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CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 06/834,991 filed Feb. 28, 1986, now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In order to form single screw compressors, or positive displacement type machines for varying the pressure to a gas, it is known to make use of combinations comprising a mainrotor, having a toroidal surface and projecting threads having a generally helicoidal shape. The crests of said threads are intended to cooperate with a casing, thereby forming compression chambers and the mainrotor is adapted to cooperate with one or a number of gaterotors, the teeth of which are in meshing relation with the threads formed on the mainrotor. Examples of single screw compressors are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. to Zimmern 3,551,082, 3,133,695, 3,181,296 and 3,752,606.
The space formed between two adjacent threads of a mainrotor of this type cooperating with an internal surface of the casing can accordingly form a compression chamber which is sealed off at one end by a tooth of one of the gaterotors and sealed off at the other end by providing the casing with a closed end.
When a fluid such as air or gas enters into a compression chamber of this type, the rotation of the mainrotor permits a progressive reduction in volume of the compression chamber, compressing the fluid until said compression chamber is put into communication with an outlet which can be formed in the casing.
Because there is relative motion between the parts in the single screw compressor, the clearance between the parts can only be reduced to a minimum finite value. Even when clearances have been reduced to operational minimums, there are still a large number of paths where the fluid being compressed can leak out.
Current practice in the design and manufacture of single screw compressors is to rotationally support the mainrotor and gaterotors in a structure that is also a pressure vessel for containing the inlet pressure when the inlet pressure is above atmospheric pressure. To a large extent, the structure necessary for maintaining the axes in alignment and the structure necessary for containing the pressure of a pressurized inlet are interactive and must be compromised. In these machines, the casing not only provides the structural support for the mechanism but it also provides the containment of the inlet pressure. When the mechanism is operating at inlet pressures above atmospheric as is done when the mechanism is being used as a second or subsequent stage compressor, frequently in the range of 100 to 200 bar (1500 to 3000 psi), distortion of the pressure vessel results due to elastic deformation. This distortion will move the mainrotor and gaterotor rotational axes away from their desired alignment. Because of this shift in the rotational axes due to the elastic deformation of the supporting structure of a conventional machine, design clearances between the meshing rotors must be compromised and an unacceptable amount of the fluid being compressed is allowed to leak out. Furthermore, as the compressor is operating, the compression zones are heated more than the rest of the casing. The combination of this localized heating and the thickness variations in the casing results in non-uniform thermal expansion causing tight clearances between the rotating elements. In a conventional machine, the structural shifting due to pressure must be accepted or the structure made heavier. When the structure is made heavier, a weight penalty results. That is, as the inlet pressure increases, the mechanism requires heavier structural components, making the mechanism progressively more difficult to build, install and maintain, or if the structural strength is not increased, the leakage due to the shifting of the rotational axes under the stress of inlet pressure results in a decrease in the efficiency of the compressor. Unfortunately, as the structural components are made heavier to avoid the structural shifting due to increased inlet pressure, the reduction of clearances in a conventional machine due to the localized thermal expansion are aggravated.
Consequently, there is a need for a single screw mechanism that avoid the rotational axes shifts that result from a pressurized inlet or from internal thermal expansion.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to single screw compressors and more particularly to a support structure which allows for pressurizing the inlet of the compressor without shifting the axes alignment between the mainrotor and the gaterotors and which permits the meshing relationship between the mainrotor and the gaterotors to be less sensitive to localized thermal expansion. Making selected portions of the support structure relatively rigid but free to thermally expand allows the compressor to be placed in a generally lightweight pressure vessel which is easily removed, permitting inspection, alignment, and maintenance to be performed with respect to the casing, mainrotor and gaterotors without disturbing the alignment of the axes of rotation of the mainrotor and the gaterotors.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a rigid support system to rotationally support the mainrotor and gaterotors which is not affected by a pressurized inlet and which allows for thermal expansion without shifting of the rotational axes. By disconnection of the support for the gaterotors from the external housing which encloses the mainrotor, the mainrotor casing and the gaterotors, the shifting of the axes which occurs due to increased inlet pressures and thermal expansion in the compression chamber as occurs in conventional machines is avoided. The structure of the machine of the present invention allows the casing which encloses the mainrotor to be of substantially constant cross section permitting uniform thermal expansion of the mainrotor and the mainrotor casing.
Accordingly, the present invention, a single screw compressor for varying the pressure of a gas, comprises: a mainrotor formed with a plurality of threads having an axially extending integral mainrotor shaft; a casing, open at one end and having a large diameter bore for accommodation of the mainrotor coaxial with a small diameter bore for accommodation of the integral mainrotor shaft, the casing having a fluid outlet means and a fluid inlet means; a support plate having a central bore with bearing means for rotationally supporting the mainrotor shaft, the support plate affixedly attached to the mainrotor casing coaxially aligning the small diameter bore and said large diameter bore of the casing and the central bore of the support plate with the support plate having fluid outlet means in fluid communication with the fluid outlets means of the mainrotor casing; at least one gaterotor having teeth in meshing relation with said mainrotor threads; at least one gaterotor shaft having an inward end attached to the mainrotor casing, an intermediate length adapted for rotationally supporting the gaterotor, and an outward end; and, at least one elongate support arm affixedly attached at an inward end to the mainrotor casing and provided at an outward end with a bearing means for supporting the outward end of said gaterotor shaft. Alternatively, the elongate support arm may be attached to the support plate instead of the mainrotor casing.
An object of the present invention is to provide a rigid support structure for the rotational support of the mainrotor and gaterotors of a single screw compressor that will maintain rotational axis alignment especially in the presence of elevated inlet pressure such as occurs when the compressor acts as a second or subsequent stage machine.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a combination of a rigid support structure and a lightweight pressure vessel that allows for a relatively lightweight compressor.
It is yet another object to the invention to provide a combination of a rigid support structure and a lightweight pressure vessel that allows easy access to the rotors, for assembly, inspection, alignment, adjustment, maintenance, and repair.
A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant features thereof will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description and when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a plan view of a single screw compressor partially cut away to show the rigid support structure for the rotational support of the mainrotor and gaterotors.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the compressor illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3, illustrates a partially cut away plan view of a second embodiment of a single screw compressor wherein the support structure for the gaterotors is a modified version of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the compressor illustrated in FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views:
In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a first embodiment of a single screw compressor rigid support structure for the mainrotor and gaterotors of the present invention is illustrated. The geometry of engagement of the mainrotor and the gaterotor is conventional, the improvement being in the arrangement of the supporting structure for rotational support of the mainrotor and gaterotors which permits enclosure of the inlet end of the compressor in a lightweight pressure vessel.
Support plate 10 is generally circular in shape and centrally bored to accommodate bearing means such as for example, ball bearings 11. Spacer 12 maintains the ball bearings 11 in a separated position. Support plate 10 is further provided with equispaced threaded bores 13 near the periphery of its bottom surface 14.
Mainrotor 20 with threads 21 and compression chambers 22 is rotatably supported via integral mainrotor shaft 23 in support plate 10 by bearings 11. The mainrotor shaft 23 has a rotational axis 24. Because mainrotor shaft 23 is now rotationally supported in a symmetrical support, thermal expansion will occur evenly and without causing undesirable tight clearances between the mainrotor shaft 23 and support plate bearings 11. Mainrotor shaft 23 projects beyond the support plate 10 for attachment to rotary power means 30 which can be an electric or other convenient prime mover.
Mainrotor casing 40 is generally of cylindrical shape, having a large diameter bore at an open end 43 for accommodation of the mainrotor 20 and a small diameter bore in a closed end 44, coaxially aligned with the large diameter bore for accommodation of mainrotor shaft 23. Mainrotor casing 40 is affixedly attached at said closed end to the bottom surface 14 of support plate 10, by fastening means such as cap screws 41. Mainrotor casing 40 and support plate 10 form a central structure within the compressor. The large diameter and small diameter casing bores are coaxially disposed about central bore 15 in support plate 10. Compression chambers 22 within mainrotor casing 40 are in fluid communication toward closed end 44 with fluid outlet means 42. Such communication can be by way of a conventional through bore, not shown, transverse to the large diameter bore of the mainrotor casing 40. A plurality of gaterotor support arms 51 are each affixedly attached at an inward end 56 to the exterior surface of mainrotor casing 40 and are each provided at an outward end 57 with a bore for receiving a bearing means 54 such as, for example, ball bearings.
Gaterotors 50 have teeth 52 arranged to mesh with the mainrotor compression chambers 22 in a conventional manner. Gaterotors 50 are adapted for rotation about gaterotor shafts 55 by bearing means (not shown) such as ball bearings. Gaterotor shafts 55 are supported at an outboard end by support arm 51 and at an inboard end by boss 45 which is an integral part of mainrotor casing 40. Gaterotor shafts 55 have rotational axes 53. The basic geometrical relationship of rotational axes 53 of gaterotors 50 with respect to the rotational axis 24 of mainrotor 20 is conventional. Gaterotor support arms 51 are affixedly attached to the mainrotor casing 40 by means such as welding. Gaterotors 50 are positioned on gaterotor shafts 55 in a manner that permits adjustment of the axial position of gaterotor 50 on gaterotor shaft 55 after gaterotors 50 and gaterotor shafts 55 are generally assembled. The position of a gaterotor may be adjusted by threading the point of engagement of gaterotor shaft 55 and mainrotor casing 40. Alternately, bearing means 54 may include a threaded collar which may be used to adjust the position of gaterotor 50 at the outward end of gaterotor shaft 55. The purpose of the adjustment is to optimize the clearances between gaterotor teeth 52 and mainrotor threads 21. This adjustment is made during the initial manufacture of the compressor and also is made during the life of the compressor to compensate for wear of mainrotor teeth 21 and gaterotor teeth 52. By later adjustment after wear has taken place, machine clearances approaching the original clearances are maintained. With the exception of the small portion of the gaterotors 50 that engages the threads 231 on mainrotor 20 within the mainrotor casing 40, equal areas of both sides of the gaterotors 50 and the gaterotor support arms 51 are exposed to the pressures of the inlet. Thus, the pressure on both sides of the gaterotors 50 is substantially the same. Therefore, there is no net resultant force acting to create a distortion of the relationship between the rotational axis 24 of the mainrotor 20 and the gaterotor axes 53 due to unbalanced pressure.
As the temperature of the mainrotor 20 and the mainrotor casing 40 increases, mainrotor 20 and mainrotor casing 40 grow due to the thermal expansion resulting from the work of compression, gaterotor shaft 55, being affixedly attached to boss 45 on the outer surface of casing 40, also incrementally shifts, thrusting gaterotors 50 along their respective axes tending to maintain constant clearances between gaterotor teeth 52 and mainrotor teeth 21.
