadvantages by introducing a curved slot into the sleeve portion of the hook in such a way as to make possible a twisting rather than a threading installation of the wire rope and which is so constructed and arranged to divide the sleeve portion into a pair of unequal lug eyes. This results in an unusual and unexpected strength in the overall hook--load testing establishing that the hook ultimately fails in the shank or bill portion as in the conventional hook, and not in the split sleeve portion. More particularly, the provision of this single change from the prior art, results in two beneficial results--ease of the installation and a visual indication of overstressing.
Other objects and advantages of the invention may be seen in the details of the ensuing specification.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The invention is described in conjunction with an illustrative embodiment in the accompanying drawing, in which--
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of apparatus operating in an environment utilizing the inventive sling hook;
FIGS. 2 and 3 are opposite perspective views of the inventive hook;
FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the hook;
FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the hook corresponding essentially to FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is a rear end elevational view of the hook;
FIG. 7 is another side elevation of the hook-- taken from the side opposite to that seen in FIG. 5 and corresponding generally to the view seen in perspective in FIG. 3; and
FIG. 8 is a front end elevational view.
In the illustration given and with reference first to FIG. 1, the numeral 10 designates generally a hoist chain equipped with a swivel hook 11 at the bottom thereof. Not shown is the means for moving the hoist chain 10--generally a crane or the like.
Secured to the hook 11 is a loop or eye 12 of a wire rope 13 which is seen to extend around a load of two-by-fours generally designated 14. The lower end of the rope 13 is equipped with another eye as at 15 which is received within the inventive hook generally designated 16.
Referring now to FIG. 2, the sling hook 16 is seen to include a unitary body having a shank 17 curving downwardly and forwardly into a bill 18. The upper end of the bill 18 is in spaced relation to the shank 17 to provide a throat 19 adapted to receive a wire rope (not shown) therein. The throat is downwardly arcuate as at 20 to provide a nadir to the bottom of the wire rope.
The hook 16 at its upper end is equipped with an integral sleeve portion generally designated 21 which is also adapted to receive a wire rope.
According to the invention, the sleeve portion 21 is generally centrally longitudinally thereof equipped with a curved slot 22 which divides the sleeve portion into a pair of lug eyes--a forward lug eye 23 and a rear lug eye 24. The directions indicated are with respect to the bill 18--the bill 18 and the throat 19 being considered the forward part of the hook 16.
From a consideration of FIGS. 5 and 7 in particular, it will be appreciated that the forward lug eye 23 is larger, i.e., of greater length in the direction of rope bearing than the rear lug eye 24. This has been found advantageous in that the forward lug eye 23 will take the majority of the load when the hook is used in the normal manner. For example, in the so-called 5/8" size, the bearing surface 25 (see FIG. 5) of the smaller lug eye 24 is approximately 32 mm. long, i.e., in the direction the wire rope lies within the sleeve portion 21. The corresponding length of the bearing surface 26 in the lug eye 23 is 48 mm. long--or approximately 50% greater. Generally we find that for optimum performance, the bearing surface 26 should be from about 35% to about 65% greater than the length of the bearing surface 25.
Referring now to FIG. 7, it will be seen that the rear end portion 27 of the forward lug eye 23 is approximately aligned with the nadir 20 of the throat 19. When sling hooks are constructed according to the instant invention and tested under tension, i.e., a pulling load on the bearing surfaces 26 and 25 and a further pulling load on a line placed within the throat 19, it is found that the lug eyes move toward each other to close the slot 22 and there is still no ultimate failure within the sleeve portion 21. As in the case with conventional sling hooks--with unslotted sleeve portions--the failure occurs in the shank or bill.
The slot 22 is generally curved. In the specific illustration given, the slot 22 includes a central straight portion 28 (see FIG. 4) which is connected by curved portions as at 29 (see FIG. 2) and 30 (see FIG. 3) with further straight portions 31 (see FIG. 5) and 32 (see FIG. 7), respectively. The slot portion 32 thus defines a straight or generally flat end 33 on the lug eye 23 and the slot 31 similarly defines a straight or flat end 34 on the lug eye 24. In each case, the end slot portions 31 and 32 extend downwardly and in diverging relation to the rope centerline C (see FIGS. 5 and 7). The angle between the end 34 on the rear lug eye and the rope centerline C is between 20° and 50°. The angle between the end 33 on the front lug eye and the rope centerline is also in the range of 20°-50°. Optimally, the angle between the end surfaces and the rope centerline should be about 30°. Further, the width of the centerline slot portion 28 is approximately the same as the diameter of the bore 35 (see FIGS. 6 and 8) defined by the lug eyes. For best results, the ratio or the width of the slot 28 should not be greater than 1.75 the rope diameter and preferably about 1.5 to conserve metal and achieve stabilization of the rope. Optimum stabilization is achieved when the ratio is about 1.05.
The specified angle helps insure that the tope stays on the hook. In this case, the elastic properties of the rope in bending are used as a locking mechanism to keep the hook on the rope. This is due to the fact that the rope must be elastically deformed to attache the hook to it or remove it. As long as the rope has not been overloaded and plastically deformed, the elastic properties of the rope tend to keep the hook on the sling.
With the invention, a rigger is enabled to put a sling hook on a sling that is at both ends previously made into eyes. While it is possible to put the rope onto the assembled sling, it is impossible for the hook to slip off the sling, over the terminals or lug eyes. Although the hook can be intentionally taken off the sling, an operator must manipulate the rope carefully to do so.
In operation, the rope is inserted into the sleeve section by laying the body of the rope sling into the top slot 22. The sling hook is then rotated 90° such that the rope body snaps into place in the sleeve, directly over the main point of the hook. Even as the load increases to failure, the lug eyes 23 and 24 bend toward each other before hook failure. This is a significant advantage of the invention--giving a visual indication to the user that the hook has been overloaded, but well under the breaking load of the hook.
This permits end user flexibility in a manner not heretofore possible. He may use a sling either with or without a hook on it. In many cases the user may have slings of many different lengths. He need not have a hook permanently attached to any of them. If he wants to use a hook on a short sling, he reaches into his tool box, pulls out the inventive hook and puts it on the short sling. If he wants to go to a longer sling, he can move the hook from one sling to another. If, however, the hook has been overloaded to the point of yielding in the lug eyes, then he cannot remove it from the sling easily. This is an indication to the user that the hook should be replaced and, in fact, the sling has been overloaded and probably should be replaced as well. Thus, the inventive construction not only provides an easily installed hook but also one that gives an unmistakable indication of overloading. | A sling hook consisting of a bill portion of the lower end and a sleeve portion at the upper end where the sleeve portion is interrupted by a generally curved slot to permit twist installation of a wire rope sling. | 5 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not Applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable
INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC
Not Applicable
NOTICE OF MATERIAL SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT PROTECTION
A portion of the material in this patent document is subject to copyright protection under the copyright laws of the United States and of other countries. The owner of the copyright rights has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office publicly available file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. The copyright owner does not hereby waive any of its rights to have this patent document maintained in secrecy, including without limitation its rights pursuant to 37 C.F.R. §1.14.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to remote controlled displays, and more particularly to displays controlled by using a graphical user interface (GUI) from an Internet access device via an Internet protocol television (IPTV) connection.
2. Description of Related Art
Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is a system through which Internet television services are delivered using the architecture and networking methods of the Internet Protocol Suite over a packet-switched network infrastructure, e.g., the Internet and broadband Internet access networks, instead of being delivered through more traditional radio frequency broadcast, satellite signal, and cable television (CATV) formats.
IPTV services may be classified into three main groups: live television, with or without interactivity related to the current TV show; time-shifted programming: catch-up TV (replays of a TV show that was broadcast hours or days ago), start-over TV (replays the current TV show from its beginning); and video on demand (VOD): browse a catalog of videos, not related to TV programming.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An aspect of the invention is a display, which may comprise: a display device with an Internet access through an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) connection; a graphical user interface (GUI) viewable on the display device; and means for inputting a command to the GUI over the IPTV connection.
The means for inputting may comprise an Internet access device able to access the Internet, wherein the Internet access device is selected from a group of devices consisting of: a personal computer (PC), a laptop, an iPad, a tablet, a set top box, a smart phone, and an iPod. The Internet access device may access the Internet over a wired or wireless connection.
The Internet access device may comprise one or more input devices selected from the group of input devices consisting of a keyboard, a touch screen, a multiple touch screen, a mouse, a touchpad, a tablet input device, a voice input, a joystick, a nunchuk, a sensor bar, and a motion sensor.
The motion sensor may comprise one or more sensors in aggregate for: detection of motion in at least two directions; and detection of a “select” command.
The means for inputting may comprise a computer program executable by the display device, for performing one or more steps comprising: displaying the GUI on the display device; accepting one or more commands received over the IPTV connection; and navigating the GUI according to the accepted commands. The means for inputting may be stored as a computer program executable on a computer readable medium.
Alternatively, the means for inputting may comprise a computer program executable by the Internet access device, for performing one or more steps comprising: receiving an input from one or more of the input devices; translating the input into the command suitable for the GUI on the display device; and transmitting the command over the IPTV connection to the GUI on the display device. Again, the means for inputting may be stored as a computer program executable on a computer readable medium.
Another aspect of the invention is a method of controlling a display graphical user interface (GUI), comprising: providing a display; connecting the display to an Internet access through an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) connection; and controlling a graphical user interface (GUI) on the display through one or more IPTV commands. The method may further comprise displaying the GUI on the display.
The method may further comprise: providing an Internet access device selected from a group of devices consisting of: a personal computer (PC), a laptop, an iPad, a tablet, a set top box, a smart phone, an iPod; and transmitting one or more commands over IPTV from the Internet access device to the display GUI.
The method may still further comprise: providing one or more input devices connected to the Internet access device, wherein the input devices are selected from the group of input devices consisting of a keyboard, a touch screen, a multiple touch screen, a mouse, a touchpad, a tablet input device, a voice input, a joystick, a nunchuk, a sensor bar, and a motion sensor. The input devices may be connected to the Internet access device either wired or wirelessly.
The method may still further comprise translating, on the Internet access device, one or more inputs from the input devices into one or more of the commands suitable for controlling the GUI on the display. Additionally, the controlling step may be stored as a computer program executable on a computer readable medium.
The controlling the GUI on the display step may comprise: transmitting, from the Internet access device to the GUI on the display, a descriptor of the input device connected to the Internet access device; transmitting, from the input device to the display through the Internet access device over the IPTV connection, one or more inputs; translating, on the display, the one or more inputs into one or more translated commands comprising one or more of the IPTV commands; and executing, on the GUI on the display, the one or more translated commands; whereby the GUI on the display is controlled by the translated commands. The controlling the GUI on the display step may be stored as a computer program executable on a computer readable medium.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a method of Internet display control may comprise: providing an Internet protocol television (IPTV) connection between a display and an Internet access device; providing one or more inputs from an input device to the Internet access device; transmitting the one or more inputs from the Internet access device to the display over the IPTV connection; and thereby controlling a Graphical User Interface (GUI) on the display with the one or more inputs.
The method of Internet display control may further comprise: translating, on the display, the one or more inputs from the input device to one or more GUI commands; and controlling the GUI via the one or more GUI commands.
In another aspect of the invention, a system for IPTV graphical user interface control is disclosed, comprising: a display device with an Internet access through an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) connection; a graphical user interface (GUI) viewable on the display device; and an Internet access device with access the Internet over the IPTV connection; wherein the Internet access device and the display device are connected over the IPTV connection; and wherein a command entered on the Internet access device controls the GUI on the display device over the IPTV connection.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a display device for IPTV graphical user interface control is described, comprising: a display device with an Internet access through an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) connection; a graphical user interface (GUI) viewable on the display device; wherein the GUI on the display device is controlled by commands communicated over the IPTV connection.
The display device may further comprise: an Internet access device able to access the Internet over the IPTV connection; wherein the Internet access device and the display device are connected over the IPTV connection; and wherein a command entered on the Internet access device controls the GUI on the display device over the IPTV connection.
The display device may further comprise: one or more input devices connected to the Internet access device, wherein the input devices are selected from the group of input devices consisting of a keyboard, a touch screen, a multiple touch screen, a mouse, a touchpad, a tablet input device, a voice input, a joystick, a nunchuk, a sensor bar, and a motion sensor.
The input devices may be connected to the Internet access device either wired or wirelessly.
The Internet access device may have one or more inputs from the input devices that are translated into one or more of the commands suitable for controlling the GUI on the display.
The one or more inputs from the input devices may be translated into one or more of the commands suitable for controlling the GUI on the display by a computer program executable stored on a computer readable medium.
The Internet access device may be selected from a group of devices consisting of: a personal computer (PC), a laptop, an iPad, a tablet, a set top box, a smart phone, and an iPod.
In still another aspect of the invention, an Internet access device may comprise: an Internet access device with Internet access over an IPTV connection; one or more input devices connected to the Internet access device; and a computer program executable on the Internet access device, wherein a command entered on the Internet access device by one or more of the input devices generates commands transmitted over the IPTV connection.
The input devices may be selected from the group of input devices consisting of a keyboard, a touch screen, a multiple touch screen, a mouse, a touchpad, a tablet input device, a voice input, a joystick, a nunchuk, a sensor bar, and a motion sensor.
The Internet access device may further comprise: a display device connected to the Internet over another IPTV connection; wherein the Internet access device and the display device are connected over the IPTV connection; and wherein the generated commands of the Internet access device are transmitted over the IPTV connection to the display device to control a graphical user interface (GUI) resident on the display device.
The input devices may be connected to the Internet access device either wired or wirelessly.
The Internet access device may have one or more inputs from the input devices that are translated into one or more of the commands suitable for controlling the GUI on the display.
The command from the input device may be translated into one or more of the commands suitable for controlling the GUI on the display by a computer program executable stored on a computer readable medium.
The Internet access device may be selected from a group of devices consisting of: a personal computer (PC), a laptop, an iPad, a tablet, a set top box, a smart phone, and an iPod.
The Internet access device computer program executable may be stored on a computer readable medium.
Further aspects of the invention will be brought out in the following portions of the specification, wherein the detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing preferred embodiments of the invention without placing limitations thereon.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)
The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following drawings which are for illustrative purposes only:
FIG. 1 is a diagram of a display controlled by an Internet protocol television (IPTV) connection to an Internet access device with one or more input devices.
FIG. 2 is a diagram of a display controlled by an IPTV connection, where the display has a translator module to translate commands from an Internet access device to the graphical user interface (GUI) present on the display.
FIG. 3 is a diagram of a display controlled by an IPTV connection, where the Internet access device has a translator module to send translated commands over Internet protocol television (IPTV) to the graphical user interface (GUI) present on the display.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Refer now to FIG. 1 , which is a diagram 100 of a display 102 controlled by an Internet protocol television (IPTV) 104 connection over an Internet 106 connection to an Internet access device with one or more input devices.
In one embodiment, a continuing IPTV connection 108 connects with a representative personal computer (PC) 110 . The PC 110 may have a display 112 (which may, or may not, be touch sensitive), a keyboard 114 (with or without a numeric entry pad), a mouse 116 , and a tablet 118 input with or without a stylus 120 input. The display 112 , if touch sensitive, may act as an input device, as may the keyboard 114 , the mouse 116 , and the tablet 118 .
By using software resident on the PC 110 the various input devices (e.g. touch sensitive screen if present, keyboard 114 , mouse 116 , or tablet 118 ) connected to the PC 110 may be used to command the display 102 over the IPTV connections 104 and 108 to and from the Internet 106 .
A set top box (STB) 122 may also connect to the Internet 106 over an IPTV connection 124 . The STB 122 may have inputs via a wireless antenna 126 or an infrared input 128 , from a remote controller 130 . Therefore, the remote controller 130 may also use either radio frequency wireless or infrared communications. The STB 122 would need to be able to establish an IPTV 124 communications link to the display 102 , by means of software resident on the STB 122 .
A tablet device 132 , such as an iPad™, may also connect to the Internet 106 via still another IPTV link 134 . The tablet device 132 would generally be able to connect to the Internet 106 via software resident on the tablet device 132 . A tablet graphic user interface 136 (which may also incorporate a virtual remote or keyboard) may also run on the tablet device 132 , whereby the display 102 would be controlled over the IPTV connections 104 and 134 present between them by indicating actions to be taken on the tablet graphic user interface 136 . The tablet device 132 may also comprise a virtual keyboard (as part of the tablet graphic user interface 136 ) on a touch screen, whereby inputs from the touch screen are used to control the display 102 via IPTV connections 104 and 134 .
Similarly, a laptop computer 138 , or netbook, with a display 140 , laptop graphical user interface 142 , and keyboard 144 , would able to access the Internet 106 through still another IPTV connection 146 . By using the laptop computer 138 , the display 102 could be controlled over the IPTV link 104 and the IPTV connection 146 between them. In this instance, software present on the laptop computer 138 would act as a laptop graphical user interface 142 for control of the display 102 via IPTV connections 104 and 146 .
In one final non-limiting example, a smart phone 148 may have one or more input devices consisting of a keyboard 150 , a display 152 (if touch screen capable), and a trackball or track pad 154 . The smart phone 148 may also communicate over an IPTV link 156 to the Internet 106 , where the display 102 is controlled by its IPTV connection 104 to the Internet 106 . Additional input devices resident on the smart phone 148 may include motion sensors, accelerometers, GPS sensors, and voice inputs. The smart phone 148 may also run a resident application (a display 152 graphical or non-graphical user interface, not shown here) that performs functions of observing the various input devices, and transmitting inputs from the input devices to the display 102 .
The Internet access device (e.g. PC 110 , STB 122 , tablet device 132 , laptop computer 138 , smart phone 148 ) may replace what would otherwise be a more traditionally remote control (not shown here), and would allow navigation of a GUI resident on the display 102 by passing commands over an IPTV connection to the Internet 106 , and thence to the display 102 through a wired or wireless IPTV connection.
There are few limitations to the possible Internet access devices that may be used, so long as access to an IPTV connection (e.g. 104 , 108 , 124 , 134 , 146 , and 156 ) is possible with a given display 102 via the Internet 106 .
Increasingly televisions, particularly high definition televisions (HDTVs), support Internet access capability. Using Internet access and IPTV protocols as described above, such an HDTV (also termed a display herein) could be navigated and controlled by using IPTV commands to the HDTV (the display 102 GUI) seamlessly through the appropriate IPTV connection.
Refer now to FIG. 2 , which is a diagram 200 of a display 202 comprising a monitor 204 , a graphical user interface (GUI) 206 , and a translator module 208 . The display 202 is controlled by an IPTV connection 210 , where the display 202 has a translator module 208 to translate incoming commands from the Internet 212 . The graphical user interface (GUI) 206 controls screens on the monitor 204 , and may also pass commands over a hardware link 214 to the monitor 204 , directing the monitor 204 to change channels, input sources, frame rates, pixel sizes, etc. characteristic to the display of images or video present on the monitor 204 .
Incoming commands from the Internet 212 pass through the IPTV connection 210 to the translator module 208 , where information about the input device, the input commands, etc. are processed into virtual key code commands which are sent 216 to the GUI 206 in the display 202 . For example, if a keyboard up and down arrow are used to increase or decrease either channel numbers or volume, then appropriate keyboard up arrows ↑ or down arrows ↓ would be mapped into an appropriate respective increase or decrease.
An additional IPTV connection 218 could connect, as a nonlimiting example, a personal computer 220 to the Internet 212 . The personal computer (PC) 220 may have a variety of input devices, such as keyboard 222 , mouse 224 , and tablet input 226 .
The PC 220 may have a computer monitor 228 , upon which a user interface 230 may be displayed. Controls by one or more of the input devices may be used as inputs to the user interface 230 , which are in turn relayed over the additional IPTV connection 218 to the Internet 212 , thence to the IPTV connection 210 to the display 202 .
Refer now to FIG. 3 , which is a diagram 300 of a display 302 comprising a monitor 304 , and a graphical user interface (GUI) 306 . The GUI 306 controls via a hardware connection 308 what is displayed on the monitor 304 , as well as changes channels, inputs, and volume controls. The display 302 would be controlled by an IPTV connection 310 by incoming commands from the Internet 312 . The graphical user interface (GUI) 306 controls screens on the monitor 304 , and may also pass commands over a hardware connection 308 to the monitor 304 , directing the monitor to change channels, input sources, frame rates, pixel sizes, etc. characteristic to the display of images or video present on the monitor 304 .
Incoming commands from the Internet 312 would pass through the IPTV connection 310 to the GUI 306 , which would then direct the display 302 over the hardware connection 308 to change as desired.
Note that in FIG. 3 , there is no translator module 208 previously described in FIG. 2 . Here, commands are assumed to be input to the GUI 306 in an input device independent manner.
Another IPTV connection 314 connects a personal computer system 316 to the Internet 312 . Here, the personal computer 318 passes inputs from various input devices to a translator module 320 through either a software or hardware link 322 prior to transmission of inputs from the input devices through the IPTV connection 314 , the Internet 312 , and ultimately to the display 302 GUI 306 .
The translator module 320 uses information about the particular input device to translate the input commands into commands to be sent 314 to the GUI 306 and thence over the hardware connection 308 to the display 302 . For example, in a keyboard input device, the up and down arrows may be used to increase or decrease channels or volume, then appropriate keyboard up arrows ↑ or down arrows ↓ would be mapped into an increase or decrease, respectively display 302 controls resident in the GUI 306 .
In this way, regardless of the input device, commands universal to the display 302 GUI 306 are presented. This method actually makes much sense, as each Internet access device, such as a PC 318 , may have drivers or other application software that translates their respective input devices into GUI 306 command equivalents.
Referring back to FIG. 1 , although not shown here, other smart phones 148 , such as iPhones, Droids, BlackBerry smart phones, etc. may have direct access to the Internet 106 . By writing device dependent applications for these devices, finger swipes, keyboards, track pads, and the like may be used to control a display 102 by direct IPTV connection 104 over the Internet 106 . Additionally, dedicated remote controls may be used to control display 102 GUIs from the remote input devices.
DISCUSSION
The “input device—to Internet access device—to IPTV connection” functionality could be implemented as a software solution without additional hardware cost, or at least minimal additional cost. Various Internet access devices (e.g. PC, laptop, smart phone, tablet device) comprising various input devices (e.g. mouse, keyboard, tablet with virtual keypad on a touch screen, without limitation), could be used to control a display via IPTV by going through an IPTV to Internet to IPTV connection by implementing an appropriate client-server interface.
These various IPTV connections would implement a software stack that could be activated to listen to an input device via its Internet access device over the IPTV connection from a network TCP/IP stack as a client. As the client screen device (e.g. IPTV) receives a key code from network, it would convert or translate the received key code to a proper internal key code, e.g. various integrated remote control system keys, such as the Sony Integrated Remote Control System (SIRCS), mouse pointer, or touch screen multipoint access.
An input device could be activated as a network server and the other screen device or IPTV could be activated as an associated client, where the server would pass designed key input protocols to share and control the input focus and screen GUI activities on its associated client devices.
This method would provide a central input control mechanism for multiple screens on various devices by using a server-client IPTV connection.
The input device may allow the GUI to activate or deactivate the input device control with the network connection of each individual client device.
The target client device or IPTV may also provide the proper GUI setup to enable and disable the external input device listener software that may connect and disconnect with the server device.
The input device may provide a mechanism to scan available displays (e.g. IPTV, PC) on a list where a user may choose the focus of input source by switching the focus on the GUI of each display. In this manner, the input device could cross multiple displays by changing the input device focus on the target screen.
This invention may be particularly useful for input devices such as PCs, tablets, IP cellular phones that already have the Internet or LAN access capability, as they may control over IPTV a remote GUI through TCP/IP protocols without any additional hardware cost other than the implementation of an appropriate IPTV control and interface software stack.
Through the Internet, directly on the display, or via IPTV, manufacturers may be able to download updates for improvements to the input device functionality or GUI software to change the control and interface mechanism. In this manner, even enhanced new application features (e.g. gaming) could be downloaded.
The input device vendor may choose to provide such features as a service promotion in a business sense. Such service promotions may help to more easily introduce, or more rapidly increase market share of, new applications associated with new remote input devices.
This invention would also extend the capability of HDTVs or other displays with Internet access to other Internet access devices.
CONCLUSION
Embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to flowchart illustrations of methods and systems according to embodiments of the invention. These methods and systems can also be implemented as computer program products. In this regard, each block or step of a flowchart, and combinations of blocks (and/or steps) in a flowchart, can be implemented by various means, such as hardware, firmware, and/or software including one or more computer program instructions embodied in computer-readable program code logic. As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructions may be loaded onto a computer, including without limitation a general purpose computer or special purpose computer, or other programmable processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the computer program instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable processing apparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in the block(s) of the flowchart(s).
Accordingly, blocks of the flowcharts support combinations of means for performing the specified functions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions, and computer program instructions, such as embodied in computer-readable program code logic means, for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform the specified functions or steps, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer-readable program code logic means.
Furthermore, these computer program instructions, such as embodied in computer-readable program code logic, may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the block(s) of the flowchart(s). The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable processing apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable processing apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the block(s) of the flowchart(s).
From the discussion above it will be appreciated that the invention can be embodied in various ways, including the following:
1. A display apparatus, comprising: a display device configured for Internet access through an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) connection; a graphical user interface (GUI) viewable on the display device; and means for inputting a command to the GUI over the IPTV connection.
2. The apparatus of embodiment 1, wherein the means for inputting comprises: an Internet access device configured to access the Internet, wherein the Internet access device is selected from a group of devices consisting of: a personal computer (PC), a laptop, an iPad, a tablet, a set top box, a smart phone, and an iPod.
3. The apparatus of embodiment 2, wherein the Internet access device accesses the Internet over a wired or wireless connection.
4. The apparatus of embodiment 2, wherein the Internet access device comprises one or more input devices selected from the group of input devices consisting of a keyboard, a touch screen, a multiple touch screen, a mouse, a touchpad, a tablet input device, a voice input, a joystick, a nunchuk, a sensor bar, and a motion sensor.
5. The apparatus of embodiment 4, wherein the motion sensor comprises: one or more sensors in aggregate for: detection of motion in at least two directions; and detection of a “select” command.
6. The apparatus of embodiment 1, wherein the means for inputting comprises a computer program executable by the display device, for performing one or more steps comprising: displaying the GUI on the display device; accepting one or more commands received over the IPTV connection; and navigating the GUI according to the accepted commands.
7. The apparatus of embodiment 6, wherein the means for inputting is stored as a computer program executable on a computer readable medium.
8. The apparatus of embodiment 4, wherein the means for inputting comprises a computer program executable by the Internet access device, for performing one or more steps comprising: receiving an input from one or more of the input devices; translating the input into the command suitable for the GUI on the display device; and transmitting the command over the IPTV connection to the GUI on the display device.
9. The apparatus of embodiment 8, wherein the means for inputting is stored as a computer program executable on a computer readable medium.
10. A method of controlling a display graphical user interface (GUI), comprising: providing a display; connecting the display to an Internet access through an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) connection; and controlling a graphical user interface (GUI) on the display through one or more IPTV commands.
11. The method of embodiment 10, further comprising: displaying the GUI on the display.
12. The method of embodiment 10, further comprising: providing an Internet access device selected from a group of devices consisting of: a personal computer (PC), a laptop, an iPad, a tablet, a set top box, a smart phone, an iPod; and transmitting one or more commands over IPTV from the Internet access device to the display GUI.
13. The method of embodiment 12, further comprising: providing one or more input devices connected to the Internet access device, wherein the input devices are selected from the group of input devices consisting of a keyboard, a touch screen, a multiple touch screen, a mouse, a touchpad, a tablet input device, a voice input, a joystick, a nunchuk, a sensor bar, and a motion sensor.
14. The method of embodiment 13, wherein the input devices are connected to the Internet access device either wired or wirelessly.
15. The method of embodiment 13, further comprising: translating, on the Internet access device, one or more inputs from the input devices into one or more of the commands suitable for controlling the GUI on the display.
16. The method of embodiment 15, wherein the controlling step is stored as a computer program executable on a computer readable medium.
17. The method of embodiment 14, wherein the controlling the GUI on the display step comprises: transmitting, from the Internet access device to the GUI on the display, a descriptor of the input device connected to the Internet access device; transmitting, from the input device to the display through the Internet access device over the IPTV connection, one or more inputs; translating, on the display, the one or more inputs into one or more translated commands comprising one or more of the IPTV commands; and executing, on the GUI on the display, the one or more translated commands; whereby the GUI on the display is controlled by the translated commands.
18. The method of embodiment 17, wherein the controlling the GUI on the display step is stored as a computer program executable on a computer readable medium.
19. A method of Internet display control, comprising: providing an Internet protocol television (IPTV) connection between a display and an Internet access device; providing one or more inputs from an input device to the Internet access device; transmitting the one or more inputs from the Internet access device to the display over the IPTV connection; and thereby controlling a Graphical User Interface (GUI) on the display with the one or more inputs.
20. The method of Internet display control of embodiment 19, further comprising: translating, on the display, the one or more inputs from the input device to one or more GUI commands; and controlling the GUI via the one or more GUI commands.
21. A system for IPTV graphical user interface control, comprising: a display device configured for Internet access through an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) connection; a graphical user interface (GUI) viewable on the display device; and an Internet access device configured for access the Internet over the IPTV connection; wherein the Internet access device and the display device are configured for connection over the IPTV connection; and wherein a command entered on the Internet access device controls the GUI on the display device over the IPTV connection.
22. A display device for IPTV graphical user interface control, comprising: a display device configured for Internet access through an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) connection; a graphical user interface (GUI) viewable on the display device; wherein the GUI on the display device is controlled by commands communicated over the IPTV connection.
23. The display device recited in claim 22 , comprising: an Internet access device configured for access to the Internet over the IPTV connection; wherein the Internet access device and the display device are configured for connection over the IPTV connection; and wherein a command entered on the Internet access device controls the GUI on the display device over the IPTV connection.
24. The display device recited in claim 23 , further comprising: one or more input devices connected to the Internet access device, wherein the input devices are selected from the group of input devices consisting of a keyboard, a touch screen, a multiple touch screen, a mouse, a touchpad, a tablet input device, a voice input, a joystick, a nunchuk, a sensor bar, and a motion sensor.
25. The display device recited in claim 24 , wherein the input devices are connected to the Internet access device either wired or wirelessly.
26. The display device recited in claim 24 , wherein in the Internet access device, one or more inputs from the input devices are translated into one or more of the commands suitable for controlling the GUI on the display.
27. The display device recited in claim 26 , wherein the one or more inputs from the input devices are translated into one or more of the commands suitable for controlling the GUI on the display by a computer program executable stored on a computer readable medium.
28. The display device recited in claim 23 , wherein the Internet access device is selected from a group of devices consisting of: a personal computer (PC), a laptop, an iPad, a tablet, a set top box, a smart phone, and an iPod.
29. An Internet access device, comprising: an Internet access device configured for Internet access over an IPTV connection; one or more input devices connected to the Internet access device; and a computer program executable on the Internet access device, wherein a command entered on the Internet access device by one or more of the input devices generates commands transmitted over the IPTV connection.
30. The Internet access device recited in claim 29 , wherein the input devices are selected from the group of input devices consisting of a keyboard, a touch screen, a multiple touch screen, a mouse, a touchpad, a tablet input device, a voice input, a joystick, a nunchuk, a sensor bar, and a motion sensor
31. The Internet access device recited in claim 29 , further comprising: a display device configured for connection to the Internet over another IPTV connection; wherein the Internet access device and the display device are configured for connection over the IPTV connection; and wherein the generated commands of the Internet access device are transmitted over the IPTV connection to the display device to control a graphical user interface (GUI) resident on the display device.
32. The Internet access device recited in claim 29 , wherein the input devices are connected to the Internet access device either wired or wirelessly.
33. The Internet access device recited in claim 31 , wherein in the Internet access device, one or more inputs from the input devices are translated into one or more of the commands suitable for controlling the GUI on the display.
34. The Internet access device recited in claim 31 , wherein the command from the input device is translated into one or more of the commands suitable for controlling the GUI on the display by a computer program executable stored on a computer readable medium.
35. The Internet access device recited in claim 23 , wherein the Internet access device is selected from a group of devices consisting of: a personal computer (PC), a laptop, an iPad, a tablet, a set top box, a smart phone, and an iPod.
36. The Internet access device recited in claim 29 , wherein the computer program executable is stored on a computer readable medium.
Although the description above contains many details, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. Therefore, it will be appreciated that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the art, and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, in which reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” All structural, chemical, and functional equivalents to the elements of the above-described preferred embodiment that are known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the present claims. Moreover, it is not necessary for a device or method to address each and every problem sought to be solved by the present invention, for it to be encompassed by the present claims. Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” | An Internet protocol television (IPTV) system is driven by a graphical user interface (GUI) controlled by an input device attached to an Internet access device that in turn connects to the GUI over IPTV connections. The input device may be a keyboard, smart phone, iPad, mouse, personal computer, laptop, touch screen, or other generic universal serial bus (USB), IEEE 1394 (FireWire), or other connected device. Connection between the input device and the GUI may be either wired (including, but not limited to USB, IEEE 1394, and Ethernet) or wireless (including, without limitation, infrared (IR), radio frequency, or other form of electromagnetic transmission). Regardless of connection method, the input device acts to operate and command the IPTV GUI so as to navigate and control the IPTV. By appropriate GUI implementations, a single input device may be configured to operate one or more windows on one or more display via IPTV connections. | 7 |
TECHNICAL AREA
The present invention relates to a method for engine retardation with a multi-cylinder combustion engine, which for each cylinder with matching piston has at least one exhaust valve for control of the connection between a combustion chamber in the cylinder and an exhaust system, whereby the combustion cheer is connected to the exhaust system through opening of the exhaust valve at least when the piston in the cylinder is in the so called compression phase, said opening being achieved by a change of clearance in the valve mechanism of the combustion engine, thereby activating one or more extra cam ridges on the camshaft of the engine, which continuously activates the valve mechanism in dependence of the momentary position of the engine crankshaft through an actively adjustable, hydraulically operated clearance regulating device, which for active control of the engine retardation is adjusted between different positions by means of a hydraulic fluid pressure, whereby the angular camshaft position at which the exhaust valves are opened by the said extra cam ridge or ridges is dependent on the momentary clearance in the valve mechanism.
The present invention also concerns a device for realization of the method for engine retardation with a multi-cylinder combustion engine, which for each cylinder with matching piston has at least one exhaust valve for control of the connection between a combustion cheer in the cylinder and an exhaust system, whereby the combustion chamber is connected to the exhaust system through opening of the exhaust valve at least when the piston in the cylinder is in the so called compression phase, said opening being achieved by a change of clearance in the valve mechanism of the combustion engine, thereby activating one or more extra cam ridges on the camshaft of the engine, which continuously activates the valve mechanism in dependence of the momentary position of the engine crankshaft through an actively adjustable, hydraulically operated clearance regulating device, which for active control of the engine retardation is arranged to be adjusted by a hydraulic fluid pressure staying below a maximum value controlled by a pressure relief valve, whereby the camshaft angular position at which the exhaust valves are opened by the said extra cam ridge or ridges is dependent on the momentary clearance in the valve mechanism.
Especially for heavier vehicles, there are high demands on efficient engine retardation, which thereby reduces the wear on the wheel brakes and thus improves the operating economy.
STATE OF THE ART
By engine retardation with a four-stroke combustion engine a certain braking power is achieved due to the internal resistance of the engine, a.o. due to friction. This effect is however relatively small, and in modern engines it has been even further reduced. It is known to increase the engine retardation power through the installation of a restriction means, like a throttle in the exhaust system, e.g. in the form of a so called AT regulator. In this way, part of the work during the piston exhaust phase can be used to increase the braking power.
It is also known to increase the braking power by so called compression retardation. By opening some or all of the engine exhaust valves, a partial flow into the exhaust system of air being compressed during the compression phase is achieved, which means that part of the compression work obtained during the compression phase cannot be regained during the expansion phase, thus causing the braking power to increase. In one such known compression retarder the ordinary exhaust valves are used, whereby the camshaft has at least one extra cam ridge for achieving the extra opening of the exhaust valves. This extra ridge gives a relatively small lifting height and a controllable hydraulic element is arranged in the valve mechanism in order to activate the extra cam ridge only during engine retardation, see e.g. W091/08381.
In this known retarder the hydraulic element consists of a clearance regulating device. This device is brought to uphold a prescribed clearance in the valve mechanism between the valves and the camshaft during normal operation and to reduce the clearance so that the extra cam ridge becomes active when the compression retarder is activated. Even if for emergencies there is a pressure relief valve integrated into the hydraulic element, there may by known devices occur detrimentally high cylinder pressures and thereby detrimentally high surface pressures in the valve mechanism when valves are opened too close to the upper dead centre. In known devices one has in such cases been forced to resort to earlier valve opening, which however gives a limited efficiency to the compression retarder.
The object of the present invention is to achieve a method and a device by which a high-grade compression retarder efficiency is obtained without detrimental influence on included components.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Said object is achieved by the method according to the present invention, which is characterized by that the respective clearance is gradually reduced to zero or close to zero while the pressure in the corresponding clearance regulating device is limited to a certain predetermined value, whereby, independently of when in time during the work cycle of a cylinder the engine retardation is initiated or terminated, the risk of an opening against a, from a stress aspect, too high cylinder pressure is eliminated.
Said object is further achieved by the device according to the present invention, which is characterized by that the pressure relief valve is arranged to control the clearance regulating device in such a way that the respective clearance is gradually reduced to zero or close to zero while the pressure in the corresponding clearance regulating device is limited to a certain predetermined value, whereby, independently of when in time during the work cycle of a cylinder the engine retardation is initiated or terminated, the risk of an opening against a, from a stress aspect, too high cylinder pressure is eliminated.
FIGURE DESCRIPTION
The invention is described below by an embodiment example referring to the enclosed drawings in which:
FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross section through a combustion engine equipped with a device according to the invention,
FIG. 2 shows a cross section through a valve mechanism equipped with a hydraulic clearance regulating device according to the invention,
FIG. 3 shows a cross section through the valve mechanism, along the line II--II in FIG. 2,
FIGS. 4-7 show diagrams, illustrating the mode of operation of the clearance regulating device according to the invention.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 shows schematically a four-stroke combustion engine, aimed at realization of the method according to the invention and to this end equipped with a device according to the invention. The engine according to FIG. 1 comprises an engine block 1 with a number of cylinders, of which for simplicity only one cylinder 2 is shown, containing a piston 3, which is connected to a crankshaft (not shown) by a connecting rod. Above the piston 3 in the cylinder 2 there is a combustion chamber 4, enclosed by a cylinder head 5. In the cylinder head there is arranged at least one inlet valve per cylinder, controlling the connection between the combustion chamber 4 and an inlet system 6, of which only part is shown. Furthermore, the cylinder head 5 comprises at least one exhaust valve 7 per cylinder 2, controlling the connection between the combustion chamber 4 and an exhaust system 8, of which only part is shown. The control of the inlet valve and of the exhaust valve 7 is arranged in the conventional way by one or more camshafts 10. In the shown example only one camshaft 10 has been included. As is the case by Diesel and Otto engines, the crankshaft creates a relative angular offset and thereby a time offset between the instantaneous movements of the individual pistons. The camshaft 10 creates in a similar manner, through different angular positions of its cams 11, a corresponding angular and time offset of the valve motions for the individual cylinders. The rest of the valve mechanism has been partly excluded for clarity. Other components of the engine are of less importance for the invention and are therefore not described closer here. When using the engine as a power source, the function does not differ markedly from what is known from other four-stroke combustion engines. This function is therefore not described closer here.
In the engine shown in FIG. 1 there is also an AT regulator with a restriction means 13 in the exhaust system 8. The restriction means 13 is controlled by a regulating device which independently of or in co-operation with the device according to the invention creates a restriction of the exhaust system and thereby an increased engine retardation in an as such known way.
FIG. 2 shows in more detail the design of the valve mechanism for obtaining the valve movement of in this case the exhaust valve 7 of one of the cylinders. The in the valve mechanism included camshaft 10 transfers its rotating motion to a rocker arm 14 arranged on a hollow rocker arm axle 15, intended to be fastened to the engine cylinder head by bolts not shown. The rotation of the camshaft is achieved in a conventional manner via a transmission from the engine crankshaft (not shown). A clearance regulating device 16, which adjusts the clearance between the camshaft 10 and the valve mechanism for controlling the exhaust valve 7 when activated, is arranged at one end 17 of the rocker arm. It is of the hydraulic type comprising a piston 18 moving within a hydraulic cylinder 19 mainly in the direction of movement of the valve 7 and is designed to attain, by hydraulic means, different positions in the rocker arm, thereby giving a head 21 acting against the valve stem 20 a varying degree of protrusion. The head 21 is in contact with an upper part of the valve stem 20 in order thereby to transmit the rocker arm movement to the valve 7. The return movement of the valve is ensured in the conventional way by means of a not shown valve spring. The hydraulic cylinder 19 of the clearance regulating device 16 is connected to a longitudinal hydraulic duct 22 in the rocker arm axle 15. This duct is common to all rocker arms on this shaft- In the rocker arm 11 there is a connecting duct 23, leading from the hydraulic duct 22 tot he hydraulic cylinder 19 via a control--and check valve device 24, which will be described closer below with reference to FIG. 3. The hydraulic pressure and thus the hydraulic fluid flow rate in the duct 22 and thereby also the flow rate to the hydraulic cylinder 19 of the clearance regulating device 16, is controlled by means of a not shown control device. Said cylinder is of the single-acting type and comprises a pressure relief valve 25 of the check valve type for limiting the surface pressure of the contact surfaces, in the shown example in the shape of a ball 28 held against a valve seat 27 in the direction away from the exhaust valve 7 by a spring 26. Said valve is arranged to be closed for hydraulic cylinder pressures below a set value, but to open the connection to the drainage duct 29 above that set value- The function of the valve will be described in detail below.
FIG. 3 shows in more detail an example of the embodiment of the control- and check valve device 24. The valve device 24 thus is a pilot operated check valve comprising a ball 32, pressed by a spring 30 against a seat 31. The valve device is arranged to be open at a hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic duct 22 above a certain value as well as at a hydraulic pressure below a certain value with an aim to reset the clerarance regulating device 16 in a way to be closer described below. At hydraulic pressures above a certain value the ball 32 is kept depressed, i.e. open, by the direct fluid pressure against the ball. At pressures below a certain value the ball is kept depressed by a hydraulic control device 33, which then mechanically keeps the ball 32 away from its seat 31. The control device 33 consists of an as such known piston 34, being forced in the direction against the ball by a spring 35. The piston 34 shows a trunklike end portion 36, which at low pressure in the hydraulic duct 22, below a certain value, keeps the ball 32 depressed and thereby open through the action of the spring 35. When the hydraulic pressure exceeds said lower certain value, i.e. when the pressure on the piston 34 exceeds the force from the spring 35, the ball is no longer affected by the piston 34.
Each rocker arm is in the conventional way equipped with a roller 37 which follows the cam curve for each cylinder of the camshaft 10 during its rotation, with or without clearance. The clearance, which is preferably located between the roller 37 and the camshaft 10 is changed by the clearance regulating device 16 in a way to be described in more detail below. On the camshaft 10 there is, besides the cam 11, arranged at least one low extra cam ridge 38, which is brought to open the exhaust valve at a certain crankshaft angle provided that the compression retarder and thereby the clearance regulating device 16 is activated.
The extra cam 38 is intended to open the exhaust valve so that the store pressure energy inside the cylinder close to the upper dead centre is dumped out, without any work being executed. The pressure inside the cylinder, before the exhaust valve is opened, also acts on the bottom surface of the exhaust valve, causing high forces to be needed for opening the valve when the cylinder pressure is high. These forces are directly influencing the surface pressure created between the roller 37 on the rocker arm 14 and the cam ridge 38. Therefore the limit value for the maximum allowed surface pressure also decides which maximum cylinder pressure can be accepted at the time of valve opening.
The pressure inside the cylinders is determined by a number of parameters, of which some are highly affected by the operating conditions.
Under continuous engine retardation conditions the cylinder pressure with activated compression retarder at the time of opening the exhaust valve for cylinder pressure dumping will show such values that the surface pressure between the cam ridge 38 and the roller 37 lie within acceptable limits. The cylinder pressure curve and the opening point in time in relation to said curve is shown in FIG. 4
When the engine is pulled around without activation of the compression retarder (e.g when the fuel is switched off but the engine is pulled around by the vehicle going downhill), the cylinder pressure may rise to more than double of what is normal in the case above at the time of valve opening. This entails that twice the force, compared to the case above, is needed to open the valve at the upper dead centre and this would bring about entirely unacceptable surface pressures between the cam ridge 38 and the roller 37. When the compression retarder is not activated, a clearance exceeding the height of the extra ridge 38 is maintained, as shown in FIG. 5. This clearance is achieved by the compression retarder regulator 14 (not show) governing the flow in the duct 22 so that the hydraulic piston 18 and thereby its head 21 will maintain a sufficiently withdrawn position so that the extra ridge 38 will not affect the rocker arm and thereby not the valve 7. When the compression retarder is initiated, either manually by driver actuation from the driver's cab or automatically by a not shown control system, the regulator governs the hydraulic flow rate and thereby the pressure in the hydraulic cylinder 19 so that the hydraulic piston 18 is pushed outwards, whereby the valve clearance is gradually reduced below the height of the extra ridge 38, which is shown in FIG. 6. From this figure it can be seen that the valve movement curve is pushed upwards and as the valve clearance is reduced the movement of the exhaust valve will follow the dashed curve.
Valve opening at slow gradual clearance compensation will not happen until close to the upper dead centre, see FIG. 6, entailing excessive surface pressures unless counteractive measures are taken. FIG. 6 thus shows, for the sake of clarity, the case where a pressure relief valve 25 is not present in the clearance regulating device 16 or is sized without knowledge of load conditions and their consequences.
According to the present invention, the pressure relief valve 25 has therefore been thoroughly calibrated to a carefully selected value. The pressure relief valve serves as a force limiter, that strives to be closed at an exactly calibrated closing force, this being achieved by its spring 26 being exactly calibrated regarding its spring force and by the ball 28 sealing against a shape-wise well defined seat. By the pressure relief valve 25 limiting the oil pressure to a pre-set level the surface pressure of the contact surfaces between the components included, i.e. between the upper end (20) of the exhaust valve 7 and the head 21 of the rocker arm 14 and between the camshaft 10 cam ridges and the cam roller 37, will be limited.
Also during a quicker clearance compensation it might still happen that the point in time, at which the extra cam ridge 38 tries to open the exhaust valve, lies within the range where the cylinder pressure is unacceptably high, which entails a triggering of the pressure relief valve 25, the result of which is that a valve opening for compression retardation is not taking place during this crankshaft revolution. In other cases, such as during the revolution after which the pressure relief valve was triggered, because a maximum time span is then available, the valve clearance has had time to be reduced to such a degree, that the opening point in time will arrive so early that the cylinder pressure is still sufficiently low for the force to be maintained within acceptable values, see FIG. 7.
To sum up, principle for the adjustment of the pressure relief valve according to the invention can be expressed as follows, based upon the existence of a defined relation between the hydraulic pressure in the clearance regulating device and the time of valve opening. The respective clearance is gradually brought to zero or close to zero while the pressure within corresponding clearance regulating device is limited to a predetermined value, whereby, independently of when in time during the cylinder work cycle the engine retardation is initiated, the risk of an opening against a, from a stress aspects, too high cylinder pressure is eliminated.
As the efficiency of a compression retarder is higher the closer to the upper dead centre the exhaust valve can be opened, i.e. against the higher cylinder pressure it can be opened during retardation, it is very important that the highest practically usable cylinder pressure under steady state conditions is not limited by circumstances under other running conditions like for example the initiation of the retarder. By the method and device according to the present invention a considerably higher braking power from the compression retarder is achieved, compared to what had otherwise been possible with the existing practical limitations of e.g. surface pressure.
The invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the figures, but can be varied within the frame of the following patent claims. For example, the so called AT regulator can be excluded completely. The control of flow rate and pressure in the hydraulic system does not in principle have to be connected to the lubrication of the rocker arm axle. Flow rate and pressure changes in the hydraulic system can be achieved in various ways. For example, a fixed hydraulic fluid pressure may be maintained in a separate supply line, while pressure and flow rate changes are achieved by a controlled drainage of the hydraulic fluid. Alternatively, the drainage may be replaced by a positive flow rate and pressure control from a hydraulic fluid source. If separate hydraulic systems are installed for each cylinder it is conceivable in principle to exclude the control- and check valve 24. In practice, two extra cam ridges are often used for compression retardation. In the present application only the, from a pressure standpoint, critical extra cam ridge or ridges have been included, as the rest of the cam ridges are not relevant to the present invention. | Methods and apparatus for engine retardation in multi-cylinder combustion engines are disclosed including a hydraulic clearance regulator for regulating the clearance in a valve controller in response to a hydraulic fluid pressure below a predetermined maximum value in which the angular position of the crankshaft of the engine at which the exhaust valve in one of the engine cylinders is operated by an extra ridge on the camshaft is determined by the clearance in the valve controller. A pressure relief valve maintains the hydraulic fluid pressure below the predetermined maximum value, and a controller gradually reduces the clearance towards zero while the hydraulic fluid pressure in the valve controller is maintained below the predetermined maximum value so that the risk of operating the exhaust valve during a cylinder pressure greater than a predetermined elevated cylinder pressure is substantially reduced. | 5 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 60/605,182 filed Aug. 27, 2004.
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable.
Reference to Listing, Tables or Compact Disk Appendix
Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Natural gas is a clean-burning hydrocarbon fuel that produces less “greenhouse gases” upon total combustion than that produced from combustion of heavier hydrocarbons such as gasoline, diesel, fuel oil and coal. As a result, natural gas has been identified as an “environmentally friendly” fuel. In recent years, demand for natural gas has been outpacing wellhead supplies that are available for direct connection and delivery into the gas pipeline transport and distribution systems throughout the world, and particularly so within the United States and Europe. As a result, natural gas marketers, pipeline transporters, distributors and power utilities are turning to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to supplement their traditional natural gas supply. Pacific Rim demand for LNG is also increasing at a remarkable rate with accelerating LNG demand projected for Korea, Japan, China and India.
LNG is immerging as an attractive alternative fuel for the transportation and vehicle fuel markets. New technology and government-sponsored programs have helped LNG to become a viable alternative to the more conventional forms of fuel. Both LNG and CNG are anticipated to capture a larger share of this market in the next decade displacing gasoline and diesel fuels. LNG is primarily liquefied methane containing varying quantities of ethane, propane and butanes with trace quantities of pentanes and heavier hydrocarbon components. When stored or transported at or near atmospheric pressure, LNG is a very cold liquid with temperatures ranging between −245° F. to −265° F. dependent upon its composition.
Certain commercial quality specifications must be met when LNG enters the commercial marketplace. Natural gas pipeline and power utility companies, for example, specify in their commercial contracts that natural gas delivered into their facilities must comply with heating value or in some cases, Wobbie Index quality specifications as well as hydrocarbon dew point parameters. When LNG is distributed and used as fuel to power busses, fleet vehicles, private vehicles or other equipment, it must comply with certain quality specifications to assure the characteristics of the fuel yields clean, complete and total combustion in the customer's engine. LNG can also serve as a source of natural gas for making Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) used in the fuels market and when this is the case, CNG quality specification will apply to the LNG.
Some LNG sources contain more ethane and heavier hydrocarbons than others depending on the composition of the natural gas used in making the LNG. Depending upon the quantity of ethane and heavier hydrocarbons contained in the LNG, the LNG may have to be processed and conditioned to reduce the ethane and heavier hydrocarbon content in order to meet the specific commercial quality specifications for its use.
From time to time, the liquid product price of ethane, propane, butanes and heavier hydrocarbon reflects a premium over that which would be realized if left in the LNG and sold at prevailing natural gas prices. Therefore, extraction of these products from LNG can be commercially attractive improving the overall revenue realization of the LNG source.
Ethane and heavier hydrocarbons have for many years been extracted and recovered from raw natural gas produced from gas wells and produced in association with crude oil production. Gas processing facilities of various designs and configurations including the application of turbo-expanders, mechanical refrigeration, lean oil absorption, adsorption using desiccants and combinations thereof have been used for this purpose. The most common prior technology for recovery of ethane and heavier hydrocarbons (NGL) from LNG is based upon the concept of pumping the LNG to high pressure, vaporizing the LNG and processing the resulting gas using traditional gas processing techniques with the conventional cryogenic turbo-expander and/or cryogenic J-T expansion processes being the most widely used. This practice does not capture and fully utilize the benefits of the cryogenic conditions available from the LNG.
There are three other known processes for recovery of NGL from LNG that are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,114,451, 5,588,308, and 6,604,380 that makes some use of the beneficial cryogenic conditions and properties of LNG.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,451 discloses a process for recovery of NGL from LNG where the LNG feed is warmed by cross exchange of heat from a warm gas stream being a recompressed overhead recycle stream from the fractionation unit (commonly referred to as a demethanizer). The NGL product is recovered as a liquid product from the bottom of the demethanizer. The send-out gas (the overhead vapor from the demethanizer), however, must be heated and compressed prior to delivery to the pipeline system. Compression and heating adds to the capital costs and fuel consumption of the process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,308 discloses a process that recovers NGL by cooling and partial condensation of purified natural gas feed wherein a portion of the necessary feed cooling and condensation duty is provided by expansion and vaporization of condensed feed liquid after methane stripping, thereby yielding an NGL product in gaseous form. In the market place, NGL is sold and transported as a liquid product. Additional cooling and compression are required to make a liquid NGL product that adds to the capital cost and fuel consumption for making the final NGL product.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,380 discloses a process for recovery of NGL from LNG using a portion of the LNG feed, without heating or other treatment, as an external reflux during separation. A fractionation column is used in the process to recover an NGL liquid product from the bottom of the column with the overhead vapor product being the methane-rich residue gas which is subsequently compressed, re-liquefied, pumped, vaporized and sent to the receiving pipeline. This process, however, requires that the entire overhead vapor product stream from the fractionation column be compressed by a low head compressor in order to re-liquefy. The compression required for the process is a low head (75 to 115 psi), but requires the entire send-out gas stream to be compressed. If, for example, the facility is designed for a capacity to handle say 1,000 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd) of send-out gas, the compression brake horsepower (Bhp) could be on the order of 5 to 7 Bhp/MMscfd requiring a 5,000 Bhp to 7,000 Bhp compressor. This compressor and its associated fuel consumption add to the capital cost and operating expense for the facility.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Development and optimization of new processing technology is the “cornerstone” for the continued growth and expansion of the LNG industry. The industry needs a more efficient process to extract and remove ethane and heavier hydrocarbons (NGL) from LNG. The disclosed system(s) and method(s) provide industry with a step forward in improving technology for efficiently extracting NGL products from LNG.
The process disclosed reflects a significant improvement over prior patents and existing technology for the extraction of ethane and heavier hydrocarbons from LNG. The process of the disclosed embodiment(s) will reduce capital costs and improve fuel efficiency when compared to current practice from existing patented technology. The process of the embodiment(s) maximizes the utilization of the beneficial cryogenic thermal properties of the LNG using a unique arrangement of heat exchange equipment and processing parameters that essentially eliminates (or greatly reduces) the need for gas compression equipment required in other patented technology of this field. Elimination or minimization of gas compression equipment minimizes the capital cost and minimizes fuel consumption or electrical power consumption, which reduces operating expenses. Use of our process in a facility designed to handle 1,000 MMscfd of send-out gas will require only 150 to 550 horsepower of gas compression when processing LNG rich in ethane and heavier hydrocarbons. For leaner LNG compositions our gas compression horsepower increases, but still remains less than 1,000 horsepower for a 1,000 MMscfd send-out capacity which compares to the 5,000 to 7,000 horsepower required by the leading competitor process disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,380 referenced herein. Translating this comparison into economic terms, our process would result in a current-day capital cost savings ranging between $4.5 to $5.5 million and our fuel consumption savings would range between 335,000 to 480,000 MMBtus per annum based on a throughput capacity of 1,000 MMscfd. At current natural gas prices (assume $5.00/MMBtu average), our fuel expense savings would range between $1.7 to $2.4 million per annum.
The disclosed embodiment(s) relate to a process for removing ethane and/or heavier hydrocarbons (NGL) from LNG at any facility receiving, storing, shipping, distributing, or vaporizing LNG. For purposes of this application, LNG containing more that 2.5 mole % and less than 25.0 mole % ethane and heavier hydrocarbons is defined to mean “Rich LNG”. After extraction of ethane and/or heavier hydrocarbons, the residual methane-rich product after is defined to mean “Lean LNG”. The ethane and/or heavier hydrocarbons extracted from the Rich LNG are defined to mean “NGL Product”. Ethane and heavier hydrocarbons are referred to herein as “C2+”. Propane and heavier hydrocarbons are referred to herein as “C3+”.
The disclosed embodiment(s) specifically relate to a process for extraction and removal of C2+ or C3+ from Rich LNG for one or more of the following purposes:
a) To condition Rich LNG so that send-out gas delivered from an LNG receiving and regasification terminal meets commercial natural gas quality specifications. b) To condition Rich LNG to make Lean LNG that meets fuel quality specifications and standards required by LNG powered vehicles and other LNG fueled equipment. c) To condition Rich LNG to make Lean LNG so that it can be used to make CNG meeting specifications and standards for commercial CNG fuel. d) To recover ethane, propane and/or other hydrocarbons heavier than methane from Rich LNG for revenue enhancement, profit or other commercial reasons.
Our process has the flexibility to either operate in a “high ethane extraction” or a “low ethane extraction” mode. When operating in the “high ethane extraction” mode, ethane recovery levels for our process ranges between 92% to 80% with propane recovery ranging between 99% and 90%. When operating in the “low ethane extraction” mode, ethane recovery is only 1% to 2% while propane recovery ranges between 95% to 80%. This feature of the process provides the flexibility to leave essentially all or any portion of the ethane in the Lean LNG stream if commercial specifications, pricing and other economic factors dictate the need for such operation.
The disclosed embodiment(s) utilize several processing steps to extract and remove ethane and heavier hydrocarbons from Rich LNG that are disclosed in the Detailed Description section below. Briefly stated, low-pressure Rich LNG is pumped to processing pressure (380 psig to 550 psig), pre-heated, vaporized and fractionated in a refluxed cryogenic fractionation column equipped with one side reboiler and a main reboiler at the bottom. A split-stream of the pre-heated LNG liquid is used to provide cold reflux to the cryogenic fractionation column. The balance of the pre-heated LNG feed is vaporized and fed to the fractionation column as a vapor stream with entry into the column at 5 to 10 theoretical equilibrium stages below the top. The cryogenic fractionation column requires 15 to 20 theoretical equilibrium stages and is designed to yield a liquid hydrocarbon product from the bottom and a cold methane-rich gas product from the top. The bottom liquid product is the NGL Product.
Flexibility is embodied into our cryogenic fractionation column design to produce either a demethanized or a deethanized NGL Product. The operating parameters of the cryogenic fractionation column and associated equipment (i.e. operating pressure, feed temperatures, reflux/feed split, bottom temperature, etc.) may be adjusted and controlled within our process such that both the Lean LNG and NGL Product each conform to their respective commercial specification requirements.
The cold gas product from the column overhead (lean in ethane and heavier hydrocarbons) is re-liquefied by cross exchange with the Rich LNG during the pre-heating step. This re-liquefied cold gas overhead product is the Lean LNG. Depending on the LNG composition, a small fraction of the cold gas product may not condense which is referred to herein as the “Tail Gas”.
A small cryogenic compressor is required to compress the Tail Gas that is not re-liquefied by the cross exchange pre-heat step to gas pipeline send-out pressure. If the overall facility has a need for fuel gas, the Tail Gas can be used as a source of fuel, which reduces the amount of gas requiring compression. The volume of Tail Gas for our process is very small ranging between 0 to 5 mole % of the total gas throughput capacity when the Rich LNG feed composition contains more than 8 mole % C2+. Lower C2+ content in the Rich LNG feed causes the Tail Gas fraction in our process to increase. For feeds containing only 2.5 mole % C2+, Tail Gas for our process would be as high as 7 to 10 mole % of the total gas throughput capacity.
The Lean LNG is pumped to gas pipeline send-out pressure and the compressed Tail Gas is then recombined with the Lean LNG at send-out pressure (typically 1,000 to 1,100 psig but could be higher or lower). Upon mixing with the Lean LNG at send-out pressure, the compressed Tail Gas is absorbed and condenses into the liquid LNG phase. The resulting Lean LNG stream is then vaporized and heated for delivery into the natural gas pipeline.
Process operating set points can be adjusted as required to make Lean LNG conforming with the quality specifications for gas pipeline market delivery, for use as LNG fuel in the LNG vehicle fuel market, or for use in making high pressure CNG fuel. When using this process for serving the LNG vehicle fuel market or any other local market requiring Lean LNG at or near atmospheric pressure, additional equipment is required to handle and re-liquefy flash gas that will evolve when the pressure of the Lean LNG is reduced down to atmospheric storage pressure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The disclosed embodiment(s) and their advantages will be better understood by referring to following drawing.
FIG. 1 is a schematic flow diagram of one embodiment of this process.
The drawing illustrates a specific embodiment for practicing this process. The drawing is not intended to exclude from the scope of the invention other embodiments that are the result of normal and expected modifications of the specific embodiment disclosed to accommodate the application and practice for compositions, commercial specifications, and operating conditions that may differ from that illustrated in the drawing.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
One embodiment of this process is for conditioning Rich LNG so that send-out gas delivered from an LNG receiving and regasification terminal meets commercial natural gas quality specifications as illustrated in FIG. 1 . The following design description is based on a C2+ content in the Rich LNG feed ranging between 25.0 to 2.5 mole % operating in the “high ethane extraction” mode. Processing conditions reported are given as a range, reflecting the compositional range defined for this process.
Stream 1 (Rich LNG from the LNG Storage Tanks) enters pump 2 (the In-Tank Pumps) where it is pumped to a pressure of approximately 100 psig discharging from the pump 2 as stream 3 .
FIG. 1 shows a portion of stream 3 being sent to the De-Super Heater Condenser system with a return back to stream 3 . The Boil-Off Gas Compressor, Ship Vapor Return Compressor and De-Super Heater Condenser system shown in FIG. 1 are not claimed as an embodiment of this invention and therefore, are not discussed.
Stream 3 is fed to pump 4 (the LP Sendout Pumps) where it is pumped and boosted to a processing pressure ranging between 380 to 550 psig discharging from the pump 4 as stream 5 .
Stream 5 (the Rich LNG discharge from pump 4 ) is then fed to heat exchanger 6 (the LNG/Gas Exchanger) where it is heated to a temperature near its bubble point temperature and exits from the heat exchanger 6 as stream 7 . The source of heat for heat exchanger 6 (the LNG/Gas Exchanger) is supplied by cross exchange with stream 13 being the overhead cold gas product stream from column 12 (the Cryogenic Fractionation Column). Heat exchanger 6 (the LNG/Gas Exchanger) performs dual services in that it heats stream 5 (the Rich LNG stream) up to near bubble point temperature (stream 7 ) and re-liquefies essentially all (100% to 90%) of stream 13 (the overhead cold gas product from the Cryogenic Fractionation Column) which exits as stream 14 .
Heat exchanger 6 (the LNG/Gas Exchanger) has a relatively large heat transfer duty and requires a small minimum approach temperature to achieve the efficiency required in this process. The design performance specification for heat exchanger 6 (the LNG/Gas Exchanger) requires a minimum approach temperature of approximately 3° F. to 5° F. between stream 13 and stream 7 to maximize the re-liquefaction of stream 14 exiting the exchanger. A shell and tube type exchanger could potentially be used for this service, but it would be quite large and relatively expensive. A more cost-effective design is achieved by using either a brazed aluminum plate-finned exchanger or a printed circuit type exchanger for this service.
Stream 7 from heat exchanger 6 (the LNG/Gas Exchanger) is split into two streams (stream 8 and stream 9 ).
Stream 8 serves as cold reflux to column 12 (the Cryogenic Fractionation Column) and is maintained within a range of 65% to 45% of the total flow rate of stream 7 using ratio flow control instrumentation. The flow rate ratio of stream 8 to total flow of stream 7 is one of the parameters used in this process to control the level for ethane extraction and recovery from the Rich LNG. In general terms, biasing higher flow rates to stream 8 acts to increase ethane extraction from the Rich LNG while lowering flow rate ratio of stream 8 acts to reduce ethane extraction. Selection of the flow rate ratio set point for stream 8 is dependent upon the level of ethane extraction desired for the specific operating performance needed from the facility and the composition of the Rich LNG.
Stream 9 is fed to vaporizer 10 (the 1 st Stage Vaporizer) where it is vaporized and heated creating stream 11 , which is then fed to column 12 (the Cryogenic Fractionation Column). Stream 11 exiting from vaporizer 10 (the 1 st Stage Vaporizer) is at a temperature ranging between 30 to 70° F. and is essentially all vapor with no liquid. Stream 11 enters column 12 at an entry point located four to eight theoretical equilibrium stages below the top of the column 12 . Vaporizer 10 (the 1 st Stage Vaporizer) can be either an open rack vaporizer (ORV) using seawater as the warming fluid or a submerged combustion vaporizer (SCV) using gas-air combustion in a submerged water bath for heat or any other types of heater or exchanger combinations which might utilize process heat or waste heat available at the site. If a suitable source of seawater is available, the use of an open rack vaporizer is recommended which significantly improves the overall fuel efficiency of this process.
Column 12 (the Cryogenic Fractionation Column) is a reboiled fractionation column designed to yield an NGL Product from the bottom and a cold gas overhead product having a high methane content from the top. Column 12 (the Cryogenic Fractionation Column) is comprised of three sections and operates at a nominal pressure of 350 to 520 psig. The top section requires a larger diameter than the two bottom sections since the top section has a relatively high vapor loading of the combined column feed (stream 8 plus stream 11 ). Each section contains internal equipment (not shown) to achieve equilibrium stage heat and mass transfer as typically required in fractionation columns. The type of internals might include bubble cap trays, sieve trays, dumped packing, or structured packing. For this service, either dumped packing or structured packing of suitable geometric design with appropriate liquid distributors and packing supports would likely provide better mass transfer for the cryogenic fluid traffic within the column. Vendors and manufacturer specializing in fractionation column internals should be consulted to determine the optimum selection for the internals needed in this service.
Process calculations indicate that a total of sixteen theoretical equilibrium stages are needed in column 12 (the Cryogenic Fractionation Column) divided between the three sections of the column as follows: five theoretical stages in the top section, seven theoretical stages in the middle section and four theoretical stages in the bottom section. The total number of theoretical equilibrium stages, however, could range between fifteen to twenty stages depending upon the Rich LNG composition and specific recovery performance needed. Variance in the actual design of column 12 will be required depending upon a number of factors including composition of the Rich LNG and the desire range of extraction levels for ethane, for example.
Stream 8 is fed to the top of column 12 (the Cryogenic Fractionation Column) serving as cold liquid reflux to the column. Stream 8 liquid is uniformly distributed over the top packed section 12 a by means of an internal distributor (not shown) and flows downward through the top section 12 a wetting the packing internals and contacting the vapor traffic flowing upward. Stream 11 , which is essentially all vapor, enters column 12 between the top section 12 a and middle section 12 b . The vapor of stream 11 combines with other vapor flowing upward from the middle packed section 12 b of the column 12 and the combined vapors flow upward through the top packed section 12 a contacting the cold liquid reflux which is flowing downward. The cold reflux liquid acts to absorb and condense ethane and heavier hydrocarbons from the vapor flowing upward through the top packed section 12 a . Vapor from the top packed section 12 a exits column 12 (the Cryogenic Fractionation Column) as stream 13 (the overhead cold gas product).
Liquid (if any) in stream 11 after entry into column 12 , combines with the liquids flowing downward from the top packed section 12 a and the combined liquids are evenly distributed over the middle packed section 12 b by means of an internal distributor (not shown) located on top of the middle packed section 12 b . The evenly distributed liquids continue flowing downward through the middle packed section 12 b wetting the packing internals and contacting the vapors flowing upward. In so doing, a distillation operation is established within the column 12 with the lighter, more volatile components (i.e. methane and nitrogen) in the liquids being transferred into the vapor phase and the heavier, less volatile components (i.e. ethane and heavier hydrocarbons) in the vapors being transferred into the liquid phase.
At the bottom of the middle packed section 12 b of column 12 , a liquid draw-off tray (not shown) is required. Liquids leaving from the bottom of middle packed section 12 b are collected in this draw-off tray and exit column 12 (the Cryogenic Fractionation Column) as stream 36 . Exchanger 34 (the Side Reboiler) heats and partially vaporizes stream 36 that is then fed back to column 12 as stream 37 entering onto the liquid distributor (not shown) for the bottom packed section 12 c.
The liquids from this distributor are evenly distributed over the bottom packed section 12 c and flow downward through the bottom packed section 12 c wetting the packing internals and contacting the vapors flowing upward. In so doing, a distillation operation is again established within the column 12 with the lighter, more volatile components (i.e. nitrogen, methane and small amounts of ethane) in the liquids being transferred into the vapor phase and the heavier, less volatile components (i.e. ethane and heavier hydrocarbons) in the vapors being transferred into the liquid phase. The liquid from the bottom packed section 12 c exit column 12 (the Cryogenic Fractionation Column) as stream 26 and is fed to heat exchanger 27 (the Reboiler).
Heat exchanger 27 (the Reboiler) heats and partially vaporizes stream 26 . The vaporized portion of stream 26 from heat exchanger 27 (the Reboiler) is returned to column 12 (the Cryogenic Fractionation Column) as stream 28 entering the column below the bottom packed section 12 c of the column 12 . The liquid portion of stream 26 exits heat exchanger 27 (the Reboiler) as stream 29 (the NGL Product) and is sent to tank 30 (an optional NGL Product Surge Tank).
Tank 30 (which is optional) is a surge tank to hold an inventory of NGL product for feeding pump 32 and to provide operating flexibility. Stream 29 , the NGL Product containing a mixture of ethane and heavier hydrocarbons and a small methane fraction (usually less than 1 mole % methane) exits from tank 30 (the NGL Product Surge Tank) as stream 31 and is optionally pumped by pump 32 (the NGL Booster Pumps) boosting the pressure approximately 50 psig discharging from the pump as stream 33 . Depending on the specific application, alternate arrangement of storage and pumping may be utilized.
Stream 33 is then cooled in heat exchanger 34 (the Side Reboiler) exiting as stream 35 . Heat exchanger 34 (the Side Reboiler) performs a dual service and improves the fuel efficiency for the overall process. Thermal energy recovered from stream 33 is used to provide side reboiling heat as stream 37 into column 12 (the Cryogenic Fractionation Column) between the middle 12 b and bottom 12 c packed sections and correspondingly, stream 35 (the NGL product stream) is cooled. Heat recovery from stream 33 in exchanger 34 (the Side Reboiler) reduces the heat load of exchanger 27 (the Reboiler) which in turn reduces the overall process utility heating requirement resulting in an overall reduction in the amount of fuel required to operate the system. The heat recovered from the NGL Product from exchanger 34 (the Side Reboiler) reduced the process utility heating system load by 15% to 35% when the C2+ content of the Rich LNG is high (C2+>10 mole %). If the C2+ content of the Rich LNG is low (C2+<10 mole %), process utility heating system load is reduced by 2% to 15%. In certain design scenarios and marketing options, an auxiliary cooler may be required for cooling the NGL Product prior to shipping or storage. The auxiliary NGL Product cooler, which has not been shown in FIG. 1 , would be located downstream of exchanger 34 (the Side Reboiler) to cool stream 35 .
Stream 35 (the cooled NGL Product stream leaving the Side Reboiler) is then pumped to pipeline shipping pressure by pump 38 (the HP Shipping Pumps), metered and delivered into the NGL Product pipeline. Depending on the specific application, alternate arrangement of storage and pumping may be utilized. Other methods of transportation for moving the NGL product can be substituted for the pipeline transport method illustrated in FIG. 1 including, but not limited to truck, rail and marine (refrigerated cargo ships). Such alternatives would not require a HP Shipping Pump 38 .
Stream 14 being the re-liquefied “Lean” LNG exiting from heat exchanger 6 (the LNG/Gas Exchanger) may contain a small fraction of uncondensed gas (0% to 10% on a molar basis) referred to as Tail Gas. Stream 14 is sent to tank 15 (the LNG Flash Tank) to separate any uncondensed Tail Gas from the Lean LNG. Stream 20 (the Lean LNG) from tank 15 is pumped to pipeline send-out pressure by pump 21 (the HP Sendout Pumps) discharging from the pump 21 as stream 22 .
The uncondensed Tail Gas exits from tank 15 as stream 16 and stream 17 . Stream 16 represents the portion of the uncondensed Tail Gas from tank 15 used as a source of high pressure fuel gas. Stream 17 represents the portion of uncondensed Tail Gas from tank 15 that is in excess of that used for high pressure fuel gas. Stream 17 (the Tail Gas) is compressed by compressor 18 (the Tail Gas Compressor) to pipeline send-out pressure discharging from the compressor as stream 19 . Under certain conditions depending on the composition of the reliquified LNG, stream 14 may be totally condensed and compressor 18 may not be required.
Stream 19 (the compressed Tail Gas) is recombined with stream 22 . The mixing of gas stream 19 (the compressed Tail Gas) with the liquid stream 22 (the Lean LNG at send-out pressure) causes stream 19 (the compressed Tail Gas) to be condensed and absorbed into the Lean LNG resulting in stream 23 which is 100% liquid. Stream 23 (the Lean LNG containing the re-liquefied Tail Gas) is then vaporized in vaporizer 24 (the 2 nd Stage Vaporizer) exiting as stream 25 (the pipeline send-out gas) which is then metered and delivered to the gas pipeline. Vaporizer 24 (the 2 nd Stage Vaporizer) can be either an open rack vaporizer (ORV) using seawater as the warming fluid or a submerged combustion vaporizer (SCV) using gas-air combustion in a submerged water bath for heat or any other types of heater or exchanger combinations which utilize process heat or waste heat available at the site. If a suitable source of seawater is available, the use of an open rack vaporizer (ORV) is recommended which significantly improves the overall fuel efficiency of this process.
EXAMPLE
One process embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 1 was modeled using a commercially available process simulation program called HYSYS (available from AspenTech of Calgary, Alberta Canada). HYSYS is commonly used by the oil and natural gas industry to evaluate and design process systems of this type. A wide range of LNG feed compositions were evaluated using the HYSYS model of our process. The HYSYS model calculation results for our process are summarized in Tables 1 and 2 below for one of the LNG feed compositions evaluated. The Example results given in Tables 1 and 2 are intended to illustrate performance of our process operating in the “High Ethane Recovery” mode for a typical LNG feed composition. Stream numbering in Tables 1 and 2 coincide with those illustrated in FIG. 1 . Any person trained and skilled in the technical art of process engineering, particularly one having the benefit of these disclosed embodiments, will recognize the possibility for variations to the process conditions disclosed in Tables 1 and 2 from application to application. For example, the combination of temperatures, pressures, and flow rates within our process will be different than that illustrated in Table 2 depending upon the LNG feed composition and flow rate, NGL product specification, send-out gas specifications, and desired recovery levels of the ethane and heavier hydrocarbons. The process disclosed by this patent is extremely flexible and has been confirmed by HYSYS modeling calculations to perform satisfactory over a wide range of LNG feed compositions, product specifications and desired recovery levels of C2+. The Example results given in Tables 1 and 2 shall not be used to limit or restrict the scope of this invention but shall serve only to illustrate processing conditions of the embodiments of this invention for a hypothetical application.
TABLE 1
Compositions and NGL Recovery Levels
Send-Out
NGL
LNG Feed
Fuel Gas
Gas
Product
Stream 1
Stream 16
Stream 25
Stream 39
NGL %
Component
Mole %
Mole %
Mole %
Mole %
Recovery
Nitrogen
0.131
0.404
0.145
0.000
0.00
Carbon
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.00
Dioxide
Methane
89.066
99.466
98.926
2.299
0.26
Ethane
7.035
0.128
0.865
61.352
89.05
Propane
2.412
0.002
0.057
23.124
97.89
I-Butane
0.402
0.000
0.003
3.911
99.34
N-Butane
0.804
0.000
0.004
7.840
99.56
I-Pentane
0.080
0.000
0.000
0.786
100.00
N-Pentane
0.070
0.000
0.000
0.688
100.00
Total
100.000
100.000
100.000
100.000
N/A
TABLE 2
Stream Conditions and Flow rates
Flow rate lb
Stream Number
Temperature Deg F.
Pressure psia
moles/hr
1
−256
15.7
47,530
3
−255
115
47,530
5
−253
485
47,530
7
−136
470
47,530
8
−136
460
28,043
9
−136
470
19,487
11
50
445
19,487
13
−133
435
42,677
14
−141
430
42,677
16
−141
420
255
17
−141
420
385
19
−22
1150
385
20
−141
430
42,037
22
−125
1150
42,037
23
−124
1150
42,422
25
40
1115
42,422
26
56
440
8,776
28
81
440
3,993
29
81
440
4,853
31
81
440
4,853
33
84
585
4,853
35
40
565
4,853
36
−39
439
8,152
37
−17
438
8,152
39
42
1015
4,853 | A process for the extraction and recovery of ethane and heavier hydrocarbons (C2+) from LNG. The process covered by this patent maximizes the utilization of the beneficial cryogenic thermal properties of the LNG to extract and recover C2+ form the LNG using a unique arrangement of heat exchange equipment, a cryogenic fractionation column and processing parameters that essentially eliminates (or greatly reduces) the need for gas compression equipment minimizing capital cost, fuel consumption and electrical power requirements.
This invention may be used for one or more of the following purposes:
to condition LNG so that send-out gas delivered from an LNG receiving and regasification terminal meets commercial natural gas quality specifications;
to condition LNG to make Lean LNG that meets fuel quality specifications and standards required by LNG powered vehicles and other LNG fueled equipment;
to condition LNG to make Lean LNG so that it can be used to make CNG meeting specifications and standards for commercial CNG fuel;
to recover ethane, propane and/or other hydrocarbons heavier then methane from LNG for revenue enhancement, profit or other commercial reasons. | 5 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of gate and door latches and, more particularly, to a gate and door latch having an alternate means for latching and unlatching.
2. Description of the Related Art
The field of door and gate latches is an area of invention that has existed as long as the need to secure gates and doors has existed. Although the primary purpose served by a latch can be met by perhaps the most basic and simple design, the nuances of a more complex but effective latch design may be easily overlooked. The typical latch design requires a latching means provided in a closed door or gate position and simple unlatching means for the opening of a door or gate. The typical means by which the door or gate is opened is accomplished by some handle means which is turned, pushed, pulled or otherwise manipulated to effect the unlatching of the latch device.
The present invention differs from the existing art in that it incorporates alternate means of latching and unlatching a striker member to a pronged keeper. The striker member is equipped with an L-shaped striker slot which allows for easy pivoting or sliding of the striker necessary to achieve an open or closed position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an objective of this invention to provide a gate and door latch having both front pivoting means for opening as well as a sliding means for opening.
It is further an objective of this invention to provide gate and door latch having a lever means for pivoting the striker in an open position from a rear lever handle attached to the back side of the door or gate.
It is still further an objective of this invention to provide facile means for locking the striker member to a stirrup keeping the striker member in a closed position.
These as well as other objectives are accomplished by a gate and door latch having a striker with a striker handle used to manipulate the striker into an open or closed position by means of latching or unlatching the striker member from a pronged keeper. The striker member is designed with a striker slot that allows the striker member to be slid horizontally from side to side in an open or closed position or to pivot about a striker pivot bolt in an open or closed position. A rear lever handle is secured to the back side of the gate or door allowing for opening or closing the latch from the rear by rotating the rear lever handle. Rotating the rear lever handle actuates a lever located on the front side of the gate and door latch causing the lifting and pivoting of the striker into an open position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described herein with reference to the drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 of the drawings is a perspective view of the gate and door latch showing the latch in the closed position with a break-away view of the rear handle.
FIG. 2 of the drawings is a front plan view of the gate and door latch showing the latch in the pivot-open position.
FIG. 3 of the drawings is a front plan view of the gate and door latch showing the latch in the slide-open position.
FIG. 4 of the drawings is a perspective view of the gate and door latch showing exploded views of the various components of the gate and door latch and their interaction.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to the drawings by numerals of reference, there is shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 the gate and door latch (10). The basic components of the gate and door latch (10) include a striker member (39) pivotally secured to a striker mount (20). The striker member (39) latches to a keeper mount (40) by means of the pronged keeper (42). The gate and door latch (10) may be opened or closed from the opposite side of the door or gate by means of a rear lever handle (50).
Referring to FIG. 1, the gate and door latch (10) is shown in the closed position. The front mounting means of the gate and door latch (10) include a striker mount (20) and opposing keeper mount (40). Opposite the striker mount (20) on the opposite side of the door or gate is the lever mount (52) used as a mount for the rear lever handle (50). The striker mount (20) is secured to the door or gate by means of a bottom striker mount bolt (25) and a top striker mount bolt (26). Extending perpendicularly from the striker mount (20) opposite the door or gate, is the stirrup (24) through which operates the striker member (39) for latching and unlatching. Opposite the stirrup (24) is the keeper mount (40) which is bolted to a fixed wall or post by means of a bottom keeper bolt (43) and a top keeper bolt (44). In the closed position, the striker member (39) rests inside the pronged keeper (42) which is an extension of the keeper mount (40).
Continuing with reference to FIG. 1, one can observe the relationship between the rear lever handle (50) and the striker member (39) on the opposite side of the door or gate. One means of opening the gate and door latch involves pivoting the striker member (39) about the striker pivot bolt (28) by pulling or pushing down on the striker handle (30). This pivoting action may also be accomplished by the turning operation of the rear lever handle (50). When the rear lever handle (50) is rotated in the downward position, the rotational moment is translated through the lever pivot rod (23) causing the upward pivot action of the lever cam end (22). Since the lever cam end (22) directly abuts the striker member (39), an upward pivot action of the lever cam end (22) causes the striker member (39) to pivot about the striker pivot bolt (28) thereby releasing the striker member (39) from the pronged keeper (42). The striker flange (33) has a flange aperture (34), as shown in FIG. 2, that aligns with the stirrup aperture (27) in the closed position so that the striker member (39) may be locked in the closed position against the pronged keeper (42). The striker flange (33) has a curvature so that the striker flange (33) does not interfere with the pronged keeper (42) when the striker member (39) is pivoted about the striker pivot bolt (25). When in the closed position, the lever cam end (22) rest against the lever rest (21).
Still referring to FIG. 1, the gate and door latch (10) is secured to a gate or door by means of top striker mount bolt (26) and a bottom striker mount bolt (25). Opposite the striker mount (20), the keeper mount (40) is secured to the stationary wall or post by means of a top keeper bolt (44) and a bottom keeper bolt (43). The rear lever handle (50) has a lever mount (52) that secures to the gate or door on the opposite side of the striker mount (20). The lever mount (52) is fastened to the door or gate by means of lever mount screws (62). The rear lever handle (50) is tightened onto the lever pivot rod (23) through the lever mount aperture (77) by means of a clamp bolt (61) and clamp bolt nut (64).
Referring to FIG. 2, a front plan view of the gate and door latch (10) illustrates more precisely the operation of the lever cam end (22) and how it releases the striker member (39) from the pronged keeper (42) when the rear lever handle (50), as shown in FIG. 1, is rotated downward. Manipulation of the rear lever handle (50) induces the upward rotation of the lever cam end (22) off the lever rest (21) and around the pivot point of the lever pivot rod (23). This action of the lever cam end (22) causes the striker member (39) to pivot upward about the striker pivot bolt (28). The striker handle (30) correspondingly falls into a downward position as though being pulled down by an human hand. The striker member (39) will unlatch from the pronged keeper (42) in the same way when without the aid of the lever cam end (22)! direct downward pressure is applied to the striker handle (30).
Referring to FIG. 3, a different front plan view of the gate and door latch (10) reveals the alternative opening means provided by the gate and door latch (10). Instead of using a pivoting action to release the striker (20) from the pronged keeper (42), the striker (20) is lifted slightly in the vertical direction so that the striker pivot bolt (28) resides in the bottom portion of the striker slot (32). The striker member (39) is then slid horizontally to the right until the striker pivot bolt (28) abuts the horizontal slot end (37) as depicted in FIG. 2. Both a keeper mount screw (45) and a striker mount screw (46) are used to provide added security in addition to the top and bottom keeper mount bolts (44 and 43) and top and bottom striker mount bolts (25 and 26).
Referring to FIG. 4, a perspective blow-up view of all the essential components of the gate and door latch (10) is shown. Beginning with the striker mount (20), there is a stirrup (24) protruding perpendicularly from the striker mount (20) so as to provided an operating face and locking means for the striker member (39) and striker flange (33). The striker mount (20) is secured to a door or gate by bolts that pass through the square bolt apertures (75). The striker member (39) is pivotally secured to the striker mount (20) by means of a half threaded striker pivot bolt (28). The striker member (39) is designed with an L-shaped striker slot (32) having a vertical slot end (35) and a horizontal slot end (37). With proper manipulation of the striker handle (30) the striker member (39) is pivoted about the striker pivot bolt (28) when striker pivot bolt (28) is resting against the vertical slot end (35). The striker handle (30) can also be used to slide the striker member (39) horizontally in the open position.
Continuing with reference to FIG. 4, the details of the lever cam end (22), lever pivot rod (23) and squared pivot rod end (29) can be seen. The entire lever pivot rod (23) is rotatable secured into the lever rod aperture (79) through the lever mount aperture (77) so that the squared pivot rod end (29) is fixed to the rear lever handle (50) by means of the rear lever slot clamp (54). This rear lever slot clamp (54) is clamped onto the squared pivot rod end (29) by tightening the clamp bolt (61) with a top clamp bolt washer (67), a bottom clamp bolt washer (66) and a clamp bolt nut (64). The axis formed by the lever pivot rod (23) is preserved by fixing the lever mount (52) to the back side of the door or gate by means of lever mount screws (62). The keeper mount (40) is secured opposite the stirrup (24) and striker mount (20) by means of an mounting bolts that secure through the square bolt apertures (75).
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described herein. It is to be understood, of course, that changes and modifications may be made in the embodiment without departing from the true scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. | A gate and door latch having alternate means of opening and closing either by a horizontal sliding action of a striker or pivoting of the striker. The striker is manipulated into an open or closed position by means of latching or unlatching the striker member from a pronged keeper. A striker slot allows the striker member to be slid horizontally from side to side in an open or closed position or to pivot about a striker pivot bolt in an open or closed position. A rear lever handle is secured to the back side of the gate or door allowing for opening or closing the latch from the rear by rotating the rear lever handle. Rotation of the rear lever handle actuates a lever located on the front side of the gate and door latch causing the lifting and pivoting of the striker into an open position. | 8 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a popcorn vending machine, and specifically, to a currency-actuated popcorn vending machine which cooks raw kernels of corn which are stored in the machine. The corn is dispensed in pre-measured quantities in response to a coin or paper money-actuated vending mechanism. The vending machine also allows for uniform distribution of a cheese or other flavored topping to be optionally administered.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Popcorn vending machines are known in the prior art. Originally, machines were utilized that dispensed already popped corn that was typically heated by lamps in pre-measured amounts into bags or other typical containers. Recently, vending machines have been displayed that allow for various types of cooking of the popcorn at the time the materials are vended and actuated by the vending machine. U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,740, issued to Strawser et al., discloses an individual serving popcorn machine operable on demand. U.S. Pat. No. 3,882,255, issued to Gorham, Jr. et al., discloses a method for preparing popcorn containing no cooking oil residue and flavored with one or more selected flavorings. U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,798, issued to Nakamura, discloses a popcorn processing machine which is capable of heating and popping raw corn rapidly, without addition of oil. U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,173, issued to Stein et al., discloses an apparatus for the automatic continuous popping of popcorn in large quantity. One of the drawbacks of conventional popcorn vending machines is that the raw corn sitting in the vending machine awaiting cooking can become dried out. This results in stale corn being utilized, diminishing from its flavor and further resulting in unpopped kernels. Another drawback in present day vending machines is that it is often desirable to provide additional flavors on the freshly popped popcorn which heretofore have not been available at the vending site.
The present invention overcomes these problems by providing a relatively simple, but very efficient popcorn vending machine which keeps the raw corn in a fresh state at all times so that at the moment of cooking, the popcorn is fresh, with the raw corn retaining its moisture as necessary in a sealed storage unit. Another improvement provided by the present invention is that it provides for uniform distribution of additional flavored toppings such as liquid cheese to be applied directly to the freshly popped corn at each vending cycle at the user's option.
Finally, another advantage of the present invention is that it is easy to operate in terms of restocking the flavored toppings, restocking the raw corn, and retrieving the monies obtained from the machine.
Several U.S. patents show a variety of types of vending machines and vending popcorn machines, none of which teach Applicant's invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A popcorn cooking and dispensing machine that is operated in accordance with a vending actuating mechanism that receives paper money or coins, comprising a hot air blowing cooking unit, a sealed storage container that contains the raw corn, a storage cup for retrieving the cooked popcorn, a turntable for supporting the storage cup, and a vending power unit. The vending power unit includes an electrical power supply and circuitry which provides electrical energy to the cooking unit for cooking the corn, provides electrical energy to the turntable, and provides electrical energy to a pump that allows for pumping a selected liquid flavor into the proper area for distribution on the cooked corn.
The actuating mechanism, which typically is a vending slide or vending actuating mechanism, provides mechanical linear motion to a specially developed dispensing unit that is attached at one side to the outlet of the raw corn chamber and to its opposite side to a chute that administers the popcorn into the popcorn cooker. The vending actuated dispensing slide includes a measuring cylinder that is sized to receive the exact amount of raw corn necessary for the proper serving to be cooked, a slidable chamber that on one side seals the corn storage area to prevent loss of moisture in the non-distributing position, and which provides for the measured amount of corn to be moved through the slide mechanism to the corn distribution chute into the cooker. By allowing the corn to be sealed in the non-activating position, no moisture will leave the corn chamber so that the popcorn remains fresh at all times.
The mechanism may also be activated by an electrical mechanism, be it coin or bill activated, which will activate a revolving disc with multiple chambers which pick up a measured amount of corn from the sealed container and carry it to the chute where it is conveyed to the corn distribution chute into the cooker.
The popcorn vending machine in accordance with the present invention also includes a liquid pump, a switching mechanism, a liquid reservoir that contains a liquid cheese or other flavored topping to be administered to the cooked popcorn, an inlet line from the assorted flavor reservoir to the pump, and an outlet line for the liquid flavoring that terminates with an outlet opening juxtapositioned above the cooked corn receiving cup chamber. The cooked corn receiving cup chamber includes a skirted turntable so that the liquid flavoring outlet opening can dispense liquid cheese that falls by gravity onto rotating cooked popcorn kernels at the top of the cup. Rotation of the turntable insures adequate distribution of the liquid flavoring and prevents the customer from prematurely removing the cup. The liquid flow of the cheese or other selected flavoring can begin either during the cooking process as the cooked popcorn is diverted through its popping action around a 90° shield at the top of the cooking chamber into the corn receiving cup mounted on the turntable, or after the cup is completely filled. Thus, the liquid distribution can begin so that the flavored liquid is distributed throughout the corn, or it can begin after the cup is filled with the cooked popcorn for distribution on the top layers of the popcorn.
The actuation of the liquid cheese or selected flavoring is optional in that the operator of the vending machine selecting the popcorn can depress a manual switch built into the vending machine equipment that turns on a timer that activates the liquid cheese pump so that the operator can either elect to receive a flavoring on the popcorn or, if not actuated, the popcorn will have no flavoring added.
The raw corn receiving chamber or reservoir is mounted at the top of the machine, preferably in a clear or transparent acrylic chamber so that one can readily tell how much popcorn (raw) remains in the reservoir. A lockable sealed door at the top of the chamber will allow access for filling and refilling raw corn into the receiving chamber. The bottom of the chamber includes a circular conduit and outlet that allows the corn to fill the conduit by gravity. The sidewalls near the base of the chamber may be tapered so that the last bit of raw corn will fall by gravity into the bottom cylindrical outlet.
The popcorn dispenser slide tray includes an outer rectangular wall having a circular hole that fits adjacent to and snugly into the cylindrical outlet of the dispenser chamber on its top surface and, a predetermined distance away, a bottom circular hole that connects to a corn chute that diverts corn to the cooker. Inside of the slide tray is a second rectangular wall having top and bottom circular holes that are sized to coincide with the upper circular aperture connected to the raw corn dispensing chamber outlet and the corn chute, respectively, and a cylindrical movable chamber. The machine may also be activated by an electrical mechanism or bill acceptor which will activate a revolving disc with multiple chambers that is activated by a solenoid timer that rotates the disc, picking up corn from the sealed storage container and rotating that corn to the chute. The inside cylindrical slide chamber, containing a pre-measured cylindrical volume that aligns both with the outlet from the dispenser and, when moved linearly, to the chute, is connected to the vending apparatus. When the proper coin or paper money is inserted and the device is electrically or manually activated, linear motion is provided that moves the corn dispensing slide from a first position in direct communication with the corn reservoir to a second position where the corn drops by gravity into the chute. When the unit is restored to the first position, note that the corn is then in a sealed condition so that no moisture can get out of the cylindrical chamber, keeping the corn in a fresh configuration. Each time the vending apparatus is actuated, only a specific amount of raw corn is transferred to the chute, which insures that each time a cooker receives only a predetermined amount of corn for cooking.
Access to the reservoir that contains the liquid flavoring and the money reservoir that receives the coins or paper money is through the front located door that includes a lock so that unauthorized access is not permitted. Mounted on one side of the unit is an opening or chamber that has a turntable on the floor and a motor for turning the turntable that is actuated when the vending apparatus is turned on so that the turntable is powered for rotation of a cup that is placed on the turntable for receiving the popped corn.
The housing of the unit itself, which may be substantially rectangular and is sized for mounting on a countertop, includes one or more circular chambers for holding cups in an inverted position so that they are available to the operator for use in the device.
In order to operate the device, a user would step forward and place a paper cup received from the top of the housing into the opening in the front of the housing, preferably on the right hand side containing the turntable where the cup is placed. Paper money or coins are then placed into the vending apparatus, which is then mechanically or electrically actuated, causing the corn to be moved from the slide tray or dispenser into the corn chute, dropping the prescribed amount into the cooker, which has been turned on by actuation of the vending actuating mechanism so that electrical power is provided, heating the resistant coil units in the corn popper and turning on the fan that is used to blow the hot air out through the side of the unit if desired. As the corn is popped, the top of the cooker includes at least a 90° deflection shield, having an outlet opening disposed above, but off to the side of, the cup receiving chamber so that the corn bounces off the shield and is diverted into the cup, which is rotating. As the cooking process continues, the raw corn is cooked and deflected into the cup so that the cup becomes filled with cooked popcorn. If the operator desires to also have a liquid flavored topping, such as liquid cheese, the operator depresses the manual button on the front of the device, turning on power to the pump, causing liquid flavoring to be transferred from the liquid flavoring reservoir tube through the pump and being dispensed onto the popcorn. Upon the completion of the liquid transfer, the operator then can remove the cup of cooked corn containing the liquid flavoring.
The vending machine will return to its initial starting position which causes the corn measuring and dispensing slide to return to its initial position, wherein the corn is sealed from the surrounding atmosphere, preventing any moisture loss, thereby keeping the corn fresh in its storage chamber.
The owner of the vending machine or the person maintaining it can get access through a key lock on the front door, opening the door to replace the liquid flavoring when desired by just changing containers and putting the intake tube back into the container. Monies are received into a small tray and can be retrieved through the lockable door. Raw corn is added through the lockable upper top door in the corn storage chamber when desired.
The unit may be powered by conventional 120 volt AC power through a cord that is connected to power distribution circuitry for use by the cooking unit which uses electrical heating coils, to power a fan unit that can be used to cool the heating unit and also distribute the smell of fresh popcorn, to power the liquid flavoring pump, to power the vending apparatus, to power any lighting equipment on the unit, and to actuate the turntable.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved popcorn cooking machine particularly useful for vending use.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved popcorn cooking and vending machine that includes the additional ability to distribute a liquid flavoring to freshly cooked popcorn.
And yet still another object of this invention is to provide a compact popcorn vending machine that can cook fresh popcorn in pre-measured amounts and provide it with a liquid flavoring.
And yet still another object of this invention is to provide a popcorn vending machine wherein the raw corn remains in a fresh state in a reservoir awaiting cooking to prevent moisture from leaving the corn in the raw state.
In accordance with these and other objects which will be apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now become described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the present invention with portions of the housing cut away to show the internal workings of the invention.
FIG. 3A shows a perspective view of the raw corn measuring and dispensing slide unit used with the present invention, partially cut away.
FIG. 3B shows a side elevational view in cross section of the raw corn dispensing and measuring device.
FIG. 3C shows a perspective view of an alternate raw corn transfer and measuring mechanism for use with the vending apparatus.
FIG. 4 shows a cross sectional view in elevation of the raw corn dispenser shown in FIG. 3B and the dispensing position where the raw corn is dispensed through the chute.
FIG. 5 shows a cross sectional view in elevation of the raw corn dispensing and measuring device in the return position after the raw corn has been dispensed and returned to the opening of the raw corn distributor.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, and in particular FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the present invention is shown generally at 10 comprised of a rigid, substantially rectangular housing having a front wall 14, a rear wall (not shown), a pair of parallel sidewalls 16, a bottom wall 18, and a top wall 20, all of which may be made of metal or other suitable rigid material.
Mounted on top of the housing is a clear reservoir 22 made of acrylic plastic or the like that retains the raw corn 24. An access door 26 is disposed in the upper top of the raw corn reservoir 22 to allow access into the reservoir for adding more raw corn. The raw corn referred to is conventional raw kernels of uncooked popcorn. Adjacent the raw corn reservoir 22 are one or more cup holders 28 which may be circular recesses in the upper wall 20 for retaining a stack of cups 30 that are stacked on each other in an inverted position. The front wall upper portion may contain a sign such as that shown in FIG. 1 or a marquis front face for decorative purposes.
The front face of the front wall 14 includes several important features. First, on the right hand lower side is an access chamber 32 which is for receipt of the cooked corn. A cup 30 is placed right side up inside the access chamber at the time the machine is actuated. The bottom floor of the cooked corn access chamber contains a turntable 34 having a skirt 34a that prevents popcorn from accumulating beneath the turntable, preventing rotation, with a motor below it (not shown) that rotates a cup 30 placed on top of it when the machine is actuated.
A vending mechanism or actuator 36 is shown in the front wall 14 that in this example would receive coins that mechanically actuates the device and also turns on the electric power and other facets of the system described below. A front lockable access door 38 is shown that allows access to the interior of the machine for various purposes, not the least of which is to receive monies deposited from the vending actuator 36 and to get access to liquid flavoring reservoirs mounted inside the device in special containers or jugs that need to be replaced from time to time. Finally, the front wall 14 includes an actuating button 40 that allows one to manually select and add a liquid flavoring to the corn during and after the corn cooking process if desired. If the button 40 is not actuated, no liquid flavoring will be dispensed on the cooked popcorn.
FIG. 2 shows the device 10 partially cut away. Starting at the top, the translucent acrylic raw kernel reservoir or container 22 is shown, having a cylindrical outlet tube 42, providing a bottom outlet for the corn to fall by gravity. The top access door 26 may be key actuated to provide access for adding more raw corn 24 to the raw corn reservoir 22. Two cup holders 28 are shown adjacent the raw corn reservoir 22 with inverted cups 30 that are used to receive the popped corn.
The raw corn reservoir outlet 42 is contained in the middle of the raw corn reservoir's bottom wall. The raw corn reservoir 22 has tapered wall surfaces so that all the raw corn will drop to the cylindrical outlet 42, wherein the cylindrical outlet 42 is connected in a sealed manner to the raw corn dispenser and slide mechanism 44, which is mechanically and electrically connected to vending actuating device 36 mounted in the front wall 14 of the housing. Referring now to FIGS. 2-5, the vending actuating device 36 has a mechanical arm 46 that is L-shaped that connects to an inside slide mechanism 50 that includes a raw kernel measuring chamber 48 that is cylindrical and that can slide from a first position that allows raw kernels to be admitted by gravity from the raw popcorn kernel chamber 22 through the cylindrical outlet 42 so that the inside slide housing 50 slides to a second position where there is a lower circular aperture 52 that aligns with the raw kernel measuring chamber 48 so that the corn is then deposited by gravity into a chute 54 where it falls into the actual cooking chamber. When the inside slide mechanism 50 returns by either spring or other actuating means to its original position as shown in FIG. 3B, it can be seen that the bottom wall 58 of the inside slide mechanism 50 cuts off measuring chamber 48 from the outside atmosphere. Therefore, measuring chamber 48, which contains corn in the raw state that is received from the raw kernel reservoir 22, is not exposed to ambient atmosphere. Thus, as shown in FIG. 2, since the top door 26 of the corn reservoir 22 is sealed, the corn 24 is not subject to drying out due to ambient air, thereby allowing the corn to remain fresh at all times.
FIG. 3 shows an alternate embodiment of the raw corn measuring and dispensing mechanism that shows the raw corn reservoir 22a connected by a collar 42a to an upper plate 55 that has an aperture that allows access to the premeasuring cylinder 48a which contains just the amount of corn necessary. As the entire housing 59 is rotated, each of the cylinder chambers 48a rotate so that the one with the corn will move to a position near the corn chute 57 which has an aperture in plate 58a which allows the corn to fall into the cooker. The dispensing and measuring mechanism shown in FIG. 3C is desirable for use with a particular type of vending apparatus.
FIG. 4 shows how the inside slide mechanism 50 takes a prescribed amount of corn that is metered out by the volume of the cylindrical corn receiving chamber 48 when moved to the second position where the corn in the chamber 48 then falls by gravity into the chute 54 for the cooking chamber. Note in FIG. 4 that the upper inside slide wall 56 abruptly effaces the outlet 42 from the raw kernel reservoir 22, preventing additional corn from being dispensed and retaining it in its position so that it is not being exposed to outside air. Finally, in looking at FIG. 5, it can be seen that when the inside metering cylindrical chamber 48 that measures out the raw corn has returned to the original position, where it is aligned coaxially with the outlet 42 of the raw kernel reservoir 22, it is maintained in a position where outside air will not affect the raw corn. As noted before, raw popcorn can get stale and ineffective for cooking if the moisture is allowed to leave the corn.
Referring back to FIG. 2, other features of the invention are shown. The cooking unit 60 is shown that includes a heated cooking chamber 62 that uses electrical current to heat a metal surface or the surrounding surface where the popcorn achieves a certain temperature and, due to the moisture in the kernel which turns to steam, causes the kernel to explode and move violently upward by a stream of air produced by an internal blower to a deflecting portion 64 where it turns approximately 90° and then goes down an incline slope where it falls into the cup receiving chamber 32. The cup receiving chamber 32, which is mounted and includes a front opening in the front wall 14, may have a door (not shown) when the device is not in use. Once access is obtained to the cup receiving chamber 32 and the cup 30 has been placed on the turntable 34 and the vending mechanism 36 actuated by insertion of money into the device 10, the heating elements (not shown) in the cooking unit 60 are stimulated and turned on, allowing the popcorn to cook, which takes approximately two minutes. Once cooked, the popcorn is carried by the air current into the cup.
The invention discloses a reservoir 66 that includes liquid flavoring such as liquid cheese connected to a pump 68 by inlet tube 74 and that has an outlet tube 70 that dispenses the liquid flavoring into a predetermined location at the top of the cup receiving chamber 32. The turntable 34 which supports the cup is rotated by a small electric motor (not shown) underneath the turntable 34 so that once the manually actuated button 40 on the front wall 14 of the device has been activated, the pump 68 will be turned on, causing liquid to move through the pump 68 and be distributed onto the top of the popcorn in the cup as the cup turns. Rotation allows for even dispensing of the liquid cheese or other flavoring as desired, and prevents the customer from prematurely removing the cup before the flavoring is dispensed.
A front access door 38 is shown partially in FIG. 2 in an open position with a tray 72 for receiving monies from the vending actuating mechanism 36.
A power cord 76 is used and provides power to the unit and to a series of timing and control circuit elements 78 that provide timing to power the cooking unit 60, power to the pump 68 for dispensing the liquid cheese, and power to the turntable 34, all of which is actuated by a timing mechanism for independent cycle times, depending on how the machine is actuated. The vending unit is conventional and may be either mechanical of electrical, as desired.
The primary advantage of the present invention resides in its ability to maintain raw popcorn kernels fresh and moist because of the storage facility and the slide mechanism for dispensing the corn which protects the corn from the damaging effects of ambient air, which would allow the corn to dry out. This is critical to a successful vending operation where popcorn may be left unattended for storage purposes for days or weeks while it is being consumed. Obviously, if the popcorn is not fresh, then the purpose of the vending machine is defeated completely.
Secondly, a very important feature of the invention is that it allows the user of the machine an option of putting a liquid flavoring, such as liquid cheese, directly on top of the popcorn at the moment of cooking so that the resultant popcorn and liquid topping are fresh and warm. The liquid topping is also kept in a preserved state in a sealed dispensing unit and reservoir that connects to the pump such that all of the liquid flavoring is evenly dispensed from the pump and its outlet tube during each vending cycle.
To operate the device as shown in FIG. 2, the user would select a cup 30 and place it in the cup receiving chamber 32 on top of the turntable 34. The user would then insert the appropriate amount of coins or paper money and actuate the vending mechanism 36 which turns on the power to the cooking unit 60 and provides power to various timing circuits including the turntable 34 and the liquid cheese pump 68. Actuation of the vending machine also triggers immediately, either manually or electrically, the inside slide mechanism 50 where a metered amount of raw corn is transferred to the chute 54 where it drops into the cooking device 60 and the slide 50 returns to its initial position, protecting the remaining raw corn from exposure to the atmosphere. When the timing circuits 78 are actuated, the cooking begins and the popcorn is cooked, the turntable 34 begins rotating and, if the user desires, the liquid cheese or other flavoring is dispensed by the user pushing the manual button 40 on the front wall 14. As the turntable 34 rotates, liquid flavoring dispensed on top of the corn is uniformly distributed. The user then removes the cup with the cooked corn and flavoring.
The vendor operator can service the device 10 by adding more raw corn 24 to the raw corn reservoir through the top access door 26 by a key. The vending operator also will have access through the front door 38 with a key to remove monies received and to add more liquid flavoring by replacing the container or reservoir therein.
An exhaust fan is mounted inside near the back of the housing to the rear of the cooker to expel heat from the housing and provide the cooked popcorn aroma into the ambient environment.
As shown, the unit is quite compact, provides for extremely fresh popcorn at all times, and provides for quickly and readily dispensed fresh popcorn with a liquid flavoring if desired. Because of the small size of the unit, it can be utilized on a countertop or other convenient location where it can be left unattended for simple operation by the user.
The instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. | A vending popcorn machine for measuring out a metered amount of popcorn, cooking the popcorn fresh in the machine, and dispensing the freshly cooked popcorn into a manually positioned cup in the front of the machine. The vending machine includes a sealed, slidable dispensing mechanism that keeps the popcorn fresh at all times in its raw kernel reservoir, preventing moisture from escaping. The device also incudes a liquid flavoring dispenser that is optional that can allow for uniform distribution of a liquid flavoring on top of the freshly cooked corn. | 0 |
BACKGROUND
This invention relates to a pressing or smoothing iron comprising safety turn-off means located in the heating current circuit.
There are known pressing irons (or smoothing or flat irons) which, as a protection against overheating, comprise a temperature-sensitive switch which is located in the heating current circuit and which disconnects the heating conductors from the current supply as soon as a permissible temperature is exceeded.
The known safety turn-off means do not ensure that the clothing pieces or textile fabrics are not burned, scorched or discoloured when the pressing iron is unintentionally left lying on the goods being ironed. Also, known safety turn-off means might not be responsive to inadmissible temperatures until after the goods being ironed have already been damaged or ruined.
An object of this invention is to solve the problem of constructing a pressing iron comprising safety turn-off means located in the heating current circuit so as to reliably protect the goods being ironed against burning, scorching or discolouring when the pressing iron is inadvertently left lying on the goods being ironed and forgotten.
SUMMARY
According to preferred embodiments of the invention, a safety turn-off means includes an acceleration sensor comprising a ball located in a curved channel and adapted to assume a lowermost position therein. Upon acceleration, the ball oscillates about the lowermost position. The position is scanned in a contactless manner by a scanning device to produce a turn-off or disconnecting signal for energizing the safety turn-off means if the iron is stopped long enough to cause scorching.
According to one preferred embodiment, the scanning device has a source of radiation, in particular a radiation-emitting diode, arranged at one side of the tube or channel which has transparent walls; and, a detector is responsive to the radiation and located at the opposite side of said tube or channel.
It will be apparent that the acceleration sensor proposed here has an extremely rugged structure and is very reliable in service and can be cheaply manufactured. Moreover there is an essential advantage that the acceleration characteristic is selectable at will by a corresponding curvature or pitch or rise of the tube or channel. Furthermore, by the orientation of the tube or channel of said acceleration sensor there is a predetermined or preselected acceleration direction so that the acceleration sensor will be preferably responsive to that direction of acceleration or to an essential acceleration component having that direction.
In the pressing iron proposed here, the safety turn-off means comprising the acceleration sensor is effective in a manner such that the heating conductors of the pressing iron remain connected to the current supply so long as the acceleration sensor is signalling or indicating acceleration occurrences or operations determined by the normal use of the pressing iron. In other words, the acceleration sensor is operative to control or maintain the iron's current supply. Yet as soon as the pressing iron is left lying on the goods being ironed and forgotten there, a standstill-signalling signal is derived from the acceleration sensor and causes the disconnection of the current supply to the heating leads or conductors of the pressing iron. Time switch members ensuring a stable operation are also provided.
Suitable further developments are subject matter of the following description and claims, the above reference having been made for the sake of simplification and reduction of the description. However, it is also to be noted that the acceleration sensor proposed here is of independent inventive value so that the use thereof is not limited to the incorporation into pressing irons.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A number of exemplary embodiments will now be described in greater detail hereinafter with reference to the drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective schematic view of a pressing iron comprising an acceleration-sensitive safety circuit breaker disposed in the heating current circuit;
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an acceleration sensor formed in a transparent block of plastic material;
FIG. 3 is a schematic circuit diagram of a safety turn-off means;
FIG. 4 is a plan view of an alternate embodiment of the acceleration sensor of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a schematic circuit diagram of a safety turn-off means excited by a turn-off signal of the acceleration sensor corresponding to maximum acceleration;
FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view of a portion of the acceleration sensor; and,
FIG. 7 is a sectional view through a block comprising the channels of the acceleration sensor in the shape of bores.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The pressing iron 1 shown schematically in FIG. 1 has a pressing iron sole 3 which contains heating conductors 2 and which is connected to a housing 4 (e.g., by known means). The housing 4 is shown as broken away in FIG. 1 so that within the interior there is visible a safety turn-off means 5 located in one of the leads or supply lines 6 between a switch and temperature selector 7 at the handle portion of the housing and connection contacts 8 of the heating conductors 2.
In the position of rest or stationary position of the pressing iron 1, the safety turn-off means 5 is effective so that, even when the switch and temperature selector 7 is ON and optionally set to the peak desired temperature, the current supply to the heating conductors 2 remains cut out. For the initial heating of the pressing iron it is placed on edge in an inclined or upright position so that the acceleration sensor is placed into an "ON" or responsive condition even though there is no continuous acceleration. In this manner the pressing iron sole 3 is initially heated up to the desired temperature. Thereupon, the ON state is maintained only when the pressing iron in use is kept moving. When there is no movement beyond a predetermined time period then the safety turn-off means 5 is rendered operative and disconnects the power supply to the heating conductors 2.
The acceleration sensor 9 shown in FIG. 2 contains a transparent block 10 of synthetic material or plastic wherein a downwardly arcuate tubular channel 11 is formed. The plastic block 10 may be a multi-part casting which is correspondingly subdivided to form the channel 11 therein.
The tubular or tube-like channel 11 is closed at its obliquely upwardly directed ends and includes a nontransparent or opaque movable member in the form of a ball 12. When the block 10 is subjected to acceleration in the direction of arrow 13 depicted in FIG. 2 then the ball 12, by virtue of its inertia, moves up in one or the other of the obliquely upwardly directed legs of the tube-like channel 11 and departs from the lowest stable position of rest shown in FIG. 2.
A light emitting diode 15 and a photocell 18 are located adjacent the lowermost point of the tube-like channel 11 and are connected to contact pins 14 and 17, respectively, as shown--the diode functioning as a light source and the photocell functioning as a light detector. The light emitting diode 15 and the photocell 18 are located in depressions or recesses in the transparent block 10 of synthetic material. The path of light rays between the diode 15 and the photocell 18 is interrupted by the ball 12 whenever the ball is in its position of rest in the lowermost point of the tube-like channel 11. As soon as acceleration forces act upon the block 10 due to motion of the iron, the ball 12 departs from the position of rest according to FIG. 2 and clears the way for light to radiate from the diode 15 to the photocell 18 so that an output voltage appears at contact pins 17, notwithstanding temporary interruptions because of each respective passage of ball 12.
From FIG. 3 it can be seen that the output voltage from pins 17 can be used for charging a capacitor 19 via a small resistor 20. The voltage of the charged capacitor 19 suffices to energize a relay 21, the switching contacts 22 of which are located in the excitation current circuit of a main switching relay 23 which controls the current supply to the heating conductors 2 of the pressing iron.
If the charging or recharging of capacitor 19 by photocell 18 does not take place often enough, capacitor 19 is discharged after a predetermined time via resistor 24 so that that relay 21 becomes deenergized and main switching relay 23 cuts off the current supply to heating conductors 2.
It is to be understood that electronic switches may be used in lieu of the relays mentioned in the present description and shown in the drawings. The illustrated circuits merely serve to describe the basic idea and can be modified and further developed in many respects.
Electronic switch means, however, provide a very important advantage to the acceleration sensor of the invention. That is, they are contactless so that scanning of the position of ball 12 leads to signals which change their state very quickly thereby enhancing the foolproof aspects of the device--particularly where the output signals are digitally evaluated.
Similarly, where the channel 11 is of non-magnetizable material and the ball is magnetic, its motion and/or acceleration can be detected by a magnetic circuit in lieu of the diode-photocell embodiment described above.
The acceleration sensor according to FIG. 4 has a channel formed by a bent tube 25 for receiving the ball 12. The bent tube 25 also consists of a transparent material and is closed at the two ends thereof. The configuration of the tube corresponds to the shape of the downwardly bent channel 11 according to FIG. 2.
The bent tube 25 is firmly clamped between circuit support plates 27 by means of screws 28, with blocks 26 adapted to the shape of the tube being interposed therebetween, as shown in FIG. 4. The circuit support plates 27 support the switching circuits of the safety turn-off means and are provided with openings 29 disposed opposite each other within the range of one of the ends of the bent tube 25. A light emitting diode 30 is fastened in one of the openings 29 and a phototransistor or photocell 31 is fastened in the other. In this manner, whenever accelerations occur which act upon the acceleration sensor according to FIG. 4 in the direction of arrow 13, the ball 12 oscillates in the bent tube 25 and temporarily interrupts the radiant path between the light emitting diode 30 and the phototransistor 31. Contact lugs 32 and 33, respectively, of the circuit support plates 27 serve for supplying electrical power to diode 30 and for deriving the detector signals from phototransistor 31.
By using the acceleration sensor 4, a safety turn-off means for the pressing iron according to FIG. 5 can be constructed in a manner such that the phototransistor 31 is coupled to a relay or electronic switch 34. At this time, closed-circuit contacts 35 of the switch 34 cause the capacitor 19 to receive short-time charge-voltage surges from a voltage source 36 when the ball 12 temporarily breaks the path of rays between the diode 30 and the phototransistor 31. Hence, the relay 34 is deenergized for a short time while the closed-circuit contacts 35 are closed for a short time. Yet when these charge voltage surges are absent for a longer time, then the capacitor 19 is discharged via the resistor 24 so that the relay 21 is deenergized and the operations described briefly hereinbefore in conjunction with FIG. 3 take place.
The acceleration sensor according to FIG. 2 as well as the acceleration sensor according to FIG. 4 can include further devices for the contactless scanning of other positions of ball 12 to thereby be able to control additional functions of the electrical circuit associated with the heating conductors 2 of the pressing iron. For example, a further arrangement of mutually opposite radiation sources and radiation detectors can be utilized to maintain the pressing iron in its switched-on condition when the iron is on edge to be heated.
FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of a tube 25a which contains ball 12. From the lowest point, the ball 12 must initially overcome a threshold point 37 when acceleration forces appear, to thereby get into the range within which the radiation source 30 and detector 31 perform scanning. In this manner, a predetermined switching characteristic is realized. For dampening, the channel or the tube in which the ball 12 is disposed can be provided with a predetermined gas or liquid filling. Furthermore, it is possible to adjust the response characteristics of the acceleration sensor by a corresponding dimensioning of the diameter of ball 12 relative to the internal diameter of the tube-like channel.
Finally, FIG. 7 shows a further embodiment of the block 10 of synthetic material which, in a manner readily apparent from FIG. 7, contains the channels for ball 12 in the shape of bores which meet with each other and which are closed at their respective ends. | A pressing iron contains a safety turn-off switch to prevent scorching if the iron is held stationary for too long.
An acceleration sensor produces a signal in response to a predetermined acceleration of the iron and an actuating circuit turns off the iron if the iron is not sufficiently accelerated. | 3 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a video camera which can be remotely controlled, and more particularly to a video camera having a remote control unit with a view finder.
2. Background of the Invention
Recently, the percentage of people who own a video camera has remarably increased. A video camera which is integral with a VTR (video tape recorder) (hereinafter referred to merely as "a video camera") has been widely available on the market.
In the conventional video camera, the view finder is integral with the camera body. Therefore, the photographer (or operator) can photograph objects while observing their images, or observe the reproduced images.
In addition, a video camera is well known in the art which is so designed that, in order to increase the range of application, it has a remote control function so that it can be remotely operated.
However, a video camera has not been proposed in the art in which a view finder is installed on its remote control unit, because it is impossible to make the remote control unit with the view finder into a compact unit.
However, in order to avoid photographic failures during the remote control operation of the video camera, it is necessary to confirm whether or not the image of the object is acceptable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing, an object of this invention is to provide a video camera having a remote control unit with a view finder which is compact and has excellent operating characteristics.
The foregoing object of the invention has been achieved by a video camera which can be remotely controlled in which, according to the invention, a remote-control-operation control section including a view finder function display section is detachably mounted as one integral remote control unit on the body of the camera.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a video camera which is one embodiment of this invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the control unit.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the circuitry of the video camera according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
One embodiment of this invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in detail.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of the invention, namely, a video camera. The video camera is made up of components which are substantially the same as those of a conventional video camera. That is, a photographic lens 2 and a microphone 3 are attached to the front end of the camera body 1, and a camera power switch 4 and a white balance switch 5 are secured to one side of the camera body 1. As shown in FIG. 2, a remote control terminal unit 6 is provided at the lower portion of the rear end of the camera body 1 as shown in FIG. 2. Furthermore, a control section 9 comprising a view finder function display section 7 (hereinafter referred to merely as "a view finder") and a plurality of switches 8 are arranged on the rear end of the camera body as shown in FIG. 1.
More specifically, the control section 9 is detachably mounted on the rear end of the camera body 1 as shown in FIG. 1, thus forming a part of the camera body 1. When, as shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 9 is removed from the camera body 1 and a viewer terminal unit 10 provided at the lower end of the control section 9 is connected to the remote control terminal unit 6 of the camera body 1 with a cable 12 having connectors 11a and 11b at both ends, the control unit 9 serves as a remote control unit.
The switches 8 of the control section 9 are used to operate the camera section and the deck section of the video camera. More specifically, the switches 8 are operated for the zooming, exposure adjustment of the camera section, and the start/stop, rewinding, fast forwarding, reproducing and temporary stop operations of the deck section.
The video camera of the invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3. This figure is a block diagram showing its circuitry in more detail.
In the video camera of the invention, the view finder 7 employs a conventional liquid crystal television system.
In FIG. 3, an object is photographed through a zoom lens 13 by a solid image-pickup element (CCD) 15. The zoom lens 13 is caused to zoom in and out by a drive system 14 which is controlled by a system controller 20.
The above-described solid image-pickup element 15 subjects the image of the object to photoelectric conversion to provide color signals (for instance red, green and blue). The color signals are applied to a matrix circuit (not shown) to provide color difference signals and luminance signals. The output of the matrix circuit is supplied to an encoder 16, which outputs a video signal. For the purpose of recording and reproduction, the video signal thus outputted is converted into a recording signal by a signal processing section 17 according to a suitable modulation system such as an FM modulation system. The recording signal is supplied through a recording and reproducing amplifier 18 to a magnetic head 19, which records it on a magnetic recording medium such as a video tape.
The video signal recorded on the video tape is reproduced by the following method. The reproducing signal read by the magnetic head 19 is amplified by the recording and reproducing amplifier 18 and demodulated by the signal processing section 17. The demodulated signal is converted into the original color difference signals and luminance signals by a color coder 16a. These signals are applied to the previously mentioned remote controller terminal unit 6.
The system control 20 separately switches the operations of the recording and reproducing amplifier 18 and of the recording and reproducing magnetic head 19 according to the recording operation and the reproducing operation and produces a synchronizing signal for synchronization of the signal for the recording operation and those for the reproducing operation.
When the control section 9 is used as the remote control unit, it is connected to the remote control terminal unit 6 through the cable 12 as was described before. Therefore, the inputted color difference signals and luminance signals are converted into a video signal for display by the liquid crystal television by a signal processing section 21. The image of the object is displayed on a liquid crystal television unit 23 with the aid of a liquid crystal television unit drive circuit 22.
The plurality of switches 8 of the control section 9 form a matrix circuit 24 and are controlled by a switch controller 25. The aforementioned system controller 20 is controlled by depression of the switches 8.
The details of switches which have been depressed are displayed on a display means (not shown) through feedback of the system controller 20 which. is provided on the control section 9.
In the above-described embodiment of the invention, the control section 9 can be disconnected from the camera body 1, to serve as the remote control unit. However, the control section 9 may be so modified that it is not removable from the camera body 1 but performs the same functions. In this modification, the control section 9 acts as one of the video camera components.
According to the video camera of the present invention, the remote control unit includes the view finder display unit and the switch from zooming operation while photographing and/or the switch for exposure adjustment, so that it is possible to photograph images of objects after the picture structure of the objects is most suitably selected on the view finder display unit also, it the operator notices that the main object is remarkably dark through the view finder display unit, it is possible to control the exposure condition for the control section so that the brightness of the main object is increased and the exposure condition is adjusted appropriately. As described above, one can photograph objects while observing their images even during remote control operation, so that failures in recording the images of the objects can be avoided.
Especially when the photographer (or operator) photographs (or records) the image of himself with the video camera of the invention, he can confirm the image on the view finder, and therefore he can successfully record the image.
Since the view finder employs the liquid crystal television unit, the remote control of the video camera can be achieved satisfactorily with the view finder at all times, and the video camera itself can be made compact. Furthermore, as the control section is detachably mounted on the camera body so that it is used as the remote control unit when necessary, for instance it is unnecessary for the user to separately purchase the remote control unit, and the operating system of the video camera is improved as much. | A video camera having an attachable and removable section including an LCD view finder and controls for the camera. | 7 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention is related to devices useful in preventing or retarding the advance or spread of flame. Such devices are sometimes referred to hereinafter as flame barriers.
BACKGROUND ART
Materials to prevent or retard the advance of flame are useful, particularly where it is desired to provide additional escape time for persons trapped in confined spaces by fire. An especially critical field of use for such materials is in vehicles used for mass transportation (e.g., airplanes, busses, trains) where relatively large numbers of people are confined within a relatively small space.
Numerous materials are known for preventing or retarding the advance of flame. For example, flexible sheet materials that employ intumescent materials are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,916,057 and British Pat. No. 1,513,808. Sheet materials that incorporate exfoliated or "popped" mica are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,001,571. Sheet materials that incorporate vermiculite are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,204,581 and 3,434,917.
Endothermal sheet materials are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,144,840. These materials comprise a metal film adhesively bonded to a flexible backing. An endothermal layer is bonded to the side of the flexible backing opposite the metal film. The endothermal layer comprises an organic binder and an endothermic filler.
The foregoing sheet materials all suffer from at least one serious disadvantage, that is, they are relatively dense or "heavy". Consequently, they are not suited for use in the transportation field where added weight can significantly reduce fuel efficiency.
The present invention overcomes this drawback by providing a light weight sheet material that possesses excellent flame barrier properties. The flame barrier properties of the invention are demonstrated by its ability to retain sufficient structural integrity to prevent the flame from breaking through it for at least 30 minutes even though it may be charred by the flame. It has been found that this can be achieved without the use of either an intumescent material or a flame retardant. Details of the test utilized to test the flame barrier characteristics of the sheet are described more fully hereinafter.
The weight and flame barrier properties of the sheets render them useful in a variety of applications. For example, the sheet is useful in airplane escape slides, engine housings and pylons, cargo compartments, and fuselages.
Additionally, it has been found that the sheet of the invention possesses good low frequency noise absorption characteristics thereby rendering it useful as an acoustic barrier. This is surprising since the sheet is light weight and because it is usually necessary to utilize much heavier materials to achieve similar acoustic damping.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a sheet useful as a flame barrier comprising a backing having thereon a coating comprising from 50 to 70% by weight of a cured diorganopolysiloxane gum, from 1 to 10% by weight of a fibrous filler, from 20 to 45% by weight of hollow glass microspheres, and from 1 to 5 parts by weight of a curing agent per 100 parts by weight of said diorganopolysiloxane gum, wherein said sheet is substantially free from components which volatilize at below 350° C., and wherein said sheet has a weight of at most 0.06 g/cm 2 .
The substantial freedom from components which volatilize at below 350° C. enables the sheets of the invention to be free from flash-through. This phenomena occurs when a brief burst of flame appears on the side of the fabric away from the flame source (i.e., the opposite side of the sheet). While it may last for only a fraction of a second, and while the main source of flame may not have broken through the barrier, the flash-through provides a source of flame that may ignite materials on the opposite side of the sheet.
The sheet of the invention typically has a weight in the range of 0.04 to 0.06 g/cm 2 and a total thickness in the range of 1000 to 1450 microns. Preferably it has a weight in the range of 0.05 to 0.055 g/cm 2 , a total thickness in the range of 1200 to 1350 microns. However, lighter sheets and thicker or thinner sheets are also useful. Most preferably the sheets of the invention are relatively flexible, i.e., they can be wrapped around small diameter mandrels without cracking or breaking.
Although the sheet of the invention typically has a weight and a thickness in the ranges set forth, lighter sheets and thicker or thinner sheets are also useful.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be further explained with reference to the attached drawings wherein like reference characters refer to the same elements throughout the views and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view, greatly enlarged, of layer 11a of the embodiment of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the apparatus used to test resistance to flame breakthrough.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the sheet 2 of the present invention comprises a backing 10 bearing a layer 11 that comprises diorganopolysiloxane gum 12, a curing agent (not shown) for the gum, a fibrous filler 13, and hollow glass microspheres 14. Fibrous filler 13 and microspheres 14 are distributed throughout polydiorganosiloxane gum 12.
As shown in the FIG. 1., layer 11 preferably comprises two separate layers 11a and 11b. This embodiment is not essential to the invention, however, as layer 11 may comprise one or more layers.
A wide variety of materials are useful as backing 10. These materials retain their dimensional characteristics when heated. Preferably the backing 10 is a flexible fiberglass cloth. Such cloths are known and are commercially available from, for example, J. P. Stevens Company, Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation, and Burlington Glass Fabrics Company.
The backing 10 typically has a weight in the range of 0.01 to 0.02 g/cm 2 and preferably one in the range of 0.015 to 0.018 g/cm 2 . Moreover, backing 10 typically has a thickness in the range of 100 to 230 microns, preferably one in the range of 150 to 180 microns.
Rigid backing materials are also useful in the invention. However, rigid backing materials are not preferred as the resulting sheets are prone to breaking and cracking and, are, therefore, difficult to handle.
Layer 11 comprises a mixture of a cured diorganopolysiloxane gum, a fiber filler, and hollow glass microspheres. When layer 11 is applied to backing 10 it typically has a dried thickness of 900 to 1220 microns, and preferably one in the range of 990 to 1150 microns.
Diorganopolysiloxane gums useful in layer 11 possess good high temperature properties. Examples of useful gums include siloxane polymers, copolymers of siloxane polymers and other polymers, and mixtures thereof. In the siloxane polymers, the repeating units have the structure ##STR1## wherein R 1 and R 2 are, individually, organo groups. Representative examples of useful R 1 and R 2 groups include methyl, ethyl, phenyl, and vinyl. R 1 and R 2 groups where the hydrogens have been replaced by fluorines, such as 3,3,3-trifluoropropyl, are also useful. Specific examples of useful siloxanes include dimethylpolysiloxane, phenylmethylpolysiloxane, 3,3,3-trifluoropropylmethylpolysiloxane, diphenylpolysiloxane, methylvinylpolysiloxane and phenylvinylpolysiloxane. The terminating units of the siloxane can be, for example, triorganosiloxy units, hydroxyl groups, or alkoxy groups. The triorganosiloxy units can be illustrated by trimethylsiloxy, dimethylvinylsiloxy, methylphenylvinylsiloxy, methyldiphenylsiloxy, 3,3,3-trifluoropropyldimethylsiloxy and the like.
Representative examples of commercially available diorganopolysiloxanes include VL-240 from General Electric Company and S-2351 U from Dow Corning.
The diorganopolysiloxane gum may be cured by mixing from 1 to 5 parts by weight of a curing agent per 100 parts by weight of said gum. Preferably the curing agent comprises about 2 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the gum.
A preferred class of curing agents are the organic peroxides such as benzoyl peroxide, bis(2,4-dichlorobenzoyl peroxide), ditertiary butyl peroxide, dicumyl peroxide, paradichlorobenzoyl peroxide, tertiary butyl perbenzoate, and 2,5-bis(tertiary butyl peroxy)-2,5-dimethylhexane.
The fibrous fillers are employed to reinforce the coating and improve its coherence when exposed to flame. The fibers are typically short, i.e., at least 700 microns long, although longer or shorter fibers are also useful. Preferably they are in the range of 3000 to 9000 microns and most preferably about 6000 microns long.
Preferably the fibers are inorganic refractory fibers. Such fibers combine high strength and stiffness with good thermal resistance and low density. Examples of useful inorganic refractory fibers include boron fibers, carbon and graphite fibers, carbon-silica fibers, (i.e., α-SiC and β-SiC), aluminum silicate (i.e., Al 2 (SiO 3 ) 3 ) fibers, aluminum carbide (i.e., Al 4 C 3 ) fibers, and potassium silicate (i.e., K 2 SiO 3 ) fibers). Other useful fibers include quartz fibers, silica fibers, and glass fibers.
Preferably the fibers are selected from carbon, graphite, and ceramic fibers. Carbon and graphite fibers may be produced by controlled thermal degradation of cellulosic or synthetic fibers, yarns, or textile using techniques known to the art (e.g., rayon and polyacrylonitrile). Graphite fibers are a more crystalline form of carbon fibers.
Examples of carbon fibers useful in the invention include "Fortafil" fibers available from Great Lakes Carbon Corporation, "Celion" and "Celiox" fibers available from the Celanese Corporation, and "Thornel" fibers available from Union Carbide Corporation.
Ceramic fibers are made of the same materials used in the ceramic industry and techniques for their preparation are also known. An example of useful, commercially available ceramic fibers are the "Nextel" fibers available from 3M Company.
The hollow glass microspheres are employed to lower the weight of the coating and to provide a base upon which the diorganopolysiloxane gum can anchor when it chars. The void volume of the microspheres enables them to act as thermal insulators.
The microspheres are typically small, i.e., 10 to 250 microns in diameter, and preferably 20 to 130 microns in diameter. Larger and smaller microspheres may be utilized if desired.
Generally, the glass wall thickness of the microspheres varies from a fraction of a micron up to 10-15% of the diameter of a complete microsphere. Thicker walls (i.e., greater than 15% of the diameter) may also be used, particularly if extremely strong microspheres are desired. The wall thickness of the microspheres is typically in the range of 0.5 to 2 microns.
Glass microspheres and techniques for their preparation are well known. They are commercially available from 3M Company.
A variety of other ingredients (e.g., particulate fillers and flame-retardants) may be incorporated into the coating layer if desired. Typically, particulate fillers can comprise up to 40% by weight of the coating while flame retardants can comprise up to 50% by weight of the coating.
Representative examples of useful particulate fillers include silica aerogel, fumed silica, acetylene black, diatomaceous silica, kaolin, calcium carbonate, silica, zinc oxide, iron oxide, zirconium silicate, and titanium dioxide. Still other particulate fillers are useful as will be understood as a result of this disclosure.
Representative examples of useful flame retardants include mixtures of titanium dioxide and dimethyl silicone oil (e.g., FR-I from Dow Corning) and aluminum sulfamate.
The sheets of the present invention may be readily prepared. For example, the ingredients of the coating layer may be mixed together with a suitable solvent (e.g., heptane, toluene, mixtures of heptane and toluene) until all of the diorganopolysiloxane gum is dissolved and the micropheres fibers and other ingredients, if any, are uniformly distributed throughout or dissolved in the solution. The solution may then be applied to a desired substrate by any coating technique (e.g., knife coating, roll coating, curtain coating, etc.) at a desired thickness and then dried to remove the solvent. Drying is preferably accomplished by first air drying the sheet at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes followed by oven drying at about 65° C. for 15 minutes, followed by curing at about 175° C. for 10 minutes. The layer is then post-cured at 350° C. for 3 minutes to remove substantially all of the materials that volatilize below that temperature.
Most preferably, the coating layer is applied in two or more applications, with drying, curing, and post-curing between each, until the desired dry thickness is obtained. The sheet resulting from this multi-application coating technique comprises a backing 10 and a multilayer coating 11 as is shown by layers 11a and 11b in FIG. 1.
The present invention is further illustrated by the following examples. In these examples, flame breakthrough was determined according to the following test which utilized the apparatus shown in FIG. 3.
The test apparatus comprised two upright posts 20 that had bases 21 and horizontal bars 22 attached thereto. A sample 2 to be tested was suspended between posts 20 on bars 22 so that it was essentially level with the surface upon which bases 21 rested. Sample 2 was held or fastened to bars 22 by means of clamps 24 with layer 11 (the coating layer) on the bottom. A Bunsen burner 25 was located beneath sample 2 with its face 26 located 2.5 cm below the surface of layer 11, and its flame height and intensity adjusted so that the temperature at said surface was approximately 1370° C. A thermocouple 27, on support 28, was provided on the opposite surface of sample 2 to measure the temperature at said surface. The temperature on said opposite surface at various times was recorded and the sample observed for flame breakthrough.
EXAMPLES 1-4
Coating compositions were prepared from the following ingredients (all amounts are in parts by weight unless otherwise noted):
______________________________________ 1 2 3 4______________________________________DiorganopolysiloxaneVL-240 (a vinyl-containing siloxanefrom General Electric Company) 45.2 45.2 -- --S-2351 U (a vinyl-free siloxane fromDow Corning) -- -- 64.6 64.6Benzoyl Peroxide .sup.(1) 3.6 3.6 5.1 5.1Fibrous Filler"Fortafil" (6350 micron long graphitefibers from Great Lakes CarbonCorporation) 2.9 -- 2.9 --Ceramic fiber (6350 micron longceramic fibers available as "Nextel"fibers from 3M Company) -- 2.9 -- 2.9Hollow Glass Microspheres (B 23/500glass bubbles from 3M Company) 32.5 32.5 32.5 32.5Flame Retardant FR-I (a mixture ofTiO.sub.2 and silicone oil from Dow 19.4 19.4 -- --Corning)______________________________________ .sup.(1) Amount of benzoyl peroxide is parts per 100 parts diorganopolysiloxane.
The ingredients were individually combined with toluene to provide a 30.3% solids mixture and then agitated until all of the siloxane had dissolved. The resulting solutions were knife coated through a 890 micron orifice onto a section of fiberglass cloth (No. 7628 available from Burlington Glass Fabrics Company, 178 microns thick, 0.02 g/cm 2 ), air dried at room temperature for 15 minutes, and then dried at 65° C. for 15 minutes. The construction was then cured at 177° C. for 15 minutes and then post cured at 357° C. for 3 minutes. A second 890 microns thick coating was applied to the first, dried, cured and post cured as described above in this example. Post curing removed substantially all components which were volatile below 350° C.
The resulting sheets were 1245 microns thick and had a weight of 0.05 g/cm 2 . They were tested for flame breakthrough as described above. The temperature (in °C.) at various times (in min) on the side of the fabric away from the flame is listed below.
______________________________________ ExampleTime 1 2 3 4______________________________________0.5 min 360° C. 426° C. 466° C. 480° C.1 393 440 478 4892 417 497 482 5243 440 503 492 5294 445 548* 501 5485 442 553* 499 58910 438 694* 524 59315 440 527 527 60420 440 522 589 60925 433 589* 539 63530 440 576* 548 633______________________________________ *Thermocouple penetrated fabric and gave false readings.
No flame break through was observed on any of the samples after 30 minutes even though the coating layer charred. | This invention relates to devices for preventing the spread of flame (i.e., flame barriers).
The invention comprises a sheet having a backing bearing a coating of 50 to 70 weight % diorganopolysiloxane gum, 1 to 10 weight % fibrous filler, 20 to 45 weight % hollow glass microspheres, and 1 to 5 parts by weight curing agent per 100 parts by weight of said gum. The sheet (i) is substantially free from components volatilizing below 350°C., and (ii) has a weight of at most 0.6 g/cm 2 . Preferably the coating is applied in a multilayer fashion.
The present invention is a light-weight, non-intumescing sheet useful as a flame barrier between fuel tanks or engines and passenger or cargo compartments of mass transportation vehicles. | 8 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/007,284 filed Jan. 14, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,200, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/046,048 filed May 9, 1997.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to animal feed dispensers and, more particularly, to an improved animal feeder having adjustable feed dispensing and cleaning mechanisms.
All conventional gravity type feeders utilize so-called feed gates to regulate the flow of feed from a hopper to the animals. These feed gates are usually adjusted by some type of threaded adjusting mechanism to control the flow of feed. The threaded adjusting mechanisms found in hog feeders on the market today offer no means of accurately determining the flow of feed being dispensed. If the gate is open too much, more feed will be dispensed than the animals can eat and the excess feed is wasted. On the other hand, if the gate is not open enough, the animals will not get the amount of food necessary for optimum growth. To compound the matter, as the animals grow larger, they need more food to continue optimal growth.
To adjust conventional feeders correctly to obtain optimum performance requires a certain amount of guesswork. Because adjusting the feeders is difficult and very labor intensive, many feeders are simply not adjusted properly, resulting in feed waste or poor animal growth rate as discussed above.
In addition, standardized agricultural practices require regular cleaning and disinfecting of livestock feeders. Typically the cleaning process entails washing the feeders with high pressure water hoses. Cleaning fluids, animal waste and leftover waste grain often remain trapped in the trough of the feeder. One way to remove the cleaning fluids from a conventional feeder is tilting the feeders back and forth to displace the fluids. Further, conventional feeders often have defined flanges and structures, which trap food and dirt, making cleaning and disinfecting with high pressure hoses difficult.
The present invention solves these problems by providing an improved feeder having a precise feed dispensing mechanism with standardized indicia to eliminate the guesswork from dispensing feed to the livestock.
The advantages provided by the present invention are that animal producers can control proper feed adjustment based on animal weight, feed type, number of animals, etc. Producers can also mandate a standard setting for all feeders for any given circumstance thereby ruling out potential variables in animal production.
Another advantage to the present invention is that routine adjustments to the feed dispensing mechanism can be accomplished simply and the feed gates can be quickly and fully opened for cleaning.
The dispensing mechanism of the present invention is user friendly, the index scale of 1 to 10 is easily read and understood, a direct acting index lever correlates to feed gate movements either upwardly or downwardly, the indexing lever and connecting rods are replaceable and the unique connecting rod attaches to the feed gate without bolts or welding.
Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a closable cleaning gate that allows cleaning fluids and waste food grains to be easily removed from the entire feeder. Further, the invention additionally provides an improved flange structures, which facilitates cleaning, increased strength as well as minimizes discomfort to the feeding animals.
A dust cover is included which makes the feeder of the present invention environmentally safe by preventing large amounts of dust from becoming airborne when a feeder is being filled by an automatic delivery system.
In addition to the above, the improved feeder of the present invention includes a feed drop tube holder similar to that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,039 to adapt it for use with an automatic feed delivery system.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED PRIOR ART
U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,039 to Leon S. Zimmerman discloses a livestock feeder for use with an automatic feed delivery system having a feed drop tube operatively connected thereto for dispensing feed into a feed bin. This feeder features a feed drop tube holder fabricated from a flexible, resilient material which is installed intermediate the opposed side walls of the feed bin by compressing the holder lengthwise with hand pressure to effectively reduce its overall length and to allow tabs formed on the ends thereof to engage a plurality of horizontally opposed slots formed in the opposed side walls.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
After much research and study of the above described problems, the present invention has been developed to provide an improved livestock feeder including a feed dispensing mechanism which accurately controls the flow of feed to the animals for consumption. The improved feeder utilizes a pair of adjustable feed gates installed in the lower portion of a gravity feed bin formed by downwardly converging side walls. The feed gates are mechanically coupled by connecting rods to the feed dispensing controls which are accessible from the open top of the feed bin.
The controls for the feed dispensing mechanism are provided with a lever that engages a standard index of positions that adjust the opening of the feed gates. By use of the controls, animal producers may obtain a standardized setting for the release of feed to animals at different stages of the life cycle to obtain optimum growth rates.
In the preferred embodiment, the dispensing mechanism and controls are utilized with a hog feeder of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,039 which has previously issued to the Applicant herein.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved livestock feeder having a precision dispensing mechanism that will accurately control the release of feed to livestock.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved livestock feeder that will permit animal producers to obtain standardized settings for the release of feed to numerous animals at a particular stage in the production cycle.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved livestock feeder that will reduce variations in growth rate between animals by insuring the controlled release of food thereto.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved livestock feeder including a removable dust cover which is installed across the top opening of the feeder to reduce the release of airborne dust generated by an automatic feed delivery system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a livestock feeder which facilitates cleaning.
Another object of the current invention is to provide a livestock feeder with improved flanges which provide for greater animal comfort as well as easy cleaning.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and obvious from a study of the following description and the accompanying drawings which are merely illustrative of such invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a livestock feeder of the prior art;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the improved feeder of the present invention showing the feed-dispensing mechanism thereof;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the feed dispensing controls;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken through section 4 — 4 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the feed gate showing the manner in which the connecting rod is attached thereto;
FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the connecting rod and feed gate;
FIG. 7 is a top sectional view of the lower portion of a connecting rod;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the control lever in a position of disengagement with an indexing hole;
FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing the control lever in a position of engagement with an indexing hole;
FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the dust cover panels;
FIG. 11 is an elevational view of the animal feeder showing the dust cover installed therein;
FIG. 12 is an enlarged view showing the support braces and J-shaped brackets for mounting the dust cover panels;
FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the improved feeder of another embodiment of the present invention showing the cleaning mechanism thereof;
FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the improved feeder shown in FIG. 13 illustrating actuation of the cleaning mechanism;
FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the cleaning mechanism and improved flanges of the improved feeder shown in FIG. 14;
FIGS. 16 a and 16 b are cross-sectional views of the flanges of the opposing end walls of the present invention taken through 16 — 16 of FIG. 15;
FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the flanges of the trough portion taken through 17 — 17 of FIG. 15; and
FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the cleaning mechanism of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
As background and to better understand by comparison the improved livestock feeder of the present invention, reference should be made to animal feeder illustrated in FIG. 1 and labeled Prior Art.
The Prior Art animal feeder, indicated generally at 40 , comprises an open-topped hopper, indicated generally at 45 , defined by opposing, downwardly sloping side walls 41 and opposing substantially vertical end walls 42 .
The opposing end walls 42 are of generally rectangular shape and their upper edges are preferably positioned on substantially the same level as the upper edges of the downwardly sloping side walls 41 . The lower edges of the opposing end walls 42 terminate at a substantial distance below the lower edges of the opposing side walls 42 and are suitably secured to opposed ends of a bottom wall 43 .
The bottom wall 43 is connected to upwardly and outwardly inclined outer panel portions 44 forming elongate feed troughs, indicated generally at 55 , along opposite sides of the animal feeder 40 and below the opposing side walls 41 .
The lower portions of the downwardly converging side walls 41 and the bottom wall 43 define therebetween a feed discharge opening 16 .
As another element of the Prior Art feeder 40 , reinforcing dividers, shown in the form of plurality of spaced-apart, elongate rods 57 span the feed troughs 55 from the side walls 41 to the respective outer trough portions 44 of the bottom wall 43 . The rods 57 reinforce the feed bin and divide each feed trough 55 into individual feeding areas which serve to aid in giving the livestock animals access to feed.
As another element of the Prior Art feeder 40 , a pair of elongate, pivotally mounted, vertically adjustable gates 48 including gate adjustment means 49 mechanically coupled thereto overlie the respective feed discharge openings 46 for varying the size of each opening 46 . The gates 48 extend longitudinally between the end walls 42 with the opposite ends of the gates 48 terminating closely adjacent end walls 42 . A small clearance remains necessary between the ends of the gates 48 and the end walls 42 so that the gates 48 may pivot freely in their described adjusted positions. The gate 48 , which functions to regulate the amount of food into the trough, is shown as a flat rectangular plate. It is envisioned that gate 48 , can take the form of other shapes such as circular or conical.
Another element of the Prior Art feeder 40 is the feed drop tube holder, indicated generally at 60 , as shown in FIG. 1 . The feed drop tube holder 60 is a generally flat, rectangular structure having a circular opening 60 a in the center thereof.
Holder 60 includes a plurality of tabs 60 b integrally formed on opposite ends thereof at predetermined intervals. Tabs 60 b are adapted to engage a plurality of cooperating slots 61 which are disposed about the upper peripheral edges of side walls 41 at regular intervals.
One of the principle advantages of the feed drop tube holder 60 is that it does not require brackets for additional hardware to install. Holder 60 is manufactured to an overall length that is slightly larger than the inside dimension between the opposing side walls 41 as measured in a plane coincidental with slots 61 .
Being made of a flexible, resilient material holder 60 may be compressed lengthwise by hand pressure into a curved bow shape in order to insert tab 60 b into cooperating slot 61 .
Once released from this position, holder 60 springs back into its original flat configuration such that tabs 60 b project outwardly through slots 61 in side walls 41 retaining holder 60 therebetween.
The central opening 60 a in holder 60 is sized to a dimension that is slightly larger than the feed drop tube 63 to accommodate the insertion of the same into central openings 60 a at varying angles without binding therein.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that holder 60 may be easily repositioned to several longitudinal positions within feeder 40 by removing and replacing holder 60 to a different grouping of opposed slots 61 as desired.
Since all of the above hereinabove described features of feeder 40 are well known to those skilled in the art, further detailed discussion of the same is not deemed necessary.
One of the principle improvements of the animal feeder 10 of the present invention is the feed dispensing mechanism, indicated generally at 20 comprising a pair of control levers 16 with associated indexing holes 23 , a scale 25 with numeric indicia 26 , control rods 15 and feed gates 14 as shown in FIG. 2 .
The structure and function of these components will now be described in further detail. It will be understood that a dispensing mechanism as depicted in FIG. 2 is installed on the interior surface of each end wall 11 of the present feeder 10 to operate the vertically adjustable feed gates 14 thereof.
A pair of adjustable control levers 16 are pivotally mounted on the interior surface of each end wall 11 by use of suitable attaching hardware such as a pivot screw 17 , lock washer 18 , spacer 13 and compression spring 19 as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4.
An opposite end of the control lever 16 includes a pointer 16 a for indicating the setting for the feed gates 14 as described hereinafter in further detail.
The pointer 16 a is provided with a knob 21 including an index pin 22 projecting outwardly therefrom for mating engagement with an array of index holes 23 which are radially disposed at regular intervals along an arc concentric with an axis of the pivot screw 17 as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4.
Intermediate the pivot screw 17 and the knob 21 an upper end of a connecting rod 15 is secured using suitable attaching hardware. In the preferred embodiment a connecting tab 24 having an elongated slot 37 formed at one end thereof is coupled to the upper end of connecting rod 15 . The tab 24 is mounted on a connecting bolt 35 which loosely penetrates the slot 37 and is secured thereon by lock nut 36 .
An opposite end of each connector rod 15 is configured as illustrated in FIGS. 5-7. The lower most end of the connector rod 15 is initially bent at 90° to a longitudinal axis thereof as at 15 in FIG. 5 so as to lie in a plane coincident with the major portion of the rod 15 . Thereafter the tip portion 15 b is again bent 90° as at 15″ to lie in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the major portion of the rod 15 as shown in FIG. 6 .
To install the connector rod 15 in the feed gate 14 the tip portion 15 b is inserted through mounting aperture 38 as seen in FIG. 5 attaching the rod 15 to the feed gate 14 without bolting or welding the connection. Thus installed, it will be appreciated that a non-binding linkage is provided between the rod 15 and the gate 14 to facilitate operation of the dispensing mechanism when the feeder is filled to capacity.
In normal operation the user of the improved feeder 10 adjusts the dispensing mechanism 20 by grasping and pulling the knob 21 outwardly from an engaged position as shown in FIG. 8 and pivoting the lever 16 upwardly or downwardly to adjust the gate 14 to the desired vertical position. After the desired position or hole 23 is selected, the knob 21 is again released to the position shown in FIG. 9 .
It will be appreciated that each respective indexing hole 23 corresponds to numeric indicia 26 on the scale 25 so as to dispense feed at a predetermined rate to livestock eating from the feeder 10 . In tills manner several feeders 10 can be utilized in a livestock production facility to deliver a predetermined amount of feed to animals at any stage of the life cycle using the standard settings on the scale 25 .
It will also be noted that a feeder 10 can be disposed between adjacent pens in such a production facility and adjusted to deliver feed in different amounts from opposite sides of the feeder 10 . Thus, the improved feeder of the present invention provides significant advantages to animal producers which are unknown in the prior art.
Further, the physical location of the dispensing mechanisms 20 on the interior end walls 11 of the feeder rather than on lateral brace members 47 extending across the hopper 45 as shown in FIG. 1 lends itself to another principle advantage of the present invention. The improved feeder 10 is provided with a removable dust cover, indicated generally at 33 as shown in FIGS. 10-12.
The dust cover 33 is comprised of a pair of generally rectangular panels 34 which are configured and dimensioned to closely fit the interior peripheral edge of the feeder 10 when installed therein as shown in FIG. 11 . It will be understood that the feed drop tube holder 60 of the prior art as shown in FIG. 10 functions as a part of the dust cover 33 as described hereinafter in further detail.
The dust cover panels 34 together with the feed drop tube holder 60 are fabricated from a resilient plastic material and are easily removed for cleaning and maintenance purposes.
The dust cover panels 34 are supported in the position shown in FIG. 11 by a pair of generally parallel support braces 27 which extend transversely across the top opening of the feeder 10 interconnecting the downwardly sloping side walls 12 .
Braces 27 are configured to support the inner edges of the panels 34 in the position shown in FIG. 11 . In the preferred embodiment the inner edges of the dust cover panels 34 are provided with attaching hardware such as J-shaped brackets 39 which are secured to the inner edges of panels 34 by suitable fasteners. J-shaped which are secured to the inner edges of panels 34 by suitable fasteners. J-shaped brackets 39 engage the support braces to 27 to secure the panels 34 as more clearly shown in FIG. 12 .
An opposite end portion of the panels 34 are provided with cut-out portions 34 a to accommodate the connecting rods 15 disposed along the end walls 11 of the feeder. The insertion of the feed drop tube holder 28 is accomplished as described hereinabove and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,039.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the remaining peripheral edges of the panels 34 are supported by their contact with the downwardly and inwardly converging side walls 12 of the feeder.
In this construction the dust cover 33 functions to reduce the airborne particulates generated by the automatic feed delivery system utilized in conjunction with feeders of this type. Thus, the environment of the production facility is made safer and respiratory hazards are reduced for both man and animal.
Another preferred embodiment of the present invention will be now described with reference to FIG. 13 . In this regard, FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the feeder 10 showing the cleaning mechanism 96 incorporated into the feeder 10 . The cleaning mechanism 96 , which functions to allow easy removal of cleaning fluids and waste feed, is constructed of an adjustable member or outer door 98 , a linkage 100 connected to the outer door 98 by a fastener 102 at the bottom end 104 of the linkage 100 , as well as to an engagement member or control lever 106 . The control lever 106 is connected to the top portion 108 of linkage 100 and is pivotally mounted by the mounting system 110 to end wall 42 . The mounting system 110 includes and has a knob 112 , lock washer 114 , spacer 116 , and compression ring 118 . The structure and function of the control lever 106 is similar to that of the adjustable control levers 16 as seen in FIGS. 3, 4 , 8 and 9 . Control lever 106 functions to lift the outer door 98 , through linkage 100 to an upward position, to expose four apertures 120 .
The apertures 120 , which are shown in FIG. 13 as being covered by the outer door 98 , are elongated rectangular in shape and are located in the end wall 42 adjacent to the bottom surface 123 of the feed trough 55 . The outer door 98 covers the apertures 120 and controls the flow of cleaning fluid and waste grain through the apertures 120 during the cleaning of the feeder 10 . Further shown in FIG. 13 are the optional, although preferred, first inner door 122 and second inner door 124 . These doors are disposed adjacent the inner surface 126 of end wall 42 and are connected to the outer door 98 by through bolts 128 . The through bolts 128 pass through the end wall 42 through a plurality of elongated guide slots 130 formed in end wall 42 . The first and second inner doors 122 , 124 are displaced upwardly and downwardly in conjunction with the outer door 98 as directed by control lever 106 . As better seen in FIG. 18, through bolts 128 couple the first inner door 122 by using lock washers 132 and a nut 134 . As can be appreciated, the particular fasteners used to movably couple the outer door 98 and the inner doors 122 , 124 can take any suitable form known in the fastener art. Further shown in FIG. 18 is the coupling of linkage 100 with the outer door 98 . Shown is the linkage rod tip portion 136 which is disposed through an elongated slot 138 formed in end wall 42 . The linkage rod tip portion 136 is located through hole 140 in the outer door 98 and is fastened by a fastener 142 .
FIG. 14 shows the cleaning mechanism 96 in its raised position. Control lever 106 is depicted as being raised and engaged in an index member or indexing hole 144 . In normal operation, the user of the feeder 10 adjusts the cleaning mechanism 96 by grasping and pulling knob 112 outwardly from an engaged position and pivoting the control lever 106 upwardly or downwardly to adjust the outer door 98 to the desired vertical position. After the desired position or indexing hole 144 is selected, the knob 112 is released. The function of the control lever 106 and knob 112 is similar to that as previously described in the descriptions of FIGS. 8 and 9.
FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the cleaning mechanism 96 and improved flanges of the current invention. The improved flange portions allow for easier cleaning of the feeder as well as increased comfort to the feeding animals. Disposed on the opposing end side 42 is a ledge 148 generally parallel to the inner surface 126 of opposing end wall 42 . Ledge 148 functions to reduce harmful contact to the feeding animals by providing an increased surface area of contact with the feeding animal. As better seen in FIG. 16 a , the ledge 148 is connected to end wall 42 by a flange 150 , the outer surface being closed off by a flange 152 . Flange 148 has a width from one-half (½″) to one (1″) inch, and preferably five-eighths (⅝″) inch. The flange design allows for the proper stiffening and support of end wall 42 as well as reducing the discomfort to animals which may be forced into the edge. The design also allows for easy stacking of the feeder component materials. An alternate design can be seen in FIG. 16 b , which shows a curved portion 154 joined to the end wall 42 .
FIG. 15 further shows a ledge 146 extending outwardly from the outer trough portion 44 . The outwardly extending flange 146 is connected to the outer trough portion 44 by transition flange 156 . The configuration of the outwardly extending flange 146 and transition flange 156 reduces the number of unexposed surfaces, resulting in better access to the trough 55 surfaces by a stream of cleaning fluid. Conventional feeders typically have flat trough 55 bottom surfaces 123 . To assist in the removal of the cleaning fluids, it is optionally possible to adjust the support structure 158 (shown in FIG. 14) so that the bottom surface 123 of the trough 55 is angled down toward the apertures 120 to assist in the drainage of the cleaning fluids.
The method of utilizing the aforementioned cleaning mechanism will now be discussed in detail. A feeder 10 is provided having cleaning mechanism 96 consisting of a plurality of apertures 120 covered by an outer door 98 . The outer door 98 is coupled to a control lever 106 which is pivotably mounted to the side of the feeder 10 . The control lever 106 , which has a knob 112 , is adjustable through a plurality of index positions 144 allowing for the raising and lowering of the outer door 98 .
When it is desirable to clean the feeder, the operator will grasp the knob 112 and raises the control lever 106 to a raised index hole 144 , moving the outer door 98 to expose at least a portion of the aperture 120 . The knob 112 is then released locking the control lever 106 in its upward position. The feeder 10 is then exposed to a stream of high pressure water, washing and rinsing the surfaces of the feeder 10 . It is preferred that the operator use the stream high pressure water to “push” the fluids and waste feed out of the trough 55 through the apertures 120 . It is envisioned that the control lever 106 will be left in its raised position until the trough 55 is substantially free of cleaning fluid. When the trough 55 has been cleaned, the operator grasps the knob 112 and moves it downward so the outer door 98 covers the aperture 120 .
The terms “top”, “bottom”, “side”, and so forth have been used herein merely for convenience to describe the present invention and its parts as oriented in the drawings. It is to be understood, however, that these terms are in no way limiting to the invention since such invention may obviously be disposed in different orientations when in use.
From the above it can be seen that the improved animal feeder of the present invention provides an adjustable dispensing mechanism for the accurate delivery of feed to livestock animals. The dispensing mechanism includes standardized controls and settings to enable a precise amount of feed to be delivered to animals during specific stages of their life cycle to ensure optimum growth rates.
The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of such invention. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein. | An improved livestock feeder for use with an automatic feed delivery system having a feed drop tube operatively connected thereto for dispensing feed into a feed bin. The improved feeder is provided with an adjustable feed dispensing mechanism including control levers which are operatively connected to the feed metering gates to control the flow of feed to livestock. The dispensing mechanism features a plurality of adjustable control levers which engage an array of indexing holes formed in the feeder to set the vertical height adjustment of the feed gates. The dispensing mechanism includes a graduated scale corresponding to each of the index holes to provide a standard setting for the feeder which can be utilized by an animal producer to supply of feed flow at a given stage in the animal's life cycle to obtain a desired growth rate. The animal feeder is provided with improvements that aid in the cleaning and sterilization of the equipment. | 0 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sensing circuit to enhance sensing margin, and more particularly to a sensing circuit to enhance sensing margin, which can define the state of memory cells during programing and erasure operation.
BACKGROUND THE INVENTION
In general, the detection circuit for use in the memory cell can be used in all the memory devices such as flash EEPROM, EEPROM and EPROM etc. Such detection circuits have a drawback which has to control the threshold voltage of the memory cell to be higher or lower than the threshold voltage in a normal read-out operation, in case they perform a programming or an erasure while they perform a read-out operation having a threshold voltage in a normal read-out operation on the memory cell, and also they lack in reliability because they require an additional identification circuit that distinguishes the state of the memory cell.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a sensing circuit to enhance sensing margin, which executes a read-out operation with a normal read-out threshold voltage but, when writing or erasing a program into or from the memory cell, it executes the operation with a different voltage corresponding to it and can verify the state of program or erasure by controlling the functions of detection and verification more flexible.
To accomplish the above purpose, a sensing circuit to enhance sensing margin according to the present invention, comprises:
a memory cell; a memory cell enable circuit for supplying an operation voltage for the memory cell based on first and second enable signals; a detection circuit for detecting a threshold voltage of the memory cell during a normal read-out operation; a first verification circuit for pulling up the output from the detection circuit based on the threshold voltage of the memory cell and the first control signal; and a second verification circuit for pulling down the output from the detection circuit based on the threshold voltage of the memory cell and the second control signal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The accompanying drawing illustrates a sensing circuit to enhance sensing margin according to the present invention.
Similar reference characters refer to similar parts through the several views of the drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Below, the present invention will be described in detail by reference to the accompanying drawing.
The accompanying drawing is a sensing circuit to enhance sensing margin in accordance with the present invention. The first and second enable signals A and B are maintained at a logical "LOW" state during a normal read-out operation on the memory cell. Therefore, the NMOS transistor n1 of a memory cell enable circuit 4 is turned off and the PMOS transistors P1 and P2 of the memory cell enable circuit 4 are turned on. Also, when the first control signal C is maintained at a logical "LOW" state, the output of an inverter gate G3 becomes a "HIGH" state because the output of an inverter G1 in the first verification circuit 1 becomes a "HIGH" state and the output of the NOR gate G2 becomes a "LOW" state. Therefore, the PMOS transistor P4 is maintained at a turn-off state. If the second control signal D is maintained at a logical "LOW" state, the output of the NAND gate G4 in the second verification circuit 2 becomes a "HIGH" state and the output of an inverter G5 becomes a "LOW" state. Therefore, the NMOS transistor n3 is maintained at a turn-off state. Accordingly the threshold voltage V T of a memory cell 3 is detected by the PMOS transistor P3 and the NMOS transistor n2 in a detection circuit 5. That is, in case that the data is stored in the memory cell 3, the NMOS transistor n2 is turned on while the PMOS transistor P3 in the detection circuit 5 is turned off because the node x becomes a "HIGH" state. Therefore, the node y becomes a "LOW" state and so the output E of an inverter G6 becomes a "HIGH" state.
After performing such read-out operation, in case of confirming the state of program in the memory cell 3, if the first and second enable signals A and B are maintained at a "LOW" state, the NMOS transistor n1 in the memory cell enable circuit 4 is turned off and the PMOS transistors P1 and P2 are turned on. If the second control signal D is maintained at a logical "LOW" state, the output of the inverter G5 in the second verification circuit 2 becomes a "LOW" state. Then, if the first control signal C is transferred from a logical "LOW" state to a logical "HIGH" state and the memory cell 3 is normally programmed, the output E as in the case of the read-out operation becomes a "HIGH" state because the voltage level in the node x is a "HIGH" state. However, if the memory cell 3 is not normally programmed, the PMOS transistors P3 and P4 are turned on and so the voltage level in the node y becomes a "HIGH" state because the voltage level in the node x becomes a "LOW" state. That is, the output E becomes a "LOW" state. The PMOS transistor P4 is used to pull up the node y.
Even when confirming the erasure state on the memory cell 3, after the read-out operation, the PMOS transistors P1 and P2 are turned on while the NMOS transistors n1 in the memory cell enable circuit 4 is turned off because the first and second enable signals A and B are maintained at a logical "LOW" state. If the first control signal C is maintained at a logical "LOW" state, the output of the inverter G3 in the first verification circuit 1 to which the first control gate C is input is maintained at a logical "HIGH" state regardless of the signal in the node x and accordingly the PMOS transistor P4 is maintained at a turn-off state. Then, if the second control signal D is transferred from a logical "LOW" state to a logical "HIGH" state and the memory cell 3 is normally erased, the output of the inverter G5 in the second identification circuit to which the second control signal D is input becomes a "LOW" state and so the NMOS transistor n3 is turned off. Therefore, the NMOS transistor n2 is turned off while the PMOS transistor P3 is turned on. As the voltage level in the node y becomes a "HIGH" state, the output E becomes a "LOW" state. However, in case the memory cell 3 is not normally erased, the NMOS transistors n2 and n3 are turned on because the voltage level in the node x becomes a "HIGH" state and so the voltage level in the node y becomes a "LOW" state. That is, the output E becomes a "HIGH" state. The NMOS transistor n1 is used to pull down said node y. The NMOS transistor n1 is used to make the voltage level in the node x a zero (0) at the beginning of the operation.
As described above, the present invention has an excellent effect which can increase the reliability of a flash memory device which can identify exactly the state of program and erasure in the memory cell, but after performing a read-out operation with a normal read-out threshold voltage, when writing or erasing a program into or from the memory cell, it can perform the operation with a different voltage corresponding to it by controlling the functions of detection and verification more flexible.
The foregoing description, although described in its preferred embodiment with a certain degree of particularity, is only illustrative of the principle of the present invention. It is to be understood that the present invention is not to be limited to the preferred embodiments disclosed and illustrated herein. Accordingly, all expedient variations that may be made within the scope and spirit of the present invention are to be encompassed as further embodiments of the present invention. | The present invention discloses a circuit for both detecting and confirming the memory cell which can verify the state of program and erasure on the memory cell when it performs a programming and an erasure onto or out of the memory cell after a normal read-out operation. | 6 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus adapted to diagnosing the diseases of mammary glands and mastocarcinoma.
When ultrasonic waves are applied to a patient, they are reflected by the boundaries between different tissues of the patient. A sectional slice image of an internal organ or abnormal tissue of the patient can be formed from the echoes of the ultrasonic waves. In order to prevent attenuation and reflection of the ultrasonic waves travelling between the patient and a probe which generates and detects the ultrasonic waves, an acoustic coupler is interposed between the probe and the patient. For the acoustic coupler, water is often used because it resembles the patient in ultrasonic-wave propagation characteristics.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus with a receptacle filled with water. A receptacle 10 contains water 2. A patient is held with her breast 4 fitted in an opening 12 of the receptacle 10. A probe 14 is disposed in the receptacle 10 and can be movable in the direction of arrow 6. The probe 14 extends in the direction of arrow 8 (see FIG. 3) perpendicular to the direction of the arrow 6. It has a number of piezoelectric elements 16 arranged in the direction of arrow 8. The elements 16 emit ultrasonic waves toward a region 18 schematically shown in FIG. 3, thereby achieving electronic scanning in the direction of arrow 8. At the same time, the probe 14 moves in the direction of arrow 6, thus performing mechanical scanning. Since the patient's breast 4 directly contacts the water 2, the reflection and attenuation of ultrasonic waves are limited, which results in relatively good sectional slice images. In this prior art apparatus, however, the breast 4 may get wet and foreign matter is liable to enter the water 2. The foreign matter reflects the ultrasonic waves, lowering the image quality. As the patient breathes, her breast moves. This makes it difficult to form an accurate image.
FIG. 2 shows another prior art ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus. This apparatus differs from the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in that the opening 22 of the receptacle 10 is closed by a membrane 24. The membrane 24 is formed of flexible material having acoustic characteristics similar to those of an organism and can closely contact with the breast 4. The receptacle 10 and the membrane 24 form a vessel. This vessel is filled with water. The breast 4 can be supported by the membrane 24. The depth to which a patient's breast 4 may sink is limited within a range as taken from the ultrasonic probe 14. Thus, the breast 4 is kept relatively flat, pressed onto the membrane 24. Accordingly, when the ultrasonic waves are applied to the breast 4, the direction of incidence of the ultrasonic waves and the surface of the breast 4 define a substantially right angle (incidence angle). As a result, the breast 4 reflects less waves, leading to improved sensitivity, reduced artifacts, and increased depth of visual field.
As shown in FIG. 3, the ultrasonic propagation region, i.e., a specified zone S is narrow since the waves generated by the piezoelectric elements 16 have both a convergent acoustic field and a diffuse acoustic field, whose envelopes have the shape shown in FIG. 3. An ultrasonic diagnosis should preferably be made by using the zone S which is high in ultrasonic density.
Women, as well as men, have breasts of different sizes. Hence, the bottom portion of the breast varies according to the patient although the breast is supported by the membrane 24. The zone S is relatively short in length. Use of a mechanism for adjusting the vertical position of the probe 14 contradicts the requirement for the miniaturization of the ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus. Also, it is very difficult to change the focus point by replacing an acoustic lens in an ultrasonic vibration surface of the probe 14, since the probe 14 is contained in the sealed vessel. Therefore, the region of the breast 4 to be examined by ultrasonic diagnosis may sometimes be off the preferable zone S for the diagnosis. In diagnosing mastocarcinoma, the objective region to be examined is located on that portion of the breast beside the armpit. In this region, however, the contact between the membrane and the breast is loose, so that an air layer is liable to lie between them. Such an air layer makes the ultrasonic diagnosis difficult.
These drawbacks of the prior art ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus are fatal especially in, for example, a group examination in which a number of objects are examined without leaving any substantial chance of reexamination.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus capable of producing distinct and satisfactory sectional slice images despite the variations in size of the breasts to be examined between individuals and adapted for the diagnosis of mastocarcinoma and other diseases.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus for examining a patient comprising a receptacle containing a liquid acoustic coupling medium and having a substantially horizontal upper surface and an opening provided to said surface, an ultrasonic-wave transmitting flexible membrane attached to the receptacle in a liquid-tight manner so as to cover the opening, a portion of the patient to be examined being put on the membrane, an ultrasonic probe disposed in the liquid in the receptacle for transmitting ultrasonic beams into the patient through the membrane and the medium, and pressure increasing means for increasing the pressure of the liquid in the receptacle.
According to the ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus of the invention, the liquid medium pressure inside the receptacle can be finely adjusted even though the region to be examined is the breast or another part which is flexible and subject to individual differences in size, so that the region to be examined can be located in an optimum position for ultrasonic diagnosis. Since ultrasonic waves generated by the probe have a convergent acoustic field and a diffuse acoustic field, an ultrasonic beam is constricted for higher density in a specific zone remote from the probe. According to the invention, the region to be examined can be positioned in the zone where the ultrasonic beam is constricted without regard to the individual differences between patients. Thus, it is possible to obtain distinct images of good quality. Since the water pressure can be controlled freely, the membrane can be closely fitted on the region to be examined even if the region is the armpit or another part which cannot easily be brought into close contact with the prior art membrane. Thus, satisfactory sectional slice images can be obtained with high stability over a wide range.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1 and 2 are sectional views schematically showing prior art ultrasonic diagnosing apparatuses;
FIG. 3 is a diagram for illustrating an ultrasonic-wave propagation region;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing an ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a general perspective view of the ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a probe transfer mechanism; and
FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 4 shows an ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus using a receptacle according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a general perspective view of the apparatus. An operator control panel 22 is mounted on a table which is set on a floor panel of a consultation room. A display 24 for mode C and a display 26 for mode B, for example, are arranged beside the operator control panel 22. A receptacle 30 is set beside the table. A patient is expected to step on a platform 28 in front of the receptacle 30, and to position the breast over the receptacle 30 by bending herself forward.
The receptacle 30 has an opening 32 at the top. A hat-shaped membrane 34 is disposed near the opening 32 so as to close the same. A brim portion 36 at the periphery of the membrane 34 is laid on the top surface of the receptacle 30. A presser member 37 extending along the edge of the opening 32 is placed on the brim portion 36 of the membrane 34. The presser member 37 is fixed to the receptacle 30 so that the brim portion 36 is held between the presser member 37 and the top surface of the receptacle 30. The presser member 37 causes the membrane 34 to be fixed watertight to the receptacle 30. The membrane 34 is formed from a flexible material resembling a living body in acoustic characteristics, e.g., rubber such as silicone rubber. The presser member 37 includes a core plate 38 formed of a steel sheet extending along the peripheral edge of the opening 32 and a cover 40 of a flexible material covering the core plate 38. The cover 40 serves to protect the breast of the patient. The membrane 34 has a hole to which a pipe 42 is connected. A valve 44 is attached to the pipe 42. The valve 44 is normally closed, and air bubbles, if any, in the receptacle 30 can be removed by opening the valve 44.
Two inlet/outlet ports 46 and 48 are formed at the lower end portion of the receptacle 30. A pipe 50 is connected at each end portion to the inlet/outlet ports 46 and 48. Thus, water 2 in the receptacle 30 can circulate through the pipe 50. An exhaust port 52 is bored through the bottom wall of the receptacle 30, and a pipe 54 is connected to the exhaust port 52. A valve 56 is attached to the pipe 54. The valve 56 is normally closed, and the water 2 in the receptacle 30 can be discharged by opening the valve 56.
A three-way cock 58 and a pump 60 are attached to the pipe 50. A tank 62 is connected to the three-way cock 58 by means of a pipe 64. The tank 62 contains the water 2 and is adapted to communicate with the pipe 50 when the three-way cock 58 is shifted. The pump 60 and the cock 58 are driven by a driver 68 in a mode which is selected by a switching unit 66 on the operator control panel 22. The switching unit 66 can set three modes for the operation of the cock 58. In a first mode 70, the tank 62 is connected to a pipe section 50a of the pipe 50 which is fitted with the pump 60, and a pipe section 50b on the side of the inlet/outlet port 48 is cut off from the pipe 64 and the pipe section 50a. In a second mode 72, the pipe sections 50a and 50b are connected, and the pipe 64 is cut off from the pipe sections 50a and 50b. In a third mode 74, the pipe section 50 b connects with the pipe 64 so that the water 2 in the receptacle 30 can escape into the tank 62 through the inlet/outlet port 48 and the cross valve 58. The switching unit 66 is provided with a switch 76 for the on-off operation of the pump 60. The driver 68 starts and stops the pump 60 when the switch 76 is turned on and off, respectively.
A heating unit 78 heats the water 2 in the receptacle 30, thereby keeping the water 2 at a temperature near the body temperature.
A ultrasonic probe 80 is disposed in the receptacle 30 so as to be movable in the direction indicated by the arrow 6. FIG. 6 shows a transfer mechanism 82 for the probe 80. In FIG. 6, the receptacle 30 is indicated by two-dot chain line, and other members than the transfer mechanism are omitted. Having the same construction as the probe 14 shown in FIG. 3, the probe 80 extends in the direction of the arrow 8 perpendicular to the transfer direction indicated by the arrow 6. A number of piezoelectric elements are arranged along the direction of the arrow 8, and ultrasonic waves are used in electrical scanning in the direction of the arrow 8. A pair of toothed belts 84 extending along the direction of the arrow 6 are each stretched between a pair of toothed pulleys 86. The two pulleys 86 on one side of the arrow 6 are mounted individually on support shafts 88 which are rotatably supported in the receptacle 30 by suitable bearings and the like. The remaining two pulleys 86 on the other side are mounted on a driving shaft 90 which is rotatably supported in the receptacle 30. The position of each support shaft 88 can be adjusted by means of a screw or the like to regulate the tension of its corresponding belt 84.
One end of the driving shaft 90 projects to the outside of the receptacle 30, and a watertight seal member 92 is interposed between the side wall of the receptacle 30 and the driving shaft 90. A toothed driven pulley 94 is mounted on that portion of the shaft 90 outside the receptacle 30, and a rotary encoder 104 for detecting the rotational position of the shaft 90 is attached to the outermost end of the shaft 90. A reduction gear 100 is mounted on the rotating shaft of a motor 102 and a toothed driving pulley 96 on the output shaft of the reduction gear 100. A toothed belt 98 is stretched between the driving pulley 96 and the driven pulley 94. Thus, the rotation of the motor 102 is reduced at a predetermined reduction ratio by the reduction gear 100, and then transmitted to the driving shaft 90 by the belt 98. The position of the shaft 90 is detected by the rotary encoder 104.
A pair of guide shafts 106 extend in the direction of the arrow 6 inside the receptacle 30. A pair of sliding members 108 are fitted individually on the guide shafts 106 so that the former can move along the latter. A mounting base 110 lies fixed on both the sliding members 108 so that the base 110 can move in the direction of the arrow 6 as the sliding members 108 move. The probe 80 is fixed on the base 110 so that its longitudinal direction is in alignment with the direction of the arrow 8. A pair of coupling pieces 112 protrude from the base 110 toward their corresponding belts 84 to be fixed thereto. Thus, the driving shaft 90 reciprocates as the motor 102 rotates alternatingly. As the belts 84 are reciprocated by the alternating rotation of the driving shaft 90, the probe 80 reciprocates in the direction of the arrow 6.
The operation of the ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus with the above construction will now be described. The patient steps on the platform 28 and bends herself forward so that her upper body lies on the housing 29. Thereupon, the breast 4 is supported on the membrane 34. Then, the switching unit 66 is shifted to the first mode 70 so that the pipe 64 connects with the pipe section 50a. At the same time, the switch 76 is turned on to start the pump 60. The water 2 in the tank 62 is forced into the receptacle 30 through the pipe 50 by the pump 60. As a result, the water pressure inside the receptacle 30 increases, so that the breast 4 on the membrane 34 is lifted. If the second mode 72 is selected in the switching unit 66, the pipe sections 50a and 50b connect with each other, so that the water 2 in the receptacle 30 circulates through the pipe 50. Thus, the water pressure inside the receptacle 30 is kept at a fixed level, and the temperature of the water 2 heated by the heating unit 78 becomes uniform.
The ultrasonic probe 80 is driven in the direction of the arrow 6 by the transfer mechanism 82 so that ultrasonic waves generated by the piezoelectric elements of the probe 80 are used for mechanical scanning as well as for the electrical scanning in the direction of the arrow 8. Reflected echoes of the ultrasonic waves are detected by the probe 80 and applied to the input of an image processing apparatus (not shown). These data are image-processed in so-called mode B, and a cross-sectional slice image of the breast parallel to the drawing plane of FIG. 4 is displayed by the display 26.
While observing the sectional slice image in mode B, the operator shifts the switching unit 66 between the first to third modes to regulate the water pressure inside the receptacle 30, thereby locating the breast in the optimum position. As shown in FIG. 3, the ultrasonic waves generated from the piezoelectric elements are constricted in zone S. The position of the breast is adjusted so that the cross section of the ultrasonic beam propagation region is narrow and so that the region to be examined is located within zone S with high beam density. Zone S is located at a distance of, e.g., 8 cm to 12 cm from the ultrasonic-wave generating/detecting surface of the piezoelectric elements. Namely, the length of the zone S is about 4 cm. The water pressure inside the receptacle 30 is adjusted so that the breast is positioned within the 4-cm region. If the region to be examine is a specific part subject to, e.g., mastocarcinoma, the operator adjusts the water pressure so that the region is positioned within zone S while observing the sectional slice image in mode B.
Then, the image processing apparatus is switched to so-called mode C, and a vertical-sectional slice image of the breast along a horizontal plane is displayed by the display 24. Zone S is vertically divided into, e.g., 12 parts, and the vertical-sectional slice image of the breast is photographed along each of the 12 horizontal sections. If the breast is fully pressed through the adjustment of the water pressure so that the region to be examined is short, the vertical-sectional slice image of the breast can be obtained at shorter pitches. This leads to an improvement in the accuracy of diagnosis. In the ultrasonic diagnosis in mode C, the switch 76 may be turned off to stop the pump 60.
In lowering the pressure of the water 2 in the receptacle 30, the third mode 74 of the switching unit 66 is selected. In this case, the switch 76 is turned off. Thereupon, the pipe 64 and the pipe section 50b connect with each other, so that the water 2 in the receptacle 30 escapes into the tank 62 by gravity. As a result, the water pressure inside the receptacle 30 is lowered.