Pressure vessel 60 is generally cylindrical in shape, provided toward a closed end with an inlet means identified as fluid inlet tubing 61, and open at a flanged end 65. Flanged end 65 of pressure vessel 60 has equispaced bores 66 along its periphery and an annular groove 62 in its top surface. Pressure vessel 60 need only have enough structural integrity to withstand suction pressure, and does not need any structural integrity for rotational support of the cooperating mainrotor 20 and gaterotors 50. Consequently, elastic distortion of pressure vessel 60 is permitted and pressure vessel 60 can accordingly be of relatively light gauge material. Pressure vessel 60 is removably secured to the support plate 10 by fastening means such as a plurality of cap screws 63. Sealing means 64, such as for example an O-ring is fitted into the pressure vessel annular groove 62 and provides pressure tight sealing between pressure vessel 60 and support plate 10.
Pressure vessel 60 may be readily removed from support plate 10 for the purpose of alignment, inspection and maintenance of mainrotor 20 and gaterotors 50. For example, as the teeth 52 wear on gaterotor 50, the axial position of the gaterotor may be easily adjusted by means such as for example, threaded adjustment, to re-establish the design clearances between the mainrotor 20 and the gaterotor 50.
FIGS. 3 and 4 show a second embodiment of a single screw compressor support structure of the present invention. Mainrotor casing 40 and support plate 10a form a central structure within the compressor. A plurality of support arms 51a are each removably attached at an upper end 67 to the bottom surface 14 of support plate 10a by fastening means such as, for example, cap screws 41 and are provided at a lower end 68 with a bore for receiving a gaterotor shaft bearing 54. One support arm 51a is used for mounting each gaterotor 50. One support arm 51a is illustrated in FIG. 2. Although a second arm is not illustrated, the location of such second arm can best be described as being symmetrically opposite the arm shown. In a similar manner as in the first embodiment, the position of a gaterotor may be adjusted by threading the point of engagement of gaterotor shaft 55 and mainrotor casing 40. Alternately, bearing means 54 may include a threaded collar which may be used to adjust the position of gaterotor 50 at the outward end of gaterotor shaft 55. This arrangement permits more rapid installation and removal of a gaterotor 50 than does the first embodiment. Temperature compensation occurs in a similar manner as in the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the mounting plate 10 is subjected to a similar temperature rise as the mainrotor casing 40. As the temperature rises, the thermal expansion of support plate 10a causes the outward position of arms 51a and consequently gaterotor axes 53 to follow the thermal expansion, relieving the closure of the clearances between mainrotor 20 and gaterotors 50 that results form the thermal expansion of mainrotor 20 and mainrotor casing 40. In other respects the operation of the second embodiment is equivalent with the operation of the first embodiment.
Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.
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A single screw compressor for varying the pressure of a fluid characterized in that the alignment of the mainrotor and the gaterotor axes is maintained in the presence of distortion due to temperature and pressure gradients. The structural arrangement permits fabrication of a relatively light weight compressor.
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BACKGROUND
[0001] Many applications benefit from an accurate count of people within a scene. Some of these applications may be used in combination with Heat Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) control systems, video surveillance systems, retail systems, and other fields. For example, an accurate count of people may provide statistics information for retailers to diagnose their advertisement effort, others may detect tailgating at a security check point. Municipalities may also use an accurate scene population count to determine the number of visitors at specific facilities. Counting people through use of visible spectrum and thermal cameras can result in inaccurate counts.
SUMMARY
[0002] Visible spectrum cameras have difficulty detecting objects in a scene when shadows present similar shapes and sizes. Thermal cameras rely on temperature change to determine or detect motion in a scene. Thermal cameras encounter issues in detecting moving objects when temperatures are the same as, or near to, the temperature of the moving objects. An application for a depth sensor to count people accurately is described. Depth information may be used to derive a head size and with this information, determine properties of a detection window for a head. Other object detection methods apply multiple scales detector. By removing the multiple scale detections through relative object size calculation, the described technique improves the detection rate significantly, providing increased accuracy with reduced computational complexity through single-scale detection.
[0003] The embodiments described herein include a process for counting people that obtains depth data from a depth sensor, discerns foreground objects from background objects from within the depth data, and determines a foreground object from among the foreground objects that matches a reference model of a target object based on the depth data.
[0004] In one embodiment, the depth sensor may be mounted to provide a top view of a scene. The depth sensor may be used in combination with a visible spectrum camera to further determine a scene population count from the discerned foreground objects. According to one embodiment, a sensor (depth or visible spectrum) may track, from frame to frame, one or more foreground objects determined to match the reference model from among the foreground objects. Embodiments may also include resetting the scene population count to zero in an event of no motion within a scene for a predetermined temporal period. The process of counting people may also include obtaining visible images from a visible spectrum camera and using information in the visible spectrum camera to check accuracy of the count.
[0005] Information from the visible spectrum camera may include motion information, a time attribute, location and features. In one embodiment, sensors may communicate metadata to a data center. The process may further include imaging the scene using the depth sensor and reporting the number of people, statistics or complementary data. In one embodiment, the determination of a foreground object from among the foreground objects matches a reference model of a human head.
[0006] Embodiments may incorporate or use a computer readable medium having program instructions stored thereon, the program instructions being loadable and executable by a processor, and when executed by the processor, cause the processor to obtain depth data from a depth sensor, identify a foreground object from the depth data, and apply a machine learning application to generate a classification determination of the foreground object, and maintain a classification determination count. The program instructions may further cause the processor to subtract background information from the depth data to identify the foreground object, obtain image data from a visible spectrum camera, analyze the image data to produce image analytics, and combine information from the produced image analytics with depth data information to increase the accuracy in which the foreground object is identified. In one embodiment, the implementation of a machine learning application may include a neural network, a support vector machine and/or a clustering technique. Program instructions may train the machine learning application with a training data set and choose one or more features to create a selective feature vector in the optimization of the machine learning application.
[0007] A system for counting people may include a depth sensor receiving depth data, a memory, in communication with the depth sensor, storing the depth data. The system may further include a processor, in communication with the memory, executing program instructions. The program instructions may be configured to subtract background information from the depth data to discern a foreground object, apply a machine learning application to generate a classification determination of the foreground object, and maintain a classification determination count. The processor may be further configured to receive video data from a camera and use the video data from the camera to increase the accuracy of the machine learning application in generating the classification determination.
[0008] While those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate a number of filters, one embodiment may apply a Gaussian filter to background information from the depth data. The system may also create a depth feature set identifying selective features to analyze the depth data from the depth sensor and create a video feature set identifying selective features to analyze the video data from the camera. In one embodiment, the processor may be configured to apply the feature sets to the depth data to determine a depth classification and a video classification. In addition, the system may calculate the classification determination of the foreground object with information from the depth classification and the video classification and update the classification determination count.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particular description of the embodiments, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrated embodiments.
[0010] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram that illustrates a depth sensor-based system for counting people;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates one embodiment of a software architecture for counting based on a depth sensor according to one embodiment;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram that illustrates a process for counting based on a depth sensor according to one embodiment;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that illustrates a process for counting based on a depth sensor and a visible spectrum camera according to one embodiment;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a set of sample frames representing depth data received from a depth sensor according to one embodiment;
[0015] FIG. 6 is a block diagram that illustrates a depth sensor system according to one embodiment; and
[0016] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a depth sensor system according to one embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] A description of embodiments follows.
[0018] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a system for counting based on a depth sensor 110 . As illustrated in FIG. 1 , a system 100 of counting based on the depth sensor 110 is provided. The system 100 includes a scene 105 , the scene being a range of vision detectable by a sensor/camera. As illustrated in the scene, one or more persons may be located within one or more fields of view 112 , 117 , of cameras or imaging devices such as the depth sensor 110 and visible spectrum camera(s) 115 . The visible spectrum cameras 115 and the depth sensor 110 may include an associated field of view 117 , 112 , respectively. The depth sensor 110 and/or cameras may be associated with a data store 131 , which may be local, such as accessible on a common network or via a wide area network 120 .
[0019] A depth sensor 110 acquires depth data from one or more scenes. The depth data may be processed to remove background information and provide a focus on objects that exhibit motion within a scene. In one embodiment, objects detected as exhibiting motion within a scene are transferred to one or more components for analysis. The result of the analysis may include a classification of the detected objects into a category, e.g., person or non-person. Analyses based on depth data are generally less susceptible to errors associated false positives due to temperature change as shown with thermal data or to errors associated with false positives due to shadows as shown with visible spectrum images. Therefore, depth data can return a more accurate classification where susceptibility to errors associated with the noted false positives is a concern. Furthermore, depth data detection may reduce the computational complexity by providing a filtered data set and selective features of a target object to a classifier for counting people.
[0020] Continuing to refer to FIG. 1 , the data store 131 may be any suitable type of data storage device including, for example, a memory chip, hard drive, USB flash drive, remote accessible database, cache memory, and/or the like. The data store may be in communication with or place the depth sensor 110 or cameras 115 in communication with the communications network 120 and may include wired and wireless networks.
[0021] A communications network may be any one or the combination of the following: a direct interconnection; the Internet; a Local Area Network (LAN); a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN); an Operating Missions as Nodes on the Internet (OMNI); a secured custom connection; a Wide Area Network (WAN); a wireless network (e.g., employing protocols such as, but not limited to a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), and I-mode; and/or the like. A network interface may be regarded as a specialized form of an input/output interface. Further, multiple network interfaces may be used to engage with various communications network types. For example, multiple network interfaces may be employed to allow for communication over broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast networks.
[0022] Also illustrated in FIG. 1 is a data center 125 in operable communication with the network. The data center may receive data from the depth sensor and/or the visible camera. In one embodiment, the visible camera may transmit image data in one or more predetermined formats to the data center 125 via the network 120 . Similarly, the depth sensor may send depth data to the data center 125 for processing and/or analysis. In one embodiment, the data center 125 may include one or more computer systems (clients/servers) (not shown) distributed over a network. These computer systems may be responsible for receiving, processing, analyzing, transmitting, and/or storing: image data, video data, depth data, and/or the like. In one embodiment, the data center 125 may include, store, instantiate, run and/or access (e.g., through an Application Programming Interface (API)), a detection engine, described in further detail below.
[0023] FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates a software architecture according to one embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 2 , a detection engine 205 may include a motion detector component 210 , video analytics component 225 , depth data analytics component 230 and counting inference component 240 . The detection engine 205 is in operable communication with a network 220 , data store 231 , and/or a server 265 . Without limitation, the detection engine may include additional components, e.g., an API, storage component, cloud service component, or the like.
[0024] The motion detector component 210 may include one or more methods of object motion detection using data received from one or more sensor devices. In one embodiment, the motion detector component detects objects from depth data received from the data center. In addition, the motion detector component may include a script or program to detect objects from image data received from a visible spectrum camera. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize other types of data may also be received from the motion detector component and are considered to fall within the scope of the embodiments described. One type of detection performed by detection engine is the detection of motion.