If the water pressure inside the receptacle 30 is raised, the breast is strongly forced up by the membrane 34 as the patient rests her weight on the membrane 34 with the breast in contact therewith. Thus, even though the patient breathes, the organ will hardly move, and almost no air will be allowed to come between the breast and the membrane 34.
In diagnosing mastocarcinoma, an image of good quality is preferably obtained by resting the breast 4 on the membrane 34 so as to be closely in contact therewith after increasing the water pressure inside the receptacle 30, and then gradually reducing the water pressure until the armpit region comes into contact with the membrane 34.
The membrane 34 is hat-shaped, projecting upward. With such a shape, the membrane 34 can easily be brought into close contact with a wide-ranging portion of the breast, or another undulating region to be examined, by adjusting the water pressure inside the receptacle 30.
If air bubbles are produced in the receptacle 30, they can be removed by opening the valve 44 and squeezing the membrane 34 so as to guide the bubbles to the pipe 42.
Referring now to FIG. 7, another embodiment of the invention will be described. In FIG. 7, like reference numerals are used to designate like portions shown in FIG. 4, and a description of these portions is omitted. A receptacle 130 has an opening 32, inlet/outlet ports 46 and 48, and an exhaust port 52. A membrane 34 is provided at the opening 32, and a circulating pipe 50 with a pump 60 thereon is connected to the inlet/outlet ports 46 and 48. This second embodiment differs from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4 in that the receptacle 130 is fitted with a bellows-shaped bag pump 140 in place of the cross valve 58 and the tank 62. In this embodiment, therefore, the pump 60 serves not as a water pressurizing means but as a means for circulating the water 2. The bag pump 140 includes a pipe 144 connected to a port 132 formed in the side wall of the receptacle 130 and a bellows member 142 attached to the pipe 144. The water 2 in the receptacle 130 enters the bellows member 142 through the pipe 144, and the water pressure inside the receptacle 130 can be regulated by moving the bellows member 142 in the direction of an arrow 146.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. More specifically, the apparatus of the invention is not limited to the diagnosis of diseases of the breast, and may also be used for the diagnosis of diseases of other regions. | Water is filled in a receptacle, and an ultrasonic-wave transmitting flexible membrane is attached to the receptacle in a watertight manner. An ultrasonic probe is provided in the receptacle for mechanical scanning. The receptacle is coupled with a pipe through which the water in the receptacle can circulate. A pump and a three-way cock are attached to the pipe. A tank containing water is connected to the three-way cock. When the pump is actuated, with the tank and the pipe connected by the three-way cock, the water is introduced from the tank into the receptacle to raise the water pressure. When the receptacle and the tank are connected by the three-way cock, the water escapes from the receptacle into the tank to lower the water pressure in the receptacle. Thus, the water pressure in the receptacle can be adjusted to locate the breast in an optimum position relative to the probe for ultrasonic diagnosis while the breast is supported on the membrane. | 8 |
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This Application is being filed as a Continuation-in-Part of patent application Ser. No. 13/092,363, filed 22 Apr. 2011, currently pending.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention is in the field of devices to ablate muscle cells and nerve fibers for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and/or hypertension.
At the present time, physicians often treat patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) using radiofrequency (RF) catheter systems to ablate conducting tissue in the wall of the Left Atrium of the heart around the ostium of the pulmonary veins. Similar technology, using radiofrequency energy, has been used inside the renal arteries to ablate sympathetic and other nerve fibers that run in the wall of the aorta on the outside of the renal arteries, in order to treat high blood pressure. In both cases these are elaborate and expensive catheter systems that can cause thermal, cryoablative, or other injury to surrounding tissue. Many of these systems also require significant capital outlays for the reusable equipment that lies outside of the body, including RF generation systems and the fluid handling systems for cryoablative catheters.
Because of the similarities of anatomy, for the purposes of this disclosure, the term target vessel will refer here to either the pulmonary vein for AF ablation applications or the renal artery for hypertension therapy applications. The term ostial wall will refer to the wall of the Left Atrium surrounding a pulmonary vein for AF application and to the wall of the aorta for the hypertension application.
In the case of atrial fibrillation ablation, the ablation of tissue surrounding multiple pulmonary veins can be technically challenging and very time consuming. This is particularly so if one uses RF catheters that can only ablate one focus at a time. There is also a failure rate using these types of catheters for atrial fibrillation ablation. The failures of the current approaches are related to the challenges in creating reproducible circumferential ablation of tissue around the ostium (peri-ostial) of a pulmonary vein. There are also significant safety issues with current technologies related to very long fluoroscopy and procedure times that lead to high levels of radiation exposure to both the patient and the operator, and may increase stroke risk in atrial fibrillation ablation.
There are also potential risks using the current technologies for RF ablation to create sympathetic nerve denervation inside the renal artery for the treatment of hypertension. The long-term sequelae of applying RF energy inside the renal artery itself are unknown. This type of energy applied within the renal artery may lead to late restenosis, thrombosis, embolization of debris into the renal parenchyma, or other problems inside the renal artery. There may also be uneven or incomplete sympathetic nerve ablation, particularly if there are anatomic abnormalities, or atherosclerotic or fibrotic disease inside the renal artery, such that there is non-homogeneous delivery of RF energy. This could lead to treatment failures, or the need for additional and dangerous levels of RF energy to ablate the nerves that run along the adventitial plane of the renal artery.
Finally, while injection of ethanol as an ablative substance is used within the heart and other parts of the body, there has been no development of an ethanol injection system specifically designed for circular ablation of the ostial wall of a target vessel.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention Circular Ablation System (CAS) is capable of producing damage in the tissue that surrounds the ostium of a blood vessel in a relatively short period of time using a disposable catheter requiring no additional capital equipment. The primary focus of use of CAS is in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and hypertension.
Specifically, there is a definite need for such a catheter system that is capable of highly efficient, and reproducible circumferential ablation of the muscle fibers and conductive tissue in the wall of the Left Atrium of the heart surrounding the ostium of the pulmonary veins which could interrupt atrial fibrillation (AF) and other cardiac arrhythmias.
This type of system may also have major advantages over other current technologies by allowing time efficient and safe circumferential ablation of the nerves in the wall of the aorta surrounding the renal artery (peri-ostial renal tissue) in order to damage the sympathetic nerve fibers that track from the peri-ostial aortic wall into the renal arteries, and thus improve the control and treatment of hypertension. Other potential applications of this approach may evolve over time.
The present invention is a catheter which includes multiple expandable injector tubes arranged circumferentially around the body of the CAS near its distal end. Each tube includes an injector needle at its distal end. There is a penetration limiting member proximal to the distal end of each needle so that the needles will only penetrate into the tissue of the ostial wall to a preset distance. This will reduce the likelihood of perforation of the ostial wall and will optimize the depth of injection for each application. The injector needles are in fluid communication with an injection lumen in the catheter body which is in fluid communication with an injection port at the proximal end of the CAS. Such an injection port would typically include a standard connector such as a Luer connector used to connect to a source of ablative fluid.
The expandable injector tubes may be self-expanding made of a springy material or a memory metal such as NITINOL or they may be expandable by mechanical means. For example, the expandable legs with distal injection needles could be mounted to the outside of an expandable balloon whose diameter is controllable by the pressure used to inflate the balloon.
The entire CAS is designed to be advanced over a guide wire in either an over the wire configuration where the guide wire lumen runs the entire length of the CAS or a rapid exchange configuration where the guide wire exits the catheter body at least 10 cm distal to the proximal end of the CAS and runs outside of the catheter shaft for its proximal section.
The distal end of the CAS also includes a centering means at or near its distal end. The centering means could be a mechanical structure or an expandable balloon. The centering means will help to ensure that the injector tubes will be engaged circumferentially around and outside of the ostium of the target vessel. If the injector tubes are expanded by a balloon, then it is envisioned that the distal portion of the balloon would have conical or cylindrical distal portions that would facilitate centering the CAS in the target vessel.
The CAS would also be typically packaged inside an insertion tube that constrains the self-expanding legs prior to insertion into a guiding catheter, and allows the distal end of the CAS to be inserted into the proximal end of a guiding catheter or introducer sheath.
The CAS might also be packaged to include an outer sheath that runs the entire length of the CAS so as to cover and protect the needles and also protect them from getting caught as the CAS is advanced distally to the desired location.
It is also envisioned that the injection needles could be formed from a radiopaque material such as tantalum or tungsten or coated with a radiopaque material such as gold or platinum so as to make them clearly visible using fluoroscopy.
It is also envisioned that one or more of the injector needles could be electrically connected to the proximal end of the CAS so as to also act as a diagnostic electrode(s) for evaluation of the electrical activity in the area of the ostial wall.
It is also envisioned that one could attach 2 or more of the expandable legs to an electrical or RF source to deliver electric current or RF energy around the circumference of a target vessel to the ostial wall to perform tissue ablation.
For use in the treatment of AF the present invention CAS would be used with the following steps:
Access to the left atrium via a large peripheral vein, such as the femoral vein, typically with the insertion of a sheath. Use a transseptal approach to get into the left atrium, via the vein, to the right atrium, to enter the left atrium. This approach is a well known procedure. Advance a guide wire and guiding catheter across the inter-atrial septum into the left atrium. Using a guiding catheter with a shaped distal end or guiding sheath, engage the first targeted pulmonary vein. This can be confirmed with contrast injections as needed. Advance a guide wire through the guiding catheter into the pulmonary vein. Place the distal end of an insertion tube which constrains the distal end of the CAS into the proximal end of the guiding catheter. Advance the distal end of the CAS into and advance the CAS through the guiding catheter, and tracking over the guidewire, until it is just proximal to the distal end of the guiding catheter. Advance the CAS over the guidewire until the distal portion of its centering means is within the target vessel. Expand the centering means. If the centering means is cylindrical, expand it until it is just slightly less (1-4 mm less) than the diameter of the target vessel. This will ensure that the catheter will be roughly “centered” within the target vessel to enable the circumferential deployment of the legs of the CAS around the target vessel ostium so that injection will be centered around the ostium of the target vessel. Pull back the guiding catheter to leave space for the expanding injector tubes to open. Expand the injector tubes or let them expand if they are self-expanding. If balloon expandable, adjust the balloon pressure to get the desired diameter. If self-expanding, the circumference of the self-expansion can be adjusted in vivo by varying the distance of the pullback of the guiding catheter. That is, if one wants a smaller diameter (circumference) expansion to fit the ostial dimension of that specific target vessel, one can partially constrain the injector tube expansion by not fully retracting the guiding catheter all the way to the base of the tubes. However, the preferred method is to have the final opening distance be preset for the CAS, with the injector tubes fully expanded to their memory shape. Typically the CAS size would be pre-selected based on the anticipated or measured diameter of the ablation ring to be created, such that the fully expanded injector tubes create the correctly sized ablation “ring.” Advance the CAS until the injector needles at the distal end of the self-expanding injector tubes penetrate the ostial wall, with the penetration depth being a fixed distance limited by the penetration limiting member attached to each needle at a preset distance proximal to the distal end of the needle. If the centering means is conical, as the CAS is advanced distally, the cone will engage the ostium of the vein which will center the CAS. Attach a syringe or injection system to the injection connector at the CAS proximal end. Engagement of the ostial wall can be confirmed by injection of a small volume of iodinated contrast via a syringe, through the needles, prior to injection of the “ablative” fluid such as alcohol. If there is contrast “staining” of the tissue this will confirm that the needles are engaged into the tissue and not free floating in the left atrium or aorta. Inject an appropriate volume of ethanol (ethyl alcohol) or other appropriate cytotoxic fluid from the syringe or injection system through the catheter and out of the needles into the ostial wall. A typical injection would be 1-10 ml. This should produce a multiplicity of circles of ablation (one for each needle) that will intersect to form an ablative ring around the ostium of the target vessel. Contrast could be added to the injection to allow x-ray visualization of the ablation area. Once the injection is complete, retract the CAS back into the guiding catheter, which will collapse the self-expanding injector tubes. If the device is balloon expandable deflate the balloon and retract back into the guiding catheter. In some cases, one may rotate the CAS 20-90 degrees and then repeat the injection if needed to make an even more definitive ring of ablation. The same methods as per prior steps can be repeated to ablate tissue around the one or more of the other pulmonary veins during the same procedure, as indicated to ensure AF inhibition. Remove the CAS from the guiding catheter completely. When indicated, advance appropriate diagnostic electrophysiology catheters to confirm that the ablation has been successful. Remove all remaining apparatus from the body. A similar approach can be used with the CAS, via access from a peripheral artery such as the femoral artery, to treat hypertension, via ablation of tissue in the peri-ostial aortic wall tissue surrounding one or both of the renal arteries, with the goal of ablating afferent and/or efferent sympathetic nerve fibers entering or exiting the kidney.
It is also envisioned that two or more of the legs/injector tubes may be connected to an electrical or RF field source to allow for electrical discharge or RF ablation to enable tissue ablation of the tissue in the ostial wall.
It is also envisioned that one could mount injector tubes with needles on the outer surface of an expandable balloon on the CAS in order to deliver 2 or more needles around the circumference of the ostium of a target vessel to inject ablative fluid to the ostial wall. In this case, the distal portion of the balloon could include the centering means of a cylindrical or conical shape. This embodiment could also include an elastic band covering the injector tubes where the elastic band could both help maintain a smooth outer surface of the CAS to facilitate delivery as well as act as the penetration limiting member to limit the penetration of the injection needles.
Another preferred embodiment of the present invention CAS is to use a separate self-expanding structure to both expand the injector tubes to a desired diameter and to have a distal portion of the structure (e.g., conical or cylindrical) act to center the CAS about the target vessel. This embodiment could include a tubular sheath whereby the CAS would expand as the sheath is withdrawn and is collapsed down as the sheath is advanced back over the expanded structure. It is also conceived that instead of the sheath, the guiding catheter that is used to guide the delivery of the CAS to the target vessel site would act like a sheath such that the CAS will expand outward when pushed out the tip of the guiding catheter and collapsed own as it is retracted back into the guiding catheter. If the guiding catheter is used for this, then an introducer tube would be needed to load the CAS into the proximal end of the guiding catheter.
Thus it is an object of the present invention CAS is to have a percutaneously delivered catheter that can be used to treat atrial fibrillation with a one, or more injections of an ablative fluid into the wall of the left atrium surrounding one or more pulmonary veins.
Another object of the present invention CAS is to have a percutaneously delivered catheter that can be used to treat hypertension with one, or more injections of an ablative fluid into the wall of the aorta surrounding a renal artery.
Still another object of the present invention CAS is to have a percutaneously delivered catheter that includes a multiplicity of circumferentially expandable injector tubes, each tube having a needle at its distal end for injection of an ablative fluid into the ostial wall of a target vessel.
Still another object of the present invention CAS is to have a centering means located at or near the catheter's distal end. The centering means designed to allow the injector to be centered on the target vessel so that the injected ablative fluid will form an ablative ring outside of the ostium of the target vessel. The centering means can be fixed or expandable, and may include a cylindrical or conical portion.
Another object of the invention is to have a penetration limiting member or means attached to the distal potion of the injector leg or as part of the distal portion of the CAS in order to limit the depth of needle penetration into the ostial wall.
Yet another object of the present invention CAS is to have one or more of the injector needles act as diagnostic electrodes for measurement of electrical activity within the ostial wall of the target vessel.
These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become obvious to a person of ordinary skill in this art upon reading of the detailed description of this invention including the associated drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a three dimensional sketch of the distal end of the present invention Circular Ablation System (CAS);
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross sectional drawing partially cut-away of the distal end of the CAS;
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross sectional drawing showing area 3 of FIG. 2 which is the distal end of the self-expanding injector leg, injector needle and penetration limiter;
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross sectional drawing partially cut-away showing area 4 of FIG. 2 which is the proximal end of the self-expanding injector legs and how they are in fluid communication with the injection lumen of the CAS;
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal elevational view of the CAS with centering balloon expanded;
FIG. 6A is a longitudinal elevational view of the CAS with legs collapsed inside the distal end of a guiding catheter as the distal end of the CAS is inserted into the target vessel;
FIG. 6B is a longitudinal elevational view of the CAS after the CAS centering means has been expanded and the guiding catheter has been pulled back (retracted) allowing the self-expanding legs to expand;
FIG. 6C is a longitudinal elevational view of the CAS now advanced in the distal direction until the injector needles penetrate the ostial wall and the penetration limiters on each needle limit the penetration as they touch the ostial wall. In this configuration an ablative substance such as alcohol is injected into the ostial wall through the needles causing a complete circular ablation of tissue in the ostial wall in a ring surrounding the target vessel;
FIG. 6D shows target vessel and ostial wall after the CAS and guiding catheter have been removed from the body and the ablated tissue in the ostial wall remains;
FIG. 6E is a schematic drawing showing the overlapping area of ablation in the ostial wall that form a circle around the ostium of the target vessel;
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal cross sectional drawing of the proximal end of the present invention CAS;
FIG. 8 is a longitudinal cross sectional drawing of an alternative version of the injector needle and penetration limiting means;
FIG. 9 is a longitudinal cross section of the CAS with the injector needle of FIG. 8 with the injector tubes shown collapsed inside the introducer tube used to insert the CAS into the proximal end of a guiding catheter or sheath;
FIG. 10 is a three dimensional sketch of another embodiment of the CAS that uses a balloon to expand the expandable injector tubes used to deliver the ablative substance to the ostial wall of the target vessel;
FIG. 11A is a longitudinal elevational view of a further embodiment of the CAS that uses self-expanding injector tubes connected circumferentially with one or more stabilizing structures to ensure uniform expansion of the injector tubes used to deliver the ablative substance to the ostial wall of the target vessel;
FIG. 11B is a longitudinal elevational view of the closed CAS of FIG. 11A as packaged and as it would appear when first advanced into the body of a human patient or finally removed from the body of a human patient;
FIG. 12 is a longitudinal cross section of the CAS of FIG. 11 A.;
FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of the portion 114 of FIG. 11A ;
FIG. 14 is a longitudinal cross-section of the enlarged view of the portion 114 of FIG. 12 ;
FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of the portion 115 of FIG. 12 ;
FIG. 16 is a longitudinal cross section of the proximal end of the CAS of FIGS. 11A and 12 ;
FIG. 17 is a longitudinal view of a circular ablation system;
FIG. 18 is a schematic drawing showing a radial cross-section of the embodiment of the circular ablation system shown in FIG. 17 ; and,
FIG. 19 is a schematic drawing of the circular ablation system showing needle tips penetrating the wall of an aorta.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 is a three dimensional sketch of the distal end of the present invention Circular Ablation System (CAS) 10 in its state before it is loaded into a guiding catheter or sheath for delivery over the guide wire 20 into a human being. The proximal portion of the CAS 10 includes three tubes, an outer tube 12 , a middle tube 14 and an inner tube 18 . The guidewire 20 can be slidably advanced or removed through the guide wire lumen 13 inside of the inner tube 18 . An expandable cylindrical balloon 16 is attached at its proximal end to the middle tube 14 and at its distal end to the inner tube 18 . The balloon inflation lumen is located between the inner tube 18 and the middle tube 14 . The balloon 16 can be inflated by injection of a fluid through the balloon inflation lumen and deflated by applying suction to the balloon inflation lumen.
An injector transition manifold 11 is sealed onto the outside of the middle tube 14 . The outer tube 12 is sealed at its distal end onto the outside of the injector transition manifold 11 . The expandable injector tubes 15 are attached at their proximal end to or through the injector transition manifold 11 so that the proximal lumen of the injector tubes 15 are in fluid communication with the fluid injection lumen 22 that lies between the middle tube 14 and the outer tube 12 . The injector tubes 15 could be made of a springy metal such as L605 or the preferred embodiment being made from a memory metal such as NITINOL. A plastic hub 17 is attached to the distal end of each injector tube 15 . An injector needle 19 extends distally from the distal end of each plastic hub 17 . The lumen of each injector needle 19 is in fluid communication with the lumen of the expandable injector tube (leg) 15 . Each hub 17 acts as a penetration limiting member to limit the penetration of the distally attached needle 19 into the ostial wall of the target vessel. In this embodiment it is envisioned that the penetration of the needles 19 would be limited to pre-set distance, for example the distance might be between 0.5 mm and 1 cm.
While the injector tubes 15 of FIG. 1 are self-expanding, it is also envisioned that if the injector tubes are not self-expanding, that a self-expanding structure could be attached either inside or outside of the injector tubes 15 to cause the injector tubes to expand to a predetermined diameter to facilitate circular ablation in the ostial wall of the target vessel. If such a self-expanding structure is used then the injector tubes could be made from a flexible material such as a plastic or silicone rubber.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross sectional drawing of the distal end of the CAS 10 in its state before it is loaded into a guiding catheter or sheath for delivery over the guide wire 20 into a human being. The proximal portion of the CAS 10 includes three tubes, an outer tube 12 , a middle tube 14 and an inner tube 18 . The guidewire 20 can be advanced or removed through the guide wire lumen 13 inside of the inner tube 18 . An expandable cylindrical balloon 16 is attached at its proximal end to the middle tube 14 and at its distal end to the inner tube 18 . The balloon 16 may be either an elastic balloon or a folded inelastic balloon such as is used for angioplasty. The proximal end of the balloon 16 is attached to the middle tube 14 and the distal end of the balloon 16 is attached to the inner tube 18 such that the area under the balloon 16 is in fluid communication with the balloon inflation lumen 24 that lies between the middle tube 14 and the inner tube 18 . The balloon 16 can be inflated by injection of a fluid or gas through the balloon inflation lumen 24 and deflated by applying suction to the balloon inflation lumen 24 . Normal saline solution including a fluoroscopic contrast agent would be the typical fluid used to inflate the balloon 16 .
The injector transition manifold 11 is sealed onto the outside of the middle tube 14 . The outer tube 12 is sealed at its distal end onto the outside of the injector transition manifold 11 . The expandable injector tubes 15 are attached at their proximal end through the injector transition manifold 11 so that the proximal lumen of the injector tubes 15 are in fluid communication with the fluid injection lumen 22 that lies between the middle tube 14 and the outer tube 12 . FIG. 4 shows an expanded version of the area 4 of FIG. 2 . The injector tubes 15 could be made of a springy metal such as L605 or the preferred embodiment being made from a memory metal such as NITINOL. A plastic hub penetration limiter 17 with flattened distal end to act as a means of limiting the penetration of the needle 19 is attached over the distal end of each of the 8 expandable injector tubes 15 . An injector needle 19 extends distally from the distal end of each plastic hub 17 . The lumen of each injector needle is in fluid communication with the lumen of the expandable injector tube 15 .
FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal cross sectional drawing showing area 3 of FIG. 2 which is the distal end of the self-expanding injector tube 15 with injector tube lumen 21 , injector needle 19 and penetration limiter 17 . While FIG. 3 shows the limiters 17 as being symmetric around the injector tube 15 , it is also envisioned that an asymmetric penetration limiter, for example a limiter with significant material only on the inside might be preferable as it would be less likely to catch on a guiding catheter when the CAS 10 is advanced through or retracted back into the guiding catheter at the end of the procedure.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal cross sectional drawing of the CAS 10 showing area 4 of FIG. 2 which is the proximal end of the self-expanding injector tubes 15 with lumens 21 . FIG. 4 shows detail on how the lumens 21 of the injector tubes 15 are in fluid communication with the injection lumen 22 of the CAS 10 . Specifically, the proximal section of each injector tube 15 is inserted through a hole in the injector transition manifold 11 and fixedly attached and sealed to the manifold 11 so that the proximal end of the each tube 15 has its proximal end and opening in fluid communication with the injector lumen 22 that lies between the outer tube 12 and the middle tube 14 of the CAS 10 . As another way of achieving this structure it is also conceived that the injector manifold 11 might be a single piece of plastic molded over the proximal ends of the injector tubes 15 in a molding operation prior to assembly.
FIG. 5 is the longitudinal elevational view of the CAS 10 ′ with centering balloon 16 ′ expanded. Also shown are the outer tube 12 , middle tube' 14 and inner tube 18 with guidewire 20 . The injector tubes 15 protrude in the distal direction from the distal end of the injector manifold 11 and have hubs 17 (penetration limiting members) with injector needles 19 at their distal end. The expanded balloon 16 ′ should be inflated to be just slightly less than the diameter of the target vessel. This will allow it to act as a centering means without causing undue injury to the target vessel wall. Ideally, the balloon 16 ′ would be a low pressure elastic balloon where the diameter can be adjusted by using the appropriate pressure to inflate the balloon 16 ′ through the balloon inflation lumen 24 . It is also conceived that the CAS 10 ′ would have a non-compliant or semi-compliant molded folded balloon with a limited diameter range vs. pressure such as is used in an angioplasty balloons.
FIG. 6A is the longitudinal elevational view of the CAS 10 with injector tubes 15 collapsed inside the distal end of a guiding catheter 30 as the distal end of the CAS 10 is inserted into the target vessel over the guide wire 20 . The distal end of the guiding catheter 30 would normally first be placed inside of the ostium of the target vessel (engaged) and is shown here slightly back from the ostium as it would be during the first part of its distal retraction. From the position shown in FIG. 6A , the guiding catheter 30 is pulled back (retracted) in the proximal direction allowing the self-expanding injector tubes 15 to spring open to their open position. The extent of leg expansion could be adjusted (limited and smaller) in vivo by not fully retracting the guiding catheter, thus modestly constraining the expanded dimension of the expandable tubes 15 .
FIG. 6B is the longitudinal elevational view of the CAS 10 ′ after the guiding catheter has been pulled back and the inflatable balloon 16 ′ has been expanded with the guide wire 20 still lying within the target vessel. From this state, the CAS 10 ′ with expanded balloon 16 ′ is advanced in the distal direction until the needles 19 penetrate the ostial wall surrounding the target vessel. Engagement of the ostial wall could be confirmed by injection of a small volume of iodinated contrast through the needles, prior to injection of the “ablative” fluid such as alcohol.
FIG. 6C is the longitudinal elevational view of the CAS 10 ″ now advanced in the distal direction with the injector needles 19 fully penetrating the ostial wall and the penetration limiting members (hubs) 17 on each needle limiting the penetration as they touch the ostial wall. In this configuration an ablative substance such as ethanol is injected into the ostial wall through the needles 19 . The ablative fluid will disperse from the needles and as more ablative fluid is injected, the area of fluid dispersion shown in FIG. 6C will increase so as to eventually cause a complete circular ablation of tissue in the ostial wall in a ring surrounding the target vessel. The balloon 16 ′ is then deflated and the CAS 10 is pulled back in the proximal direction until the needles 19 are no longer penetrating the ostial wall. The CAS 10 is then pulled back more in the proximal direction into the distal end of the guiding catheter 30 which will collapse the self-expanding injector tubes 15 . At this point the guide wire 20 may be advanced into another target vessel and the ablation procedure repeated. After the last target vessel is treated, the CAS 10 can then be removed from the patient's body. At this point electrophysiology catheters may be introduced through the guiding catheter to verify the success of the procedure.
FIG. 6D shows target vessel and ostial wall after the CAS 10 and guiding catheter have been removed from the body and the ablated tissue in the ostial wall remains.
FIG. 6E is a schematic drawing showing a representation of the overlapping areas of ablation in the ostial wall from each needle 19 that form a ring around the ostium of the target vessel after the procedure using the CAS 10 has been completed. While FIG. 6E shows overlapping circles to highlight the ablation from each needle 19 , in reality because ethanol disperses readily in tissue, the circles would actually blend together.
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal cross sectional drawing of the proximal end of the present invention CAS 10 . The proximal end of the inner tube 18 is attached to a Luer fitting 38 that can be used to inject fluid to flush the guide wire lumen 13 inside of the inner tube 18 . The guide wire 20 is inserted through the guide wire lumen 13 . The proximal end of the middle tube 14 is attached to the side tube 34 with lumen 36 . The proximal end of the side tube 34 is attached to the Luer fitting 36 which can be attached to a syringe or balloon inflation device to inflate and deflate the balloon 16 of FIGS. 1 and 2 . The lumen 36 is in fluid communication with the balloon inflation lumen 24 that lies between the middle tube 14 and the inner tube 18 . The proximal end of the outer tube 12 is connected to the distal end of the side tube 32 with lumen 33 . The side tube 32 is connected at its proximal end to the Luer fitting 31 that can be connected to a syringe or fluid injector to inject an ablative substance such as ethanol through the lumen 33 into the injection lumen 22 through the injector tubes 15 and out the needles 19 into the ostial wall of the target vessel. Additional valves and stopcocks may also be attached to the Luer fittings 35 and 31 as needed.
FIG. 8 is a longitudinal cross sectional drawing of an alternative version of the injector needle 49 of the CAS 40 with two differences from that shown in FIG. 3 . First, here the injector needle 49 is the sharpened distal end of the self-expanding tube 45 with injector tube lumen 41 while in FIG. 3 the self-expanding tube 15 was attached to a separate injector needle 19 with lumen 21 . The penetration limiting means of this embodiment is the limiter 50 with tubular section 52 that is attached to the outside of the tube 45 with self-expanding legs 57 A and 57 B that will open up as the CAS 40 is deployed. The limiter 50 would typically be made from a single piece of NITINOL preset into the shape shown with at least 2 self-expanding legs. The major advantage if this design is that the penetration limiting means takes up very little space within the guiding catheter used for device delivery making it easier to slide the CAS 40 through the guiding catheter. Although two legs 57 A and 57 B are shown it is conceived that 1. 3, 4 or more legs could be attached to the tube 45 to act as a penetration limiting member or means when the needle 49 is advanced to penetrate the ostial wall of the target vessel.
FIG. 9 is a longitudinal cross section of the distal portion of the CAS 40 with the injector needle 49 and limiter 50 of FIG. 8 with the injector tubes 45 shown collapsed inside an insertion tube 60 with handle 65 used to insert the CAS 40 into the proximal end of a guiding catheter or sheath. This is how the CAS 40 would be typically packaged although the insertion tube 60 might be packaged proximal to the injector tubes 15 where the insertion tube 60 would be slid in the distal direction to collapse the injector tubes 15 just before the CAS 40 is inserted in the guiding catheter or sheath. Such an insertion tube 60 could be used with all of the embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein. The steps to prepare it for use would be as follows:
1. Remove the sterilized CAS 40 from its packaging in a sterile field. 2. Flush the guide wire lumen 13 with saline solution. 3. Access to the left atrium via a large peripheral vein, such as the femoral vein, typically with the insertion of a sheath. 4. Use a transseptal approach to get into the left atrium, via the vein, to the right atrium, to enter the left atrium. This approach is a well known procedure. 5. Advance a guide wire and guiding catheter across the inter-atrial septum into the left atrium. 6. Using a guiding catheter or guiding sheath with a shaped distal end, engage the first targeted pulmonary vein. This can be confirmed with contrast injections as needed. 7. Advance a guide wire through the guiding catheter into the pulmonary vein. 8. Insert the proximal end of the guide wire into the guide wire lumen 13 of the CAS 40 and bring the wire through the CAS 40 and out the proximal end Luer fitting 38 of FIG. 7 . 9. Place the distal end of an insertion tube 60 which constrains the distal end of the CAS 40 into the proximal end of the guiding catheter. There is typically a Tuohy-Borst fitting attached to the distal end of a guiding catheter to constrain blood loss. The insertion tube 60 can be pushed through the opened Tuohy-Borst fitting and the Tuohy-Borst fitting closed on its outside to hold it in place. 10. Advance the distal end of the CAS 40 out of the insertion tube 60 and into the guiding catheter. 11. Advance the CAS 40 (or 10 ) through the guiding catheter 30 of FIG. 6A , and tracking over the guide wire 20 , until the unexpanded tubes 45 (or 15 ) are located just proximal to the distal end of the guiding catheter 30 . This is shown in FIG. 6A . 12. Advance the CAS 40 or 10 over the guide wire 20 until the balloon 16 used for centering is within the target vessel. 13. Expand the balloon 16 used for centering until it is just slightly less (1-4 mm less) than the diameter of the target vessel. This will ensure that the distal portion of the CAS 40 or 10 will be roughly “centered” within the target vessel to enable the circumferential deployment of the expandable tubes 45 or 15 centered around the target vessel ostium so that injection into the ostial wall will be centered around the ostium of the target vessel. 14. Pull back the guiding catheter 30 so that the self-expanding injector tubes 15 open. The circumference of the tube 15 expansion can be adjusted in vivo by varying the distance of the pullback of the guiding catheter 30 . That is, if one wants a smaller diameter (circumference) of expansion to fit the ostial dimension of that specific target vessel, one can partially constrain the injector tube 15 expansion by not fully retracting the guiding catheter 30 beyond the proximal end of the injector tubes 15 . However, the preferred method is to have the final opening distance be preset for the CAS 40 or 10 , with the injector tubes 45 (or 15 ) fully expanded to their maximum diameter governed by their memory shape. Typically the CAS 40 or 10 maximum diameter of the injector tubes 15 would be pre-selected based on the anticipated or measured diameter of the ablation ring to be created, such that the fully expanded injector tubes create the correctly sized ablation “ring.” This step is portrayed in FIG. 6B . 15. Advance the CAS 40 or 10 until the injector needles in the self-expanding injector tubes 45 (or 15 ) penetrate the ostial wall, as seen in FIG. 6C with the penetration depth being a fixed distance limited by the penetration limiting members 17 of FIG. 6C or 50 of FIGS. 8 and 9 . 16. Attach a syringe or injection system to the Luer fitting 35 of FIG. 7 . 17. Prior to injection of the “ablative” fluid such as alcohol engagement of the ostial wall could be confirmed by injection of a small volume of iodinated contrast via a syringe through the Luer fitting 35 and out of the needles 49 or 19 of FIG. 6C . If there is contrast “staining” of the tissue this will confirm that the needles 49 or 19 are engaged into the tissue and not free floating in the left atrium or aorta. 18. Inject an appropriate volume of ethanol (ethyl alcohol) or other appropriate cytotoxic fluid from the syringe or injection system through the catheter and out of the needles 49 or 19 into the ostial wall. A typical injection would be 1-10 ml. This should produce a multiplicity of interlocking circles of ablation (one for each needle) that will run together and intersect to form a ring or ablated tissue around the ostium of the target vessel as is seen in FIG. 6E . 19. In some cases, one may rotate the CAS 20-90 degrees and then repeat the injection to make an even more definitive ring of ablation. 20. Retract the CAS 40 or 10 back into the guiding catheter 30 which will collapse the self-expanding injector tubes 45 or 15 . 21. The same methods as per steps 6-19 can be repeated to ablate tissue around the one or more of the other pulmonary veins during the same procedure, as indicated to ensure AF ablation or the 2 nd Renal artery in the treatment of hypertension. 22. Remove the CAS 40 (or 10 ) from the guiding catheter 30 completely pulling it back into the insertion tube 60 . Thus if the CAS 40 (or 10 ) needs to be put back into the body it is collapsed and ready to go. 23. When indicated, advance appropriate diagnostic electrophysiology catheters through the guiding catheter to confirm that the ablation has been successful. 24. Remove all remaining apparatus from the body.
A similar approach can be used with the CAS, via access from a peripheral artery such as the femoral artery, to treat hypertension, via ablation of tissue in the periostial aortic wall tissue surrounding one or both of the renal arteries, with the goal of ablating afferent and/or efferent sympathetic nerve fibers entering or exiting the kidney.
While the proximal end of the metallic injector tubes 15 and 45 shown here terminate in the injector manifold 11 , it is also envisioned that these tubes could connect to wires that run to the proximal end of the CAS to allow the injector needles 19 and 49 to act as electrodes for sensing signals from the ostial wall of the target vessel as well as potentially delivering electrical stimulation or higher voltages and currents to ablate the tissue in the ostial wall by electrical or RF ablation.
FIG. 10 is a three dimensional sketch of another embodiment of the CAS 70 that uses a balloon 76 to expand the expandable injector tubes 75 used to deliver the ablative substance to the ostial wall of the target vessel through the injection needles 79 . The 8 injector tubes 75 connect to the manifold 71 that is free to slide distally and proximally along the catheter outer tube 74 as the balloon 76 is inflated and deflated. The manifold 71 connects the lumens of the injector tubes 75 to the tube 72 with fluid injection lumen 81 . The tube 72 connects to a fitting at the proximal end of the CAS 70 such as the Luer fitting 33 of FIG. 7 . A source of ablative fluid would attached to the fitting and be used to inject the ablative fluid through the fluid injection lumen 81 of the tube 72 into the expandable tubes 75 and out the injection needles 79 into the ostial wall of the target vessel. The balloon 76 is inflated and deflated by delivery of a fluid through the lumen formed between the outer tube 74 and the inner tube 78 . The proximal shaft 84 of the balloon 76 is attached to the outside of the outer tube 74 and the distal shaft 82 of the balloon 76 is attached to the outside of the inner tube 78 . The inside of the inner tube 78 provides a guide wire lumen 85 for the guide wire 20 . The distal end of the inner tube 78 includes a radiopaque marker 73 to assist in visualizing the distal end of the CAS 70 as it is inserted into the target vessel. The balloon 76 includes a distal shaft 82 , a proximal shaft 84 , a proximal conical section 87 , a central cylindrical section 88 , and a distal conical section 89 . The injector tubes 74 are attached to the outside of the central cylindrical section 88 of the balloon 76 and are also held by the expandable band 77 that covers the outside of the injector tubes 75 and the central cylindrical section 88 of the balloon 76 . While the expandable band 77 is shown in FIG. 10 as covering only the central cylindrical portion 88 of the balloon 76 , it is envisioned that it might also extend in the proximal direction to cover the injector tubes 75 over their entire length proximal to the needles 79 which would make a smoother outer surface of the CAS 70 over this portion. The needles 79 extend in the distal direction from the distal end of the injector tubes 75 and may be made of a standard needle material such as stainless steel or a more radiopaque material such as tantalum or tungsten or plated with a radiopaque material such as gold or platinum. The expandable band 77 also serves the purpose for the CAS 70 of being the penetration limiting member located proximal to the distal end of each needle 70 that only allows each needle 70 to penetrate a preset distance into the ostial wall of the target vessel. In this embodiment the penetration limiting member 77 should limit needle penetration to a depth between 0.5 mm and 1 cm. It is also envisioned that the entire CAS 70 could be covered by a sheath (not shown) that would protect the needles 79 from coming into contact with the inside of the guiding catheter used to delivery the CAS 70 to the target vessel. The sheath would be slid back in the proximal direction once the CAS 70 is positioned with the guide wire 20 within the target vessel. The CAS 70 can also be used with an insertion tube 60 as shown in FIG. 9 .
The balloon 76 can be either an elastic balloon or a semi-compliant or non-compliant balloon such as used in angioplasty catheters. Such a balloon is typically inflated with normal saline solution including a contrast agent.
It is also envisioned that the best way to protect the needles 79 of the CAS 70 would be to have an elastic band (not shown in FIG. 10 ) attached to the distal shaft of the balloon 82 or the inner tube 78 (or both) cover the distal ends of the needles 79 in the pre-deployment condition. Inflation of the Balloon 76 would pull the needles 79 in the proximal direction out from under such an elastic band. Such an elastic band would prevent the needles 79 from catching on the inside of the guiding catheter as the CAS 70 is advanced into the body.
For this embodiment of the CAS 70 , the method of use would be the following steps:
1. Remove the sterilized CAS 70 from its packaging in a sterile field. 2. Flush the guide wire lumen 85 with saline solution. 3. Access to the left atrium via a large peripheral vein, such as the femoral vein, typically with the insertion of a sheath. 4. Use a transseptal approach to get into the left atrium, via the vein, to the right atrium, to enter the left atrium. This approach is a well known procedure. 5. Advance a guide wire and guiding catheter across the inter-atrial septum into the left atrium. 6. Using a guiding catheter or guiding sheath with a shaped distal end, engage the first targeted pulmonary vein. This can be confirmed with contrast injections as needed. 7. Advance a guide wire through the guiding catheter into the pulmonary vein. 8. Insert the proximal end of the guide wire 20 into the guide wire lumen 85 of the CAS 70 and bring the wire 20 through the CAS 70 and out the proximal end Luer fitting 38 of FIG. 7 . 9. Place the distal end of an insertion tube 60 of FIG. 9 which constrains the distal end of the CAS 70 into the proximal end of the guiding catheter. There is typically a Tuohy-Borst fitting attached to the distal end of a guiding catheter to constrain blood loss. The insertion tube 60 can be pushed through the opened Tuohy-Borst fitting and the Tuohy-Borst fitting closed on its outside to hold it in place. 10. Advance the distal end of the CAS 70 out of the insertion tube 60 and into the guiding catheter. 11. Advance the CAS 70 through the guiding catheter, and tracking over the guide wire 20 , until the distal marker band 73 is located just proximal to the distal end of the guiding catheter. 12. Advance the CAS 70 over the guide wire 20 until the marker band 73 is within the target vessel and the distal shaft 82 of the balloon 76 is just proximal to the target vessel. 13. Pull the guiding catheter back so that the balloon 76 is now distal to the distal end of the guiding catheter. 14. Inflate the balloon 76 until it is the appropriate diameter which is between 1 and 10 mm larger in diameter than the target vessel. 15. Advance the CAS 70 until the injector needles 79 in the injector tubes 75 penetrate the ostial wall, with the penetration depth being a fixed distance limited by the expandable band 77 . The distal conical section of the balloon 76 will act to center the CAS 70 as it is advanced into the target vessel. 16. Attach a syringe or injection system to the Luer fitting 35 of FIG. 7 that provides ablative fluid that will be injected into the ostial wall. 17. Engagement of the ostial wall could be confirmed by injection of a small volume of iodinated contrast via a syringe through the Luer fitting 35 and out of the needles 79 prior to injection of an “ablative” fluid such as alcohol. If there is contrast “staining” of the tissue this will confirm that the needles 79 are engaged into the tissue and not free floating in the left atrium or aorta. 18. Inject an appropriate volume of ethanol (ethyl alcohol) or other appropriate cytotoxic fluid from the syringe or injection system through the lumen 81 of the tube 82 and out of the needles 79 into the ostial wall. A typical injection would be 1-10 ml. This should produce a multiplicity of interlocking circles of ablation (one for each needle) that should intersect to form a ring around the ostium of the target vessel as is seen in FIG. 6E . 19. Deflate the balloon 76 and retract the CAS 70 back into the guiding catheter. 20. In some cases, one may rotate the CAS 70 between 20-90 degrees and then repeat the injection to make an even more definitive ring of ablation. 21. The same methods as per steps 6-20 can be repeated to ablate tissue around the one or more of the other pulmonary veins during the same procedure, as indicated to ensure AF ablation or the 2 nd Renal artery in the treatment of hypertension. 22. Remove the CAS 70 from the guiding catheter completely pulling it back into the insertion tube 60 . Thus if the CAS 70 needs to be put back into the body it is collapsed and ready to go. 23. When indicated, advance appropriate diagnostic electrophysiology catheters through the guiding catheter to confirm that the ablation has been successful. 24. Remove all remaining apparatus from the body.
A similar approach can be used with the CAS 70 , via access from a peripheral artery such as the femoral artery, to treat hypertension, via ablation of tissue in the periostial aortic wall tissue surrounding one or both of the renal arteries, with the goal of ablating afferent and/or efferent sympathetic nerve fibers entering or exiting the kidney.
While the CAS 70 shows a separate tube 72 it is envisioned the fluid injection lumen of the CAS 70 catheter body could be constructed similar to that of the CAS 10 of FIGS. 1-5 where an additional outer tube would be placed with the fluid injection lumen being between the outer and middle tubes. It is also envisioned that instead of concentric tubes with lumens between the tubes, a multi-lumen catheter could be used with separate lumens formed during extrusion of the catheter body. Similarly, while the shape of the tubes and lumens shown here are cylindrical, other shapes are also envisioned.
While the present invention described here has an expandable balloon as a centering means, it is envisioned that a fixed diameter centering section could be used or a mechanical expandable structure could also facilitate centering of the CAS. For example, FIGS. 11A and 12 show a self-expanding wire structure 96 to center the CAS.
FIG. 11A is a longitudinal elevational view of the fully open configuration of another embodiment of the CAS 90 that uses self-expanding injector tubes 95 connected circumferentially with one or more stabilizing structures to ensure uniform expansion of the injector tubes 95 used to deliver the ablative substance to the ostial wall of the target vessel. In this embodiment the stabilizing structures are the strings 93 P and 93 D that are attached to the proximal and distal ends of the injector hubs 97 which attach to the distal end of each injector tube 96 and the proximal end of each injector needle 99 . It is envisioned that the strings 93 P and 93 D could be fixedly attached to each of the hubs 97 or they could constrain the injector tubes 96 by going through a hole in each injector hub 97 as shown in the enlargement of section 113 which is FIG. 13 . The first approach of attachment has the advantage of ensuring that the length of the strings 93 P and 93 D between adjacent injector tubes 95 is uniform thus potentially having a more uniform circumferential deployment of the needles 99 of the CAS 90 . The structure used for attachment could still involve the holes 111 P and 111 D of FIG. 13 only with a small amount of adhesive applied to attach the strings 93 P and 93 D inside of the holes 111 P and 111 D.
The CAS 90 of FIG. 11A also includes an inner tube 98 and outer tube 94 with an injector lumen 91 located between the inner and outer tubes 98 and 94 . The lumen of the inner tube 98 facilitates the advancement of the CAS 90 over the guidewire 20 . An injector manifold 107 attached between the inner tube 98 and outer tube 94 hold the injector tubes 95 .
Distal to the distal end of the outer tube 94 and injector manifold 107 and attached to the inner tube 98 is a self-expanding centering structure 96 which here is shown in the expanded state as 4 wires attached at their proximal end to the ring 108 which is fixedly attached to the inner tube 98 and at their distal end to the ring 106 which is free to move longitudinally over the shaft of the inner tube 98 . A radiopaque marker band 109 is attached to the inner tube 98 and marks the position of the injector needles 99 . It is also envisioned that the injector hubs 97 could include a radiopaque marker or be made from a radiopaque material to enhance visualization during use of the CAS 90 under fluoroscopy. For example the injector assemblies could be formed from a plastic with a radiopaque metal filler such as tungsten filled urethane.
The distal tip 100 of the CAS 90 has a tapered distal tip 103 and a reduced diameter section 105 and central portion 104 that includes a radiopaque marker band. The proximal portion of the reduced diameter section 105 has a tapered shape to facilitate centering of the sheath 92 as it is advanced over the reduced diameter section 105 A retractable sheath 92 with radiopaque marker 102 lies coaxially outside of the outer tube 94 and when retracted in the proximal direction allows the centering structure 96 and self-expanding injector tubes 95 to expand to their preset diameters. The sheath 92 when advanced to its most distal location will fit over the reduced diameter section 105 and up against the proximal end of the central portion 104 of the distal tip 100 . For the user the radiopaque marker in the central section 104 and the radiopaque marker band 102 will come together as the sheath 92 reached its most distal location and the CAS 90 is in its closed position.
In this closed position, the CAS 90 as shown in FIG. 11B will be advanced through the body to the desired location. Also in this closed position, the CAS 90 will be pulled out of the body. An important advantage of this design is that the injector needles 99 are constrained within the sheath 92 whenever the CAS 90 is outside of the body so that health care workers cannot be stuck by the needles 99 or infected by blood borne pathogens following the used of the CAS 90 .
FIG. 12 is a longitudinal cross section of the CAS 90 of FIG. 11A . In this embodiment the strings 93 P and 93 D that stabilize the expanded injector tubes 95 are attached to the proximal and distal ends of the injector hubs 97 which attach to the distal end of each injector tube 96 and the proximal end of each injector needle 99 . It is envisioned that the strings 93 P and 93 D could be fixedly attached to each of the hubs 97 or the could constrain the injector tubes 96 by going through a hole in each injector hub 97 as shown in the enlargement of section 114 which is FIG. 14 . The first approach of attachment has the advantage of ensuring that the length of the strings 93 P and 93 D between adjacent injector tubes 95 is uniform thus potentially having a more uniform circumferential deployment for needles 99 of the CAS 90 . The structure used for attachment could still involve the holes 111 P and 111 D of FIG. 13 only with a drop of adhesive applied to attach the strings 93 P and 93 D inside of the holes 111 P and 111 D.
The CAS 90 of FIG. 12 also includes an inner tube 98 and outer tube 94 with an injector lumen 91 located between the inner and outer tubes 98 and 94 . The lumen of the inner tube 98 facilitates the advancement of the CAS 90 over the guide wire 20 . An injector manifold 107 attached between the inner tube 98 and outer tube 94 hold the injector tubes 95 . An enlarged view of the section 115 is shown in FIG. 15 .
Distal to the distal end of the outer tube 94 and injector manifold 107 and attached to the inner tube 98 is a self-expanding centering structure 96 which here is shown in the expanded state as 2 of the 4 wires attached at their proximal end to the ring 108 which is fixedly attached to the inner tube 98 and at their distal end to the ring 106 which is free to move longitudinally over the shaft of the inner tube 98 . While 4 self-expanding wires are shown here, it is envisioned that as few as 3 wires or as many as 16 wires could be used for centering. The self-expanding wires would typically be made of a springy material, for example a memory metal such as NITINOL. A radiopaque marker band 109 is attached to the inner tube 98 and marks the position of the injector needles 99 .
The distal tip 100 of the CAS 90 has a tapered distal tip 103 and a reduced diameter section 105 and central portion 104 that includes a radiopaque marker band. The proximal portion of the reduced diameter section 105 has a tapered shape to facilitate centering of the sheath 92 as it is advanced over the reduced diameter section 105 A retractable sheath 92 with radiopaque marker 102 lies coaxially outside of the outer tube 94 and when retracted in the proximal direction allows the centering structure 96 and self-expanding injector tubes 95 to expand to their preset diameters. The sheath 92 when advanced to its most distal location will fit over the reduced diameter section 105 and up against the proximal end of the central portion 104 of the distal tip 100 . For the user the radiopaque marker in the central section 104 and the radiopaque marker band 102 will come together as the sheath 92 reached its most distal location. It is also envisioned that the entire distal tip 100 could be made from a radiopaque material, for example tungsten filled urethane.
FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of the portion 114 of FIG. 11A . Here the injector hub 97 includes a flattened distal end 112 that acts to limit the penetration of the needle 99 . The injector hub 97 connects to the distal end of the injector tube 95 and the proximal end of the injector needle 99 . The injector assembly includes proximal connector 111 P with hole 116 P through which the connecting string 93 P is connected. The injector assembly also has distal connector 111 D with hole 116 D through which the string 93 D is connected. In the preferred embodiment the strings 93 P and 93 D would be fixedly attached to the connectors 111 P and 111 D either by using an adhesive or by tying the string to each connector.
FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional section of an enlarged view of the portion 114 of FIG. 12 . Here the injector hub 97 includes a flattened distal end 112 that acts to limit the penetration of the needle 99 . The injector hub 97 connects to the distal end of the injector tube 95 and the proximal end of the injector needle 99 . The injector assembly includes proximal connector 111 P with hole 116 P through which the connecting string 93 P is connected. The injector assembly also has distal connector 111 D with hole 116 D through which the string 93 D is connected. In this cross section, it can clearly be seen how the lumen 117 of the injector tube 95 is in fluid communication with the lumen 119 of the injector needle 99 inserted into the distal end of the injector hub 97 .
FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of the portion 115 of FIG. 12 . This view clearly shows the details of the manifold 107 attached between the inner tube 98 and outer tube 94 . The manifold 107 is also attached to each injector tube 95 at its proximal end which passes through the manifold so as to allow fluid communication between the injector lumen 91 and the lumen 117 of the injector tubes 95 . Also shown in FIG. 15 is the radiopaque marker ring 102 attached to the distal end of the sheath 92 . This ring would typically be made from a radiopaque metal such at tantalum. The inner tube 98 , outer tube 94 and sheath 92 would typically be made from a plastic material, although any of these tubes could have two sections and use a metal hypotube for their proximal section. The self-expanding injector tubes would typically be made from NITINOL heat treated so that their transition temperature is sufficiently low so that the tubes are in their memory super-elastic state when in the body. Also shown in FIG. 15 is the guide wire lumen 118 inside of the inner tube 98 and the lumen 122 between the outer tube 94 and the sheath 92 .
FIG. 16 is a longitudinal cross section of the proximal end of the CAS 90 of FIGS. 11A and 12 with the sheath 92 in its most proximal position corresponding to the total expansion of both the injector tubes 92 and centering structure 96 of FIGS. 11A and 12 . The proximal end of the inner tube 98 is attached to a Luer fitting 138 that can be used to inject fluid to flush the guide wire lumen 118 inside of the inner tube 98 . The guide wire 20 is inserted through the guide wire lumen 118 . The proximal end of the middle tube 94 is attached to the side tube 134 with lumen 136 . The proximal end of the side tube 134 is attached to the Luer fitting 136 which can be attached to inject an ablative substance such as ethanol through the lumen 136 that is in fluid communication with the injection lumen lumen 91 that lies between the outer tube 94 and the inner tube 98 . Thus ablative fluid injected through the Luer fitting 135 will be pushed through the injection lumen 91 into the injector tubes 95 and out of the needles 99 of FIGS. 11A and 12 into the ostial wall of the target vessel. The proximal end of the sheath 92 is connected to the distal end of the side tube 132 with lumen 133 . The side tube 132 is connected at its proximal end to the Luer fitting 131 that can be connected to a syringe used to flush the lumen 122 between the outer tube 94 and the sheath 92 . The sheath 92 is slideable over the outer tube 94 and would be advanced in the distal direction from the configuration of FIG. 16 to close the CAS 90 before it is moved to another location or removed from the body of a human patient. Additional valves and stopcocks may also be attached to the Luer fittings 135 and 131 as needed. It is also envisioned that a Tuohy-Borst fitting could be built into the distal end of the sheath 92 to allow the sheath to be locked down onto the outer tube 94 during insertion into the body as well as to reduce any blood leakage when the sheath 92 is pulled back as shown in FIG. 16 .
While the CAS 90 embodiments of FIGS. 11A through 16 uses a sheath to both protect the sharp needles during delivery and after removal from the body, it is also envisioned that the CAS 90 could be used without the sheath 92 where the guiding catheter would act as the sheath 92 to allow expansion and contraction of the injector tubes 95 . Having the sheath 92 is advantageous however because of the added protection for the sharp needles.
For this embodiment of the CAS 90 , the method of use for hypertension would be the following steps:
1. Remove the sterilized CAS 90 from its packaging in a sterile field. 2. Flush the guide wire lumen 118 with saline solution. 3. Access the aorta via a femoral artery, typically with the insertion of an introducer sheath. 4. Using a guiding catheter or guiding sheath with a shaped distal end, engage the first targeted renal artery through the aorta. This can be confirmed with contrast injections as needed. 5. Advance a guide wire through the guiding catheter into the renal artery. 6. Insert the proximal end of the guide wire 20 into the guide wire lumen 118 of the CAS 90 and bring the wire 20 through the CAS 90 and out the proximal end Luer fitting 138 of FIG. 16 . 7. Place the distal end of the CAS 90 in its closed position of FIG. 11B into the proximal end of the guiding catheter. There is typically a Tuohy-Borst fitting attached to the distal end of a guiding catheter to constrain blood loss. 8. The closed CAS 90 can be pushed through the opened Tuohy-Borst fitting into the guiding catheter. 9. Advance the CAS 90 through the guiding catheter, and tracking over the guide wire 20 , until the distal marker band 104 is within ostium of the renal artery and the sheath distal marker band 102 aligns with the end of the guiding catheter. 10. Lock the guiding catheter to the sheath 92 by tightening the Tuohy-Borst fitting at the proximal end of the guiding catheter. 11. Pull the guiding catheter and sheath back together in the proximal direction while holding the proximal end of the CAS 90 fixed. This will first release the centering basket 96 and then release the expandable injector tubes 95 . 12. When the injector tubes 95 have been completely expanded as shown in FIG. 11A , advance the CAS 90 until the injector needles 99 in the injector tubes 95 penetrate the ostial wall, with the penetration depth being a fixed distance limited by the hubs 97 . The wire basket 96 will act to center the CAS 90 so that the injector needles 99 will inject in a circle centered on the renal artery. 13. Attach a syringe or injection system to the Luer fitting 135 of FIG. 16 that provides ablative fluid that will be injected into the ostial wall of the aorta. 14. Engagement of the ostial wall could be confirmed by injection of a small volume of iodinated contrast via a syringe through the Luer fitting 135 and out of the needles 99 prior to injection of an “ablative” fluid such as alcohol. If there is contrast “staining” of the tissue this will confirm that the needles 99 are engaged into the tissue and not free floating in the aorta. 15. Inject an appropriate volume of ethanol (ethyl alcohol) or other appropriate cytotoxic fluid from the syringe or injection system through the lumen 98 and out of the needles 99 into the wall of the aorta. A typical injection would be 1-10 ml. This should produce a multiplicity of interlocking circles of ablation (one for each needle) that should intersect to form a ring around the ostium of the target vessel as is seen in FIG. 6E . 16. Pull the system in the proximal direction until the needles 99 pull out of the wall of the aorta. 17. Put the CAS 90 back into the closed position of FIG. 11B by pulling the proximal end of the CAS 90 in the proximal direction so as to pull the open distal end of the CAS 90 back into the sheath 92 thus collapsing first the injector tubes 95 and then the centering structure wire basket 96 . To reach the closed position of FIG. 11B one could instead push the sheath 92 in the distal direction while holding the proximal end of the CAS 90 to accomplish the same thing. 18. In some cases, one may rotate the CAS 90 between 20-90 degrees and then repeat the injection to make an even more definitive ring of ablation. This would be advantageous if the CAS 90 has fewer than 6 injector tubes and should not be needed with the 8 injector tubes shown in herein. 19. The same methods as per steps 6-20 can be repeated to ablate tissue around the other renal artery during the same procedure. 20. Loosen the Tuohy-Borst to unlock the sheath 92 from the guiding catheter. 21. Remove the CAS 90 in its closed position from the guiding catheter. Being in the closed position, the needles 99 are enclosed and cannot harm the health care workers. 22. When indicated, advance appropriate diagnostic electrophysiology catheters through the guiding catheter to confirm that the ablation has been successful. 23. Remove all remaining apparatus from the body.
A similar approach can be used with the CAS 90 , to treat Atrial Fibrillation through a guiding catheter inserted through the septum into the left atrium with the ostial wall of the target vessel being the atrial wall surrounding one of the pulmonary veins.
FIG. 17 shows a longitudinal elevational view of the distal portion of yet another embodiment of the CAS 120 scaled for use in the treatment of hypertension by ablation of nerve fibers in or near the ostial wall of the renal arteries. The CAS 120 has an inner tube 128 with guide wire lumen 131 and outer tube 124 with ablative solution injection lumen 121 between the inner tube 128 and outer tube 124 . A centering tip 130 is attached to the distal end of the inner tube 128 . The tip 130 has a distal flexible section 133 , a radiopaque marker 134 and a proximal shelf section 135 .
This embodiment of the CAS 120 has 6 injection tubes 125 that have sharpened needle distal ends 129 . The proximal ends of the injection tubes 125 connect through a manifold 137 located between the inner tube 128 and outer tube 124 . Such a manifold would be similar to the manifold 107 of the CAS 90 detailed in FIG. 15 . A penetration limiting cord 123 is attached with adhesive 127 to the outside of each of the injector tubes 125 . The cord 123 can be either a polymeric material like nylon or a metal wire. If a thin radiopaque wire of a material such as platinum, gold or tantalum is used then the cord 123 can more easily be visualized under fluoroscopy. An optional radiopaque band 138 may also be used to mark the location of the cord 123 along the length of the CAS 120 when the CAS 120 is in its open position. A sheath 122 with distal radiopaque marker 126 is coaxially outside of the outer tube 124 .
The sheath 122 is initially packaged all the way distal so that the radiopaque marker 126 comes up against the radiopaque marker 134 of the distal tip 130 . FIG. 18 shows a radial cross section of the CAS 120 looking in the proximal direction at a location just distal to the cord 123 . FIG. 18 shows the injector tubes 125 collapsed down against the inner tube 128 inside the sheath 122 . Once the CAS 120 is in position with the distal tip 130 just inside a renal artery, the sheath 122 is pulled back in the proximal direction allowing the injector tubes 125 to expand outward to the position shown in FIG. 17 . The entire CAS 120 is then advanced to have the needle tips 120 penetrate the ostial wall with the penetration limited by the cord 123 .
The CAS 120 uses the widened distal tip 130 to provide centering of the injector tubes 125 with respect to a renal artery. While the CAS 120 does not include an expandable centering apparatus such as the basket 96 of the CAS 90 of FIG. 11B , or the balloon 16 of FIG. 1 , it is envisioned a centering apparatus could be incorporated with the other features of the design of the CAS 120 .
FIG. 19 is a sketch of the CAS 120 shown with its needle tips 129 penetrating the wall of the aorta outside of the ostium of a renal artery. In this sketch, the penetration into the wall of the aorta by the needle tips 129 is limited by the cord 123 . The guiding catheter 140 and sheath 122 are both shown pulled back with the injector tubes 125 fully expanded. The entire CAS 120 is shown having been advanced over the guide wire 20 with distal flexible tip 103 .
While the versions of the CAS shown here is an over the wire design, it is also envisioned that a rapid exchange guide wire system where the wire exits the catheter body at a location between the proximal end and the fluid injection ring would be feasible here. In addition, a fixed wire design such as that shown by Fischell et al in U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,660 for a stent delivery catheter would also work here.
Various other modifications, adaptations, and alternative designs are of course possible in light of the above teachings. Therefore, it should be understood at this time that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. | At the present time, physicians often treat patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) using radiofrequency (RF) catheter systems to ablate conducting tissue in the wall of the Left Atrium of the heart around the ostium of the pulmonary veins. These systems are expensive and take time consuming to use. The present invention circular ablation system CAS includes a multiplicity of expandable needles that can be expanded around a central axis and positioned to inject a fluid like ethanol to ablate conductive tissue in a ring around the ostium of a pulmonary vein quickly and without the need for expensive capital equipment. The expansion of the needles is accomplished by self-expanding or balloon expandable structures. The invention includes centering means so that the needles will be situated in a pattern surrounding the outside of the ostium of a vein. Also included are members that limit the distance of penetration of the needles into the wall of the left atrium, or the aortic wall. The present invention also has an important application to ablate tissue around the ostium of one or both renal arteries, for the ablation of the sympathetic nerve fibers and/or other afferent or efferent nerves going to or from each kidney in order to treat hypertension. | 0 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention generally relates to techniques for monitoring and controlling continuous sheetmaking systems such as a papermaking machine and more, specifically to maintaining proper cross-directional (CD) alignment in sheetmaking systems by monitoring control performance in real time, detecting a misalignment, identifying the alignment in closed-loop, and updating a CD controller with the correct alignment model.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] In the art of making paper with modern high-speed machines, sheet properties must be continually monitored and controlled to assure sheet quality and to minimize the amount of finished product that is rejected when there is an upset in the manufacturing process. The sheet variables that are most often measured include basis weight, moisture content, gloss, and caliper (i.e., thickness) of the sheets at various stages in the manufacturing process. These process variables are typically controlled by, for example, adjusting the feedstock supply rate at the beginning of the process, regulating the amount of steam applied to the paper near the middle of the process, or varying the nip pressure between calendering rollers at the end of the process. A papermaking process typically has two types of directional control issues: machine direction (MD) control and cross direction (CD) control. MD refers to the direction of sheet travel and CD refers to the direction that is perpendicular to sheet travel.
[0003] A paper machine CD process is a large-scale two-dimensional system. The performance of a CD control, either a traditional single-input-single-output controller or an advanced model predictive controller, is highly dependent on the accuracy of CD alignment. In theory, CD alignment can be specified by using edge locations of paper web at both the actuator array side and the CD measurement array side and a CD nonlinear shrinkage profile. Both web edges and sheet shrinkage can change over time due to multiple causes, which result in misalignment issues. The causes include regular grade changes, variations in sheet tension between rolls, restraint during drying, and relative humility of the paper web itself. Current online methods that measure paper edges provide edge detectors to compensate for the sheet wander in closed loop however this technique is not able to detect the shape change of shrinkage profiles. Another online method measures CD shrinkage profile during the paper machine's normal operation. This technique uses wire marks, water marks, or felt marks, but these marks degrade the surface quality of the finished products.
[0004] When a CD process model alignment begins to differ from actual alignment, the CD control system is said to be misaligned. Misalignment of one third (⅓) of the actuator zone width can, in certain applications and circumstances, result in production loss as product fails to meet specifications. In addition, periodic variation patterns often referred to “picket fence” patterns in the actuator array are present. Actuator picketing causes product loss and degradation, wastes actuator energy and may cause physical damage to process equipment. When severe misalignment occurs, the CD controller must be detuned or switched off and realigned. Realignment typically entails an open-loop step test and automatic process identification and CD controller tuning. This realignment process disrupts normal paper production and is time consuming and tedious. Frequent and/or prolonged open-loop tests are undesirably as these lead to production inefficiency.
[0005] Systems that automatically map and align actuator zones to measurements points in sheetmaking systems have been developed. Some of these systems perform so-called “bump tests” by disturbing selected actuators and detecting their responses, typically with the CD control system in open-loop. The term “bump test” refers to a procedure whereby an operating parameter on the sheetmaking system, such as actuator setpoints of a papermaking machine, is altered and changes of certain dependent variables resulting therefrom are measured. Prior to initiating any bump test, the papermaking machine is first operated at predetermined baseline conditions. By “baseline conditions” is meant those operating conditions whereby the machine produces paper of acceptable quality. Typically, the baseline conditions will correspond to the current process conditions in open loop. Given the expense involved in operating the machine, extreme conditions that may produce defective, non-useable paper are to be avoided. In a similar vein, when an operating parameter in the system is modified for the bump test, the change should not be so drastic as to damage the machine or produce defective paper. After the machine has reached steady state or stable operations, certain operating parameters are measured and recorded. Sufficient number of measurements over a length of time is taken to provide representative data of the responses to the bump test.
[0006] For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,258 to He discloses a standard alignment bump test for a papermaking system wherein an actuator is moved and a scanning sensor reads its response and the alignment is identified by the software. U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,237 to Gorinevsky and Heaven discloses a similar technique but with more sophisticated data processing. Specifically, in their bump test the actuators are moved and technique identifies the response as seen by the scanner.
[0007] More recent approaches to monitoring and identifying CD alignment include U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,117 to Chen et al which describes a process whereby the CD profile of a web of material be produced is monitored and controlled. This passive closed-loop identification technique cannot identify severe misalignments and cannot run in open-loop. U.S. Pat. No. 7,128,808 to Metsala et al. describes a method for identifying mapping that employs a mapping model that takes the linear and non-linear shrinkage of paper web into account. This open-loop nonlinear shrinkage identification algorithm requires that the shrinkage profile be divided into three sections. U.S. Pat. No. 7,459,060 to Stewart describes closed-loop identification of CD controller alignment but this approach cannot handle actuator constraints and cannot be applied to multivariable CD control systems. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 7,648,614 to Tran et al. describes an elaborate method of controlling CD mapping in a web that requires generating at least two analysis rule profiles from data. The technique requires much testing and computer memory.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention is able to monitor and identify CD alignment in closed loop without adding extra measurements associated with the inventive online methods. The present invention is based in part on the development of a real-time, closed-loop cross-directional alignment system that has three novel features: picketing detection, closed-loop identification, and online deployment. While the system is particularly suited for papermaking processes it can be applied to any sheet forming processes.
[0009] To detect misalignment, the inventive method measures “actuator picketing,” which refers to a specific actuator setpoint profile pattern that is dominated by high spatial frequency components and looks similar to a picket fence. This phenomenon is a well-known symptom associated with CD alignment problems. For a well-tuned and well-aligned CD controller, the actuator setpoint profile typically contains a limited amount of high, spatial frequency components. After performing spectrum analysis on actuator setpoint profile, if the accumulated power within a certain high spatial frequency band exceeds a pre-specified threshold, one can conclude that the actuator picketing is detected and the misalignment is present. The pre-specified threshold is defined by carrying on a controller performance baselining, which is an effective way to quantify control performance and determine the thresholds for picketing detection. To improve the detection algorithm robustness, the spectrum analysis for measurement profiles can be optionally added in the online monitoring of present invention. This invention is able to avoid the fault detection caused by overly aggressive controller tuning after adding measurement profiles into the analysis. The misalignment detection method of the present invention can account for the effects of spatial response shape change that is needed for predicting the outputs accurately.
[0010] With respect to alignment identification, the present invention employs an alignment identification algorithm that is able to extract the open-loop shape response using closed-loop experimental data. The algorithm can tolerate 100% process time-delay uncertainties and, in addition, CD alignment is identified by one-step optimization instead of iterative updating. A novel closed loop intelligent PRBS (Pseudo-Random Binary Sequence) test is introduced in the closed-loop identification. The magnitude, location and duration of PRBS excitation can be automatically determined by this invention based on the constraints and setpoints of CD actuators. Compared with traditional persistent “bump,” PRBS tests reduce the additional CD variances in the sheet triggered by identification experiments. Because of the nature of closed-loop tests, process disturbances can still be rejected by feedback controllers during the identification. A matrix inversion formula is employed to extract the open loop responses from closed-loop experiment data. Statistic signal processing and constrained nonlinear optimization techniques are adopted for full response shape identification. Although this algorithm is particularly suited for alignment identification, it can be extended to identify the entire CD spatial model in closed loop. Both the linear and nonlinear shrinkage are supported by the present invention.
[0011] In one aspect, the invention is directed to a method for detecting misalignment of a sheetmaking system having a plurality of actuators arranged in the cross-direction and having a cross-directional (CD) controller for providing control to a spatially-distributed sheet process, which is employed in the sheetmaking system, the method including the steps of:
(a) operating the system and measuring a profile of the sheet along the cross-direction of the sheet downstream of a plurality of actuators and generating a profile signal that is proportional to a measurement profile; (b) tuning the cross-directional controller with an acceptable CD alignment; (c) initiating artificial misalignment; (d) performing baselining operations to establish baseline threshold detection conditions; (e) monitoring the operating conditions; (f) signaling misalignment when operating conditions exceed the threshold detection conditions.
[0018] In another aspect, the invention is directed to a method of closed-loop alignment identification of a sheetmaking system having a plurality of actuators arranged in the cross-direction and having a cross-directional (CD) controller for providing control to a spatially-distributed sheet process, which is employed in the sheetmaking system, the method including the steps of:
(a) initiating a closed-loop pseudo-random binary sequence (PRBS) tests to generate experimental data; (b) extracting non-parametric open-loop responses from the experimental data; (c) identifying alignment by using identified non-parametric open-loop responses; (d) validating the alignment; and (e) signaling online deployment based on alignment validation.
[0024] In yet another aspect, the invention is directed to an online method of deploying alignment of a sheetmaking system having a plurality of actuators arranged in the cross-direction wherein the system includes a controller for adjusting outputs of the plurality of actuators in response to sheet profile measurements that are made downstream from the plurality of actuators wherein the controller is initially operated under original tuning parameters, the method including the steps of:
[0025] (a) detecting cross-directional misalignment;
[0026] (b) identifying cross-directional alignment by implementing a closed-loop pseudo-random binary sequence (PRBS) bump test; and
[0027] (c) validating identified cross-directional alignment whereby (i) if the identified alignment is determined to be within a first range that is referred to as being good, the identified alignment is transferred to the controller with the proviso that in the case where the CD had been detuned prior to step (b) and provided with more conservative tuning parameters, the CD is restored with the original tuning parameters; (ii) if the identified alignment is determined to be within a second range that is referred to as being fair, the identified alignment is transferred to the controller with the proviso that that in the case where the CD had been detuned prior to step (b) and provided with more conservative tuning parameters, the CD is not restored with the original tuning parameters; and (iii) if the identified alignment is determined to be within a third range that is referred to as being poor, the identified alignment is not transferred.
[0028] In a further aspect, the invention is directed to a method of alignment of a sheetmaking system having a plurality of actuators arranged in the cross-direction wherein the system includes a controller for adjusting output to the plurality of actuators in response to sheet profile measurements that are made downstream from the plurality of actuators, the method including the steps of:
(a) detecting misalignment that includes the steps of:
(i) operating the system and measuring a profile of the sheet along the cross-direction of the sheet downstream of the plurality of actuators and generating a profile signal that is proportional to a measurement profile; (ii) inject artificial misalignment; (iii) performing baselining operations to establish baseline threshold detection conditions; (iv) monitoring the operating conditions; (v) signaling misalignment when operating conditions exceed the threshold detection conditions;
(b) identifying alignment that includes the steps of:
(i) initiating a closed-loop pseudo-random binary sequence (PRBS) bump tests to generate experimental data; (ii) extracting open-loop responses from the experimental data; (iii) identifying alignment by using open-loop responses; (iv) validating the alignment; and (v) signaling online deployment based on alignment validation; and
(c) deploying the alignment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0042] FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic illustrations of a papermaking system;
[0043] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the inventive closed-loop cross-directional alignment process;
[0044] FIG. 4 is a schematic of the inventive closed-loop cross-directional alignment system;
[0045] FIG. 5 shows the actuator setpoint profiles and measurement profile with a severe misalignment;
[0046] FIG. 6 shows the spread of high frequency accumulated powers during baselining;
[0047] FIGS. 7A and 7B show the spread of high frequency accumulated powers when a half-zone width paper wander occurs;
[0048] FIG. 8 shows the buffered profiles when the actuator picketing is detected;
[0049] FIG. 9 shows gray color maps of buffered profiles when a half-zone width sheet wander occurs;
[0050] FIG. 10 shows the closed-loop PRBS excitations;
[0051] FIG. 11 shows the closed-loop identification results;
[0052] FIGS. 12A and 12B show the 2σ spread of logged data during three consecutive PRBS tests; and
[0053] FIG. 13 shows the 2σ spread of profiles during the entire process of using the inventive closed-loop cross-directional alignment technique.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0054] The inventive closed-loop monitoring and identification CD alignment method will be illustrated by implementing the technique in a sheetmaking system 10 that includes papermaking machine 12 , control system 14 and network 16 as illustrated in FIG. 1 . The papermaking machine 12 produces a continuous sheet of paper material 24 that is collected in take-up reel 36 . The paper material 24 is produced from a pulp suspension, comprising of an aqueous mixture of wood fibers and other materials, which undergoes various unit operations that are monitored and controlled by control system 14 . The network 16 facilitates communication between the components of system 10 . In practice, the portion of the papermaking process near a headbox 20 is referred to as the “wet end”, while the portion of the process near a take-up reel 36 is referred to as the “dry end.”
[0055] The papermaking machine 12 includes headbox 20 that incorporates an array of dilution actuators 22 and an array of slice lip actuators 18 . Dilution actuators 22 distribute water into the pulp suspension and slice lip actuators 18 are arranged to control discharge of wetstock onto a supporting wire or web along the CD. The sheet of fibrous material that forms on top of the wire is trained to travel in the machine direction (MD) toward reel 36 . An array of steam actuators 40 controls the amount of hot steam that is projected along the CD. The hot steam increases the paper surface temperature and allows for easier cross direction removal of water from the paper sheet. Also, to reduce or prevent over drying of the paper sheet, further downstream, the paper material 24 is sprayed with water in the CD. An array of rewet shower actuators 26 controls the amount of water that is applied along the CD. Prior to being collected in reel 36 , the sheet of paper material is pressed in a calendaring process whereby the paper sheet is fed between a series of rolls; the point between two rolls through which the paper sheet passes is called the nip. An array of induction heating actuators 32 applies heat along the CD to one or more of the rollers to control the roll diameters and thereby the size of the nips. As the paper sheet pass through each nip, the caliper (thickness) of the sheet along the CD can be varied.
[0056] Papermaking machine 12 is also equipped with a plurality of scanners 38 , 48 . Each scanner can comprise a set of sensors positioned along the CD or each scanner can comprise one or more sensors that are continuously scanned to measures properties of the sheet in the CD. When a sensor array is employed, the array measures the instantaneous CD profile. Controller system 14 can include a profile analyzer that is connected to scanning sensors 32 , 38 and actuators 18 , 22 , 26 , 32 and 40 . The profile analyzer, which is computer, responds to the cross-directional measurements from scanners 38 , 48 , which generate signals that are indicative of the magnitude of a measured sheet property, e.g., caliper, dry basis weight, gloss or moisture, at various cross-directional measurement points.
[0057] As depicted in FIG. 2 , the amount of feedstock that is discharged of through the gap for any given actuator on the headbox can be adjusted by controlling individual actuator 18 . The feed flow rates through the gaps ultimately affect the properties of the finished sheet material. As illustrated, a plurality of actuators 18 configured in the cross direction over web 30 that is moving in the machine direction indicated by arrow 6 . Actuators 18 can be manipulated to control sheet parameters in the cross direction. A scanning device 38 , located downstream from the actuators, measures one or more sheet characteristics. In this example, several actuators 18 are displaced as indicated by arrows 4 and the resulting changes in sheet property is detected by scanner 38 as indicated by the scanner profile 54 . By averaging many scans of the sheet, the peaks of profile 54 indicated by arrows 56 can be determined. The alignment is defined by the relationship between the locations of peaks 56 and the locations of the centers of the displaced actuators 18 as indicated by arrow 4 .
[0058] It is understood that the inventive technique is sufficiently flexible as to be applicable for online implementation with any large-scale industrial multiple actuator array and multiple product quality measurements cross-directional process that is controlled by a single-input-single-output (SISO) controller or by a multivariable model predictive controller (MPC) such as in papermaking. Suitable paper machine processes where paper is continuously manufactured from wet stock are further described, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,805,899 to MacHattie et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,466,839 to Heaven et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,770, to Hu et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,003 to Hagart-Alexander et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,080,278 to Heaven et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,931 to Hu et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,853,543 to Hu et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,892,679 to He, which are all assigned to Honeywell International, Inc. and are incorporated herein by reference. MPC techniques are described, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,184 to Lu et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,561,599 to Lu, U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,420 to Lu, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,638 to Lu; and MPC for papermaking processes is described U.S. Pat. No. 6,807,510 to Backstrom and He, all of which are assigned to Honeywell International, Inc. and which incorporated herein by reference.
[0059] FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment for implementing the closed-loop monitoring and identification of CD alignment for papermaking processes. It has three major components: detection, identification, and deployment. The detection component provides the thresholds for picketing detection and dynamically alignment monitoring. It starts with the CD Controller Performance Baselining step ( 60 ), where the maximum high spatial frequency accumulated powers for both actuator setpoints profiles and measurement profiles are generated. These maximums are used as picketing detection thresholds in the Picketing Detection step ( 62 ). If the current accumulated powers are higher than these thresholds, a misalignment is considered to have occurred. Subsequently, once picketing is detected, the PRBS Testing ( 66 ) step can proceed directly. Alternatively, the CD controller can be detuned before the PRBS test is initiated. The step of retuning the CD controller ( 64 ) with more conservative tuning parameters allows the controller to tolerate the misalignment and stabilizes the CD feedback system.
[0060] The identification component is preferably triggered automatically when picketing is detected, subject to optional detuning ( 64 ). The identification process commences with PRBS testing whereby experiment data are collected for the closed-loop identification algorithm. Whenever a PRBS test is completed, based on the set up of the Shrinkage Option (linear ( 68 ), parametric nonlinear ( 70 ), or nonparametric nonlinear ( 72 )), the corresponding closed-loop Alignment ID (identification) algorithm is executed. The identified alignment feeds in an Alignment Validation block ( 74 ). Based on the model validation results (good, fair or poor), the algorithm triggers online deployment.
[0061] The deployment component defines the logic of implementing the identified alignment based on the output of Alignment Validation block ( 74 ). In a preferred protocol, if the identified alignment is rated as Good, the new alignment ( 78 ) is deployed, and original more aggressive controller tuning parameters ( 80 ) is restored if the controller was detuned at the beginning of the PRBS test. If the identified alignment is rated as Fair, the new alignment ( 82 ) is also deployed, but the controller still uses more conservative tuning parameters if the controller was detuned at the beginning of the PRBS test. Finally, if the identified alignment is rated as Poor, the new alignment is dropped. For both the fair and poor cases, PRBS excitation parameters are redesigned ( 76 ) and another PRBS test ( 66 ) is conducted as long as the Maximum PRBS Test has not been reached. Before completing the process, a detection and identification report ( 84 ) is provided. The logic assures that after deploying the new alignment, the overall closed loop CD performance will be improved. The whole process is fully automated and adaptive. No personnel intervention required.
[0062] 1. Algorithms. This section provides the details of the detection and the closed loop identification algorithms.
[0063] 1.1 Picketing Detection. Actuator picketing is a well-known symptom of misalignments and is used as an indicator to trigger the closed loop identification in the invention. In particular, an improved cumulative sum (CUSUM) algorithm is used for picketing detection. This concept is based in part on the recognition that the occurrence of actuator picketing results in the growth of the high frequency components in actuator power spectrum. Whenever the accumulated power in a certain high frequency band is higher than a pre-specified threshold, actuator picketing is detected. How to setup the threshold for the detection is the critical aspect but the solution is non-intuitive. For the present invention, the improved CUSUM algorithm reduces the conservativeness of the original CUSUM algorithm. In addition, performance baselining is introduced to automatically determine the thresholds for picketing detection.
[0064] Let's consider a setpoint profile u(t). t is the time flag, i.e., the index of scans. So, the notation u(t,i) represents the setpoint of the ith individual actuator at instant The power spectrum of u(t) can be calculated by performing discrete Fourier transform (DFT), i.e.,
[0000]
U
(
t
,
k
)
=
∑
i
=
1
n
u
(
t
,
i
)
-
j
2
π
N
(
i
-
1
)
(
k
-
1
)
,
k
=
1
,
2
,
…
,
N
,
(
1
)
[0065] where n is the number of actuators which are involved in the analysis, N is the number of discrete spatial frequency points, and U(t,k) is the complex power at instant t with the kth spatial frequency component. Therefore, the accumulated power in a high spatial frequency band [k 1 , k 2 ] can be calculated by
[0000]
P
k
1
→
k
2
u
(
t
)
=
1
N
∑
k
-
k
1
k
2
U
(
t
,
k
)
·
conj
(
U
(
t
,
k
)
)
,
(
2
)
[0066] where conj refers to complex conjugate. If at instant t 1 the condition
[0000] P k 1 →k 2 u ( t 1 )>δ u (3)
[0067] does hold, the actuator picketing probably occurs. Here δ u is pre-defined the threshold on the actuator high frequency accumulated power. To prevent the fault detection caused by overly aggressive controller tuning the power spectrum analysis for measurement profile is optionally added into the picketing detection too. Similar to (2), we can define the accumulated power in a high spatial frequency band [k 3 , k 4 ] for measurement by,
[0000]
P
k
3
→
k
4
y
(
t
)
=
1
N
∑
k
=
k
3
k
4
Y
(
t
,
k
)
·
conj
(
Y
(
t
,
k
)
)
.
(
4
)
[0068] In the same fashion, Y(t, k) is defined as the complex power for measurement profile y(t) at instant t with the kth spatial frequency component. Similar to (3), a condition for measurement accumulated power in a high frequency band is applied
[0000] P k3→k 4 y ( t 2 )>δ y . (5)
[0069] where t 2 is the instant when the accumulated power in the frequency band [k 3 , k 4 ] exceeds the threshold δ y .
[0070] If both the conditions (3) and (5) are satisfied, we will say at instant t o =max(t 1 ,t 2 ), the actuator picketing is detected. Here δ y is the pre-defined threshold on the measurement high frequency accumulated power. Both δ u and δ y can be determined by carrying on a controller performance baselining. The way to baseline a process is that an artificial small amount of misalignment is injected into real process (either inducing sheet wander or changing the overall shrinkage) when the process is well-tuned and well-aligned. By calculating both P k 1 →k 2 u (t) in (2) and P k 3 →k 4 y (t) in (4) over a certain scan horizon, say 50 scans, the thresholds δ u and δ y are defined by the maximums of P k 1 →k 2 u (t max u ) and P k 3 →k 4 y (t max y ) during the baselining. t max u and t max y stand for the instants when the maximum accumulated high frequency powers for actuator setpoint profiles and quality measurement profiles are obtained during the baselining process. It can be seen that both δ u and δ y can be regarded as not only thresholds for picketing detection, but also indicators for controller underperformance. The whole process of picketing detection is automated and no user-intervention required. Three major advantages of this algorithm are: (1) It is able to detect the picketing before any signs of picketing are visible to operators; (2) It is a simple algorithm that can be easily implemented; and (3) The novel baselining technique makes baselining for picketing detection much easier.
[0071] 1.2 Closed-Loop Identification
[0072] FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment the closed-loop cross-directional alignment process for a sheetmaking system such as that shown in FIG. 1 . In FIG. 4 , P ( 92 ) is a CD process and C ( 90 ) is a feedback CD controller (either a traditional SISO controller or a MPC controller). r(t) stands for the measurement target, u c (t) is the controller output, d(t) is the process disturbances, u(t) is the actuator setpoint, y(t) is the measurement, and v(t) is the dither signal (PRBS) for closed-loop system identification (CLSID) at instant t.
[0073] The output y(t) can be calculated by
[0000] y ( t )= SPv ( t )+ Sd ( t ), (6)
[0074] where the sensitivity function
[0000] S =(1+ PC ) −1 . (7)
[0075] Lemma 1: Matrix inversion formula:
[0000] ( A+BTD ) −1 =A −1 −A −1 B ( T −1 +DA −1 B ) −1 DA −1
[0076] where A, T, and (T −1 +DA −1 B) are non-singular.
[0000] By applying Lemma 1, the sensitivity function in (7) can be recast into,
[0000] S= 1− PC+PC (1+ PC ) −1 PC (8)
[0000] In general, a CD process is decoupled into a spatial model component and a dynamic model component,
[0000] P=Gh ( z ) (9)
[0077] where G is the spatial response model (CD model), and h(z) is the dynamic response model (MD model). z is the z-transform factor.
[0078] Expand h(z) by using infinite impulse response (HR) representation, i.e.,
[0000] h ( z )= h T d z −T d +h T d +1 z −(T d +1) +h T d +2 z −(T d +2) +h T d +3 z −(T d +3) + . . . (10)
[0079] where T d is the discrete time delay.
[0080] Insert (8) and (10) into (6),
[0000] y ( t )= h T d Gv ( t−T d )+ h T d −1 Gv ( t−T d −1)+ . . . + h 2T d −1 Gv ( t− 2 T d +1)+ G yv f v ( t )+ Sd ( t ), (11)
[0081] where, G yv f is a fraction part of the closed loop transfer matrix, and it can be written by
[0000] G yv f =( h 2T d G+h T d NG ) z −2T d +( h 2T d +1 G+h T d+1 NG ) z −(2T d +1) +( h 2T d +2 G+h T d+2 NG ) z −(2T d +2) + . . . , (12)
[0082] and N is causal and equal to
[0000] N=−GC (1− SGCh ( z ))( h T d +h T d +1 z −1 +h T d +2 z −2 + . . . ).
[0083] It can be noticed that all terms of G yv f has the factor z with power equal to or higher than (−2T d ).
[0084] Lets define the non-disturbance-distorted output y u (t)
[0000] y u ( t )= y ( t )· Sd ( t ).
[0085] Based on the above analysis in (11), one can conclude that the first T d terms of non-disturbance-distorted output y u (t) are independent of controller representation. By decoupling the first T d terms from non-disturbance-distorted output y u (t), the open loop spatial response model G can be identified.
[0086] Lets define the dither signal v(t) in FIG. 4 ,
[0000] v ( t )= U φ( t ), Uε n . (13)
[0087] φ(t) is a PRBS signal in time domain, and satisfies
[0000]
R
φ
(
τ
)
=
{
R
φ
o
,
if
τ
=
0
0
,
if
τ
≠
0
,
(
14
)
[0000] where R φ (τ) stands for the autocovariance of φ(t) with the delay equal to τ, i.e.,
[0000] R φ (τ)= E (φ( t )φ( t −τ))). (15)
[0088] Insert (13) into (11) and multiply φ(t−T d ) to the both sides of (11). Then we have,
[0000] y ( t )φ( t−T d )= h T d GU φ( t−T d )φ( t−T d )+ h T d +1 GU φ( t−T d −1)φ( t−T d )+ . . . + h 2T d −1 GU φ( t− 2 T d +1)φ( t−T d )+ G yv f U φ( t− 2 T d )φ( t−T d )+ Sd ( t ) U φ( t−T d ). (16)
[0089] Calculate the expectation of the both sides of (16),
[0000] R yφ (τ)= h T d GUR φ (0)+ h T d +1 GUR φ (1)+ . . . + h 2T d −1 GUR φ ( T d −1)+ E ( G yv f U ) R φ ( T d )+ E ( Sd ( t )φ( t−T d )) (17)
[0090] where E is the operator of the expectation.
[0091] Let's assume that φ(t) is independent of every elements of the disturbance vector d(t) in the time domain, which is satisfied in most applications. Therefore, (17) can be simplified as
[0000] R y ( T d )= h T d GUR φ o (18)
[0092] In the same fashion, we have
[0000] R yφ ( T d +i )= h T d −i GUR φ o , ( i= 1, 2, . . . , T d −1) (19)
[0093] Rewrite (19), and we finally derive
[0000]
g
^
u
=
GU
=
R
y
φ
(
T
d
+
i
)
h
T
d
+
i
R
φ
o
(
i
=
1
,
2
,
…
,
T
d
-
1
)
(
20
)
[0094] where R yφ (T d +i)=E(y(t+T d +i)v(t)), and ĝ u is the identified non-parametric open-loop response.
[0095] It can be further concluded that the static open loop response of a CD process can be extracted from closed loop experiment data by calculating the covariance between output measurements and PRBS excitation signals, and the autocovariance of PRBS excitations.