[0025] Motion detection may identify where people appear in the scene. A background model can be established to detect motion with a background subtraction process such as Gaussian model, Gaussian mixture model and/or a non-parametric background model. The depth data can be calibrated to measure an object's three-dimensional (3-D) information, such as topological features from a given location on the object (e.g., a seat of a chair compared to a top of a backrest of the set or legs of a person relative to the top of the person's head) with respect to distance from a depth sensor. A counting method may be based on depth segmentation and head detection. In one embodiment, depth segmentation can initially decide if there are people in the scene. For example, if a foreground object size is larger than one person, a head detection process may be applied to measure the number of heads in the scene.
[0026] As illustrated, the contiguous frames of the video flow 232 may be transmitted to the data store 231 or from a node (not shown) on the network 220 . The data store 231 may process the video flow 232 and return analytics/tracking information 236 to the detection engine 205 . In one embodiment, the motion detector component 210 may be combined, consolidated, and/or distributed in any number of ways to facilitate development and/or deployment. For example, the motion detector component 210 may be stored, in whole or in part, in the data store 231 or server 265 . To accomplish this, a motion detector code base may be statically integrated or dynamically loaded (on demand) to the data store 231 or server 265 .
[0027] In one embodiment, the detection engine 205 may receive video flow data 232 from a node on the network 220 and provide analytics/tracking information 238 from one or more components associated with the detection engine. The detection engine 205 may also transmit depth/image data 244 to a server 265 . The server may reside at the data center described herein. The server may store and execute one or more components associated with the detection engine 205 . In one embodiment, the server may transmit analytics/tracking information 242 based on the received depth/image data to the detection engine 205 .
[0028] To supplement the detection process, one or more tripwire(s) with optional direction may be setup in the field of view to measure the number of people entering and exiting the area. In one embodiment, a detected object may cross the tripwire, and the metadata about this event (e.g., tripwire count, time, location, etc.) may be sent to the data center.
[0029] As noted above, the detection engine may conduct a head detection process based on depth data. Depth data may be stored in a two dimensional array. The depth data can be calibrated to measure the physical positions of the objects in the real world. After calibration, the depth data may give the distance between the depth sensor and the objects. From this data, the size of head to be detected may determined.
[0030] To accomplish determining the size of a head, one formula may represent the distance from the camera to the head center as X and the image width as M pixels. The angle that the depth sensor covers may be represented by α. The physical range that the sensor can cover at the distance of X meters can be calculated as:
[0000]
w
=
2
*
X
tan
(
α
2
)
[0031] From this range, the head size in pixels may be derived based on distance. Suppose the average head radius is r meters, then it can be represented in pixels as:
[0000]
R
=
rM
2
*
X
tan
(
α
2
)
[0032] In one embodiment, the detection process may check a sliding window of a given size with a non-max suppression process to detect heads. The non-max suppression is applied to avoid multiple heads overlapped together.
[0033] A machine learning component may include one or more machine learning applications to detect objects based on data received from one or more sensor devices. In one embodiment, the machine learning component includes behavioral detection methods for detecting objects from training data. In one embodiment, a learning application can be random forest, adaboost, neural network, support vector machine, or the like. Random forests are a combination of tree predictors such that each tree depends on the values of a random vector sampled independently and with the same distribution for all trees in the forest. The generalization error for forests converges to a limit as the number of trees in the forest becomes large. The generalization error of a forest of tree classifiers depends on the strength of the individual trees in the forest and the correlation between them.
[0034] The AdaBoost method takes as input a training set (x1; y1) . . . (xm; ym) where each x i belongs to some domain or instance space X, and each label y i is in some label set Y. AdaBoost calls a given weak or base learning function repeatedly in a series of rounds t=1 . . . T. The AdaBoost method maintains a distribution or set of weights over the training set. The weight of this distribution on training example i on round t may be denoted as D t (i). Initially, weights are set equally, but on each round, the weights of incorrectly classified examples are increased so that the weak learner is forced to focus on the hard examples in the training set. The weak learner's job is to find a weak hypothesis appropriate for the distribution D t . The goodness of a weak hypothesis is measured by its error. In one embodiment, the error may be measured with respect to the distribution D t on which the weak learner was trained. The weak learner may use the weights D t on the training examples. In one embodiment, a subset of the training examples can be sampled according to D t , and these (unweighted) resampled examples can be used to train the weak learner.
[0035] Neural networks include simple processing elements (neurons), a high degree of interconnection, simple scalar messages and adaptive interaction between the processing elements. In one embodiment, the neural network may be configured for a specific application, e.g., pattern recognition or data classification. The neural network provides a machine with the ability to learn adaptively based on data given for training, organize and represent data from examples, operate in real time, and include fault tolerance through redundant information coding. A support vector machine (SVM) is one example of a machine learning application for data classification. An SVM classifier generally maps data into a high dimensional space and finds a separating hyperplane with a maximal margin. In one embodiment, the machine learning component receives representations of detected objects in depth data or image data and maps the representations onto the hyperplane as a person or non-person.
[0036] One or more machine learning applications may be used in combination with one or more clustering techniques. A clustering technique generally involves associating a set of objects into one or more groups (clusters). In one embodiment, data received from the detection engine may be clustered to assist with the determination of whether an object being tracked or to be tracked should be classified as a person or non-person. For example, candidate data objects may be coded for head detection processing by the motion detector component 210 . The motion detector component 210 may send the candidate data object or target object to the machine learning component, e.g., an SVM classifier, for classification. The machine learning component may return a classification for the target object that triggers additional functions in the detection engine, e.g., the counting inference component to update the scene population count.
[0037] In order to calculate features fast, one embodiment may use an integral image of quantized gradient orientations to accelerate the calculation. In one embodiment, the proposed incremental learning procedure includes: manually labeling head(s) from training depth images; applying Histogram Oriented Depth Gradient (HODG) to extract head features as positive features and extract features of other locations as negative features. An iterative loop may initially set an iterative variable to zero, e.g., set i=0. The iterative process may include applying machine learning applications (e.g., Back Propagation (BP) neural network) to learn the classifier with the given training data set i. In one embodiment, the process may include testing the learned model with labeled test image set i. The learning process may include adding false classified features (false positives) into the training data set. The iterative variable may be incremented, e.g., set i=i+1, and the procedure may repeat some of the processes until the learned model is stable and the classification error is lower than a threshold.
[0038] The depth data analytics component 230 may combine effective calibrated head features, fast feature extraction, and efficient classification method to achieve real-time head detection. One particular advantage of the proposed calibrated feature is that the rough head size is known and it is not necessary to detect in multi-scale like other methods such as Histogram Oriented Gradient (HOG) object detection. Although multi-scale approaches may be implemented, the computational complexity of the detection process may be reduced with a single scale approach for head detection.
[0039] The depth data analytics component 230 may generate a histogram from the received image data and depth data. In one embodiment, a histogram oriented gradient (HOG) may be generated from the received data. In addition, a histogram oriented depth gradient (HODG) may also be generated. In one embodiment, head detection may be based on the generated HODG. The HODG technique counts occurrences of gradient orientation in a selected window. In one embodiment, the gradient has a sign to indicate the real direction of the gradient and/or the magnitude of the gradient. With the signed gradient, it may be deduced if the gradient is up or down. The window may be divided into cells at first, e.g., 3×3, 4×4 and/or the like. In one embodiment, the gradient orientations may be calculated within the cells. In one embodiment, a monolithic function of depth gradient is applied as the weight. A histogram of weighted gradient orientations may be used to represent the cell. The histogram of the weighted depth gradient orientations may be combined together to form the feature vector for head detection.
[0040] The depth data analytics component 230 may select and analyze features from image data and/or depth data. In one embodiment, a set of features is selected for analyzing image data. For example, when depth/image data is received, it may be featurized to identify and/or extract features associated with depth data and/or image data. The featurizing of frames from image and/or depth data may depend on a type of classification. For example, classifications of non-human objects may identify and extract a different set of features from the frames of depth and/or image data. When the appropriate features are identified or extracted, they may be compared to a training data set that is pre-labeled with positive classifications and false positives. The comparison of features from image and/or depth data may allow the depth data analytics component to determine whether features extracted match features from the trained data set. In an embodiment where people are being counted, the comparison may result in the generation of a people-type score to assist with the classification determination.
[0041] The depth data analytics component 230 may assist with head tracking if more than one person is entering a detection zone. In one embodiment, the detection engine sends head tracking data to the counting inference component 240 to inform a counting agent. A counting method may include learning the background model of the scene; using background subtraction to detect foreground pixels that are closer to the depth sensor with a predefined threshold; using connected component analysis to label foreground pixels into disconnected objects; or calculating the size of the objects.
[0042] If the size of an object is larger than one person size, the system may apply head detection to check if more than one heads can be found. In one embodiment, detected head(s) may be tracked as individual objects. In addition, tripwires may be applied to detect if any object crosses them. The cross detection may be recorded for In/Out counting. For example, the difference between the summation of “In” count and the summation of “Out” count is the number of people within a given area (i.e., volume of interest). An additional motion/visual sensor can be mounted in rooms for further motion detection accuracy and for the prevention of miscounting. If an in-room sensor does not detect any motion within a predetermined time, a current count for the room may be reset to zero (either automatically or manually, through human input).
[0043] The video analytics component 225 may include one or more components dedicated to receiving, processing and analyzing data received from a camera. According to one embodiment, the video analytics 225 may be used in combination with the depth data analytics component to increase the accuracy of the detection engine. Depending on the type of detection, the depth data analytics component 230 may be used in combination with the video analytics component 225 to increase accuracy of camera-based detections.
[0044] The depth data analytics component 230 includes one or more components for detecting objects in a scene based on the depth data received from the data center and/or depth sensor. Depth sensor does not “see” shadow and reflection, which can affect object segmentation in visible camera systems. Depth sensors may supplement thermal data from a thermal camera since there is no temperature change affecting motion detection of the depth sensor. The detection engine 205 may distribute tasks to the depth data analytics component and other components to assist with counting people. The component collection may execute program instructions associated with a head detection based on depth information.
[0045] In one embodiment, the depth data analytics component may work with other components, e.g., the motion detector component, to execute program instructions to perform head detection based on depth information. The head detection performed may transmit data to the counting inference component to assist with maintaining a scene population count. In one embodiment, the depth data can be calibrated to measure the physical positions of the objects in the real world. After calibration, the depth data may provide the distance between the depth sensor and the objects. The head detection process may combine effective calibrated head features, fast feature extraction, efficient classification method to achieve real-time head detection. One aspect of the proposed calibrated feature(s) is that an estimated head size for a scene or field of view may be pre-determined. The depth data analytics component may use a sliding scale approach to determine if detected objects match a given reference model. For example, a sliding scale approach may determine if an object or object feature detected is within the confines of the sliding scale.