[0096] From (20), one can also extract the alignment information from the identified non-parametric open-loop response ĝ u . In the next step, we formulate the alignment calculation as a standard nonlinear least square optimization problem,
[0000] θ M =argmin∥ g M (θ M )− ĝ u ∥, (21)
[0097] where θ M stands for the alignment parameters. g u (θ M ) is the predicted parametric open-loop response by using alignment parameter θ M . It can be the parameters of either a linear, a parametric nonlinear (the fuzzy logic model developed by D. M. Gorinevsky and C. Gheorghe, “Identification tool for cross-directional processes”, IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology , Vol. 11, No. 5, 2003), or a non-parametric nonlinear function (curve-fitting proposed by B. R. Phillips, S. J. I'Anson and S. M. Hoole, “CD shrinkage profiles of paper—curve fitting and quantitative analysis”, Appita Journal of Peer Reviewed , Vol. 55, No. 3, pp. 235-243, 2002.). The algorithm developed in the present invention has no specific requirements on the structure of shrinkage profiles. θ M o represents the optimal solution of the alignment parameters.
[0098] In summary, the inventive algorithm has the following features: (1) The algorithm is able to extract static open loop responses from closed-loop experimental data; (2) The algorithm provides the adaptive PRBS experiments, i.e., the structure for U in (13) is generated online; (3) The algorithm can tolerate both spatial uncertainties (process gain, response width, etc.), and dynamic uncertainties (time delay is allowed to have 100% uncertainty); (4) The algorithm provides the model validation scheme. A model qualifier is generated to facilitate online deployment; and (5) The algorithm can be potentially extended for the entire CD spatial model identification.
[0099] 2. Mill Trial Results
[0100] The inventive closed-loop monitoring and identification of CD alignment technique has been successfully tested in commercial paper mills. At one facility, the papermaking machine was a large-scale heavy board machine with a 9.6 meters trim that operated at over 400 meters per minute. It was fitted with a dilution headbox, water spray, steambox, and induction heating CD actuators to control conditioned weight, moisture and thickness. Due to the narrow spacing between the dilution headbox actuators, this machine had been very sensitive to misalignment. For instance, the actuators would start picketing in the presence of a one-third zone width misalignment in the dilution headbox actuators as shown in FIG. 5 . Previous to implementation of the inventive CD alignment process, when picketing was detected, operators would have to turn off the feedback CD control and realign the system by carrying on an open-loop bump test. This process was time consuming work.
[0101] 2.1 Online Detection Mill Trial Results
[0102] As described in section 1.1, online detection is configured after the controller has performed baselining. FIG. 6 illustrates the baselining process. FIG. 6 is the trend of high frequency accumulated powers for actuator (AutoFlow) setpoint profiles during the baselining process. (AutoFlow refers to a headbox dilution process. A set of uniform dilution jets is installed before the headbox chamber across the paper machine. By adding the dilution fluid, the local consistency of stock flow can be affected, and consequently local base weight is changed. Usually Autoflow is used as a basis weight actuators although it has the effect on other paper qualities too, like moisture and thickness.) Here, the high frequency band for measurements is set to [X3db, Xc], and the high frequency band for actuators is set to [X3db, 2Xa]. The notation X3db stands for the frequency point where the spatial power drops to 50% of the maximum spatial power over the full spatial frequency band, Xc stands for the frequency point where the spatial power drops to 4% of the maximum, and 2Xa stands for the two times of actuator spacing. From FIG. 6 , we can determine that baselining threshold for the actuator equal to δ u =12.54 during the baselining process. Also, optionally we can add the baselining threshold for the measurement δ y =0.151, which can be measured in the same fashion, for picketing detection. During baselining, actuator picketing was barely observed by visual inspection. In this test, the baselining scan number was set at 50.
[0103] For the online detection algorithm, the thresholds δ u and δ y were used to monitor the alignment in closed-loop. This test was conducted when the paper machine experienced a half-zone width sheet wander. FIGS. 7A and 7B show the spread of high frequency accumulated powers for both the measurement profiles and actuator setpoint profiles during monitoring, respectively. It can be seen that at scan 21 , both the measurement high frequency spread and the actuator high frequency spread were higher than the thresholds. At this juncture, picketing was detected which automatically triggered the closed-loop alignment identification. In order to test the reliability and efficiency of the detection algorithm, the automatic closed-loop identification was temporarily disabled; this allowed the profile to develop fully as there was no alignment update. At scan 113 (see the data cursor on the plot of AutoFlow high frequency accumulated power in FIG. 7B ), picketing is apparent by visual inspection. It was then decided to increase the picketing penalty (smoothing factor) at this moment to bring the spread of both actuator setpoint and measurement profiles down. This is the reason for the high frequency accumulated power drop after scan 113 as shown in FIG. 7B . FIG. 8 shows the saved profiles whenever the picketing is detected (at scan 21 ). By visual inspection only, it is very difficult to clearly see any actuator picketing.
[0104] FIG. 9 shows the gray color maps of the testing profiles. The profiles are not as distinct towards the end of test. In FIG. 9 , the dash line indicates the time when the extra picketing penalty (more conservative MPC tuning) was deployed. As noted above, at scan 113 , an operator would probably cite misalignment and carry on an open-loop bump test to re-align the process. However, with the inventive monitoring and identification process in operation, the detection algorithm would initiate the closed-loop identification automatically at scan 21 , long before any alignment issue is apparent from visual inspection.
[0105] 2.2 Closed Loop Identification Mill Trial Results
[0106] Online alignment identification includes two stages: data collection and running identification. FIG. 10 illustrates the spatial PRBS excitations. It can be seen that a set of individual actuators (AutoFlow) is bumped. These bumps are not persistent in the time domain (MD); instead, they are PRBS (pulses with constant magnitude and different duration). The dither signal v(t) is added at the top of CD controller output (see FIG. 4 for the process configuration). Therefore, the feedback control still tries to maintain product specifications.
[0107] FIG. 11 shows the closed-loop identification results. The solid line denotes the identified non-parametric open-loop responses and the dotted line denotes the predicted parametric open-loop responses by using the new alignment. It can be seen that the peak locations of the two curves match very well. By using INTELLIMAP which is a commercially available open-loop CD modeling tool from Honeywell International, Inc. (Morristown, N.J.), the identified low actuator offset (the distance between the low edge of the sheet and the edge of the first actuator zone) is 60 mm, and the identified high actuator offset (the distance between the high edge of the sheet and the edge of the last actuator zone) is 85 mm. By using the inventive alignment technique, the low and high were 62 mm and 86 mm, respectively. Comparing to the actuator zone width (42.3 mm), the results of identification are very accurate. FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrates the spreads of measurement profiles and actuator setpoint profiles during three consecutive PRBS tests. It can be seen that the effect of PRBS tests on the quality of paper product is minor. As we mentioned above, closed-loop PRBS tests did not interrupt paper machine normal operations and introduced only very small variances during tests.
[0108] 2.3 Online Deployment
[0109] FIG. 13 illustrates the overall process of using the inventive alignment technique. The vertical dash line A in FIG. 13 indicates the instant when actuator picketing is detected. The inventive alignment technique then retunes the MPC controller in order to stabilize the process (using more conservative tuning parameters). After the process settles down, i.e. both actuator setpoint variance and measurement variance (2σ spreads) settles down, the technique starts a closed-loop PRBS test at instant B (the vertical dash line B in FIG. 13 ). At instant C (the vertical dash line C in FIG. 13 ), the closed-loop alignment identification is complete. In addition, the technique deploys the new alignment and the original MPC controller tuning is restored at instant C. It is obvious that both actuator setpoint variance and measurement variance (2σ spreads) drop significantly after using the new alignment (comparing with the situation at instant A). In other words, after deploying the new alignment the control performance of this system has improved significantly. The results demonstrate that the inventive technique is adaptive, efficient, and robust.
[0110] The foregoing has described the principles, preferred embodiment and modes of operation of the present invention. However, the invention should not be construed as limited to the particular embodiments discussed. Instead, the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and it should be appreciated that variations may be made in those embodiments by workers skilled in the art without departing from the scope of present invention as defined by the following claims. | Alignment is a critical component for modeling a cross-directional (CD) papermaking process. It specifies the spatial relationship between individual CD actuators to paper quality measurements. Misalignment can occur unexpectedly due to sheet wander or CD shrinkage variation. In certain applications and circumstances, a misalignment of one third (⅓) actuator zone width can result in significant paper quality degradation. Detecting a misalignment and identifying CD alignment in closed loop are highly demanded in paper mills but these are nontrivial problems. A technique for maintaining proper CD alignment in sheetmaking systems entails monitoring the alignment online, triggering closed loop identification if misalignment is detected, and then deploying the new alignment. No personnel intervention is required. | 3 |
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This non-provisional patent application is based upon U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/791,995 filed Apr. 14, 2006 and hereby claims the benefit of the filing date thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is related to golf equipment and, in particular, to a golf putter head with enhanced weight distribution, selectable weights, movable center of gravity, target and address alignment aids, and ball hitting projections that enhance feel, acoustics and ball anti-skid properties.
[0003] Heretofore, golf putter heads with adjustable weight members often included extraneous parts such as spacers, springs, magnets, fillers and the like that immobilized weight members in a single longitudinal bore. Other designs included multiple threaded bores which received selectable weights but did not provide infinite adjustability of the center of gravity. A non-bore design often utilized a channel or a cavity within which resided a sliding securable weight. Yet another design used extruding posts with interchangeable washers. The prior art as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,343,998 to Grant, 2,998,254 to Rains et al, 3,979,122 to Belmont, 4,962,932 to Anderson, 6,015,354 to Ahn, 5,244,210 to Au, and 6,001,024 to Van Alen shows a putter head with a single threaded bore that required spacers and the like to secure the weights. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,840,924 to Tucker and 4,828,266 to Tunstall show two longitudinal single-opening threaded bores at the extremities that used spacers to immobilize the weight members. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,213,613 to Nygren and 6,348,014 to Chiu show lateral threaded bores at the heel end and the toe end of the putter head that allow for weight selection but lacked longitudinal heel-toe positioning. U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,737 to Holladay discloses adjustability of a sliding weight housed in a cavity. U.S. Pat. No. 7,074,132 to Finn and publication US2003/0220150 A1 to Takase disclose fixed weight members spaced from the face portion but does not include adjustable weights.
[0004] Heretofore, golfer address position aids usually utilized references at two elevations on the putter head. The prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,200,227 to Sery, 6,394,910 to McCarthy, and 5,921,868 to DiMartino disclose golfer head alignment aids that utilize alignment references at two elevations which the eyes align to thereby ensure a repeatable address position. U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,731 to Westerman discloses a ball-width contour alignment channel but the channel lacks the vertical sides necessary for head address alignment, and also said channel is not defined by spaced weight-carrying portions. U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,378 to Shmoldas discloses an alignment channel with vertical sides but the channel is also not defined by stand-alone spaced weight-carrying portions.
[0005] Heretofore, alignment aids that indicate a golf ball such as disks, circles, arcs and hemispheres are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,343,839 to Borah, 3,708,172 to Rango, 3,779.398 to Hunter, 3,884,477 to Bianco, and 4,688,798 to Pelz all include a visible structural support member when viewed squarely from above. The distracting support member makes it more difficult for the various alignment aids to simulate a freestanding golf ball. A freestanding “virtual” golf ball alignment aid provides for easy alignment of the putter head, ball and target.
[0006] Heretofore, putter face markings or face inserts did not include high density positive sloped projections. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,849,004 to Lindsay, 5,709,616 to Rife, and 5,637,044 to Swash all disclose parallel ridges and/or grooves in different configurations and patterns. Putter face markings with vertical freestanding projections include U.S. Pat. Nos. D411,275 to Bottema, D63,284 to Challis, 4,964,641 to Miesch and 6,257,994 to Antonious wherein the ball-impacting projections are either cylindrical, cubed, rectangular or diamond shaped, but all lack the positive sloped side support structure that is essential for the making of small projections for a high dots per inch pattern. U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,434 to Baker discloses an insert that is comprised of mechanically made truncated pyramid shaped projections of low dots per inch; U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,641 to Miesch discloses large 0.040″ on center pyramids, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,993 to Woodward discloses cylindrical projections.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is the objects of the present invention to provide an improved golf putter that provides for forgiveness on miss hits, provides for a simple system to select and adjust weight members, provides references for target and golfer address alignment, and provides for an enhancement in feel and golfer confidence. Accordingly, the objective of a more forgiving putter entails a greater moment of inertia and that is accomplished by dense heel and toe weight members spaced rearward from the face portion. The objective to provide a simple adjustable weight system is accomplished by having selectable dense weight members housed in a chamber movably securable with end plug setscrews, and without the need for spacers, springs, and fillers. The objective of easy target alignment is accomplished by the stand-alone spaced weight-carrying portions defining a ball-width alignment channel wherein said channel is disposed with parallel markings for tangential alignment with the golf ball, or in an alternate embodiment, alignment is provided by an optically isolated alignment disk that has no visible support member and therein becomes a “virtual” golf ball. The objective of repeatable heel-to-toe, here forth called longitudinal, golfer head alignment is accomplished by the parallax properties of the inboard vertical sides of the alignment channel. Correspondingly, the objective of repeatable target-to-putter head, here forth called lateral, golfer head alignment is accomplished by the visible part line on the surface of the weight-carrying portions wherein said part line is located at the inflexion point defined by a vertical tangent. The objective of enhanced feel is accomplished by the sensing of the spaced weight members by using a thin sole section that connects the face portion to the spaced weight-carrying portions, by the isolated face portion, and by the enhanced audible feedback of a struck ball due to the small dense face projections. The objective of increased confidence is accomplished by the customization of the adjustable weights, easy alignment, and an aesthetically functional putter head.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the weight assembly of putter head 50 .
[0009] FIG. 2 is a side view of putter head 50 of FIG. 1 .
[0010] FIG. 3 is a rear view of putter head 50 of FIG. 1 with the assembled weights.
[0011] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an assembled putter head 50 of FIG. 1 .
[0012] FIG. 5 is a top view of putter head 50 of FIG. 1 that depicts correct golfer head position.
[0013] FIG. 6 is a top view of putter head 50 of FIG. 1 that depicts golfer head too far outward.
[0014] FIG. 7 is a top view of putter head 50 of FIG. 1 that depicts golfer's head too far inward.
[0015] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a putter head 51 with an optically isolated alignment disk.
[0016] FIG. 9 is a rear view of the putter head 51 of FIG. 8 .
[0017] FIG. 10 is a side view of the putter head 51 of FIG. 8 .
[0018] FIG. 11 is a top view of the putter head 51 of FIG. 8 and depicts the disk alignment system.
[0019] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of putter head 50 with permanent weight members.
[0020] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of putter head 50 with the weight-carrying portions as the sole weight members.
[0021] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of putter head 50 with the inboard sides of the weight-carrying portions integral to the rear surface of the face portion.
[0022] FIG. 15 is a side view of an alternate embodiment of putter head 50 wherein the arcuate surface of the weight-carrying portions includes an inflexion point without a vertical tangent.
[0023] FIG. 16 is a side view of an alternate embodiment of putter head 50 wherein the arcuate surface of the weight-carrying portion includes at least two vertical tangents and one inflexion point.
[0024] FIG. 17 is a side view of an alternate embodiment of putter head 50 wherein the surface of the weight-carrying portions does not include a convex-to-concave inflexion point.
[0025] FIG. 18 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of putter head 50 wherein the bottom surface of the alignment channel is generally flat.
[0026] FIG. 19 is a front view of a putter face with a dot pattern of positive sloped projections.
[0027] FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a single dot projection.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0028] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of a heel-toe weighted putter head 50 with an optional hosel 20 to attach to a shaft, a ball-striking face portion 7 , a sole portion 9 extending rearward from said face portion 7 ; the invention hereon comprising of a heel end weight-carrying portion 2 a spaced 5 a rearward from the rear surface 14 of said face portion 7 ; a toe end weight-carrying portion 2 b spaced 5 b rearward from the rear surface 14 of said face portion 7 ; said spaced weight-carrying portions 2 a , 2 b are each comprised of an arcuate surface 15 a , 15 b delimited by an inboard and outboard lateral sides 12 a , 12 aa and 12 b , 12 bb , respectively. Said weight carrying portions 2 a , 2 b are generally longitudinally elongated, horizontal, integral to sole 9 and parallel to said face portion 7 .
[0029] It should be noted that weight-carrying portion 2 a , 2 b may be configured in alternate embodiments. For example, a V-shaped configuration or a non-horizontal configuration would be obvious viable variations. The variations and modifications are obviously numerous and are considered to be within the scope of this invention.
[0030] FIG. 1 shows the exploded view of the adjustable weight assembly of the spaced weight-carrying portions 2 a , 2 b that includes through bores 11 a , 11 b that are co-axially aligned with each other. Through bores 11 a , 11 b receive through threaded metal inserts 4 a , 4 b that are permanently secured, preferably by a press-fit, and which said inserts also function as permanent dense weight members. Housed in said inserts 4 a , 4 b are generally slide-fit primary weight members 10 a , 10 b and optional lighter secondary weight members 10 aa , 10 bb or a plurality thereof, which are selectively added until the desired total weight is achieved. End plug setscrews 3 a , 3 aa and 3 b , 3 bb are threadably engaged in said threaded metal inserts 4 a , 4 b , respectively, that bookend said weight members to therein provide the means to position and secure said weight members according to the golfer's preferences. The rearward spacing of the weight-carrying portions increases the moment of inertia by moving the center of gravity deeper into the putter head, and the moment of inertia is even further increased by the housing of dense weight members within and thereby minimizing the negative effects of a miss hit.
[0031] The spaced weight-carrying portions 2 a , 2 b in effect isolate and “lighten” the ball-striking face portion 7 which in turn enhances feel and also results in an enhanced acoustic feedback on a struck ball. Feel is yet further enhanced when the spaced weights are “felt” when the ball is struck. This desired feedback is accomplished by a uniformly thin heel-toe sole section, generally from 0.032 to 0.094 inches, that connects the weight-carrying portions 2 a , 2 b to the rear surface 14 of said face portion 7 , and with said thin sole section provided by seamlessly merging the tapered weight-carrying portions 2 a , 2 b to the top surface of said sole.
[0032] The golfer can customize the total weight of the putter head by selecting quantifiable weight members, house said weight members in said inserts, bookend said weight members with said end plug setscrews, and tighten said end plug setscrews against each other for an immovable weight assembly. Note that spacers, springs, fillers and the like are not necessary to immobilize the weights. The golfer can also adjust the heel-toe, here forth called longitudinal, center of gravity by biasing the weight members toward the heel end or the toe end of the putter head, or in any combination thereof, and securing the selected positions with said end plug setscrews. The weight assembly's flexibility allows adjustments to compensate for tendencies to push or pull putts, type of grass, green condition and layout, weather, and putting idiosyncrasies of the golfer.
[0033] FIGS. 1-7 in a preferred embodiment show the integration of the weight system with the alignment system. The opposing inboard vertical sides 12 a , 12 b of weight-carrying portions 2 a , 2 b are perpendicular to the face portion 7 , parallel to each other, and transversely spaced apart from each other by preferably the diameter of a golf ball to therein define an arcuate alignment channel 13 and an imaginary target alignment path 72 . Inboard lateral vertical sides 12 a , 12 b provide the parallax references wherein the golfer's correct longitudinal head position is established. The parallax references for the golfer's correct lateral head position are provided by the part lines 35 a , 35 b created by the inflexion points 36 a , 36 b of said weight-carrying portions 2 a , 2 b , respectively. The part lines become sharply defined when the golfer's head is directly over the part lines.
[0034] The arcuate surfaces 15 a , 15 b which define the shape of the weight-carrying portions 2 a , 2 b is delimited by lateral sides 12 a , 12 aa and 12 b , 12 bb , respectively, and can each be defined as an arcuate extension of the heel-end toe-end rear edges of sole 9 rearwardly and upwardly to an apex on a circular-disposed arc, and arcuately downwardly and frontwardly to inflexion points 36 a , 36 b wherein a vertical tangent exists and a part line is created, and extends downwardly and frontwardly to seamlessly merge with the top surface of sole 9 . The said circular-disposed apex-carrying section of the weight-carrying portions 2 a , 2 b provides for maximum weight capacity, or volumetric efficiency, by housing concentrically referenced cylindrical weight elements 4 a , 4 b , 10 a , 10 b , 10 aa , 10 bb , et al.
[0035] FIG. 2 is a side view of putter head 50 and shows a preferred embodiment wherein a vertical tangent defines the convex-to-concave point of inflexion 36 a and thereby also the part line 35 a of weight-carrying portion 2 a . The teardrop-like shaped weight-carrying portions therein provide references for address position and target alignment, provide maximum volumetric utility, and provide feel, function and aesthetics.
[0036] FIG. 3 is a rear view of putter head 50 that shows the assembled weight system wherein through bores receive weight members 10 a , 10 aa and 10 b , 10 bb and are book ended and secured by setscrews 3 a , 3 aa and 3 b , 3 bb , respectively.
[0037] The rear open end 16 of the alignment channel 13 has a height less than half that of a golf ball to therein also function as a cup-like ball picker. A sweep of the putter head through the ball will pick up and cradle the ball between the channel's vertical walls, the rear surface of the face portion, and the arcuate bottom surface of the channel.
[0038] FIGS. 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 show a preferred embodiment of putter head 50 wherein an alignment system aligns the putter head to the target and the golfer to the putter head. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of putter head 50 wherein an arcuate alignment channel 13 is defined by said inboard lateral vertical sides 12 a , 12 b transversely spaced by the diameter of a golf ball, by an arcuate bottom surface defined by an arcuate sole, and a length equal to its vertical sides 12 a , 12 b . The arcuate alignment channel 13 includes parallel alignment lines 13 a , 13 b on the bottom surface of said channel and adjacent to said inboard lateral sides 12 a , 12 b . FIG. 5 shows a golf ball 30 and imaginary alignment path 72 defined by imaginary parallel tangential lines 70 , 71 that extends frontwardly square to the target and rearwardly and congruently to the putter head's alignment lines 13 a , 13 b in the alignment channel and to therein define the alignment system that aligns and squares the putter head to the ball and target.
[0039] FIG. 5 shows the golfer's correct address head position with respect to the putter head. The golfer moves his head longitudinally along the heel-toe axis of the putter head until lateral vertical sides 12 a , 12 b of said weight-carrying portions are not visible or equally minimally visible, alignment lines 13 a , 13 b are unobstructed by the parallax properties of said lateral sides 12 a , 12 b , and therein establishes the golfer's head position on the longitudinal axis. The golfer then or simultaneously moves his head laterally along the target-putter head axis until the part lines 35 a , 35 b of said weight-carrying portions are sharply focused and visible. The golfer's head position on a lateral axis is thereby established and a repeatable correct head position is easily attained. The golfer can make slight head adjustments for different putting styles such as moving his head slightly towards the target to be directly over the ball for the pendulum putting style, or moving his head slightly towards the heel for the arc putting style.
[0040] FIG. 6 shows a golfer's head position longitudinally too far outward at the toe end of the putter head. This incorrect head position is corrected by the parallax properties of this invention wherein movement by the viewer appears to change an observed object. The golfer in FIG. 6 sees alignment line 13 a and vertical side 12 a of weight-carrying portion 2 a while alignment line 13 b and vertical side 12 b of weight-carrying portion 2 b are not visible. The golfer moves his head longitudinally inward until vertical sides 12 a and 12 b are either not visible or equally minimally visible and alignment lines 13 a , 13 b are fully visible which therein establishes the golfer's head position along the longitudinal axis. FIG. 7 illustrates a golfer's head position longitudinally too far inward towards the heel end and this converse incorrect head position is similarly corrected by the longitudinal positioning of the golfer's head.
[0041] FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a putter head 51 in an alternate alignment embodiment that utilizes an optically isolated alignment disk 1 , which is representative of a golf ball. Optical isolation is achieved when support structure 6 of said disk 1 is not visible when viewed squarely from above to therein provide a freestanding “virtual” golf ball. FIG. 11 shows a top view of putter head 51 wherein the support member 6 is not visible when viewed squarely from above. The putter head is square to the target when alignment disk 1 , golf ball 30 and imaginary tangential lines 70 , 71 point to the target. Golfer address alignment references are provided by the inherent parallax properties of a visible thickness 1 a of said disk 1 . The golfer's incorrect head position at any axis results in a section of side 1 a of said disk 1 being visible. The golfer adjusts his head position longitudinally and laterally until side 1 a and support member 6 are not visible and therein results a virtual golf ball alignment aid. FIG. 9 shows a back view of putter head 51 with support member 6 , disk 1 , and side of disk 1 a . FIG. 10 shows the side view of disk 1 wherein support member 6 is an extension of the central section of the rear edge of the sole. The said support member 6 extends rearwardly and upwardly to a height generally equal to top surface 8 of face portion 7 , and extends frontward horizontally while simultaneously transitioning into a ball-width alignment disk 1 . It is obvious to those skilled in the art that said support member 6 can transition into many different optically isolated alignment shapes such as a rectangle, arrow, multiple disks and the like.
[0042] FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the weight system wherein nonadjustable dense weight members 21 a , 21 b are permanently secured in weight-carrying portions 2 a , 2 b.
[0043] FIG. 13 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the weight system wherein weight-carrying portions 2 a , 2 b are itself the weight members.
[0044] FIG. 14 shows a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the spaced weight-carrying portions wherein inboard lateral sides 12 a , 12 b are integral to rear surface 14 , and arcuate surfaces 15 a , 15 b do not merge with the top surface of the sole 9 .
[0045] FIG. 15 shows the side view of an alternate embodiment of putter head 50 wherein weight-carrying portion 2 a includes an arcuate surface frontward of its apex with a convex-to-concave inflexion point 36 a without a vertical tangent and therefore there is no sharply defined part line when viewed squarely from above.
[0046] FIG. 16 shows the side view of an alternate embodiment of putter head 50 wherein weight-carrying portion 2 a includes an arcuate surface frontward of its apex with two vertical tangents and an inflexion point 36 a located rearward of vertical tangent 37 .
[0047] FIG. 17 shows the side view of an alternate embodiment of putter head 50 wherein weight-carrying portion 2 a includes an arcuate surface with an inflexion point not on a continuous surface. It is obvious to those skilled in the arts that numerous variations of the surface shape can be readily made and which will be considered within the scope of this invention.
[0048] FIG. 18 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of putter head 50 wherein the alignment channel 13 includes a generally flat bottom surface. The said flat bottom surface is generally distinctive by elevation and or color.
[0049] FIG. 19 shows a dot pattern 67 on the face portion 7 of a putter head wherein said dot pattern is comprised of a plurality of positive sloped projections similar to truncated cones. The projections, here forth called dots, have a pattern as defined by the lines of dots per inch, or lpi, and by a density, which is defined as the area covered by said dots. A dot pattern may be from 15 lines per inch to 85 lines per inch and with a density percentage from 10% to 50%, and with a preferable dot pattern of 30 lines per inch at 30% density. FIG. 20 shows the dot's unattached ball striking surface 60 supported by a positive sloped side 61 which defines an attached base 64 larger than said top surface 60 and thereby structurally strengthens said dot. The strengthened dots can now be made substantially smaller for a higher dpi with the resultant enhanced gripping action on a ball. Feel is enhanced since a smaller cumulative total area of the putter face contacts the ball. Also, the audible feedback on a struck ball is usually enhanced.
[0050] FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a single dot 70 with said striking surface 60 , a positive sloped support side 61 , a height 65 , and a floor 63 integral to the dot's base 64 . The circular striking surface 60 may include other shapes such as elliptical, square, pentagon, hexagon, and other polygons. The dot pattern is preferably cast integrally with the putter head. The master model is initially made by bonding a dot patterned photoengraved zinc, magnesium, or photopolymer plate to the face portion of a prototype model, or alternately, 3-D laser engraved or by other industry acceptable methods and processes. Face inserts with said dot pattern is an alternative.
[0051] The putter head body is preferably composed of investment cast aluminum and its surface anodized. The permanently secured threaded inserts 4 a , 4 b are preferably composed of brass and also functions as an embedded dense weight member. The alignment lines are preferably colored white. The selectable weight members are preferably tungsten cylinders and disks and the end plugs preferably stainless steel setscrews. Total weight of the putter head is preferably from 320 to 375 grams. The one-piece putter head of FIG. 13 is preferably composed of either stainless steel, silicon bronze, or some other metal more dense than aluminum.
[0052] The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described which may be varied in construction and detail, as numerous modifications and adaptations of this invention will be apparent to others skilled in the art. Therefore, the claims are intended to cover such modifications and adaptations as they are considered to be within the scope of this invention. | An adjustable heel and toe weighted putter head comprising of stand-alone heel and toe weight-carrying portions spaced rearward from the face portion for increased moment of inertia and also transversely spaced apart from each other by the width of a golf ball to therein define an alignment channel. Each weight-carrying portion consists of a through bore parallel to said face portion, a through threaded insert permanently secured in said bore, selectable weight member(s) housed in said insert, and end plug setscrews that book-end and removably secure said weight member(s) to therein provide for selectable total weight and longitudinal positioning of the center of gravity. The integration of the weight system and the alignment system provides for simultaneous tangential target alignment and parallax golfer head alignment. Positive sloped truncated conical projections on the putter face help minimize ball skid, maximize tactile properties, and provide enhanced audio feedback. | 0 |
This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 07/933,110, filed on Aug. 21, 1992, U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,736 the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to iminothiazolines, their production and use as herbicides, and intermediates for their production. More particularly, it relates to iminothiazoline compounds having strong herbicidal potency and intermediate compounds for production of the iminothiazoline compounds.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Certain kinds of iminothiazolidine derivatives are known to be useful as an active ingredient of herbicidal compositions (cf., EP-A-0349282). However, they can hardly be said to be satisfactory herbicides.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The present inventors have intensively studied to seek satisfactory herbicides and found that particular iminothiazoline compounds have strong herbicidal potency and some of them further exhibit noticeable selectivity between crop plants and weeds.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides iminothiazoline compounds of the formula: ##STR2## wherein R 1 is halogen, halo(lower)alkyl, halo(lower)alkoxy or halo(lower)alkylthio; R 2 is lower alkyl, chlorine, bromine or iodine; R 3 is (lower alkyl)carbonyl, (lower cycloalkyl)carbonyl, (lower alkoxy)carbonyl, (lower cycloalkoxy)carbonyl or (lower alkyl)sulfonyl, all of which are optionally substituted with substituents which are the same or different and are selected from halogen, lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, lower cycloalkyl and lower cycloalkoxy; and R 4 is halogen; more specifically, iminothiazoline compounds of the formula (I) wherein R 1 is halogen, halo(C 1 -C 3 )alkyl, halo(C 1 -C 3 )alkoxy or halo(C 1 -C 3 )alkylthio; R 2 is C 1 -C 2 alkyl chlorine bromine or iodine; R 3 is C 1 -C 6 alkylcarbonyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkylcarbonyl, C 1 -C 6 alkoxycarbonyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxycarbonyl or C 1 -C 6 alkylsulfonyl, all of which are optionally substituted with substituents which are the same or different and are selected from halogen, C 1 -C 3 alkyl, C 1 -C 3 alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy; and R 4 is halogen; an iminothiazoline compound of the formula: ##STR3## wherein R 1 and R 4 are each as defined above and R 6 is hydrogen or methyl, which is an intermediate for the compound (I); a process for producing the iminothiazoline compound (IV); and a herbicidal composition comprising as an active ingredient the above iminothiazoline compounds (I).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As used herein, the term "C n -C m " refers to the carbon number of a group immediately following this term. In case of C 1 -C 6 alkylcarbonyl, for instance, the term "C 1 -C 6 " indicates the carbon number of its alkyl portion and exclude that of its carbonyl portion. Also, a group substituted with a substituent preferably covers a group bearing from 1 to 10 substituents which may be the same or different.
The iminothiazoline compounds (I) produce generally strong herbicidal activity against a wide variety of weeds including broad-leaved weeds and Graminaceous weeds in agricultural plowed fields by foliar or soil treatment without producing any material phytotoxicity to crop plants. Examples of the broad-leaved weeds include common purslane (Portulaca oleracea), common chickweed (Stellaria media), common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album), redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus), radish (Raphanus sativus), wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis), shepherdspurse (Capsella bursa-pastoris), hemp sesbania (Sesbania exaltata), sicklepod (Cassia obtusifolia), velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti), prickly sida (Sida spinosa), field pansy (Viola arvensis), catchweed bedstraw (Galium aparine), ivyleaf morningglory (Ipomoea hederacea), tall morningglory (Ipomoea purpurea), field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), purple deadnettle (Lamium purpureum), henbit (Lamium amplexicaure), jimsonweed (Datura stramonium), black nightshade (Solanum nigrum), persian speedwell (Veronica persica), common cocklebur (Xanthium pensylvanicum), common sunflower (Helianthus annuus), scentless chamomile (Matricaria perforata) and corn marigold (Chrysanthemum segetum) . Examples of Graminaceous weeds include Japanese millet (Echinochloa frumentacea), barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli), green foxtail (Setaria viridis), yellow foxtail (Setaria glauca), southern crabgrass (Digitaria ciliaris), large crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis), annual bluegrass (Poa annua), blackgrass (Alopecurus myosuroides), oats (Arena sativa), wild oats (Avena fatua), johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense ), quackgrass (Agropyron repens ), downy brome (Bromus tectorum), giant foxtail (Setaria faberi), fall panicum (Panicum dichotomiflorum), shattercane (Sorghum bicolor) and bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) . Some of the iminothiazoline compounds (I) have the advantage of showing no material chemical injury to various agricultural crops such as corn, wheat, barley, rice plant, soybean, cotton and sugar beet.
The iminothiazoline compounds (I) are also effective in exterminating paddy field weeds including Graminaceous weeds such as barnyardgrass (Echinochloa oryzicola), broad-leaved weeds such as common falsepimpernel (Lindernia procumbens), indian toothcup (Rotala indica), waterwort (Elatine triandra) and Ammannia multiflora, Cyperaceous weeds such as umbrella sedge (Cyperus difformis), hardstem bulrush (Scirpus juncoides), needle spikerush (Eleocharis acicularis) and water nutgrass (Cyperus serotinus), and others such as monochoria (Monochoria vaginalis) and arrowhead (Sagittaria pygmaea) . Some of the iminothiazoline compounds (I) have the advantage of showing no phytotoxicity to rice plants on flooding treatment.
Among the iminothiazoline compounds (I), preferred are those wherein R 1 is halo (C 1 -C 3 ) alkyl, more preferably trifluoromethyl; those wherein R 2 is methyl or ethyl; those wherein R 3 is C 1 -C 6 alkylcarbonyl or C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl-carbonyl, both of which are optionally substituted with at least one substituent selected from halogen, C 1 -C 3 alkyl and C 1 -C 3 alkoxy; and those wherein R 4 is present at the para position, more particularly fluorine at the para position.
The iminothiazoline compounds (I) can be produced by various procedures, of which typical examples are shown in the following schemes I to III. ##STR4## wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 and R 6 are each as defined above; R 7 is (C 1 -C 6 alkyl) carbonyl; R 8 and R 9 , which are different, are C 1 -C 6 alkyl; R 10 is chlorine, bromine or iodine; and X and Y are each bromine or iodine.
Procedures for production of the iminothiazoline compounds (I) as shown in the above schemes I to III will hereinafter be explained in detail.
Procedure (A):
The iminothiazoline compound (I) wherein is R 2 is methyl or ethyl can be obtained by reacting the iminithiazolidine compound (II) with a base or acid.
This reaction is usually carried out in a solvent at a temperature of about 0° to 200° C. for a period of 1 to 30 hours. The base or acid is used at a proportion of 1 to 100 equivalents to one equivalent of the compound (II).
As the solvent, there may be exemplified aliphatic hydrocarbons (e.g., hexane, heptane), aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., benzene, toluene, xylene), ethers (e.g., diisopropyl ether, dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether), alcohols (e.g., methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, t-butanol, octanol, cyclohexanol, 2-methoxyethanol, diethylene glycol, glycerin), acid amides (e.g, N,N-dimethylformamide) and sulfur compounds (e.g, dimethylsulfoxide, sulforan). These solvents may be used solely or in combination. Examples of the base are inorganic bases (e.g., sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, sodium hydride) and alkali metal alkoxides (e.g., sodium methoxide, sodium ethoxide, potassium t-butoxide, sodium t-butoxide). Examples of the acid are sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid.
After completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture may be subjected to ordinary post-treatment in a per se conventional manner such as extraction with an organic solvent and concentration. If necessary, any purification method (e.g., chromatography, recrystallization) may be further utilized to give the objective compound (I), i.e., compound (I-1).
Procedure (B):
The iminothiazoline compound (I) wherein R 2 is methyl or ethyl can be obtained by the reaction of the iminothiazoline compound (IV) with an acid chloride (V) or acid anhydride (XIV) in the presence of a base, or by the reaction of the iminothiazoline compound (IV) with an acid (VI).
This reaction is usually carried out in a solvent at a temperature of about 0° to 200° C. for a period of 1 to 30 hours. The acid chloride (V), acid anhydride (XIV) or acid (VI) may be used at a proportion of 1 to 10 equivalents to one equivalent of the compound (IV), and the base may be used at a proportion of 1 to 50 equivalents to one equivalent of the compound (IV). When the reaction is carried with the acid (VI), a condensing agent such as dicyclohexylcarbodiimide is usually used at a proportion of 1 to 10 equivalents to one equivalent of the compound (IV).
As the solvent, there may be exemplified aliphatic hydrocarbons (e.g., hexane, heptane, ligroin, petroleum ether), aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., benzene, toluene, xylene), halogenated hydrocarbons (e.g., chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, dichloroethane, chlorobenzene, dichlorobenzene), ethers (e.g., diethyl ether, diisopropyl ether, dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether), ketones (e.g., acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, isophorone, cyclohexanone), esters (e.g., ethyl formate, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, diethyl carbonate), nitro compounds (e.g., nitroethane, nitrobenzene), nitriles (e.g., acetonitrile, isobutyronitrile), tertiary amines (e.g., pyridine, triethylamine, N,N-diethylaniline, tributylamine, N-methylmorpholine), acid amides (e.g., N,N-dimethylformamide) and sulfur compounds (e.g, dimethylsulfoxide, sulforan). These solvents may be used solely or in combination. Examples of the base are organic bases (e.g., pyridine, triethylamine, N,N-diethylaniline) or inorganic bases (e.g., potassium carbonate, sodium hydroxide).
After completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture may be subjected to ordinary post-treatment in the same manner as described in Procedure (A) to give the objective compound (I), i.e., compound (I-1).
Procedure (C):
The iminothiazoline compound (I) wherein R 2 is methyl or ethyl and R 3 is --CO--OR 9 can be produced by reacting the iminothiazoline compound (I-5) with the alcohol (XV) in the presence of a base.
This reaction is usually carried out in a solvent at a temperature of about 10° to 200° C. for a period of 1 to 100 hours. The alcohol (XV) and base may be used at proportions of 1 to 10 equivalents and 0.5 to 50 equivalents to one equivalent of the compound (I-5), respectively.
As the solvent, there may be exemplified aliphatic hydrocarbons (e.g., hexane, heptane, ligroin), aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., benzene, toluene, xylene), ethers (e.g., diethyl ether, diisopropyl ether, dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether), alcohols (e.g., methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, t-butanol, octanol, cyclohexanol, 2-methoxyethanol, diethylene glycol, glycerin), acid amides (e.g, N,N-dimethylformamide), sulfur compounds (e.g, dimethylsulfoxide, sulforan) and water. These solvents may be used solely or in combination. Examples of the base are inorganic bases (e.g., sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide) and alkali metal alkoxides (e.g., sodium methoxide, sodium ethoxide).
After completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture may be subjected to ordinary post-treatment in the same manner as described in Procedure (A) to give the objective compound (I), i.e., compound (I-2).
Procedure (D):
The iminothiazoline compound (I) wherein R 2 is chlorine, bromine or iodine is prepared by reacting the iminothiazolidine compound (VII) with a chlorinating, brominating or iodinating agent.
This reaction is usually carried out in a solvent at a temperature of about 50° to 150° C. for a period of 2 to 100 hours. The chlorinating, brominating or iodinating agent may be used at a proportion of 1 to 10 equivalents to one equivalent of the compound (VII).
Examples of the solvent are aliphatic hydrocarbons (e.g., hexane, heptane), aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., benzene, toluene, xylene), halogenated hydrocarbons (e.g., chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, dichloroethane) and ethers (e.g., diisopropyl ether, dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether). These solvents may be used solely or in combination. As the chlorinating, brominating or iodinating agent, there may be exemplified N-chlorosuccinimide, N-bromosuccinimide and N-iodosuccinimide.
After completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture may be subjected to ordinary post-treatment in the same manner as described in Procedure (A) to give the objective compound (I), i.e., compound (I-3).
Procedure (E):
The iminothiazoline compound (I) wherein R 2 is chlorine, bromine or iodine can be obtained by reacting the iminothiazoline compound (VIII) with a chlorinating, brominating or iodinating agent.
This reaction is usually carried out in a solvent at a temperature of about 50° to 150° C. for a period of 2 to 100 hours. The chlorinating, brominating or iodinating agent may be used at a proportion of 1 to 10 equivalents to one equivalent of the compound (VIII).
Examples of the solvent and chlorinating, brominating or iodinating agent may be those as exemplified in Procedure (D).
After completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture may be subjected to ordinary post-treatment in the same manner as described in Procedure (A) to give the objective compound (I), i.e., compound (I-3).
Typical examples of the iminothiazoline compounds (I) produced by the above procedure are shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1______________________________________ ##STR5## (I)R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4______________________________________CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCH.sub.3 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCF.sub.3 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 CO-i-C.sub.3 H.sub.7 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 CO.sub.2 -i-C.sub.3 H.sub.7 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCF.sub.3 6-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 CO.sub.2 -i-C.sub.3 H.sub.7 6-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCH.sub.3 4-ClCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCF.sub.3 4-ClCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 ##STR6## 4-ClCl C.sub.2 H.sub.5 ##STR7## 4-FBr Br CO.sub.2 -n-C.sub.4 H.sub.9 5-FCF.sub.3 C.sub.2 H.sub.5 COCH.sub.2 OCH.sub.3 2-FOCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCF.sub.3 4-FSCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCF.sub.3 4-FOCHF.sub. 2 Br ##STR8## 4-FCF.sub.3 Cl CO-n-C.sub.3 H.sub.7 4-FCF.sub.3 I CO-n-C.sub.5 H.sub.11 2-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 ##STR9## 4-ClCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCHF.sub.2 4-FCF.sub.3 C.sub.2 H.sub.5 COCH.sub.3 4-FCF.sub.3 C.sub.2 H.sub.5 COCF.sub.3 4-FCF.sub.3 C.sub.2 H.sub.5 COCHF.sub.2 4-FCl Br CO.sub.2 C.sub.2 H.sub.5 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCH.sub.2 -t-C.sub.4 H.sub.9 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 CO-n-C.sub.5 H.sub.11 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 Cl 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCH.sub.2 OCH.sub.3 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 ##STR10## 4-ClCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COC.sub.3 H.sub.7 4-ClCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 SO.sub.2 CF.sub.3 4-ClCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 CO.sub.2 -n-C.sub.6 H.sub.13 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 ##STR11## 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 SO.sub.2 CH.sub.3 4-ClCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 CO.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 OCH.sub.3 4-ClCF.sub.3 S CH.sub.3 ##STR12## 4-FCHF.sub.2 O CH.sub.3 ##STR13## 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 ##STR14## 4-FCl Br CO.sub.2 -n-C.sub.6 H.sub.13 4-FBr CH.sub.3 CO.sub.2 -i-C.sub.3 H.sub.7 4-ClCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 CO.sub.2 C.sub.4 H.sub.9 4-ClCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 ##STR15## 4-ClCF.sub.3 C.sub.2 H.sub.5 ##STR16## 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 ##STR17## 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 CO-n-C.sub.6 H.sub.13 4-FC.sub.2 F.sub.5 CH.sub.3 CO-n-C.sub.3 H.sub.7 4-FCF.sub.2 HCF.sub.2 O CH.sub.3 COC.sub.2 H.sub.5 4-FC.sub.2 F.sub.5 S CH.sub.3 COCH.sub.3 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 SO.sub.2 C.sub.3 H.sub.7 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 ##STR18## 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 ##STR19## 4-F______________________________________
It should be noted that the iminothiazoline compounds (I) include their stereo isomers having herbicidal activity.
The iminothiazoline compounds (II) can be obtained by reacting the aniline derivatives (IX) with the isothiocyanate (X) to give the thiourea (XI) which is then converted into the compound (II) (Scheme I).
This reaction is usually carried out in a solvent at a temperature of about 0° to 200° C. for a period of 1 to 30 hours. The compound (X) may be used at proportions of 1 to 5 equivalents to one equivalent of the compound (IX).
As the solvent, there may be exemplified aliphatic hydrocarbons (e.g., hexane, heptane, ligroin, petroleum ether), aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., benzene, toluene, xylene), halogenated hydrocarbons (e.g., chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, dichloroethane, chlorobenzene, dichlorobenzene), ethers (e.g., diethyl ether, diisopropyl ether, dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether), ketones (e.g., acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, isophorone, cyclohexanone), nitro compounds (e.g., nitroethane, nitrobenzene), tertiary amines (e.g., N,N-diethylaniline, tributylamine, N-methylmorpholine), acid amides (e.g., N,N-dimethylformamide) and sulfur compounds (e.g., dimethylsulfoxide, sulforan). These solvents may be used solely or in combination. As the catalyst which may be used for converting the compound (XI) into the compound (II), there may be exemplified acids (e.g., trifluoroacetic acid, sulfuric acid) and bases (e.g., sodium methylate).
After completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture may be subjected to ordinary post-treatment in the same manner as described in Procedure (A) to give the objective compound (II).
According to this method, the compound (I-1) can be directly obtained without isolation of the compound (II).
The compound (II) can also be produced by reacting the iminothiazolidine compound (III) with a base.
This reaction is usually carried out in a solvent at a temperature of about 0° to 200° C. for a period of 1 to 30 hours. The base may be used at proportions of 1 to 50 equivalents to one equivalent of the compound (III).
As the solvent, there may be exemplified aliphatic hydrocarbons (e.g., hexane, heptane, ligroin), aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., benzene, toluene, xylene), ethers (e.g., diethyl ether, diisopropyl ether, dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether), alcohols (e.g., methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, t-butanol, octanol, cyclohexanol, 2-methoxyethanol, diethylene glycol, glycerin), acid amides (e.g., formamide, N,N-dimethylformamide, acetamide) and sulfur compounds (e.g., dimethylsulfoxide, sulforan). These solvents may be used solely or in combination. Examples of the base may be inorganic bases (e.g., sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide) and alkali metal alkoxides (e.g., sodium methoxide, sodium ethoxide, sodium t-butoxide).
After completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture may be subjected to ordinary post-treatment in the same manner as described in Procedure (A) to give the objective compound (II).
According to this method, the compound (I-1) can also be directly obtained without isolation of the compound (II).
The compound (VIII) can be obtained by reacting the iminothiazoline compound (I-3) wherein R 10 is bromine with a reducing agent such as tributyltin hydride.
This reaction is usually carried out in a solvent at a temperature of about 0° to 200° C. for a period of 1 to 30 hours. The reducing agent may be used at proportions of 1 to 100 equivalents to one equivalent of the compound (I-3) wherein R 10 is bromine.
There may be used as the solvent aliphatic hydrocarbons (e.g., hexane, heptane, ligroin, petroleum ether), aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., benzene, toluene, xylene), ethers (e.g., diethyl ether, diisopropyl ether, dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether), ketones (e.g., acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, isophorone, cyclohexanone), esters (e.g., ethyl formate, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, diethyl carbonate), nitro compounds (e.g., nitroethane, nitrobenzene), nitriles (e.g., acetonitrile, isobutyronitrile), acid amides (e.g., N,N-dimethylformamide) and sulfur compounds (e.g., dimethylsulfoxide, sulforan). These solvents may be used solely or in combination.
After completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture may be subjected to ordinary post-treatment in the same manner as described in Procedure (A).
The iminothiazolidine compound (III) may be produced by the method as described in J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1079(1984). That is, the compound (III) can be obtained by reacting the aniline compound (XVI) with the isothiocyanate compound (X) to give the thiourea compound (XVII) which is then treated with a halogenating agent.
The iminothiazolidine compound (VII) may be obtained by reacting the thiourea (XXVI) with the halide (XXVII) to give the iminothiazoline (XXVIII) which is then treated with the compound (V), (XIV) or (VI) under the same condition as described in Procedure (B).
The iminothiazolidine compound (VII) can also be produced by treating the thiourea (XXX) with the halide (XXVII).
The compound (IV) can be obtained by hydrolyzing the compound (I-4) with an acid.
This reaction is usually carried out in a solvent at a temperature of about 30° to 200° C. for a period of 1 to 100 hours. The acid may be used at proportions of 1 to 1000 equivalents to one equivalent of the compound (I-4).
Examples of the solvent are aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., benzene, toluene, xylene), ethers (e.g., diethyl ether, diisopropyl ether, dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether), fatty acids (e.g., formic acid, acetic acid, oleic acid), alcohols (e.g., methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, t-butanol, octanol, cyclohexanol, 2-methoxyethanol, diethylene glycol, glycerin) and water. These solvents may be used solely or in combination. Examples of the acid are sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid which is preferred.
After completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture may be subjected to ordinary post-treatment in the same manner as described in Procedure (A) to give the compound (IV).
Alternatively, after completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture may be concentrated under reduced pressure to give the base of the compound (IV). Although the compound (IV) is obtained by neutralization of the base, it is possible to use the base as such in Procedure (B) without converting into the compound (IV).
Typical examples of the compound (IV) obtained by the above procedure are shown in Table 2.
TABLE 2______________________________________ ##STR20## (IV)R.sup.1 R.sup.6 R.sup.4______________________________________CF.sub.3 H 4-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 4-FCF.sub.3 H 5-FCF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 5-FCF.sub.3 H 4-ClCF.sub.3 H 2-FF H 6-FCl H 5-FBr CH.sub.3 4-FOCF.sub.3 H 4-F______________________________________
For the practical usage of the iminothiazoline compounds (I), they are usually formulated with conventional solid or liquid carriers or diluents as well as surface active agents, or other auxiliary agents into conventional formulations such as emulsifiable concentrates, wettable powders, flowables, granules and water-dispersible granules.
These formulations contain the iminothiazoline compounds (I) as an active ingredient at a content within the range of about 0.02% to 90% by weight, preferably of about 0.05% to 80% by weight.
Examples of the solid carrier or diluent are fine powders or granules of kaolin clay, attapulgite clay, bentonite, terra alba, pyrophyllite, talc, diatomaceous earth, calcite, walnut shell powders, urea, ammonium sulfate and synthetic hydrous silica. As the liquid carrier or diluent, there may be exemplified aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., xylene, methylnaphthalene), alcohols (e.g., isopropanol, ethylene glycol, 2-ethoxyethanol), ketones (e.g., acetone, cyclohexanone, isophorone), vegetable oils (e.g., soybean oil, cotton seed oil), dimethylsulfoxide, N,N-dimethylformamide, acetonitrile and water.
The surface active agent used for emulsification, dispersing or spreading may be of any type, for instance, either anionic or non-ionic. Examples of the surface active agent include alkylsulfates, alkylsulfonates, alkylarylsulfonates, dialkylsulfosuccinates, phosphates of polyoxyethylenealkylaryl ethers, polyoxyethylene alkyl ethers, polyoxyethylene alkylaryl ethers, polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene block copolymer, sorbitan fatty acid esters and polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters. Examples of the auxiliary agent include ligninsulfonates, alginates, polyvinyl alcohol, gum arabic, CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose) and PAP (isopropyl acid phosphate).
The iminothiazoline compounds (I) are usually formulated in any suitable formulation and used for pre-emergence or post-emergence control of undesired weeds by soil treatment, foliar treatment or flood fallowing treatment. These treatments include application to the soil surface prior to or after planting, incorporation into the soil prior to planting or transplanting, and the like. The foliar treatment may be effected by spraying a herbicidal composition containing the iminothiazoline compounds (I) over the top of plants. It may also be applied directly to the weeds if care must be taken to keep the chemical off the crop foliage.
The dosage of the iminothiazoline compounds (I) may vary depending on the prevailing weather conditions, formulation used, prevailing season, mode of application, soil involved, crop and weed species, and the like. Usually, however, the dosage is from about 10 to 5000 grams, preferably from about 20 to 2000 grams, of the active ingredient per hectare. The herbicidal composition thus formulated in the form of an emulsifiable concentrate, wettable powder or flowable may usually be employed by diluting it with water at a volume of about 100 to 1000 liters per hectare, if necessary, with addition of an auxiliary agent such as a spreading agent. The herbicidal composition formulated in the form of granules may usually be applied as such without dilution.
Examples of the spreading agent include, in addition to the surface active agents as described above, polyoxyethylene resin acid (ester), ligninsulfonate, abietylenic acid salt, dinaphthylmethanedisulfonate and paraffin.
The iminothiazoline compounds (I) are useful as a herbicide to be employed for paddy filed, crop field, orchards, pasture land, lawns, forests and non-agricultural fields. Further, the iminothiazoline compounds (I) may also be used together with any other herbicide to improve their herbicidal activity, and in some cases, synergistic effects can be expected. Furthermore, these compounds may be applied in combination with insecticides, acaricides, nematocides, fungicides, plant growth regulators, fertilizers, soil improvers and the like.
The present invention will be explained in more detail by way of Preparation Examples, Reference Examples, Formulation Examples and Test Examples, to which however the invention is not limited in any way.
Practical and presently preferred embodiments for production of the iminothiazoline compounds (I) are illustrated in the following examples.
Preparation Example 1
Procedure (A)
A mixture of acetyl chloride (2.75 g) and acetonitrile (70 ml) was cooled at 0° C., and potassium thiocyanate (3.57 g) was added to this mixture, followed by stirring at room temperature for 6 hours. After cooling at 0° C., 3-trifluoromethyl-4-fluoro-N-propalgylaniline (7.6 g) was added to the reaction mixture and stirring was continued at room temperature for 3 hours.
After removal of the solvent under reduced pressure, the concentrated residue was extracted with ethyl acetate (300 ml), and the extract was washed with water. After removal of the solvent, crystallines (8.5 g) were obtained. These crystallines were slowly added to sulfuric acid (25 ml) at 0° C., and stirring was continued at 0° C. for 0.5 hours, then at room temperature for 1 hour. The reaction solution was poured into ice water, and the mixture was neutralized with aqueous sodium hydroxide to give 8 g of 2-acetylimino-3-(3-trifluoromethyl-4-fluorophenyl)-5-methylthiazoline (Compound No. 1). m.p., 179.0° C.
Preparation Example 2
Procedure (B)
To a mixture of 2-imino-3-(3-trifluoromethyl-4-fluorophenyl)-5-methylthiazoline hydrochloride (0.62 g) and triethylamine (0.61 g) in ethyl acetate (20 ml), trifluoroacetic acid anhydride (0.42 g) was added at 0° C. After stirring at room temperature for 3 hours, the residue was extracted with ethyl acetate (100 ml), and the extract was washed with water. The solvent was removed under reduced pressure to give crystallines. These crystallines were washed with hexane to give 0.45 g of 2-trifluoroacetylimino-3-(3-trifluoromethyl-4-fluorophenyl)-5-methylthiazoline (Compound No.2). m.p., 119.4° C.
In the same manner as above, the iminothiazoline compounds (I) as shown in Table 3 were obtained.
TABLE 3______________________________________ ##STR21## (I)Compound m.p.No. R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 R.sup.4 (°C.)______________________________________ 1 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCH.sub.3 4-F 179.0 2 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCF.sub.3 4-F 119.4 3 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 CO-i-C.sub.3 H.sub.7 4-F 133.2 4 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 CO.sub.2 -i-C.sub.3 H.sub.7 4-F 130.8 5 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCF.sub.3 6-F 144.7 6 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 CO.sub.2 -i-C.sub.3 H.sub.7 6-F 158.5 7 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCH.sub.3 4-Cl 187.9 8 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCF.sub.3 4-Cl 134.2 9 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 ##STR22## 4-Cl 166.210 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCHF.sub.2 4-F 139.911 CF.sub.3 C.sub.2 H.sub.5 COCH.sub.3 4-F 131.412 CF.sub.3 C.sub.2 H.sub.5 COCF.sub.3 4-F 84.613 CF.sub.3 C.sub.2 H.sub.5 COCHF.sub.2 4-F 117.014 Cl Br CO.sub.2 C.sub.2 H.sub.5 4-F 224.115 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCH.sub.2 -t-C.sub.4 H.sub.9 4-F 129.316 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 CO-n-C.sub.5 H.sub.11 4-F 46.317 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 Cl 4-F 35.018 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COCH.sub.2 OCH.sub.3 4-F 121.519 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 ##STR23## 4-Cl 103.020 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 COC.sub.3 F.sub.7 4-Cl 87.721 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 SO.sub.2 CF.sub.3 4-Cl 150.022 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 CO.sub.2 -n-C.sub.6 H.sub.13 4-F oil23 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 ##STR24## 4-F 134.424 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 SO.sub.2 CH.sub.3 4-Cl 144.225 CF.sub.3 CH.sub.3 CO.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 OCH.sub.3 4-Cl 112.1______________________________________
The compounds (1) and (7) were produced according to the method of Preparation Example 1, whereas the method of Preparation Example 2 was used for production of the other compounds.
Preparation Example 3
(i) A mixture of 2-acetylimino-3-(3-trifluoromethyl-4-fluorophenyl)-5-methylthiazoline (3.5 g) and hydrochloric acid (36%, 3.5 ml) in ethanol-water (35 ml) was refluxed for 3 hours. After cooling, the solvent was removed under reduced pressure, and the residue was isolated and washed with a little amount of iso-propanol and hexane to give 2.8 g of 3-(3-trifluoromethyl-4-fluorophenyl)-5-methyl-2-iminothiazoline hydrochloride (compound (i)).
(ii) To a mixture of ethyl acetate (50 ml) and aqueous potassium carbonate (20 ml), 3-(3-trifluoromethyl-4-fluorophenyl)-5-methyl-2-iminothiazoline hydrochloride (1 g) was added; and the mixture was stirred. The organic layer was isolated and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. The solvent was removed under reduced pressure to give 0.7 g of 3-(3-trifluoromethyl-4-fluorophenyl)-5-methyl-2-iminothiazoline as an oil.
In the same manner as above, the iminothiazoline compounds (IV) as shown in Table 4 were obtained.
TABLE 4______________________________________CompoundNo. R.sup.1 R.sup.4 R.sup.6 .sup.1 H-NMR/d.sup.6 -DMSO______________________________________i CF.sub.3 4-F H 10.1 (bs, 2H) 8.3-7.5 (m, 3H) 7.3 (s, 1H) 2.3 (s, 3H)ii CF.sub.3 4-Cl H 10.1 (bs, 2H) 8.2-7.7 (m, 3H) 7.3 (s, 1H) 2.3 (s, 3H)______________________________________
The following illustrates practical embodiments of the herbicidal composition according to the present invention wherein parts are by weight. The compound number of the active ingredient corresponds to that of Table 3.
Formulation Example 1
Fifty parts of any one of Compound Nos. 1 to 21 and 23 to 25, 3 parts of calcium ligninsulfonate, 2 parts of sodium laurylsulfate and 45 parts of synthetic hydrous silica are well mixed while being powdered to obtain wettable powder.
Formulation Example 2
Five parts of any one of Compound Nos. 1 to 25, parts of "Toxanone P8L®" (commercially available surface active agent; Sanyo Kasei K. K.) and 80 parts of cyclohexanone are well mixed to obtain emulsifiable concentrate.
Formulation Example 3
Two parts of any one of Compound Nos. 1 to 21 and 23 to 25, 1 part of synthetic hydrous silica, 2 parts of calcium ligninsulfonate, 30 parts of bentonite and 65 parts of kaolin clay are well mixed while being powdered. The mixture is then kneaded with water, granulated and dried to obtain granules.
Formulation Example 4
Twenty-five parts of any one of Compound Nos. 1 to 21 and 23 to 25 are mixed with 3 parts of polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate, 3 parts of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and 69 parts of water and pulverized until the particle size of the mixture becomes less than 5 microns to obtain a suspension.
The biological data of the iminothiazoline compound (I) as the herbicide will be illustrated in the following Test Examples wherein the phytotoxicity to crop plants and the herbicidal activity on weeds were determined by visual observation as to the degree of germination as well as the growth inhibition and rated with an index 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10, the numeral "0" indicating no material difference as seen in comparison with the untreated plants and the numeral "10" indicating the complete inhibition or death of the test plants. The compound number in the biological data corresponds to that shown in Table 3.
The compounds as shown in Table 5 were used for comparison.
TABLE 5______________________________________Com-poundNo. Structure Remarks______________________________________ ##STR25## Benthiocarb (commercially available herbicide )B ##STR26## EP-A-0349282C ##STR27## EP-A-0349282______________________________________
Test Example 1
Cylindrical plastic pots (diameter, 10 cm; height, cm) were filled with upland field soil, and the seeds of japanese millet, tall morningglory and velvetleaf were sowed therein and covered with soil. A designated amount of the test compound formulated in an emulsifiable concentrate as in Formulation Example 2 was diluted with water, and the dilution was sprayed onto the soil surface by means of a small hand sprayer at a spray volume of 1000 liters per hectare. The test plants were grown in a greenhouse for days, and the herbicidal activity was examined. The results are shown in Table 6.
TABLE 6______________________________________ Herbicidal activity TallCompound Dosage Japanese morning- Velvet-No. (g/ha) millet glory leaf-______________________________________ 1 2000 10 10 7 500 10 10 7 2 2000 10 10 10 500 10 10 10 3 2000 10 10 10 500 10 10 10 4 2000 10 10 10 500 10 10 10 5 2000 7 7 7 7 2000 9 10 7 8 500 9 10 10 9 500 7 8 710 500 10 10 1011 500 10 10 1012 500 10 10 1013 500 10 10 1015 2000 9 9 8 500 9 8 816 2000 9 10 --18 2000 10 10 1023 500 9 9 825 2000 9 10 7A 2000 7 0 0 500 0 0 0B 2000 0 0 0C 2000 0 0 0______________________________________
Test Example 2
Cylindrical plastic pots (diameter, 10 cm; height, cm) were filled with upland field soil, and the seeds of japanese millet, morningglory, radish and velvetleaf were sowed therein and cultivated in a greenhouse for 10 days. A designated amount of the test compound formulated in an emulsifiable concentrate as in Formulation Example 2 was diluted with water containing a spreading agent, and the dilution was sprayed over the foliage of the test plant by means of a small hand sprayer at a spray volume of 1000 liters per hectare. The test plants were further grown in the greenhouse for 20 days, and the herbicidal activity was examined. The results are shown in Table 7.
TABLE 7______________________________________ Herbicidal activityCompound Dosage Japanese Morning- Velvet-No. (g/ha) millet glory Radish leaf-______________________________________ 1 2000 9 10 10 9 500 9 10 10 8 2 2000 9 10 10 10 500 9 10 10 10 125 9 10 10 10 3 2000 9 10 10 9 500 9 10 10 9 125 8 10 9 9 4 2000 9 10 10 10 500 9 10 10 10 125 9 10 10 10 7 2000 9 9 10 7 500 9 9 10 7 8 500 9 9 10 9 125 9 9 10 9 9 500 9 10 10 910 500 9 10 10 10 125 9 10 10 1011 500 9 10 10 912 500 10 10 10 10 125 10 10 10 1013 500 10 10 10 10 125 9 10 10 1014 2000 -- 9 10 --15 2000 10 9 10 9 500 10 10 10 916 2000 10 9 10 8 500 9 10 10 717 2000 10 9 10 718 2000 10 10 10 819 2000 10 10 10 720 2000 9 10 9 721 2000 -- 10 -- --22 2000 10 10 10 10 500 7 10 9 1023 500 10 10 10 8 125 9 10 10 825 2000 9 10 10 10 500 7 10 10 7A 2000 9 2 1 0 500 3 1 0 0B 2000 1 3 0 0 500 0 1 0 0C 2000 0 2 1 0 500 0 1 0 0______________________________________
Test Example 3
Cylindrical plastic pots (diameter, 8 cm; height, cm) were filled with paddy filed soil, and the seeds of barnyardgrass (Echinochloa oryzicola) and hardstem bulrush (Scirpus juncoides) were sowed in 1 to 2 cm depth. Water was poured therein to make a flooded condition, and rice Seedlings of 2-leaf stage were transplanted therein, and the test plants were grown in a greenhouse. Six days (at that time seeds began to germinate) thereafter, a designated amount of the test compound formulated in an emulsifiable concentrate as in Formulation Example 2 and diluted with water (2.5 ml) was applied to the pots by perfusion. The test plants were grown for an additional 19 days in the greenhouse, and the herbicidal activity and phytotoxicity were examined. The results are shown in Table 8.
TABLE 8______________________________________ Herbicidal activityCompound Dosage Phytotoxicity Barnyard- HardstemNo. (g/ha) Rice plant grass bulrush______________________________________1 63 1 9 94 63 1 10 89 63 0 7 714 250 0 8 718 16 1 9 9A 250 0 7 3 63 0 2 0B 250 0 0 0C 250 0 0 0______________________________________
Test Example 4
Vats (33 cm×23 cm×11 cm) were filled with upland field soil, and the seeds of cotton, tall morningglory, black nightshade, giant foxtail, barnyardgrass and johnsongrass were sowed therein 1 to 2 cm depth. A designated amount of the test compound formulated in an emulsifiable concentrate as in Formulation Example 2 was diluted with water, and the dilution was sprayed onto the soil surface by means of a small hand sprayer at a spray volume of 1000 liters per hectare. The test plants were grown in a greenhourse for 20 days, and the herbicidal activity and phytotoxicity were examined. The results are shown in Table 9.
TABLE 9______________________________________ Herbicidal activity Dos- TallCom- age Phyto- morn- Black Barn- John-pound (g/ toxicity ing- night- Giant yard- son-No. ha) Cotton glory shade foxtail grass grass______________________________________ 1 500 0 10 10 10 10 10 2 500 0 10 10 10 10 8 3 500 0 10 9 10 10 8 7 500 0 10 -- 10 9 8 8 500 0 10 10 10 9 8 9 500 0 8 7 10 7 710 500 0 10 9 10 10 1011 500 0 10 -- 10 10 1015 250 0 7 7 9 7 816 500 0 7 8 10 8 1018 250 0 7 7 10 7 925 500 0 7 10 9 7 --A 500 0 0 0 6 6 0B 500 0 0 0 0 0 0C 500 0 0 0 0 0 0______________________________________
Test Example 5
Wagner's pots (1/5000 are) were filled with paddy field soil, and the seeds of barnyardgrass (Echinochloa oryzicola) and broad-leaved weeds (i.e., common falsepimpernel, indian toothcup, waterwort, Ammannia multiflora) were sowed in 1 to 2 cm depth. Water was poured therein to make a flooded condition, and rice seedling of 3-leaf stage were transplanted therein, and the teast plants were grown in a greenhouse. Five days (at that time barnyardgrass began to germinate) thereafter, a designated amount of the test compound formulated in an emulsifiable concentrate as in Formulation Example 2 and diluted with water (10 ml) was applied to the pots by perfusion. The test plants were grown for an additional 19 days in the greenhouse, and the herbicidal activity and phytotoxicity were examined. The results are shown in Table 10. At the time of the treatment, the depth of water in the pots was kept at 4 cm and following two days, water was let leak a volume corresponding to a 3 cm depth per day.
TABLE 10______________________________________ Herbicidal activity Broad-Compound Dosage Phytotoxicity Barnyard- leavedNo. (g/ha) Rice plant grass weeds______________________________________ 2 63 1 9 9 7 63 0 9 10 8 16 0 9 10 9 63 0 9 10 16 0 8 811 16 0 10 --12 16 0 7 913 16 1 7 1014 250 0 8 --15 63 1 10 1016 63 1 8 9 16 0 8 719 250 1 10 10 63 0 8 720 250 1 8 1022 63 0 9 --23 16 1 9 --25 250 1 10 10 63 0 9 8A 250 0 7 0 63 0 0 0B 250 0 0 0C 250 0 0 0______________________________________
Test Example 6
Vats (33 cm×23 cm×11 cm) were filled with upland field soil, and the seeds of persian speedwell and wheat were sowed therein 1 to 2 cm depth. A designated amount of the test compound formulated in an emulsifiable concentrate as in Formulation Example 2 was diluted with water, and the dilution was sprayed onto the soil surface by means of an automatic sprayer at a spray volume of 1000 liters per hectare. The test plants were grown in a greenhourse for 25 days, and the herbicidal activity and phytotoxicity were examined. The results are shown in Table 11.
TABLE 11______________________________________Compound Dosage Phytotoxicity Herbicidal activityNo. (g/ha) Wheat Persian speedwell______________________________________1 32 0 102 32 0 104 32 0 97 32 0 78 32 0 109 125 0 1015 250 1 1016 250 0 10B 250 0 0C 250 0 0______________________________________ | There is disclosed an iminothiazoline compound of the formula: ##STR1## wherein R 1 is halogen, halo(lower)alkyl, halo(lower)alkoxy or halo(lower)alkylthio; R 2 is lower alkyl, chlorine, bromine or iodine; R 3 is (lower alkyl)carbonyl, (lower cycloalkyl)carbonyl, (lower cycloalkoxy)carbonyl, (lower alkoxy)carbonyl or (lower alkyl)sulfonyl, all of which are optionally substituted with at least one substituent selected from halogen, lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, lower cycloalkyl and lower cycloalkoxy; and R 4 is halogen. Also disclosed are a process for producing this compound, a herbicidal composition comprising this compound as an active ingredient, and a method for controlling undesired weeds by use of this compound as a herbicide. | 2 |
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] This invention relates to cables, in particular, to cables for electrical submersible pumps that are manufactured with electrically conductive layers formed coaxially around one or more of the primary conductor insulators to produce one or more capacitors integral to the cable.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Electrical submersible pump cables typically consist of a plurality of conductors wrapped with armor. Such cables have been used to transmit signals to equipment downhole. In some applications, armor around the cable has been used as a return path for a signal conductor. However, this method is not effective for use with very high frequency signals because the armor offers a high skin resistance as a return path. As a solution, an armored cable described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,916,685 has been implemented. However, the '685 cable is not readily adaptable to tools designed for multiconductor cables. U.S. Pat. No. 4,028,660 teaches an armored multiconductor coaxial well logging cable for both high frequency signal and low frequency signal transmission in which a plurality of conductors form a shield for an inner conductor. The plurality of conductors are capacitively coupled so that each conductor group may carry a different low frequency signal or direct current voltage. The '660 cable utilizes a coaxial conductor group, wherein each of the conductors within the group are separated from each other by an insulating material. A plurality of capacitors are connected between conductors within a coaxial conductor group. The multi-layer concentric conductors of the '660 patent travel the full length of the cable on high voltage conductors. A signal is transmitted down an inner conductor and power is transmitted down an outer conductor.
[0003] Power cables for electrical submersible pumps have been used having an insulated conductor lead shield and wrapped with armor. Lead shields are not electrically insulated from armor or each other. The purpose of the lead shield is is to exclude hydrogen sulfide gas from contact with insulation of conductors.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The invention includes a specially modified electrical submersible pump cable or specially modified motor lead extension on the cable. The specially modified cable or section has a primary conductor and an insulator that surrounds the primary conductor. A coaxial conductive layer surrounds the insulator. The insulator serves as a dielectric between the primary conductor and the coaxial conductive layer. An outer insulating sleeve is provided on an outer surface of the coaxial conductive layer. An inner cable armor surrounds the insulating sleeve. The outer insulating sleeve provides electrical isolation between adjacent wires. An outer cable armor surrounds the inner cable armor.
[0005] The apparatus of the invention enables the coupling of data information onto or off of the primary conductor. Additionally, the invention enables coupling of data information onto or off of the coaxial conductive layer that surrounds the primary conductor. In a preferred embodiment, a motor lead extension is used to provide the capacitance necessary to couple the signal. The motor lead extension is typically 25-35 feet in length, although sufficient capacitance may be obtained in as little as twenty feet of the motor lead extension. The motor lead extension preferably has three conductors of copper surrounded by an insulation. The insulation is preferably Teflon™ for preventing shorting out between the conductors. Wires are inserted into the lead and into downhole instrumentation to transmit high frequency signals to the surface. A current modulator is used downhole to modulate the signal and to send data to the surface. Equipment at the surface monitors high and low frequencies to extract information from the signal. The signal may be routed up two or three phases of the cable. The information can be provided as a differential between two or three phases.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] [0006]FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the ESP receiving power from a cable having integral capacitors.
[0007] [0007]FIG. 2 is a cut-away view of the cable of the invention.
[0008] [0008]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a typical round cable.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Referring now to FIG. 1, shown is an electrical schematic of an electrical submersible pump motor (ESP) designated generally 10 in a well 12 . The electrical submersible pump motor 10 receives power from a pump cable 13 having a motor lead extension 18 on a lower end thereof. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a typical round pump cable 13 . Pump cable 13 has three conductors 14 surrounded by insulation 15 . Conductors 14 and insulation 15 ,is surrounded by jacket 16 , which is surrounded by armor 17 .
[0010] Typically, a motor lead extension 18 is 25-35 feet long. Motor lead extension 18 is spliced onto cable 13 and is typically constructed of high quality materials to withstand heat from motor 10 . It is preferable to specially construct motor lead extension 18 to act as a capacitor rather than to specially construct the entire cable 13 so that a regular cable may be used, thereby reducing cost. Motor lead extension 18 extends upwards from ESP motor 10 and splices into cable 13 . Cable 13 extends upwards to the surface 19 , which may be thousands of feet from motor 10 . Normally cable 13 will be several thousand feet long.
[0011] At surface 19 , cable 13 is connected to a three-phase power source 20 and a high frequency carrier source. A differential data detector or surface instrumentation 22 on the surface communicates with cable 13 . Preferably, filters 23 , shown as a capacitor and inductor, are used to filter out all except high frequency signals generated by surface instrumentation 22 . A high frequency carrier receiver and differential modulator or downhole instrumentation 24 is located near motor 10 and is connected via wires 26 to the motor lead extension 18 . Downhole instrumentation 24 is in communication with the wires 26 for modulating a signal and for sending data to the surface 19 . Additionally, sensor 28 may be provided to deliver information to downhole instrumentation 24 . For example, sensor 28 may sense pressure and/or temperature in well 12 . Preferably, filters 29 are used to filter out all except high frequency signals generated by surface instrumentation 22 . Surface instrumentation 22 monitors high and low frequencies to process the data. Information can be transmitted by creating a differential in the current flowing between phases of pump cable 13 .
[0012] Referring now to FIG. 2, a cut away view of a motor lead extension 18 is shown. Three primary conductors 30 , 32 and 34 are made of a conductive material, such as copper. Typically, #4 copper is used, which has a resistance of 0.2485 ohms per 1000′ at 20° C. The primary conductors 30 , 32 and 34 are preferably coated with insulating material 36 , 38 and 40 , which is preferably formed of an elastomeric material, such as extruded EPDM, to prevent shorting out between the conductors 36 , 38 and 40 . A typical thickness of the insulating material 36 , 38 and 40 is 45 mil for a cable rated at 4 KV and 55 mil for cable rated at 5 KV. A coaxial conductive layer 46 , 48 or 50 surrounds insulators 36 , or 40 . One or more of primary conductors 30 , 32 and 34 may be surrounded by a coaxial conductive layer 46 , 48 or 50 . However, it is preferred to use at least coaxial conductive layers 46 , 48 and/or 50 . Coaxial conductive layers 46 , 48 and are preferably formed of lead and are surrounded by insulators 52 , 54 and 56 , which are made of high temperature thermoplastic or thermoset electrical insulation, such as an extruded Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) layer, sold under the name Teflon. The extruded FEP layer is preferably 20 mils in thickness. Coaxial conductive layer 46 , 48 and 50 have a resistance of approximately 3 ohms per 1000′ at 20° C. Insulators 52 , 54 and 56 prevent electrical contact of conductive layers 46 , 48 and 50 with each other. Insulating layers 36 , 38 , and 40 serve as a dielectric between primary conductors 30 , 32 , and 34 and coaxial conductive layer 46 , 48 and 50 . Coaxial conductive layers 46 , 48 and 50 act as a capacitor plate.
[0013] It is preferred to provide just the motor lead extension 18 with coaxial conductive layers 46 , 48 and/or 50 and insulators 52 , 54 and 56 , rather than the entire cable 13 . By providing only motor lead extension 18 with the extra co-axial conductive layers 46 , 48 and/or 50 , regular ESP cable 13 may be used, thereby reducing cost. Regular ESP cable 13 does not have coaxial combination layers. However, special ESP cable 13 may be used to facilitate capacitance if desired. Preferably, motor lead extension 18 is provided with inner cable armor 58 , 60 and that surrounds insulators 52 , 54 and 56 . Inner cable armor 58 , 60 and 62 is preferably constructed of a non-conductive braid such as Nylon, Polyvinylidene Flouride sold under the name Kynar, or Polyphenylene Sulfide sold under the name Ryton, which offers fairly high resistance to electricity. An outer cable armor 64 surrounds inner cable armor 58 , 60 and 62 to bundle the individual conductors 30 , and 34 together and to protect the bundle. Outer jacket or outer cable armor 64 is preferably a helical wrap of bands of steel. However, other materials may be used for outer jacket 64 , including an extruded material such as a high density polyethylene.
[0014] In practice, three-phase power is supplied to ESP 10 by power source 20 , typically at a frequency of 50/60 Hz. Data from sensor 28 of downhole instrumentation 24 is coupled onto motor lead extension 18 . By using the downhole instrumentation 24 , the use of large and expensive downhole high voltage capacitors can be avoided. It has been found that capacitance can be obtained in specially modified cable of lengths as short as 12 to 20 feet, therefore, coaxial conductive layers 46 , 48 and/or 50 may be provided on just the motor lead extension 18 . The electrical submersible pump cable 13 may be used to transmit data information from surface instrumentation 22 to an electrical submersible pump motor 10 by coupling with a capacitor at the surface high frequency data information onto and off of coaxial conductive layers 46 , 48 and 50 , which surround primary conductors 30 , 32 and 34 . The preferred frequency range of the data information is 2 KHz to 200 KHz. Filters 23 pass only high frequency signals to the cable 13 . High frequency carrier receiver or downhole instrumentation 28 extracts the signal from the motor lead extension 18 via wires 26 . The signal is filtered again by filters 29 before reaching downhole instrumentation 24 . Information may be passed up motor lead extension 18 and cable 13 by modulating current on selected phases of the cable 13 . Surface instrumentation 22 detects differential data from the current modulations.
[0015] The invention has several advantages. The advantages include the ability to couple high frequency data information onto or off of the ESP power cable, rather than providing capacitors downhole, which are large and can be difficult and expensive to deploy.
[0016] While the invention has been shown in only one of its forms, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible to various changes without departing from the scope of the invention. | An electrical submersible pump cable having an integral capacitor. The electrical submersible pump cable has a primary conductor with an insulator surrounding the primary conductor. A coaxial conductive layer surrounds the insulator, wherein the insulator serves as a dielectric between the primary conductor and the coaxial conductive layer. An outer insulating sleeve is provided on an outer surface of the coaxial conductive layer. An inner cable armor surrounds the insulating sleeve, wherein the outer insulating sleeve provides electrical isolation between adjacent wires. An outer cable armor surrounds the inner cable armor. The coaxial conductive layer and primary conductor enables the coupling of data information onto or off of the cable. | 7 |
This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 490,070, "Producing Foamed Fibers", to Li et al., filed Apr. 29, 1983, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,022, commonly assigned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to processes for forming "self-crimped" foamed fibers, and especially to such processes comprising the steps of forming foamed fiber(s) having a plurality of randomly arranged closed and/or open cells distributed asymetrically over a given cross section of the fiber(s), and heating the fiber(s), while preferably maintaining the fiber(s) under a no load condition, to produce crimped, foamed fiber(s). The invention is also directed to novel foamed fiber which is self-crimping, crimped fiber produced by the process, and products employing the novel fiber.
Foamed thermoplastic (and especially polyamide) fibers have been produced, especially for the purpose of being broken (fibrillated) into 3-dimensional structures of interrelated fiber elements. See, for example, U.K. Patent Specification Nos. 1,316,465 (Changani), 1,221,488, 1,296,710, and 1,318,964.
Foamed polyester and polyamide fibers for textile applications are disclosed in DOS No. 2,148,588 (Apr. 5, 1973) (See Example 7). See also Chem. Abstract 90:24692m (1979) of Japanese Kokai No. 78,106,770.
Hollow fibers, also known in the art, contain elongated voids extending long distances or the entire length of the fiber in the longitudial direction. These fibers contain large void volumes and find use in thermal insulation. The elongated voids are generally produced by the use of a modified spinning die.
Crimped fibers are produced by feeding fibers into stuffer tubes and subjecting them to heat and pressure. More specifically, such processes include the step of feeding fibers into a heated tube at a rate higher than the take-up rate of the fibers from the tube to form a "plug" in the tube, the plug being mechanically deformed fibers which constitute the crimped fiber products. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,406,436 and 3,078,542.
Other mechanical deformation processes for forming crimped fibers are also known. U.S. Pat. No. 3,345,718 discloses a process of mechanically deforming fibers by pressing them between pressure rollers. U.S. Pat. No. 3,619,874 and patents cited therein disclose the use of a blade to plastically deform the fiber to produce crimped products. U.S. Pat. No. 3,009,309 discloses a process wherein fibers are heated, fluid jet twisted, quenched and subsequently back twisted to produce crimped fibers. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,156,028, heated fibers are jet propelled onto a textured surface to mechanically deform the fibers to match the working surface contour.
Multicomponent fibers have been used to produce crimped fibers without the need for mechanical deformation. These fibers comprise components having a different thermal shrinkage properties such that when the fiber is subjected to heat, it will crimp due to the different shrinkage characteristic of each component. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,425,107.
We have discovered novel self-crimping foamed fibers which require no mechanical deformation in order to crimp. To that end, we have discovered a novel process for crimping the foamed fibers which uses only heat to enhance the production of and set the crimps in the foamed product. The crimped, foamed fibers produced by our process can be used, for example, in apparel and carpet, and as thermal insulation, filter material and acoustic insulation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a method of forming crimped foamed fibers comprising the steps of:
(a) forming a foamed fiber of an effective cross sectional area having a plurality of randomly arranged cells distributed asymetrically over an effective cross section of the foamed fiber taken substantially normal to the longitudial axis of the foamed fiber the minimum cross-sectional area occupied by the cells is at least about 0.1A, where A is the effective cross-sectional area of the foamed fiber; and
(b) heating the foamed fiber under conditions sufficient to produce a crimped foamed fiber having at least one crimp per inch, the cross sectional area of the crimped foamed fiber being no more than about 10% greater than the effective cross sectional area of the foamed fiber prior to the heating step.
The present invention is also drawn to foamed fibers having a plurality of randomly arranged cells distributed asymetrically over a given cross sectional area of the fiber, the given cross section being taken substantially normal to the longitudial axis of the foamed fiber. The cells occupy at least about 10% of the cross sectional area of the foamed fiber. The cell size is between about 0.1μ and about 50μ in effective diameter. The most preferred self-crimping foamed fibers have a trilobal cross section.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an apparatus employed in forming the novel foamed fibers.
FIGS. 2 to 5 are photomicrographs of cross sections of different foamed fibers produced in accordance with the present invention.
FIGS. 6 to 9 are photographs of the crimped fibers produced by heating the fibers shown in FIGS. 2-5 under a no load condition.
FIGS. 10a and 10b illustrate the effects of heating PET self-crimping foamed fibers at different temperatures.
FIGS. 11a and 11d also illustrate the effects of heating nylon self-crimping foamed fibers at different temperatures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The process of the present invention involves the initial step of extruding a polymer melt containing, or having dissolved or dispersed therein, a blowing agent which is a decomposable compound or a dissolved gas. The polymer may be any of a variety of conventional thermoplastics used in fiber production: polyesters such as polyethylene terephalate; polyamides such as nylon 6, nylon 6/6, nylon 4/6 and nylon 6/12; polyolefins; poly (vinyl chloride); polystyrenes; and blends thereof.
The preferred thermoplastics for use in the present invention are polyamides, especially nylon 6 and nylon 6/6. The polymers should be of fiber-forming molecular weight, a term well understood in the art. In the case of nylon 6 and nylon 6/6, a generally acceptable number average molecular weight is at least about 10,000.
The blowing agent may be a compound dissolved or dispersed in the molten polymer which, before reaching the spinning temperature, decomposes to form gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, carbon monoxide or mixtures thereof. Materials which totally decompose to produce gaseous products such as nitrogen, ammonia, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and water vapor, or combination of these are preferred. For example, azodicarbonamide decomposes to form nitrogen, carbon dioxide and ammonium in a 6:3:1 molar ratio. Azodicarbonamide, ethylene carbonate and oxalic acid are among the preferred materials, with oxalic acid, a blowing agent sold under
the name FICEL®, (an azodicarbonamide) and Expandex 5PT (a 5-phenyletrazole, releasing N 2 only) being most preferred. Less preferred, but suitable, are materials such as alkali metal carbonates and bicarbonates which decompose to form carbon dioxide and at least one non-volatile by-product, or, for example, other sodium salts.
The blowing agent may also be a normally gaseous or volatile compound, such as a fluorocarbon or water mixed or injected into the polymer melt before or during extrusion. Examples of such blowing agents include carbon dioxide, nitrogen, noble gases, dichlorodifloromethane trichlorotrifloroethane, water and volatile hydrocarbons, with nitrogen being the preferred blowing agent.
The decomposition temperature of the decomposable compound and boiling point of the normally-gaseous or volatile compound should be selected to assure that cells form in the polymer melt at the spinning temperatures at the outlet of the spinnerette (as the pressure drops). These cells should not collapse or redissolve in the extended fiber prior to polymer solidification.
The polymer melt will also include a nucleating agent such as talc, silica (powdered or fumed), or magnesium or calcium carbonate. The nucleating agent may be premixed with the decomposable compound as is the case of azo-compounds premixed with silica and sold by BFC Chemicals Inc., of Wilmington, Del. as FICEL® EPA, EPB, EPC and EPD nucleating blowing agents. Alternatively, the nucleating agents may be separately mixed with the solid or molten polymer.
Additionally, the polymer melt will also include a surfactant or other additive such as caprolactam, or ethylene glycol. These materials have the general effect of controlling the size of the cells formed in the fibers, and when added are normally provided in amounts between about 3:1 to 1:1 (ratio of additive to blowing agent).
The concentration of the blowing agent or the decomposable compound in the polymer must be maintained above a certain amount in order to yield a sufficient number of cells to produce "self-crimping" foamed fibers. The specific concentration is dependent upon a variety of factors including the degree of decomposition of the agent, solubility of the gas(es) in the polymer, amount of nucleating agent, jet velocity and spinnerette design, among others, and can be determined by routine experimentation upon reviewing the disclosure herein and viewing the cross sectional area of the fiber products to determine whether at least about 10% of a given cross sectional area of the fiber exists as cells (voids, open or closed). For example, the amount of oxalic acid supplied to the polymer melt should be above about 0.2% by weight. With FICEL® EPA, the amount of blowing agent should be at least about 0.3% by weight, and with Expandex 5PT at least about 0.2% by weight. Ordinarily, the nucleating agent should be maintained at about 0.2% by weight or more. Generally, an azodicarbonamide silica concentration ratio of about 2:1 or an oxalic acid/talc concentration ratio of about 2:1 is preferred. Furthermore, when a surfactant or other additive is included, it should be present in the melt at least about 0.2% by weight.
Spinning apparatus used in practicing the forming step of our process may be conventional extrusion apparatus for spinning ordinary fibers of the same polymer with minor modifications. Thus, for example, in spinning nylon 6 fibers, ordinary powder or pellet feed systems extruder and spinnerettes may be used. The spinnerette may have any number of apertures. Each aperture may have various L/D (length to diameter) ratios and various cross-sectional shapes (e.g., circular, Y-shape, dog-boned, hexalobal, and preferably trilobally-shaped). Regardless of the shape used, the effective diameter (in the case of a circle, an equivalent dimension giving the same cross-sectional area for other shapes) may vary widely from about 0.1 mm to about 2 mm, with an effective diameter between about 0.1 and about 1.0 mm being preferred and between about 0.1 and about 0.3 being more preferred. Preferred L/D ratios for the present invention are between about 30:1 and about 1:1, the lower range of which is substantially less than that normally used for spinning polyamide fibers. The preferred modification is the employment of screen pack(s) as disclosed in application Ser. No. 490,070, filed Apr. 29, 1983 which is hereby incorporated by reference. Preferably, the smallest screen should be between about 20 mesh/in and about 400 mesh/in. Most preferably, we employ an eight layered screen pack comprising a 90 mesh top layer, followed by two 200 mesh layers, followed by two 400 mesh layers, followed by two 200 mesh layers, followed by a 90 mesh bottom layer.
A random arrangement of cells which occupy a minimum percentage of a given cross-sectional area and which are distributed asymmetrically over the given cross-sectional area are critical features of the invention. We have discovered that the foamed fibers, to exhibit the self-crimping effect, must include cells which occupy at least about 10% of the cross-sectional area of the fiber (i.e., about 0.1 A, where A is the effective cross sectional area of the fiber) and which are asymmetrically distributed over the cross-sectional area of the fiber. This percentage of cells with asymmetric distribution will insure that the fiber, upon heating under a no load condition, will show at least one crimp per inch. A crimp as defined herein means any location along the major axis of the fiber at which the major axis exhibits a change in direction. The value of one crimp per inch is generally recognized as the minimum amount of crimping which defines a crimped fiber. Usually, the self-crimping fibers will exhibit at least about 5 crimps per inch, and fibers with at least 10 crimps per inch are preferred. We have produced fibers having at least about 20 crimps per inch.
The size (effective diameter) of the cell varies widely depending upon process condition. Ultimately, the cells may vary from 0.1μ in effective diameter to about 50μ in diameter. Generally, the cell size is in between 1μ to about 20μ. Preferably, the cell size is at least about 1μ, and most preferably between about 1μ and about 10μ.
An additional operating parameter which affects cell size in the fiber is the cooling rate of the polymer melt. Ordinarily, the cells will contain (for example) nitrogen, carbon dioxide or mixtures thereof and may contain other by-products of the blowing compound decomposition (e.g., ammonia). They may also contain other volatile materials which are added to the melt (e.g., fluorocarbons). Generally, the higher the cooling rate, the smaller the cross-sectional area of a given cell. Moreover, the higher the cooling rate, the lower the migration of bubbles to the surface of the fiber and the lower the amount of coalescence of individual bubbles. Of course, the optimum cooling rate of the polymer melt is dependent upon the specific characteristics desired for the final product. Moreover, the quench temperature should be one at which the molten fibers solidify. For our invention, a cooling rate of between about 4° C./sec and about 600° C./sec may be employed for a polyamide to produce a foamed fiber exhibiting the self-crimping effect. Generally, the cooling rate for any polymer would be at least 4° C./sec with the upper limit being dependent on final properties desired. Consequently, the quench temperature is generally about 10° C. to about 30° C., and is preferably effected by passing air over the surface of the fibers as they leave the spinnerette.
As the melt is quenched, it is normally drawn so as to control the diameter (or the denier) of the fiber to a desired degree. Because of the high viscosity of most fiber-forming polymer materials, it is conventional to extrude through spinnerette apertures of major cross-sectional dimension much larger than the desired ultimate fiber mentioned. Furthermore, since, once the molten foamed fiber has solified it is relatively difficult to draw to a large extent (e.g., in some instances more about 20:1 normally more than about 5:1) the most appropriate place to draw to control final denier is during the molten stage and the quenching operation. In the present process, melt drawing at that stage may be between about 5:1 and about 250:1; and, at least in the case of polyamides, is preferably between about 20:1 and about 100:1. As a result of the drawing step, there may be some tendency for cells to elongate in the longitudinal direction.
The foamed fibers produced by our process have very good physical properties as shown (for nylon 6) in Table 1.
TABLE__________________________________________________________________________ Voids/X-section % Shr..sup.1 Density Denier.sup.4 (ave) Ten.sup.2 UESample No. at 140° C. g/cc dpf No. Size (μ) % g/d % DR.sup.3__________________________________________________________________________1 11 <0.85 23-R 4 13 19 2.4 23 2.62 19 <0.9 26-T -- -- -- 1.4 76 2.33 14 <0.9 14-T -- -- -- 1.6 68 2.54 25 <0.9 15-T -- -- -- 1.9 62 2.55 14 1.0 17-T -- -- -- 1.4 77 2.26 22 1.0 20-T -- -- -- 2.0 64 2.17 22 <0.90 29-T 7.3 11.3 20 1.6 92 2.08 30 <0.85 30-T 12.0 10 24 0.9 72 2.09 23 <0.90 32-T -- -- -- 1.1 88 2.010 20 <0.90 6.5-T 11 3.4 15 1.6 42 1.911 9 <0.85 20-T 13 6.7 17 2.4 40 2.6__________________________________________________________________________ .sup.1 % Shr. is the percent shrinkage of the fiber of given length (as compared to the original length) after exposure at 140° C. .sup.2 Ten is the tenacity of the fiber. .sup.3 DR is the draw ratio after solidification of the foamed fiber. .sup.4 R = round xsection; T = trilobal xsection.
For example, in product fibers having a denier (grams per 9,000 meters) of between about 1 and about 40 a representative cross-section of each filament may have between 2 and about 40 cells, visible under an optical microscope, amounting to at least about 10% of the cross-sectional area and arranged asymetrically. As can be seen in FIGS. 2-5, a preferred form of fibers produced by out process are foamed fibers of trilobal cross-section. Our process operates generally, to produce foamed fibers having a denier of 1 and about 100 (preferably between about 1 and about 40, more preferably between about 1 and about 30, and most preferably between about 3 and 28). Because of the presence of cells, the density of such fibers will normally be between about 0.7 g/cc and about 0.95 g/cc (as compared to a range of about 1.1 g/cc to about 1.4 g/cc for the base polymer). Accordingly, since denier is based upon weight, lower denier fibers of the same cross-sectional area are created.
The production of cells is affected by the jet velocity of the polymer through the spinnerette (throughput rate of polymer through the spinnerette in length/sec). Ordinary, jet velocities range from about 2 cm/sec to about 50 cm/sec, with 10-35 cm/sec being preferred.
The heating step of the process may be conducted under a no load condition. This is an additional novel feature of our process. A no-load condition is defined as a condition of exposure of the foamed fibers to heat sufficient for the foamed fiber to yield enhanced crimping while maintaining the foamed fiber under a load (compressive or tensile) less than about 0.15 g/denier, preferably less than 0.05 g/denier, more preferably less than 0.01 g/denier, and most preferably less than about 0.002 g/denier. The heating step can be performed by a variety of methods. These methods include passing the foamed fiber over a heated member, passing the foamed fibers through a heated member, arranging the foamed fibers in a container and exposing the foamed fibers to heated fluid, or simply contacting the foamed fibers with a heated fluid. Other methods include subjecting the fibers to infrared heat, exposing the fibers to microwaves, or heating by dielectric effects. It should be noted that the heating step functions not only to enhance the crimping effect but also to set crimps which exist in the fiber after drawing.
Regardless of the method of heating employed, the foamed fibers should be exposed to a high enough temperature for a sufficient amount of time to produce a crimped foamed fiber having at least one crimp/inch. Of course, the exposure temperature and exposure time are dependent on the desired resultant fiber dimensional properties (such as the number of crimps/inch, the change in effective cross-sectional area due to the thermal shrinkage and the like). Additionally, the exposure time and temperature will depend on the fiber composition, fiber cross-sectional design, bubble distribution and bubble size and the like. Therefore, it is difficult to quantify the temperature and time exposure precisely. Nevertheless, upon reviewing Table 2 and the examples described herein, for particular embodiments of the invention, one can, by routine experimentation, adjust the parameters above the minimally acceptable parameters.
To produce (or enhance) and set the crimping of the self crimping foamed fibers, the fibers must be heated to at least the glass transition temperature of the polymer. As a general rule, the fibers should be exposed to a temperature of at least about 75° C., preferably at least about 90° C., and more preferably at least about 100° C. The exposure time is variable depending upon the time necessary to achieve fiber temperature. We prefer to expose the fibers to a given temperature for at least about for one minute in order to produce at least one crimp per inch. However, in order to avoid thermal shrinkage, which, in most instances is undesirable, the exposure temperature and exposure times must be adjusted to maintain a fiber temperature less than the temperature at which any significant thermal shrinkage will occur. Generally, the fiber temperature should remain below about 0.8 t m , where t m is the melting point of the polymer.
Examples described hereinafter of self-crimping foamed fibers were spun using an apparatus of the type schematically illustrated in FIG. 1. As shown, a heated extruder 1 containing an extrusion screw 2 propels a mixture 3 of polymer, decomposable compound and a nucleating agent, fed in a hopper 4, toward a spinning apparatus 5. Within the spinning apparatus 5, positive displacement melt pump 6 feeds the molten polymer mixture through a distributor plate 7 and a screen pack 8 toward the spinner at 9. Additionally, a second screen pack could be employed above distributor plate 7. It should be understood, however, that extruders not employing the screen packs may also be used to produce self-crimping foamed fibers, although the use of screen packs is preferred.
EXAMPLE 1
Table 2 and Table 3 illustrate a variety of foamed fiber samples which were subjected to a crimping test to determine the percentage of crimp and the percentage of thermal shrinkage which is produced by the process of the present invention. The crimp test was conducted by providing a uniform size sample which was measured under a constant load of 0.5 g/d to determine its L 0 (original length). The foamed fiber was then subjected to 140° C. heat for 10 minutes and at the end of that time the fiber was loaded at 0.002 g/d to determine its length after crimp, i.e., L i . The fiber was then subjected to a 0.5 g/d load to determine its L 2 (load length after crimp) which indicates the amount of thermal shrinkage during self-crimping. The percent crimp (% c) for each sample is indicated and was determined from the equation ##EQU1##
The thermal shrinkage (TS) for each sample is also indicated and was determined from the equation ##EQU2## As is apparent, fibers produced by our process exhibit a crimp of at least about 10% and a thermal shrinkage of usually no more than about 4.0%, although up to 10% thermal shrinkage may be acceptable for certain applications.
TABLE 2______________________________________ ThermalSample No. L.sub.o L.sub.i L.sub.2 % Crimp Shrinkage (%)______________________________________1 33.3 cm 25.4 33.1 23.7 0.62 31.4 25.3 30.7 19.4 2.23 31.3 24.8 30.6 20.7 2.24 30.5 26.1 29.2 14.4 4.25 30.7 26.2 29.4 14.6 4.26 30.6 26.5 29.3 13.3 4.27 30.8 27.0 29.3 12.3 4.88 31.4 28.5 30.8 9.2 1.99 31.4 28.5 30.8 9.2 1.910 29.8 26.0 27.0 12.7 9.311 30.1 26.5 27.3 11.9 9.312 31.6 28.5 30.6 9.8 3.213 31.5 28.7 30.8 8.8 2.2______________________________________
TABLE 3______________________________________Sample No. L.sub.0 L.sub.i (60).sup.1 L.sub.1 (120).sup.2 L.sub.2 % TS % C.sup.3______________________________________Heat 100° C. - 10 min.A 32.6 27.2 27.2 32.1 1.5 16.6A 32.3 26.9 26.9 32.1 0.6 16.7B 31.0 27.3 27.1 30.7 0.9 11.9B 31.3 25.0 27.8 31.0 1.0 10.5Heat 120° C. - 10 min.A 32.5 26.2 26.1 32.1 -- 19.4A 32.4 24.8 24.8 32.0 -- 23.4B 30.7 26.5 26.5 30.2 -- 13.7B 30.8 27.3 27.4 30.4 -- 11.4Heat 140° C. - 10 min.A 32.6 25.4-31.9 2.14 22.08A 32.0 24.7-31.0 3.12 22.81B 30.5 26.5-29.8 2.29 13.11B 31.0 27.2-30.4 1.94 12.25Heat 160° C. - 10 min.A 31.9 25.0-31.2 2.19 21.63B 31.4 24.4-31.4 0 22.29B 31.1 26.9-30.4 2.25 13.50______________________________________ .sup.1 L.sub.i (60) is the length after crimp as measured at load after 6 minutes. .sup.2 L.sub.i (120) is the length after crimp as measured at load after 120 minutes. .sup.3 % C was measured after load at 60 minutes
EXAMPLE 2
Nylon pellets, coated with a blend of oxalic acid, caprolactam and talc in weight proportions of 0.25%, 0.5% and 0.25%, respectively, are extruded and drawn into a final denier of 75 deniers/5 filaments. The foamed yarn of uniform density of approximately 0.88 gm/cc was then slid over a heater block at 160° C. under very low tension (i.e., tension due to friction over the heated block only). The heated foamed yarn exhibited 5 to 10 crimps per inch.
EXAMPLE 3
A blend of nylon 6 pellets, 0.2% MicroPflex® 1200 (talc powders), 0.2% oxalic acid, and 0.4% caprolactam was melt spun using a screw-type extruder. The spinnerette used had 5 holes with a trilobal cross-section of 0.005 inch width×0.020 inch length×0.030 inch depth. After spinning, the foamed yarn was drawn at a ratio of 2.48:1 to produce a final density of about 0.90 gm/cc (as compared to the nylon 6 density of 1.14 g/cc. A 0.5 gm sample of the yarn was subjected to 130° C. heat for 2 minutes by suspending the sample from a rod in a hot air oven. As seen in FIG. 2, the foamed fiber exhibited 15-20% voids over the cross-sectional area of the fiber. As shown in FIG. 6, the fiber after being heated exhibited a large number of crimps per inch.
EXAMPLE 4
A blend of nylon 6 pellets, 0.2% coconut oil, 0.2% Multiflex® MM (CaCO 3 ) and 0.15% oxalic acid were melt spun using a screw-type extruder. The spinnerette used had five holes with a trilobal crosssection of 0.005 inch width×0.020 inch length×0.030 inch depth. After spinning, the fiber was drawn at a ratio of 2.38:1. The foamed fiber product exhibited about 5% voids over the given crosssectional area of the foamed product. A 0.5 gram sample of the yarn was subjected to 130° C. heat for 2 minutes by suspending the sample from a rod in a hot air oven. As shown in FIG. 3 and as pictured in FIG. 7 the foamed fiber exhibited very little crimping. A comparison of Example 3 with this Example illustrates a critical aspect of applicants' invention, i.e., the need to produce a foamed fiber having at least about 10% voids over a given cross-sectional area of the fiber.
EXAMPLE 5
A blend of nylon 6 pellets, 0.3% Ficel® EPA, 0.4% ethylene glycol was melt spun through an extruder having a spinnerette with six holes of 0.020 diameter×0.050 length, and which was not internally cooled. The foamed fiber product was then drawn at a ratio of 2.61:1. The foamed fiber density was approximately 0.85 g/cc. The denier of the yarn produced by this process was approximately 80/6 filaments. As shown in FIG. 4, the fibers had a plurality of large close cell bubbles asymmetrically distributed over the given cross-sectional area of the fiber. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the resultant fiber showed some crimping.
EXAMPLE 6
The blend of Example 5 was extruded through a screw-type extruder using the same spinnerette dimensions as in Example 5. However, the spinnerette was internally cooled to produce a product having a density of approximately 0.85 gm/cc. As shown in FIG. 5, the resultant fiber had a plurality of smaller cells distributed over a given cross-sectional area of the fiber as compared to the uncooled product of FIG. 4. As illustrated in FIG. 9, heating of the fiber at 130° C. for two minutes by suspending a 0.5 gram sample from a rod in a hot air oven yielded some crimping. This Example as compared to Example 4 illustrates that the more symmetric the cell distribution, the less degree of crimping. Note that the foamed fiber has a plurality of relatively more fine cells as compared to the cells in the cross-sectional area of the fiber of Example 4.
EXAMPLE 7
Polyethylene terephalate polymer (0.95 IV) was mixed with 0.2% talc, and 0.4% ethylene carbonate. The polymer blend was melt spun through a spinnerette having six holes of a round cross-section of 0.010 inch diameter×0.010 inch length. The foamed fiber product was drawn at 1.11:1 and exhibited a density of less than about 0.85 g/cc (as compared to a PET density of 1.385 g/cc). Samples of the foamed fiber were heated at two different temperatures, the first at 75° C. for two minutes and the second at 95° C. for two minutes. The results are illustrated in FIGS. 10a and 10b which show the 75° C. heated foamed fiber and the 95° C. heated foamed fiber, respectively. These figures illustrate that the higher the foamed fiber heating temperature, the higher the degree of crimping which will occur.
EXAMPLE 8
Samples of the foamed fiber produced by Example 2 were subjected to heating in a hot air oven at temperatures of 100° C., 130° C., 150° C. and 180° C. each for two minutes. As illustrated in FIGS. 11a-d, as the temperature of heating increased (100° C. for FIG. 11a, 130° C. for FIG. 11b, 150° C. for FIG. 11c and 180° C. for FIG. 11d), the degree of crimping increased.
EXAMPLE 9
A homogeneous blend of 100 parts of nylon 6 chips, 0.2 parts of MicroPflex® (talc powders), 0.175 part of oxalic acid, 0.35 parts caprolactam and 0.2 parts of a silicon fluid (Dow Corning, Q1-8030) was blended and melt spun using a screw-type extruder with a length to diameter ratio of 21:1. The melt temperature and spinnerette temperature were maintained at 520° F. and 455° F., respectively. The spinnerette used had 20 holes with a trilobal cross-section of 0.004 inch width×0.010 inch length×0.010 inch depth. A crossflow air quenching system was used and the air temperature was about 22° C. The flow rate through the spinnerette was 23.4 gm/min. The screen pack was installed in front of the spinnerette plate consisting of one layer of 90 mesh plus four layers of 200 mesh plus one layer of 90 mesh screen.
The foamed yarn was drawn to a ratio of 1.88:1 and each filament exhibited a density of about 0.87 gm/cc. The foamed yarn had the following tensile properties: denier equal to 138/20, tensile modulus equal to 12.5 g/d, tenacity equal to 1.4 g/d, and elongation at break equal to 31.4%. The foamed yarn exhibited approximately 326 cells per 20 filament with asymmetric cell distribution. The cell sizes varied from about 1μ to about 5μ. If the foamed yarns were heated, each foamed filament would exhibit the self-crimping effect.
EXAMPLE 10
A blend of polyethylene terephthalate and FICEL® in an amount equal to about 0.5% by weight was spun through a 6 hole circular cross-section spinnerette die to produce a foamed fiber product having a density of approximately 0.9 g/cc. The foamed fiber product was then drawn at a ratio of about 2.5:1 to produce 8.5 denier filament. The foamed product produced by this process is a self-crimping foamed fiber. The void size over a given cross-sectional area of the foamed fiber ranges from one micron to as much as ten microns. The total percentage of close cells is at least about 10% of the cross sectional area of the fiber. The properties of the foamed fiber product included tensile modulus of about 69 gm/denier, an ultimate tensile strength of about 2.1 g/d and an ultimate elongation to break of about 7.4%. The fibers upon heating to produce crimps illustrates an additional aspect of our invention; i.e., helical or coil-type crimps as opposed to prior art processes which normally exhibit sawteeth-type crimps.
EXAMPLE 11
A homogeneous blend of 100 parts of nylon 6 chips, 0.2 part of MicroPflex® 1200 (talc) powders, 0.2 part of oxalic acid and 0.4 part of caprolactam was prepared. The blend was melt spun using a screw-type extruder with a length diameter ratio of 30:1. The barrel and spinnerette temperatures were maintained at 500° F. and 480° F., respectively. The screen pack consisted of eight layers, namely, 90 mesh+200 mesh+200 mesh+400 mesh+400 mesh+200 mesh+200 mesh+90 mesh. The spinnerette used has 5 holes with a trilobal cross-section for each hole. The trilobal has a dimension of 0.005" width×0.020" length×0.030" depth. The screw rpm was 20 while the flow rate was 12 gm/min. A cross flow air quenching system was used and the air temperature was 22° C. The foamed yarn of a density=0.84 gm/cc was spun and drawn under the following conditions:
______________________________________ROLL TEMP. °C. SPEED, fpm______________________________________#1 (take up) 23° C. 2,125 fpm#2 (1st stage draw) 150° C. 2,348 fpm#3 (2nd stage draw) 23° C. 5,277 fpm______________________________________
The total draw ratio of the foamed yarn was 2.48 X and and the drawn foamed yarn density was 0.90 gm/cc. The foamed yarn has the following tensile properties:
denier=75 denier/5 filament
tenacity=1.3 gpd
modulus=14 gpd and
elongation at break=37%
Each foamed filament consisted of approximately three cells, each cell having an equivalent diameter of about 10 microns. The degree of crimp, after treating in an hot air oven at 100° C. for 10 minutes, measured under 0.002 gpd load was ≈17% while the thermal shrinkage was only 1.5%. The combination of good self-crimp level and low thermal shrinkage is an important feature for self-crimped foamed yarns which are to be used in carpets, as filtration devices, and in making apparel. | Crimped foamed fibers are produced by a process which eliminates any mechanical deformation steps. The process comprises the step of forming foamed fibers having a plurality of randomly arranged cells distributed asymetrically over a given cross section and occupying at least about 10% of the cross sectional area of the fiber, and heating the foamed fibers while maintaining the fibers under no load condition to produce a crimped foamed fiber. The crimped foamed fibers are used in apparel, carpet fibers, thermal insulation, acoustic and filtration. | 3 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation application of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 13/477,115, filed May 22, 2012; which is itself a continuation application of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 10/410,456, filed Apr. 9, 2003; which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/395,843 filed Jul. 15, 2002; and also U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/395,874 filed Jul. 15, 2002, and all of which are incorporated by reference herein in their respective entireties.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is directed towards video encoders and in particular, towards adaptive weighting of reference pictures in video encoders.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Video data is generally processed and transferred in the form of bit streams. Typical video compression coders and decoders (“CODECs”) gain much of their compression efficiency by forming a reference picture prediction of a picture to be encoded, and encoding the difference between the current picture and the prediction. The more closely that the prediction is correlated with the current picture, the fewer bits that are needed to compress that picture, thereby increasing the efficiency of the process. Thus, it is desirable for the best possible reference picture prediction to be formed.
[0004] In many video compression standards, including Moving Picture Experts Group (“MPEG”)-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4, a motion compensated version of a previous reference picture is used as a prediction for the current picture, and only the difference between the current picture and the prediction is coded. When a single picture prediction (“P” picture) is used, the reference picture is not scaled when the motion compensated prediction is formed. When bi-directional picture predictions (“B” pictures) are used, intermediate predictions are formed from two different pictures, and then the two intermediate predictions are averaged together, using equal weighting factors of (½, ½) for each, to form a single averaged prediction. In these MPEG standards, the two reference pictures are always one each from the forward direction and the backward direction for B pictures.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] These and other drawbacks and disadvantages of the prior art are addressed by a system and method for adaptive weighting of reference pictures in video coders and decoders.
[0006] A video encoder for encoding video data for an image block and a particular reference picture index, the reference picture index used for encoding the image block, the encoder assigning an offset corresponding to the particular reference picture index. The particular reference picture index independently indicates, without use of another index, (1) a particular reference picture corresponding to the particular reference picture index and (2) the offset corresponding to the particular reference picture index.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Adaptive weighting of reference pictures in video coders and decoders in accordance with the principles of the present invention are shown in the following exemplary figures, in which:
[0008] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram for a standard video decoder;
[0009] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram for a video decoder with adaptive bi-prediction;
[0010] FIG. 3 shows a block diagram for a video decoder with reference picture weighting in accordance with the principles of the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 4 shows a block diagram for a standard video encoder;
[0012] FIG. 5 shows a block diagram for a video encoder with reference picture weighting in accordance with the principles of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart for a decoding process in accordance with the principles of the present invention; and
[0014] FIG. 7 shows a flowchart for an encoding process in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0015] The present invention presents an apparatus and method for motion vector estimation and adaptive reference picture weighting factor assignment. In some video sequences, in particular those with fading, the current picture or image block to be coded is more strongly correlated to a reference picture scaled by a weighting factor than to the reference picture itself. Video CODECs without weighting factors applied to reference pictures encode fading sequences very inefficiently. When weighting factors are used in encoding, a video encoder needs to determine both weighting factors and motion vectors, but the best choice for each of these depends on the other, with motion estimation typically being the most computationally intensive part of a digital video compression encoder.
[0016] In the proposed Joint Video Team (“JVT”) video compression standard, each P picture can use multiple reference pictures to form a picture's prediction, but each individual motion block or 8×8 region of a macroblock uses only a single reference picture for prediction. In addition to coding and transmitting the motion vectors, a reference picture index is transmitted for each motion block or 8×8 region, indicating which reference picture is used. A limited set of possible reference pictures is stored at both the encoder and decoder, and the number of allowable reference pictures is transmitted.
[0017] In the JVT standard, for bi-predictive pictures (also called “B” pictures), two predictors are formed for each motion block or 8×8 region, each of which can be from a separate reference picture, and the two predictors are averaged together to form a single averaged predictor. For bi-predictively coded motion blocks, the reference pictures can both be from the forward direction, both be from the backward direction, or one each from the forward and backward directions. Two lists are maintained of the available reference pictures that may used for prediction. The two reference pictures are referred to as the list 0 and list 1 predictors. An index for each reference picture is coded and transmitted, ref_idx_I0 and ref_idx_I1,for the list 0 and list 1 reference pictures, respectively. Joint Video Team (“JVT”) bi-predictive or “B” pictures allows adaptive weighting between the two predictions, i.e.,
[0000] Pred =[( P 0)( Pred 0)]+[( P 1)( Pred 1)]+ D,
[0000] where P0 and P1 are weighting factors, Pred0 and Pred1 are the reference picture predictions for list 0 and list 1 respectively, and D is an offset.
[0018] Two methods have been proposed for indication of weighting factors. In the first, the weighting factors are determined by the directions that are used for the reference pictures. In this method, if the ref_idx_I0 index is less than or equal to ref_idx_I1, weighting factors of (½, ½) are used, otherwise (2, −1) factors are used.
[0019] In the second method offered, any number of weighting factors is transmitted for each slice. Then a weighting factor index is transmitted for each motion block or 8×8 region of a macroblock that uses bi-directional prediction. The decoder uses the received weighting factor index to choose the appropriate weighting factor, from the transmitted set, to use when decoding the motion block or 8×8 region. For example, if three weighting factors were sent at the slice layer, they would correspond to weight factor indices 0, 1 and 2, respectively.
[0020] The following description merely illustrates the principles of the invention. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples and conditional language recited herein are principally intended expressly to be only for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure.
[0021] Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative circuitry embodying the principles of the invention. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudocode, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable media and so executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown.
[0022] The functions of the various elements shown in the figures may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate software. When provided by a processor, the functions may be provided by a single dedicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality of individual processors, some of which may be shared. Moreover, explicit use of the term “processor” or “controller” should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and may implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (“DSP”) hardware, read-only memory (“ROM”) for storing software, random access memory (“RAM”), and non-volatile storage. Other hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included. Similarly, any switches shown in the figures are conceptual only. Their function may be carried out through the operation of program logic, through dedicated logic, through the interaction of program control and dedicated logic, or even manually, the particular technique being selectable by the implementer as more specifically understood from the context.
[0023] In the claims hereof any element expressed as a means for performing a specified function is intended to encompass any way of performing that function including, for example, a) a combination of circuit elements that performs that function or b) software in any form, including, therefore, firmware, microcode or the like, combined with appropriate circuitry for executing that software to perform the function. The invention as defined by such claims resides in the fact that the functionalities provided by the various recited means are combined and brought together in the manner which the claims call for. Applicant thus regards any means that can provide those functionalities as equivalent to those shown herein.
[0024] As shown in FIG. 1 , a standard video decoder is indicated generally by the reference numeral 100 . The video decoder 100 includes a variable length decoder (“VLD”) 110 connected in signal communication with an inverse quantizer 120 . The inverse quantizer 120 is connected in signal communication with an inverse transformer 130 . The inverse transformer 130 is connected in signal communication with a first input terminal of an adder or summing junction 140 , where the output of the summing junction 140 provides the output of the video decoder 100 . The output of the summing junction 140 is connected in signal communication with a reference picture store 150 . The reference picture store 150 is connected in signal communication with a motion compensator 160 , which is connected in signal communication with a second input terminal of the summing junction 140 .
[0025] Turning to FIG. 2 , a video decoder with adaptive bi-prediction is indicated generally by the reference numeral 200 . The video decoder 200 includes a VLD 210 connected in signal communication with an inverse quantizer 220 . The inverse quantizer 220 is connected in signal communication with an inverse transformer 230 . The inverse transformer 230 is connected in signal communication with a first input terminal of a summing junction 240 , where the output of the summing junction 240 provides the output of the video decoder 200 . The output of the summing junction 240 is connected in signal communication with a reference picture store 250 . The reference picture store 250 is connected in signal communication with a motion compensator 260 , which is connected in signal communication with a first input of a multiplier 270 .
[0026] The VLD 210 is further connected in signal communication with a reference picture weighting factor lookup 280 for providing an adaptive bi-prediction (“ABP”) coefficient index to the lookup 280 . A first output of the lookup 280 is for providing a weighting factor, and is connected in signal communication to a second input of the multiplier 270 . The output of the multiplier 270 is connected in signal communication to a first input of a summing junction 290 . A second output of the lookup 280 is for providing an offset, and is connected in signal communication to a second input of the summing junction 290 . The output of the summing junction 290 is connected in signal communication with a second input terminal of the summing junction 240 .
[0027] Turning now to FIG. 3 , a video decoder with reference picture weighting is indicated generally by the reference numeral 300 . The video decoder 300 includes a VLD 310 connected in signal communication with an inverse quantizer 320 . The inverse quantizer 320 is connected in signal communication with an inverse transformer 330 . The inverse transformer 330 is connected in signal communication with a first input terminal of a summing junction 340 , where the output of the summing junction 340 provides the output of the video decoder 300 . The output of the summing junction 340 is connected in signal communication with a reference picture store 350 . The reference picture store 350 is connected in signal communication with a motion compensator 360 , which is connected in signal communication with a first input of a multiplier 370 .
[0028] The VLD 310 is further connected in signal communication with a reference picture weighting factor lookup 380 for providing a reference picture index to the lookup 380 . A first output of the lookup 380 is for providing a weighting factor, and is connected in signal communication to a second input of the multiplier 370 . The output of the multiplier 370 is connected in signal communication to a first input of a summing junction 390 . A second output of the lookup 380 is for providing an offset, and is connected in signal communication to a second input of the summing junction 390 . The output of the summing junction 390 is connected in signal communication with a second input terminal of the summing junction 340 .
[0029] As shown in FIG. 4 , a standard video encoder is indicated generally by the reference numeral 400 . An input to the encoder 400 is connected in signal communication with a non-inverting input of a summing junction 410 . The output of the summing junction 410 is connected in signal communication with a block transformer 420 . The transformer 420 is connected in signal communication with a quantizer 430 . The output of the quantizer 430 is connected in signal communication with a variable length coder (“VLC”) 440 , where the output of the VLC 440 is an externally available output of the encoder 400 .
[0030] The output of the quantizer 430 is further connected in signal communication with an inverse quantizer 450 . The inverse quantizer 450 is connected in signal communication with an inverse block transformer 460 , which, in turn, is connected in signal communication with a reference picture store 470 . A first output of the reference picture store 470 is connected in signal communication with a first input of a motion estimator 480 . The input to the encoder 400 is further connected in signal communication with a second input of the motion estimator 480 . The output of the motion estimator 480 is connected in signal communication with a first input of a motion compensator 490 . A second output of the reference picture store 470 is connected in signal communication with a second input of the motion compensator 490 . The output of the motion compensator 490 is connected in signal communication with an inverting input of the summing junction 410 .
[0031] Turning to FIG. 5 , a video encoder with reference picture weighting is indicated generally by the reference numeral 500 . An input to the encoder 500 is connected in signal communication with a non-inverting input of a summing junction 510 . The output of the summing junction 510 is connected in signal communication with a block transformer 520 . The transformer 520 is connected in signal communication with a quantizer 530 . The output of the quantizer 530 is connected in signal communication with a VLC 540 , where the output of the VLC 440 is an externally available output of the encoder 500 .
[0032] The output of the quantizer 530 is further connected in signal communication with an inverse quantizer 550 . The inverse quantizer 550 is connected in signal communication with an inverse block transformer 560 , which, in turn, is connected in signal communication with a reference picture store 570 . A first output of the reference picture store 570 is connected in signal communication with a first input of a reference picture weighting factor assignor 572 . The input to the encoder 500 is further connected in signal communication with a second input of the reference picture weighting factor assignor 572 . The output of the reference picture weighting factor assignor 572 , which is indicative of a weighting factor, is connected in signal communication with a first input of a motion estimator 580 . A second output of the reference picture store 570 is connected in signal communication with a second input of the motion estimator 580 .
[0033] The input to the encoder 500 is further connected in signal communication with a third input of the motion estimator 580 . The output of the motion estimator 580 , which is indicative of motion vectors, is connected in signal communication with a first input of a motion compensator 590 . A third output of the reference picture store 570 is connected in signal communication with a second input of the motion compensator 590 . The output of the motion compensator 590 , which is indicative of a motion compensated reference picture, is connected in signal communication with a first input of a multiplier 592 . The output of the reference picture weighting factor assignor 572 , which is indicative of a weighting factor, is connected in signal communication with a second input of the multiplier 592 . The output of the multiplier 592 is connected in signal communication with an inverting input of the summing junction 510 .
[0034] Turning now to FIG. 6 , an exemplary process for decoding video signal data for an image block is indicated generally by the reference numeral 600 . The process includes a start block 610 that passes control to an input block 612 . The input block 612 receives the image block compressed data, and passes control to an input block 614 . The input block 614 receives at least one reference picture index with the data for the image block, each reference picture index corresponding to a particular reference picture. The input block 614 passes control to a function block 616 , which determines a weighting factor corresponding to each of the received reference picture indices, and passes control to an optional function block 617 . The optional function block 617 determines an offset corresponding to each of the received reference picture indices, and passes control to a function block 618 . The function block 618 retrieves a reference picture corresponding to each of the received reference picture indices, and passes control to a function block 620 . The function block 620 , in turn, motion compensates the retrieved reference picture, and passes control to a function block 622 . The function block 622 multiplies the motion compensated reference picture by the corresponding weighting factor, and passes control to an optional function block 623 . The optional function block 623 adds the motion compensated reference picture to the corresponding offset, and passes control to a function block 624 . The function block 624 , in turn, forms a weighted motion compensated reference picture, and passes control to an end block 626 .
[0035] Turning now to FIG. 7 , an exemplary process for encoding video signal data for an image block is indicated generally by the reference numeral 700 . The process includes a start block 710 that passes control to an input block 712 . The input block 712 receives substantially uncompressed image block data, and passes control to a function block 714 . The function block 714 assigns a weighting factor for the image block corresponding to a particular reference picture having a corresponding index. The function block 714 passes control to an optional function block 715 . The optional function block 715 assigns an offset for the image block corresponding to a particular reference picture having a corresponding index. The optional function block 715 passes control to a function block 716 , which computes motion vectors corresponding to the difference between the image block and the particular reference picture, and passes control to a function block 718 . The function block 718 motion compensates the particular reference picture in correspondence with the motion vectors, and passes control to a function block 720 . The function block 720 , in turn, multiplies the motion compensated reference picture by the assigned weighting factor to form a weighted motion compensated reference picture, and passes control to an optional function block 721 . The optional function block 721 , in turn, adds the motion compensated reference picture to the assigned offset to form a weighted motion compensated reference picture, and passes control to a function block 722 . The function block 722 subtracts the weighted motion compensated reference picture from the substantially uncompressed image block, and passes control to a function block 724 . The function block 724 , in turn, encodes a signal with the difference between the substantially uncompressed image block and the weighted motion compensated reference picture along with the corresponding index of the particular reference picture, and passes control to an end block 726 .
[0036] In the present exemplary embodiment, for each coded picture or slice, a weighting factor is associated with each allowable reference picture that blocks of the current picture can be encoded with respect to. When each individual block in the current picture is encoded or decoded, the weighting factor(s) and offset(s) that correspond to its reference picture indices are applied to the reference prediction to form a weight predictor. All blocks in the slice that are coded with respect to the same reference picture apply the same weighting factor to the reference picture prediction.
[0037] Whether or not to use adaptive weighting when coding a picture can be indicated in the picture parameter set or sequence parameter set, or in the slice or picture header. For each slice or picture that uses adaptive weighting, a weighting factor may be transmitted for each of the allowable reference pictures that may be used for encoding this slice or picture. The number of allowable reference pictures is transmitted in the slice header. For example, if three reference pictures can be used to encode the current slice, up to three weighting factors are transmitted, and they are associated with the reference picture with the same index.
[0038] If no weighting factors are transmitted, default weights are used. In one embodiment of the current invention, default weights of (½, ½) are used when no weighting factors are transmitted. The weighting factors may be transmitted using either fixed or variable length codes.
[0039] Unlike typical systems, each weighting factor that is transmitted with each slice, block or picture corresponds to a particular reference picture index. Previously, any set of weighting factors transmitted with each slice or picture were not associated with any particular reference pictures. Instead, an adaptive bi-prediction weighting index was transmitted for each motion block or 8×8 region to select which of the weighting factors from the transmitted set was to be applied for that particular motion block or 8×8 region.
[0040] In the present embodiment, the weighting factor index for each motion block or 8×8 region is not explicitly transmitted. Instead, the weighting factor that is associated with the transmitted reference picture index is used. This dramatically reduces the amount of overhead in the transmitted bitstream to allow adaptive weighting of reference pictures.
[0041] This system and technique may be applied to either Predictive “P” pictures, which are encoded with a single predictor, or to Bi-predictive “B” pictures, which are encoded with two predictors. The decoding processes, which are present in both encoder and decoders, are described below for the P and B picture cases. Alternatively, this technique may also be applied to coding systems using the concepts similar to I, B, and P pictures.
[0042] The same weighting factors can be used for single directional prediction in B pictures and for bi-directional prediction in B pictures. When a single predictor is used for a macroblock, in P pictures or for single directional prediction in B pictures, a single reference picture index is transmitted for the block. After the decoding process step of motion compensation produces a predictor, the weighting factor is applied to predictor. The weighted predictor is then added to the coded residual, and clipping is performed on the sum, to form the decoded picture. For use for blocks in P pictures or for blocks in B pictures that use only list 0 prediction, the weighted predictor is formed as:
[0000] Pred=W 0* Pred 0+ D 0 (1)
[0000] where W0 is the weighting factor associated with the list 0 reference picture, D0 is the offset associated with the list 0 reference picture, and Pred0 is the motion-compensated prediction block from the list 0 reference picture.
[0043] For use for blocks in B pictures which use only list 0 prediction, the weighted predictor is formed as:
[0000] Pred=W 1* Pred 1+ D 1 (2)
[0044] where W1 is the weighting factor associated with the list 1 reference picture, D0 is the offset associated with the list 1 reference picture, and Pred1 is the motion-compensated prediction block from the list 1 reference picture.
[0045] The weighted predictors may be clipped to guarantee that the resulting values will be within the allowable range of pixel values, typically 0 to 255. The precision of the multiplication in the weighting formulas may be limited to any pre-determined number of bits of resolution.
[0046] In the bi-predictive case, reference picture indexes are transmitted for each of the two predictors. Motion compensation is performed to form the two predictors. Each predictor uses the weighting factor associated with its reference picture index to form two weighted predictors. The two weighted predictors are then averaged together to form an averaged predictor, which is then added to the coded residual.
[0047] For use for blocks in B pictures that use list 0 and list 1 predictions, the weighted predictor is formed as:
[0000] Pred =( P 0* Pred 0 +D 0 +P 1* Pred 1+ D 1)/2 (3)
[0048] Clipping may be applied to the weighted predictor or any of the intermediate values in the calculation of the weighted predictor to guarantee that the resulting values will be within the allowable range of pixel values, typically 0 to 255.
[0049] Thus, a weighting factor is applied to the reference picture prediction of a video compression encoder and decoder that uses multiple reference pictures. The weighting factor adapts for individual motion blocks within a picture, based on the reference picture index that is used for that motion block. Because the reference picture index is already transmitted in the compressed video bitstream, the additional overhead to adapt the weighting factor on a motion block basis is dramatically reduced. All motion blocks that are coded with respect to the same reference picture apply the same weighting factor to the reference picture prediction.
[0050] These and other features and advantages of the present invention may be readily ascertained by one of ordinary skill in the pertinent art based on the teachings herein. It is to be understood that the teachings of the present invention may be implemented in various forms of hardware, software, firmware, special purpose processors, or combinations thereof.
[0051] Most preferably, the teachings of the present invention are implemented as a combination of hardware and software. Moreover, the software is preferably implemented as an application program tangibly embodied on a program storage unit. The application program may be uploaded to, and executed by, a machine comprising any suitable architecture. Preferably, the machine is implemented on a computer platform having hardware such as one or more central processing units (“CPU”), a random access memory (“RAM”), and input/output (“I/O”) interfaces. The computer platform may also include an operating system and microinstruction code. The various processes and functions described herein may be either part of the microinstruction code or part of the application program, or any combination thereof, which may be executed by a CPU. In addition, various other peripheral units may be connected to the computer platform such as an additional data storage unit and a printing unit.
[0052] It is to be further understood that, because some of the constituent system components and methods depicted in the accompanying drawings are preferably implemented in software, the actual connections between the system components or the process function blocks may differ depending upon the manner in which the present invention is programmed. Given the teachings herein, one of ordinary skill in the pertinent art will be able to contemplate these and similar implementations or configurations of the present invention.
[0053] Although the illustrative embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one of ordinary skill in the pertinent art without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims. | A video decoder, encoder, and corresponding methods for processing video data for an image block and a particular reference picture index to predict the image block are disclosed that utilize adaptive weighting of reference pictures to enhance video compression, where a decoder includes a reference picture weighting factor unit for determining a weighting factor corresponding to the particular reference picture index; an encoder includes a reference picture weighting factor assignor for assigning a weighting factor corresponding to the particular reference picture index; and a method for decoding includes receiving a reference picture index with the data that corresponds to the image block, determining a weighting factor for each received reference picture index, retrieving a reference picture for each index, motion compensating the retrieved reference picture, and multiplying the motion compensated reference picture by the corresponding weighting factor to form a weighted motion compensated reference picture. | 7 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application, Ser. No. 60/208,190, filed May 31, 2000.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention pertains to meander line loaded antennas and, more particularly, to a crossed element antenna utilizing bow-tie meander line loaded elements.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the past, efficient antennas have typically required structures with minimum dimensions on the order of a quarter wavelength of the radiating frequency. These dimensions allowed the antenna to be excited easily and to be operated at or near a resonance, limiting the energy dissipated in resistive losses and maximizing the transmitted energy. These antennas tended to be large in size at the resonant wavelength.
Further, as frequency decreased, the antenna dimensions increased in proportion. In order to address the shortcomings of traditional antenna design and functionality, researchers developed the meander line loaded antenna (MLA). One such MLA is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,080 for MEANDER LINE LOADED ANTENNA, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. An example of an MLA, also known as a varied impedance transmission line antenna, is shown in FIG. 1 . The antenna consists of two vertical conductors, 102 , and a horizontal conductor, 104 wherein the horizontal conductors are separated from the vertical conductors by gaps, 106 .
Meander lines, shown in FIG. 2, are connected between the vertical and horizontal conductors at the gaps. The meander lines are designed to adjust the electrical length of the antenna. In addition, the design of the meander slow wave structure permits lengths of the meander line to be switched in or out of the circuit quickly and with negligible loss, in order to change the effective electrical length of the antenna. This switching is possible because the active switching devices are always located in the high impedance sections of the meander line. This keeps the current through the switching devices low and results in very low dissipation losses in the switch, thereby maintaining high antenna efficiency.
The basic antenna of FIG. 1 can be operated in a loop mode that provides a “figure eight” coverage pattern. Horizontal polarization, loop mode, is obtained when the antenna is operated at a frequency such that the electrical length of the entire line, including the meander lines, is a multiple of full wavelength as shown in FIG. 3 C. The antenna can also be operated in a vertically polarized, monopole mode, by adjusting the electrical length to an odd multiple of a half wavelength at the operating frequency, as shown in FIGS. 3B and 3D. The meander lines can be tuned using electrical or mechanical switches to change the mode of operation at a given frequency or to switch frequency using a given mode.
The meander line loaded antenna allows the physical antenna dimensions to be reduced significantly while maintaining an electrical length that is still a multiple of a quarter wavelength of the operating frequency. Antennas and radiating structures built using this design operate in the region where the limitation on their fundamental performance is governed by the Chu-Harrington relation:
Efficiency=FV 2 Q
where:
Q=Quality Factor
V 2 =Volume of the structure in cubic wavelengths
F=Geometric Form Factor (F=64 for a cube or a sphere)
Meander line loaded antennas achieve the efficiency limit of the Chu-Harrington relation while allowing the antenna size to be much less than a wavelength at the frequency of operation. Height reductions of 10 to 1 can be achieved over quarter wave monopole antennas, while achieving comparable gain.
Discussion of the Related Art
The aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,080 describes an antenna that includes one or more conductive elements for acting as radiating antenna elements, and a slow wave meander line adapted to couple electrical signals between the conductive elements. The meander line has an effective electrical length that affects the electrical length and operating characteristics of the antenna. The electrical length and operating mode of the antenna is readily controlled.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,034,637 for DOUBLE RESONANT WIDEBAND PATCH ANTENNA AND METHOD OF FORMING SAME, describes a double resonant wideband patch antenna that includes a planar resonator forming a substantially trapezoidal shape having a nonparallel edge for providing a wide bandwidth. A feed line extends parallel to the nonparallel edge for coupling, while a ground plane extends beneath the planar resonator for increasing radiation efficiency.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,008,762 for FOLDED QUARTER WAVE PATCH ANTENNA, describes a folded quarter-wave patch antenna which includes a conductor plate having first and second spaced apart arms. A ground plane is separated from the conductor plate by a dielectric substrate and is approximately parallel to the conductor plate. The ground plane is electrically connected to the first arm at one end. A signal unit is also electrically coupled to the first arm. The signal unit transmits and/or receives signals having a selected frequency band. The folded quarter-wave patch antenna can also act as a dual frequency band antenna. In dual frequency band operation, the signal unit provides the antenna with a first signal of a first frequency band and a second signal of a second frequency band.
Existing crossed element meander line antennas have some degree of shadowing and cross-coupling, especially antennas that cross-over another radiating surface. What is needed is an efficient antenna design that addresses the problems and limitations addressed herein. The improved antenna should have a symmetric radiation pattern and be able to operate in circular polarization.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a crossed, circularly polarized, meander line loaded antenna (MLA), which utilizes pairs of bow-tie MLA elements to reduce pattern distortion caused by crossed MLA elements in prior art antennas.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a crossed MLA having a symmetric radiation pattern.
It is another object of the invention to provide a crossed MLA that can operate in a circular polarization mode.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a crossed MLA having an improved axial ratio performance.
An object of the invention is a crossed-element, meander line loaded antenna comprising a ground plane, a dual bow-tie configuration with four triangular sections. Each of the sections has a side member substantially perpendicular from the ground plane and a triangle-shaped top member with a based end and a vertex end. The top member is disposed substantially parallel to the ground plane with the base end abutting the side member, being separated by a side gap. Each vertex end is arranged in close proximity to one another separated by a vertex gap, and there is a first connector operatively connecting a first pair of the triangular sections each at the vertex end. And, there is a second connector operatively connecting a second pair of the triangular sections each at the vertex end, wherein the first and second pair are orthogonal to each other.
A further object is a crossed-element, meander line loaded antenna, further comprising two or more capacitive flaps positioned at the side gaps. And, the crossed-element, meander line loaded antenna further comprising two or more meander line elements positioned at the side gaps.
An additional object is the crossed-element, meander line loaded antenna, wherein the top member is secured to a dielectric material. Furthermore, the crossed-element, meander line loaded antenna, wherein the side member is secured to a dielectric material.
Another object is for the crossed-element, meander line loaded antenna wherein the first and second connector are meander lines elements.
An object of the invention includes a crossed-element, circularly polarized meander line loaded antenna, comprising a ground plane and a dual bow-tie configuration with four triangular sections. Each section having a having a side member substantially perpendicular from the ground plane and a triangle-shaped top member with a base end and a vertex end. The top member is disposed substantially parallel to the ground plane with the base end abutting the side member, being separated by a side gap. Each vertex end is arranged in close proximity to one another separated by a vertex gap. There is a first connector operatively connecting an opposing first pair of the triangular sections each at the vertex end, and a second connector operatively connecting an opposing second pair of the triangular sections each at the vertex end. And, there is a first signal feed connecting to the first pair and a second signal feed connecting to the second pair, wherein the second signal feed is 90 degrees out-of-phase.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, when considered in conjunction with the subsequent detailed description, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic, perspective view of a meander line loaded antenna of the prior art;
FIG. 2 is a schematic, perspective view of a meander line used as an element coupler in the meander line loop antenna of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3, consisting of a series of diagrams 3 A through 3 D, depicts four operating modes of the antenna;
FIG. 4 is a schematic, perspective view of the dual band, crossed MLA antenna of the prior art;
FIG. 5 is a schematic, perspective view of the crossed element, bow-tie shaped, circularly polarized antenna of the present invention; and
FIG. 6 is a schematic, perspective view of the crossed element, bow-tie shaped, circularly polarized antenna including capacitive flaps.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
This present invention provides a crossed-element MLA structure that provides for circular polarization with good axial performance as well as good isolation between elements.
FIG. 1 illustrates the prior art meander line loaded structure 100 described in more detail is U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,080. A pair of opposing side units 102 are connected to a ground plane 105 and extend substantially orthogonal from the ground plane 105 . A horizontal top cover 104 extends between the side pieces 102 , but does not come in direct contact with the side units 102 . Instead, there are gaps 106 separating the side pieces 102 from the top cover 104 . A meander line loaded element 108 , such as the one depicted in FIG. 2 is placed on the inner comers of the structure 100 such that the meander line 108 resides near the gap on either the horizontal cover 104 or the side pieces 102 .
The meander line loaded structure 108 provides a switching means to change the electrical length of the line and thereby effect the properties of the structure 100 . As explained in more detail in the prior art, the switching enables the structure to operate in loop mode or monopole mode by altering the electrical length and hence the wavelengths as shown in FIGS. 3A-D.
One of the features of the present invention is the use of pairs of triangle-shaped MLA elements arranged in a bow-tie configuration. Referring first to FIG. 4, there is shown a schematic, perspective view of a conventional MLA crossed-element antenna, generally at reference number 100 . Each MLA element 102 , 104 has a traditional loop construction consisting of two vertical radiating surfaces 106 separated from a horizontal surface 108 by gaps 110 .
The plane containing the electrical (E) and magnetic (H) fields radiating from the antenna is called the plane of polarization. This plane is orthogonal to the direction of propagation. Typically, the tip of the electric field vector moves along an elliptical path in the plane of polarization. Consequently, the polarization of the wave is at least partially defined by the shape and orientation of this ellipse. The shape of the ellipse is specified by its axial ratio (i.e., the ratio of its major axis to its minor axis). When applied as a qualitative measure to the performance of an antenna, generally a small axial ratio is preferable.
When properly fed, the conventional MLA configuration of FIG. 5 is capable of producing a circularly polarized signal. However, because a large portion of lower MLA element 102 is completely shadowed by upper MLA element 104 , the axial ratio of the antenna 100 is relatively poor. In addition to the poor axial ratio response, antenna 100 suffers from interaction between MLA elements 102 and 104 .
Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown a schematic, perspective of an improved, crossed-element MLA, generally at reference number 120 . The pair of MLA loop elements 102 , 104 (FIG. 4) has been replaced by pairs of triangular elements 122 a, 122 b, 122 c, and 122 d. Elements 122 a and 122 c are electrically coupled at point 124 , and their interior vertices form a first bow-tie element 126 . Likewise, elements 122 b and 122 d are coupled at point 128 to form a second bow-tie element 130 , orthogonal to first bow-tie element 126 . Bow-tie elements 126 , 130 are each meander line loaded elements. By eliminating the shadowing problems of the prior art crossed antenna 100 (FIG. 4 ), cross-coupling between the bow-tie elements 126 , 130 is reduced. In addition, the axial response from the inventive arrangement is improved. To achieve circular polarization, the bow-tie elements 126 , 130 are fed in quadrature (i.e., the voltage feeds are 90° out-of-phase) as is well known to those skilled in the antenna design arts.
The triangular elements 122 a-d may have flush vertices rather than ‘arrow head’ pointed ends for manufacturing efficiency. In one embodiment the triangular elements are secured to a dielectric plate to orient the elements and keep them securely in place wherein they are fastened to the dielectric.
Another embodiment is shown in FIG. 6, wherein the bow-tie arrangement incorporates capacitive flaps. The capacitive flaps 140 , 142 , 144 , 146 can be mounted upon all four triangular 122 a, 122 b, 122 c, 122 d to allow for adequate tuning. A further description of the capacitive flaps is described in a pending patent application entitled NARROW-BAND, CROSSED-ELEMENT, OFFSET-TUNED DUAL BAND, DUAL MODE MEANDER LINE LOADED ANTENNA by the same inventor and filed May 31, 2001. In summary, the capacitive flaps allow capacitive tuning of the structure. An application for such tuning as described in the cited patent application relates to operating the antenna as a dual band dual mode device wherein a higher frequency loop mode signal has a naturally occurring lower frequency monopole resonant frequency. The capacitive flaps enable the user to alter the frequency of the monopole resonant frequency to a more useful frequency signal or bandwidth to enable dual band operation. And, the flaps allow offset tuning of one of the bow-tie structures to produce a pair of monopole antennas with an in-phase frequency that is vertically polarized. This monopole operation has no effect on the loop mode operation and allows the dual band operation.
As to the dimensions of the bow-tie meander line antennas, the Chu-Harrignton provides an efficiency formula that is inversely proportional to
Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating conditions and environments or designs will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the examples chosen for purposes of disclosure, and covers changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true scope of this invention.
Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected by letters patents is presented in the subsequently appended claims. | The present invention features an improved cross-element meander line loaded antenna. Two pairs of triangle-shaped elements are each connected at their vertices to form bow-tie elements. The bow-tie elements are arranged orthogonally adjacent a ground plane, reducing shadowing and cross-coupling, and providing an efficient and compact meander lines antenna. When fed in quadrature, the antenna radiates a circularly polarized RF field having an excellent axial ratio. | 7 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to insertion of Tee-nuts also referred to as T-nuts, into a work piece with predrilled holes. The invention also relates to an apparatus for carrying out the method. Furthermore, the invention relates to a fastener strip for T-nuts and to T-nuts.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Threaded fastening devices known as T-nuts are widely used in the furniture manufacturing industry and other industries. Such T-nuts are commonly manufactured of sheet metal and incorporate a threaded sleeve or barrel, and an integral flange and spikes, which spikes after insertion are embedded in a work piece around the predrilled hole. T-nuts are used, for example, in the construction and connection of various furniture items.
[0003] Machinery for insertion of T-nuts is often all operated by compressed air, powering a power cylinder that is connected to an insertion plunger. Almost all such machines employ some kind of magazine or T-nut supply system for supplying T-nuts to a plunger.
[0004] When such machinery is stationary, the machinery is usually operated by an operator having to stand at the machine, holding the work piece in position. The operator locates the point for insertion of the T-nut, places the point for insertion of the T-nut (the predrilled hole) beneath the position of the plunger and then activates the machine. The activation is usually done by means of a pedal operated by a foot. Obviously, variations are possible on such machinery, but the machinery described is the system most widely used. Most such machinery operate on a downward insertion cycle. The T-nut and plunger are located above the work piece. The work piece is supported on a rest. Upon activation, the plunger descends downwards, picks up a T-nut and forces it into the work piece.
[0005] However, variations exist in which an upward insertion system is used. The plunger and T-nut are located below the work piece, and the support is located above the plunger.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,794 discloses a machine for downward insertion of a T-nut into a work piece of the type having a T-nut supplying source and a power cylinder assembly. The power cylinder assembly is characterised in the way it also applies a certain adjustable mass on the piston. The piston ends in a plunger that is adapted to engage and drive a T-nut into a work piece upon activation. It is described that by providing a mass on the piston that is accelerated by gravity and air pressure during a downward stroke, the T-nut is hereby driven into the work piece with a very low shock effect and with a higher precision than commonly known equipment.
[0007] Insertion systems that are capable of being operated handheld and are capable of inserting T-nuts in a predrilled hole of a surface of a work piece are also available. Such apparatuses are commonly called T-nut striking tools. T-nut striking tools comprise a striking tool including the power cylinder and the plunger. A magazine for holding and supplying the T-nuts is normally attached to the striking tool.
[0008] Handheld insertion systems are commonly used in situations where the work pieces are so large that the operator cannot handle the work pieces as described with reference to stationary machinery, or in situations where the process is not fully automated due to other various reasons. Handheld systems are also provided where stationary systems, as described, are not available.
[0009] Relating to both stationary machinery and handheld machinery, for many purposes it has been found appropriate to place the T-nuts in line on a strip or a belt in order for the supply of T-nuts to be more reliable compared to a supply of single T-nuts individually. The supply of single T-nuts has a tendency of jamming or causing a false insertion of the supplied T-nut due to a non-precise supply of T-nuts.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,722 describes a strip for the supply of T-nut fasteners. There is provided a strip made of a flexible material connecting the fasteners in sequential relationship along the strip. The fasteners are connected to the strip by bonding. The strip is breakable between adjacent fasteners when such fasteners are inserted into a work piece.
[0011] It has been found that both the stationary systems as well as the handheld systems have disadvantages in relation to safety and/or in relation to precision. It has also been found that prior art strips may incur problems during insertion of the T-nuts, and which adds to the other disadvantages of the prior art systems, for which these T-nut strips are used.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] It may be an object of the present invention to provide a method of and an apparatus for insertion of a T-nut in a surface of a work piece with predrilled holes, and which insertion is simple, safe, reliable and provides a precise insertion of the T-nut. It may additionally or alternatively be an object of the invention to provide a strip for connecting a plurality of T-nuts, and where said strip during insertion of a T-nut does not impede a precise insertion of the T-nut.
[0013] The firstly mentioned object of the invention is achieved by a method of driving a T-nut into a predrilled hole in a work piece by means of an apparatus comprising
driving means for driving the T-nut into the work piece means for disabling activation of the driving means and means for enabling activation of the driving means
the method comprising the following steps of
a) supplying a T-nut to a position in the apparatus, prior to inserting the T-nut in the predrilled hole in the work piece, b) searching and selecting a predrilled hole in the work piece, during which searching and selection activation of the driving means is disabled, c) partly inserting the T-nut into the predrilled hole having been searched and selected, subsequent to which partly insertion activation of the driving means is enabled, d) fully inserting the T-nut into the predrilled hole in the work piece by activation of the driving means.
[0021] By initially only partly inserting the T-nut and subsequently fully inserting the T-nut, a two-step insertion of the T-nut into the work piece is obtained. A method is thus provided with the effect that the method renders the tool safe to operate, and the method furthermore provides a very precise and reliable insertion of the T-nuts in the predrilled holes of the work piece.
[0022] The effects mentioned are due to one or more of the following facts: Because the T-nut, before full insertion, is only partly inserted in the predrilled hole, the T-nut will by certain be at least partly inserted in the predrilled hole, when the driving means is activated. Because the driving means only is capable of being activated when the T-nut is partly inserted, both the safety is improved towards accidental driving of the T-nut, when not inserted in the predrilled hole, and the precision is improved towards accidental insertion of the T-nut in a position beside the predrilled hole.
[0023] According to an aspect of the method according to the invention, the apparatus further comprises
a striking tool comprising automated means for driving a driving means intended for driving the T-nut into the predrilled hole a magazine for a containing a number of T-nuts intended for being displaced from the magazine to the driving means,
and the method step a) further comprises the step of
supplying at least one T-nut from the magazine to the driving means, and at which striking tool a distant end of a barrel of the T-nut extends outside a plane defined by an outermost extension of the striking tool.
[0027] By having a distant end of the barrel of the T-nut extending outside an outermost extension of the striking tool, the distant end of the barrel of the T-nut may be used for searching and selecting a predrilled hole for insertion of the T-nut. The improved method is provided for a fast, a safe and a precise insertion of T-nuts. There is no need for individual elements of the striking tool used for searching and/or selecting the predrilled hole.
[0028] According to further aspects of the method according to the invention, the apparatus further comprises
guiding means such as a longitudinal bearing for guiding the driving means in relation to surface of the work piece, sliding means for sliding the apparatus along a sliding level of a surface of the wok piece, and the method step b) further comprising the following steps of positioning the striking tool with the T-nut towards the surface by performing a guided displacement of the striking tool with the T-nut towards the surface of the work piece, or vice versa, to a first position and maintaining the position at the surface of the work piece, and sliding the distant end of a barrel of the T-nut along the surface of the work piece, or vice versa, and hereby initially searching and subsequently selecting the predrilled hole.
[0033] The improved method is provided for a fast and safe and precise and reliable insertion of T-nuts. The first position is a position where the distant end of the barrel of the T-nut is in abutment with the surface of the work piece. The sliding of the distant end of the barrel along the surface of the work piece is performed for searching a predrilled hole in the surface of the work piece. When a predrilled hole is found, the distant end of the barrel of the T-nut will plunge into the predrilled hole, and the T-nut will hereafter be partly inserted in the predrilled hole.
[0034] According to a particular aspect of the method according to the invention the method step c) further comprises the following steps of
partly inserting the T-nut in the predrilled hole by pushing the striking tool and thereby the T-nut from a first position into the predrilled hole in the surface or by pushing the predrilled hole onto the T-nut and hereby guiding the T-nut to a second position, and enabling activation of the driving means for driving the T-nut into the predrilled hole of the work piece when the T-nut has been partly inserted into the predrilled hole to the second position.
[0037] The effects of the improved method are provided for a safe, precise and reliable insertion of T-nuts. The second position is a position where the distant end of the barrel of the T-nut is partly inserted in the predrilled hole of the work piece. A precise positioning of the T-nut in relation to the predrilled hole is thereby obtained. The driving means may hereafter be activated. A safe insertion of the T-nut is obtained, when enabling of the driving means only is possible, when the distant end of the barrel of the T-nut is partly inserted.
[0038] According to particular aspect of the method according to the invention, the method step d) further comprises the following steps of
fully inserting the T-nut from the second position into the predrilled hole of the work piece to a final position, and activating a trigger of the striking tool, preferably by manually activating the trigger, thereby activating the driving means and driving the T-nut into the predrilled hole.
[0041] The effects of the improved method are provided for a safe, precise and reliable insertion of T-nuts. The fully insertion of the T-nut follows the step, where the T-nut is in the second position. A precise insertion of the T-nut in relation to the predrilled hole is thereby obtained. The driving means are still activated during the step between the partly insertion and the fully insertion of the T-nut. A reliable insertion of the T-nut is obtained, when enabling of the driving means is possible, also for fully insertion of the T-nut.
[0042] The invention also relates to an apparatus, and the one object of the invention is achieved by an apparatus for driving one or more T-nuts at a time into a work piece surface with one or more predrilled hole(s), the apparatus comprising
a striking tool for activating a driving means a magazine for a plurality of T-nuts before being driven into the work piece supply means for supplying the T-nuts from the magazine to the striking tool driving means for driving the T-nut into the predrilled hole of the work piece means for disabling the driving means to be activated and means for enabling the driving means to be activated.
wherein the supplying means is capable of displacing the T-nut to a position of the striking tool, where a barrel of the T-nut extends outside a boundary of the striking tool, and wherein the apparatus further comprises
guiding means for guiding the striking tool with the T-nut to a first position in relation to the work piece so as to bring the barrel of the T-nut at the first position substantially in level with a level for sliding the apparatus along the surface sliding means for sliding the barrel of the T-nut in the first position and the apparatus along and in abutment with the surface of the work piece and, the disabling means intended for disabling the driving means to be activated when the T-nut is in the first position the guiding means being adapted for guiding the T-nut from the first position into a second position beyond a level of the sliding means, the enabling means intended for enabling the driving means to be activated when the T-nut is in the second position.
[0054] An effect of an apparatus according to the above main embodiment of the invention is as described for the method according to the invention. The obtainable technical effects therefore are e.g. an improved apparatus for a fast, a safe, a precise and a reliable insertion of T-nuts.
[0055] In particular, when incorporating the disabling and enabling means with the magazine and the striking tool, a simple and compact apparatus is provided. Furthermore, disabling and enabling of the striking tool is directly related to the surface of the work piece and to the magazine, from where the T-nuts are supplied.
[0056] When, according to embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention, the guiding means is providing a guided displacement of the striking tool in relation to the magazine, a precise positioning of the striking tool is achieved in relation to the surface of the work piece.
[0057] According to particular embodiments of the invention the sliding means comprises at least one of the following sliding elements: a roller ball, a roller pin, a wheel, a plane surface or a sliding rail. The sliding means are intended for easy sliding of the apparatus along the surface of the work piece, however, without scratching the surface of the work piece.
[0058] According to particular embodiments of the invention, the enabling means for enabling activation of the driving means, when the T-nut is in the second position, i.e. is partly inserted, is provided by at least one of the following means: a safety switch or a safety valve. The switch or valve may be of an electrical switch or a pneumatic valve.
[0059] According to particular embodiments of the invention, the apparatus is being displaced in relation to the surface of the work piece, and the surface of the work piece is placed in a substantially fixed position. Such embodiment is typically when the apparatus according to the invention is intended for being operated as lightweight handheld machinery.
[0060] According to particular embodiments of the invention the surface of the work piece is displaced in relation to the apparatus and the apparatus is placed in a substantially fixed position. Such embodiment is typically when the apparatus according to the invention is intended for being operated as large stationary machinery.
[0061] The invention also relates to a strip for connecting a plurality of T-nuts. The T-nuts are of the type having a barrel and having flanges extending from the barrel. The strip is provided for connecting the plurality of T-nuts in a sequential relationship with the flange of one T-nut intended for neighbouring the flange of another T-nut.
[0062] The strip is having a longitudinal direction intended for extending substantially parallel with the flanges of the T-nuts and extending along the sequential relationship of the T-nuts. The strip is having a transverse direction intended for extending substantially perpendicular to the flanges of the T-nuts. Along one extension, where the strip is intended for passing from a flange of one T-nut to a flange of another neighbouring T-nut, the strip is exhibiting a decreased strength in the transverse direction in comparison with a strength in the transverse direction along another extension, where the strip is intended for passing along a flange of only one T-nut.
[0063] An effect of providing a strip having a decreased strength in the transverse direction is that the strip has a predetermined decreased tensile strength providing a more efficient and safer rupture of the strip. Rupture of the strip is necessary when one T-nut, intended for being inserted next into the work piece, is to be singled out from the remainder of T-nuts not yet intended for insertion.
[0064] Because the T-nut, when being driven by the driving means, is singled out from the remaining T-nuts carried on the strip, the part of the strip carrying the remaining T-nuts does not affect the precision of insertion of the T-nut having been singled out. The effect of a more efficient and safer rupture of the strip is increased, when the strip is exhibiting a decreased strength along one extension, where the strip is intended for passing from a flange of one T-nut to a flange of another neighbouring T-nut.
[0065] According to embodiments of the strip according to the invention, the decreased strength in the transverse direction is a provided as a decreased tensile strength.
[0066] According to embodiments of the strip according to the invention, the decreased strength in the transverse direction is provided by perforations running across the strip in a sideways direction, at least in sideways directions along an extension, where the strip is intended for passing from a flange of one T-nut to a flange of another neighbouring T-nut provided in the sequential relationship of T-nuts along the strip.
[0067] According to embodiments of the strip according to the invention, the decreased strength in the transverse direction is provided by the material having anisotropy material characteristics in a sideways direction in comparison with more isotropy material characteristics in the longitudinal direction, at least in sideways directions along an extension, where the strip is intended for passing from a flange of one T-nut to a flange of another neighbouring T-nut provided in the sequential relationship of T-nuts along the strip.
[0068] The invention also relates to a T-nut. According to embodiments of the invention the T-nut is of a type having a flange extending from a barrel, and wherein said flange is provided with dedicated means in the form of protrusions intended for rupturing a strip used for connecting a plurality of T-nuts in a sequential relationship along said strip.
[0069] One possible technical effect of providing the T-nut with dedicated means for rupturing the strip is using less effort for rupturing the strip compared to other means only, such as a cutting knife, for rupturing the strip.
[0070] According to one specific embodiments of the T-nut according to the invention, at least one of the flange ends is provided with at least one protrusion extending substantially outwards from the flange and along a plane parallel with an extension of the flange.
[0071] According to another specific embodiment of the T-nut according to the invention, at least one of the flange ends is provided with at least one protrusion extending substantially outwards from the flange and obliquely to a plane parallel with an extension of the flange.
[0072] According to specific embodiments of the T-nut according to the invention, at least one of the flange ends has an extension forming an angle greater than 0° in relation to a transverse direction in a plane parallel with an extension of the flange.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0073] The invention will hereafter be described with reference to the drawings, where
[0074] FIGS. 1A and 1B are a cross-sectional view and a photograph, respectively, of a preferred embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention,
[0075] FIGS. 2A and 2B are a close-up cross-sectional view and a close-up photograph, respectively, of the preferred embodiment of the apparatus having a T-nut supplied,
[0076] FIGS. 3A and 3B are a plane view photograph and a close-up photograph, where a T-nut has been supplied and is in a first position abutting a work piece surface,
[0077] FIGS. 4A and 4B are a cross-sectional view and a close-up photograph, where a T-nut is in a second position partly inserted into a predrilled hole,
[0078] FIGS. 5A and 5B are a cross-sectional view and a close-up photograph, where a T-nut is in a final position fully inserted in the predrilled hole,
[0079] FIG. 6 is a close-up photograph of one T-nut being fully inserted in the predrilled hole and of the apparatus being supplied another T-nut after having inserted the one T-nut,
[0080] FIG. 7 is a photograph showing a first embodiment and a second embodiment of a T-nut strip according to the invention and with a plurality of T-nuts attached to the strip,
[0081] FIG. 8 is one close-up photograph showing the first embodiment and the second embodiment of a T-nut strip according to the invention and with T-nuts attached,
[0082] FIG. 9 is another close-up photograph showing the first embodiment and the second embodiment of a T-nut strip according to the invention and with T-nuts attached, and
[0083] FIGS. 10 , 11 and 12 are sketches showing different embodiments of T-nuts having specially designed flanges intended for assisting in rupturing a strip connecting the T-nuts.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0084] FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B show a T-nut tool 1 with a striking tool 2 and a magazine 3 . A work piece 4 is shown being provided with a predrilled hole 5 . A lever 6 of the striking tool 2 is intended for co-operating with a combined disabling/enabling means 7 . Comprised in the striking tool 2 , a striking means 8 is provided comprising a pneumatic piston 17 and a plunger 14 . Guiding means 9 is provided for enabling a guided displacement of the striking tool 2 in relation to the magazine 3 .
[0085] The magazine 3 is intended for containing a plurality of T-nuts to be successively supplied to the driving means and to be inserted into predrilled holes of the work piece. The magazine 3 is preferably provided with a spring member 11 for successively displacing the T-nuts towards the driving means.
[0086] Sliding means 10 is provided for enabling a sliding displacement of the magazine 3 and thus of the T-nut tool as such along a surface of the work piece. The spring member 11 is provided for a sequential supply of T-nuts from the magazine 3 . A cutting knife 12 , alternatively just a cutting punch, for cutting a strip (not shown) connecting a plurality of T-nuts in the magazine 3 is positioned between the striking tool 2 and the magazine 3 . A manually operable trigger 13 is provided for activating the striking means 8 for thereby driving the T-nuts (not shown) into the work piece 4 , preferably into the predrilled holes 5 of the work piece 4 .
[0087] The striking means 8 comprises a pneumatic piston 17 co-operating with a plunger 14 for striking a driving means 20 for driving the T-nuts into the work piece 4 provided with the predrilled hole 5 . In the embodiment shown, the plunger 14 and the driving means 20 are shown as being separate elements. In an alternative and preferred embodiment, the plunger and the driving means constitute an integrate element, i.e. the driving means 20 constitute the distant end of the plunger 14 . Thus, in the elevated position of the plunger 14 as shown in the figure, the driving means 20 , in the alternative and preferred embodiment, would also be positioned elevated, contrary to the lowered position of the driving means 20 shown in the figure. The striking means 8 is chosen among existing solutions for establishing a striking force to the plunger 14 for striking the driving means 20 for driving the T-nut into the predrilled hole by providing a pneumatic pressure to the pneumatic piston 17 .
[0088] The magazine 3 is mutually connected to the striking tool 2 in such a manner as to provide a possible guided linear displacement, in the embodiment shown a vertical downward displacement, of the striking tool 2 relative to the magazine 3 . The distance of displacement of the striking tool 2 relative to the magazine 3 may be less than 100 mm., preferably less than 50 mm. and most preferred less than 20 mm. In the embodiment shown the possible distance of displacement is less than 20 mm.
[0089] When the striking tool 2 is not displaced towards the work piece 4 , the striking tool 2 and the magazine 3 will be in a position relative to each other as is shown on FIGS. 1A and 1B . The relative position between the striking tool 2 and the magazine 3 may be provided by mechanical means such as a spring (not shown) acting between the striking tool 2 and the magazine 3 as a resilient suspension, in the embodiment shown a vertical upward suspension, of the striking tool 2 relative to the magazine 3 . The spring may e.g. be a compression spring positioned around the striking tool 2 at the position 18 on FIG. 1A . Because the magazine 3 is intended for sliding along the surface of the work piece 4 , the relative position between the striking tool 2 and the magazine 3 is also a relative position between the striking tool 2 and the surface of the work piece 4 .
[0090] The lever 6 is capable of registering a mutual displacement between the striking tool 2 and the magazine 3 , and thus between the striking tool 2 and the surface of the work piece 4 . The lever 6 is attached to the magazine 3 and co-operates with the combined disabling/enabling means 7 of the striking tool 2 . By a second position of the T-nut (not shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B ) as shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B , where the T-nut is partly inserted into the predrilled hole 5 , the lever 6 is displaced upwards a certain pre-defined distance in relation to the combined disabling/enabling means 7 . The upwards displacement of the lever 6 enables the striking means 18 to be activated by the trigger 13 .
[0091] The register of an upwards displacement of the lever 6 along a certain pre-defined distance may be registered by a mechanical switch, an electronic switch or a pneumatic valve. The choice of registering means depends on the accuracy needed of the means for registering the upwards displacement of the lever 6 , and depends on the operating energy-facilities, i.e. electric or pneumatic, at hand, when designing the apparatus. The choice of registering means also depends on the kind of striking tool 1 , when operating the apparatus, i.e. is the apparatus intended for electric operation or for pneumatic operation.
[0092] The magazine 3 comprises a compartment 19 for containing a number of T-nuts. In the embodiment shown, the T-nuts are supplied by a coil spring 11 displacing the T-nuts towards the driving means 20 of the striking tool 2 . As mentioned, supply of T-nuts is provided by the coil spring 11 , but the supply may also be provided by other means such as a helical spring inside the compartment 19 or a pneumatic piston displacing the T-nuts towards the driving means 20 . In the embodiment shown, the T-nuts (not shown) are placed in a sequential relationship on a strip (not shown) connecting the T-nuts within the magazine 3 .
[0093] In other embodiments, the supply of T-nuts may be provided in the magazine 3 in a sequential relationship without a strip connecting the T-nuts. The supply of T-nuts may even be provided from a bulk of T-nuts. This may be the case in other embodiments of the apparatus, where the T-nut tool is fixed, e.g. where the T-nut tool as described is fixed to a stationary machine, or where the T-nut tool itself constitutes a stationary machine with a support for positioning of the work piece, and where it is the work piece that is displaced in relation to the T-nut tool, when T-nuts are to be inserted into the work piece, in stead of the T-nut tool being handheld and being displaced in relation to the work piece.
[0094] The driving means 20 , is provided alongside a cutting knife 12 , alternatively just a cutting punch, positioned alongside the driving means 20 for cutting the strip connecting the T-nuts in the magazine 3 . It is necessary to release and single out the T-nut to be inserted next in relation to the possible remainder of T-nuts in the magazine 3 . In the embodiment shown, the knife 12 or the punch cuts the strip as the driving means 20 is displaced towards the magazine 3 . The outmost T-nut, initially having been supplied to the driving means 20 , is hereby released from the remainder of T-nuts.
[0095] When using specially designed T-nuts (not shown, see FIG. 10-12 ) and/or when using a specially designed strip (not shown, see FIG. 7-9 ) the knife 12 or punch may be established as a counterpart co-operating with a protrusion comprised in the flange end of the T-nut itself rather than only the cutting knife or cutting punch as such being used when rupturing the strip.
[0096] The knife 12 may have a knife counterpart such as a cutting land (not shown) positioned on a foremost edge of the magazine 3 . The driving means 20 may be magnetised by permanent magnets or by inductive means in order to hold the T-nut in the outmost position at the driving means 20 , subsequent to the T-nut having been supplied from the magazine 3 and having been positioned within the driving means 20 , and before the T-nut is to be inserted into the work piece. The driving means 20 may alternatively or additionally comprise mechanical T-nut gripping means, which gripping means are released before driving the T-nut into the predrilled hole of the work piece, or which gripping means are released subsequent to the T-nut having been fully inserted into the work piece, and when the driving means 20 is retracted after full insertion of the T-nut.
[0097] After the strip has been cut or at least ruptured, the plunger 14 will, upon activation by the trigger 13 , be forced, in the embodiment shown be forced downward, by the pneumatic pressure in the pneumatic cylinder 17 and towards the driving means 20 . When a T-nut is supplied from the magazine 3 and is positioned within the driving means 20 , the plunger will, upon activation, force the driving means 20 and thus the T-nut into the predrilled hole 5 of the work piece.
[0098] In the embodiment shown, the guiding means 9 is a post jig permitting a guided linear displacement of the striking tool 2 and the magazine 3 relative to each other. The end position of the guiding means may be adjustable in relation to the actual type of T-nut used and/or adjustable with respect to any safety regulations. Depending on the end position of the guiding means, the attachment of the lever 6 is also adjusted.
[0099] In the embodiment shown, the sliding means 10 is a sliding surface such as a nylon plate, possibly being provided with a roller ball, incorporated in a bottom surface of the magazine 3 , which bottom surface is facing the surface of work piece 4 when operating the T-nut tool. Alternatively, the sliding means may a number of roller balls or roller pins. Even more in the alternative, the sliding means may be a kind of one or more small wheels or even just one or more sliding rails mounted on or integrated as part of the magazine bottom surface facing the work piece.
[0100] FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B show the striking tool head, i.e. the driving means 20 , when the T-nut 15 has just been supplied from the magazine 3 and is positioned within the driving means 20 .
[0101] FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B show a T-nut in a first position. The striking tool 2 with the T-nut positioned within the driving means 20 has been guided, during displacement of the T-nut tool, towards the surface of the work piece 4 . In this embodiment, a distant end of the barrel of the T-nut has been guided to a position beyond an outermost level of the surface of the sliding means 10 . In this position, the T-nut tool 1 may be used for searching and selecting the predrilled hole 5 by moving the striking tool and thus the distant end of the barrel of the T-nut along the surface of the work piece until a predrilled hole is found and selected.
[0102] FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B show a T-nut in a second position. When the T-nut is in the second position, the predrilled hole in the work piece has been searched, the predrilled hole has been found and the predrilled hole has been selected as the predrilled hole to insert the T-nut. The driving means 20 with the T-nut is displaced further, in the embodiment shown displaced further downwards, towards the work piece until the T-nut is partly inserted in the predrilled hole.
[0103] In this embodiment of the invention and by the T-nut shown, the T-nut has been inserted to a level, where the barrel of the T-nut is partly inserted in the predrilled hole, and where spikes of the T-nut is abutting the surface of the work piece. Thus, only the barrel having a diameter corresponding to or being smaller than the diameter of the predrilled hole is partly inserted. The spikes, which are intended for being inserted into the work piece around the predrilled hole, have not yet been inserted.
[0104] When the T-nut is in the second position, where the barrel of the T-nut is partly inserted in the predrilled hole, the lever 6 is displaced a certain pre-determined distance. The certain pre-determined displacement of the lever 6 causes the combined disabling/enabling means 7 to enable activation of the striking means 8 . Thus, when the T-nut is in the second position, the striking means 8 is ready for activation and for driving the T-nut into a fully inserted position into the work piece.
[0105] Upon obtaining the second position of the T-nut, and if the T-nut is connected to other T-nuts by means of a strip, the part of the strip, which is covering the T-nut to be inserted, is ruptured. Thus, said part of the strip formerly being part of the entire strip connecting the T-nut to be inserted to the remaining T-nuts within the magazine 3 , now constitutes a singular strip part being detached from the remainder of the strip.
[0106] Upon activation of the trigger 13 of the striking tool 2 , the pressurised air is driving the plunger towards the driving means 20 and thus towards the T-nut, whereby the T-nut is fully inserted into the work piece (not shown, see FIG. 6 ). When the T-nut is fully inserted, not only the barrel of the T-nut is fully inserted into the predrilled hole, also the spikes are fully inserted in the work piece around the predrilled hole. In alternative embodiments of T-nuts, no spikes are provided, the full insertion is obtained by only the barrel extending partly of fully through the predrilled hole in the work piece. The depth of full insertion into the work piece may be adjustable by means of a travelling distance of the plunger being adjustable. Alternatively, and preferably, the depth of insertion is merely limited to the flange of the T-nut coming into abutment with the surface of the work piece. The force, with which the full insertion occurs, is adjustable by means of the pneumatic pressure actuating the plunger.
[0107] When the T-nut tool, as described in the embodiment shown in the figures, is operated by the method as described, it provides a tool that is safe to operate, and which furthermore provides a very precise insertion of the T-nuts in the predrilled holes of the work piece. The safe and precise insertion of the T-nuts is obtained due to the fact that the T-nut, before being fully inserted, is partly inserted in the predrilled hole. Thus, the barrel of the T-nut will by certain plunge into the predrilled hole, and not beside the predrilled hole, when the driving means is activated and the T-nut is fully inserted into the work piece.
[0108] Because of the driving means only being capable of activation when the T-nut is partly inserted, both the safety towards accidental driving of the T-nut outside the predrilled hole, and the precision of driving the T-nut correctly into the predrilled hole, is hereby provided.
[0109] Because the T-nut together with the part of any strip covering the T-nut when being struck by the plunger or by any intermediate striking means, is singled out from the other T-nuts carried on the remainder of any strip, the remainder of any strip does not affect the precision of the full insertion, because the part of any strip covering the T-nut being struck is divided from the remainder of any strip covering the other T-nuts still in the magazine 3 .
[0110] FIG. 7 , FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 show two different embodiments of a T-nut strip according to the invention. The T-nut strips 25 A and 25 B are provided with a plurality of T-nuts 15 , and the T-nuts are mutually connected by the flanges of the T-nuts being attached to the strips. Attachment to the strips take place by means of the strips having the one surface provided with glue facing the T-nuts. The T-nuts commonly comprises four spikes 27 and a polygonal flange having first and second flange ends 28 , and a first flange side 29 and a second flange side 30 , said second flange side 30 facing the spikes 27 and the barrel 26 . The flange extends from the barrel 26 of the T-nut. In alternative embodiments, the number of spikes 27 is different and the flange may be circular or oval.
[0111] One technical feature common to the strips shown in the figures is that the material has a decreased tensile strength at least along an extension of the strip, where the strip passes from one T-nut to another T-nut. The tensile strength along at least the extension of the strip, where the strip passes from one T-nut to another T-nut is decreased compared to a remainder of the strip, where the strip passes from one flange end to another flange end of the one and same T-nut. The decreased strength of the strip, where the strip passes from one T-nut to another T-nut, is intended for being ruptured from e.g. a force from a cutting knife, a cutting punch or a cutting protrusion of a T-nut (see FIG. 10-12 ) forcing the material in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the strip and perpendicular to an upper surface of the strip.
[0112] The upper embodiment, shown in the figures, of the strip exhibits a decreased tensile strength compared to the remainder of the strip material, in the transverse direction T (see FIG. 12 ) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L of the strip and perpendicular to an upper surface of the strip, by means of a perforation 30 being made in the strip along the extension E of the strip where the strip passes from one T-nut to another T-nut. In the embodiment shown, only one relatively large perforation 30 is made. In alternative embodiments, more perhaps relatively smaller perforations may be made sideways S to the longitudinal extension L of the strip along the extension of the strip, where the strip passes from one T-nut to another T-nut.
[0113] The lower embodiment, shown in the figures, of the strip exhibits a decreased tensile strength compared to the remainder of the strip material in the transverse direction T (see FIG. 12 ) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L of the strip 25 B and perpendicular to an upper surface of the strip by means of an anisotropy (not shown) being applied to the material of the strip along the extension E (shown by dashed lines, which are not to be construed as perforations) of the strip where the strip passes from one T-nut to another T-nut. The anisotropy of the material, which the strip is made of, may be made by different means. The thickness or the width of the strip may be decreased along the extension E of the strip where the strip passes from one T-nut to another T-nut.
[0114] Alternatively, the material as such may be applied a decreased tensile strength by providing the material higher material strength along the part of the strip passing from one end of a flange to another end of a flange along only one T-nut, e.g. by embedding fibres or orientating fibres in a longitudinal direction, compared to the part of the strip, where the strip passes from one T-nut to another T-nut, e.g. by omitting fibres or by orientating fibres differently than longitudinally along the extension of the strip, where the strip passes from one T-nut to another T-nut.
[0115] Material fibre orientation being isotropy along the sntire extension of the strip, i.e. both the part of the strip extending from one T-nut to another T-nut and the part of the strip extending along only one T-nut must be prevented if the technical effect of easy and/or proper rupture is to be obtained of the strip along the extension of the strip where the strip passes from one T-nut to another T-nut.
[0116] The setting distance 34 of the T-nuts in the sequential relationship along the strip can be made quite precise during application of the strip to the T-nuts. By effort it is therefore possible to control the position of the perforations in order to place one line of perforation(s) between each set of T-nuts. Despite these efforts it may though be possible to place lines of perforation across the T-nut strip with a certain lower setting distance in the longitudinal direction than the setting distance of the T-nuts.
[0117] The setting distance of the lines of perforation may be smaller than the setting distance between the flange ends of the T-nuts. Thus, the setting distance may be any multiple of the setting distance of the T-nuts, e.g. the setting distance of the lines of perforation being ½ or ¼ or any other ratio of the setting distance of the T-nuts. Thus, lines of perforation may occur across the strip also along extension of the strip, where the strip extends fron one flange end to another flange end of only one T-nut.
[0118] According to any of the embodiments of a T-nut strip shown in FIG. 7-9 , a T-nut strip with improved and controllable rupture characteristics is hereby achieved by applying certain material characteristics such as weakening of the material as such and/or by applying perforations or other means of dimensional weakening the strip.
[0119] FIG. 10 , FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 show different embodiments of a T-nut according to the invention. The T-nuts are provided with protrusions 37 , 38 , 39 extending from or along the flange ends 28 . Normally only one type of the different T-nuts will be placed in sequential relationship along one strip for collecting the T-nuts (see FIG. 7-9 ).
[0120] FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of a T-nut according to the invention with a protrusion 37 extending outwards from each of the flange ends 28 in the plane of the flange. The protrusions 37 are manufactured as a downward tapering of the flange ends 28 .
[0121] FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of a T-nut according to the invention with a protrusion 38 extending outwards from each the flange ends 28 obliquely to the plane of the flange. The protrusions 38 are manufactured as an upward burr of the flange ends 28 .
[0122] FIG. 12 shows an embodiment of a T-nut according to the invention with a flange end 28 forming an angle α with a line I, said line I extending sideways to a longitudinal line L, and said angle being greater than 0°. The angularly designated flange end 28 creates a protrusion 39 lying in the plane of the flange. Preferably, the angle α is smaller 45° and most preferred the angle α is within the interval from 5° to 35°. By providing the flange ends 28 of the T-nut with an angle α, a distance d between the protrusion 39 of the flange end 28 of the T-nut in question and a flange end 28 of a neighbouring T-nut will be shorter than a distance D between a recessed part of the flange end 28 and the flange end of the neighbouring T-nut.
[0123] When the endmost T-nut to the left is displaced downwards by e.g. a T-nut driving means (see FIG. 1A-6 ) the strip 25 (shown by dashed line) will normally start rupturing at the lateral side of the strip, where the shorter distance d is present, and then rupture further along the flange end 28 . This is mainly due to a tensile stress being higher at the side of the strip, where the shorter distance d is present, than at the side of the strip, where the larger distance D is present.
[0124] Such progressive rupture of the strip requires less force for rupturing the strip than a rupture at the same time along the entire transverse extension of the strip. It has also been found that providing the flange of the T-nut with the shape shown in FIG. 12 may significantly reduce a required sharpness of the flange end 28 .
[0125] Rupture of the strip by providing the T-nuts with one or more protrusions according to either one of the embodiments shown in FIG. 10-12 by using the flange end 28 as cutting edge will reduce the force needed for rupturing the strip and will ensure a satisfactory rupture of the strip. The rupture of the strip may further be improved by applying a strip with anisotropy material characteristics and/or with perforations as described with reference to FIG. 7-9 . | The invention relates to a T-nut insertion method and an apparatus of the type for driving T-nuts into e.g. a wooden work piece with predrilled holes. A T-nut strip with improved and controllable rupture characteristics is also disclosed. Finally, embodiments of T-nuts with T-nut strip cutting protrusions or shapes are also disclosed. By applying the method according to the invention, a safe and precise insertion of T-nuts is obtained without the risk of T-nuts accidentally being driven from the apparatus and without the risk of the T-nuts being driven into the work piece at locations beside the predrilled holes. | 5 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention is concerned with new methods of operating surface reactors, and with new reactors employing such methods, and especially but not exclusively to methods and reactors employing the so-called spinning disc technology.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Chemical reactions cannot occur until individual molecules of the reagents are brought together, and physical interactions between components are greatly facilitated as the components are more and more intimately mixed together. Bulk stirring is only able to present the opportunity for reagent molecules to contact one another after sufficient time has elapsed to provide the necessary uniformity of interdispersion of the reagents' molecules for achieving the desired one on one contact which finally makes a reaction possible, and only molecular diffusion can accomplish the required one on one contact, which is a very slow process. These encounters can be helped to occur by establishing small scale fluid structures or eddies within which molecular diffusion becomes significant. The role of the reactor, and the mixing and mass transfer equipment associated with it, is to create these small scale fluid structures in order to generate and improve mixing, mass transfer and molecular inter-diffusion. The reactor equipment must therefore direct energy into the fluid system in the correct way. In a stirred tank reactor (STR) the energy input clearly comes from the impeller, but this arrangement suffers from high energy losses through friction, macro-agitation, mere recirculation of the fluid, and other factors. The energy which is usefully employed is focused mainly upon the fluid in contact with the impeller, particularly with its leading edges, along which occurs the only action which can be called forced, molecular inter-diffusion. This means that while the power input at the impellor tip may be very high (e.g. 1000 W/kg) the majority of the fluid is not undergoing forced molecular inter-diffusion, and the average power input across the whole tank producing conversion is low (e.g. 0.1-1 W/kg).