[0046] The counting inference component 240 may maintain a count of detected objects in a scene. In one embodiment, the server 265 receives counting information 244 from the detection engine 205 . The server 265 may then derive a set of final counting numbers, e.g., number of people in a field of view at a given time, number of people in a field over a period of time, etc. In one embodiments with more than one locations are being monitored by the detection engine, e.g., a building having multiple entrance foyers, floors, stairwells, etc., the server may derive a consolidated count for the building or a subset of locations associated with the building. For example, as objects enter and leave a scene, the counting inference component may maintain a scene population count. To address individuals appearing in a scene at a similar time and in physical close proximity, the counting inference component 240 may receive additional data from a tripwire or an infrared motion detector for detecting motion. The counting inference component may correlate scene population count data with activity data that is received or based on information from a location depth sensor, visible spectrum camera, and/or tripwire.
[0047] In one embodiment, the data center may store one or more components associated with the detection engine, receive and store image and/or depth data, as well as, distribute processing tasks associated with the detection engine. In one embodiment, the data center receives image and/or depth data from one or more data stores. The data center may include a detection engine server responsible for identifying and extracting features from the data received. Other distributed components may also be in communication with the detection engine to assist with determining whether features received from the sensor(s) and/or camera(s) fall into one or more classes upon classification.
[0048] FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram for a process of counting people based on a sensor according to one embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 3 , the process 300 includes obtaining depth data from a depth sensor mounted to provide a top view of a scene. A top view of the scene may be a directly vertical (90°) view from above. The top view may also be a view substantially 90° from the top, give or take 30°. The process may also discern foreground objects 315 from background objects 310 within depth data. One or more background subtraction techniques may be used to discern foreground objects from background objects. In one embodiment, the process may determine a given foreground object 315 , from among the foreground objects, matches a head reference model based on the depth sensor data.
[0049] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that illustrates a process 400 for counting based on a depth sensor and a visible spectrum camera according to one embodiment. The process for counting may obtain depth data from a depth sensor and visible images from a visible spectrum camera 405 . In one embodiment, the process may obtain information from the visible spectrum camera including a motion, time attribute, location and features 409 . The process for counting people may include communicating metadata to a data center 409 . For example, metadata may include information about the location of the camera, a timestamp, an associated physical address, e.g., building name. The process may discern foreground objects from background objects from within the depth data and visible images 411 . In one embodiment, counting people may determine a foreground, from among the foreground objects, matches a reference model of a target object based on the depth data, wherein the target object is a human head 413 . The process of counting people may determine a scene population count from the foreground objects 415 . In one embodiment, the process may include imaging the scene using the depth sensor 417 and reporting a number of people, statistics or complementary data 419 .
[0050] For example, statistics may include information regarding the frequency of objects appearing in a scene or the average time objects appear in a scene. Complementary data may include information about non-detected objects in a scene. For example, information about non-detected objects in a scene may include information describing products offered by a retailer located in the scene. The complementary data may include a determination of whether a given product in a specific location attracts attention from a person. The determination of whether the given product attracts attention may include a behavioral detection, e.g., a person stops for a pre-determined temporal period to inspect the non-detected object.
[0051] The process 400 for counting may check for motion. For example, an additional motion/visual sensor can be mounted in rooms for further motion detection accuracy and for the prevention of miscounting. If an in-room sensor does not detect any motion within a predetermined time, a current count for the room may be reset to zero 423 (either automatically or manually, through human input). If motion is detected, the process 400 may continue to obtain depth data and visible images.
[0052] FIG. 5 includes sample frames of depth data. As illustrated in FIG. 5 , a first frame 505 illustrates a background model according to one embodiment. The sample frame 505 illustrates some white pixels where depth information may not be available and may be subtracted by the detection engine.
[0053] Also illustrated in FIG. 5 , is a sample input frame 510 . Input frame 510 is one example of how moving objects may be represented by depth data. The center of the frame 510 illustrates what may or may not be a person, e.g., the human eye may infer the object in the center of the image has an appearance similar to two shoulders and the top of a human head. The depth data in frame 510 has not yet undergone background subtraction process, where the non-moving objects in the frame are at least partially removed from the frame. Frame 520 illustrates the moving objects detected after background subtraction. As illustrated in FIG. 5 , the moving objects detected in frame 520 have a sharper contrast to the background when compared to the objects in frames 505 and 510 . As illustrated in the sample frame 520 , the object to the left of the potential target in the center of image can be inferred by the human eye to be an animal or pet.
[0054] In one embodiment, moving objects are detected from background subtraction as noted above. The variation in space of a quantity can be represented by a slope. The gradient represents the steepness and direction of that slope. In one embodiment, the Histogram of Oriented Depth Gradient (HODG) describes local object appearance and shape within a depth image through the distribution of depth gradient(s) directions. The implementation can be achieved by dividing the image into small connected regions, called cells, and for each cell, compiling a histogram of gradient directions for the pixels within the cell. The combination of these histograms then represents a descriptor. Gradient computation may apply a 1-D centered, point discrete derivative mask in both of the horizontal and vertical directions. Specifically, filtering the depth data of the image with the following filter kernels: [−1,0,1] and [−1,0,1] T .
[0055] A histogram component may create cell histograms. For example, each pixel within the cell may cast a weighted vote for an orientation-based histogram channel based on the values found in the gradient computation. The cells themselves may be rectangular or radial in shape, with the histogram channels evenly spread over 0 to 360 degrees. As for the vote weight, pixel contribution may include a gradient magnitude or a function of gradient magnitude.
[0056] Frame 525 and 530 are frames that illustrate a head window and its corresponding depth gradient magnitudes and orientations. Frame 525 is a sample frame illustrating a head window without corresponding depth gradients and magnitudes. Frame 530 is a head window divided into four-by-four cells. As illustrated in Frame 530 the depth gradient magnitudes and orientations on the perimeter cells are of a greater length than the depth gradient magnitudes and orientations located in the four internal cells. This difference may represent a larger distance from side of the head to the shoulder in the neighboring cell, when compared to the shorter magnitudes and orientations representing the difference in distance from the side of the head to the top of the head. In one embodiment, each cell may construct a histogram based on gradient magnitudes and orientations. The histograms may be combined to form a feature vector to describe a head window.
[0057] FIG. 6 is a block diagram that illustrates a depth sensor system 600 according to one embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 6 , the depth sensor system 600 includes a first sensor 605 , a second sensor 610 , a third sensor 615 and a data center. In one embodiment, a depth sensor can be downwardly mounted to detect motion and count the number of people entering and leaving an area. The depth sensor may include an infrared laser projector combined with a monochrome Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) sensor, which captures video data in 3D under ambient light conditions.
[0058] A sensor may include a digital signal processor (DSP) and/or Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The DSP/FPGA is a computing unit configured to process depth data and may be embedded onboard with a depth sensor. Counting information processed by the DSP/FPGA may be sent to data center via network processing and data mining. Depending on the particular implementation, features of the depth sensor system may be achieved by implementing a microcontroller. Also, to implement certain features of the depth sensor system, some feature implementations may rely on embedded components, such as: Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), DSP, FPGA, or the like embedded technology. For example, depth sensor system (distributed or otherwise) may be implemented via the microprocessor and/or via embedded components; e.g., via ASIC, coprocessor, DSP, FPGA, or the like. Alternately, some implementations of the depth sensor system may be implemented with embedded components that are configured and used to achieve a variety of features or signal processing.
[0059] In one embodiment, a plurality of depth sensors can be mounted at data collecting points such as doors accessing rooms where entering and exiting can be monitored. If there are multiple doors to access a room, a depth sensor may be mounted for each door. In one embodiment, metadata about the counting information may be sent to the data center for further processing. Metadata of video analytics may include descriptions of objects and events. Metadata may also information about events, such as, but not limited to, object merging, splitting, appearing, disappearing, etc.
[0060] FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating embodiments of a People Counting (PC) Platform 700 . In this embodiment, the PC Platform may serve to aggregate, process, store, search, serve, identify, instruct, generate, match, and/or facilitate interactions with a computer. Typically, users, which may be people and/or other systems, may engage information technology systems (e.g., computers) to facilitate information processing. In turn, computers employ processors to process information; such processors may be referred to as central processing units (CPU). One form of processor is referred to as a microprocessor. CPUs use communicative circuits to pass binary encoded signals acting as instructions to enable various operations. These instructions may be operational and/or data instructions containing and/or referencing other instructions and data in various processor accessible and operable areas of memory (e.g., registers, cache memory, random access memory, etc.). Information systems may be used to collect data for later retrieval, analysis, and manipulation, which may be facilitated through a database program 737 .
[0061] In one embodiment, the PC Platform may be connected to and/or communicate with entities such as, but not limited to: one or more users from user input devices (e.g., Flash/SD/SSD); peripheral devices, e.g., a surveillance device or camera 701 ; an optional cryptographic processor device; and/or a communications network 720 . Networks are commonly thought to comprise the interconnection and interoperation of clients, servers, and intermediary nodes in a graph topology. It should be noted that the term “server” as used throughout this application refers generally to a computer, other device, program, or combination thereof that processes and responds to the requests of remote users across a communications network. Servers 739 serve their information to requesting “client(s)”. The term “client” as used herein refers generally to a computer, program, other device, user and/or combination thereof that is capable of processing and making requests and obtaining and processing any responses from servers across a communications network.
[0062] The PC Platform may be based on one or more computer system(s) that may comprise a central processing unit (“CPU(s)” and/or “processor(s)” (these terms are used interchangeable throughout the disclosure unless noted to the contrary)), a memory (e.g., a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), Cache etc.), and/or an Input/Output Ports, and may be interconnected and/or communicating through a system bus on one or more (mother)board(s) having conductive and/or otherwise transportive circuit pathways through which instructions (e.g., binary encoded signals) may travel to effectuate communications, operations, storage, etc.
[0063] The processor and/or transceivers may be connected as either internal and/or external peripheral devices (e.g., sensors) via the I/O ports. In turn, the transceivers may be connected to antenna(s), thereby effectuating wireless transmission and reception of various communication and/or sensor protocols. The CPU comprises at least one high-speed data processor adequate to execute program components for executing user and/or system-generated requests. Often, the processors themselves will incorporate various specialized processing units, such as, but not limited to: integrated system (bus) controllers, memory management control units, floating point units, and even specialized processing sub-units like graphics processing units, digital signal processing units, and/or the like. Additionally, processors may include internal fast access addressable memory, and be capable of mapping and addressing memory beyond the processor itself; internal memory may include, but is not limited to: fast registers, various levels of cache memory (e.g., level 1, 2, 3, etc.), RAM, etc.
[0064] The embedded components may include software solutions, hardware solutions, and/or some combination of both hardware/software solutions. Storage interfaces, e.g., data store 731 , may accept, communicate, and/or connect to a number of storage devices such as, but not limited to: storage devices, removable disc devices, solid state drives (SSD) and/or the like. Storage interfaces may employ connection protocols such as, but not limited to: (Ultra) (Serial) Advanced Technology Attachment (Packet Interface) ((Ultra) (Serial) ATA(PI)), (Enhanced) Integrated Drive Electronics ((E)IDE), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394, fiber channel, Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI), Universal Serial Bus (USB), and/or the like.
[0065] Network card(s) may accept, communicate, and/or connect to a communications network 720 . Through a communications network 720 , the PC Platform is accessible through remote clients (e.g., computers with web browsers) by users. Network interfaces may employ connection protocols such as, but not limited to: direct connect, Ethernet (thick, thin, twisted pair 10/100/1000 Base T, and/or the like), Token Ring, wireless connection such as IEEE 802.11a-x, and/or the like. A cloud service 725 may be in communication with the PC Platform. The cloud service may include a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) model layer, an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) model layer and a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model layer. The SaaS model layer generally includes software managed and updated by a central location, deployed over the Internet and provided through an access portal. The PaaS model layer generally provides services to develop, test, deploy, host and maintain applications in an integrated development environment. The IaaS layer model generally includes virtualization, virtual machines, e.g., virtual servers, virtual desktops and/or the like.
[0066] Input Output interfaces (I/O) may accept, communicate, and/or connect to user input devices, peripheral devices, cryptographic processor devices, and/or the like. The video interface composites information generated by a computer system and generates video signals based on the composited information in a video memory frame. Another output device is a television set, which accepts signals from a video interface. Typically, the video interface provides the composited video information through a video connection interface that accepts a video display interface (e.g., a composite video connector accepting a composite video cable; a DVI connector accepting a DVI display cable, etc.).
[0067] Peripheral devices may be connected and/or communicate to I/O and/or other facilities of the like such as network interfaces, storage interfaces, directly to the interface bus, system bus, the CPU, and/or the like. Peripheral devices may be external, internal and/or part of PC Platform. Peripheral devices may include: antenna, audio devices (e.g., line-in, line-out, microphone input, speakers, etc.), cameras (e.g., still, video, webcam, etc.), dongles (e.g., for copy protection, ensuring secure transactions with a digital signature, and/or the like), external processors (for added capabilities; e.g., crypto devices), force-feedback devices (e.g., vibrating motors), network interfaces, printers, scanners, storage devices, transceivers (e.g., cellular, GPS, etc.), video devices (e.g., goggles, monitors, etc.), video sources, visors, and/or the like. Peripheral devices often include types of input devices (e.g., cameras).
[0068] Generally, any mechanization and/or embodiment allowing a processor to affect the storage and/or retrieval of information is regarded as memory. It is to be understood that the PC Platform and/or a computer systems may employ various forms of memory. In a typical configuration, memory will include ROM, RAM, and a storage device. A storage device may be any conventional computer system storage. Storage devices may include a (fixed and/or removable) magnetic disk drive; a magneto-optical drive; an optical drive; an array of devices (e.g., Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID)); solid state memory devices (USB memory, solid state drives (SSD), etc.); other processor-readable storage mediums; and/or other devices of the like. Thus, a computer system 703 generally requires and makes use of non-transitory and/or transitory memory.
[0069] A user interface component 741 is a stored program component that is executed by a CPU. The user interface may be a graphical user interface as provided by, with, and/or atop operating systems 733 and/or operating environments. The user interface may allow for the display, execution, interaction, manipulation, and/or operation of program components and/or system facilities through textual and/or graphical facilities. The user interface provides a facility through which users may affect, interact, and/or operate a computer system. A user interface may communicate to and/or with other components in a component collection, including itself, and/or facilities of the like.
[0070] A Web browser component (not shown) is a stored program component that is executed by a CPU. The Web browser may be a conventional hypertext viewing application. Secure Web browsing may be supplied with 128 bit (or greater) encryption by way of HTTPS, SSL, and/or the like. Web browsers and like information access tools may be integrated into mobile devices. A Web browser may communicate to and/or with other components in a component collection, including itself, and/or facilities of the like. The browser may communicate with information servers, operating systems, integrated program components (e.g., plug-ins), and/or the like; e.g., it may contain, communicate, generate, obtain, and/or provide program component, system, user, and/or data communications, requests, and/or responses. Also, in place of a Web browser and information server, a combined application may be developed to perform similar operations of both.
[0071] The structure and/or operation of any of the PC Platform engine set 705 may be combined, consolidated, and/or distributed in any number of ways to facilitate development and/or deployment. Similarly, the component collection may be combined in any number of ways to facilitate deployment and/or development. To accomplish this, one may integrate the components into a common code base or in a facility that can dynamically load the components on demand in an integrated fashion. The Engine Set 705 components may be consolidated and/or distributed in countless variations through standard data processing and/or development techniques. Multiple instances of any one of the program components in the program component collection 735 may be instantiated on a single node, and/or across numerous nodes to improve performance through load-balancing and/or data-processing techniques. Furthermore, single instances may also be distributed across multiple controllers and/or storage devices; e.g., databases. All program component instances and controllers working in concert may do so through standard data processing communication techniques.
[0072] The configuration of the PC Platform will depend on the context of system deployment. Factors such as, but not limited to, the budget, capacity, location, and/or use of the underlying hardware resources may affect deployment requirements and configuration. Regardless of if the configuration results in more consolidated and/or integrated program components, results in a more distributed series of program components, and/or results in some combination between a consolidated and distributed configuration, data may be communicated, obtained, and/or provided. Instances of components consolidated into a common code base from the program component collection may communicate, obtain, and/or provide data. This may be accomplished through intra-application data processing communication techniques such as, but not limited to: data referencing (e.g., pointers), internal messaging, object instance variable communication, shared memory space, variable passing, and/or the like.
[0073] In certain embodiments, the procedures, devices, and processes described herein constitute a computer program product, including a computer readable medium, e.g., a removable storage medium such as one or more DVD-ROM's, CD-ROM's, diskettes, tapes, etc., that provides at least a portion of the software instructions for the system. Such a computer program product can be installed by any suitable software installation procedure, as is well known in the art. In another embodiment, at least a portion of the software instructions may also be downloaded over a cable, communication and/or wireless connection.
[0074] Embodiments may also be implemented as instructions stored on a non-transitory machine-readable medium, which may be read and executed by one or more processors. A non-transient machine-readable medium may include any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine, e.g., a computing device 703 . For example, a non-transient machine-readable medium may include read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory devices; and others.
[0075] While this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to example embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims.
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A sensor system according to an embodiment of the invention may process depth data and visible light data for a more accurate detection. Depth data assists where visible light images are susceptible to false positives. Visible light images (or video) may similarly enhance conclusions drawn from depth data alone. Detections may be object-based or defined with the context of a target object. Depending on the target object, the types of detections may vary to include motion and behavior. Applications of the described sensor system include motion guided interfaces where users may interact with one or more systems through gestures. The sensor system described may also be applied to counting systems, surveillance systems, polling systems, retail store analytics, or the like.
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PRIORITY CLAIMS
The present Application is a Continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/458,673 filed Aug. 13, 2014, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,938,301, which is a continuation-in-part of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/742,066 filed Jan. 15, 2013, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,838,427, which is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/543,204, filed Jul. 6, 2012, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,380,316, which is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/979,419, filed Dec. 28, 2010, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,239,030, which is based on and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/292,791 filed Jan. 6, 2010.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material, which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
FIELD OF INVENTION
The disclosed technology relates generally to the headgear providing measurement, neuromodulation and feedback sensors for neurological measurements and modulation by delivery of current to sensors. More specifically, the technology relates to headgear having attachable and moveable wet or dry sensor technology, as well as feedback processing functionality for electrophysiology measuring, testing and feedback.
BACKGROUND
Traumatic brain injuries can result in physical and/or emotional dysfunction. Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are similar to those of a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and the two are difficult to differentiate using current assessment methodologies such as symptom assessments and questionnaires.
The brain is composed of about 100 billion neurons, more than 100 billion support cells and between 100 and 500 trillion neural connections. Each neuron, support cell and neural connection is extremely delicate, and the neural connections are tiny (approximately 1 micrometer). When the brain moves within the skull, such as occurs in rapid acceleration/deceleration (e.g., exposure to sudden impact and/or explosive devices), axons within the brain can pull, stretch and tear. If there is sufficient injury to the axon or support cells, the cell will die, either immediately or within a few days. Such damage can occur not only in the region that suffered direct trauma but in multiple regions (e.g., diffuse axonal injury).
Wearable wireless transmitting physiology sensors and digital recording and processing of these human physiology measurements have permitted new technologies to measure and modify human physiology and to treat disorders from remote locations around the world.
Prior headgear techniques utilize dry sensor technology, which is expensive, uncomfortable for scalp contact applications, and with unreliable signal quality over areas covered by hair. As a result only saline and gel based connection solutions have permitted adequate signal quality with more comfortable electrode contact to skin. These limitations have resulted in little use of electrophysiology measures and brain computer interface interventions that are for the most part side effect free.
Further, the design of caps and headsets have been such that users will only wear them for hospital or clinical applications and not for daily use where fashion pressures guide wearable technology decisions and behavior. The lack of fashionable aspects to the headgear, as well as the headgear lacking properly integrated audio and/or visual outputs, limits usage of the underlying technology.
Finally, the software interface has lacked a level of gaming engagement that further reduces ones interest to use the technology, no matter the clinical and peak performance benefits. With the advent of no contact sensor technology and new electronics able to fit into very small and flexible circuit boards with wireless low energy demands, electrophysiology measurement and training technology can be crafted into aesthetically appealing forms that coincide with current fashion trends.
The ability for a high fashion worthy design to coexist with dry sensor technology is further advanced when joined with neurogaming software that is interactive and modified by the users own electrophysiology. Game play is both enjoyable and physiologically enhancing such that users can play games while unknowingly developing improved cognitive and emotional processing.
The ability for a mobile design to coexist with dry sensor technology and visual tracking technology and be worn in natural environments that is further advanced when joined with neuromarketing software that quantify user interest in displayed products and related marketing needs presented to the user. Worn neuromarketing headset is both comfortable and captures electrophysiology paired in real time to visual tracking of stimuli such that users and marketing assessment entities can obtain enhanced information about user preference.
As such, there exists a need for improved headgear integrating sensor technology for use with neuro data collection and processing software for improved user access and functionality.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
A high-end head wearable speaker system allows a user to listen to music, take phone calls, and also engage games with the power and personal control of brain and heart and balance. Using ultra high impedance electrophysiological sensors, it is now possible to record EMG signals, ECG signals and/or EEG signals at the surface of the skin more easily and reliably than with prior technologies. When combined with ultra-high impedance movement sensors there is now the ability to reduce disruptive artifact thereby permitting cleaner physiological signal for analysis. The non-contact solid state electric potential sensor can be used to identify movement at or near the sensor connection point and thereby control for a cleaner or artifact free signal output.