[0003] A further important disadvantage of bulk agitated chemical reaction systems is the fact that dimensional scaling up or down also changes the kind and quality of the resultant product. Very often, time consuming trial and error experimentation is required after a change in vessel dimensions. It may take as many as 5 years for some reactions to be scaled up from test tube to a fully undustrial sized apparatus. This handicap is a consequence of the changing ratio of wet volume to wetted surface areas when dimensional changes of the apparatus are made which will change the corresponding hydraulic radius and in turn the resulting Reynolds number of the agitated fluid. The larger the ratio of wet volume to wetted surface becomes the more difficult the scaling up. For this reason, chemical engineers have been trying to move into the other direction and by raising the wetted surface to wet volume ratio and compensate the lost economy of large scale by improving the intensity of bulk agitation.
[0004] The typical advances that have been obtained in improved mass transfer are by use of what is known as high-power, rotor-stator mixers, where the proportion of the fluid volume in contact with the rotor surface is much lower, and by use of static mixers and ejectors where the large amount of energy which can be supplied by pumps goes into the whole of the fluid hold-up volume through intensified supra-Kolmogoroff agitation. In this way higher power inputs (e.g. 100W/kg) can be created, followed by improved mass transfer. However, such apparatus suffer from the inability to effect continuous, high-speed, uniform and forced inter-diffusion of reactant molecules on a sub-micron and nanometer scale in addition to the inadequate thermal control available, for example, with highly exotherm, fast reactions. Another type of apparatus that has been employed comprises static micro mixers, which can produce mixtures of liquids and gases, as well as generate multiphase dispersions. Such devices, which can be manufactured using methods borrowed from the electronics industry, consist of a series of very small channels engraved or etched, for example, into a silicon wafer surface, through which the reaction components are passed together in laminar flow mode; the channels can for example be as small as 10 micrometers in diameter. The mixing mechanism is based on flow multilamination with subsequent interdiffusion of molecules between the overlapping fluid lamellae. When used as a reactor the reduction of the diffusional path length results in accelerated mass and heat transfer. Despite the improved mass transfer obtainable with the above mentioned equipment, many reactions are very slow because they are still diffusion controlled and therefore their rate depends on slow, natural, unforced, molecular inter-diffusion.
[0005] There is therefore increasing interest in what has been referred to as process intensification technology, fueled primarily by the need to provide industrial processes that are more efficient and economical than those employed to date. Such technology is applied to any physical and/or chemical process involving heat and/or mass transfer and/or physical and/or chemical reaction, the latter term including both chemical composition and decomposition, and it generally involves producing on, and/or introducing to, a moving surface a thin film or its equivalent (see below) of each of the process components, so that interaction between them is greatly facilitated. It is also found that such interactions are possible under conditions of temperature and/or pressure that can be relatively closely controlled. When a process component has the form of a gas, or a vapor, or a plasma, it may be introduced to the surface in a form which is equivalent to a thin film, for example by bathing the surface in the component, or as a flow of the required thin dimension.
[0006] One way in which process intensification technology has been implemented is known as Spinning Disc technology, in which a body providing a disc-like surface, which may be flat or conical, is rotated about a spin axis to create centrifugal force across the surface. The process components are introduced on to the disc surface at or adjacent to the spin axis, whereby the component(s) flow radially outward under the centrifugal force in the form of a thin film. Such apparatus was proposed initially for typical heat and mass transfer operations, and subsequently has been adapted for use as a reacting surface. The employment of the process component(s) in the form of very thin films also facilitates the application to the material(s) of different types of energy that will assist in promoting the process intensification, such as electromagnetic radiation or longitudinal pressure oscillations. Examples of such spinning disc apparatus, and their methods of operation, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,998 and PCT applications Nos. PCT/GB00/00519; PCT/GB00/00521; PCT/GB00/00523 and PCT/GB01/00634, all in the names of Colin RAMSHAW et al.
[0007] Professor Colin Ramshaw and others of the Process Intensification and Innovation Centre (PIIC) at Newcastle University, England have developed processes and apparatus for continuous production of nano particles from various reactions using thin, highly sheared films on the top surface of a single rotating disk, usually now referred to as a Spinning Disc Reactor (SDR). Unsteady film surface waves on the disc surface, coupled with the shearing action of the rotating surface, ensure that micro mixing is achieved. These films are less than 100 microns thick and so offer a short diffusion path length, resulting in excellent heat and mass transfer. Residence times on the SDR range from a few seconds down to fractions of a second, and it is therefore well suited to fast processes where the inherent reaction kinetics are of the same order or faster than the mixing kinetics.
[0008] An evaluation of spinning disk reactor technology for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals was published in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 2000, Vol 39, Issue 7, pp 2175-2182 by Brechtelsbauer C.; Ricard F.; Lewis N.; Oxley P.; and Ramshaw C. A continuously operating SDR displayed distinct advantages over batch processing techniques when several processes for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals were investigated as test reactions. It proved to be a useful tool for revealing intrinsically fast kinetics as well as for optimizing processes with such kinetics. Very encouraging results were achieved for a phase-transfer-catalyzed (ptc) Darzen's reaction to prepare a drug intermediate and the recrystallization of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). In comparison to presently used batch processes the ptc reaction with the SDR had a 99.9% reduced reaction time, 99% reduced inventory, and 93% reduced impurity level. The recrystallization yielded particles with a tight particle size distribution and a mean size of around 3 μm.
[0009] An evaluation of an SDR for continuous processing was published in Organic Process Research & Development 2001, Vol 5, Issue 1, pp 65-68, again by Brechtelsbauer C.; Ricard F.; Lewis N.; Oxley P.; and Ramshaw C. The results obtained for two organic reactions and one crystallization are discussed. The SDR was found to be a useful tool for revealing intrinsically fast kinetics as well as for optimizing a process with such kinetics. Control of particle size distribution was demonstrated with the crystallization investigated.
[0010] An evaluation of the use of an SDR in the application of electromagnetic radiation to chemical processes was given in a paper entitled Photo-initiated Polymerization Using A Spinning Disc Reactor by Dalglish, R.; Jachuck, A and Ramshaw, C. of the Process Intensification & Innovation Centre (PIIC), Newcastle University, England, presented at a conference entitled Process Intensification in the Chemical Industry, Antwerp, Netherlands, 25th Oct., 1999. The results of photo initiated polymerization studies carried out at PIIC using a spinning disc reactor are discussed. Initial results have been promising and suggest a novel route for fast, controlled and continuous polymerization of free radicals. The effect of UV intensity, film thickness of the monomer/polymer film and the rotational speed in the rate of polymerization has been studied. It is hoped that this technique may be used to perform polymerization reactions in seconds rather than hours.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] It is an object of this invention to provide new methods of operating rotating surface reactors and reactors employing such methods facilitating fast and high rate conversion chemical reactions involving liquid-liquid, solute-liquid, liquid-solid, solute-solid, liquid-gas and solute-gas reactions.
[0012] It is another object to provide such methods and apparatus in which it becomes possible to achieve a maximum number of simultaneous encounters of a maximum number of reactant/solute molecules for the purpose of creating products from the molecules.
[0013] It is a further object to provide such methods and apparatus in which it becomes possible to achieve a maximum number of simultaneous encounters of reactant/solute molecules with one another while having assumed mutual spatial positions in which reaction will occur.
[0014] In accordance with the invention there are provided methods of operating surface reactors comprising the steps of:
providing a reactor body having a reactor surface; feeding a first reactant to the reactor surface at a first entry location and at a rate such that the reactant spreads out on the surface from the entry location in the form of a first thin film; feeding a second reactant to the reactor surface at a second entry location and into the first film in the form of a second thin film in order to interact with the first film; and collecting the resultant product of the first and second films at the periphery of the surface
[0019] Also in accordance with the invention there is provided a surface reactor comprising:
a reactor body having a reactor surface; means for feeding a first reactant to the reactor surface at a first entry location and at a rate such that the reactant spreads out on the surface from the entry location in the form of a first thin film; means for feeding a second reactant to the reactor surface at a second entry location and into the first film in the form of a second thin film in order to interact with the first film; and means for collecting the resultant product of the first and second films at the periphery of the surface.
[0024] The second film may be fed into the first film at a first distance from the first entry location, and a third film of a third reactant fed into the film formed by the mixture of the first and second reactants at a third entry location a second distance from the first entry location.
[0025] The reactor surface may be provided by a rotor mounted on a support body and spun about a rotation axis; wherein the reactor surface extends radially from the rotation axis; and wherein the films move radially on the reactor surface under pumping pressure of the feed pumps and centrifugal force provided by the spinning of the rotor. Preferably the reactor surface is polished to a glass-like smoothness.
[0026] Each film may be fed into the respective film that receives it so as to overcome the impedance to interaction between the two films imposed by the existence of molecular clusters in the films. Moreover, each film may be fed into the respective film that receives it at a flow-rate and shear-rate such as to break up the molecular clusters in the film to which it is fed and thereby permit the molecules of the films to aggressively and completely bond with one another to form a resultant product.
[0027] Preferably each film is fed into the respective film that receives it through a respective circular venturi nozzle producing an increase in the velocity of the film for its shearing encounter with the corresponding film.
[0028] Preferably a retaining surface is provided coextensive with the reactor surface and passage of the films takes place in a gap formed between the reactor and retaining surfaces. The thickness dimension of the gap may be varied during operation and may be adjusted to less than 1.00 mm (0.04 in), and preferably is less than 0.5 mm (0.02 in). The retaining surface may be provided with heat exchange means to heat or cool the reactants passing in the gap.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0029] Methods and apparatus that are particular preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, wherein:
[0030] FIG. 1 is a part side elevation, part cross section through a vertical longitudinal axis, of a first embodiment of apparatus of the invention, comprising a spinning disc reactor, in order to illustrate the principal construction features of such an apparatus;
[0031] FIG. 2 is a cross section, as with the part cross section of FIG. 1 , to a larger scale, of a second embodiment, and in order to show a reactor portion of the apparatus in greater detail, the reactor having provision for entry of two reaction components thereto;
[0032] FIG. 3 is a cross section similar to FIG. 2 , and of a further embodiment, wherein the reactor has provision for entry of three reaction components thereto;
[0033] FIG. 4 is a side elevation of a part of the reactor structure employed to enhance heat transfer to and from any reaction taking place in the reactor;
[0034] FIG. 5 is a bottom elevation taken in the direction of the line C-C in FIG. 4 ;
[0035] FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a reactor part providing the spinning disc as employed in the apparatus of FIG. 2 ; and
[0036] FIG. 7 is top view of the inlet connections to the reactor enclosure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0037] The apparatus is mounted on a base member 10 and in this embodiment comprising a rotor given the general reference 12 that is mounted on the base member for rotation about a vertical axis 14 by means of a bearing support 16 . The rotor comprises a disc portion 18 having a flat circular upper reactor surface 20 with the axis 14 as its center or generation and rotation, the disc portion being mounted on the upper end of a frusto-conical connecting portion 22 of decreasing diameter downward. The connecting portion is in turn mounted on a cylindrical shaft portion 24 of uniform diameter along its length, this shaft portion being engaged in a bearing (not shown) carried by the bearing support 16 . The lower end of the shaft portion carries a V-groove pulley 26 connected by a drive belt 28 to a similar pulley 30 mounted on drive shaft 32 of a controllable speed drive motor 34 mounted on the base member 10 . If preferred, or in addition, the pulleys 26 and 30 and the drive belt 28 can be replaced by a pulley assembly of known kind that will enable the speed of rotation of the rotor to be adjusted to a required value.
[0038] The part of the rotor above the base is surrounded by a stator comprising an enclosing casing given the general reference 36 , the shape of the casing conforming to that of the reactor surface 20 , the circumferential surfaces of the disc portion and connecting portion 22 , and the part of the shaft portion 24 above the base member. Thus, the stator casing has a circular part 38 parallel to the disc portion 18 , this part having a circular inner surface 40 close to, facing, and parallel to the disc surface 20 to provide a corresponding circular, pancake shaped chamber 42 of uniform vertical dimension between the surfaces 20 and 40 ; the vertical cylindrical side of the chamber is open and constitutes an outlet therefrom. The casing also has an upper uniform diameter cylindrical part 44 surrounding the disc portion 18 , a connecting frusto-conical part 46 surrounding the connecting part 22 , and a lower cylindrical part 48 surrounding the corresponding part of the shaft portion 24 . The narrow space between the rotor outer surface and the stator casing inner surface constitutes a flow passage 50 of corresponding shape leading from the chamber outlet to an outlet 52 , the annular gap between parts 24 and 48 being closed by a shaft seal 54 . The stator casing is supported from the base member 10 by a plurality (only two seen in FIG. 1 ) of circumferentially spaced precision turnbuckles 56 that enable the axial dimension 58 (see FIG. 2 ) of the chamber 42 to be set to any desired value, which in this embodiment is about 1 mm (0.04 in) or less, and preferably is 0.5 mm (0.02 in) or less.
[0039] A first reactant is fed via a precision metering pump (not shown) and an inlet tube 60 on to the rotor reactor surface 20 at its center point. The rotor is rotating in the direction of the arrow 62 at a predetermined speed of rotation, typically in the range of 100 to 10000 rpm, and the resultant centrifugal force immediately spreads the reactant over the surface 20 in the form of a thin film that is moved radially outwards through the chamber 42 towards the flow passage 50 . A second reactant is also fed via a precision metering pump (also not shown) to an inlet 64 spaced radially outward a predetermined distance from the rotor center and together with the first reactant completely fills the chamber. This inlet 64 has the form of an annulus so that the reactant is delivered to the reactor surface in the form of a thin annular film impinging on to and mixing immediately and uniformly with the existing radial moving film of the first reactant at a circular location indicated by the reference 66 . The outlet from the annular inlet takes the form of a radially outward curved annular venturi that converts the flow into an even faster radially outward moving film so that very high rates of mixing can be achieved within a very short radial distance from the circle of impingement. For example, it is possible to achieve such uniform mixing within a period of less than 5 milliseconds during which the mixing reagents have moved a radial distance of less than 5 mm (0.2 in). Thereafter, the already uniformly interspersed reactants are subjected to intense, forced, molecular inter-diffusion caused by the high shear rates obtained by the high speed rotation of reactor surface 20 on one side of the flow against the stationary parallel surface 40 on the other side. As indicated above, these surfaces may be very closely spaced apart by only a fraction of a millimeter, for example 250 μm. Typical shear rates obtainable at such a gap size are between 10,000 and 100,000 sec −1 . It is important that the parallel spacing of the shearing surfaces permits only highly sheared, thin films whereas such that no tank-like macro-agitation can make possible, as will be described in greater detail below. The fact that high speed, uniform, forced, molecular inter-diffusion of the reactant fluid molecules takes place can be verified by examining various chemical reactions performed in the reactor, which are found to occur over 100 to 1,000 times faster than in a conventional stirred tank.
[0040] After having passed through the high shear, washer-like, thin space in the chamber 42 the resultant product, which may be a liquid, a suspension of fine solids in a liquid, or a gas mixed with a liquid, exits from the chamber, turns around the edge of the spinning disk, and passes through the flow passage 50 to exit through outlet port 52 . It is important to provide very accurate temperature control of the reactants before they enter the reaction zone and also while the reaction/s are under way in the reaction zone. The reactants may be preheated or precooled, (not illustrated in the drawings), as required, before they enter the reactor and the temperature required for the optimum reaction performance is maintained, at least in the annular reaction zone between the circular inlet 64 for the second reactant and the outlet from the chamber, by heat transfer means provided in the stator 36 . In this embodiment such heat transfer means consist of an annular chamber 68 containing an annular heat transfer augmentation body 70 , the lower surface of which is in contact with the upper surface of the stator circular part 38 and is knurled (see FIGS. 4 and 5 ) to provide a multitude of interconnected heat transfer augmentation channels through which heat transfer fluid is caused to flow in passing from an inlet 72 into the chamber 71 to an outlet 74 therefrom. The need for a heat transfer system for the spinning reactor surface 20 can usually be avoided by making the disc and connecting portions 18 and 22 respectively of thermally insulating material; however, such a system can be provided by the provision of suitable passages and connecting tubes, as is known to those skilled in the art of making heatable screws for injection molding equipment. The reactor surface 20 preferably is highly polished to a glass-like smoothness, The stator superstructure, consisting of feed tubes, temperature control system, etc. is held firmly and dimensionally stably together by the top plate 76 which, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 , is of relatively considerable thickness, and provides structural strength and, buckling resistance against internal pressures. The resultant circular and annular wall structures forming the inlets and heat transfer means may be fastened to this top plate to form one rigid structure, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 , which when clamped, as for example by clamps 78 . to the frusto-conical casing part 46 , provides the pancake or washer shaped reaction chamber 42 .
[0041] It is vitally important in designing processes for the interaction of fluids, and apparatus wherein such processes are to take place, to understand as fully as possible the “mechanics” of the interactions, and this becomes even more important when such interactions are chemical reactions that will result in new products. The following is presented as my understanding to date of the mechanics of this invention, although I do not intend the scope of the invention to be limited in any way by this presentation. As described above, the prior methods of achieving high mass transfer and especially accelerated chemical reaction kinetics, generally suffer from the inability to effect continuous, high-speed, uniform and forced inter-diffusion of reactant molecules on a sub-micron and nanometer scale. Despite the improved mass transfer that can be obtained with this prior equipment, many reactions are still diffusion controlled and therefore their rate depends on slow, natural, “non-forced,” molecular inter-diffusion. In addition, it is believed that achievement of fast inter-diffusion is hampered significantly by the diffusion retarding preponderance of what may be termed molecular clusters or swarms, inherently occurring in liquids or gases, within which clusters or swarms the molecules are anisotropically ordered from a kinematics point of view. Such ordering impedes rapid, natural interdiffusion due to the oscillation mode of the molecules within the clusters or swarms, consisting of large numbers of molecules oscillating in unison and unidirectionally on a scale <100 nm.
[0042] It is known that liquids and gases, when not in motion or subject to bulk, random, macro-agitation, tend to form what has been variously referred to in the literature as molecular clusters, or cybotactic regions, or molecular domains, or molecular swarms, or pseudo-compounds, hereinafter for convenience in description referred to as molecular clusters, unless quoting from some pertinent publication. When these clustered liquids or gases are forced to flow at high speed through very narrow, unidirectional and uniform shear-fields, e.g. between closely spaced, parallel flat and solid surfaces as with the surfaces 20 and 40 of the apparatus of this invention, the molecular clusters break up and greatly facilitate un-clustered, individual reactant molecules to encounter each other on a one on one basis and thereby permit very rapid and efficient reactions to take place.
[0043] In a publication entitled Kinetic Theory of Liquids, published by Oxford University Press, First Edition 1946, p304, the author Jacob Frenkel refers to these clusters as molecular “swarms.” According to Frenkel, these swarms usually have linear dimensions of the order of <100 nm, while the orientation of the molecules within the same swarm can gradually change from point to point, which must obviously correspond to an additional “elastic” energy. In a transition from one swarm to the next, the orientation of the molecules must change more or less sharply, in correspondence with a rotation of their axes, often by an angle of the order of 90 degrees. The corresponding additional energy can be treated as the surface energy of the swarms, since it is proportional to the area of contact between them. In the case of anisotropic liquids, in the absence of external influences, the swarms maintain a practically constant structure, as is apparent from the permanence of the picture observed through a polarization microscope. Hence according to Frenkel it follows that the swarms have in this case an ‘athermic’ origin, i.e. they do not represent thermodynamically stable groupings, arising spontaneously as a result of thermal fluctuations, and in this respect they are similar to the crystallites of an ordinary solid body. The splitting up of a simple organic liquid, such as molten paraffin, into a large number of ‘micro-swarms’ (which must not be confused with micro-crystals because of the kinematical peculiarity of their rotations and deformations) is not due to extraneous causes and must arise as a result of the tendency of the molecules to be arranged in an energetically most advantageous way, i.e. in a tight contact with each other, in spite of the thermal agitation, which tends to distribute them in an absolutely irregular manner.”
[0044] This phenomenon is easily seen under an ultra-microscope. The enormously large number of liquid molecules that surround, for example, very small, nanometer size particles and cause them to move erratically in all directions (Brownian motion), can be viewed as molecular clusters containing in their center embedded, submicron particles. During the short, single straight paths between changes in direction, half of the molecules of the surrounding cluster move in a “foward” direction, while the other half retreat in the opposite direction in unison, making Brownian motion possible and even visible. Again, the number of molecules participating in these unison, orchestrated motions, are huge, otherwise they would be unable to so quickly accelerate and decelerate a suspended particle with its relatively large mass and inertia. Their combined mass is capable of pushing, accelerating and decelerating solid particles, such as fine pigment particles of sizes up to 1.5 micrometers along paths of considerable length, for example up to 800 nanometers. The frequency of these erratic and quirky movements increases as the cluster's size, and that of the embedded particle they surround, decreases. After hypothetically removing the particles from the liquid the clusters must remain along with their vibrational frequencies. These orchestrated cluster motions are simultaneously and correspondingly associated with an equal number of compensating counter motions of other clusters and their molecules, even with clusters formed by chemically different liquids. In an ideal reaction, not just the surface molecules of reactant clusters react, slowly removing layer after layer of molecules from the cluster bodies, but all reactant molecules meet one on one as quickly as possible and in proper orientation to one another. But in the real world of chemical reaction engineering, time consuming mass transfer through agitation after many minutes, hours and days, finally may produce a near uniform distribution of interspersed molecular clusters of the reactants. Thereafter and finally, the slow process of molecular diffusion from the interior of the clusters to their surface makes it possible for individual molecules to react with one another to form new product molecules with their own clusters or are interspersed between the molecules of reactant clusters.
[0045] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to reduce the time required for uniform mixing of two or more reactants to a few milliseconds, and thereafter to forcibly inter-diffuse the molecules contained in the reactants' clusters nearly instantaneously to allow a very rapid encounter of all reactant molecules as simultaneously as possible, thus allowing chemical kinetics to be used and explored without being masked and blanketed by issues of mass transfer. According to Frenkel the molecular clusters are generated by the superposition of hypersonic, longitudinal pressure waves which permeate liquids in all directions and cause the formation of interference patterns complete with pressure/density nodes and antinodes whose position fluctuates continuously in accordance with the changing beat frequencies caused by the superposed wave trains crisscrossing the liquid body. In turn, the longitudinal pressure waves originate in the translational, angular and rotational oscillations of the individual molecules. This theory of the formation, origin and kinematics of molecular clusters or swarms has been experimentally simulated and demonstrated on a large scale model by elastically bonding together a larger number of metallic, spiral springs into a large panel, representing liquid molecules in a plane, and making them oscillate. It was possible to observe a continuously changing kaleidoscope of spring clusters, forming constantly changing shapes and oscillatory directions of coherent groups of springs. There was no display of chaotic, mutually independent movements or oscillations of individual spring elements, which would have represented the mechanism of natural molecular diffusion as described classically. This simulation therefore demonstrates a possible origin of the formation and existence of molecular “swarms” or “clusters” and the opposition they render to the diffusional independence of single oscillating elements (representing single molecules), necessary for high yield and rapid chemical reactions. The problem is solved therefore, as is described above, by providing methods and apparatus in which these molecular clusters are broken up and their molecules re-aligned.
[0046] The apparatus of FIG. 3 is essentially similar to that of FIG. 2 , except that provision is made to feed a third reactant into the reaction chamber 42 , This third reactant is also fed via a precision metering pump (also not shown) to an inlet 80 spaced radially outward a predetermined distance from the rotor center and from the inlet 64 for the second reactant. This inlet 80 also has the form of an annulus so that the reactant is delivered to the reactor surface in the form of a thin annular film impinging on to and mixing immediately and uniformly with the existing radial moving film of the mixture of the first and second reactants at a circular location indicated by the reference 82 .
Index of Reference Numerals
[0047]
10 . Apparatus base
12 . Rotor
14 . Rotor axis
16 . Bearing support for rotor bearing
18 . Rotor disc portion
20 . Circular upper surface of disc portion
22 . Rotor frusto-conical connecting portion
24 . Rotor cylindrical shaft portion
26 . Pulley on shaft portion 24
28 . Drive belt
30 . Pulley on drive motor shaft
32 . Motor drive shaft
34 . Drive motor
36 . Stator general reference
38 . Rotor casing circular part
40 . Circular inner surface of part 38
42 . Pancake shaped chamber between surfaces 20 and 40
44 . Upper cylindrical casing part around disc portion 18
46 . Frusto-conical casing part around connecting portion 22
48 . Lower cylindrical casing part around shaft portion 24
50 . Flow passage between rotor and stator
52 . Outlet from passage 50
54 . Rotating seal between shaft portion 24 and casing part 48
56 . Turnbuckles connecting base 10 and stator casing 36
58 . Axial dimension of chamber 42
60 . Inlet for first reactant
62 . Arrow indicating rotor direction of rotation
64 . Inlet for second reactant
66 . Circle of impingement of second reactant on first film
68 . Annular stator heat transfer chamber
70 . Heat transfer augmentation body
72 . Inlet to heat transfer chamber 68
74 . Outlet from heat transfer chamber 68
76 . Stator top plate
78 . Holding clamps
80 . Inlet for third reactant
82 . Circle of impingement of third reactant on existing film | Methods of operating surface reactors, and such reactors, particularly spinning disc reactors require that a first reactant is fed to the reactor surface and forms a thin film on the surface. A second reactant is fed to the surface in the form of a second thin film to interact with the first film so as to overcome the impedance to interaction between the two films imposed by the existence of molecular clusters in the films. Thus, each film is fed into the receiving film at a rate such as to break up the molecular clusters in the film and thereby permit the molecules to aggressively and completely interact with one another. In the spinning disc apparatus the films are fed at respective distances from the spin axis. The interaction takes place in a thin chamber (less than 1 mm) between a retaining surface coextensive with the reactor surface whose distance from one another can be varied continuously, with the components being sheared between the surfaces to break up the molecular clusters to facilitate molecular, forced interdiffusion. Preferably each film is fed into the reaction chamber through a respective annular nozzle producing an improved uniformity of initial and continuous contacting of the reactants followed by an increase in forced interdiffusion of reactant molecules. | 1 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the measurement of a parameter during manufacture of microminiature devices and, more particularly, during fabrication processes in which the temperature of a device substrate is to be measured in-situ.
For many device fabrication processes, it is important to be able to provide an accurate in-situ measurement of the temperature of a substrate (e.g., a wafer) on which a device is being fabricated in a processing chamber. By measuring substrate temperature, it is possible to accurately control temperature-dependent fabrication processes such as, for example, gas-phase etching and epitaxial growth. In that way, the task of making advanced devices with precisely predetermined dimensions and high-performance operating characteristics is facilitated.
Thermocouples of pyrometers are widely used for measuring temperature in a variety of applications. However, neither of these instrumentalities has been found to be suitable for directly measuring substrate temperature during fabrication of advanced devices. Thermocouples often give inaccurate readings due to poor thermal contact with the sample being monitored, while pyrometers typically require frequent and sometimes complicated calibration. Further, alternative temperature-measurement approaches, such as those based on transmission spectroscopy and laser interferometry, have often been found in practice to require unduly complex equipment and/or analysis.
Accordingly, efforts have continued by workers skilled in the art aimed at trying to devise a simple and accurate technique for in-situ temperature measurement of a device substrate. It was recognized that such efforts, if successful, could provide an important basis for lowering the cost of making high-performance microminiature devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a direct-bandgap semiconductor is utilized as a monitor in a processing chamber. The semiconductor is optically excited to emit photoluminescense (PL). Spectral resolution of the emitted PL provides a direct measure of the bandgap of the semiconductor. In turn, this measurement is a direct indicator of various properties (e.g. temperature) that cause the bandgap of the semiconductor to change in a predictable way.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
A complete understanding of the present invention and of the above and other features thereof may be gained from a consideration of the following detailed description presented herein claim in connection with the accompanying drawing, not drawn to scale, in which:
FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic depiction of a specific illustrative measuring system made in accordance with the principles of the present invention;
FIG. 2 represents a sensing element of the type included in the FIG. 1 system; and
FIG. 3 is a graph showing PL spectra obtained from the FIG. 2 element at various temperatures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 shows in simplified form a processing chamber 10 that includes an optically transparent window 12. By way of a specific illustrative example, the chamber 10 is adapted to carry out a standard temperature-dependent processing step in a semiconductor device fabrication sequence. Illustratively, the chamber 10 is designed for conventional molecular beam epitaxy or gas-phase etching.
The chamber 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a flat pedestal member 14 mounted on a support element 16 which may be designed to rotate the member 14. A device substrate 18 (e.g., a semiconductor wafer) to be processed within the chamber 10 is shown positioned on the member 14.
Element 20 shown in FIG. 1 is designed to heat the interior of the processing chamber 10. The temperature established by the element 20 in the direct vicinity of the member 14 is determined by associated control circuitry 22.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the temperature within the processing chamber 10 (FIG. 1) is determined by a temperature sensing element 24. In some cases, the element 24 may actually constitute an integral portion of the device substrate 18. In other cases, such as the particular one illustratively indicated in FIG. 1, the element 24 is mounted on a surface region of the substrate 18. In still other cases, it is feasible to position the element 24 on the member 14 adjacent to the substrate 18.
In accordance with the invention, the temperature sensing element 24 of FIG. 1 comprises a direct-bandgap semiconductor compound of the III-V type. Each of these compounds exhibits a relatively high PL yield and is characterized by a temperature-dependent bandgap. Herein, for purposes of a specific illustrative example, it will be assumed that the element 24 comprises GaAs. This III-V compound is relatively readily available and inexpensive in high-quality form.
In accordance with the present invention, the element 24 shown in FIG. 1 is optically excited to cause charge carriers to move across the bandgap of the GaAs material. As is well known, this will occur if the wavelength of the light incident on the element 24 is selected to exceed the bandgap energy of the target material (GaAs). Further, the number of carriers so moved is determined by the intensity of the incident light.
Illustratively, a laser 26 (FIG. 1) is utilized to excite the temperature sensing element 24. The wavelength of the laser is selected to exceed the bandgap energy of GaAs as the lowest temperature expected to be encountered in the processing chamber 10. In that way, since the bandgap energy of GaAs decreases with increasing temperature, the selected wavelength will be effective to provide the requisite excitation to the element 24 at all higher operating temperatures.
For cases in which the lowest temperature expected to be encountered in the chamber 10 is room temperature, adequate excitation is in practice provided to the element 24 by a 2.5 milliWatt (mW) helium-neon laser operating at 628 nanometers (nm) or by any of the visible lines from an argon-ion laser. In either case, the output of the laser 26 is advantageously propagated through a conventional chopper 28 before being directed at the element 24 via the transparent window 12 of the chamber 10.
In a conventional way well known in the art, the chopper 28, which may, for example, constitute simply a mechanical shutter, functions in conjunction with standard synchronized lock-in circuitry 30 in the detection portion of the system to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of the overall system. Also, the signal-to-noise ratio of the system can be improved by increasing the power output of the laser 26.
Light from the laser 26 directed at the temperature sensing element 24 is effective to excite the element 24 to emit PL. In turn, the optical signal thereby provided by the excited element 24 is collected by a standard lens 32 and directed to a conventional monochromator 34.
The monochromator 34 of FIG. 1 converts the PL provided by the element 24 into a series of output signals at multiple respective wavelengths. In this way, a spectrally resolved version of the PL from the element 24 is supplied to a standard detector 36 (e.g., a cooled germanium detector). The detector 36 measures the respective intensity of each wavelength component of the optical signals provided by the monochromator 34. In turn, the detector 36 generates electrical signals respectively representative of these intensities. These electrical signals are then supplied to the control circuitry 22 where they provide a basis for determining what the bandgap energy is of the semiconductor material included in the sensing element 24, as will be described in detail later below in connection with FIG. 3. As noted earlier above, the operation of the detector 30 is controlled by the lock-in circuitry 30 to operate in synchronism with the chopper 28, thereby to achieve a relatively high signal-to-noise ratio in the detection process.
A specific illustrative embodiment of the temperature sensing element 24 shown in FIG. 1 is depicted in FIG. 2. By way of example, the element 24 contains as its active portion a layer 40 of GaAs (a III-V direct-bandgap semiconductor). Advantageously, the layer 40 is sandwiched between lattice-matched layers 42 and 44 each made of a material such as Al x Ga 1-x As, where x has a value between approximately 0.2 and 0.5. Illustratively, the layers 44, 40 and 42 are successively grown, in that order, by, for example, molecular beam epitaxy on a substrate 46 which is, for example, made of GaAs.
The sandwich structure shown in FIG. 2 is effective to protect the active GaAs layer 40 from degradation due to environmental conditions existing in the processing chamber 10 (FIG. 1). In the depicted structure, exciting light from the laser 26 is absorbed in the top-most capping layer 42 and then transferred to the GaAs layer 40 by a cascade process. In practice, this has been found to improve the radiative PL efficiency of the layer 40 relative to that of an uncapped layer.
In one particular illustrative embodiment, the X and Z dimensions of the substrate 46 (FIG. 2) and of each of the layers 40, 42 and 44 are each a few millimeters (mm). By way of example, the thickness (Y dimension) of the substrate 46 is approximately 0.5 mm. The thickness of each of the layers 42 and 44 is about 0.1 micrometers (μm), and the thickness of the active GaAs layer 40 is approximately 1.0 μm. Such an element is relatively convenient to handle and to mount in a processing chamber.
Illustrative PL spectra obtained from the aforedescribed temperature sensing element 24 are shown in FIG. 3. By way of example, spectra are shown in FIG. 3 for only three particular temperatures. As indicated, detected PL intensity decreases with increasing temperature. Illustratively, in the temperature range of 25 degrees Celsius to 450-to-500 degrees Celsius, PL intensities actually decrease by a factor of about 1,000. In practice, this means that temperatures in the range of about 450-to-500 degrees Celsius are the highest ones that can be accurately measured using the particular relatively low-power laser sources specified earlier above. For measuring higher temperatures, say up to approximately 700 degrees Celsius, higher-powered light sources are required to obtain reliably detectable output signals from the herein-described system.
Above the GaAs direct gap, detected PL intensity is proportional to
(E-E.sub.g).sup.1/2 (1)
where E is the photon energy and E g is the bandgap of GaAs. Thus, spectra such as those shown in FIG. 3 provide an accurate estimate of the bandgap of GaAs. Illustratively, the peak point of each detected spectrum can in practice be utilized as a proportional measure of the GaAs bandgap. As indicated in FIG. 3, the bandgap energy of GaAs (and of other III-V compound semiconductors) decreases with increasing temperature.
Once the bandgap energy of GaAs is determined, the temperature of the sensing element 24 can be accurately calculated by using the Varshni equation [see Y. P. Varshni, Physica 39, 149 (1967)] with parameters determined by the data of Casey and Panish [M. B. Panish and H. C. Casey, Jr., J. Appl. Phys. 40, 163 (1969)] and Thurmond [C. D. Thurmond, J. Electrochem. Soc. 122, 1133 (1975)]: ##EQU1## for temperatures in degrees Kelvin.
Advantageously, a conventional processor included in the control circuitry 22 of FIG. 1 is effective to determine the peak point of each detected spectrum and to derive a value of bandgap therefrom. Additionally, the processor is programmed in standard ways to calculate a value of temperature that directly corresponds to the derived temperature-dependent bandgap of the active material of the sensing element 24. In that way, the circuitry 22 provides a direct measure of the temperature in the chamber 10 in the direct vicinity of the device substrate 18.
Illustratively, the specific illustrative GaAs layer 40 described above is undoped. Preliminary studies indicate that if the layer 40 comprises n + -doped GaAs, the aforenoted decrease in PL intensity with increasing temperature will not be as extreme.
In practice, the accurate in-situ measurement of temperature provided by the herein-described system can be utilized in various ways. Thus, for example, the system can be arranged to maintain a relatively constant predetermined temperature on the sample within the processing chamber 10 of FIG. 1. Or temperature-dependent control signals provided by the circuitry 22 can be supplied to a process controller 50 to vary parameters (e.g., pressure, gas composition, etc.) of whatever process is being carried out in the chamber 10.
Also, detected PL intensities from an excited sensing element can be used to monitor properties other than temperature. Various other phenomena cause the bandgap of the active material of the sensing element to change in a predictable way. Illustratively, the described technique is suitable for measuring other substrate or chamber characteristics such as alloy composition (at constant temperature) or the extent of surface and interface recombination during epitaxial growth on the device substrate.
An advantageous variant of the particular illustrative system shown in FIG. 1 utilizes optical fibers both for delivering exciting light directly to the sensing element 24 and for collecting PL from the element. In such a modified system, components such as the transparent window 12 and the lens 32 of FIG. 1 are not required.
Finally, it is to be understood that the above-described arrangements and techniques are only illustrative of the principles of the present invention. In accordance with these principles, numerous modifications and alternatives may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, for example, if the support element 16 of FIG. 1 is designed to rotate the flat pedestal member 14, the sensing element 24 can be positioned on the device substrate 18 at the center of rotation of the member 14. Or, if the element 24 is positioned off the center of rotation, optical excitation of the element 24 can be controlled to occur once each rotation as the element moves into the path of the exciting beam. | A relatively simple optical monitoring technique is utilized to measure temperature within a processing chamber. A III-V direct-bandgap semiconductor is optically excited to emit photoluminescence (PL). Spectral resolution of the emitted PL provides a direct measure of the bandgap of the semiconductor. In turn, the temperature of the semiconductor is derived from the bandgap measurement. | 7 |
BACKGROUND
[0001] Information handling devices (“devices”) come in a variety of forms, for example laptop computing devices, tablet computing devices, smart phones, e-readers, MP 3 players, and the like. Many such devices are mobile and thus configured for use with a rechargeable battery.
[0002] The rechargeable battery may be charged via a wired connection. Wired charging connection arrangements (“connections”) operate to supply current for recharging the battery via a plug or connector, transferring charging current from a commercial power source outlet to the device's rechargeable battery. There are many different types of connections. Many designs of connections are “keyed”. That is, the plug end of the wire includes a connector element that fits into a port on the device, but each of the connector element of the plug and the port of the device is designed asymmetrically. This helps to ensure that the plug is inserted in the proper orientation into the device's charging port. Additionally, connections and keyed connections are used for other purposes, e.g., data connections such as USB, and other connections (combined) are utilized for combined charging/data transmission.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0003] In summary, one aspect provides a plug comprising: a connection element for connecting to a port of an information handling device; a detection element disposed within the plug; and an illumination source disposed within the plug; the detection element controlling illumination of the illumination source via detecting the information handling device.
[0004] Another aspect provides a method, comprising: bringing a detection element disposed within a plug into a predetermined proximity of a detection element of an information handling device; and illuminating an illumination source of the plug in response to the detection elements being brought into the predetermined proximity of one another.
[0005] The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting.
[0006] For a better understanding of the embodiments, together with other and further features and advantages thereof, reference is made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1(A-B) illustrates an example plug and device.
[0008] FIG. 2 illustrates an example method of connection illumination using communication elements.
[0009] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of information handling device circuitry.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0010] It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations in addition to the described example embodiments. Thus, the following more detailed description of the example embodiments, as represented in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments, as claimed, but is merely representative of example embodiments.
[0011] Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” (or the like) means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” or the like in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
[0012] Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to give a thorough understanding of embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the various embodiments can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, et cetera. In other instances, well known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obfuscation.
[0013] Specific examples are described herein with respect to charging connections. However, it will be readily apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art that the charging connection based examples may be extended to other connections such as data connections and/or combined charging/data connections.
[0014] An example of a keyed connection arrangement (“plug”) is illustrated in FIG. 1(A-B) . The plug 100 includes a connection element 101 and a wire 102 connected by an intermediary element 103 . The wire 102 , in the case of a charging connection, provides power to the plug 100 generally and to the connection element 101 specifically for charging another device, e.g., device 105 . The wire 102 in such a charging connection scenario thus includes an end that connects to a commercial power outlet and an end that includes a plug 100 and a connection for a port 106 of a device 105 . The intermediary element 103 may include a detection element or component that communicates with or is detectable by a detection element 109 of the device 105 . The device 105 may have a battery to be charged. Again, alternatively the plug 100 may be a data only plug or a combination plug for transmitting power and data.
[0015] Referring to FIG. 1A-B , the connection element 101 connects to a port 106 of the device 105 and physically contacts a contact element 108 through which charging current and/or data may be supplied. Thus, in the case of a charging connection power from the wire 103 travels through the contact element 108 of the device 105 .
[0016] The connection element 101 illustrated is keyed, i.e., is asymmetric about a plane (indicated by the dashed line), as is the port 106 of the device 105 . Particularly, the shape of the connection element 101 matches the fittings of the port 106 such that the connection element enters into a space 107 and is able to contact the contact element 108 of the device 105 . There connecting element 101 of the plug 100 therefore is only connectable to the port 106 of the device 105 in a certain orientation.
[0017] A keyed arrangement, while useful for ensuring appropriate connection between plug 100 and device 105 , complicates use because it requires a particular orientation of the plug 100 relative to the device 105 in order to insert the connection element 101 into the port 106 . This oftentimes is difficult, for example in low light conditions. Moreover, the plug 100 is oftentimes small in form, making visual identification of the proper orientation quite difficult, especially under low light conditions. It will be appreciated that the small form of the plugs (e.g., combined USB/power plug of a smart phone or tablet) makes insertion of the connection element 101 into the port 106 of the device 105 difficult even if the connection is not keyed. Such difficulties in determining the proper orientation of the connection elements (e.g. plug 101 and port 106 ) is therefore quite difficult in certain circumstances, e.g., in low light.
[0018] Accordingly, an example embodiment provides an illumination feature, for example included with the intermediary element 103 in the form of a light emitting diode (LED) 110 or other suitable source of illumination. In one example, the illumination feature leverages short range communication or sensing to provision light such that, under low light conditions such as at night, a user is supplied with additional light in order to effect a connection between the plug 100 and the port 106 of the device 105 .
[0019] In an example configuration, the intermediary element 103 of the plug 100 may include a short range communication feature such as a radio frequency identification (RFID) element (e.g., RFID chip). This short range communication feature may take a variety of forms but includes an element that is detectable, e.g., by a device 105 or component or subsystem thereof, such as detection element 109 , based on proximity, e.g. on the order of centimeters. For near field communication elements, as an example, the proximity range may be about 10 cm or less.
[0020] For example, the device 105 may include a detection element 109 including an RFID reader that detects an RFID chip of the intermediary element 103 . In the example of an RFID arrangement, intermediary element 103 includes an RFID chip or tag that is read or detected by an RFID chip or tag reader of the detection element 109 of the device 105 . Other short range communication or sensing mechanisms may be employed.
[0021] The RFID chip of the intermediary element 103 may be detected in a variety of ways. An example includes modulation of a field produced by the detection element 109 of the device 105 , for example when intermediary element 103 is brought into a predetermined proximity of (in the field of) the detection element 109 . This modulation of the field about detection element 109 may be detected and act as a signal. A signal thus detected may be utilized to activate a source of illumination, for example switch on power (e.g., from the wire) to the LED 110 of plug 100 .
[0022] Additionally or alternatively, the device 105 may include a detection element 109 such as an RFID reader that detects an RFID chip of the intermediary element 103 and provides sufficient power to the intermediary element 103 such that a source of illumination, e.g., LED 110 , of the intermediary element 103 is powered by the near field communication. Thus, the LED 110 may be detected (by association with intermediary element 103 ) and turned on based on proximity of the NFC elements 103 , 109 of the plug 100 and the device 105 .
[0023] Referring now to FIG. 2 , therein is illustrated an example method of connector illumination. At 210 a user brings the plug 100 and the device 105 into a predetermined proximity. This permits the detection elements to be located proximate to one another. For example, intermediary element 103 and detection element thereof are brought near the detection element 109 of the device. This in turn permits the detection elements to be detected using, e.g., near field communication. Thus, the plug 100 may be detected as proximate to the device 105 at step 220 .
[0024] When the plug 100 is detected at 220 , an illumination source, e.g., LED 110 of intermediary element 103 , may be powered at step 230 . This may take a variety of forms, as described herein. For example, an LED may be powered by the near field communication, the LED 110 may be powered via power received from a wire 102 , etc. With the illumination source powered, illumination is provided such that a user may more readily see the port 106 of the device 105 for inserting the insertion element 101 . Moreover, the additional illumination provided by the plug 100 (or component thereof) provides an aid in properly orienting the plug 100 with respect to the port 106 of the device 105 , assisting users of “keyed” connectors.
[0025] In this respect, referring back to FIG. 1A , the source of illumination, e.g., LED 110 , may be positioned in a useful way. In the example of FIG. 1A , the LED 110 is placed on a certain, keyed side of the connector element 101 . This allows the user to remember that the illumination source, e.g., LED 110 , is oriented in a certain way. This in turn will assist the user in attempts to insert the insertion element 101 into the port 106 when a keyed connector is utilized.
[0026] Optionally, the connection of the plug 100 into the port 106 also may be utilized to control illumination. For example, at step 240 the plug 100 is detected as being connected to the port 106 , which may be utilized (e.g., by device 105 or by intermediary element 103 , or the like) as a signal that the LED 110 should be powered off.
[0027] In other examples, certain components may be rearranged depending on the desired implementation, components, etc. For example, other communication techniques, components or elements may be utilized other than near field communication elements. Additionally, other arrangements of components may be utilized, such as rearranging the positioning of the LED 110 or other illumination source on the plug 100 , moving the LED 110 or other illumination source to another component, for example the device, or other suitable combinations.
[0028] Referring to FIG. 3 , while various other circuits, circuitry or components may be utilized, with regard to laptop, smart phone and/or tablet circuitry 300 , an example illustrated in FIG. 3 includes an ARM based system (system on a chip) design, with software and processor(s) combined in a single chip 310 . Internal busses and the like depend on different vendors, but essentially all the peripheral devices ( 320 ) may attach to a single chip 310 . The circuitry 300 combines the processor, memory control, and I/O controller hub all into a single chip 310 . Also, ARM based systems 300 do not typically use SATA or PCI or LPC. Common interfaces for example include SDIO and I2C.
[0029] There are power management chip(s) 330 , e.g., a battery management unit, BMU, which manage power as supplied for example via a rechargeable battery 340 , which may be recharged by a connection to a power source such as provided by a connector, e.g., plug and port arrangement shown as an illustrative example in FIG. 1(A-B) . The circuitry 300 may thus be included in a device such as the information handling device of FIG. 1B . In at least one design, a single chip, such as 310 , is used to supply BIOS like functionality and DRAM memory.
[0030] ARM based systems 300 typically include one or more of a WWAN transceiver 350 and a WLAN transceiver 360 for connecting to various networks, such as telecommunications networks and wireless base stations. Commonly, an ARM based system 300 will include a touch screen 370 for data input and display. ARM based systems 300 also typically include various memory devices, for example flash memory 380 and SDRAM 390 .
[0031] Information handling devices, as for example outlined in FIG. 1B and FIG. 3 , may include ports for wired charging connections, e.g., connector as illustrated in FIG. 1(A-B) , to recharge a rechargeable battery, e.g., battery 340 . It should be noted, however, that the example device of FIG. 1B and circuitry of FIG. 3 are examples only, and other devices and circuitry may be used. Moreover, although RFID communication techniques have been focused on herein, embodiments may be implemented using other suitable communication or sensing techniques.
[0032] As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, various aspects may be embodied as a system, method or device program product. Accordingly, aspects may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment or an embodiment including software that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “element” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects may take the form of a device program product embodied in one or more device readable medium(s) having device readable program code embodied therewith.
[0033] Any combination of one or more non-signal device readable medium(s) may be utilized. The non-signal medium may be a storage medium. A storage medium may be, for example, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of a storage medium would include the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.
[0034] Program code embodied on a storage medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, et cetera, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.
[0035] Program code for carrying out operations may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on a single device, partly on a single device, as a stand-alone software package, partly on single device and partly on another device, or entirely on the other device. In some cases, the devices may be connected through any type of connection or network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made through other devices (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider) or through a hard wire connection, such as over a USB connection.
[0036] Aspects are described herein with reference to the figures, which illustrate example methods, devices and program products according to various example embodiments. It will be understood that the actions and functionality may be implemented at least in part by program instructions. These program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose information handling device, a special purpose information handling device, or other programmable data processing device or information handling device to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via a processor of the device implement the functions/acts specified.
[0037] This disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The example embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain principles and practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
[0038] Thus, although illustrative example embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying figures, it is to be understood that this description is not limiting 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 disclosure. | An aspect provides a plug including: a connection element for connecting to a port of an information handling device; a detection element disposed within the plug; and an illumination source disposed within the plug; the detection element controlling illumination of the illumination source via detecting the information handling device. Other aspects are described and claimed. | 7 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/411,115 filed Oct. 4, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,664 which is a divisional of Ser. No. 08/759,338 filed Dec. 2, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,747, which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an optical illumination assembly that provides a high degree of light transmission. More particularly, the invention is directed to an illumination assembly having a plurality of optical microprisms, microlenses and a diffuser for redirecting light from a light source.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical illumination systems, such as backlit flat panel displays require a directed light source which provides an efficient output of light. Such displays are used in a wide variety of applications such as computer monitors, televisions, avionics displays, aerospace displays, automotive instrument panels, and other devices that provide text, graphs or video information. These displays can replace conventional cathode ray tubes and offer the advantages of lower profile, reduced weight and lower power consumption. There are many other illumination applications that can take advantage of such an illumination system employing such an arrangement of microprisms, microlenses and diffuser. Such applications exist in the automotive industry, the aerospace industry and the commercial and residential markets. Some automotive applications, include low profile car headlights and taillights; low profile interior car lights such as reading lights and map lights; light sources for dashboard displays; backlights for flat panel navigation displays, flat panel auto TV screens and flat panel electronic instrument displays; traffic lights; and backlights for road signs. Illustrative examples in the aerospace industry include backlights for flat panel cockpit displays and flat panel TV screens in the passenger section of the aircraft; low profile reading lights and aircraft landing lights; and runway landing lights. Residential and commercial applications include low profile interior and exterior spotlights and room lighting with a low degree of collimation; backlights for flat panel TV screens, LCD displays, such as computers, game displays, appliance displays, machine displays, picture phones, and rear projection displays including televisions and video walls.
One display which can eliminate the shortcomings of a cathode ray tube is the flat panel liquid crystal display (LCD). LCDs suffer from a number of inherent disadvantages. For example, at high viewing angles, LCDs exhibit low contrast and changes in visual chromaticity as the viewing angle changes. The characteristics of the backlighting apparatus are very important to both the quality of the image displayed by the matrix array of picture elements of the LCD and the profile of the display. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,128,783 and 5,161,041 for a discussion of the deficiencies in past backlighting configurations. Additionally, current backlighting systems, in applications such as laptop computers, are inefficient with regard to the amount of light that the viewer sees versus the light produced by the source. Only about ten to twenty percent of the light generated by the light source ends up being usefully transmitted through the computer display. Any increase in the light throughput will positively impact power consumption and ultimately increase the battery life of a portable computer and as a screen for rear projection displays. Accordingly, there exists a need in the flat panel electronic display art to provide a backlight assembly that provides an energy efficient and uniform light source for the electronic display while maintaining a narrow profile.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,555,109 and 5,396,350 provide an optical illumination system employing an array of microprisms attached to an array of microlenses via an intermediary spacer. Such a spacer adds an element of complexity to the described system. It also does not provide for the reception of diffuse light through a diffuser.
The present invention is directed to an improved illumination assembly which is useful for flat panel displays, having an improved backlight assembly which provides an energy efficient and uniform light source. The improvement by the use of the present invention is that an energy efficient, bright and uniform distribution of light is provided in a low profile assembly. The optical illumination assembly comprises an array of microprisms in combination an array of microlenses and an optional diffuser whereby the microprisms and optional diffuser are operatively disposed between light transmitting means and the microlenses.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides an illumination assembly comprising:
(a) a light transmitting means;
(b) an array of microprisms wherein each microprism comprises:
(i) a light input end optically coupled to said light transmitting means;
(ii) a light output end spaced from the light input end;
(iii) a pair of oppositely positioned first sidewalls, each first sidewall having an edge defined by said light input end and an edge defined by said light output end; at least one of said first sidewalls being positioned for effecting reflection of transmitted light toward the light output end;
(iv) a pair of oppositely positioned second sidewalls, each second sidewall having an edge defined by said light input end and an edge defined by said light output end; at least one of said second sidewalls being positioned for effecting reflection of transmitted light toward the light output end; and
(c) a microlens on the light output end of each microprism, such that when light from said light transmitting means enters each microprism through said light input end, the light is directed by said sidewalls through said microprisms and out each light output end.
The invention also provides an illumination assembly comprising:
(a) a light transmitting means;
(b) an array of microprisms wherein each microprism comprises:
(i) a light input end optically coupled to said light transmitting means;
(ii) a light output end spaced from the light input end;
(iii) a pair of oppositely positioned first sidewalls, each first sidewall having an edge defined by said light input end and an edge defined by said light output end; at least one of said first sidewalls being positioned for effecting reflection of transmitted light toward the light output end;
(iv) a pair of oppositely positioned second sidewalls, each second sidewall having an edge defined by said light input end and an edge defined by said light output end; at least one of said second sidewalls being positioned for effecting reflection of transmitted light toward the light output end; and
(c) a microlens on the light output end of each microprism, such that when light from said light transmitting means enters each microprism through said light input end, the light is directed by said sidewalls through said microprisms and out each light output end.
(d) a light diffusing element optically coupled between the light transmitting means and the light input end.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an illumination assembly including an array of microprism and microlens on the light output end of each microprism. The microlenses have dual axis of curvature.
FIG. 2 shows a side elevational view of the illumination assembly of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of an illumination assembly including a diffuser and wherein the microlenses have a single axis of curvature.
FIG. 4 shows an alternate embodiment of the illumination assembly wherein the microprism are elongated and have a rectangular light input end.
FIG. 5 shows a side elevational view of the illumination assembly of FIG. 4 .
FIG. 6 perspective view of another embodiment of an illumination assembly including stacked layers of tapered microprism arrays.
FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of an illumination assembly including stacked layer of tapered microprism arrays and a diffuser.
FIG. 8 shows a structure for producing a diffuser according to the invention.
FIG. 9 shows light directed through the bottom surface of the structure of FIG 8 .
FIG. 10 shows a diffuser having high modulation, exhibiting smooth bumps.
FIG. 11 shows a diffuser having high modulation, exhibiting smooth bumps and a translucent fill layer.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 shows an illumination assembly 400 including an array of microprisms 404 and a microlens 402 on each microprism. Each microprism has a light input end 405 optically connected to a light transmitting means, a light output end 406 and each microprism has a square cross-section. Each prism has a pair of oppositely positioned first sidewalls 408 and second side walls 407 , each sidewall having an edge 409 at the light input end, and an edge 411 at the light output end. The first and second sidewalls are positioned for reflection of transmitted light from the light input end 405 toward the light output end 406 . The sidewalls may optionally be provided with a light reflectance coating applied on the sidewalls to reduce light loss through the sidewalls.
The microprisms form a space 410 between each microprism of the array. When light from a light transmitting means 413 is directed into each microprism through the light input end 405 , the light is directed by the sidewalls 407 and 408 through the microprisms and out each light output end 406 and then subsequently through each microlens 402 . Illustrative of useful light transmitting means 413 are lasers, fluorescent tubes, light emitting diodes, incandescent lights, sunlight, a light pipe, light wedge, waveguide, rear projection illumination means such as a CRT, LCD, DMD or light valve light engine, or any other similar structure known to those skilled in the art.
Preferably the microlenses are convex as may be seen most clearly in FIG. 2 . The microlenses may have two perpendicular axes of curvature as may also be seen in FIG. 1 . The microlenses may be integrally formed with the light output end of each microprism or they may be directly attached to the light output end of each microprism provided there is no intermediate spacer element. When the microlenses are attached to the output end of the microprism, they are chosen to have substantially the same index of refraction as the microprisms. Also, in this case, the microlenses are directly attached to the light output end of each microprism by means of an index of refraction matching fluid or adhesive.
The microprisms and microlenses are transparent to light within the wavelength range from about 400 to about 700 nm. They preferably have an index of refraction of from about 1.40 to about 1.65, more preferably from about 1.45 to about 1.60. The microprisms and microlenses may be made from any transparent solid material. Preferred materials include transparent polymers, glass and fused silica. Desired characteristics of these materials include mechanical and optical stability at typical operation temperatures of the device. Most preferred materials are glass, acrylics, polycarbonates, polyesters, polymethylmethacrylate, poly(4-methyl pentene), polystryrene and polymers formed by photopolymerization of acrylate monomers. Preferred materials include polymers formed by photopolymerization of acrylate monomer mixtures composed of urethane acrylates and methacrylates, ester acrylates and methacrylates, epoxy acrylates and methacrylates, (poly)ethylene glycol acrylates and methacrylates and vinyl containing organic monomers. Useful monomers include methyl methacrylate, n-butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, isodecyl acrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl acrylate, cyclohexyl acrylate, 1,4-butanediol diacrylate, ethoxylated bisphenol A diacrylate, neopentylglycol diacrylate, diethyleneglycol diacrylate, diethylene glycol dimethacrylate, 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, pentaerythritol triacrylate and pentaerythritol tetra-acrylate. Especially useful are mixtures wherein at least one monomer is a multifunctional monomer such as diacrylate or triacrylate, as these will produce a network of crosslinks within the reacted photopolymer.
Microprisms 404 are separated by interstitial regions 410 . The index of refraction of interstitial regions 410 must be less than the index of refraction of the microprisms to allow light striking the sidewalls to be reflected and exit through the output end. Preferred materials for interstitial regions include air, with an index of refraction of 1.00 and fluoropolymer materials with an index of refraction ranging from about 1.16 to about 1.40. The most preferred material is air. Optionally, a light absorbing, i.e. a black colorant is positioned in the regions 410 between the sidewalls of adjacent microprisms to increase contrast. This improved contrast is particularly useful when the system described herein is used for rear projection screen applications. Preferably, the interstitial regions 410 are filled with an absorbing material having a refractive index lower than the refractive index of the microprisms.
The microprisms may be arranged in any pattern on the light transmitting means 413 , such as in a square, rectangular or hexagonal pattern. Repeat distances may be equal or unequal and may vary widely depending on the resolution and dimensions of the display. An optional adhesion promoting layer which is an organic material that is light transmissive may be used to causes the microprisms to adhere strongly to the light transmitting means 413 . Such materials are well known to those skilled in the art. The thickness of adhesion promoting layer is not critical and can vary widely. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, adhesion layer is less than about 30 micrometers thick.
The microprisms 404 are constructed to form a six-sided geometrical structure having four sidewalls 407 and 408 , a light input end 405 parallel with a light output end 406 , wherein the light output end 406 is smaller in surface area than the light input end 405 . The four sidewalls are angled in such a way that light traveling through the light transmitting means 413 , is captured and redirected by the microprisms through to the microlenses. The microlenses are formed with the proper curvature and positioned so that the light emanating from each microprism is directed to a corresponding microlens. This can be enhanced by incorporating prism angles which enable total internal reflection (TIR) and/or by incorporating a low index material in the interstitial regions 410 . In the case of rear projection applications, the microlenses are used to control the spread of light in one or multiple axes. As shown in FIG. 2, each microprism 404 is formed so that sidewalls 407 and 408 form a tilt angle to the normal of the surface of light transmitting means of from about 2 degrees to about 25 degrees. More preferred values for tilt angle is from about 5 degrees to about 25 degrees, and still more preferably from about 5 to about 20 degrees. As will be obvious to those skilled in the art, tilt angle determines at which angle with respect to the normal of the light output surface the spatially directed light will emerge. The height of the microprisms may vary widely depending on the dimensions and resolution of the display. That is, smaller displays, such as laptop computer displays and avionics displays would have greatly reduced dimensions versus larger displays such as large screen, rear projection, flat-panel televisions.
The microlenses can be either a spherical lens, an aspherical lens, or an astigmatic lens. The microlenses are not necessarily circular, but can be rectangular in shape. If the microlenses are spherical lens, the lens will have one curved surface having a radius of curvature. The radius of curvature can vary widely depending on the repeat distances of the corresponding microprism array. In order that the microlenses collect substantially all of the light directed out of the light transmitting means by the microprisms, the f-number of the microlenses should be relatively small. The f-number values for the microlenses can range from about 0.5 to about 4.0. More preferred values for the f-number range from about 0.6 to about 3.0.
Arrays of microprisms and microlenses can be manufactured by any number of techniques such as molding, including injection and compression molding, casting, including hot roller pressing casting, photopolymerization within a mold and photopolymerization processes which do not employ a mold. A preferred manufacturing technique would be one that allows the array of microprisms and array of microlenses to be manufactured as a single integrated unit. An advantage of this technique would be the elimination of alignment errors between the array of microprisms and microlenses if the arrays were manufactured separately and then attached in the relationship described above.
FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of an illumination assembly 400 . In this case, the microlenses 413 have a single axis of curvature. In addition, the assembly includes an optical diffuser 440 optically coupled between the light transmitting means and the light input end of the microprisms. Diffuser 440 comprises a transparent or translucent substrate 444 preferably having smooth bumps on a substrate surface. The bumps range from about 1 micron to about 20 microns in both height and width, although they may be larger or smaller. Mating with the bumps is an optional fill layer 442 which serves to reduce backscattering of light.
A suitable light diffuser can be fabricated from a film of photopolymerizable material on a substrate by directing collimated or nearly-collimated light through a substrate of a transparent or translucent material and into the photopolymerizable material. Collimated light may be defined as that light where the divergence angle of the light rays is less than 0.5 degrees. By contrast, the divergence angle of the light rays in nearly-collimated light is less than 10 degrees, preferably less than +5 degrees, and more preferably less than 3.5 degrees. In this application, whether collimated or-nearly-collimated, the light is preferably incoherent, i.e., light that does not have a uniform phase. Most light sources (with the exception of laser light sources) such as arc lamps, incandescent lamps, or fluorescent lamps produce incoherent light, although coherent light may also be utilized.
The photopolymerizable material is exposed to the light for a period of time sufficient to crosslink or polymerize only a portion of the material. After this has occurred, the non-crosslinked portion of the material is removed, leaving a highly-modulated surface on the photopolymerized portion. This remaining structure can be employed directly as a diffusser or it may used to create a metallic replica for embossing another material to create a diffuser.
Suitable materials for the diffuser substrate include optically clear, transparent materials; semi-clear, transparent materials with some haze or light scattering due to inhomogeneities in the composition or the structure of the material; and translucent materials. Suitable materials for the substrates may also be classified by their crystallinity and include amorphous materials; semi-crystalline materials that contain crystalline domains interspersed in an amorphous matrix; and purely crystalline materials. The substrate typically has two opposing flat surfaces generally parallel to each other, but other configurations could be employed. Materials meeting the criteria of the foregoing paragraph include inorganic glasses such as borosilicate glass and fused silica; amorphous polymers such as cellulose acetate, cellulose triacetate, cellulose butyrate, ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymers such as polyvinyl alcohol, polymethyl methacrylate, and polystyrene; and semi-crystalline polymers include polyesters, nylons, epoxies, polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyimides, and polyurethanes. Of the foregoing semi-crystalline polymers, polyester in a film is preferable and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a most preferable choice for the substrate. All of the materials set forth in this paragraph are commercially available.
The photopolymerizable material may be comprised of a photopolymerizable component, a photoinitiator, and a photoinhibitor. The photopolymerizable component, can be a photopolymerizable monomer or oligomer, or a mixture of photopolymerizable monomers and/or oligomers. Commercially-available photopolymerizable monomers and oligomers suitable for this application include epoxy resins such as bisphenol A epoxy resins, epoxy cresol novolac resins, epoxy phenol novolac resins, bisphenol F resins, phenol-glycidyl ether-derived resins, cycloaliphatic epoxy resins, and aromatic or heterocyclic glycidyl amine resins; allyls; vinyl ethers and other vinyl-containing organic monomers; and acrylates and methacrylates such as urethane acrylates and methacrylates, ester acrylates and methacrylates, epoxy acrylates and methacrylates, and (poly)ethylene glycol acrylates and methacrylates. Acrylate monomers are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,396,350; 5,428,468, 5,462,700 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,385 which are incorporated herein by reference. Preferred photopolymerizable materials include (a) a mixture of acrylates and epoxy resins; (b) mixtures of aromatic diacrylates and bisphenol A epoxy resins; and (c) a mixture of ethoxylated bisphenol A diacrylate (EBDA) and Dow epoxy resin DER-362 (a polymer of bisphenol A and epichlorohydrin). An example of the last is a mixture of 70 parts by weight of EBDA and 30 parts by weight of Dow epoxy resin DER-362. Other materials can also be used as will readily occur to those skilled in the art. A factor relevant to the selection of the photopolymerizable component is that the cure rate and shrinkage of epoxy resins may differ from that of the acrylate materials.
The photoinitiator, produces an activated species that leads to photopolymerization of the monomer or oligomer or the mixture of monomers and/or oligomers when it is activated by light. Preferred photoinitiators are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,350, U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,700, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,385, cited above. The most preferred photoinitiator is α,α-dimethoxy-α-phenyl acetophenone (such as Irgacure-651, a product of Ciba-Geigy Corporation). The photoinitiator has been successfully used at a loading level of 2 parts photoinitiator per hundred parts monomer or oligomer material. Preferably, the photoinitiator should be used at a loading level of 0.5-to-10 parts photoinitiator per hundred parts of the monomer or oligomer material, and more preferably at a loading level of 1-to-4 parts photoinitiator per hundred parts monomer or oligomer material.
The inhibitor, prevents photopolymerization at low light levels. The inhibitor raises the threshold light level for polymerization of the photopolymer so that there will be a distinct boundary between the crosslinked and the non-linked photopolymerizable material instead of a gradient. Various inhibitors are known to those skilled in the art, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,700 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,385, cited above. Oxygen is a preferred inhibitor and is readily available if the photopolymerization is performed in the presence of air.
FIG. 8 shows a structure for producing a diffuser according to the invention. A layer of photopolymerizable material 10 is deposited upon a substrate 20 by any convenient method, such as doctor blading, resulting in a layer of a generally uniform thickness of about 0.02 mm to about 2 mm, preferably of about 0.12 mm to about 0.37 mm, and more preferably a thickness of about 0.2 mm to about 0.3 mm. Satisfactory results have been obtained with a layer of a generally uniform thickness of about 0.2 mm to about 0.3 mm. Optionally, a glass support layer 30 can be placed underneath the substrate. Preferably, the top surface of the layer 10 is open to an atmosphere containing oxygen.
As seen in FIG. 9, collimated or nearly-collimated light is directed through the bottom surface of the substrate 20 and through the photopolymerizable layer. If a glass support layer 30 has been provided, the light first passes through the glass. The light can be any visible light, ultraviolet light, or other wavelengths (or combinations of wavelengths) capable of inducing polymerization of the photopolymerizable material, as will readily occur to those skilled in the art. However, many of the commonly-used photoinitiators, including Irgacure-651, respond favorably to ultraviolet light in the wavelength range from about 350 nm to about 400 nm, although this range is not critical. Preferably, the intensity of the light ranges from about 1 mW/cm 2 to about 1000 mW/cm 2 , more preferably from about 5 mW/cm 2 to about 200 mW/cm 2 , and optimally about 10 mW/cm 2 to about 30 mW/cm 2 . Satisfactory results have been obtained with a light intensity of approximately 30 mW/cm 2 .
As light passes through the photopolymerizable layer 10 , the molecules of the photopolymerizable material will begin to crosslink (or polymerize), beginning at the bottom surface of the photopolymerizable layer. Before the entire thickness of the photopolymerizable layer has had an opportunity to crosslink, the light is removed, leaving only the lower photocrosslinked polymer component 12 of the photopolymerizable layer 10 . The dosage of light required to achieve the desired amount of crosslinking depends on the photopolymerizable material employed. For example, if the photopolymerizable mixture of EBDA and Dow epoxy resin DER-362 material and the photoinitiator α,α-dimethoxy-α-phenyl acetophenone are used and applied in a thickness ranging from about 0.2 mm to about 0.3 mm, the total light dose received by the photopolymerizable layer preferably ranges from about 5 mJ/cm 2 to about 2000 mJ/cm 2 , more preferably from about 20 mJ/cm 2 to about 300 mJ/cm 2 , and optimally from about 60 mJ/cm 2 to about 120 mJ/cm 2 . A satisfactory result was obtained using the photopolymerizable mixture of EBDA and Dow epoxy resin DER-362 material. It was applied in a thickness of approximately 0.2 mm to 0.3 mm, together with the photoinitiator Irgacure-651 at a level of 2 parts photoinitiator per hundred parts of the photopolymerizable mixture. The light source intensity was approximately 30 mW/cm 2 and the dosage was between 60 mJ/cm 2 and 120 mJ/cm 2 .
A developer is then applied to the photopolymerizable layer to remove the unpolymerized portion. The developer can be any material, usually liquid, that will dissolve or otherwise remove the unpolymerized material without affecting the crosslinked component. Suitable developers are organic solvents such as methanol, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, or a mixture of such solvents. Alternatively, one can employ a water-based developer containing one or more surfactants, as will readily occur to those skilled in the art. After the unpolymerized portion had been removed, the photocrosslinked component 40 remains on the substrate.
As seen in FIG. 10, the surface 42 of the photocrosslinked component 40 is highly modulated, exhibiting smooth bumps ranging in size from about 1 micron to about 20 microns in both height and width, although they may be larger or smaller. The aspect ratios, i.e., the ratios of the heights to the widths, of the bumps on the highly modulated surface of the photocrosslinked component are generally quite high. Since the substrate is optically clear or semi-clear to the unaided human eye and has no obvious masking features to block light transmission, one might not expect the highly-modulated surface. A highly modulated surface can be achieved with substrates fabricated from photopolymerizable material containing only one monomer or oligomer component, or a mixture of such components. These photocrosslinked materials will exhibit variations in the spatial uniformity of polymerization due to random fluctuations in the spatial intensity of the applied light and statistical fluctuations in the microscopic structure of the substrate. An example of the latter is the material PET, a semi-crystalline polymer material containing random microscopic crystals interspersed with amorphous polymer. The random microscopic crystals will refract light differently than the surrounding amorphous polymer if the refractive indexes of the two phases are slightly different. Internally, the polymerized component will exhibit striations running through the thickness of the layer. The dosage of light can be applied in a single exposure or in multiple exposures or doses, leaving the photopolymerizable material unexposed to light between exposures. Multiple exposures of light to achieve the same total dosage can result in a surface more highly modulated than would occur from a single exposure. The photopolymerized component can be used in a number of ways. For example, it can be employed as a light diffuser in a projection viewing screen or as a component in a liquid crystal display (LCD) illumination system to hide the system's structural features.
A conforming metal replica layer can be formed on the highly-modulated surface through electroforming, electroless deposition, vapor deposition, and other techniques as will readily occur to those skilled in the art. The metallic layer is then used to make embossed copies of the surface structure of the original photocrosslinked component. The metallic replica layer may be used in a varied of known embossing methods such as thermal embossing into clear or translucent thermoplastic materials or soft-embossing or casting (i.e., photocure embossing) into a clear or translucent photoreactive material or mixture. An embossable layer of material, such as polycarbonate, acrylic polymer, vinyl polymer, even photopolymerizable material, is placed on a substrate. The metallic replica layer is then applied to the embossable layer, creating a mating surface. In the case of hard embossing or preferably thermal embossing, the metallic replica layer is pushed into the surface of the embossable layer, simultaneously with the application of heat or pressure, or both. In the case of soft embossing or casting, the metallic replica layer is placed in contact with a reactive liquid photopolymerizable material, and the latter is then photoexposed to form a solid polymeric film. Typically, the light used to expose the photopolymer in a soft embossing application is not collimated. Therefore, unless the embossable layer was fabricated from photopolymerizable material exposed to collimated or nearly collimated light, the embossable layer will not have striations. By using any of the foregoing embossing techniques, a large number of pieces having the surface contour of the highly-modulated surface of the original photocrosslinked component can be made. The metallic replica layer is removed leaving the resulting embossed layer. The embossed layer may be employed as a light diffuser, with or without the underlying substrate.
To reduce backscattering of light, the photocrosslinked component can be coated with a transparent or translucent fill layer 442 as seen in FIG. 11 . Similarly, the fill layer could be applied to an embossed layer. The index of refraction n 2 of the fill layer may differ from the index n 1 of the photocrosslinked component. For example, if n 1 =1.55, then n 2 may range from about 1.30 to about 1.52, or from about 1.58 to about 1.80. The optimal refractive index is a function of the desired distribution of the light exiting the diffuser, i.e., for a given value for n 1 , the diffusing light pattern obtained when light passes completely through the diffuser may be varied by changing n 2 . Of course, one may also vary n 1 to suit the application. Suitable materials for the fill layer having an index of refraction typically less than n 1 include silicone, fluorinated acrylates or methacrylates, fluoro epoxies, fluorosilicones, fluororethanes, and other materials as will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Materials such as aromatic acrylates, having an index of refraction typically greater than n, may also be employed for the fill layer. In a variation, in lieu of an essentially homogenous material for the fill layer, a layer containing light-scattering particles having yet a third index of refraction n 3 could be utilized. Alternatively, light-scattering particles could be placed in the embossable layer. In either case, the light-scattering particles could be made from an optically-transmissive material such as glass beads or polymer beads or polymer particles made from, for example, amorphous, optically-clear polymers such as polystyrene, acrylics, polycarbonates, olefins, or other materials as will readily occur to those skilled in the art.
The various layers of the light diffusers of differing indices of refraction, could be arranged with respect to the light source to alter the diffusion effect on the light. For example, light could pass through the diffuser by first passing through a layer having a higher index of refraction and then passing through a layer having a lower index of refraction, or vice versa. In addition, the reflectivity of the diffusing structures and the amount of backscattered light also can be altered by changing the direction of the light passing through the structures. Preferably, for diffuser applications demanding low backscattering of incident light (the optical loss that lowers the efficiency of the optical system), the light should pass through the layer with the lower refractive index before the higher refractive index layer.
The diffuser can perform one or more of the following functions: hide the structural features of the scattering elements on the light transmitting means 413 ; improve the uniformity of light transmitted from the light transmitting means; define the angular distribution of light transmitted the light transmitting means, facilitating increased brightness or the same brightness at reduced power; and optionally function as a transflective diffuser, i.e., an optical device utilizing both transmitted light and reflected light.
FIGS. 4 and 5 shows an alternate embodiment of the invention wherein an illumination system 500 comprises elongated microprisms 501 and have a rectangular light input end. and a microlens 502 on each microprism. Each microprism 501 has a light input end 505 optically connected to a light transmitting means 513 , and a light output end 506 . Each prism has a pair of oppositely positioned first sidewalls 508 and second side walls 507 , each sidewall having an edge 509 at the light input end, and an edge 511 at the light output end. The first and second sidewalls are positioned for reflection of transmitted light from the light input end 505 toward the light output end 506 . The sidewalls may optionally be provided with a light reflectance coating applied on the sidewalls to reduce light loss through the sidewalls.
The microprisms form a space 510 between each microprism of the array. When light from a light transmitting means 513 is directed into each microprism through the light input end 505 , the light is directed by the sidewalls 507 and 508 through the microprisms and out each light output end 506 and then subsequently through each microlens 502 .
Also included are stacked layers of tapered microprism arrays. FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the invention wherein a first elongated array of microprisms 530 is attached to a second elongated array of microprisms 540 wherein the microlenses are at the light output end of the second microprism array. FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of an illumination assembly including stacked layers of tapered microprism arrays. A first elongated array of microprisms 640 is attached to a second elongated array of microprisms 650 wherein the microlenses 502 are at the light output end of the second microprism array 650 . This arrangement also includes a diffuser 630 which is similar in structure to diffuser 440 above.
It will be understood that the particular embodiments described above are only illustrative of the principles of the present invention, and that various modifications could be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention, which is limited only by the claims that follow. | An optical illumination assembly comprising an array of optical microprisms and microlenses for redirecting light from a light source. Such displays are used in a wide variety of applications such as backlit flat panel displays requiring a directed light source which provides an efficient output of light. The illumination assembly has a light transmitter optically coupled to an input end of array of microprisms through an optional diffuser, and a microlens on the light output end of each microprism. The microprisms have a light input end optically coupled to the light transmitting means and a light output end spaced from the light input end. Two pairs of oppositely positioned sidewalls having one an edge defined by said light input end and another edge defined by said light output end are positioned for reflecting of transmitted light toward the light output end; When light from the light transmitting means enters each microprism through the light input end, the light is directed by said sidewalls through the microprisms to each light output end and then through the microlenses. Optionally a light diffuser is positioned between the light transmitter and the input end of the microprisms. | 6 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to scroll machines. More particularly, the present invention relates to scroll compressors having a conical shaped bore in the hub into which the bearing is pressed. After insertion of the bearing, the conical shape of the bore in conjunction with the variation in distortion of the hub provides a straight bearing for the compressor.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Scroll type machines are becoming more and more popular for use as compressors in both refrigeration as well as air conditioning applications due primarily to their capability for extremely efficient operation. Generally, these machines incorporate a pair of intermeshed spiral wraps one of which is caused to orbit relative to the other so as to define one or more moving chambers which progressively decrease in size as they travel from an outer suction port toward a center discharge port. An electric motor is provided which operates to drive the orbiting scroll member via a suitable drive shaft affixed to the motor rotor. In a hermetic compressor, the bottom of the hermetic shell normally contains an oil sump for lubricating and cooling purposes.
Generally, the motor includes a stator which is secured to the shell of the compressor. The motor rotor rotates within the stator to impart rotation to a crankshaft which is normally press fit within the motor rotor. The crankshaft is rotationally supported by a pair of bearings which are supported by an upper bearing housing and a lower bearing housing. The crankshaft includes an eccentric crank pin which extends into a bore defined in a hub of the orbiting scroll. Disposed between the hub of the crank pin and the inner surface of the bore is a drive bushing which rides against a bearing that is press fit within the bore of the hub.
The hub of the orbiting scroll extends perpendicularly from a base plate of the orbiting scroll. The bore in the hub extends from the open end of the hub to a position generally adjacent the base plate of the orbiting scroll. Thus, the bore in the hub is a blind bore with the open end being positioned at the distal end of the hub and the closed end being positioned at the base plate of the orbiting scroll. During the manufacture of the orbiting scroll, the bore in the hub is machined and the bearing is press fit within the machined bore. Because of the press fit relationship of the bearing and the bore, both the scroll hub and the bearing will deflect during the assembly of the bearing. The total amount of deflection will be determined by the overall stiffness of the hub. The deflection of the hub at the open end of the bore will be greater than the deflection of the hub at the closed end of the bore. The main reason for this unequal deflection is because the hub at the open end of the bore is unsupported while the hub at the closed end of the bore is supported by the end plate. The unequal deflection will result in an assembled bearing having a greater diameter at the open end than at the closed end. This tapered bearing will adversely affect the long term performance of the bearing life and thus the scroll machine.
The present invention presents a solution to the tapered bearing problem by providing a conical bearing bore prior to the installation of the bearing. The conical shape of the bearing bore provides a smaller diameter at the open end and a larger diameter at the closed end. After assembly of the bearing the unequal deflection of the scroll hub will provide an assembled bearing that is more cylindrical than the prior art systems. Thus, the more cylindrical shape will perform longer thus increasing the long term durability of both the bearing and the compressor. The more cylindrical shape increases the durability by providing a uniform clearance between the bearing and the bushing. The uniform clearance increases the load capacity of the bearing due to more uniform pressures being exerted on the bearing. Other advantages include a more uniform press load is required to assemble the bearing and this uniform press load provides a better indication of the holding pressure of the assembly. In addition, the system of the present invention is less sensitive to the dimensional variations of the individual components and this will therefore allow some broadening of the tolerances of the individual dimensions.
Other advantages and objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the subsequent detailed description, appended claims and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings which illustrate the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the present invention:
FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view through the center of a scroll type refrigeration compressor incorporating the conical hub bearing in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the orbiting scroll hub and bearing of the compressor shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the orbiting scroll hub shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 prior to assembly of the bearing illustrating the conical hub bore according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3 but illustrating a conical hub bore in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3 but illustrating a conical hub bore in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIG. 1 a scroll compressor which incorporates a compensation system in accordance with the present invention which is designated generally by reference numeral 10 . Compressor 10 comprises a generally cylindrical hermetic shell 12 having welded at the upper end thereof a cap 14 and at the lower end thereof a base 16 having a plurality of mounting feet (not shown) integrally formed therewith. Cap 14 is provided with a refrigerant discharge fitting 18 which may have the usual discharge valve therein (not shown). Other major elements affixed to the shell include a transversely extending partition 22 which is welded about its periphery at the same point that cap 14 is welded to shell 12 , a main bearing housing 24 which is suitably secured to shell 12 by a plurality of radially outwardly extending legs and a lower bearing housing 26 also having a plurality of radially outwardly extending legs each of which is also suitably secured to shell 12 . A motor stator 28 which is generally square or hexagonal in cross-section but with the corners rounded off is press fitted into shell 12 . The flats between the rounded corners on stator 28 provide passageways between stator 28 and shell 12 , which facilitate the return flow of lubricant from the top of the shell to the bottom.
A drive shaft or crankshaft 30 having an eccentric crank pin 32 at the upper end thereof is rotatably journaled in a bearing 34 in main bearing housing 24 and a second bearing 36 in lower bearing housing 26 . Crankshaft 30 has at the lower end a relatively large diameter concentric bore 38 which communicates with a radially outwardly inclined smaller diameter bore 40 extending upwardly therefrom to the top of crankshaft 30 . Disposed within bore 38 is a stirrer 42 . The lower portion of the interior shell 12 defines an oil sump 44 which is filled with lubricating oil to a level slightly above the lower end of a rotor 46 , and bore 38 acts as a pump to pump lubricating fluid up the crankshaft 30 and into bore 40 and ultimately to all of the various portions of the compressor which require lubrication.
Crankshaft 30 is rotatively driven by an electric motor including stator 28 , windings 48 passing therethrough and rotor 46 press fitted on crankshaft 30 and having upper and lower counterweights 50 and 52 , respectively.
The upper surface of main bearing housing 24 is provided with a flat thrust bearing surface 54 on which is disposed an orbiting scroll member 56 having the usual spiral vane or wrap 58 extending upward from an end plate 60 . Projecting downwardly from the lower surface of end plate 60 of orbiting scroll member 56 is a cylindrical hub having a journal bearing 62 therein and in which is rotatively disposed a drive bushing 64 having an inner bore 66 in which crank pin 32 is drivingly disposed. Crank pin 32 has a flat on one surface which drivingly engages a flat surface (not shown) formed in a portion of bore 66 to provide a radially compliant driving arrangement, such as shown in assignee's U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,382, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. An Oldham coupling 68 is also provided positioned between orbiting scroll member 56 and bearing housing 24 and keyed to orbiting scroll member 56 and a non-orbiting scroll member 70 to prevent rotational movement of orbiting scroll member 56 . Oldham coupling 68 is preferably of the type disclosed in assignee's co-pending U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,506, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Non-orbiting scroll member 70 is also provided having a wrap 72 extending downwardly from an end plate 74 which is positioned in meshing engagement with wrap 58 of orbiting scroll member 56 . Non-orbiting scroll member 70 has a centrally disposed discharge passage 76 which communicates with an upwardly open recess 78 which in turn is in fluid communication with a discharge muffler chamber 80 defined by cap 14 and partition 22 . An annular recess 82 is also formed in non-orbiting scroll member 70 within which is disposed a seal assembly 84 . Recesses 78 and 82 and seal assembly 84 cooperate to define axial pressure biasing chambers which receive pressurized fluid being compressed by wraps 58 and 72 so as to exert an axial biasing force on non-orbiting scroll member 70 to thereby urge the tips of respective wraps 58 , 72 into sealing engagement with the opposed end plate surfaces of end plates 74 and 60 , respectively. Seal assembly 84 is preferably of the type described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,539, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Non-orbiting scroll member 70 is designed to be mounted to bearing housing 24 in a suitable manner such as disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,382 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,316, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the hub of orbiting scroll member 56 includes annular wall 90 which extends generally perpendicularly from end plate 60 . Annular wall 90 defines an internal bore 92 within which bearing 62 is located. The manufacturing process for orbiting scroll member 56 includes the machining of bore 92 and the assembly of bearing 62 within bore 92 . The dimensions for bore 92 and the dimensions for bearing 62 are chosen such that an interference fit occurs between the outside diameter of bearing 62 and the inside diameter of bore 92 . Typically, the amount of interference designed into the assembly is 0.003 inches when scroll member 56 and bearing 62 are manufactured from steel. Of course the amount of interference will change when scroll member 56 is made from a different material. These dimensions are typical for a bore diameter of approximately 30 mm for bore 92 .
During the assembly of bearing 62 within bore 92 both annular wall 90 and bearing 62 will deflect due to the interference fit. Typically, a steel or cast iron scroll member 56 will see annular wall 90 deflecting outward approximately 40% of the interference and bearing 62 will deflect inward approximately 60% of the interference. The relationship between the amount of deflection will change when scroll member 56 is manufactured from a different material.
Referring to FIG. 3, bore 92 is illustrated. Bore 92 includes a first diameter 96 at its open end and a second diameter 98 at its closed end. The shape of bore 92 between diameters 96 and 98 is a straight line relationship and diameter 96 is smaller than diameter 98 . Preferably, the difference between diameter 96 and diameter 98 is between 0.0010 inches and 0.0012 inches.
Referring to FIG. 4, a bore 92 ′ is illustrated. Bore 92 ′ includes a first diameter 96 ′ at its open end and a second diameter 98 ′ at its closed end. The shape of bore 92 ′ between diameters 96 ′ and 98 ′ is defined by diameter 96 ′ extending towards diameter 98 ′ for a specified distance and then a straight line relationship as shown in a solid line or a curved relationship as shown in a dashed line between diameter 96 ′ and 98 ′. Diameter 96 ′ is smaller than diameter 98 ′. Preferably the difference between diameter 96 ′ and diameter 98 ′ is between 0.0006 inches and 0.0012 inches with diameter 96 ′ extending for approximately 60% of the length between the free end and the closed end of bore 92 ′.
Referring now to FIG. 5, bore 92 ″ is illustrated. Bore 92 ″ includes a first diameter 96 ″ at its open end and a second diameter 98 ″ at its closed end. The shape of bore 92 ″ between diameters 96 ″ and 98 ″ is a curved line or an arcuate surface and diameter 96 ″ is smaller than diameter 98 ′. Preferably, the difference between diameter 96 ″ and 98 ″ is between 0.0006 inches and 0.0010 inches.
While the above detailed description describes the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it should be understood that the present invention is susceptible to modification, variation and alteration without deviating from the scope and fair meaning of the subjoined claims. | A scroll compressor has an orbiting scroll which has an end plate with a hub extending generally perpendicular from the end plate. The hub defines a bore within which a bearing is press fit. The machining of the bore in the hub is done in a conical manner to accommodate and compensate for the unequal distortion of the hub between the two ends of the hub. The conical shape and the unequal distortion provide an assembled bearing with a more cylindrically shaped inner surface. | 5 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to the field of micro optical polarization splitter, in particular, to a tiny optical polarization splitter based on photonic crystal technology.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventional polarization splitters are large in volume, and can not be used in the optical integrated circuits. However, micro optical devices including polarization splitters can be manufactured based on photonic crystals. Up to now, there are two methods, one of which is that a photonic crystal with a TE photonic bandgap and a TM transmission band, or a TM photonic bandgap and a TE transmission band are used to achieve the polarization separation of waves. This kind of polarization splitters can only be used as separate photonic crystal devices, since the transmittance and degree of polarization are poor, and it is difficult to integrate them into other photonic crystal devices. The other is that different relative coupling lengths are designed in order to couple light waves with different polarization states into different waveguides by means of long-distance coupling between waveguides, utilizing the method of the periodic coupling and odd-even state alternation between the waveguides. The polarization splitters obtained by the two methods above, although the volume thereof has been much smaller than that of conventional polarization splitters, still have a relative large volume.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings in the prior arts, and to provide a TE-polarization splitter based on a photonic crystal waveguide formed in a photonic crystal with a complete photonic bandgap, to be convenient for integration with high efficiency and a small dimension.
The object of the present invention is realized through the following technical schemes.
The TE-polarization splitter based on a photonic crystal waveguide according to the present invention includes a waveguide formed in a photonic crystal with a complete photonic bandgap, wherein after the incident wave with any polarization direction is inputted into the polarization splitter via the input port of the photonic crystal waveguide, TE wave is outputted from the output port of the polarization splitter, while the TM wave is reflected from the input port of the polarization splitter.
Dielectric defect rods are arranged in the photonic crystal waveguide, the refractive index for the e-light is more than that for the o-light in the dielectric defect rods in the waveguide, and the optical axis of the dielectric defect rods in the waveguide is parallel to the photonic crystal waveguide plane and orthogonal to the propagating direction of the wave.
The number of the dielectric defect rods in the waveguide is 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6.
The photonic crystal waveguide is a two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguide, and includes a two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguide with tellurium dielectric material, a two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguide with honeycomb structure, a two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguide with triangular lattice, and two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguides with various irregular shapes.
The photonic crystal waveguide has a structure formed by removing 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 rows of the dielectric rods from the photonic crystal.