At the sensor or electrode point, a magnetic connector is part of the sensor/electrode so that the sensor can be easily attached to the headset along a conductive track and similarly removed for cleaning or rapid replacement with the same or alternate style sensors.
The system and method and underlying technology provides for the collection of physiology data for remote processing and returned feedback via the headgear. Therein, the headgear facilitates various types of operations, including clinical use applications, personal data collection or bio-hacking operations, gaming operations, amongst others.
For example, with gaming operations, one embodiment includes a hand-held tablet that displays the game while a wireless electrophysiology signal is processed on the headset streaming EEG, heart rate, and movement/balance data to the game interface for a real time human brain and heart function interplay. Automated scripted software permit untrained users to collect electrophysiology data for measurement and diagnostic purposes while also offering real time brain computer interface training or therapy.
The system and method includes headgear technology with improved sensor technology, as well as improved usage characteristics where the collection of data using one or more data collection techniques. These techniques may include the performance of one or more tests using electrophysiology equipment, including wired and/or wireless equipment. The testing data is then collected, collated, assembled and may be pre-processed as necessary. The data is then transmitted to one or more central processing devices for the performance of processing operations thereon.
In the real-time network-based or cloud-based processing technique, the data is processed and managed. Variety of processing operations are performed on the data to better understand and analyze the data, as well as catalog and centrally store the data.
In accordance with these and other objects, which will become apparent hereinafter, the disclosed technology will now be described with particular reference to the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a device for taking measurements;
FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a block diagram of a method for carrying measurements;
FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a processing environment for the measurements and processing described herein;
FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a helmet with electrodes used in the taking of measurements;
FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a data flow cycle;
FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of one embodiment of a head gear device with electrodes for taking measurements;
FIG. 7 illustrates a side view of the head gear device of FIG. 6 ;
FIG. 8 illustrates an underside view of the head gear device of FIG. 6 ;
FIG. 9 illustrates a cut-away view of one embodiment of the track system of the head gear device of FIG. 6 ;
FIGS. 10 a and 10 b illustrate views of one embodiment of a sensor disposed within the headgear;
FIG. 11 illustrates a connector device disposed within a cross-bar of the headgear; and
FIG. 12 illustrates one embodiment of a printed circuit board for functionality of the headgear device.
A better understanding of the disclosed technology will be obtained from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the drawings and the attached claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Various embodiments are described herein, both directly and inherently. However, it is understood that the described embodiments and examples are not expressly limiting in nature, instead illustrate examples of the advantageous uses of the innovative teachings herein. In general, statements made in the specification of the present application do not necessarily limit any of the various claimed inventions and it is recognized that additional embodiments and variations recognized by one or more skilled in the art are incorporated herein.
As noted above, the improved headgear includes improvements in sensor connections, fashionable aspects, usability and integration of audio and/or video stimuli, for the measurement of electrophysiology data. The data is collected and processed in a local or networked or server-based processing environment.
FIG. 1 illustrates a measurement device used to measure the initial data. A helmet 100 comprises at least one, or a plurality of, electrodes 106 (represented as white dots). The helmet may be any receptacle that holds the electrodes in a position relative to the head of a wearer, or alternatively, electrodes may be taped or otherwise placed on the head. The helmet 100 may also be updated using the headgear described below, wherein the headgear incorporates various helmet 100 aspects. Earphones 102 , goggles 104 and/or another display device (e.g. a small high-resolution display) are used to exhibit stimuli to a user, integrate with visual tracking software, the stimuli used to vary measurable brain and heart function and balance activity.
The electrodes 106 are electrically connected to one of an electrical stimulation device 150 or electrical measuring device (e.g., a sensor), such as by way of amplifier 152 . The same electrode or electrodes may be disconnected from one such device and connected to another such device, such as by way of changing an electrical pathway (switch) or by physically disconnecting an electrical wire from one device, and plugging into another. Other devices, not shown, include force platforms (measure postural deviations of person), devices to alter the display on the goggles 104 , and devices to alter the sound through the earphones 102 , and input devices such as a computer mouse, keyboards, and joysticks.
Referring now to visual stimuli exhibited on a display device, such as the goggles 104 of FIG. 1 , the visual stimuli produced may be an “immersive environment,” for example a virtual reality 2- or 3-dimension moving “room” displayed through a virtual reality headset. The data collected from the balance plate, heart rate monitor, EEG, and so forth, can be used in conjunction with the visual stimuli for neurophysiological trauma assessment and/or rehabilitation training. The data collected from this component, as well as all other components may be linked with data collected from other components (e.g., EEG, ERP, ECG, balance) for assessment purposes.
The system shown in FIG. 1 may further comprise a vestibular activation test (VAT) headset permitting a computerized test that monitors the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) during natural motion. A VAT headset useful for the systems described herein may produce images and/or record eye movements. Images displayed in the VAT headset may be generated by computer-implemented instructions and transmitted via electrical impulses to the VAT headset via wireless or direct connection. Eye movements may be recorded by way of the VAT headset. The VOR is a reflex eye movement that stabilizes images on the retina during head movement by producing an eye movement in the direction opposite to head movement, thus preserving the image on the center of the visual field. As ocular trauma is often concomitant with traumatic brain injury, this component allows additional assessment of injury.
The measurements of electrophysiological data of a patient may include measurements acquired from dry or wet sensors or functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRs) optical fibers that send light into the scalp at wavelengths in the range of 650-850 nms. The sensors and/or fNIRs may be attached to the non-invasive brain stimulation or modulation helmet/cap described herein.
Moreover, for clarity purposes, as used herein, a patient may refer to an individual under direct care or supervision of a doctor, but a patient is not so limited and may further include any suitable user or client wherein measurement data is acquired and analyzed as described herein. For example, a patient may include non-medically related uses, such as an athlete and the review/analysis of electrophysiological data of an athlete to analyze possible concussion data. Another example of a patient may be soldiers with the review/analysis of electrophysiological data of the soldiers to analyze data relative to possible traumatic brain injury or post traumatic stress disorder.
FIG. 2 shows a high level block diagram of a method for acquiring the measurements. In step 210 , non-invasive measurements are made of electrical current in the brain of a test subject. This is accomplished by way of electrodes placed on a test subject, such as in a helmet shown in FIG. 1 . In this manner, EEG and ERP signals may be recorded, measured, and analyzed. A single electrode may be used to carry out the measuring in step 214 , or a plurality of electrode pairs may be used in step 212 . The position of the electrodes is known, and each electrode or a grouping thereof is placed over a definable region of the brain, the region defined by a person carrying out embodiments of the disclosed technology. The region is defined as a specific brain area of interest for the recording, as defined by a person carrying out embodiments of the disclosed technology and may be a region covered by a single electrode pair or as large as half a hemisphere of a brain. Electrodes may also be grouped into clusters, such as with a single anode surrounded by three or more cathodes, or a single cathode surrounded by three or more anodes. Such clusters are electrically connected, such that electric current flows non-invasively through the proximal tissue from anode(s) to cathode(s), stimulating the brain (stimulating, herein is defined as passage of electrical current through the brain and includes increasing or decreasing neuron activity at a site). Thereby, the system can provide neurostimulation and/or neuromodulation to the user.
While conducting step 210 , typically, step 220 is also carried out which comprises providing sensory stimulus to a person. This may be done by way of, for example, the goggles shown in FIG. 1 for a visual stimulation 222 , auditory stimulation 224 , balance stimulation 226 , biofeedback measurements 228 , or other sensory stimulations known in the art.
Stress tests and peak performance tests may also be performed to determine, for example, how many times a minute a person is able to respond to a stimulus, or how long a person can hold his/her breath or balance on a force platform, etc.
Based on the electrical measurements, that is, EEG or ERP measurements, an abnormality in a region of the brain is determined in step 230 . An abnormality may be any of the following: electrical activity which is too infrequent, too frequent, too low in amplitude, too large in amplitude, an improper pattern of electrical activity, inter-intra-hemispheric connectivity, electrical activity in the wrong portion of the brain for the stimulus given, or the like.
In step 240 , based on the located functional abnormality, non-invasive brain stimulation (such as tDCS or tACS) is administered at the region of the Abnormality. In certain cases, the same electrode which was used to measure the electrical impulses within the brain is used to administer tDCS, tACS, or other electrical stimulation. In this manner, accuracy of the stimulated region may be assured, as there is no difference in the physical location on the head where the existing electrical impulse was measured, versus where the new electrical stimulation is administered. The place of administering may be as little as a single anode/cathode pair (or cluster), or may use multiple anode/cathode pairs (or clusters).
Whereby the device of FIG. 1 provides for collection of data, FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of processing environment providing for the remote database and data analysis method and system operations. In this system, the local processing client 302 may be any suitable local processing device including but not limited to the collection of measurement data, and/or one or more processing systems for executing interface operations. For example, in one embodiment the local processing client may be a personal computer or a tablet computer having a browser or application for executing the interface functionality described herein.
The network 304 may be any suitable network providing communication thereacross. In one embodiment, the network 302 is an Internet connection across a public access network, wherein it is recognized that the network may include a private and/or secure network, as well as network exchanges via one or more service providers. The network 304 operates to facilitate the communication of data between the local processing client 302 and the server-side network processing clients 306 .
The server-side network processing clients 306 may be any suitable number of network-processing devices. In one embodiment, the client 306 may be a dedicated processing server, wherein in another embodiment, the client 306 may be any suitable number of distributed computer resources for processing operations as described herein.
As part of the data collection for client 306 processing, FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a helmet with electrodes used in embodiments of the disclosed technology. The helmet 400 comprises multiple electrodes, such as electrodes 442 , 444 , and 446 . As can be seen in the figure, a plurality of electrodes are spaced apart around the interior of a helmet or other piece of headgear and are adapted for both reading electrical activity from the brain of the wearer and delivering new impulses. That is, by way of a single electrode, plurality thereof, cluster of electrodes, or plurality of clusters, a joint brain electro-analysis and transcranial current stimulation system (tCS) comprises a plurality of spaced-apart removable and replaceable electrodes arranged in an item of headgear. An electroencephalography device (such as an EEG) is wired to each of the electrodes, as is a transcranial direct current stimulation device (at the same time or by way of a switch or plugging/unplugging a cable between the devices).
In one embodiment, cable 450 allows for electrical connectivity between the electrodes and either or both of a tCS and EEG device. In one embodiment, the cable may be eliminated using wireless connectivity and communication techniques. Further, a visor 460 is integrated with the helmet in embodiments of the disclosed technology for optical stimulation (e.g. a video monitor). The visor may be an embedded display, as illustrated in FIG. 4 or in another embodiment may include an auxiliary or augmented display, such as pair of glasses or an immersive screen technology, as described in further detail below.
Upon measuring an electroencephalography anomaly in a brain region with the electroencephalography device, transcranial direct current stimulation is engaged to at least one anode and at least one cathode electrode to the brain region where said anomaly was measured. Additional devices such as a force plate, visual stimuli utilizing interactive games and tests, and the like, may also be utilized.
As used herein, the tCS may be transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) or transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). The data collection techniques and operations, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/742,066 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,380,316 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,239,030 are herein incorporated by reference.
The data is collected and thus provided to one or more remote data processing systems. These remote data processing systems may be connected via a networked connection, including in one embodiment an Internet-based connection. In additional embodiments, the networking may be via a private or secure network. Wherein, it is noted that Internet-based connections include the processing of security features with the data, to insure the privacy of the data during transmission.
For example, one embodiment may include a data collection computing device, such as a personal computer or other type of processing device, operative to receive the electrophysiology data. The processing device therein provides for the encryption or inclusion of security features on the data and the transmission to one or more designated locations. For example, one embodiment may include the compression of the data into a “.zip” file.
The server further provides for the storage of the data and retention of data information. In this embodiment, the server creates a postscript formatted file, such as a PDF file and the database is then updated to include storage of this information. In one embodiment the database further includes enhancements to maximize storage, including determining if the data to be stored is duplicative. If the data is duplicative, a single data link can be provided, but if the data is not duplicative, then separate access to the data is provided.
The data acquired from the device may be processed locally or across network. In a typical embodiment, the user or client is a doctor or other medical specialist having the ability to review, understand and advise a patient based on the data generated in the reports. As noted above, the data generated in the reports relate to the electrophysiology data acquired from patients.
The complete system consists of a wireless amplifier equipped to record artifact free electrical signals from the brain and heart and also position in space using a nine or greater accelerometer. This same device is configured to deliver electric current back to the sensors that are in contact with the scalp in order to facilitated non-invasive brain stimulation. Sensors make contact with this skin using either dry sensors or electro dermal gel or saline impregnated sensor for consistent sensor to skin connectivity measured by impedance.
The software provides for automated data collection using script software and self-guided instructions. The software sends the resulting data for algorithm processing either on the CPU or on a dedicated secure server through an internet connection. This data is processed on the CPU and processed either on the installed database and processing software or transmitted to the cloud-based server where processing takes place.
The data analysis is returned in a report format showing physiology graphics and interpretive results from which the user can make intervention or diagnostic decisions. Several comparison databases can be selected from within the software to provide a comparison measure for the data analysis. Pre-set EEG training protocols (e.g., theta:beta ratio training for attention; alpha:theta ratio training for relaxation) are configured for automated home or clinic based training.
Individual baseline data can also be utilized so that the individual's data can be compared to an earlier data sample. An example of this is a professional athlete having his or her pre-season baseline that is used for comparison following a concussion. This is particularly useful for single-subject design research of change over time and intervention results. Group databases such as peak performance or pathology comparison databases (i.e., Alzheimer's disease sample database) are also available for selection and data comparison. Intervention options include real-time noise and artifact removal algorithms that permit EEG and ECG training devoid of movement and other disruptive artifact or signal noise. Individual differences from the selected comparison database permits specific or individually derived interventions as non-invasive brain stimulation (e.g., tDCS/tACS) and brain computer interface (sLORETA/eLORETA brain computer interface, wavelet time-frequency neurofeedback, event-related potential neurofeedback; Brodman Area selection, neurofeedback, neuro-network brain computer interface) and peripheral biofeedback such as heart rate variability biofeedback).
The brain computer interface or neurofeedback can include any number of operations or techniques, including for example low resolution brain electromagnetic topography source localization feedback and surface electroencephalography amplitude or phase or coherence feedback.
The user receives report and intervention information from cloud-based server interface or from optional embedded software on the CPU for usage where internet connectivity is not possible.
The results of the data analysis include a protocol that directs the non-invasive brain stimulation sensor placements and current parameters. These stimulation protocols can be manually or automatically selected to provide the user with both brain compute interface training and brain stimulation or brain modulation interventions.
The rapid assessment and re-assessment of the brain and other measures included in the physiology measurement battery allows for rapid determination of brain computer interface training location and frequency protocols and also brain stimulation or modulation using electric current. The re-assessment quantifies the difference from the baseline measure in order to generate a report showing the change made by either or both brain computer interface and electric current brain modulation.
The re-assessment then provides an updated intervention protocol. Protocols will vary based on the assessment results such that the different locations on the scalp may be stimulated with different polarity at the sensor and with more or less milliamps than one another. Users can manually define scalp location, polarity at the sensor, and milliamp levels and duration at each location. Users can also select from pre-defined protocols to increase or decrease regional neuronal activity.
The same data analysis report provides illustration and instruction on the current flow through the brain tissue in order to further quantify the cortical excitability relevant to the users clinical or performance intent. Current flow reporting aid the user with further and more specific brain modulation targeting protocols using Talairach locations and Brodmann Areas. The availability of the data analysis and reports on the web portal allows for telemedicine access and review.
The sensors permit real time stimulation with electrical current and simultaneous recording of EEG using signal filters that remove the electrical stimulation and permit only the EEG and event related potentials to be recorded and processed. This feature permits the user to combine targeted brain stimulation with brain computer interface training using real time artifact correction. Simultaneous neurofeedback with stimulation allows for data analysis showing the focal changes or modulation in the brain from the individual or combined intervention modalities.
FIG. 5 illustrates a circular data flow diagram representing the circular operations described herein. Step 500 includes the assessment and re-assessment protocols, such as EEG, ECG, Balance, ERP, etc. Step 502 is the automated data analysis on a CPU or networked server. Step 504 is the report output, which may include output in graphical format with interpretation data. The report 504 may further include targeted brain stimulation protocol, functional training protocol with brain computer interface.
Continuing in the cycle of FIG. 5 , step 506 is the automated or manual selection of brain stimulation protocol and/or brain computer interface training protocol. Step 508 is an optional real-time assessment during brain stimulation or brain computer interface training. Step 510 provides automated reporting that reflects changes following brain intervention(s) with report output, which can be available to a user including HIPAA-compliant web or network portals.
FIG. 6 illustrates another embodiment of a device for collecting data and providing user feedback. This device 600 includes earpieces 602 with speakers 604 . The device 600 further includes a top cross-bar 606 and side-bars 608 , the bars, 606 and 608 , having a track 610 thereacross with sensors 612 disposed therein. The device 600 additionally includes a hinge 614 for the side-bars 608 . Further embodiments include an articulating arm 618 having a lens 620 thereon.
The headgear 600 may be composed of one or more suitable materials, including plastic, metal or carbon fiber by way of example. The earpieces 602 are representative embodiments of engagement portions providing for engaging the user's head and securing placement of the sensors 612 . In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 6 , the speakers 604 are disposed within the engagement portions of the earpieces 602 , providing for the audio output of sound consistent with known speaker technology. In this embodiment, the earpiece 602 and speaker 604 include cushioning 616 that not only improves user comfort in wearing the device, but also improves sound isolation of the speaker to minimize or reduce any ambient noise.
The cross bar 606 and side bars 608 include the track 610 that allows for the insertion of the sensors 612 . The sensors 612 may be any suitable sensors that connect into the track for electrical connection with the device 600 . In one embodiment, the sensors 612 are dry sensors, where the dry sensors are attached using magnets for easy removal and replacement in-between users and for alternate sensor or electrode type attachments. The same system both provides EEG/ERP measures but also delivers brain stimulation using direct current and/or alternating current, as described above.
When worn by a user, the sensors 612 are in contact with the user's cranium, wherein the location of the sensors 612 can be adjusted by movement of the sensor 612 along the track 610 within the cross-bars 606 and 608 .
The hinge 612 , disposed on both sides of the cross-bar 606 , allows for the articulation of the of the side bars 608 away from or towards the cross-bar 608 . Therefore, when worn by the user, the sensor 612 location of the user's cranium can also be adjusted by the inward or outward articulation of the side bars 608 .
In embodiments including the arm 618 and the lens 620 , the headgear 600 allows for the visual display of content on the lens 620 . The positions or location of the lens 620 relative the user can be adjusted by the adjustment of the arm 618 . The arm 618 includes wiring (not readily visible) for providing an output signal to the lens 620 . In one embodiment, the lens 620 may be a high-definition lens operative to provide a visual output viewable by the user, where as described herein, the user can be subjected to visual stimuli for feedback generation via the headgear. In this embodiment, the lens 620 operates similar to the visual display goggles 104 of FIG. 1 or the visor 460 of FIG. 4 .
FIG. 7 illustrates a side view of the headgear 600 . The side view illustrates the inward or outward articulation of the cross-bars 608 from a centerline of the cross-bar 606 . The headgear 600 can be worn similar to commercially available musical headphones. The side view additionally illustrates the ear covering portions 602 . As described in further detail below, the earpiece 602 includes processing functionality allowing for electrophysiological measurements and interaction. Also visible in FIG. 7 , the lens 620 extends outward via the arm 618 .
FIG. 8 illustrates a bottom or underside view of the headgear 600 , including the earpieces 602 , the cross-bar 606 , the side bars 608 , where the bars 606 and 608 include the tracks 610 and sensors 612 . As illustrated, the tracks 610 extend across the bars 606 , 608 , allowing for adjusting the placement of the sensors 612 . The sensors 612 can be located in the center (as illustrated), moved towards the left earpiece 602 or moved towards the right earpiece 602 .
The location of the track further allows for the placement of multiple sensors 612 on the track 610 , covering various regions of the user's cranium.
For further illustration of the track 610 , FIG. 9 illustrates a cross-section of the bars 606 , 608 . In this embodiment, the tracks run along the interior side of the crossbars 606 , 608 , with a gap allowing for the insertion of the sensor therein.
FIG. 10 a and FIG. 10 b illustrate perspective views of one embodiment of the sensors 612 . The top portion of the sensor 612 includes connection members 620 for passing through the openings of the tracks 610 and inserting into an electrical channel disposed within the bars 606 , 608 .
FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment of an electrical channel 630 housing within the crossbars 606 and 608 . The channel 630 includes at least two channels for passing current, such as alternative or direct current) to the sensors, as well as for transmitting feedback readings from the sensor to one or more control units.
In the assembly of the headgear 600 , the sensor 612 snaps or engages the track 610 for being held in place, and the connectors 622 engage the electrical channel. The sensors 612 may be moved lengthwise across the arch of the bars 606 , 608 , for different cranium engagement points on the user wearing the headgear. In one embodiment, the dry sensors are attached using magnets for easy removal and replacement in-between users and for alternate sensor or electrode type attachments. The same system provides EMG, EEG and/or ERP measurements but also delivers brain stimulation using direct and alternating current.
FIG. 10 b illustrates another perspective view of the sensor 612 , illustrating the downward portion of the sensor 612 that engages the user's cranium. In this embodiment, the sensor 612 is a dry contact sensor that includes a plurality of contact pins or engagement pins that are operative to transmit current into the user's scalp and/or receiving measurements or readings from the user's scalp.