The photonic crystal waveguide plane is perpendicular to the axis of the dielectric rods in the photonic crystal.
Compared with the prior arts, the present invention has the following advantages:
(1) The structure has the advantages of small volume, high degree of polarization, high light transmission efficiency, and being suitable for large-scale optical integrated circuits;
(2) The present invention can completely realize the polarization separation function via a kind of dielectric defect rods in a small volume, thus it is convenient for optical integration and high efficient;
(3) The present invention can realize the polarization beam splitting function for different wavelengths by the method of scaling the lattice constant and other geometric parameters utilizing the scaling property of photonic crystals.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is the schematic diagram, showing the structure of a Tellurium photonic crystal waveguide device used in the present invention.
The initial signal for the photonic crystal waveguide device is inputted from the left port “1”, the port “2” outputs TE light wave, “3” is the background tellurium dielectric rods, the direction of the optical axis thereof is outwards vertical to the paper plane, and the radius thereof is R=0.3568a. “4” is square dielectric defect rods, the direction of the optical axis thereof is parallel to the paper plane and perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the paper plane, and the side length of the cross section of the square dielectric defect rod is L=0.575a, and the position center thereof is consistent with the respective circle center of the background dielectric rods deleted.
FIG. 2 is the power of TE and TM waves in the TE output channel versus the side length of the square dielectric defect rods in the waveguide of the TE polarization splitter according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is the extinction ratio of light in the TE output channel versus the side length of the square dielectric defect rods in the waveguide of the TE polarization splitter according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is the degree of polarization of light in the TE output channel versus the side length of the square dielectric defect rods in the waveguide of the TE polarization splitter according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is the extinction ratio of light versus wavelength in the TE output channel in the photonic bandgap region of the photonic crystal in the TE polarization splitter according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is the degree of polarization of light versus wavelength in the TE output channel in the photonic bandgap region of the photonic crystal in the TE polarization splitter according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is the simulated field distribution for TE waves.
FIG. 8 is the simulated field distribution for TM waves.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Below in connection with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, the present invention will be described in further detail.
The dielectric material in the principle introduction and the embodiments of the present invention is Te dielectric rod as an example. Tellurium is a uniaxial positive crystal, the refractive index for o-light thereof is n o =4.8, and the refractive index for e-light is n e =6.2. For the e-axis and the dielectric rod axis in the same direction, the photonic bandgap can be obtained by the plane wave expansion. For the square-lattice photonic crystal with the lattice constant being a and the radius of the rods in photonic crystal being 0.3568a, the photonic bandgap is 3.928 to 4.550 (ωa/2πc), and the light wave with any frequency therein will be confined in the waveguide.
In the present invention, square dielectric defect rods are introduced in the waveguide, such that the equivalent refractive indexes of the defect rods for the light wave with different polarization states is different, thus the defect rods can result in one polarization state to be totally reflected and the other polarization state to be totally transmitted. The dielectric defect rods having different performance for different polarization states are applied near the end surface of the waveguide, and thus the separation of the light waves with different polarizations can be realized.
As shown in FIG. 1 , two lines or two rows of dielectric rods in the tellurium photonic crystal in the present invention needs to be deleted to form the waveguide for guiding light, and the width thereof is L=3a, which is the distance between the circle centers of nearest background dielectric rods on the two walls of the waveguide, wherein a is the lattice constant of the photonic crystal. The radius of the background tellurium dielectric rods in the photonic crystal is R=0.3568a. Cartesian rectangular coordinate system is used in the description, wherein the positive direction of X axis is to the right horizontally in the paper plane; the positive direction of Y axis is vertically upward in the paper plane; and the positive direction of Z axis is outward vertically to the paper plane.
The equivalent refractive indexes of the dielectric defect rods are:
n eff TE = ɛ eff TE , ɛ eff TE = ∫ Ω ɛ e · E z 2 ⅆ Ω ∫ Ω E z 2 ⅆ Ω , ɛ e = n e 2 , ( 1 ) n eff TM = ɛ eff TM , ɛ eff TM = ∫ Ω ɛ o · ( E x 2 + E y 2 ) ⅆ Ω ∫ Ω ( E x 2 + E y 2 ) ⅆ Ω , ɛ o = n o 2 , ( 2 )
In the equation, n eff TE and n eff TM represent the equivalent refractive indexes for TE and TM lights, respectively, and E x , E y and E z are the x, y, z components of the electric field, respectively.
The reflection ratio (R) and the transmissivity (T) of the light wave in the waveguide due to the dielectric defect rods can be expressed as:
R
TE
=
(
n
eff
TE
-
1
n
eff
TE
+
1
)
2
,
T
TE
=
4
n
eff
TE
(
n
eff
TE
+
1
)
2
,
(
3
)
R
TM
=
(
n
eff
TM
-
1
n
eff
TM
+
1
)
2
,
T
TM
=
4
n
eff
TM
(
n
eff
TM
+
1
)
2
.
(
4
)
As shown in FIG. 1 , in the four square dielectric defect rods, the center of each square dielectric defect rod is consistent with the center of the round dielectric rod which was originally deleted to form the waveguide, so that the four square tellurium dielectric defect rods are arranged in square, and the distance between the centers of two nearest squares is a, the distance between the center of the square dielectric defect-rod and that of the nearest background dielectric rod is also a, and the side length of each square dielectric defect rod is 0.575a. The optical axis of the four square tellurium dielectric defect rods is perpendicular to the optical axis of the background cylinder tellurium dielectric rods in the photonic crystal.
For the waveguide with the above defects introduced, the incident signal port is at the position “1” in FIG. 1 . Light is propagated in the waveguide formed by the array of “3” dielectric rods, after the light arrives at the defect position “4”, the TE wave is totally transmitted, and the TM wave is totally isolated. After the signal acted with the defect rods, the TE wave will be finally outputted at the position “2” of the output port. For different input signals, the selection functions are provided as follows:
(1) For the incident light of mixed TE and TM waves, the TE wave is totally exported from the right-hand-side of the waveguide, and the TM wave is totally isolated. (2) For the incident light of only TE wave, the TE wave is exported from the right-hand side of the waveguide. (3) For the incident light of only TM wave, TM wave can't be brought into the right-hand side of the waveguide.
The lattice constant and the operating wavelength can be determined by the following ways. According to the refractive index curve of the uniaxial crystal tellurium, tellurium has a relative stable refractive index in the wavelength range between 3.5a˜35a. By the equation
f = ω a 2 π c = a λ , ( 5 )
wherein f is the photonic bandgap frequency, and the normalized photonic bandgap frequency range of the square-lattice tellurium photonic crystal in the present invention
f= 0.21977→0.25458, (6)
the corresponding photonic bandgap wavelength range is calculated as:
λ=3.928 a˜ 4.55 a. (7)
Thus, it can be seen that, by varying the value of the lattice constant a, the required wavelength λ proportional to the lattice constant can be acquired.
The extinction ratio in the waveguide is defined as:
Extinction
Ratio
TE
=
10
×
log
10
(
I
TE
I
TM
)
,
for
TE
wave
,
(
8
)
Extinction
Ratio
TM
=
10
×
log
10
(
I
TM
I
TE
)
,
for
TM
wave
.
The
degree
of
polarization
is
defined
as
:
(
9
)
Degree
of
Polarization
TE
=
I
TE
-
I
TM
I
TE
+
I
TM
,
for
TE
wave
,
(
10
)
Degree
of
Polarization
TM
=
I
TM
-
I
TE
I
TM
+
I
TE
,
for
TM
wave
.
(
11
)
FIG. 2 shows the output power of different TE and TM light waves versus the side length of the four square dielectric defect rods. For the side length in the range of 0.51a-0.6a. The TE wave has a maximum of output power.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , by simultaneously adjusting the side length of square dielectric defect rods, we can have, R TE ≈0, T TE ≈1 and R TM ≈1, T TM ≈0, i.e., the function of isolating TM light and transmitting TE light is realized. (Here, the direction of the e-axis of the square dielectric defect rods is in the horizontal y axis.)
According to FIG. 3 , for the side length of the square dielectric defect rods in the range of 0.55a-0.6a, the TE wave has a maximum extinction ratio, i.e., the maximum extinction ratio is 37.3 dB for the side length of 0.575a of the square dielectric defect rods. According to FIG. 4 , for the side length of the square dielectric defect rods in the range of 0.55a-0.6a, the TE wave has the degree of polarization larger than 0.995, e.g., for the side length of 0.575a of the square dielectric defect rods, the degree of polarization is 0.9996. By considering FIGS. 3 and 4 together, it can be derived that for the TE wave having both maximum extinction ratio and high degree of polarization, the side length of the square dielectric defect rods is
L defect =0.575 a. (12)
In this case, we have n eff TE →1, n eff TM →∞.
From FIG. 5 , it can be found that for the operating wavelength in 3.928a-4.55a, all of the extinction ratios for TE wave at the output port are larger than 17 dB except the range of 4.032a-4.046a. For the wavelength of 4.1375a, the extinction ratio has a maximum value of 35.885 dB. And the extinction ratio has a minimum value of 5.4 dB in the range of 4.032a-4.046a.
From FIG. 6 , it can be found that for the operating wavelength in 3.928a-4.55a, all of the degrees of polarization for TE wave at the output port are larger than 0.96 except for the range of 4.032a-4.046a. And in the range of 4.032a-4.046a, the degree of polarization has a minimum value of 0.55. Thus, the operating wavelength is not suitable to be chosen in the range of 4.032a-4.046a.
By considering FIGS. 5 and 6 together with the above analysis, it can be found that the TE polarization splitter function of the present invention can be realized very well using all of the light waves in the wavelength band of 3.928a-4.55a except a narrow wavelength band of 4.032a-4.046a, which shows that the present invention has a large operating wavelength range, which is not available for other polarization beam splitting devices based on coupling of cavity modes.
FIGS. 7 and 8 are the light field diagrams calculated by finite element software COMSOL for the operating wavelength of 4.1a in free space. It can be observed that the TE light propagates with a high transmittance while the TM light is entirely isolated, so it has an extremely high extinction ratio.
The direction of the e-axis of the four square dielectric defect rods in the waveguide transmitting TE is different from that of the background dielectric rods—the direction of the e-axis of the four square dielectric defect rods is parallel to the Y axis, while the e-axis of the background rods is parallel to the Z axis. Since the directions of the e-axis of the square dielectric defect rods and the background dielectric rods are different, the shape of the defect is designed as a square to ensure linear influence for the waveguide, and to reduce manufacture difficulty at the same time. The present invention can effectively separate light waves comprising both TE and TM components in a short distance.
The present invention has a high extinction ratio and meanwhile has a broad operating wavelength range, which allows the pulses with a certain frequency spectrum width, or Gauss-pulse light, or light with different wavelengths, or light with multiple wavelengths to operate at the same time, and is useful in practice.
The present invention may establish a square-lattice tellurium photonic crystal—a uniaxial positive crystal tellurium array in a square lattice arrangement on a substrate. In the present invention, both TE and TM lights can propagate in a fundamental mode in the photonic crystal waveguide formed by deleting two lines or two rows at the center of the photonic crystal. The e-light optical axis of each rod in the background tellurium dielectric rods in the photonic crystal must satisfy that it is consistent with the direction of the axis of the cylinder. The operating wavelength can be adjusted by the lattice constant of the photonic crystal. But the selection of the operating wavelength can not exceed a stable linear range of the refractive index.
The above embodiment and application range of the present invention can be improved, and should not be understood as the limit of the invention. | The present invention discloses a TE-polarization splitter based on a photonic crystal waveguide, comprising a waveguide formed in a photonic crystal with a complete photonic bandgap, wherein after the incident wave with any polarization direction is inputted into the polarization splitter via the input port of the photonic crystal waveguide. TE wave is outputted from the output port of the polarization splitter, while the TM wave is reflected from the input port of the polarization splitter. The structure of the present invention has a small volume, high degree of polarization, high light transmission efficiency, and it is suitable for large-scale optical integrated circuits and can realize the polarization beam splitting function for different wavelengths. | 1 |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is National Phase of International Application Number PCT/IB2009/000490 filed Mar. 11, 2009, and claims priority from Japanese Application Number 2008-62304 filed Mar. 12, 2008.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a rotary electrostatic coating device and coating pattern control method.
BACKGROUND
Electrostatic coating techniques involve electrically depositing atomized paint onto a piece to be coated (workpiece) by means of electrostatic force, and rotary electrostatic coating devices provided with a rotary head are known as devices for achieving this, wherein a typical example of the rotary head is a cup-shaped bell cup. Electrostatic coating devices of this type are employed for powdered paint, insulating liquid paint (e.g. oil-based paint), and conductive liquid paint (e.g. metallic paint or water-based paint), and there are also rotary electrostatic coating devices which are known of the type in which a high voltage is applied to the rotary head, and of the type in which a high voltage is applied to an external electrode which is remote from the rotary head in the outwardly radial direction.
Rotary electrostatic coating devices employ shaping air in order to direct paint onto the piece to be coated, and the coating pattern is dictated by means of this shaping air. As disclosed in the prior art section of Patent Document 1, the shaping air flows out from shaping air holes which are positioned to the rear of the bell cup, and it is then directed to the outer peripheral edge of the bell cup, and this has been the practice in the past. The shaping air which flows out from the shaping air holes strikes the outer peripheral edge of the back face of the bell cup, and therefore the flow speed thereof is reduced. This means that the flow of shaping air which has already passed by the bell cup is drawn radially inward because of the negative pressure in front of the bell cup which is produced by the flow of shaping air, and as a result the diameter of the coating pattern tends to be reduced.
It is better for the minute paint particles in metallic paint to strike the surface of a workpiece at high speed, something which is known in the art. However, as the flow speed of the shaping air increases, so the negative pressure in front of the bell cup increases, as a result of which there are problems in that the diameter of the coating pattern becomes smaller. The response to this problem in Patent Document 1 concerns the orientation of the shaping air which flows out from the shaping air holes, and that document proposes setting the orientation of the shaping air holes such that the torsion direction thereof is oriented about the axis of rotation of the bell cup. The shaping air forms a helical swirling flow due to the shaping air holes whereof the torsion direction has been oriented in this way, and the diameter of the coating pattern can be increased by the centrifugal force of this swirling flow.
Patent Document 2 proposes an improvement on the inventions of Patent Document 1. That is to say, the inventions of Patent Document 1 resolve the problems when the flow speed of the shaping air is increased for metallic coating, but Patent Document 2 focuses on problems such as excess spraying leading to paint loss when the diameter of the coating pattern is constant, for example when a narrow area such as an automobile pillar is being coated, and proposes an idea to improve on this situation.
The inventions proposed in Patent Document 2 are based on setting the orientation of the shaping air, which was proposed in Patent Document 1, in other words on setting the orientation of the shaping air holes in a torsion direction about the axis of rotation of the bell cup, and in said document, control air holes are provided further outward in the radial direction than the shaping air holes, and pattern control air which flows out from these control air holes strikes the shaping air at the outer peripheral edge of the bell cup, then the amount of outflow of pattern control air is changed, whereby the coating pattern width is controlled. In this instance, the control air holes which are positioned radially outward of the shaping air holes have a zero torsion angle about the axis of rotation of the bell cup, and they are inclined toward the axis of rotation of the bell cup. In other words, the shaping air holes have a torsion angle about the axis of rotation of the bell cup, and they are directed at the outer peripheral edge of the back face of the bell cup. In contrast to this, the control air holes have a zero torsion angle about the axis of rotation of the bell cup. The control air is inclined toward the axis of rotation of the bell cup, and therefore it merges with the shaping air at the outer peripheral edge of the bell cup.
When the outflow of pattern control air is stopped, the centrifugal force of the shaping air which swirls helically overcomes the suction force due to the negative pressure in front of the bell cup, whereby a coating pattern of relatively large diameter is formed. On the other hand, when the pattern control air is made to flow out, this pattern control air has a zero torsion angle, and therefore the pattern control air merges with the shaping air, whereby the torsion angle of the shaping air is substantially reduced, as a result of which the swirling force of the shaping air which swirls helically is weakened. Accordingly, the centrifugal force of the shaping air is relatively small, and therefore the effect of the negative pressure in front of the bell cup is weakened, and the diameter of the coating pattern is reduced.
As described above, Patent Document 2 relates to metallic coating, and it proposes reducing the diameter of the coating pattern by reducing the torsion angle of the shaping airflow which swirls helically, using control air which merges with the shaping air.
Patent Document 3 offers another proposal relating to variable control of the diameter of the coating pattern. The proposal of Patent Document 3 is similar to Patent Document 2 in that control air holes are provided radially outward of the shaping air holes, but the inventions of Patent Document 3 differ from those of Patent Document 2 firstly in that the control air is made to swirl helically, and they differ from Patent Document 2 secondly in that the pattern control air is parallel to the flow of shaping air (the control air and the shaping air do not merge).
To be more specific, in the inventions of Patent Document 3, a flow of pattern control air which swirls helically at a torsion angle which is different from that of the shaping air is generated radially to the outer periphery of the flow of shaping air which swirls helically, and then the amount of outflow of this pattern control air is controlled to cause the general torsion angle of the shaping air to change. Changing the diameter of the coating pattern by changing the general torsion angle of the shaping air is as described for Patent Document 2.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication H3-101858 Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication H7-24367 Patent Document 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication H8-84941
SUMMARY
Issues to be Resolved
One aim of the present invention is to provide a rotary electrostatic coating device and a coating pattern control method, in which the diameter of the coating pattern produced by the rotary electrostatic coating device can be varied.
A further aim of the present invention is to provide a rotary electrostatic coating device and a coating pattern control method, in which the diameter of the coating pattern can be varied by different means from those of the inventions disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3.
Means of Resolving the Problems
According to a first aspect of the present invention, the abovementioned technical issue is resolved by providing a rotary electrostatic coating device comprising:
a rotary head which causes paint to be discharged radially outward,
a plurality of shaping air holes which are arranged at intervals on a first circle which is positioned further back than an outer peripheral part of said rotary head and which has the axis of said rotary head at its center, said shaping air holes directing paint discharged radially outward from the outer peripheral edge of the abovementioned rotary head toward a piece to be coated so as to produce a coating pattern, by means of a shaping airflow which flows out from said shaping air holes,
a plurality of control air holes which are arranged at intervals on a second circle which has a smaller diameter than said first circle and is positioned to the rear of the outer peripheral part of said rotary head and concentric with the abovementioned first circle, and
first control means for controlling the flow rate of pattern control air which flows out from said control air holes; and
the abovementioned shaping air holes and the abovementioned control air holes are oriented in substantially the same torsion angle direction, opposite to the direction of rotation of the abovementioned rotary head;
the axis of the abovementioned shaping airflow passes through a position close to and radially outward from the outer peripheral edge of the abovementioned rotary head; and
the axis of the abovementioned control airflow intersects the axis of the abovementioned shaping air at a position which is close to and radially outward from the outer peripheral edge of the abovementioned rotary head.
Furthermore, according to a second aspect of the present invention, the abovementioned technical issue is resolved by providing a method of controlling a coating pattern in which provision is made for a plurality of shaping air holes which are arranged at intervals on a first circle to the rear of a rotary head with the axis of rotation of said rotary head at the center, and which are oriented in a torsion angle direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the abovementioned rotary head, said shaping air holes directing paint discharged radially outward from the abovementioned rotary head toward a piece to be coated so as to produce a coating pattern, by means of shaping air which flows out from said plurality of shaping air holes;
provision is made for control air holes which are arranged at intervals on a second circle having a smaller diameter than the first circle to the rear of the rotary head and concentric with said first circle, and which are oriented in the same torsion angle direction as the abovementioned shaping air holes;
said method comprising:
a paint discharge step in which paint is discharged radially outward from the abovementioned rotary head;
a coating pattern production step, in which the abovementioned shaping air flows out from the abovementioned shaping air holes to produce the abovementioned coating pattern; and
a coating pattern control step in which pattern control air which flows out from the abovementioned control air holes is made to intersect the abovementioned shaping airflow at a position close to and radially outward from the outer peripheral edge of the abovementioned rotary head, changing the diameter of the abovementioned coating pattern.
According to the present invention, pattern control airflow with the same torsion angle direction as the shaping airflow is made to merge from the inner peripheral side of the shaping airflow, and the merging position thereof lies at a position close to and radially outward from the outer peripheral edge of the rotary head, and therefore force in the outward radial direction can be imparted to the shaping airflow by the pattern control airflow. Accordingly, the centrifugal force of the shaping airflow can be intensified by the pattern control air without substantially changing the torsion angle of the shaping airflow which swirls helically, and this allows the diameter of the coating pattern which is dictated by the shaping airflow to be enlarged.
The abovementioned aim and further aim of the present invention, and operational effects thereof, will become clear from the detailed description of exemplary embodiments which will be given below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 is a basic structural diagram of the rotary electrostatic coating device of Exemplary Embodiment 1;
FIG. 2 is a front view of the plane surface occupied by the outer peripheral edge of the bell cup seen from the front of the bell cup;
FIG. 3 illustrates the position where the shaping airflow and the pattern control airflow merge;
FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating the orientation of the shaping air holes and the control air holes;
FIG. 5 is an oblique view of the rotary electrostatic coating device seen obliquely from the front;
FIG. 6 is a basic structural diagram of the rotary electrostatic coating device of Exemplary Embodiment 2; and
FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the main parts showing the stepped structure of the air ring included in Exemplary Embodiment 2.
KEY TO SYMBOLS
L axis of rotation of bell cup
A direction of rotation of bell cup
C 1 first circle (shaping air holes)
C 2 second circle (control air holes)
Fs shaping airflow
Fp pattern control airflow
θ torsion angle
10 rotary electrostatic coating device
11 device main body
12 air motor
13 bell cup
13 a outer peripheral edge of bell cup
13 b inner peripheral surface of bell cup
14 air ring
14 a outer peripheral part of air ring
14 b inner peripheral part of air ring
17 shaping air holes
18 control air holes
22 thread-like paint
23 minute paint particles
25 coating pattern
27 merging position
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Preferred exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the appended figures.
Exemplary Embodiment 1
FIGS. 1 - 5
Looking at FIG. 1 , a rotary electrostatic coating device 10 which is depicted comprises a cup-shaped rotary head, i.e. a bell cup 13 which is rotated by an air motor installed in a device main body 11 , in the same way as a conventional device. Paint is supplied to a central portion of the bell cup 13 , and the paint moves radially outward along the inner surface of the bell cup 13 , after which it is discharged from an outer peripheral edge 13 a of the bell cup 13 . In the figures, L denotes the axis of rotation of the bell cup 13 , and the arrow A denotes the direction of rotation of the bell cup 13 , as described above.
The device has an air ring 14 lying further to the rear than the outer peripheral part of the bell cup 13 . FIG. 2 is a front view of the bell cup 13 . Looking at FIG. 2 , two annular spaces, namely first and second annular spaces 15 , 16 are formed in the air ring 14 . Shaping air holes 17 and control air hole 18 are then arranged at the end face of the air ring 14 , on first and second concentric circles C 1 , C 2 . That is to say, a plurality of shaping air holes 17 are arranged at equal intervals on the first circle C 1 of relatively large diameter, and pressurized air is supplied to these shaping air holes 17 through the first annular space 15 . Meanwhile, a plurality of control air holes 18 are arranged at equal intervals on the second circle C 2 of relatively small diameter, and pressurized air is supplied to these control air holes 18 through the second annular space 16 .
There are the same number of shaping air holes 17 as there are control air holes 18 , and one shaping air hole 17 and the corresponding control air hole 18 are positioned on a line which radiates from the axis of rotation L of the bell cup 13 .
The reference symbol 20 in FIG. 1 denotes a high voltage generator, and a high voltage DC which is generated by the high voltage generator 20 is supplied to the bell cup 13 via a case of an air motor 12 . An electric field is then generated between the bell cup 13 to which high voltage has been applied and the piece to be coated (workpiece).
FIG. 3 is a front view of the bell cup 13 . Looking at FIG. 3 , rotation of the bell cup 13 causes paint to spread radially outward along the inner peripheral surface of the bell cup 13 , the paint then extending thread-like from the outer peripheral edge 13 a of the bell cup 13 , after which the thread-like paint 22 breaks up close to the outer peripheral edge of the bell cup 13 , becoming atomized particles 23 , and also being ionized.
The paint particles 23 are directed forward, in other words toward the piece to be coated, by a shaping airflow Fs which flows out from the shaping air holes 17 . A coating pattern 25 ( FIG. 1 ) is dictated by the shaping airflow. Looking at FIGS. 2 and 4 , the shaping air holes 17 are oriented in a torsion angle θ direction opposite to the direction of rotation A of the bell cup 13 . By means of this, the shaping airflow Fs which swirls helically can be generated in the same way as in Patent Documents 1 to 3, and the direction of swirling thereof is opposite to the direction of rotation of the bell cup 13 . The particles of paint can be atomized by the shaping airflow Fs which swirls helically in the opposite direction to the direction of rotation A of the bell cup 13 . In this exemplary embodiment, the shaping airflow Fs which flows out from the shaping air holes 17 is parallel to the axis of rotation L of the bell cup 13 , when seen from the side, as is clear from FIG. 4 .
Turning now to a description of the control air holes 18 which are positioned on the second circle C 2 of smaller diameter than the first circle C 1 ( FIG. 2 ) where the plurality of shaping air holes 17 are positioned, these control air holes 18 are also directed in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation A of the bell cup 13 , at substantially the same angle as the torsion angle θ of the shaping air holes 17 described above.
Furthermore, these control air holes 18 are directed obliquely outward, when seen from the side, as is clear from FIG. 4 , and by means of this the pattern control airflow Fp which flows out from the control air holes 18 merges with the shaping airflow Fs.
The shaping airflow Fs and pattern control airflow Fp will be described in detail. The shaping airflow Fs and pattern control airflow Fp are both swirling flows which swirl helically in the opposite direction to the direction of rotation A of the bell cup 13 . The torsion angles of the shaping airflow Fs and pattern control airflow Fp are substantially the same (the torsion angles θ are substantially the same).
Furthermore, setting the shaping airflow Fs which flows out from one shaping air hole 17 so that it merges with the pattern control airflow Fp which flows out from a corresponding control air hole 18 adjacent to this one shaping air hole 17 is as described above, but the point of merger lies close to the outer peripheral edge 13 a of the bell cup 13 but away from the outer peripheral edge 13 a , on a plane occupied by the outer peripheral edge 13 a of the bell cup 13 , and to be specific this is preferably 2-3 mm.
FIG. 3 illustrates the merging position of the shaping airflow Fs which flows out from all of the shaping air holes 17 and the pattern control airflow Fp which flows out from the control air holes 18 which are arranged on radiating lines that correspond to each of the shaping air holes 17 . First of all, FIG. 3 is a view in which the plane surface occupied by the outer peripheral edge 13 a of the bell cup 13 is seen from the front of the bell cup 13 . In FIG. 3 , the merging position of the shaping airflow Fs and the pattern control airflow Fp is shown by the reference symbol 27 .
This merging position 27 is a position which is 2-3 mm radially outward from the outer peripheral edge 13 a of the bell cup 13 . Specifically, this merging position 27 is set in relation to the paint which is discharged radially outward from the bell cup 13 . To describe this point, the fact that the paint extends in a thread-like form 22 from the outer peripheral edge 13 a of the bell cup 13 , and then that the thread-like paint 22 breaks up and becomes minute paint particles 23 is as described above, but the merging position 27 is set at the tip end of the thread-like paint 22 or at a position immediately following where the minute paint particles 23 separate. The length of the thread-like paint 22 cannot of course be uniformly defined by the rotation speed of the bell cup 13 or the type of paint being used, or by similar factors, but this position can be said to be at the tip end of the thread-like paint 22 or a position immediately following where the minute paint particles 23 separate in most examples of application, provided that it is a position which is 2-3 mm radially outward from the outer peripheral edge 13 a of the bell cup 13 .
Referring to FIG. 1 , the pressurized air source for the shaping airflow Fs and the pressurized air source for the pattern control airflow Fp is a shared source, and first and second flow control valves 32 , 33 are placed along a first duct 30 which passes through the first annular space 15 (shaping air) of the air ring 14 , and a second duct 31 which passes through the second annular space 16 (pattern control air), respectively. The first and second flow control valves 32 , 33 are controlled by means of a controller 35 .
The diameter of the coating pattern which is related to the area on the piece to be coated (workpiece) is specifically achieved by controlling the second flow control valve 33 (control air flow rate). The first flow control valve 32 (shaping air flow rate) may also be controlled, of course. To describe a typical example in specific terms, the second flow control valve 33 is opened for an area where the surface to be coated is relatively large, and the pattern control airflow Fp flows out from the control air holes 18 . The pattern control airflow Fp merges with the shaping airflow Fs, whereby an outward radial force is applied to the shaping airflow Fs by the pattern control airflow Fp without any substantial effect on the torsion angle θ of the shaping airflow Fs, and the centrifugal force of the shaping airflow Fs which swirls helically is intensified by this force. Accordingly, the diameter of the coating pattern 25 can be enlarged by causing the pattern control airflow Fs to flow out from the control air holes 18 .
On the other hand, the second flow control valve 33 is closed for an area where the surface to be coated is relatively small, and the outflow of the pattern control airflow Fp from the control air holes 18 is stopped. Accordingly, the coating pattern 25 of the electrostatic coating device 10 is dictated by the shaping airflow Fs which swirls helically. In other words, the coating pattern 25 is smaller than in the case where the pattern control airflow Fp is made to flow out.
Furthermore, a description has been given in the exemplary embodiment described above of a typical example of control in which the pattern control airflow Fp is switched ON/OFF, but it goes without saying that multistage control or linear variable control may be employed for the pattern control airflow Fp.
Exemplary Embodiment 2
FIGS. 6 , 7
Exemplary Embodiment 2 is a variant example of Exemplary Embodiment 1. In Exemplary Embodiment 1, as regards the air ring 14 , the shaping air holes 17 and the control air holes 18 which are positioned radially further inward than said shaping air holes 17 open out in a common plane ( FIG. 1 ), but the end face of the air ring 14 may comprise a stepped face, and, as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 7 , an outer peripheral part 14 a where the shaping air holes 17 are positioned may project further forward than an inner peripheral part 14 b where the control air holes 18 are positioned, with the distance between the shaping air holes 17 and the outer peripheral edge 13 a of the bell cup 13 being shortened. The height (Δh) of the stepped part between the outer peripheral part 14 a and the inner peripheral part 14 b of the air ring 14 is 2-3 mm. In other words, in Exemplary Embodiment 2, the end where the shaping air holes 17 open is positioned 2-3 mm forward of the end where the control air holes 18 open.
In this way, the impact speed of the paint particles on the piece to be coated can be increased by bringing the end where the shaping air holes 17 open closer to the outer peripheral edge 13 a of the bell cup 13 , that is to say, by bringing this end closer to the piece to be coated. It was confirmed with trial products in particular that this was effective in improving the coating quality of metallic coating.
Exemplary embodiments have been described above, but, as an example of coating pattern control, control may be effected so that the diameter of the coating pattern 25 can be increased and/or decreased by combining the control of the first and second flow control valves 32 , 33 . For example, the diameter of the coating pattern 25 can be increased by opening the second flow control valve 33 wide (pattern control airflow Fp: large), while at the same time narrowing the first flow control valve 32 to weaken the shaping airflow Fs. In this way, the diameter of the coating pattern 25 can be changed linearly by combining control of the first and second flow control valves 32 , 33 , using control relating to increasing and decreasing the diameter of the coating pattern 25 .
Furthermore, in the exemplary embodiments, the amount of paint supplied to the bell cup 13 is the same, regardless of the flow control of the pattern control airflow Fp, but the amount of paint which is supplied to the bell cup 13 may be controlled so that the amount of paint corresponds to the diameter of the coating pattern 25 which is produced in correspondence with the flow control of the pattern control airflow Fp. It should be noted that examples of control in which the amount of paint is constant regardless of the flow control of the pattern control airflow Fp are not suitable for metallic coating in which the color is affected by the relationship between the diameter of the coating pattern 25 and the amount of paint. Accordingly, if a control example is used in which the amount of paint is constant regardless of the ON/OFF state of the pattern control airflow Fp, paint other than metallic paint should be used. In other words, in the case of metallic coating, control of the amount of paint and control of the shaping air should be included, rather than limiting control to only the control air.
Furthermore, in the exemplary embodiments, the shaping airflow Fs was parallel to the axis of rotation L of the bell cup 13 , when seen from the side, but it may be somewhat inclined, and the shaping airflow Fs may be inclined in a direction approaching the axis of rotation L, or conversely the shaping airflow Fs may be inclined in a direction moving away from the axis of rotation L.
Exemplary embodiments of the rotary electrostatic coating device 10 in which a high voltage is applied to the bell cup 13 have been described above as examples of the present invention, but it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied in the same way to rotary electrostatic coating devices provided with external electrodes which are used for conductive paint such as water-based paints. | A rotary electrostatic atomizer uses shaping air and pattern control air. Shaping airflow is supplied from shaping air holes aligned along outer one of concentric circles that are concentric with the rotation axis of the bell cup and located behind the front end of the bell cup. Pattern control airflow is supplied from pattern control air holes aligned along inner one of the concentric circles. Both the shaping air flow and the pattern control airflow are expelled in circumferentially twisted directions substantially with an equal twist angle opposite from the rotating direction of the bell cup. The shaping airflow passes a circular line near to and radially outwardly apart from the outer perimeter of the bell cup. The pattern control airflow intersects the shaping airflow from radially inside at the position near to and radially outwardly apart from the outer perimeter of the bell cup. Thereby, the pattern control airflow gives the shaping airflow a radially outward force to enhance the centrifugal force of the shaping air and enlarge the coating pattern regulated by the shaping airflow. | 1 |
This application claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/466,433, filed on Apr. 30, 2003, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates primarily to devices and methods for remote monitoring of bed-ridden patients to prevent injurious falls should the patient attempt to get out of bed. Devices of this type are seen in my prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,008,654 and 5,146,206, the subject matter of each of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. However, the invention is generally related to any application where position and detection of a critical angle are required.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The position activated mercury switch of this invention will be the primary component of the systems in my aforementioned patents. The system of the '206 patent presently employs three mercury switches precisely mounted within the “PATIENT AMBULATION MOTION DETECTOR WITH MULTIPLE SWITCH MOTION DETECTION” so that it is known when an undesirable and dangerous body position has been achieved. The present invention replaces the three mercury switches with a single self-contained unit thereby reducing the cost of the detection component and provides ease of assembly, and overall reliability.
A separate patent is applied for this device because it is anticipated that this switch will have independent application in manufacturing processes and as a component of additional consumer products. Initially, however, its application will be associated with the referenced device as a replacement for the three strategically positioned mercury switches thus offering the advantages previously listed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mercury switch which is actuated only on a specific movement of an individual by design of an internal cavity of the switch to control movement of a mercury ball into and out of engagement with two electrical contacts.
This object is realized by forming an internal cavity having a truncated cone for receipt of the mercury ball, a surface of revolution sloping outward from the opening of the truncated cone and an interruption ramp in this surface of revolution to guide the mercury ball into the truncated cone for actuation of a switch when a critical angle of the switch has been exceeded.
These and other objects of the invention, as well as many of the intended advantages thereof, will become more readily apparent when reference is made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings are approximately four times the actual size of a switch configured for the referenced application. Other applications might require a larger or smaller size unit but the principles of operation would be the same and covered by this patent.
FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the component parts of the preferred Position Activated Mercury Switch of this invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view with the closure removed from the switch showing the injection molded internal configuration with the mercury ball in the “ON” position.
FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the switch taken along lines 3 — 3 of FIG. 2 with the mercury ball is in the “ON” position.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the switch taken along lines 4 — 4 of FIG. 2 with the mercury ball in the “ON” position.
FIGS. 5A–5D are views similar to FIG. 4 with the mercury ball in various positions obtained when used in a system such as discussed in my earlier patents. Four basic positions are shown: FIG. 5A shows the switch in the normal position (patient supine). The mercury ball is away from the contacts and the switch is “OFF”. FIG. 5B shows the switch in the “OFF” position with the patient lying face down. FIG. 5C shows the switch “OFF” with the patient in position for eating, taking medications, or other activity while seated. FIG. 5D shows the switch in the “ON” position as a result of the patient leaning forward as would be necessary to transition to the standing position.
Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In describing preferred embodiments of the invention illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.
Referring to FIG. 1 , there is shown the components which make up the “Position Activated Mercury Switch” of this invention. The switch body 13 of the switch will be manufactured by injection molding both the internal and external configuration, the internal being the most important since its shape will determine the behavior of the mercury ball 15 as the switch body 13 is placed in an infinite number of positions. The mercury ball 15 is placed within the body and is free to move according to the dictates of gravity and the confinement of the internal configuration.
The size of the mercury ball will be determined by the switch size which, in turn, will be determined by the switch's application. When used to monitor a bed patient's position the switch would be about one fourth the size shown in the figures. The ball 15 , therefore, would be approximately three millimeters in diameter. In any event, the ball will be sized so that the contact probes 17 will be immersed in the liquid mercury deep enough to assure adequate electrical contact.
The electrical conductor assembly 14 will be inserted into the switch body 13 through the passageways provided by the molding process so that contact with the mercury ball 15 will complete a simple electrical circuit and activate an applicable external event, for example, an alarm to warn that the patient is attempting ambulation.
A closure 12 is provided to assure that the mercury ball 15 remains within the internal cavity regardless of the switch's position. During assembly, the mercury ball 15 is placed within the internal cavity and the closure 12 sealed with an appropriate bonding material.
A mounting flange 16 is shown as an internal part of the molded switch body 13 . Dependent on mounting requirements, the flange may be molded in any tangential plane to the body 13 of the switch. In certain applications, it may be desirable to eliminate the flange 16 altogether and mount the switch with an independent strap or clamp (not shown).
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the switch with the closure 12 removed so that the internal cavity can be viewed and its working surfaces can be explained. The internal cavity consists of three controlling surfaces: 18 -B, a truncated cone which directs the mercury ball 15 , shown in the “ON” position, to the electrical contacts (not visible); 18 -A, a surface of revolution sloping outward from the opening of 18 -B to control the position of the mercury ball 15 away from the electrical contact probes 17 when the switch position calls for the circuit to be broken, i.e., “OFF”; and 19 , an interruption to the surface 18 -A to provide a ramp to the conical surface 18 -B. The ramp's purpose is to direct the mercury ball 15 to the cavity 18 -B and the electrical contact probes 17 . The ramp 19 is placed in the plane of motion to be monitored, in this case, the plane of the patient leaning forward in an attempt to stand from a seated position at bedside.
FIG. 3 is a section ( 3 — 3 ) through FIG. 2 and illustrates the shape of the internal cavity of the switch, the angle of slope of surface 18 -A, and the directional ramp 19 , into surface 18 -B. All other components are presented, in place, as they would be after final assembly. The mercury switch is in the “ON” position.
FIG. 4 is also a section ( 4 — 4 ) through FIG. 2 . Here the difference in the directional ramp 19 and surface 18 -A are more clearly shown. All other items are the same.
FIG. 5 shows the four primary positions the switch will monitor. The combination of these positions are limitless. The location of the mercury ball 15 under the influence of gravity deals with these positions and only turns the switch “ON” when tilted forward as shown in 5 D. In all Figures, the double-lined side of the switch body is the side attached to the patient.
FIG. 5A shows the patient (human figure) supine with the switch mounted on his/her upper body as indicated by the short line 20 in the chest area. The switch would be as shown; mercury ball 15 in the upper chamber and in the “OFF” condition. This would be the normal position for a bed-ridden patient.
FIG. 5B indicates the switch condition if the patient is face-down or in any combination of FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B .
FIG. 5C shows the patient sitting up. The switch is still in the “OFF” condition, but the mercury ball 15 is in the “ready” position. Should the patient lean forward to the switch's critical angle, the alarm would be activated. The sitting position is important in that the patient must eat, take medicine, etc. Sensitivity to the allowable forward motion and avoidance of false alarms can be built into the system by proper design and angle of the directional ramp 19 .
FIG. 5D shows the mercury switch in the “ON” (alarm) position. The critical angle has been exceeded. The mercury ball 15 has fallen into the cavity containing the electrical conductor assembly 14 and the alarm has been sounded. To turn the switch off, the switch (and patient) should be returned to the position of FIG. 5A or 5 B. The mercury ball 15 will then move out of contact with the electrical elements and the circuit will be broken.
The foregoing description should be considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and, accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. | A mercury switch which is actuated only on a specific movement of an individual by design of an internal cavity of the switch to control movement of a mercury ball into and out of engagement with two electrical contacts. The internal cavity has a truncated cone for receipt of the mercury ball, a surface of revolution sloping outward from the opening of the truncated cone and an interruption ramp in this surface of revolution to guide the mercury ball into the truncated cone for actuation of a switch when a critical angle of the switch has been exceeded. | 6 |
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 664,441, filed Oct. 24, 1884, and now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to thermal radiators and more particularly has reference to thermal radiators with a thermal emissivity function which is strongly wavelength dependent.
Known refractory materials have a thermal emissivity function which is strongly wavelength dependent. For example, the materials may have high emissivity (and absorption) at the infrared wavelengths, high emissivity in the visible wavelength range, and very low emissivity at intermediate wavelengths. If a material having those emissivity characteristics and a black body are exposed to IR beams of equal intensity, the selective thermal radiator will emit visible radiation with higher efficiency (if radiation cooling predominates), i.e., the selective thermal radiator will appear brighter than the black body. This effect is known as the Welsbach effect and is extensively used in commercial gas lantern mantles.
Infrared (IR) monitoring and control is now done primarily by radiometers and thermocouples, which are of low resolution and inconvenient, or semiconductor devices. There is a need for a device which permits simple visual observation of the intensity of IR energy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the problems which exist in the prior art.
The invention includes apparatus for conversion of radiation from one portion of the spectrum into radiation of another portion of the spectrum. In accordance with the invention, the apparatus employs selective thermal radiators adapted to exploit the Welsbach effect in the desired manner. The thermal radiators preferably consist of a mixture of refractory metal oxides, the relative concentration chosen so as to shape the emissivity function of the material for maximum visible output. Normally, a base material with high absorption in the infrared range of interest and low emissivity in the visible, e.g., zirconium or thorium oxide, is doped with a small amount of material having high emissivity in the visible and low emissivity elsewhere, e.g., cerium oxide. By a suitable choice of hosts, dopants, and structure, a selective emissivity target can be optimized for specific IR and visible wavelengths and specific applications.
In one embodiment of the invention, a selective emissivity target is provided for imaging of IR radiation. The target is adapted to provide a simple visual observation of IR radiation incident upon the target.
In another embodiment, a selective dynamic target is provided for conversion of an incident visible image (e.g, produced by a visible laser) into an IR target.
In still another embodiment, the selective thermal radiators are employed in a system adapted for capture of solar radiation and conversion to heat.
A principal object of the invention is to provide a device for converting radiation in the visible wavelength range to radiation in the infrared wavelength range.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a detector of IR energy which allows simple visual observation of incident IR energy.
A further object of the invention is to provide a device for converting visual radiation to a high IR source pattern.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a target for imaging infrared radiation having selective thermal radiator material with high absorption at a selected infrared wavelength interval, high emissivity in a visible wavelength interval, and low emissivity at intermediate wavelengths, said selective thermal radiator material forming a target screen for infrared irradiation.
A still further object of the invention is to provide an infrared radiation target having source means for providing visible radiation and target screen means disposed to receive radiation from said source means, said target screen means comprising selective thermal radiator material having high absorption at infrared wavelengths and high emissivity at visible wavelengths.
Another object of the invention is to provide a converter of solar radiation to heat having a film of Welsbach material disposed to receive solar radiation, said material having high emissivity in the visible wavelength interval and low emissivity in the infrared interval, and heat exchanger means adapted to transfer heat from said Welsbach material to a heat utilization device.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide Welsbach material having a thermal emissivity function which is strongly wavelength dependent comprising base material having high absorption in a selected infrared wavelength interval, low emissivity at other wavelengths, and high internal reflection coefficient which produces internal scattering of incident radiation; and dopant material having high emissivity in a selected visible wavelength interval and low emissivity at other wavelengths.
These and other and further objects are features of the invention are apparent in the disclosure which includes the above below specification and claims and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a graph illustrating the emissivity function of an ideal thermal radiator.
FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating the dependence of spectral emissivity in the visible range on the concentration of cerium oxide in a thorium oxide/cerium oxide mixture.
FIG. 3 illustrates a multi-mode CO 2 laser beam pattern imaged on a Welsbach screen.
FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating experimental results obtained on Welsbach screens using a CO 2 laser.
FIG. 5 is a graph plotting the visible light intensity versus the IR radiation intensity for an experimental device in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 6 is a simple diagram illustrating a solar radiation-to-heat converter in accordance with the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and is provided in the context of a paticular application and its requirements. Various modifications to the preferred embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
The invention is directed to the preparation and use of selective thermal radiators having a thermal emissivity function which is strongly wavelength dependent. Specifically, the materials have high emissivity (and absorption) in the IR wavelength interval of interest, high emissivity in the visible wavelength interval, and very low emissivity at the intermediate wavelength interval. This is illustrated schematically in FIG. 1, which depicts the emissivity function of an ideal thermal radiator.
Many explanations were proposed in the early 1900's for why the illumination provided by a gas lantern at visible wavelengths is so effectively enhanced by the presence of a mantle (the Welsbach effect). H. E. Armstrong, T. M. Lawry, Proc. Roy. Soc 72, 258 (1903). It was demonstrated that the enhancement was not due to chemical reactions (H. Rubens, Amend. Phys. 20, 539 (1903)), that the enhancement was made greater by removing atmospheric gases from the vicinity of the mantle (E. Podsgus, Zeif, F. Phys. 18, 212 (1923)), and that heat conduction paths to and from the mantle tended to diminish the effect. (H. E. Ives et al., Journ. Franklin Inst. 186,401,585 (1918).) These demonstrations led to widespread acceptance of Wood's explanation that the enhanced radiation was due to an increased mantle temperature resulting from a wavelength dependent emissivity. (R. Wood, Physical Optics, pp. 781, Dover Publications, N.Y. (1967).) Wood reasoned that, if a material irradiated by an adjacent flame could not emit radiation at all wavelengths, then it would have to attain a high temperature in order for the total hindered emitted radiation flux to balance an unhindered incoming flux. As an example, a mixture of CeO 2 and ThO 2 has high emissivity in the visible and far IR, and not at wavelengths in between. The mixture could, therefore, be heated by absorbing incoming radiation peaked at far IR wavelengths, and emit some of its radiation at visible wavelengths.
IMPROVED WELSBACH MATERIAL
One aspect of the present invention is the discovery that, in addition to the partial trapping of radiation due to a wavelength dependent emissivity, the partial trapping due to scattering induced total internal reflection also plays an important role in the Welsbach effect. This additional contribution suggests that the effect can be enhanced by increasing the number of physical imperfections and the index of refraction of the Welsbach material.
To demonstrate this, radiation of intensity I IN (λ) is considered incident upon the left face of a vertical slab of thickness L. The slab is characterized by an absorption coefficient α(λ), and an emission coefficient ε(λ) related to α(λ) by the Einstein relation ε(λ)=I BB (λ) α(λ), where I BB (λ) is the Planck black body spectrum.
I.sub.BB (λ)=C.sub.1 λ.sup.-5 [exp (C.sub.2 /λT)-1].sup.-1 (1)
In addition, the slab is taken to have a reflection coefficient r o (λ) for radiation entering the slab, a reflection coefficient r(λ) for radiation leaving the slab and an inverse scattering lengths s(λ). The reflection coefficients depend on the angle of incidence of the radiation on the surface. In the following simplified treatment of radiation transport through the slab, r and r o are assumed to denote appropriate averages over the angular distributions of the radiation. Denoting distance through the slab from left to right by the coordinate x, Equations (2) and (3) set forth the radiation transport equations in the slab. ##EQU1## where I + (x,λ) and I - (x,λ) denote the intensities of radiation moving to the right and to the left, respectively. In Equations (2) and (3), the scattering coefficient denotes an appropriate average of the scattering coefficient for different angles of scattering. The most effective Welsbach materials seem to be those with considerable internal scattering (R. Wood, Physical Optics, p. 781), so in fact, the angular average probably heavily weights large angle scatterings. On solving Equations (2) and (3) subject to the boundary conditions,
I.sub.+ (o,λ)=I.sub.- (o,λ)r(λ)+I.sub.in (λ)[1-r.sub.o (λ)] (4)
I.sub.- (L,λ)=I.sub.+ (L,λ)r(λ) (5)
Equation 6 sets forth the radiation emitted by the slab on the right. ##EQU2## Equation 7 sets forth the radiation emitted by the slab on the left. ##EQU3##
In Equations (6) and (7), the λ argument has been suppressed, and ##EQU4## If the emitted radiation at wavelengths where the material emissivity is small (αL<<1) is ignored as being of O(αL) compared to the radiation from optically thick regions, and if in the optically thick regions α is taken to be larger than s, then equations (6)-(11) give directly the approximate relation of Equation (12), ##EQU5## where the integrations are over the wavelengths where the material is optically thick (αL>>1). It is apparent that Equation (12) simply balances the emitted flux from the two faces of a gray body with the net flux entering the slab from the left.
From Equation (12), it is evident that if r>>r o , the effective temperature of the outgoing radiation must be higher than the effective temperature of the incident radiation, in order for the overall flux balance to be satisfied. Very roughly, when the incident radiation spectrum approximates a black body spectrum of temperature T IN , then
T.sub.BB =T.sub.IN [(1-r.sub.o)/(1-r)].sup.1/4 (13)
where r and r o should be some appropriate weighted values of the reflection co-efficients determined by the detailed wavelength dependence of the slab reflection and absorption coefficient, and of the incident radiation.
To estimate the reflection coefficient r o , it is assumed that the radiation incident on the slab is travelling practically normal to the surface. Then, if the slab has an index of refraction n, the reflection coefficient r o is ##EQU6##
To estimate r, it is assumed that radation internal to the slab is scattered many times before reaching the surfaces. If the radiation inside the slab is taken to be isotropic, then r is given by (4π) -1 times the solid angle containing rays which hit the surfaces at angles greater than the critical angle θ c =sin -1 (1/n) for total internal reflection, i.e., ##EQU7## For n=1.5, for instance r≈3/4 and r o =0.04, so that r/r o >>1. For large n, Equations (14) and (15) give
T.sub.BB ≅T.sub.IN (8n).sup.1/4 (16)
The role of reflection induced partial trapping in enhancing radiation has experimental support in the radiation from powered metals, laminated mica, and sodium pyrophosphate with randomly oriented microfractures. Of these three examples, the last clearly illustrates the additional gain provided by the condition r>r o .
The foregoing suggests that the most effective Welsbach material is one which combines the partial radiation trapping due to a wavelength dependent emissivity with that due to scatter induced total internal reflection in a high index of refraction.
Examples of Welsbach material having a high internal reflection coefficient are materials which have been pulverized or which have physical imperfections, e.g., cracks or cavities, or which are porous. It is desired that the radiation be scattered internally in the material.
As described above, the Welsbach effect causes the effective temperature of radiation incident upon a body to be raised by partially trapping the radiation in the body. This partial trapping is due both to a wavelength dependent emissivity which makes it impossible for the body to radiate effectively at certain wavelengths, and to scattering of the radiation within the body to angles greater than the critical angle for total internal reflection at the body surface. This partial trapping produces an enhanced temperature for the radiation emitted by the body in order that the hindered outgoing radiation flux can balance the unhindered incident flux.
The wavelength dependent emissivity and the enhanced radiation temperature due to the partial trapping has implications both for up-converting and down-converting radiation wavelengths. In particular, if the Welsbach material is made to have large emissivity only at visible wavelengths and at wavelengths in the far IR, then it can serve to very efficiently convert radiation between these two ranges of wavelengths. For example, if the incoming radiation is centered at visible wavelengths, thermalization of this radiation in the Welsbach material will cause the material to radiate efficiently at only those wavelengths in the far infrared where the emissivity is large. Since for a black body, the radiation intensity I (λ, T) at a wavelength λ longer than the wavelength at the maximum of the Planck black body, is given by the Rayleigh-Jeans law,
I(λ,T)=2πcKT/λ.sup.4, λ>λ.sub.n, (17)
the enhanced temperature T will result in more efficient transfer of energy from visible wavelengths to the far IR. Here, c is the speed of light, K is Boltzmann's constant, T is the temperature, and λ n is given by
λ.sub.n T=0.28478×10.sup.-2 n°K (18)
Accordingly, the efficiency of conversion of visible to far IR wavelengths is higher for radiation trapping Welsbach materials than for a black body material.
SELECTIVE THERMAL RADIATOR COMPOSITION
Selective thermal radiators usually consist of a mixture of refractory metal oxides, the relative concentration chosen so as to shape the emissivity function of the material for maximum visible output. Normally, a base material with high absorption in the infrared range of interest and a low emissivity in the visible, e.g., zirconium or thorium oxide, is doped with a small amount of material having high emissivity in the visible and low emissivity elsewhere, e.g., cerium oxide. FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating the dependence of spectral emissivity in the visible range on the concentration of a cerium oxide in a thorium oxide/cerium oxide mixture (ThO 2 -CeO 2 ).
By a suitable choice of hosts, dopants and structure, a selective emissivity target based upon the selective thermal radiator concept can be optimized for specific IR and visible wavelengths and specific applications. For example, by allowing for radiation cooling only (in contrast to convection and conduction cooling), a dynamic range of input powers in excess of 1,000 can be achieved.
WELSBACH TARGET IMAGING OF IR RADIATION
Welsbach material may be employed as a selective emissivity target for imaging of IR radiation. Thus, the target operates as an up-converter of IR to visible radiation, converting incident IR radiation into a visual image representative of the intensity of the incident IR radiation. The selective thermal radiator material may be configured as a target screen.
For illustration, a Welsbach material screen was irradiated with high and low power infrared laser beams. The ensuing light emission was observed either visually or with the aid of light-sensing devices equipped with suitable color and neutral density filters. FIG. 3 shows a multi-mode CO 2 laser beam pattern imaged on a Welsbach screen with sub-millimeter spatial resolution. The total power in the imaged beam was about 50 watts.
The Welsbach screen was made by saturating woven silk fabric with a mixture of thorium nitrate (1000 gm), cerium nitrate (10 gm), beryllium nitrate (5 gm), magnesium nitrate (1.5 gm) and water (2000 gm). The cloth is dipped in the solution and then pyrolyzed at about 1600°-1700° C. In this process, the fabric is burnt off and the nitrates are transformed into oxides and sintered. Since the fabric fibers retain the nitrates absorbed from the aqueous solution, the sintered oxides retain the form of the fabric fibers and thus the Welsbach screen retains the form and shape of the original fabric. The beryllium and magnesium oxides strengthen the screen.
To take advantage of high resolution properties of the photographic film, a high temperature thermal image of the beam profile was produced on the Welsbach screen and photographed with a still camera. The photograph depicted in FIG. 3 exhibits resolution in excess of 3 lines per millimeter with MTF (contrast) better than 50%.
Analysis indicates that equal or even better resolution may be obtained if, instead of the photographic film, an infrared scanning material with equal or superior resolution capability were used to record the image.
The sensitivity threshold of an imaging screen depends on the material composition and thickness of the screen. The ultimate limit is determined by thermal cooling effects. Images with flux density of 300 MW/cm 2 in the beam have been produced experimentally.
The upper limit of irradiation beyond which degradation of the material may occur depends on the properties of the materials and also on the efficiency of cooling and filtering. The damage threshold is a function of absorptivity and, therefore, depends on the wavelength and intensity of the impinging radiation, as well as the material composition and surface condition of the target board. For a CO 2 laser, the demonstrated destruction limit occurred between 500 and 850 watts/cm 2 , whereas in earlier work for a DF 2 laser, emitting at 5 microns, this limit was between 4,000 and 5,000 watts/cm 2 .
FIG. 4 shows the experimental results obtained on some of the Welsbach sample screens using a CO 2 laser. It follows from those curves that the damage threshold as well as the IR-to-visible conversion efficiency depends on the backing material in addition to the physical properties of the Welsbach material itself. The curves also show that the curve representing the functional relationship between the visible output and IR input has a linear segment between 100 and 500 watts/cm 2 input power density. The shapes and slopes of the experimental curves are in general agreement with those of a curve representing Wien's approximation of Planck's law, i.e.,
I.sub.vis =a(λ) exp (-ch/λKT) (19)
where a is a function of wavelength and c is the speed of light. Assuming that under equilibrium conditions, in the absence of conduction and convection cooling, the relationship between the infrared energy absorbed by a thin sample and its temperature is given by the Stefan-Boltzmann law, the temperature T can be replaced in I vis in Equation (19) by (I R /σ) 1/4 . Taking the logarithm of both sides of Equation (19) the following expression is obtained.
lnI.sub.vis =lna-ch/[λK(I.sub.IR /σ).sup.1/4 ](20)
A narrow-band filter transmitting red light (λ=6×10 31 5 cm) was used to obtain the curves shown in FIG. 4. Substituting this value for λ in Equation (20), this relationship can be written in the following form
lnI.sub.vis =lna-36.9 I.sub.IR.sup.-1/4 (21)
FIG. 5 shows the plots of I vis versus (I/I IR ) -1/4 on a semi-log graph for experimental curves. The average experimental slope of -32.2 is a fairly close match with the theoretical slope of -36.9.
Preliminary studies of the time response of Welsbach materials have also been conducted by modulating the input laser power. Modulation of the output visible radiation was observed when the input laser was pulsed at frequencies as high as 1,000 pulses per second. Thermal decay was found to be 20 milliseconds for Welsbach material 0.2 mm in thickness heated to 1,000° K.
Other exemplary applications for this target screen include field testing (go/no go) of CO 2 laser rangefinders for power output and beam profile and test bench alignment of a CO 2 laser beam.
INFRARED DYNAMIC TARGET
In another embodiment, selective thermal radiators may be employed as an infrared dynamic target. It has been demonstrated above that selective thermal radiators convert infrared radiation into visible radiation more efficiently than a black body. It follows from the thermodynamic principle of a detailed balance that the reverse process is also equally probable. Thus, it should be possible to convert a visible image into an infrared image with the aid of selective thermal radiators. The visible image can be produced, for example, with a visible laser, such as a HeNe laser, and the infrared output can be observed with a forward-looking infrared radar (FLIR).
Experimental results have been obtained indicating the validity of this theory. A 3 mm diameter beam of a 1/2 watt HeNe laser was directed first at a membrane of Welsbach material and then at a piece of carbon cloth (black body). Both materials were observed at wavelengths between 8-14 microns with a UTI IR scanning camera. The spot where the laser beam hit the Welsbach material was clearly visible in the IR, whereas the spot was not sufficiently intense to show up on the black body.
The foregoing results indicate that the Welsbach material may have (i) appropriate resolution (submillimeter), (ii) adequate temperature range (melting temperatures around 3,000° K.), (iii) adequate time response (20 msec. at 1,000° K. and 0.2 mm thickness) for use as a dynamic IR target.
SOLAR RADIATION CONVERTER
In another embodiment of the invention, Welsbach material is employed to convert visible solar radiation to heat.
Some Welsbach materials are well suited for making films which have high emissivity in the visible and low emissivity in the infrared. Examples of such Welsbach materials are CeO 2 , Gd 2 O 3 , Yb 2 O 3 . These films can be used to obtain high temperatures via the "greenhouse" effect in which visible solar radiation is converted to heat and heat is subsequently trapped. Because Welsbach materials have high temperature stability (e.g., the melting point of ThO 2 is 3220° C.) and can be made to have low emissivity over a large range of IR wavelengths, they are particularly well suited for this application.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating that embodiment of the invention. The incident solar flux passes through a transparent layer 300, e.g., glass, and impinges on a Welsbach film 310. As a result, the film is heated to high temperatures. If desired, a heat exchanger may be employed to extract the heat for other utilization. For example, water may be pumped through a passage 320 to absorb heat from the Welsbach material and transfer the heat to a utilization apparatus.
WELSBACH MATERIAL PREPARATION
Several techniques can be used to manufacture Welsbach screens. The most common is the pyrolysis technique. A woven thin cotton or silk fabric is dipped in a saturated solution of thorium or zirconium and rare earth ions. The fabric retains some of the salts in its pores. The impregnated fabric is subsequently pyrolized. During this process, the organic matrix burns away and nitrates convert into oxides and, through a sintering process, form ceramic fibers. The end result is a thin ceramic cloth or felt. The thinnest screens produced by this technique have been 200-300 microns.
Thinner Welsbach membranes can be produced using plasma deposition, sputtering or ion implantation techniques. All of these techniques involve depositing a thin film of Welsbach materials on a suitable substrate which is later either burned away or dissolved to leave a free standing thin Welsbach membrane.
Plasma deposition is the most frequently used technique. The heart of the plasma deposition apparatus is a plasma arc spray gun which propels gas through a dc arc. The gas expands violently as it is heated by the arc. The Welsbach materials are introduced downstream into the plasma. Kinetic energy from the rapidly moving gas atoms and energy released by the ions and electrons recombining on the surfaces of the particles heat the powder to a very high temperature. The rapidly expanding gas stream propels the molten particles to the surface of a target where they coalesce, forming a coating. Plasma spraying is relatively inexpensive and is commercially available. Coatings as thin as 25 microns have been produced using this technique.
Two approaches can be used to produce even thinner membranes. One involves grinding down the plasma sprayed coatings to a desired thickness. The other involves use of high vacuum techniques such as sputtering or ion implantation. Sputtering has been used successfully to produce thin films of zirconia and thorium.
The sputtering process comprises ejection of atoms from the surface of a target material by bombardment with energetic particles or photons. The most important practical application of sputtering is deposition of thin films.
One of the chief advantages of the sputtering technique in production of thin films is that the sputtering yield and the rate of deposition can be controlled with a high degree of accuracy by electronically controlling the particle flux density.
Several sputtering techniques are useful for deposition of films. The simplest and most widely used technique utilizes the glow discharge between two electrodes. That technique is known as diode sputtering. The substrate in such a system is normally placed on the anode and kept at anode potential. Other low-pressure sputtering techniques are dc bias, ac asymmetric and ion plating. All these techniques require 20-to-100 mTorr pressure range. Ion plating is a two-stage thin film technique which consists of deposition by evaporation with subsequent dc sputtering.
Glow discharge sputtering normally results in low yield. High ionization yield may be obtained conveniently by the use of rf or other high intensity electromagnetic radiation. To increase the sputtering rate, an ion-beam (duoplasmatron) technique is used.
It is understood that the above described embodiments are merely illustrative of the many possible specific embodiments which can represent principles of the present invention. Numerous and varied other arrangements can readily be devised in accordance with these principles by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, the exact nature and scope of the invention is defined in the following claims. | An improved thermal radiator uses host materials having high internal reflection and scattering co-efficients for improved effectiveness. Selective thermal radiators are used for frequency conversion of incident radiation through the Welsbach effect. A Welsbach material screen is used to convert incident IR radiation into visible radiation, permitting visual observation of IR radiation and facilitating control and monitoring of IR equipment. Welsbach material is also used as a dynamic IR target which converts incident visible radiation into a high resolution IR source pattern. Welsbach material is also employed as a temperature stable material for converting solar radiation into heat. | 8 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Aqueous calcium hypochlorite mixtures are used for various cleaning and disinfecting purposes, including germ control in swimming pools and disinfecting of toilet bowls and tanks. In many of these uses, it is helpful to include a color indicator in the hypochlorite mixture which will indicate when the hypochlorite concentration is reduced to a level such that the cleaning/disinfecting properties become ineffective or only marginally effective.
Sytems for indicating color are incorporated in dispensers disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,546 issued to Dirksing, U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,606 issued to Kitko, U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,747 issued to Dirksing, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,027 issued to Wages. The Kitko '605 disclosure discusses a system wherein a dye is provided for giving a persistent color to the bowl water between flushes of the toilet. The objective is to assure a consumer that the bowl is being sanitized and means are provided to indicate the time when the disinfectant needs to be replaced. This is accomplished by controlling the quantities of Ca(OCl) 2 and color indicator, contained in separate chambers, so that the source of the color indicator is exhausted at about the time the calcium hypochlorite is nearly exhausted.
Other toilet tank dispensers for calcium hypochlorite mixtures have no provisions for indicating by means of color. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,017 issued to McDuffee discloses a passive system for cleaning toilet bowls wherein a container for calcium hypochlorite is located within a water tank associated with the bowl. A small diameter opening is provided within the top wall of the container to provide exposure to water in the tank so that the compound will be dissolved in the water and thereby delivered to the bowl when the toilet is flushed. An amount of inert particles, such as stone, may be included in the container to cooperate with the small diameter opening for purposes of limiting the rate of removal of the compound from within the container.
Meloy application Ser. No. 364,786, filed Apr. 2, 1982, and Meloy application Ser. No. 385,454, filed June 7, 1982, disclose various dispensers containing indicator systems wherein hypochlorite or the like esentially bleaches out the color capability of a selected dye for as long as the hypochlorite is present in sufficient amounts. When the hypochlorite amounts are at or near exhaustion, the dye will provide a color signal indicating that a new dispenser is required.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and composition for efficiently indicating the presence of sufficient amounts of a disinfecting and/or cleaning ingredient in an aqueous mixture. The invention will be described with reference to aqueous hypochlorite solutions or the like which are commonly used in conjunction with toilet tanks and bowls, swimming pools and waste treatment facilities. The aforementioned Meloy applications provide an outline of known solutions of this type. It will be appreciated, however, that the concepts of this invention are applicable to chemical compositions and environments not directly or indirectly referenced herein.
The composition of this invention generally involves the use of a solid composition of matter containing a solubilizing agent, a matrix agent, and a color indicator. The composition is structured to retain its size and shape when immersed in an environment of the type including an aqueous mixture of calcium hypochlorite or the like. In use, the color indicator is adapted to be released at a controlled rate.
The characteristics of the cleaning and disinfecting ingredient on the one hand, and of the color indicator on the other hand, are such that the latter is all or substantially all bleached out for as long as efficacious amounts of the former are present. Under these circumstances, a substantially clear solution is dispensed during each toilet flush, however, when the former ingredient is depleted to below efficacious levels, the bleaching capability is lost. The amount of color indicator employed is sufficient so that amounts of this indicator are still present and a color signal appears. The user is then alerted to the need for changing the dispenser to provide a fresh supply of cleaning and disinfecting ingredient.
The invention is more particularly related to control of the porosity of the tablet or other form assumed by the color indicator. Thus, it has been found that the rate of release of the color indicator can be controlled when the porosity is within desired limits. By utilizing sufficient color indicator in the tablet or the like, and by calculating the life of the cleaning and disinfecting ingredient in the system, a color signal can be reliably provided on an efficient basis.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a dispenser for a cleaning and disinfecting ingredient associated with a toilet tank;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a dispenser;
FIG. 3 is an elevational view of an alternative form of dispenser; and
FIG. 4 is an elevational view of an additional alternative form of dispenser.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The concepts of this invention contemplate the use of a dispenser which may be of the type illustrated in the aforementioned Meloy applications. The drawings illustrate a dispenser 20 of the type associated with a toilet tank 10. In the embodiment shown, a hanger 12 is employed for suspending the dispenser on the back wall 14 of the tank. As best shown in FIG. 2, the hanger defines overturned side edges 16 which form channels adapted to receive the side edges 18 of the dispenser. The dispenser slides relative to the hanger and frictional engagement between the respective edges enables a homeowner to select the relative positions of the dispenser and hanger during use to accommodate particular conditions.
It will be appreciated that other means could be provided for locating a dispenser in a tank to achieve the purposes of the invention. As already indicated, other dispensers of various design may also be used when practicing this invention including dispensers designed for other applications such as for treating swimming pools and waste treatment facilities.
The dispensing apparatus 20 is positioned in the toilet tank at a level that coincides with water level indicator mark 33 provided on the front wall of the dispenser. The apparatus comprises three chambers, including a reservoir chamber 21 which contains solid disinfectant 22 and a solid color signal ingredient 31. A baffle means 24 defines the top of this reservoir chamber.
A volume control chamber 30 is in fluid communication with chamber 21 and is provided with air vent means 49, pinhole vent means 57, and the aforementioned water level line 33.
A delivery tube 40 is in fluid communication with reservoir chamber 21. This tube communicates with this chamber through narrow passage 41 which is located adjacent the end of baffle means 24.
A conduit 42 extends outwardly from one side of the tube 40, and the conduit includes an upwardly extending portion 44. An opening is adapted to be formed at either 43 or 45 in this extension 44 to provide access to the toilet tank water. These openings in combination with water level line 33 cooperate to make the dispenser responsive to the contaminants present in the tank and bowl and to maintain the disinfectant at an effective level.
As best shown in FIG. 2, the openings 43 and 45 are initially closed because the plastic molding operation preferably used in the manufacture of the invention leaves a plastic cap or film over these openings. The user of the construction then has the option of clipping off one or the other of these caps. It has been found that where a system has a high staining potential, the lower cap 43 is preferably clipped off to thereby increase the dosage of a given flush and maintain the disinfectant at an effective level. A lesser dosage is achieved by using the higher opening shown at 45.
The delivery tube 40 also includes a standpipe portion 46. The upper end of this standpipe defines an air vent opening 47 which could be left open during manufacturing or which could also be opened as part of the instructions to the user. The standpipe and associated air vent insure continuous operation of the apparatus free from any air lock.
A third chamber 48 may also be utilized to assist in maintaining the disinfectant at effective levels. This chamber 48 is independent of the other chambers and may, for example, house a sequestering or chelating agent 50 adapted to be dispensed through opening 51 defined by the chamber 48. The opening 51 is preferably covered by a cap or film in the course of the manufacturing operation so that the contents of chamber 48 can be selectively used. Pinhole vent means 52 are provided to permit intake and expelling of air during use.
Alternative arrangements for locating the color signal and disinfecting ingredients in a dispenser are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
In FIG. 3, solid disinfectant 61 is located in volume control chamber 60, and this chamber is in fluid communication with reservoir chamber 62 which contains a solid color signal ingredient 63 positioned immediately below baffle 64. The chamber 60 is also provided with air vent means 65, pinhole vent means 66 and a water level line 67. Except for the translocation of the disinfecting ingredient to the volume control chamber, this dispenser functions similar to that shown in FIG. 2 above.
The construction of FIG. 4 comprises a reservoir chamber 70 which contains color signal tablets 72 and cleaning and disinfecting ingredient 73, located above baffle 74. The chamber 70 is in fluid communication with chamber 76 through conduit 78. The chamber 76 in turn communicates through conduit 80 with fluid inlet port 82.
Upon immersion of the structure of FIG. 4, tank fluid or the like will enter through port 82, and pass into chambers 70 and 76. A concentrated solution of the cleaning and disinfecting ingredient will pass from chamber 70 into chamber 76 and out through port 82 under appropriate conditions. Such conditions would comprise, for example, flushing of a toilet wherein the water level drops below the level of the chambers provided in the device.
The concentrated solution passing into chamber 76 will also contain the color signal ingredient; however, the color signal containing solution will be bleached so that no color will appear in the discharge from chamber 76 until the cleaning and disinfecting ingredient has been depleted.
It will be appreciated that the arrangements of FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are illustrated in this application primarily for purposes of establishing that the composition and method of this invention may be utilized in a variety of different systems.
The present invention specifically provides a method and composition for monitoring the concentration of a cleaning or disinfecting ingredient, such as the ingredient 22 located in the chamber 21 of the dispenser 20. This object may be achieved, e.g., where the ingredient results in an aqueous hypochlorite mixture, and preferably wherein the aqueous hypochlorite mixture also contains calcium.
As noted, this invention in particular relates to a color indicator characterized by controlled release in the environment of a cleaning and disinfecting ingredient such as a hypochlorite. The color indicator comprises a solubilizing agent, a matrix agent, and a dye ingredient for indicating color. The indicator is preferably in the form of a solid tablet or cake with structural integrity, the indicator having been compressed at e.g., from between about 5,000 lbs. and about 25,000 lbs. of die pressure. The compositions are so constructed that they generally retain their shape and size while continuously releasing a solubilizng agent and a color indicator.
The composition comprises:
(a) From between about 30 and 85 percent by weight of a solubilizing agent selected from the group consisting of alkali and alkaline earth metal salts and mixtures thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the solubilizing agent comprises from between about 60 and 80 percent by weight sodium chloride with at least 50 percent by weight of the sodium chloride or the like having a mesh size between about 30 and about 100 prior to blending with the other ingredients.
(b) From between about 5 and about 40 percent by weight of a matrix agent selected from the group consisting of alkali metal stearates and mixtures thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the matrix agent comprises from between about 10 and 30 percent by weight sodium stearate. It is further preferred that a substantial portion of the matrix agent is of a particle size at least as small as 100 mesh in order to facilitate distribution of the matrix agent in the composition.
(c) From between about 2 and about 20 percent by weight of a color indicator selected from the group consisting of a hypochlorite stable arylmethane dye and mixtures thereof. In accordance with preferred embodiments of the invention, the color indicator comprises from between about 5 and about 15 percent by weight of a dye selected from the group consisting of FD & C Blue #1, FD & C Green #3, Intracid Pure Blue V, and mixtures thereof.
In addition to use with the dispensers illustrated, the composition may be used in conjunction with other dispensers, e.g., as described in McDuffee U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,017, or of the type used for chlorinating swimming pools, waste treatment facilities and the like. In the case of the McDuffee dispenser, one or more tablets of the composition of the invention are mixed with the other ingredients, and these indicate when a suitable amount of hypochlorite is no longer being dispensed. It will be apparent when considering the operation of McDuffee, that the composition of the invention being present with the calcium hypochlorite will release color indicator regularly as the hypochlorite is dispensed from the McDuffee container into the toilet. The color indicator will be bleached for as long as significant amounts of the hypochloride are present.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the color indicator tablets or the like are coated with a protective coating comprising a shellac, a lacquer, or mixtures thereof. The coating will:
(a) protect the compositions of the invention from air, humidity, etc.
(b) minimize dusting and make handling easier, and
(c) delay the wetting of the composition when it is immersed in a container containing calcium hypochlorite. This delayed wetting is most useful where solubilization of the calcium hypochloride is delayed and or where the color indictor tablet is expected to be subjected to bleaching action for a prolonged period.
It is further preferred that a binder be added to the composition to assist in maintaining the physical integrity of the tablet. This binder may be any of a number of known, commercially available binders, such as microcrystalline cellulose.
As suggested, compositions of the invention can be conveniently pressed into a cake-like structure taking the form of a tablet, pellet, sphere, or other solid material shape. Such forms can be made by extrusion, by hydraulic stamping, or by pouring a melt of the composition into a mold and solidifying the composition by cooling, provided the critical porosity defined below is obtained.
With reference to this critical porosity, it has been observed that there is a correlation between the porosity of a tablet or the like and the rate of controlled release in a bleach solution of the hypochlorite stable color indicator and the duration of physical integrity of the tablet. Porosity for the purposes of the present invention is defined as the volume percentage of a petroleum distillate such as kerosene which is absorbed by the tablet under test conditions. This porosity may be further described as the controlled release structure developed in the tablet, this structure comprising a labryinth of channels and passageways that are created when the blend of solubilizing agent, matrix agent and color indicator are compressed under various conditions such as described in Table I below.
Tests for determining porosity may be carried out by dropping uncoated tablets weighed to the nearest 0.01 g into approximately 9 cc odorless kerosene (Fisher K-10) contained in a 25 ml graduated cylinder. A reading is promptly taken on the graduated cylinder before appreciable absorption has had time to occur. Density is then determined by using the following equation: ##EQU1## Uncoated tablets are then weighed to the nearest 0.01 g, immersed in odorless kerosene (Fisher K-10), and subjected to water aspirator vacuum for 15 minutes or allowed to stand at atmospheric pressure for two hours. The liquid is decanted and excess surface liquid removed. Final weight is then determined to the nearest 0.01 g and the porosity determined using the following equation: ##EQU2##
In accordance with the invention, the porosity of the tablets is 10% or less by volume and preferably between about 4% and 8% by volume. It has been found that when the porosity of tablets is excessive, then the controlled rate of release of the color indicator is not obtained and the tablet can be exhausted of color indicator or may disintegrate before the bleach concentration of the aqueous bleach medium being monitored falls below an effective level. In such cases, a tablet may become exhausted of color in less than 30 days, which will ordinarily be prior to the exhaustion of the toilet bowl cleaner being monitored.
The following Table I provides examples of suitable compositions, it being understood that reference may be made to the aforementioned Meloy applications for other examples. The porosity of the tablets suitable for the invention can be obtained by a combination of elements including processing variables and composition variables. An example of preferred conditions for making tablets of the present invention and tablets suitable for use in the method of the present invention is found in the Example below.
TABLE I______________________________________ Color Solubilizing Matrix Indicator Agent Agent CompressionExample % by Wt. % by Wt. % by Wt. In Lbs.______________________________________I Intracid NaCl/70 Sodium 5,000 Blue V/10 Stearate/20II Intracid NaCl/70 Sodium 10,000 Blue V/5 Stearate/25III Intracid NaCl/70 Sodium 20,000 Blue V/2 Stearate/28IV Intracid KCl/40 Sodium 15,000 Blue V/20 Stearate/40V Intracid KCl/80 Sodium 25,000 Blue V/15 Stearate/5VI Intracid KCl/72 Sodium 25,000 Blue V/8 Stearate/20VII FD & C NaCl/70 Sodium 15,000 Green #3/10 Stearate/20VIII FD & C NaCl/70 Sodium 10,000 Green #3/5 Stearate/25IX FD & C NaCl/70 Sodium 15,000 Green #3/2 Stearate/28X FD & C KCl/40 Sodium 20,000 Green #3/20 Stearate/40XI FD & C KCl/80 Sodium 25,000 Green #3/15 Stearate/5XII FD & C KCl/72 Sodium 15,000 Green #3/8 Stearate/20______________________________________
The processing tests conducted have confirmed a critical porosity for the tablets of the invention of less than about 10% and preferably between about 4 and about 8% by volume. Since this critical porosity is a function of processing variables such as presure, development time, dwell time, type of press and formulation variables, such as mesh size of the solubilizing agent and type of concentration of matrix and solubilizing agent, the desired porosity can be obtained by a combination of one or more of these. It has been determined, however, that the tablet should be manually or machine-pressed at pressures between 2.5 and 12.5 tons per square inch to densities between 1 and 2.25 grams per cubic centimeter.
The duration of the stable color indicator tablet in various bleach solutions is a function of the critical porosity and the tablet size. Thus, if durations from 30 to 120 days are required in various toilet tank chlorinating dispensers, a spherical tablet of between about 1/2 inch and 1 inch in diameter with a critical porosity of about 7% by volume is optimum. In contrast, when a chlorinator in a waste treatment facility is being monitored for time spans ranging up to about one year, it is suggested that a spherical tablet approximately 3 inches in diameter with a critical porosity of about 5% by volume would be suitable. Swimming pool monitors of approximately the same size will generally last a season.
EXAMPLE
FD & C Green #3 dye (8 lbs.) and sodium stearate (16 lbs.), having a particle size such that 93 % would pass thru 100 mesh, were placed in a vaned rotary drum mixer and mixed for 5 minutes. Sodium chloride (54.4 lbs.) was added, and mixing continued. After 2 minutes microcrystalline cellulose (1.6 lbs.) was added and mixing continued for 6 minutes. This resulted in a homogeneous powder which was pressed into 3 gram, 9/16"×9/16" tablets on a rotary tablet press at a pressure of approximately 17,000 lbs. The tablets were dusted with sodium stearate and coated 3 to 4 times with shellac.
It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the above-described invention without departing from the spirit thereof as defined in the following claims. | A process for detecting the depletion of a cleaning and disinfecting ingredient in a solution such as the water present in a toilet tank and bowl. A solid composition comprising a color indicator in a matrix is located in the solution along with the ingredient. The porosity of the solid composition is maintained within limits to provide a means for controlling the rate of release of the color indicator into the solution. The cleaning and disinfecting ingredient has a bleaching tendency relative to the color indicator so that a display of color is minimal or non-existent for as long as significant amounts of the ingredient are present. The color indicator is provided in sufficient amounts so that, when considering the controlled rate of release, there will be continued release of color indicator after depletion of the ingredient. This will then provide a substantial display of color whereby depletion of the ingredient can be detected. | 8 |
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to an equalizer architecture, and in particular to an equalizer which can be used to compensate for the distortion introduced by a communications channel in a high data rate communications system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] In a conventional digital data transmission system, a sequence of data bits is transmitted over a communications medium. A receiver then attempts to recreate the transmitted sequence. That is, for each received bit, the receiver determines whether the transmitted bit is more likely to have been a ‘one’ or a ‘zero’. In doing so, the receiver must deal with the fact that the received signal will not be a perfect copy of the transmitted bit sequence, but will show the effects of changes to the waveform introduced by the communications medium, and will include an additional noise component.
[0003] For many communications media, one source of changes to the waveform is inter-symbol-interference (ISI). That is, energy from one bit period is received in another bit period. In the case of optical fibres, one cause of ISI is the fact that components of optical signals travel along an optical fibre at different speeds.
[0004] The presence of ISI greatly increases the probability that the receiver will fail to determine correctly whether a specific transmitted bit was a ‘one’ or a ‘zero’. That is, it greatly increases the probability of bit errors.
[0005] It is known that it is possible to compensate for ISI to some extent. A particular transmitted waveform results in a particular received waveform, and the relationship between the transmitted waveform and the received waveform can be expressed mathematically as a transfer function. An equalizer can be provided in the receiver, which applies a second transfer function to the received waveform. If the second transfer function can be made to approximate the inverse of the first transfer function, then the effects of ISI can be approximately compensated.
[0006] Conventional equalization techniques include finite impulse response filtering, also known as feedforward equalization and transversal filtering, and decision feedback equalization.
[0007] In the first of these techniques, a received signal is sampled and passed along a tapped delay line. An output is then formed as the weighted sum of sample values at the sequence of tap points. The output is then passed to a quantizer or other decision device to determine whether the received signal at a given point in time represents a transmitted ‘1’ or a transmitted ‘0’.
[0008] A decision feedback equalizer operates in the same way, except that the input value is passed along the tapped delay line only as far as a central tap point, and thereafter it is the quantizer output value which is passed along the tapped delay line.
[0009] A disadvantage with such equalizers, in particular in the case of fibre optic receivers operating at data rates of, for example, 10 Gbps or more, is that they place a high computational burden on the components.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] It is an object of the present invention to provide an equalizer architecture which can be used with received data signals at very high data rates, without placing such a high computational burden on the components of the device.
[0011] In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an equalizer comprising: a first tapped delay line, for receiving samples of an input signal at a first series of time points; a second tapped delay line, for receiving samples of an input signal at a second series of time points, wherein successive time points alternate the first and second series of time points; a first summing circuit, for forming a first output as a weighted sum of sample values from a first series of tap points in the first tapped delay line and a first series of tap points in the second tapped delay line, wherein tap points in the first series of tap points in the first tapped delay line are at delays intermediate between the delays of successive tap points in the first series of tap points in the second tapped delay line; a second summing circuit, for forming a second output as a weighted sum of sample values from a second series of alternate tap points in the first tapped delay line and a second series of alternate tap points in the second tapped delay line, wherein the respective first and second series of tap points each alternate in the first and second tapped delay lines, and wherein tap points in the second series of tap points in the first tapped delay line are at delays intermediate between the delays of successive tap points in the second series of tap points in the second tapped delay line; an output, for forming an equalizer output signal from the first output at a third series of time points, and from the second output at a fourth series of time points, wherein the third and fourth series of time points alternate.
[0012] This structure has the advantage that, by doubling the number of components, each component effectively only needs to operate at half the rate which would be required in a conventional structure. This allows the equalizer to operate successfully with signals at higher data rates.
[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the first tapped delay line comprises a first plurality of controllable memory elements, and the second tapped delay line comprises a second plurality of controllable memory elements, each of the controllable memory elements alternating between time periods in which its output is static and time periods in which its output may be in transition.
[0014] In a further preferred embodiment, the controllable memory elements are controlled such that the outputs of the first series of tap points in the first tapped delay line and the first series of tap points in the second tapped delay line are static at the third series of time points, and such that the outputs of the second series of tap points in the first tapped delay line and the second series of tap points in the second tapped delay line are static at the fourth series of time points.
[0015] In another embodiment of the invention, the equalizer takes the form of a decision feedback equalizer, with the input signal being fed along respective first parts of the first and second tapped delay lines, and a decision output signal being fed along respective second parts of the first and second tapped delay lines.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is a block schematic diagram of an equalizer in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] FIGS. 2 a and 2 b are timing diagrams showing signals propagating through the equalizer of FIG. 1 at various time points.
[0018] FIG. 3 is a block schematic diagram of an equalizer in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] FIG. 1 is a block schematic diagram of an equalizer in accordance with the present invention, implemented in the form of a finite impulse response filter, divided into two parallel paths.
[0020] Thus, compared with a conventional finite impulse response filter implementation, which includes a tapped delay line, the equalizer of FIG. 1 includes a first tapped delay line 20 and a second tapped delay line 30 . In this illustrated embodiment of the invention, the first tapped delay line 20 is made up of five track and hold circuits 21 - 25 , while the second tapped delay line 30 is made up of five track and hold circuits 31 - 35 . However, it will be appreciated that the tapped delay lines may be of any convenient length, depending on the extent to which transmitted bits are spread over multiple bit periods by the time they reach the receiver.
[0021] In this illustrated embodiment of the invention, each of the track and hold circuits 21 - 25 , 31 - 35 is of a type which is transparent when its clock signal input is high, and holds the value when its clock signal input is low. Thus, each of the track and hold circuits 21 - 25 , 31 - 35 has a clock signal input. While the clock signal at this input is high, the value at the input of the track and hold circuit is passed through to its output, and this output value then remains fixed at the input value when the falling clock signal transition occurs.
[0022] The clock signal is supplied along a clock signal supply line 40 to each of the track and hold circuits 21 - 25 , 31 - 35 . However, while the clock signal is supplied unchanged to the first, third and fifth track and hold circuits 21 , 23 , 25 in the first tapped delay line 20 , and to the second and fourth track and hold circuits 32 , 34 in the second tapped delay line 30 , it is supplied inverted to the second and fourth track and hold circuits 22 , 24 in the first tapped delay line 20 , and to the first, third and fifth track and hold circuits 31 , 33 , 35 in the second tapped delay line 30 .
[0023] The received signal, Din, which may for example be supplied along an optical fibre at a high data rate, is received after conversion from an optical signal to an electronic signal, on a data input line 42 , and is applied initially to the inputs of the first track and hold circuits 21 , 31 in each of the tapped delay lines 20 , 30 .
[0024] Together with the first and second tapped delay lines 20 , 30 , this embodiment of the present invention also includes first and second weighted summing blocks 50 , 60 . Each of the weighted summing blocks 50 , 60 forms the weighted sum of a respective series of output values of the track and hold devices.
[0025] Thus, the first weighted summing block 50 multiplies the output of the second track and hold block 22 from the first tapped delay line 20 by a first weighting coefficient Wa in a first multiplier 51 ; multiplies the output of the third track and hold circuit 33 in the second tapped delay line 30 by a second weighting coefficient Wb in a second multiplier 52 ; multiplies the output of the fourth track and hold circuit 24 in the first tapped delay line 20 by a third weighting coefficient Wc in a third multiplier 53 ; and multiples the output of the fifth track and hold circuit 35 in the second tapped delay line 30 by a fourth weighting coefficient Wd in a fourth multiplier 54 . The outputs of the multipliers 51 - 54 are then added in a summing block 56 to form a first output value, Out A.
[0026] Similarly, the second weighted summing block 60 multiplies the output of the second track and hold block 32 from the second tapped delay line 30 by the first weighting coefficient Wa in a first multiplier 61 ; multiplies the output of the third track and hold circuit 23 in the first tapped delay line 20 by the second weighting coefficient Wb in a second multiplier 62 ; multiplies the output of the fourth track and hold circuit 34 in the second tapped delay line 30 by the third weighting coefficient Wc in a third multiplier 63 ; and multiples the output of the fifth track and hold circuit 25 in the first tapped delay line 20 by a fourth weighting coefficient Wd in a fourth multiplier 64 . The outputs of the multipliers 61 - 64 are then added in a summing block 66 to form a second output value, Out B.
[0027] The first and second output values, Out A, Out B, can be binary values, or can be multi-level values.
[0028] Thus, the first summing circuit forms the weighted sum of a first series of alternate sample values from the first tapped delay line and a first series of alternate sample values from the second tapped delay line, while the second summing circuit forms the weighted sum of a second series of alternate sample values from the first tapped delay line and a second series of alternate sample values from the second tapped delay line, with the first and second series in each tapped delay line alternating with each other. Also, sample values at corresponding positions in the first and second tapped delay lines are supplied to different summing circuits.
[0029] The first and second output signals are then combined to form an overall output signal. Thus, during one half of each clock period of the input clock signal, the value of the combined output signal is taken from the first output signal, Out A, while, during a second half of each clock period of the input clock signal, the overall output value is taken from the value of the second output signal, Out B.
[0030] There is therefore provided an equalizer architecture which can provide an overall output signal having a data rate which is twice the clock signal frequency, and which is therefore able to handle a received input signal having a frequency which is twice the clock signal frequency. For example, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, in which the received signal has a data rate of 10 Gbps, it is only necessary to use a clock signal having a frequency of 5 GHz, and the track and hold circuits 21 - 25 , 31 - 35 , multipliers 51 - 54 , 61 - 64 and adders 56 , 66 only need to operate at this lower frequency.
[0031] FIGS. 2 a and 2 b are timing diagrams, illustrating the operation of the circuit of FIG. 1 . Specifically, FIG. 2 a shows the time history of the input signal Din, and schematic representations of the signals at points A, B, C, D and E, at the outputs of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth track and hold circuits 21 - 25 of the first tapped delay line 20 , in the lines marked A, B, C, D and E respectively, over a time period extending over times T 1 -T 12 . FIG. 2 b shows the time history of the input signal Din, and schematic representations of the signals at points F, G, H, I and J, at the outputs of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth track and hold circuits 31 - 35 of the second tapped delay line 30 , in the lines marked F, G, H, I and J, over the same time period.
[0032] As mentioned above, each of the track and hold circuits 21 - 25 , 31 - 35 passes its input value through to its output while its clock signal input is high, and this output value then remains fixed while its clock signal input is low. Also, the clock signal is supplied unchanged to the first, third and fifth track and hold circuits 21 , 23 , 25 in the first tapped delay line 20 , and to the second and fourth track and hold circuits 32 , 34 in the second tapped delay line 30 , but is supplied inverted to the second and fourth track and hold circuits 22 , 24 in the first tapped delay line 20 , and to the first, third and fifth track and hold circuits 31 , 33 , 35 in the second tapped delay line 30 .
[0033] Therefore, considering line A in FIG. 2 a as an example, during the time period T 1 -T 2 , the output of the first track and hold block 21 in the first tapped delay line 20 remains constant, but during the time period T 2 -T 3 it tracks the input of that block. That is, it tracks the value of Din. During the time period T 3 -T 4 , the output of the first track and hold block 21 in the first tapped delay line 20 remains constant, at the value it took at time T 3 . Thereafter, during the time period T 4 -T 5 , the output of the first track and hold block 21 in the first tapped delay line 20 resumes tracking the value of Din, and then during the time period T 5 -T 6 , the output of the first track and hold block 21 in the first tapped delay line 20 remains constant, at the value it took at time T 5 .
[0034] Considering line B in FIG. 2 a as a second example, the second track and hold block 22 in the first tapped delay line 20 receives the clock signal inverted. The result is that, during the time period T 1 -T 2 , the output of the second track and hold block 22 in the first tapped delay line 20 tracks the output value of the first track and hold block 21 . During the time period T 2 -T 3 it remains constant, and then during the time period T 3 -T 4 the output of the second track and hold block 22 in the first tapped delay line 20 reacts to and then tracks the output value of the first track and hold block 21 . During the time period T 4 -T 5 , the output of the second track and hold block 22 in the first tapped delay line 20 remains constant, at the value it took at time T 4 . Thereafter, during the time period T 5 -T 6 , the output of the second track and hold block 22 in the first tapped delay line 20 resumes tracking its input value, that is, the output value of the first track and hold block 21 . During the time period T 6 -T 7 , the output of the second track and hold block 22 in the first tapped delay line 20 remains constant, at the value it took at time T 6 .
[0035] Considering line F in FIG. 2 b as a third example, the first track and hold block 31 in the second tapped delay line 30 receives the clock signal inverted. The result is that, during the time period T 1 -T 2 , the output of the first track and hold block 31 in the second tapped delay line 30 tracks its input value, namely the input signal Din. During the time period T 2 -T 3 it remains constant, and then during the time period T 3 -T 4 the output of the first track and hold block 31 in the second tapped delay line 30 reacts to and then tracks the input signal Din. During the time period T 4 -T 5 , the output of the first track and hold block 31 in the second tapped delay line 30 remains constant, at the value it took at time T 4 . Thereafter, during the time period T 5 -T 6 , the output of the first track and hold block 31 in the second tapped delay line 30 resumes tracking its input value, that is, the input signal Din. During the time period T 6 -T 7 , the output of the first track and hold block 31 in the second tapped delay line 30 remains constant, at the value it took at time T 6 .
[0036] The same analysis can be repeated for all of the track and hold blocks for all times. However, it is relevant to note that the value of Din at each falling clock transition is effectively sampled, and passed along the first delay line 20 , with each of the track and hold blocks 22 - 25 effectively delaying the signal by one half of a clock period. By contrast, the value of Din at each rising clock transition is effectively sampled, and passed along the second delay line 30 , with each of the track and hold blocks 32 - 35 effectively delaying the signal by one half of a clock period. In effect, the input signal Din is demultiplexed, with samples taken twice per clock period, and one half of the samples propagating along the first delay line 20 , and the other half of the samples propagating along the second delay line 30 .
[0037] Each of the track and hold blocks 22 - 25 , 32 - 35 spends one half of each clock cycle reacting to, and then tracking, its input, and then spends the other half of each clock cycle static. In this illustrated embodiment the track and hold blocks 21 , 23 , 25 , 32 , 34 are in transition while the clock signal is high (that is, during time periods T 2 -T 3 , T 4 -T 5 , etc), and are static while the clock signal is low (that is, during time periods T 1 -T 2 , T 3 -T 4 , etc). Conversely, the track and hold blocks 22 , 24 , 31 , 33 , 35 are in transition while the clock signal is low (that is, during time periods TI-T 2 , T 3 -T 4 , etc), and are static while the clock signal is high (that is, during time periods T 2 -T 3 , T 4 -T 5 , etc).
[0038] The summing circuits 50 , 60 then operate to produce an output signal twice per clock cycle. At each point, one of the summing circuits produces an output signal based on the outputs of the track and hold blocks which are static. That is, while the clock signal is high, the first summing circuit 50 produces an output signal based on the static outputs of the track and hold blocks 22 , 24 , 33 and 35 . Conversely, while the clock signal is low, the second summing circuit 60 produces an output signal based on the static outputs of the track and hold blocks 23 , 25 , 32 and 34 .
[0039] FIG. 3 is a block schematic diagram of an alternative embodiment of an equalizer in accordance with the present invention. More specifically, FIG. 3 is a block schematic diagram of an equalizer in accordance with the present invention, implemented in the form of a decision feedback equalizer.
[0040] The decision feedback equalizer of FIG. 3 operates in generally the same way as a conventional decision feedback equalizer, except that it is divided into two parallel paths, just as the finite impulse response filter of FIG. 1 is divided into two parallel paths.
[0041] Features of the decision feedback equalizer of FIG. 3 , which have the same functions as features of the finite impulse response filter of FIG. 1 , are indicated by the same reference numerals, and will not be described further herein.
[0042] In the equalizer of FIG. 3 , the first tapped delay line 20 is divided into a first part 71 , which includes the first four track and hold circuits 21 - 24 , and a second part 72 , which contains the final track and hold circuit 25 . Thus, the first part 71 includes the track and hold circuits up to and including the one whose output is supplied to the central multiplier 53 . Similarly, the second tapped delay line 30 is divided into a first part 73 , which includes the first four track and hold circuits 31 - 34 , and a second part 74 , which contains the final track and hold circuit 35 . Thus, the first part 73 includes the track and hold circuits up to and including the one whose output is supplied to the central multiplier 63 .
[0043] FIG. 3 also shows that the outputs from the summing circuits 56 , 66 are applied to respective decision devices 75 , 76 . As shown in FIG. 3 , the decision devices 75 , 76 are slicers, that is, all inputs below a threshold value are assigned the output value “0”, while all inputs above the threshold value are assigned the output value “1”.
[0044] The received signal Din is then passed along the first parts 71 , 72 of the first and second tapped delay lines 20 , 30 . The output from the first slicer 75 is fed back into the second part of the first tapped delay line 20 , while the output from the second slicer 76 is fed back into the second part of the second tapped delay line 30 . The result is that it is the quantized output signals which are used to cancel any interference arising from the earlier transmitted bits.
[0045] Since the track and hold circuits 25 , 35 in the second parts 72 , 74 of the first and second delay lines 20 , 30 receive only binary valued inputs, they can be in the form of binary circuits, such as D-type flip-flops.
[0046] Although FIG. 3 shows slicers 75 , 76 , which generate binary values for the first and second output values, Out A, Out B, these can be replaced by quantizers which generate multi-level values for the first and second output values, Out A, Out B. In that case, the track and hold circuits 25 , 35 in the second parts 72 , 74 of the first and second delay lines 20 , 30 must be able to handle these multi-level values as inputs.
[0047] Again, the effect of dividing the equalizer structure into two parallel paths is that the overall output signal has a data rate which is twice the clock signal frequency, and that the structure is therefore able to handle a received input signal having a frequency which is twice the clock signal frequency. For example, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, in which the received signal has a data rate of 10 Gbps, it is only necessary to use a clock signal having a frequency of 5 GHz, and the track and hold circuits 21 - 25 , 31 - 35 , multipliers 51 - 54 , 61 - 64 and adders 56 , 66 only need to operate at this lower frequency.
[0048] The invention has been described herein with reference to preferred embodiments in which the equalizer structure is divided into two parallel paths, with the result that the equalizer can handle a received signal having a data rate which is twice the clock signal frequency. However, the invention is more generally applicable to equalizers divided into multiple parallel paths. Where there are N such parallel paths, the sampled input signal can be demultiplexed into N separate signals, such that each Nth input sample is clocked along a respective one of the parallel paths. The taps along each delay line are then connected in a N-way round robin fashion to N summing elements, and each Nth bit in the overall output signal is obtained from the respective summing element. This has the result that the equalizer can handle a received signal having a data rate which is N times the clock signal frequency.
[0049] The track and hold circuits 21 - 25 , 31 - 35 in the delay lines 20 , 30 of the FIG. 1 embodiment, and the track and hold circuits 21 - 24 , 31 - 34 in the respective first parts 71 , 72 of the delay lines 20 , 30 of the FIG. 3 embodiment, are analog track and hold circuits, which pass analog representations of the signals at the sampling points. However, these can be replaced if required by digital sample and hold circuits, which pass multi-bit digital representations of the signals.
[0050] There are thus provided equalizer architectures which can handle high data rate received signals, without requiring the use of correspondingly high clock rates. | An equalizer is divided between two tapped delay lines. One half of the sampled data is passed along one delay line, and the other half of the sampled data is passed along the other delay line. Delayed samples are passed to two summing circuits, and the output is formed from the two summing circuits alternately. This structure has the advantage that, by doubling the number of components, each component effectively only needs to operate at half the rate which would be required in a conventional structure. This allows the equalizer to operate successfully with signals at higher data rates. | 7 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a national stage application based on PCT/CN2013/084278, filed on Sep. 26, 2013, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. CN 201310153989.5, filed on Apr. 27, 2013. This application claims the benefits and priority of these prior applications and incorporates their disclosures by reference in their entireties.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of jet device, in particular to a needle for a jet device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Typically, a jet device comprises a nozzle and a needle mounted in an inner cavity of the nozzle. So far, the needle is generally with an elongated structure, the head of the needle is needle-like, and the needle is movable in the axial direction of the nozzle when an external force acts on, thereby adjusting the cross-section for water flow formed by the needle and the nozzle to regulate and control the nozzle jet flow. This type of jet device is widely used in hot water system for households, hotels and the hotel.
An example of a water mixing valve is disclosed in Chinese patent literature under No. 102086941B, the mixing valve includes a valve body provided with a cold water inlet on the valve body, the cold water inlet valve is in communication with a nozzle, said nozzle is provided with a needle valve for assisting the adjustment of cold water flow, and the cross-section area of water outlet of the nozzle is adjustable by screwing the needle valve in or out.
A further example of an adjustable jet device with multiple water sources is disclosed in Chinese patent literature under No. 102767210A, the jet device includes a jet body, a fluid working cavity and a needle, the fluid working cavity is disposed in the jet body, the front end of the fluid working cavity is provided with a nozzle, a needle is disposed on the extension line of the center line of the fluid working cavity, the end of the needle is provided with a needle stroke control means, wherein the needle can be moved in the axial direction of the nozzle under the control of the needle stroke control means to adjust the jetting flow of nozzle.
In practice, in order to reduce production costs for companies, the conventional needle (needle valve) for a hot water system is provided with an elongated structure, which is the same as that illustrated respectively in the drawings of above two patent literatures. However, after research, it is found that there are some defects for such elongated needle in practical use, i.e. the pressure put on the elongated needle in its radial direction is small when the pressure of the fluid flowing through the nozzle is small, which can meet the operation requirements. However, when the pressure of the fluid flowing through the nozzle is large or even very large and the fluid flow rate is instable, a larger and uniform pressure will occur and be put on the needle in its radial direction, i.e., in the elongation direction of the needle, then the different portions will have different radial pressure put thereon, which may cause a deviation of the water outlet of the needle, or cause a radial wobbling of the needle, thereby affecting the jetting effect of the nozzle.
If the needle with larger diameter is designed in order to solve the above problems, it will inevitably lead to an increase with weight of entire jet device and also the production costs correspondingly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The technical problem to be solved by the invention is that the needle of conventional jet device is apt to wobble or deviate with the water outlet of nozzle under the action of the fluid, therefore, it is one objective of the invention to provide a needle for a jet device which has simple structure, easy installation, stable operation under different fluid pressures and flow rates.
To achieve the above objective, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a needle for a jet device, comprising a needle body, and a conical portion disposed on one end of the needle body, the needle body is circumferentially provided with a supporting member, and an outer surface of the supporting member coordinates with an inner cavity of a nozzle, in order to limit the position of the needle body and to form a fluid passage at the supporting member, as the needle is disposed inside the nozzle of a jet device.
In a class of this embodiment, the supporting member comprises a plurality of ribs uniformly and circumferentially arranged around the needle body and extending in the axial direction of the needle body, and each two the ribs have one the fluid passage formed therebetween.
In a class of this embodiment, the rib comprises a first rib part and a second rib port; and the first rib part is arranged towards the cold water inlet of the nozzle, and has a radial dimension smaller than that of the second rib part, so as to coordinate with the inner wall of the nozzle to form the fluid passage, and a coordination is formed between an outer surface of the second rib part and the inner cavity of the nozzle.
In a class of this embodiment, the inner chamber wall of the nozzle is formed a slotting corresponding to the second rib portion, the second rib portion can coordinate into the slotting, and can slide along with the axial direction of the nozzle.
In a class of this embodiment, the inner wall of the nozzle has a groove formed thereon, which corresponds to the second rib part, and the second rib part is adapted for being fitted in the groove and sliding in the axial direction of the nozzle.
In a class of this embodiment, the number of the ribs is three, four, five or six.
In a class of this embodiment, the supporting body is an annular supporting plate disposed on the needle body, a plurality of diversion outlets is formed on the board of the annular supporting plate as the fluid passages.
In a class of this embodiment, the supporting member is a circular ring, the circular ring is connected with the needle body through a plurality of rib strips, and each two rib strips have one the fluid passage formed therebetween.
In a class of this embodiment, the supporting member of the needle body and the conical portion have a water pressurizing and mixing segment formed therebetween, and the water pressurizing and mixing segment is cylindrical in shape.
In a class of this embodiment, the diameter of the water pressurizing and mixing segment is larger than, or equal to, or slightly smaller than the diameter of a water outlet of the nozzle.
In a class of this embodiment, the diameter of the conical portion is larger at a root thereof and smaller at a front end thereof, and the conical degree of the conical portion is 10°-150°, and the length of the conical portion is smaller than or equal to the length for which the nozzle is movable.
In a class of this embodiment, the diameter of the conical portion is gradually reduced in a linear manner from the root to the front end.
Advantages of the above technical solution of the present invention, compared to prior art, are summarized as follows:
The needle for a jet device of the present invention, wherein, the needle body is circumferentially provided with a supporting member, and an outer surface of the supporting member coordinates with an inner cavity of the nozzle, in order to limit the position of the needle body and to form a fluid passage on the supporting member, as the needle is disposed inside the nozzle of a jet device, so that when the pressure of the fluid flowing through the nozzle is large or even very large and the fluid flow rate is instable, it may effectively prevent the needle from deviating from the water outlet of the nozzle, or a radical wobbling of the needle, affecting the jetting effect of the nozzle, due to a larger and non-uniform pressure occur and be put on the needle in its radial direction of the nozzle.
The needle for a jet device of the present invention, wherein, the supporting body comprises a plurality of ribs, which surround the needle body and are uniformly distributed in the circumferential direction, and extend in the axial direction of the needle body, the ribs form the fluid passages between each other, thereby facilitating the flow of fluid, further, each rib comprises the first rib part and the second rib part, and the radical dimension of the first rib part is smaller than the second rib part, so it is possible to further enhance the jetting effect of the nozzle.
The needle for a jet device of the present invention, wherein, the supporting member of the needle body and the conical portion have a water pressurizing and mixing segment formed therebetween, and the water pressurizing and mixing segment is cylindrical in shape, allows the water introduced to the fluid flow passages to be uniformly mixed and pressurizing effect to be achieved, so as to ensure the final jetting effect of the nozzle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In order to make the present invention clearly understood more easily, detailed description is further presented below, in conjunction with accompany drawings, wherein,
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of three-dimensional structure of the needle of one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of one part of the structure showing the coordination between the needle with the nozzle;
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a supporting member structure of the detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a further supporting member structure of the detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE MAKING NUMBERS IN THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
1 —needle body, 1 a —water pressurizing and mixing segment, 2 —conical portion, 2 a —root, 2 b —front end, 3 —fluid passage, 4 —rib, 41 —first rib part, 42 —second rib part, 5 —annular supporting board, 6 —diversion hole, 7 —circular ring, 8 —rib strip, 10 —water outlet.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the needle provided by this embodiment of the present invention, comprises a needle body 1 , and a conical portion 2 disposed on one end of the needle body 1 , wherein, an outer surface of the needle body 1 is circumferentially provided with a supporting member, such that when the needle is assembled to the nozzle 9 of a jet device, an outer surface of the supporting member can coordinate or contact with the inner cavity of the nozzle 9 , in order to limit the position of the needle body 1 , and accordingly form a fluid passage 3 for fluid flowing at the supporting member.
The needle with such structure used in practice, even when the pressure of fluid flowing through the nozzle 9 is large or even very large and the fluid flow rate is instable, i.e., in the elongation direction of the needle, even the different portions will have different radial pressure put thereon, on the premise that the smooth flow of the fluid should not be affected, due to a larger and non-uniform pressure will occur and put on the needle in its radial direction, it can also effectively prevent the needle from deviating from the water outlet of the nozzle 9 , or causing a radial wobbling of the needle, thereby avoiding affecting the jetting effect of the water outlet 10 of the nozzle 9 .
According to the role and function of the supporting member as described above, in the actual structures, detailed description on the supporting member is further presented below, but it is to be understood thon the supporting member is not to be limited to the following structures, numerous variations, substitutions and modification be took by those skilled in the art.
The first embodiment of the structure of the supporting member:
In this embodiment, the supporting member comprises a plurality of ribs 4 circumferentially and uniformly arranged around the needle, and each two ribs have one the fluid passage 3 formed therebetween, as shown in FIG. 1 . thus, after the needle is assembled to the nozzle, the ribs 4 can coordinate with the inner cavity of the nozzle in contact manner to limit the position of the needle body.
In the actual processing, the rib 4 can be formed by the way of machining such as cutting, can also be one-step molded with the needle body by the way of casting or injection molding etc, appropriate molding method can be selected according to actual needs.
Further, in order to enhance the jetting effect of the nozzle, the ribs 4 comprises a first rib part 41 and a second rib part 42 , wherein, after the ribs coordinate with the nozzle, the first rib part 41 is arranged towards the cold water inlet of the nozzle, and has a radial dimension smaller than that of the second rib part 42 , so as to coordinate with the inner wall of the nozzle to form the fluid passages 3 , so as to uniformly guide the water from the inlet of the nozzle into the fluid passages 3 of the needle, a coordination is formed between an outer surface of the second rib part 42 and the inner cavity of the nozzle 9 , so as to ensure the position for the needle can be limited by the supporting member through improving the structure of the rib 4 , at the same time, and enhance the jetting effect of the nozzle 9 .
The length of the first rib part 41 depends on the axial dimension of water inlet of the nozzle, is usually equal to a sum of the length of water inlet of the nozzle in the axial direction and the length for which the nozzle is movable.
It should be noted that, the first rib part 41 may be a cylinder, but in order to enhance the strength of the needle body 1 , preferably, the rib 4 comprises the first rib part 41 .
Furthermore, the external diameter of the second rib part 42 depends on the cross-section area of the entire fluid passages 3 , which is larger than the jetting cross-section area after the coordination between the nozzle and the needle, so as to ensure minimization of the loss of water pressure of the nozzle outlet.
At this time, the needle both can move back and forth in the axial direction of the nozzle and can rotate in the nozzle by the supporting member providing a limitation to the position.
In practice, the inner cavity wall of the nozzle 9 has a groove formed thereon, which corresponds to the second rib part 42 , the groove extending in the axial direction of the nozzle 9 , and the second rib part 42 is adapted for being fitted in the groove and sliding in the axial direction of the nozzle. In this structure, the groove is able to guide the needle and prevent the same for rotating, i.e. the needle only can move in the axial direction of the nozzle back and forth, and cannot rotate in the nozzle.
In order to facilitate manufacturing work and ensure that no loss of water pressure is incurred before the cold water reaches the nozzle outlet, the number of the ribs 4 is preferably three, four, five or six, thereby ensuring the sum of the cross-section areas of fluid passages 3 formed by the ribs therebetween is larger than the jetting cross-section area of the nozzle, to ensure no loss of water pressure is incurred or a slight loss of water pressure is incurred before the cold water reaches the nozzle outlet. However, the number of the ribs 4 is not limited to this, may be two or more.
The second embodiment of the structure of the supporting member:
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 , the supporting member is an annular supporting board 5 disposed on the needle body 1 , a plurality of diversion holes 6 are formed on the annular supporting board 5 as the fluid passages.
The annular supporting board 5 has appropriate thickness according to actual needs, furthermore, the shape of the diversion holes 6 is not limited to round hole as shown in FIG. 4 , may be scallop hole, meanwhile, the diversion holes 6 should be formed by incurring no influence or slight influence on the flow rate of fluid, for example, an arc is provided at the connection point between the diversion holes 6 and the annular supporting board 5 in favor of the fluid flowing.
The third embodiment of the structure of the supporting member:
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 , the supporting member is a circular ring 7 , the circular ring 7 is connected with the needle body 1 through a plurality of rib strips 8 , and each two rib strips 8 have one fluid passage 3 formed therebetween.
The shapes of the circular ring 7 and the rib strips 8 are in favor of the fluid flowing smoothly to have a slight influence or no influence on fluid flowing.
The description of three structural types of the supporting member is presented above, but it is not limited hereto.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1 , after the needle coordinates with the nozzle, and when the conical portion of the needle completely coordinate with the water outlet, in order to avoid the interference between the supporting member and the conical surface of the inner cavity at the water outlet, preferably, the supporting member of the needle body 1 and the conical portion 2 of the needle body 1 have a water pressurizing and mixing segment 1 a formed therebetween, and the water pressurizing and mixing segment 1 a is cylindrical in shape, so as to form a space for the cold water inflowing between the water pressurizing and mixing segment 1 a of the needle and the inner cavity wall of the nozzle after the needle is assembled to the nozzle, as shown in FIG. 2 , which may ensure the incoming fluid through the fluid passages is uniformly mixed before it get into the conical surface formed by the conical portion 2 and the water outlet 10 and pressurizing effect can be achieved, so as to ensure the final jetting effect of the nozzle.
As shown in FIG. 2 , when the needle 9 is moved toward the water outlet 10 in the axial direction of the nozzle 10 , the conical portion 2 of the needle gradually coordinates with the water outlet 10 , therefore, after the conical portion 2 is completely coordinates with the water outlet 10 , in order to prevent further cold water from spurting from the water outlet 10 , preferably, the diameter of the water pressurizing and mixing segment 1 a is larger than, or equal to, or slightly smaller than the diameter of a water outlet ( 10 ) of the nozzle.
“Larger than, equal to” here, means the water outlet 10 is sealed by the water pressurizing and mixing segment 1 a , after conical portion 2 completely coordinates with the water outlet 10 , so as to prevent the cold water from spurting from the water outlet 10 .
“Slightly smaller than” here, means there is a very slight difference between the diameter of the water pressurizing and mixing segment 1 a and the diameter of the water outlet 10 , i.e., after the conical portion 2 coordinates with the water outlet 10 , a slight gap is provided between outer circumferential surface of the water pressurizing and mixing segment 1 a and inner circumferential surface of the water outlet 10 , although a little cold water may be spurted from the water outlet 10 through the gap, the slight effect on the hot water flowing through the outer wall of the nozzle 9 can be ignored.
The length of the water pressurizing and mixing segment 1 a should not be too short, otherwise it may cause the water from the nozzle to the bifurcation, i.e., the length of the water pressurizing and mixing segment 1 a is relate to the cross-section of the fluid passage, the cross-section of the nozzle outlet and the thickness of the supporting member, but this impact will not be significant.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1 , the diameter of the conical portion 2 is larger at a root 2 a thereof and smaller at a front end 2 b thereof, and the conical degree of the conical portion 2 is 10°-150°, the conical degree comprises 10° and 150°, after the needle is assembled to the nozzle, the length of the conical portion 2 is smaller than or equal to the length for which the nozzle is movable, so that appropriate coordination between the water outlet 10 and the conical portion 2 can be achieved.
In addition, the diameter of the conical portion 2 is gradually reduced in a linear manner from the root 2 a to the front end 2 b , i.e. the conical portion is a cone in structure. For the fluid flowing smoothly, as shown in FIG. 2 , the coordination between the conical portion 2 and the water outlet may be linear. The conical portion 2 may be of a non-linear or parabolic surface, so as to make some appropriate adjustments automatically in accordance with different flow rates of fluid.
Obviously, the aforementioned embodiments are merely intended for clearly describing the examples, rather than limiting the implementation scope of the invention. For those skilled in the art, various changes and modifications in other different forms can be made on basis of the aforementioned description. It is unnecessary to describe all the implementation ways herein. However, any obvious changes or modifications derived from the aforementioned description are intended to be embraced within the scope of protection of the present invention. | A needle for a jet device includes a needle body and a tapered part arranged at the end of the needle body, in which the needle body is circumferentially provided with supporting bodies, so that when the needle is assembled in a nozzle of the jet device, the outer surfaces of the supporting bodies are coordinated with an inner chamber of the nozzle to limit the position of the needle body and form fluid channels among the supporting bodies, thereby to effectively prevent the needle from deviating from the spout of the nozzle or from radially swinging. | 5 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(i) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to method and apparatus for detecting vapours of one gas in another gas. More particularly, it is directed to method and means for detecting toxic or other noxious gases in air.
(ii) Description of the Prior Art
There is presently a need to detect vapours of chemical warfare agents (particularly vapours of the "so-called" G. and V-agents) in air down to very low concentrations. To be useful in the field, such detection should be made rapidly, i.e. taking no more than 10 minutes, and should be made using a simple apparatus which can be easily carried and used by untrained soldiers in the field.
There are two ways for detecting such vapours in air. The first involves the detection of the presence of dangerous concentrations of vapours of the agent. The second involves the detection of the absence of dangerous concentrations of vapours of the agent. In the first way, the test is used to provide a positive indication of concentrations producing militarily significant effects down to the threshold level, as well as to provide a readily recognizable negative indication of lower concentrations. In the second way, the test is used to provide a positive indication of concentrations lower than those producing militarily significant effects, as well as to provide a readily recognizable negative indication of higher concentrations.
As used in the present specification, the term "militarily significant effects" is intended to mean the developement, in a small fraction (1-5%) of exposed personnel, of no more than mild symptoms of poisoning by the agent. The appearance of such mild symptoms is related to the rate at which agent enters the body. This is a function of the breathing rate, the vapour concentration, and the body collection efficiency. The requirement is for detection of concentrations which do not exceed the above criteria of casuality production in resting or mildly active men exposed for an indefinite time. This indefinite time may be further defined as 12 hours.
Means for detection of such vapours in air which are currently available involve the provision of a bibulous material (e.g. absorbent paper) impregnated with a colorimetric agent, e.g. an enzyme which reacts with the particular agent being detected to provide a colour indication. The precise nature of such colorimetric agent is not important since it has no bearing on the present invention. However, in general, it can be said that in one such chemical system, contact between the impregnated bibulous material (e.g. paper) and air results either in the development of colour (absence of agent), or no development of colour (presence of agent) on the paper. In another such chemical system, contact between the impregnated bibulous material (e.g. paper) and air results in colour being developed very rapidly. If this colour persists for more than 2 minutes, agent is present, if the colour fades to white within the 2 minute period, agent is absent.
Contact between the air and the bibulous material may be achieved either by pulling an air sample therethrough with a handpump, or by waving the detector (i.e. the impregnated paper) in the air.
All the above means will detect low concentrations of the vapours of the agents but their sensitivities are not adequate. To detect the very much lower concentrations which do not produce symptoms after 12 hour exposure, the techniques of quantitative analysis must be employed. Such techniques are complicated and time-consuming. In addition, they must be performed by a trained analyst. Such approaches, therefore, are unsuited for field use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
(i) Aims of the Invention
It is therefore, an object of this invention to provide a novel method for increasing the sensitivity of the tests using the above-described impregnated papers.
Another object of this invention is to provide novel apparatus for the detection of noxious or poisonous vapours in gases.
(ii) Statement of the Invention
It has now surprisingly been found that the sensitivity of the test may be increased by approximately two orders of magnitude by generating an air jet stream by means of an orifice operating under critical conditions, i.e. when the orifice diameter (or area) is sufficiently small and the pressure drop across the orifice is sufficiently large, so that the jet stream velocity is a function only of the gas viscosity and its temperature and approaches the maximum possible value, namely, the velocity of sound in air at the temperature, and directing such air against the vapour detecting element.
This invention provides an improved vapour detection apparatus including a sampling head having a main body portion including: (a) a detection chamber; (b) means for the insertion of a vapour detector into the detection chamber; (c) inlet means to the detection chamber, such inlet means including a critical orifice directed towards the detection chamber; (d) outlet means from the detection chamber; (e) means for causing a gas to pass through the critical orifice at a jet stream velocity approaching the velocity of sound in the gas at that temperature by co-ordinating the orifice diameter and the pressure drop across the orifice; (f) a vapour detector adapted to be positioned in the detection chamber via the insertion means; and (g) an air by-pass means interconnecting the inlet means and the outlet means such that, in operation, most of the air stream is directed from the critical orifice against, but not through, the detector, and through the air by-pass means to the outlet means. The detection chamber in the main body portion may be provided in a single integral unit, or it may be provided between two hingedly connected parts with the gas inlet means (c) in one part, and the gas outlet means (d) in the other part, or it may be provided as a recess between the main body portion and a cap detachably secured thereto.
This invention provides, still further a one piece sampling head including a generally cylindrical body provided with a sampling chamber; a slotted inlet provided with a self-sustaining vapour detection element disposed in the sampling chamber; an inlet to the sampling chamber; and outlet from the sampling chamber; means for connecting the outlet from the sampling chamber to a pump for drawing a gas therethrough; and a nozzle disposed in the inlet to the sampling chamber, the nozzle having a critical orifice to accelerate the gas passing therethrough to a velocity approaching the velocity of sound in that gas.
This invention, provides, still further a two piece sampling head, comprising a pair of hinged plates; a sampling chamber recessed in the plates within facing surfaces thereof; a slotted inlet to the sampling chamber, the inlet being provided with a self-sustaining vapour detection element disposed in the sampling chamber; sealing gasket means disposed against one face of the vapour detection element; an inlet nozzle to the sampling chamber, the nozzle having a critical orifice to accelerate the gas passing therethrough to a velocity approaching the velocity of sound in that gas; an outlet from the sampling chamber; and means for connecting the outlet from the sampling chamber to a pump for drawing gas therethrough.
This invention also provides a two piece head including a generally cylindrical externally threaded body and an internally threaded cylindrical cap operatively associated therewith, and defining, therebetween, a sampling chamber; a slotted inlet provided with a self-sustaining vapour detection element disposed in the sampling chamber; a pair of O-ring gasket members contacting the vapour detection element to provide an air tight sampling chamber; an inlet to the sampling chamber; and outlet from the sampling chamber; means for connecting the outlet from the sampling chamber to a pump for drawing gas therethrough; and a nozzle disposed on the inlet to the sampling chamber, the nozzle having a critical orifice to accelerate the gas passing therethrough to a velocity approaching the velocity of sound in that gas.
In variants of all of these embodiments, the vapour detection apparatus may comprise a self-sustaining element; an inset aperture formed therethrough; and a bibulous element impregnated with a suitable vapour detection element covering one face of the inset aperture.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings:
FIG. 1 is an isometric view, seen from above, of the sampling head according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an isometric view, seen from below, of the sampling head of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a central vertical cross-section through the sampling head of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is an isometric view, seen from above, and in its closed position, of a sampling head according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is an isometric view, seen from below, of the sampling head of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the sampling view of the sampling head of FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is a rear elevational view of the sampling head of FIG. 4;
FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the sampling head of FIG. 4, in its open position;
FIG. 9 is a plan view of the sampling head of FIG. 8, viewed from above;
FIG. 10 is a plan view of the sampling head of FIG. 8, viewed from below;
FIG. 11 is a central vertical and longitudinal cross-sectional view of the sampling head of FIG. 4;
FIG. 12 is an exploded isometric view, seen from above, of a sampling head according to a third embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 13 is an exploded isometric view, seen from below, of the sampling head of FIG. 12;
FIG. 14 is a central vertical cross-sectional view of the sampling head of FIG. 12, in assembled form; and
FIG. 15 is a central vertical cross-sectional view of the gas detection device of yet another aspect of this invention.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
(i) Description of the Embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3
Before describing the structure and operation of embodiments of this invention, it is desired to emphasize that the most common gas in which a noxious gas may be present is air, and so the description will refer to the use of air.
As seen in FIGS. 1 to 3, one embodiment of this invention is in the form of a sampling head indicated generally by reference numeral 10 including a main upper cylindrical body portion 12. The main body portion 12 is provided with an internal detection chamber 50, having an inlet port 52, an outlet port 54 and a lateral entry slot 56 having upper and lower chamfered edges 58 for the insertion and removal of the gas detection element. Inlet port 52 emerges from an enlarged bore 60 which is surrounded by a terminal, raised upper annular support shoulder 62. Disposed within bore 60 is a nozzle indicated generally as 64 and including an upper annular support flange 66, a main cylindrical portion 68 and a tip 70 projecting through inlet port 52. Nozzle 64 is provided with a main bore 72 and a tapering frusto-conically shaped bore 74, leading to a critical orifice opening 76 of smaller diameter.
A vapour detector element 78, generally in the form of a bibulous strip impregnated with the detector element, is disposed in the detection chamber 50 through the entry slot 56, to divide the chamber 50 into an upper contact channel 80, a lateral bypass channel 82, and an outlet channel 84, communicating with outlet port 54. Sealing means (not shown) at the mouth of the slot 56 should be provided in order to provide for air-sealing of the chamber 50.
Integral with the lower portion of upper body 12 is a depending hollow cylinder 90 provided with an outer surface 92 acting as an engagement fitting. A circular rubber disc 94 provided with a central flap valve 96 is held in place by means of a retaining ring 98, secured within cylinder 90 by an inwardly directed annular retaining flange 99.
In one embodiment of this aspect of this invention, the main body 12 was molded from rubber and carried a critical orifice unit or nozzle 64 which may be fabricated from brass, nylon, or Teflon (the Trade Mark for a polytetrafluoroethylene).
(ii) Description of the Embodiment of FIGS. 4 to 11
Turning now to a second aspect of this invention, and more particularly to the embodiment of the sampling head shown in FIGS. 4 to 11, it is seen that the sampling head indicated generally by 110 includes an upper generally rectangular plate-like body portion 112 and a lower generally rectangular plate-like body portion 114, hingedly interconnected by mutually mortised ends connected by hinge pin 116.
Lower body 114 is provided with a pair of spaced apart upstanding posts 126, each provided with a transverse bore 128, and an upper body 112 is similarly provided with a central complementary depending post 130 also provided with co-operating mating bore 128, thus providing the mutually mortised ends. Hinge pin 116 hingedly secures upper body 112 and lower body 114 together by passing through the bore 128.
Secured to the upper face of the upper body 112 by pins 132 is a spring clip shown generally as 134 including a vertical portion 139 having a retaining projection 136 thereon. The bottom edge of lower body 114 is provided with a retaining recess 138.
Upper body portion 112 is provided with an integral, raised frusto-conical protuberance 118, terminating in an upper shoulder 162. A central bore 172 is provided within protuberance 118, converging frusto-conically to bore 174 to terminate in critical orifice 176. Orifice 176 extends through tip 170 which integrally depends from the roof 120 of a recess 122 in body portion 112. A portion of recess 122 forms the upper contact channel 180 of the detection chamber 150.
A vapour detector element 178 generally in the form of a bibulous strip impregnated with a suitable detector element is disposed in the portion of the detection chamber 150 defined by recess 124 in the lower body portion 114. Recess 124 communicates with the outlet port 154. A portion of the upper recess 122 of detection chamber 150 constitutes an upper contact channel 180 and an upper bypass channel 186, which comm nicates with a lateral bypass channel 182 which, in turn, communicates with an outlet channel 184. Sealing means, in the form of a suitably apertured oblong gasket 188, is disposed between upper body 112 and lower body 114. Additional sealing means should be provided at the entrance to the recess 124 to assure airtight sealing between the recess 124 and the vapour detector element 178.
Integral with the bottom of the lower body 114 is a depending cylinder 190 provided with a stepped outer surface 192 acting as an engagement fitting. A circular rubber disc 194 provided with a central circular flap valve 196 is held in place by means of a retaining ring 198 disposed within the interior of cylinder 190.
The sampling head of this embodiment of this aspect of this invention was fabricated entirely from nylon.
(iii) Description of the Embodiments of FIGS. 12 to 14
As seen in FIGS. 12 to 14, a third embodiment of this invention is in the form of a sampling head 210 including a lower cylindrical body 214, and an upper cap 212. Lower cylindrical body 214 is provided with a recess 248 defining an internal detection chamber 250 having an axial inlet port 252 and an axial outlet port 254. Disposed in inlet port 252 is a cylindrical nozzle 270, the outlet bore 276 of which constitutes a critical orifice opening. An axial well 260 communicates inlet port 254, with radial inlet bore 246 for the admission of air through inlet port 256 to the sampling head 210.
The upper face 230 of the lower cylindrical body 214 is provided with an annular recess 244, within which is disposed an O-ring gasket 242. The outer cylindrical surface of body 214 is provided with helical threads 240.
Upper cap 212 is provided with internal helical threads 238, and with a radial slot 257. The inner surface 236 of cap 212 is provided with an annular recess 234 within which is disposed an O-ring gasket 232.
A vapour detector element 278 generally in the form of a bibulous strip impregnated with a suitable detector element is disposed in the detection chamber 250 through the radial slot 257. Air discharged through critical orifice 276 passes into an upper contact channel 250 and then through a lateral bypass channel and then out through outlet port 254. The pair of O-ring gaskets 242, 232 are provided in order to provide air-tight entry of element 278 into chamber 250.
Integral with the lower portion of body 214 is a depending cylinder 290 provided with an outer surface 292 acting as an engagement fitting. A circular disc 294 provided with a central circular flap valve 294 is held in place by means of a retaining ring 298 disposed within cylinder 290.
The sampling head of this embodiment of this aspect of this invention was fabricated from nylon and carried a nylon critical orifice unit or nozzle 270.
(iv) Description of the Embodiment of FIG. 15
As seen in FIG. 15, a fourth embodiment of this invention is seen in the form of a sampling head 310 including a lower, generally cylindrical lower body 314 and an upper cap 312. The lower body 314 is provided with an annular recess 348 which, together with a similar recess 318 in the upper cap 312, provides an internal detection chamber 350, having an axial inlet port 352 and an axial outlet port 354. Disposed in inlet port 352 is a generally cylindrical nozzle 370, the bore of which constitutes a critical orifice opening. An axial well 360 communicates between inlet port 352 and radial inlet bore 346 to provide for the admission of air to be tested to the sampling head 310. Inlet bore 346 is provided with inlet port 356 in which is fitted internal connecting plug 358, sealed therein with O-rings 362.
The upper face of the lower body 314 is provided with a central cylindrical recess 364, embracing inlet port 352 and outlet port 354. The upper face of the lower cylindrical body is also provided with an annular recess 344, within which is disposed an O-ring gasket 342. The outer cylindrical surface of body 314 is provided with external threads 338.
Upper cap 312 is provided with internal threads 340, cooperating with threads 338 on body 314, and a radial inlet slot 357. The inner surface 336 of cap 312 is provided with an annular recess 334 within which is disposed an O-ring gasket 332.
A vapour detector element 378 is disposed in detection chamber 350 through radial inlet slot 357. Vapour detector element 378 is generally in the form of a self-sustaining member provided with an inset and circular window 384, which is closed by a detecting element, namely a bibulous element impregnated with a detector substance, e.g. an enzyme. Air discharged through critical orifice 376 passes into an upper sealed contact channel 380, and then down through outlet port 354. The pair of O-ring gaskets 342, 332 disposed between body 314, vapour detector element 378 and cap 312 provides for a sealing of the air within contact channel 380.
Integral with the lower portion of body 314 is a depending cylinder 390 provided with an outer surface 392 acting as an engagement fitting for the main tube 400 of a hand pump. A circular resilient disc provided with a central flap is held in place by means of an O-ring 398 disposed within cylinder 390.
OPERATION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
(i) Operation of the Embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3
In use, the sampling head is attached to the air inlet of a handpump (not shown) by means of engagement of the air inlet with the outer surface 92 of the depending hollow cylinder 90. The handpump is operated so as to draw air through the main bore 72 by the automatic opening of the one-way flap valve 96. The air moves in the direction of the arrows 14 and the jet stream velocity at the outlet of the critical orifice 76 is increased to the maximum value approaching the velocity of sound. Part of the air passes through the porous vapour detector 78 and out the outlet port 54. Most of the air, however, passes through the upper contact channel 80, the lateral bypass channel 82 and the outlet channel 84. After a suitable period of time, i.e. of the order of 5-10 minutes, the operation of the handpump is stopped, and the vapour detector 78 is removed and examined in the usual manner, well known to those skilled in the art.
(ii) Operation of the Embodiment of FIGS. 4 to 11
In use, the vapour detector 178 is placed on recess 124 and the upper body 112 hingedly placed over the lower body 114 and the two halves held together with spring clip 134, recess 124 is preferably air-tight now. Then, the sampling head 110 is attached to the air inlet of a handpump (not shown) by means of engagement of the air inlet with the outer surface 192 of the depending hollow cylinder 190. The handpump is operated so as to draw air through the main bore 172 by the automatic opening of the one-way flap valve 196. The air moves in the direction of the arrows 140 and the jet stream velocity at the outlet of the critical orifice 176 is increased to the maximum value approaching the velocity of sound. Part of the air passes through the porous vapour detector 178 and out the outlet port 154. Most of the air, however, passes through the upper contact channel 180, the upper bypass channel 186, the lateral bypass channel 182 and the outlet channel 184. After a suitable period of time, i.e. of the order of 5 to 10 minutes, the operation of the handpump is stopped, and the vapour detector 178 is removed and examined in the usual manner.
(iii) Operation of the Embodiment of FIGS. 12 to 14
In use, the sampling head 210 is attached to the air inlet of a handpump (not shown) by means of engagement of the air inlet with the outer surface 292 of the depending hollow cylinder 290. The handpump is operated so as to draw air through the main bore 276 by the automatic opening of the oneway flap valve 296. The air moves in the direction of the arrows 216 and the jet stream velocity at the outlet of the critical orifice 276 is increased to the maximum value approaching the velocity of sound. Part of the air passes both ways through the porous vapour detector 278 but most of the air passes through the upper contact channel 250, and then downwardly through the outlet port 254. After a suitable period of time, i.e. of the order of 5 to 10 minutes, the operation of the handpump is stopped, and the vapour detector 278 is removed and examined in the usual manner.
(iv) Operation of the Embodiment of FIG. 15
In use, the sampling head 310 is attached to the air inlet of a handpump 400 by means of engagement of the air inlet with the outer surface 392 of the depending hol-ow cylinder 390. The handpump is operated so as to draw air down through air outlet 354. This caused air to be drawn in from air inlet 346. The air moves in the direction of the arrows from the inlet 356, through inlet bore 346 and the jet stream velocity at the outlet of the critical orifice 376 is increased to the maximum value approaching the velocity of sound. Part of the air passes through the porous portion of the vapour detector 378. However, the movement of the air caused by the pump 400 drives most of the air through outlet bore 354. After a suitable period of time, i.e. of the order of 5 to 10 minutes, the operation of the handpump is stopped and the vapour detector 378 is removed through the radial inlet slot 357 and examined in the usual manner.
(v) General Description of Operation
The four embodiments of the sampling heads carrying critical orifices described above were attached to a handpump capable of producing the required critical conditions across the orifice. These, when tested, performed satisfactorily, producing sensitivities of the vapour detector approximately two orders of magnitude over the use of the vapour detector without the sampling head. The time required for sampling and testing was approximately 6 minutes. The maximum air sample volume was 4.5 liters.
These embodiments of this invention may be used to tell when it is safe for soldiers to unmask for extended times (at least 12 hours). These sampling heads are small, cheap, simple, and require no training in use and are suitable for use in the field. The time required for testing is short, approximately 6 minutes, and the air volume sampled is small.
CONCLUSION
From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of this invention, and without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions. Consequently, such changes and modifications, are properly, equitably and intended to be, within the full range of equivalents of the following claims. | An improved apparatus is provided for detecting the presence of small concentrations of one gas, e.g. a poisonous or other noxious gas, in another gas, e.g. air. The gaseous mixture, e.g. contaminated air is caused to contact a colorimetric detector, e.g., an enzyme, supported on or in a support surface. The improvement involves having a sampling head for the vapor detection apparatus including (a) a detection chamber; (b) an opening permitting the insertion of a vapor detector into the detection chamber; (c) an inlet to the detection chamber, such inlet including a critical orifice directed towards the detection chamber; (d) an outlet from the detection chamber; (e) an interrelated coordination of the orifice diameter and the pressure drop across the orifice to cause a gas to pass through the critical orifice at a jet stream velocity approaching the velocity of sound, at that temperature (f) a vapor detector adapted to be positioned in the detection chamber via the opening (b), and (g) an air by-pass interconnecting the inlet and the outlet such that, in operation most of the air stream is directed from the critical orifice against, but not through the detector, and through the air by-pass through the outlet. | 8 |
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] A control system for an engine assembly using equivalent consumption minimisation strategy.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Internal combustion engines generally have efficiencies of well below 50%. Increasing energy efficiency is highly desirable for improving fuel economy, making better use of energy resources and meeting regulatory targets. Efforts to reduce fuel consumption by altering the engine and its control system to maximise the proportion of potential energy in the fuel which is converted into useful kinetic energy in the crankshaft are well known.
[0003] While these techniques are, of course, beneficial for improving engine efficiency, it is necessarily the case that an engine produces secondary forms of energy (incidental to the kinetic energy of the crankshaft) which are often not usefully employed.
[0004] Against this background, there is provided an engine assembly as disclosed herein.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0005] The disclosure provides an engine assembly 1 comprising:
an engine 20 configured to convert energy in a fuel 15 into primary output energy 25 and secondary output energy 35 wherein the primary output energy 25 consists solely of primary output kinetic energy in the form of a rotating crankshaft for onward transmission to a gearbox and/or a load 1000 and the secondary output energy 35 comprises secondary output kinetic energy and secondary output thermal energy; a recovery device 40 configured to convert the secondary output energy 35 to potential energy 45 ; a transducer 60 suitable either for converting the potential energy 45 to tertiary energy 65 for conversion by the engine 20 into primary output energy 25 or for converting the potential energy 45 directly to primary output energy 25 ; and a controller 100 configured to implement an equivalent consumption minimization strategy in order to control overall consumption of fuel by continuously optimising a proportion of the primary output energy 25 derived from the energy in the fuel 15 and a proportion of the primary output energy 25 derived from the potential energy 45 .
[0010] An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the features and embodiment of the engine assembly of the disclosure;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing example inputs and outputs of the ECMS;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an implementation of the arrangement of the disclosure;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a more specific implementation of the arrangement of FIG. 3 ;
[0015] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a specific implementation of the arrangement of the disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] Referring to FIG. 1 , there is illustrated an engine assembly 1 comprising an engine 20 , a recovery device 40 , a transducer 60 and a controller 100 .
[0017] The engine 20 is configured to receive fuel 15 from a fuel tank 5 and to convert energy in the fuel into primary output energy 25 and secondary output energy 35 . The primary output energy 25 may take the form of kinetic energy in a rotating crankshaft. The rotating crankshaft may be connected to an engine load 1000 , perhaps via a gear box (which may or may not be considered to constitute a part of a load).
[0018] The secondary output energy 35 may comprise secondary output kinetic energy and/or secondary output thermal energy. The secondary output energy 35 may be supplied to the recovery device 40 . The recovery device 40 may be configured to convert the secondary output energy 35 to potential energy 45 . Optionally, the engine assembly 1 comprises a potential energy storage feature 50 . Where the potential energy 45 is electrical potential energy, the potential energy storage feature 50 may be a battery.
[0019] Potential energy 45 , either supplied directly from the recovery device 40 or from the potential energy storage feature 50 may be supplied to the transducer 60 . The transducer 60 is suitable for converting the potential energy 45 into tertiary energy 65 for conversion by the engine 20 into primary output energy 25 (and potentially also secondary output energy 35 ).
[0020] The controller 100 is configured to implement an equivalent consumption minimisation strategy. This may be achieved using a data library which may be derived from offline engine modelling. Alternatively, equivalent consumption minimisation strategy may be achieved by online calculations in the engine controller. The controller 100 controls supply of fuel 15 from the fuel tank 5 to the engine 20 and supply of tertiary energy 65 from the transducer 60 to the engine 20 . In particular, it controls the ratio of energy to be derived in the engine 20 from fuel 15 to energy to be derived in the engine from tertiary energy 65 .
[0021] The controller 100 comprises control lines 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 and 105 for controlling the supply of fuel, the recovery device 40 , where present a battery, the transducer 60 and the engine 20 , respectively. The control lines may exercise control directly or indirectly. In respect of the control of the supply of fuel 15 , this may be achieved, for example, by controlling the demanded engine load on the crankshaft.
[0022] EMCS is achieved by applying a search algorithm wherein the algorithm attempts to find a minimum fuel consumption for a given set of conditions. In an online system the data resulting in minimum predicted fuel consumption would be calculated in real time. In an offline system, a model of the system would attempt to predict the best possible outcome and output it to the data library for online retrieval by the controller 100 . It may be that expected drive cycles can be used to identify optimised values for the desired condition. This is particularly relevant when using an offline model.
[0023] In simple terms, the input and output of the ECMS are shown in FIG. 2 . The input represents the demands while the corresponding output indicates a predicted most efficient solution of X kW of energy to be derived from tertiary energy 65 and Y kW of energy to be derived from fuel 15 .
[0024] In a more specific embodiment of the invention, the secondary output energy 35 may comprise secondary output kinetic energy. Specifically, the secondary output kinetic energy may comprise kinetic energy of an exhaust gas produced in the engine 20 . In this case, the recovery device 40 may comprise an electric generator for converting the secondary output kinetic energy of the gas into potential energy 45 which is electrical potential energy. Electrical potential energy may or may not be transmitted to a battery for storage. In this embodiment, the transducer 60 may comprise a motor. The motor may receive potential energy 45 either directly from the electric generator or from the battery. In this embodiment, it may be that the electric generator and the electric motor are a single electric machine. Furthermore, the electric generator and electric motor (whether or not a single machine) may be part of a turbo charger.
[0025] The battery may comprise additional sources of electrical potential energy and additional drains of electrical potential energy beyond those explicitly described. That is to say, the battery may comprise inputs other than that from the recovery device 40 and outputs other than that from that to the transducer 60 .
[0026] In an alternative embodiment, the recovery device 40 may comprise a thermo electric device for conversion of secondary output thermal energy. This second embodiment may or may not include a battery or other electrical potential energy storage device for storage or electrical potential energy derived in the electric device.
[0027] Other alternative embodiments fall within the scope of the appended claims. In particular, any conceivable recovery of secondary output energy 35 by means of a recovery device 40 and redeployment of that energy using a transducer 60 to provide energy back to an engine 20 for more efficient use is contemplated.
[0028] The arrangement of the disclosure recognises the significance of engines generally having significantly lower efficiencies than transmission systems to which the engine may be coupled. At the heart of the disclosure is therefore an attempt not simply to recover secondary energy which would not otherwise usefully be used, but to seek to recover that secondary energy as close to the source of that secondary energy as possible. In the case of an engine, it might, for example be the case that 70% of the energy produced constitutes secondary energy. Therefore, even if a small proportion of the 70% secondary energy can be recovered for useful use either immediately or a later time, this represents a significant energy efficiency advantage. Therefore the application of ECMS to an engine assembly may yield better efficiency improvements than when applied to a transmission system comprising an engine assembly.
[0029] Furthermore, the use of an equivalent consumption minimisation strategy allows for predicting how best to achieve a particular desired output in terms of availability of primary energy directly from the fuel and availability of primary energy derived from recovery of secondary energy via the arrangement of the disclosure. Furthermore, the strategy allows for predictions about likely future engine desired behaviour to reduce overall fuel consumption for the same benefit over an extended period.
[0030] The ECMS control techniques of the arrangement of the disclosure may be used in combination with other known control techniques including, but not limited to, fuzzy logic and feedback linearization.
[0031] Control lines 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 may not go directly from the controller 100 to their respective engine assembly features. Instead, one or more of these control lines may go via one or more other lower level controllers for more specialised onward processing, the result of which being sent to the respective engine assembly features. Such lower level controllers include, but are not limited to an MPC or EMPC controller.
[0032] The detailed description of this disclosure has been made with respect to a small number of embodiments. The scope of the present disclosure is to be considered in light of the appended claims. It should not be inferred that one or more specific implementations of the desired description is intended to limit the scope of the claims beyond the scope of the claims themselves.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0033] The present disclosure provides an engine with a controller configured to implement an equivalent consumption minimization strategy in order to control overall consumption of fuel by continuously optimising a proportion of the primary output energy derived directly from the energy in the fuel and a proportion of the primary output energy derived indirectly from the energy in the fuel.
[0034] Advantageously, this may allow for overall increased engine efficiency. | Engines produce not only primary energy in the form of kinetic energy transmitted through a rotating crankshaft but also secondary energy which may comprise kinetic energy in other forms as well as thermal energy. In order to reduce engine running costs and increase efficiency there is a desire to make best use of all forms of energy produced by an engine. The disclosure relates to the adoption of an equivalent consumption minimisation strategy by which the engine may be controlled to derive useful energy from a first proportion of primary energy and a second proportion of secondary energy wherein the first and second proportions are selected to minimise overall energy consumption. | 5 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to vapor deposition and more particularly to a method of evaporating a very reactive metal from a boatless point source.
DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
Reactive metals such as titanium, chromium and the like are frequently used in semiconductor devices and may be deposited by a vapor deposition process. Vapor deposition methods are described in the patent to van Amstel U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,785, Donckel U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,444, Anderson U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,800 and in the IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 19, No. 10, March 1977, pp. 3852-53. These processes employ crucibles or boats of tantalum, tungsten-molybdenum, boron nitride-graphite or TiB 2 -Al 2 O 3 . These crucibles react with certain reactive metals such as chromium and titanium. Tungsten crucibles not only yield films containing traces of tungsten but they also only last for one or two runs before they fail.
In addition, the crucibles or boats need to be refilled periodically and with the advent of the high productivity load lock tool, boat or filament frequent changes become prohibitive.
Another approach described in the IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 18, No. 10, March 1976, p 3413, has been to use a rod of the material to be evaporated and to heat the material with an electron beam to create a molten pool at the top of the rod for vapor deposition. This method has not been suitable, in general, because of charge level problems. Electron beam heating for vapor depositions causes spurious reflected electrons to be included in the deposited films. This in turn gives the film a higher energy or charge level which is undesirable in a film used for a memory device. The charge level causes errors in the memory device during normal computer operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A vapor deposition method of coating substrates with a material involves evaporating the end of a wire or rod made of that same material. The end of the wire is inductively or radiantly heated to form a molten convex miniscus thereon which serves as the coating source for the substrates. The wire may be chromium, titanium, aluminum, gold, silver, copper and the like.
Objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description in which the preferred embodiments are set forth in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an apparatus used in the vapor deposition method according to the invention.
FIG. 2 is a top view plan of a heating coil and wire embodiment of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a cross-section side view of a heating coil and wire embodiment of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a top view plan of a resistance heating strip and wire embodiment of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a top view plan of an inductive R.F. heating coil and wire embodiment of FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the inductive coil shown in FIG. 5.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
As shown in FIG. 1, a feed mechanism 10 provides a metal wire 12 to move vertically so that the end 13 thereof may be heated by a heating means 14. A top view of a heater 14 is shown in FIG. 2 where a resistance coil 15 surrounds the top 13 of the metal wire or rod 12. A side view of the resistance coil 15 and the wire 12 is shown in FIG. 3. The resistance coil 15 may also be in the form of a filament resistance strip 17 having an annular ring portion 19 surrounding the wire top 13 as shown in FIG. 4.
In addition to heating with a resistance heat coil, a radio-frequency (RF) coil 25 may be used as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 to heat the top 13 inductively. The RF coil 25 is made of copper and silver coated for highest R.F. frequency. The connectors 28 and 30 join the coil 25 to the R.F. generator (not shown). The connectors 28 and 30 may be a continuous copper tube which is brazed to the induction coil 25.
The metal wire or rod 12 is preferably chromium, titanium or aluminum, although other metals such as gold, silver, copper, tantalum and molybdenum may be used.
Workpieces such as semiconductor wafers 16 are placed on spherical platform 18. The spherical platform 18 may be rotated by motor 20 and detached therefrom by means of decoupler 22.
The wire 12 and the substrates 16 are arranged in a closed vacuum chamber 23 so that the workpieces 16 are facing the top 13 of the wire 12 and within the vaporcloud cone 24 formed by the evaporation. The pressure in the chamber ranges from 10 -5 mmHg (TORR) to 10 -8 mmHg with the preferred range for chromium and titanium being 10 -6 to 10 -8 mmHg.
The inductive heater 14 is activated to inductively heat the end 13 of the wire 12 so that the metal is melted to form a molten spherical miniscus. When the end 13 becomes molten, it finds its lowest energy formation and spherodizes and stays on the wire. Enough heat is applied without increasing the molten mass so that the evaporation occurs from the spherical molten mass 13. One can control both the rate of evaporation from the sphere 13 and the sphere 13 size with a constant heat source by controlling the rate of feeding the wire 12 into the heat zone.
Any extraneous radiant heat generated by resistance heating can be minimized by using a water cooled shield (not shown). The addition of water cooled parabolic reflectors (not shown) about the wire end 13 focuses the radiant heat on the molten sphere 13.
EXAMPLE 1
A chromium rod (0.750"diameter) was heated with a single turn RF coil by driving it with a 5 KW, 200-400 kHz, RF induction power supply. The vacuum chamber was then evacuated to a pressure of 10 -7 mmHg. Chromium was evaporated onto a wafer at a rate of 10 A° per second when the wafer was positioned at a distance of 22" away. There was no expulsion of large metallic particles, that is "spitting" from the chromium source.
EXAMPLE 2
The process described in Example 1 was used with a titanium rod 0.250" diameter. The evaporation rate of 1 to 2 A° per second at a distance of 22" was obtained.
EXAMPLE 3
The process described in Example 1 was used with an aluminum rod 0.250" diameter. An evaporation rate of 5 to 6 A° per second at a distance of 22" was obtained.
EXAMPLE 4
The process with a resistance strip heater using titanium wire of 0.60" diameter gave an evaporation rate of 0.5 A° per second at a distance of 16" was obtained.
This vapor deposition method has a number of advantages over the prior art vapor deposition methods. One advantage is that there is no contamination of the deposited metal such as is common when crucibles or boats are used. Another advantage over the electron beam gun evaporation process is that there are no charge level problems caused by scattered electrons which build up on the workpiece. In addition, it is not necessary to break open a closed chamber and replace a boat or filament because the feed mechanism will feed the wire as required for an extended period of time.
Although a preferred embodiment of this invention has been described, it is understood that numerous variations may be made in accordance with the principles of this invention. | A vapor deposition method of coating substrates with a material involves evaporating the end of a wire or rod made of that same material. The end of the wire is inductively or radiantly heated to form a molten convex miniscus thereon which serves as the coating source for the substrates. | 2 |
This invention relates to automated lubricating apparatus and in particular to such apparatus for lubricating the fricational contact area between a locomotive wheel flange and rail during operation of the locomotive.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the railroad industry, it is known that there are occasions where the locomotive wheel flange contacts the rail, causing a frictional build-up of heat and wearing of both the wheel and the rail. Such undesired contact of the wheel flange and the rail occurs in several instances, such as in non-parallel or shifting rails, swiveling of the trucks which house and mount the wheels to the locomotive car, and during a curved track section when the wheel flange is in almost constant contact with the rail.
The amount of lost energy expended in the wheel flange contacting the rail can be appreciable, especially in situations where a locomotive may pull one hundred cars. For instance, it has been estimated that a savings of 5-20% of the locomotive fuel requirements could be attained if one could eliminate or substantially reduce the frictional contact between the wheel flange and the rail. In the case of a large railroad, a 5% savings in fuel can amount to about $150,000 per month.
Accordingly, it is highly desired to minimize the effects of frictional engagement between the wheel flange and the rail. This can be achieved by proper lubrication using a lubricating system which will serve to apply lubricant at the right location to obtain the desired results of decreased fuel consumption and decreased wear, but without applying lubricant to undesired locations which may lead to unsafe conditions or to increased maintenance requirements. That is, lubrication should be applied to the radius area between the wheel flange and the wheel tread, with some lubricant application extending onto the flange. However, no lubricant should be applied to the wheel tread which is in driving and braking contact with the rail crown. Several attempts have been made to apply the proper amount of lubricant at the desired location, none of which are satisfactory in providing reliable and predictable lubricating results in a locomotive environment.
In one known system, air is mixed with a lubricant and sprayed onto the wheel flange with a spray which resembles the output from a conventional aerosol can. Spraying of lubricant at high locomotive speeds and/or with high wind velocities, results in the lubricant spray being dissipated before reaching the desired location or being sprayed onto other undesired areas of the train. In another available system, a rubber tire is mounted for rotation by the locomotive wheel. The tire contains slits with openings through which oil is released as the rubber tire rotates.
Among the disadvantages of such prior art devices are the inability to vary the rate of application of lubricant, and the undesirability of a rapidly dissipating lubricating spray or oil drip lubricant as compared to a heavyduty lubricant. Thus, it is desired to provide an accurate and reliable lubricating apparatus for locomotive wheel flanges and rails which permits a variety of lubrication applications for conditions of distance, speed, time, curved track sections, temperature, lubricant viscosity, etc.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, there is provided an automated lubricating apparatus for lubricating the frictional contact area between a locomotive wheel flange and rail during operation of the locomotive and which is accurate in lubricant dispensing, highly reliable, and flexible to meet a wide variety of operating requirements. The apparatus includes a microprocessor-based lubrication controller which can be preset to provide a lubrication cycle corresponding to a variety of locomotive and track operating conditions, as well as compensate for the type of lubricant, lubricant viscosity, and outside temperature. In particular, the lubrication cycle can be preset as a function of the distance traveled by the locomotive, with appropriate compensation for speed variations, curves or time.
In a preferred embodiment of a lubricator for lubricating a locomotive wheel flange, there is provided a lubrication nozzle mounted adjacent to the wheel flange and coupled to a lubricant source for directing shots of lubricant in a thin, coherent stream to the wheel flange and the radius area between the flange and wheel tread. Means are provided for sensing the distance traveled by the locomotive. A lubrication controller includes means for presetting one of a plurality of distance intervals, D, to be traveled by the locomotive between lubrication cycles, L. The lubrication controller controls the application of a shot of lubricant for a preset distance interval, D, traveled by the locomotive in response to the preset distance, D, and the distance sensing means. The controller actuates a corresponding lubrication cycle, L, during which lubricant is applied to the wheel flange from the nozzle.
The distance sensing means also provides a speed indication which can be used to adjust the preset distance interval between lubrication cycles. Thus, the lubrication interval can be a constant, a step function or a ramp function to provide more or less lubrication at higher locomotive speeds or as the speed increases. Curve sensing means provide an output signal which initiates a lubrication cycle repetitively during a curved track section.
The controller may also be preset in one of a plurality of lube time durations, Q, within the lubrication cycle corresponding to a predetermined amount of lubricant to be dispensed. Means are also provided for selecting and presetting an adjustment in the lube time duration, Q, to compensate for the viscosity of the lubricant as well as for the ambient temperature. Thus, if a cold temperature is sensed by the temperature sensor, a lengthening is made in the lube time duration, Q, so as to adjust for the desired amount of lubricant. A wheel position sensor is included to delay lubricant ejection until the wheel flange and nozzle are in the desired proper alignment so that accurate lubrication dispensing to the desired location is achieved.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a very flexible lubricating apparatus for locomotive wheel flanges having the following features:
1. Deliver one lubricant shot for a predetermined increment of distance traveled;
2. Preset and adjust for the quantity of lubricant ejected with each shot;
3. Compensate for lubricants of various viscosity;
4. Adjust for the ambient temperature in response to a sensed temperature condition;
5. Provide a modification in the distance interval between lubrication cycles in accordance with the locomotive speed changes;
6. Initiate a lubrication cycle in response to a curved track sensed condition.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals identify like elements in the several figures and in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a locomotive including apparatus for lubricating the wheel flange and rail;
FIG. 2 is an elevational view, partly in section illustrating a train wheel, wheel flange and rail;
FIG. 3 is an elevational view similar to that of FIG. 2 illustrating the wheel flange contacting the rail and leading to a substantial increase in friction and wear of the wheel and rail;
FIG. 4 is an elevational view, partly in section, illustrating proper alignment of the wheel flange and the lubrication nozzle, and means for sensing the proper alignment, as well as a distance and speed measuring sensor;
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the hydraulic, pneumatic, and electrical components and interconnections of the lubricating apparatus of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the essential elements of a lubrication controller for controlling the lubrication apparatus;
FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of the circuit board containing the microprocessor controller elements and preset DIP switches for presetting various inputs into the controller; and
FIG. 8 is a waveform diagram illustrating various waveform in the present system and useful for explanation of the system operation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a locomotive 10 including a car 12 from which is mounted a number of trucks 14 housing locomotive wheels 16 on axles 18, with the wheels resting on rails 20. In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a lubricant nozzle 22 mounted for applying a shot of lubricant to the wheel flange for lubricating the frictional contact area between wheel and rail. Similar apparatus may be applied to other selected locomotive wheels.
Nozzle 22 is connected through line 24 to a cabinet 26 mounted in the cab of car 12 and containing apparatus to be hereinafter described for controlling the application of lubricant. A distance measuring device 28 is attached to wheel 16 and connected via line 30 to the controller in cabinet 26. Distance measuring device 28 senses the distance traveled by locomotive 12 and supplies appropriate signals on line 30. Device 28 may be for instance, a speed sensing type device from which a distance indication can be obtained using the known ten feet circumference of a train wheel. As an example, a General Electric Company Speed-Sensing Alternator, type MM24 could be utilized.
FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the contact between wheel 16 and rail 20 in two different situations. In FIG. 2, tread portion 32 of the wheel is shown resting on crown 34 of the rail. Wheel flange 36, with a radius area 37 between the flange and tread, is located on gauge side 38 of the rail opposite from the rail field side 40. FIG. 2 illustrates the desired location of wheel flange 36 and the rail which is attained when the track is new and straight, and when truck 14 carrying wheels 16 is not swiveling.
FIG. 3 illustrates the position of flange 36 in direct frictional engagement with the rail. This condition occurs when for instance the track becomes misaligned or is weaving, or the track is in a curved section, or when the truck 14 is swiveling. In such conditions, it is desired to apply lubricant to the frictional surfaces engaged between the rail and wheel flange. In particular, it is desired to apply lubricant to radius area 37 and extending slightly onto flange 36, but not directly on tread 32 or crown 34.
FIG. 4 illustrates nozzle 22 mounted by a suitable bracket 26 from the car 12 so that lubricant shots 42 can be applied to wheel 16 at flange 36 and radius area 37. Spring 44 dampens vertical movement of axle 18 and wheel 16 with respect to the train body. A wheel position sensor 46 includes a protrusion 48 of magnetic material and a proximity switch 50 mounted adjacent protrusion 48 by means of a bracket 52. In the position shown in FIG. 4, proximity switch 50 detects the presence of protrusion 48 which corresponds to nozzle 22 being aligned in the proper position with respect to flange 36 and radius area 37. If the wheel 16 moves up or down relative to nozzle 22, the corresponding displacement and misalignment of proximity switch 50 with protrusion 48 will provide a suitable signal on line 54 to delay or inhibit the application of lubricant through nozzle 22. This prevents the application of lubricant to undesired locations and prevents wasteful misapplication of lubricant.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the various components of a lubricator apparatus in accordance with the present invention. Lubrication nozzle 22 is connected through hydraulic line 24 to a solenoid valve 56 which in turn is connected through line 58 to a regulator 60. Lubrication supply pump 62 is interconnected through suitable hydraulic line 63 to a lubrication reservoir 66 on one side and in turn on the other side through suitable pneumatic line 68 to a compressed air supply. Solenoid valve 71 is interposed in the line between the air supply and pump 62 to control pressurization of the lubrication lines.
A temperature sensor 64 for sensing the ambient air temperature may be located adjacent wheel 16 or may be mounted outside the cab portion of locomotive 10. The output of temperature sensor 64 is coupled on line 66 to a programmed lubrication controller 70. Similarly, the signal from a curve sensor 72, mounted for instance in the locomotive cab, is coupled by line 74 to the controller. The curve sensor can be any type of device which senses the locomotive being in the presence of a curved rail or curved track section and provides a signal to the controller to initiate a lubrication cycle. The curve sensor may be a magnetic type device, or an accelerometer, or a gyroscopic-type device.
The illustrated filter, regulator, oiler, and pressure gauges are standard-type devices utilized in lubricating apparatus. Pressure switch 76 senses the pressure in hydraulic line 78 and provides a corresponding output on line 80 to the controller.
As can be seen in FIG. 5 a corresponding nozzle 22 and solenoid valve 56 are provided for the opposite wheel on axle 18. Lines 82 are provided for lubricating additional locomotive wheels. For instance, if the illustrated wheel in FIG. 5 is a forward wheel, lines 82 would be similarly provided to the aft wheel.
In operation, controller 70 initiates a lubrication cycle based on the distance traveled by the locomotive. Controller 70 calculates the distance traveled using a speed/distance input signal on line 30. The lubrication cycles can be for instance as frequent as every ten feet or as long as every 20 miles. When a lubrication cycle is initiated, solenoid valve 70 and pump 62 are activated and the lubricant pressure in supply line 78 is increased to a nominal level of 300 psi, depending on the exact lubricant used. At the appropriate time in the lubrication cycle, controller 70 actuates solenoid valves 56 for a precisely controlled interval to discharge a thin coherent stream of lubricant. The lubricant stream may be from 0.06 to 0.12 inch wide. The quantity of lubricant discharged, that is, the lubricant shot volume, is set in the controller 70 and is temperature compensated to insure consistent performance. After the lubricant is discharged, pump 62 and solenoid valve 70 are deactivated so that there is no pressure in the lubricant supply lines.
The following description is in connection with a wheel flange lubricating device such as illustrated in FIG. 5 where nozzle 22 is positioned immediately adjacent the wheel flange to accurately deliver a lubricant shot to radius area 37 of the flange. Alternatively, the nozzle may be located to deliver a lubricant shot to a desired location on the rail as will be described hereinafter. In the wheel flange lubricator, controller 70 is programmed to deliver one lubricant shot for a predetermined increment of distance traveled. Controller 70 is a microprocessor based unit corresponding to the discrete logic unit shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,368,803, assigned to the same assignee as herein, and which patent description is incorporated herein by reference. The present microprocessor based system provides for instance similar functions as link detector 34, link counter 52, pass counter 54, lube duration counter/gate 88, and relay select 70 units shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,368,803.
The microprocessor based system of the present application includes several inputs and outputs as noted in FIG. 5. For purposes of the present description of a wheel flange locomotive lubricator, reference may be made to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 as well as the following description which sets forth the necessary details for the microprocessor structure, function and results for the purpose of this illustration. FIG. 7 shows a processor circuit board 90 in schematic representation with illustration of the Processor, PROM, and RAM units. Several DIP switches labeled "S", "VIS", etc. are shown at the bottom of circuit board 90 for entering information into the microprocessor. These are the on-board inputs which are also shown in FIG. 6 in the blocks correspondingly labeled Preset D, Preset S, etc., and are initially adjusted for presetting the corresponding values into the processor controller as follows.
ON BOARD INPUTS (DIP SWITCHES):
1. LUBE QUANTITY: The volume of lubricant to be discharged is set into the Q switches. A total of 256 discrete settings are provided with increments between settings of approximately 2% to set the nominal lubricant volume in cubic inches between 0.001 and 0.150. The nominal "on" time of solenoid valve 56 is set to discharge a specific quantity of lubricant.
2. DISTANCE INTERVAL (Wheel mode): The distance traveled between lubrication cycles is set in the D switches.
3. SPEED THRESHOLDS: The distance interval, D, may be modified in the S switches as a function of the locomotive speed. For instance, a low speed threshold can be entered to prevent the controller from undesirably initiating a lubrication cycle when the locomotive is traveling below a certain speed such as when traveling in the railroad switch yard. Alternatively, low and high speed thresholds may be set to provide a lubrication cycle modification of the distance interval D so that more or less lubricant is supplied at higher locomotive speeds or as the locomotive speed increases.
4. LUBRICANT VISCOSITY: The nominal "on" time, Q, of solenoid valve 56 is adjusted by settings in the VIS switches to compensate for lubricants of various viscosity. Higher viscosities require a longer "on" time. As an example, settings of the VIS switches are provided to adjust for lubricant viscosities ranging from less than 400 SSU at 100° F. to NLGI-1.
6. TEMPERATURE COMPENSATION: The nominal "on" time, Q, of solenoid valve 56 is adjusted according to temperature switch input settings, T. Longer valve 56 "on" times are required as the ambient air temperature decreases. The output of temperature sensor 64 will activate a series of for instance, eight temperature sensitive switches, each one set for a specific switching point.
In addition to the aforementioned on board inputs, several off board inputs are provided from sensors and other devices as follows.
OFF BOARD INPUTS (MOMENTARY SWITCH CLOSURE)
1. DISTANCE: One input for each locomotive wheel revolution is provided on line 30 by speed/distance sensor 28.
2. CURVE: A lubrication cycle is initiated repetitively whenever the locomotive is in a curve as sensed by curve sensor 72.
3. WHEEL POSITION SENSOR: Lubricant ejection will be delayed until wheel position sensor 46 indicates a proper relationship between wheel 16 and nozzle 22.
4. PUMP SWITCH: A malfunction alarm 92 is activated and the lubrication function is inhibited if supply pump 62 completes two successive strokes which may indicate a lubrication line leakage. Pressure switch 76 may also be activated if the normal pressure is not reached in lubrication line 78 so that the lube pump 62 will be turned off and malfunction alarm 92 will be sounded. Malfunction alarm 92 may also be sounded as desired if there is no distance interval, D, input, or if there is no temperature input, or if the reservoir 66 is empty.
FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram and information flow chart schematic for controller 70, its on board preset inputs, off board inputs, and outputs. The speed/distance detection is provided by detector 28 with the output on line 30 to controller 70. A speed/distance counter having preset inputs D and S can provide a Start or Initiate signal to initiate a Lube Cycle and the Lube Duration Interval. The Lube Cycle may also be initiated by the curve sensor. FIG. 6 further illustrates the Lube Duration Interval with the preset values of Q, VIS and T-levels (as set and modified by the temperature sensor). This provides an output to suitable relays for actuating solenoid valves 56, which actuation can be delayed by wheel position sensor 46.
FIG. 8 illustrates a timing waveform diagram helpful in understanding the operation of the present system. Waveform 94 represents the speed/distance input information from sensor 28. Waveform 96 represents the waveform conforming to a lubrication cycle L which is initiated once for each distance interval, D. Upon initiation or starting of the lube cycle a signal is sent to solenoid valve 70 to pressurize the lubrication lines. Waveform 98 represents the lubrication duration interval, Q, as modified by the viscosity and temperature, and is provided once in each lubrication cycle. Waveforms 96 and 98 may represent for instance the conditions for a locomotive traveling at 10 mph.
FIG. 8 also illustrates a waveform 100 indicating the manner in which the lubrication interval is modified to increase the lubrication on a curve in response to the curve sensor. Waveform 102 represents the increasing of the lubrication interval, D, as provided by a preset S input when the locomotive is traveling faster than 10 mph or for instance, 40 mph. Waveform 104 illustrates the lengthening of the lube duration interval, Q, by a setting for the viscosity or as modified by temperature.
In an alternative embodiment, nozzle 22 may be positioned near rail 20 to provide a direct rail lubricating apparatus. In this instance, the length of track to be lubricated may be set into a suitable DIP switch on circuit board 90 in FIG. 7 so that solenoid valves 56 will be activated for the duration or increment corresponding to the setting.
In accordance with standard practice, other functions such as a test function or a remote lubrication interval start function can be provided. Such functions have not been illustrated herein as they are conventional and are not a part of the present invention. Also, standard fail-safe functions can be provided. As an example, a time based artificial input mode can be used and initiated to start a lubrication cycle corresponding to a locomotive traveling at a constant speed of approximately 30 mph. Similarly, functions can be provided in the event the temperature sensor is beyond its range or is not functioning. In this case, the controller can be set to assume a constant temperature of approximately 45° F. so that the lubrication system can be continued to be operated.
The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art. | A wheel flange and rail lubricating apparatus with adjustable features to accurately lubricate the frictional contact area between a locomotive wheel flange and rail during normal locomotive operations. A system controller, a lubricant distribution system and one or more nozzle assemblies are provided. The controller allows the user to define a lubrication cycle which can be optimized on an individual basis with flexibility to control the lubrication cycle in accordance with the distance traveled by the locomotive, speed variations, time, curves, etc. The lubrication interval is set to deliver a precise amount of lubricant and can be adjusted to take into account the viscosity of the lubricant as well as the ambient temperature. A curve sensor repetitively initiates a lubrication cycle each time the locomotive enters a curve. A wheel position sensor delays and prevents discharge of the lubricant until the nozzle and the point to be lubricated are properly aligned. | 1 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to well logging methods and apparatus for investigating subsurface earth formations traversed by a borehole and, more specifically, relates to methods and apparatus for evaluating fractures resulting from multiple stage fracturing of earth formations surrounding a borehole.
The concept of fracturing or formation breakdown has been recognized by the oil industry for many years. Fracturing is useful to overcome wellbore damage, to create deep-penetrating reservoir fractures to improve productivity of a well, to aid in secondary recovery operations, and to assist in the injection or disposal of brine and industrial waste material. The techniques of formation fracturing include injecting under pressure into a well bore a fracture fluid and igniting high explosives within the well bore.
Hydraulic fracturing consists essentially in breaking down a producing section of subsurface formation by the application of a fracture fluid under high pressure into the well bore. The composition of the fracture fluid is varied and can include water, acid, cement and oil. Dissolved in the fracture fluid is a material which invades the fractures created by the pressure application and serves to prevent them from closing again when the pressure is released.
Advances in the field of fracturing have yielded several multiple fracturing procedures. One form of multiple fracturing consists in submitting a single production zone to several repeated fracturing operations. The purpose is to further extend formation fractures created by the previous fracturing operation to provide thorough fracturing of a producing zone.
Another multiple fracturing procedure has been devised wherein several formation zones are fractured by subjecting them to successively higher fluid pressures. After the first pressure application, the fractures formed are temporarily sealed at the wall of the well with a chemical reagent carrying suspended solids. The pressure is then increased until a new set of fractures forms in a different formation zone. The procedure is repeated a numbers of times, after which the sealing agent is liquified by chemical treatment, thus opening all of the fractures and leaving multiple formation zones fractured.
It is desirable to evaluate each of the several successive fracture treatments to determine the degree of fracturing created by each treatment and to determine which formation zone was fractured by any one particular treatment. Previously, the evaluation consisted of logging the formations surrounding the borehole after each of the successive fracturing treatments. The logging operation can involve one of several recognized logging instruments including the induction log, dip meter and variable density acoustic log. Such successive logging operations are costly in loss of time involved and in the expenditure of mony required for the service.
These and other disadvantages are overcome with the present invention by providing methods and apparatus for evaluating multiple stage fracturing treatments in a single logging operation conducted after the completion of the entire multiple fracturing operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides methods and apparatus for evaluating multiple stage fracturing treatment of subsurface formations by utilizing a separate and distinct radioactive tracer element in each individual fracturing stage. A high-resolution, gamma ray spectrometer incorporated in a well logging instrument is caused to traverse a borehole, whereby natural gamma radiation strikes a scintillation crystal contained therein. The detected gamma rays striking the crystal cause the crystal to emit photons in the visible energy region, the intensity of which is proportional to the energy lost in the crystal by the incident gamma ray. Light energy from the crystal is optically coupled to a photomultiplier tube where the energy is converted to a proportional electrical signal which is amplified and transmitted to processing circuitry.
Upon receipt of the pulses in the processing circuitry, the pulses are passed through a multi-channel analyzer where the pulses are sorted according to amplitude. The channels of the analyzer are selected to pass pulses representative of the gamma radiation caused by the radioactive tracer elements injected into the formation during the multiple stage fracturing treatment. The individual channel count rates are coupled into count rate meters, each of which measures the total number of pulses representing the detected gamma rays in an associated channel or energy band. The output signal from each count rate meter is coupled into a recording device to allow analysis of the individual signals for evaluation of the individual stages of the multiple stage fracturing operation.
Accordingly, it is a feature of the present invention to provide new and improved methods and apparatus for evaluating fracturing operations of subsurface earth formations surrounding a borehole.
It is another feature of the present invention to provide new and improved methods and apparatus for detecting a plurality of radioactive tracer elements on a single logging operation.
It is yet another feature of the present invention to provide new and improved methods and apparatus to obtain simultaneously a plurality of radioactive tracer logs, each log representative of a single radioactive tracer element injected during a multiple stage fracture treatment.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention can be understood from the following description of several techniques of producing the invention described in conjunction with the following drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partly in cross-section, of a borehole logging instrument in operative position and its associated surface circuitry and related equipment;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a portion of the surface circuitry according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Radioactivity tracer logging is often used in applications of geophysical prospecting. A radioactive material, known as the tracer material, is distributed within the well. The well is thereafter logged using radioactivity well logging instruments to obtain indications of the distribution assumed by the tracer element with respect to the formation and of the fluids of the well bore. Present art and literature describe numerous applications of tracer logging techniques to provide information reflecting particular characteristics of underground formations and the manner in which fluid moves in the underground formations. The following description provides improvements in such tracer logging methods and apparatus.
Referring now to the drawings in more detail, especially to FIG. 1, there is illustrated schematically a radioactivity well surveying operation in which a portion of the earth 10 is show in vertical section. A well 12 penetrates the earth's surface 10 and may or may not be cased. A well logging instrument 14 is suspended inside the well 12 by a cable 16 which contains the required conductors for electrically connecting the instrument 14 with the surface apparatus. The cable 16 is wound on or unwound from the drum 18 in raising and lowering the instrument 14 to traverse the well 12.
The well logging instrument 14 includes a high-resolution gamma spectrometer comprised of a crystal 20 which is optically coupled with a photo-multiplier tube 22. In the preferred embodiment crystal 20 comprises a cesium-iodide, thallium activated crystal. The electrical output from the photomultiplier tube 22 is coupled to subsurface electronic circuitry 24 which is coupled to the surface by electrical conductors (not shown) within cable 16. The electrical signals passing along the cable 16 are taken off the slip rings 26 and 28 and sent to the surface electronics 30 by conductors 32 and 34, respectively.
In the operation of the logging system of FIG. 1, instrument 14 is caused to traverse well 12. Natural gamma radiation from various resources within the earth formation impinge upon scintillation crystal 20, producing light flashes whose intensity is proportional to the energy released due to the collision of the gamma ray with the crystal, thereby causing the scintillation. The light flashes are detected by photomultiplier tube 22 which produces an electrical pulse whose amplitude level is proportional to the intensity of the above described light flash.
These electrical signals, in the form of pulses, are coupled into subsurface electronic circuitry 24 for amplification and transmission to the surface by way of cable 16. The amplified pulses, representative of the energy of the detected gamma radiation in the earth formation, are coupled into the surface electronics 30.
Referring now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a portion of surface electronics 30. The amplified pulses, representative of the energy of the detected gamma radiation, are coupled into a multi-channel analyzer 38 which sorts gamma radiation as a function of energy level. The pulses are separated into a number of energy channels or bands representative of the radioactivity characteristics of the tracer elements used in the multiple stage fracturing operation. While numerous tracer elements could be used, the preferred embodiment contemplates the use of Scandium 46, Zirconium 95, Iodine 131 and Iridium 192.
The tracer element Scandium 46 has a radioactive half-life of approximately eight-three days and is characterized by gamma radiation at the energy levels of 1.1205 Mev and 0.8894 Mev. The tracer element Zirconium 95 has a radioactive half-life of sixty-five days and is characterized by gamma radiation at the energy levels of 0.756 Mev and 0.724 Mev. Iodine 131 is characterized by gamma radiation at the energy levels of 0.7229 Mev, 0.637 Mev, 0.365 Mev and 0.284 Mev. Over ninety percent of the characteristic gamma radiation of Iodine 131 is at 0.365 and 0.284 Mev. Iridium 192 is characterized by gamma radiation at the energy levels of 0.604 Mev, 0.308 Mev and 0.468 Mev with the majority being at 0.308 Mev and 0.468 Mev. Iodine 131 has a radioactive half-life of approximately eight days and Iridium 192 has a radioactive half-life of over seventy-four days.
From the foregoing discussion it is seen that the multi-channel analyzer 38 can be set to separate the detected gamma radiation into individual channels or energy bands chracteristic of the elements represented by the detected radiation. By way of example, Scandium 46 gamma rays could be sorted into an energy band from between 0.8 Mev and 1.2 Mev, Zirconium 95 gamma rays could be sorted into an energy band from between 0.7 Mev and 0.8 Mev, Iodine 131 gamma radiation could be within energy bands from between 0.25 Mev and 0.4 Mev and Iridium 192 could be represented by the gamma rays in the band from between 0.3 Mev and 0.5 Mev. These energy bands are not intended to be limiting of the invention. Any energy range representing the elements under investigation could be used.
Returning to FIG. 2, signals from individual channels or energy bands of the multi-channel analyzer 38 are coupled into count rate meters 40, 42, 44 and 46. Each count rate meter 40, 42, 44 and 46 accumulates counts characteristic of the particular radiactive element associated therewith. The count rate meters 40, 42, 44 and 46 provide output signals to recorder 36 representative of the number of counts occurring in each band. Each count rate signal is characteristic of a respective radioactive tracer element injected during a fracturing operation.
In practicing the present invention, during the first stage of a multiple stage fracturing treatment, a first radioactive tracer element is injected into the well. As the fracturing pressure is increased a first formation zone is fractured, as illustrated by fracture 48 shown in FIG. 1. The first radioactive tracer element will be deposited within fracture 48.
As previously herein described, the next successive fracturing stage will be either to extend the fractures within the first zone or to cause fracturing within a second different zone, illustrated by fracture 50 of FIG. 1. On either instance the second fracturing operation will deposit a second, different radioactive tracer element. This tracer element will be deposited within the extended fractures or within the fractures created within the second fractured zone. The multiple fracturing operation is continued utilizing a separate radioactive tracer element in each successive fracturing stage. Therefore, the fractures created by each fracturing stage will have deposited therein a distinct radioactive tracer element.
Upon completion of the multiple stage fracturing operation the well logging instrument 14 is caused to traverse the well 12. Natural gamma radiation strikes the crystal 20 causing crystal 20 to emit photons in the visible energy region. The light energy is optically coupled to the photo-multiplier tube 22 where the energy is converted to electrical pulses which are amplified and transmitted to the surface electronics 30 by subsurface electronics 24.
At the surface, the pulses are passed through the multi-chase analyzer 38 where the pulses are sorted for each depth point according to amplitude. The analyzer 38 will be set into channels or energy regions relating to the separate radioactive tracer elements utilized in the multiple stage fracturing operation. As previously stated, in the preferred embodiment these energy bands are set to pass pulses characteristic of Scandium 46, Zirconium 95, Iodine 131 and Iridium 192. The separate channel or energy band signals are coupled to count rate meters 40, 42, 44 and 46, the outputs of which are coupled to recorder 36. It should be recognized that the output signal from each individual count rate meter 40, 42, 44 and 46 will provide a depth related log functionally related to the location within the well of individual tracer elements. By so doing there is provided a method and apparatus for evaluating the extent and quality of fractures created by the multiple stage fracturing operation with a single log of the borehole.
Thus, there has been described and illustrated herein methods and apparatus in accordance with the present invention which provides for evaluating a multiple stage fracturing operation. However, while particular embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects. For example, while the preferred embodiment contemplates use in uncased boreholes, it is also applicable to cased holes as well. Furthermore, while several radioactive tracer elements are described, numerous other tracer elements can be utilized without departing from the invention. | A multiple stage formation fracturing operation is conducted with separate radioactive tracer elements injected into the well during each stage of the fracturing operation. After completion of the fracturing operation the well is logged using natural gamma ray logging. The resulting signals are sorted into individual channels or energy bands characteristic of each separate radioactive tracer element. The results of the multiple stage fracturing operation are evaluated based on dispersement of the individual tracer elements. | 4 |
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