FIG. 12 illustrates one embodiment of a printed circuit board disposed within the earpiece 602 on the headgear 600 . The printed circuit board includes processing operations for providing functionality as described herein. The circuit board includes, in one embodiment, wireless functionality allowing for the headgear 600 to not require a wired connection to a secondary computing device. In one embodiment, the printed circuit board provides functionality for engaging the sensors in determining optimized placement, as well as execution of electrophysiology interaction.
In further embodiments, the headgear includes additional functionality, which can be further beneficial for electrophysiological interaction. For example, the headgear may include a movement displacement sensor to detect head movement, as well as multi-dimensional plane orientation. For example, inclusion of displacement technology can help determine if the user is looking up, looking down, tilting his or her head, etc.
The combined hardware sensor array, firmware, and software within the headset device incorporates high quality microphone for voice commands and phone calls and includes high fidelity speakers for listening to auditory prompts and to listen to music. In one embodiment, materials are hypoallergenic. Headset is equipped with on-board circuitry for full signal processing and wireless transfer of data and real time clock and synchronization of stimulus presentation and measured physiology and balance or movement. In one embodiment, the headset is charged using contact charging points, where further embodiments may utilize any other suitable charging or re-charging technique. For example, in one embodiment, the headset includes a power engagement button for powering on and turning off the headset. In one embodiment, the power engagement button may be centrally located within an outside cover of the engagement portion.
Headset design permits multiple magnetic attached scalp sensor and proximity sensors that allow recording of EEG and ECG/BVP physiology data.
The headset has the advantage of being as fully functional as the higher end headphones but also adding brain computer interface and heart computer interface recording and modulation components. The device uses non-contact dry sensors to measure heart rate variability and EEG. The system can measure, record, and process within the headset circuitry the electrophysiology and transmit data in pre or post-processed form for remote cloud-based analysis or on the imbedded computer processing unit. Using real-time artifact correction algorithms the device is able to provide feedback to the user of EEG and blood volume pulse signal. The system further provides for EMG feedback and ECG feedback.
Video games are made further interactive with the condition of the human electrophysiology utilizing specific neuro-networks of the brain and particular regions of the brain responsible for different brain functions such as attention, language processing, memory processing, executive functions, affect, emotional processing. The lens 620 allows for the user to be placed in an immersive environment and engage in various degrees of interactivity.
One such example of interactivity is engaging video games where the user play can be directly influenced by the measured feedback from the headgear 100 or 600 . For example, the game may integrate EEG features relative to the avatar or video game character, where those features are measured from the user.
Another example of interactivity is neuromarketing, whereby the headgear 600 allows for collection of neurological data relating to marketing. For example, data collection can include tracking users as they view commercials, collecting electrophysiology measurements. Another example may be having the user wear the device and actively enter a retail establishment or other arena in which the user is subjected to marketing, again measuring electrophysiology data.
Therefore, the headgear assembly improves upon prior headgear for not only data collection techniques, but also wearability. The inclusion of adjustability of the placement of the sensors provides a wider degree of usability and testability by displacing the sensors at various locations by adjusting the position of the sensors within the track and adjusting the position of the track over the user's cranium by articulating the bars 608 .
While the disclosed technology herein references the above embodiments, a person having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that changes can be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and the scope of the disclosed technology. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope. Combinations of any of the methods, systems, and devices described herein are also contemplated and within the scope of the disclosed technology.
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A method and system provides for headgear usable for electrophysiological data collection and analysis and neurostimulation/neuromodulation or brain computer interface for clinical, peak performance, or neurogaming and neuromodulation applications. The headgear utilizes dry sensor technology as well as connection points for adjustable placement of the bi-directional sensors for the recoding of electrophysiology from the user and delivery of current to the sensors intended to improve or alter electrophysiology parameters. The headgear allows for recording electrophysiological data and biofeedback directly to the patient via the sensors, as well as provide low intensity current or electromagnetic field to the user. The headgear can further include auditory, visual components for immersive neurogaming. The headgear may further communication with local or network processing devices based on neurofeedback and biofeedback and immersive environment experience with balance and movement sensor data input.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a fastening structure, and more particularly, to a hidden fastening structure suitable for electronic devices that can be covered.
2. Related Art
The configuration of a conventional notebook computer is generally divided into two parts: a base and a screen which can be connected to the base via a rotating shaft mechanism. When the notebook is used, the screen is opened from the base. When the screen is closed, a fastener is mounted on the base, so as to fix the screen to the base when the notebook is put away or carried along; otherwise, the screen opens, resulting in scratching of the surface of the screen, dust entering into the gaps of the keyboard, or damage to the rotating shaft mechanism.
However, a notebook-like computer has a liquid crystal screen that can be converted from a notebook mode to a tablet mode, i.e., the liquid crystal screen is turned backwards, such that the panel faces outwards and then is drawn close to the keyboard to be closely combined with the keyboard. As such, a liquid crystal display is obtained, i.e., a tablet PC. A locking element is usually disposed at a position where the screen covers the base, so as to prevent the liquid crystal screen from being opened freely. Moreover, the locking element also can be used for locking and positioning when the liquid crystal screen is rotated to be folded into a briefing mode for writing and reading.
U.S. Patent Publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,107 provides a hidden fastening mechanism, which comprises an extending arm and a winding rope with one end connected to a pivot joint within the screen, and the other end of the winding rope is connected to the extending arm extended from the fastener. Under external forces, the extending arm drives the winding rope, and the winding rope further drives the fastener, such that the fastener is selectively hidden in the screen or exposed from the screen. However, the assembly manner is not practical and the winding rope requires a large space, and thus, it cannot be used in a narrow frame space.
U.S. Patent Publication U.S. Pat. No. 6,870,740 provides a-two-way fastening device, wherein both surfaces of the cover overlay and fastened on the base. When external forces are applied to an actuator, the actuator has four statuses of moving positions, such that a fastener is driven to protrude from the base to be fastened or to be released and dropped out from the base, and thus, a restorer drives the fastener and the actuator to return to the initial status.
U.S. Patent Publication U.S. Pat. No. 6,965,512 provides a mechanism system with a movable hook, wherein the hook is released from the fixing device when being rotated to be hidden within the lower body, and it is combined with the fixing device when being rotated to be exposed from the lower body, such that the upper body and the lower body are fixedly closed. Moreover, the fastening device includes a handle, a tension spring, and an actuator. The fastening device is used to push the tension spring and further push the handle and the fastener, such that the hook rotates relative to the lower body. However, there are too many parts, and the assembling process is difficult.
U.S. Patent Publication US 20050180562 provides a hidden hook driving structure, wherein a connecting lever is driven by pressing a key, and the connecting lever is pivotally connected to a magnetic hook, such that the hook is snapped due to being attracted by the magnetic pieces of the body.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above disclosed prior arts, a large number of parts are required and the assembling process is difficult, and the assembly method cannot be applied to products in practice. Besides, a large space is demanded, such that it cannot be used in a narrow body. Furthermore, the operating process of the fastener is complicated. Therefore, the present invention provides a hidden fastening structure, wherein the fastening effect in the rotating direction is achieved when being applied with forces in the horizontal direction.
The hidden fastening structure disclosed by the present invention is applied to electronic devices, which comprises an actuator and a fastener, wherein the actuator is movably disposed on an electronic device and further comprises an activation button and a guide piece with a guiding slot. Under an external force, the activation button drives the guide piece, such that they together move to a first position and a second position. Further, the fastener is rotatably disposed on the electronic device and has a hidden position accommodated within the electronic device or a fastening position rotatably exposed from the electronic device. Besides, a shaft lever that can be extended into the guiding slot is disposed on one side of the fastener. When the activation button is located at the first or second position, the guide piece drives the fastener to move along the guiding slot, such that the fastener is located at the hidden or fastening position.
According to the above object, the present invention further discloses a hidden fastening structure for electronic devices, which comprises a first body, a second body, an actuator, and a fastener. The first body has a fastening slot, while the second body is pivotally connected to the first body. The actuator is movably disposed on the second body and comprises an activation button and a guide piece with a guiding slot. Under an external force, the activation button drives the guide piece and together move to a first position and a second position. Moreover, the fastener is rotatably disposed on the second body and has a hidden position accommodated within the second body or a fastening position rotatably exposed from the second body. Besides, a shaft lever that can be extended into the guiding slot is disposed on one side of the fastener. When the activation button is disposed at the first or second position, the guide piece drives the fastener to move along the guiding slot, such that the fastener is disposed at the hidden or fastening position.
The hidden fastening structure disclosed by the present invention not only can reduce the amount of the elements required in the prior art, thereby simplifying the structural configuration, but also convenient and simple to operate, and particularly, it is easy for a user to rotate the fastener by applying forces in the horizontal direction, so as to perform fastening and releasing operations. Moreover, the manufacturing process is simple, and thus the manufacturing cost is reduced.
The detailed features and advantages of the present invention are discussed below in detail through the following embodiments. It is easy for any skilled in the art to understand the technical content of the present invention and to implement accordingly. Furthermore, with reference to the content disclosed in the specification, claims, and drawings, the relevant objects and advantages of the present invention are apparent to those skilled in the art.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below for illustration only, which thus is not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a structure of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a structure of a guide piece according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the appearance of a notebook.
FIG. 4A is a schematic view of the using status when the present invention is applied to a notebook.
FIG. 4B is another schematic view of the using status when the present invention is applied to a notebook.
FIG. 5A is a schematic view of positioning an activation button according to the present invention.
FIG. 5B is another schematic view of positioning the activation button according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The hidden fastening structure disclosed by the present invention is applied to an electronic device, which can be, but not limited to, a tablet PC or a notebook, and any device that can be correspondingly closed or opened may utilize the technology disclosed in the present invention. A notebook is taken as an application embodiment in the following detailed description of the present invention.
Please refer to FIG. 1 of an exploded view of a hidden fastening structure of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , a hidden fastening structure 10 comprises an actuator 11 and a fastener 15 . The actuator 11 comprises an activation button 13 and a guide piece 14 . The activation button 13 is provided with a key body 131 at one side, and a fastening part 132 at the other side. The guiding slot 141 is disposed at the guide piece 14 , and a fastening hole 142 is disposed corresponding to the fastening part 132 . A shaft lever 151 is disposed at one side of the fastener 15 which corresponds to the guiding slot 141 , and a pivot shaft 152 is disposed at the other side. Besides, an inverted hook 154 is formed at one end of the fastener 15 .
Please refer to FIG. 2 of a schematic view of a guide piece according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2 , the activation button 13 in the actuator 11 is embedded into the fastening hole 142 in the guide piece 14 via the fastening part 132 . The fastening hole 142 is adjacent to the guiding slot 141 . A first positioning hole 1411 and a second positioning hole 1412 are further disposed at two opposite ends of the guiding slot 141 . The guiding slot 141 allows the shaft lever 151 of the fastener 15 to be extended.
Please refer to FIG. 3 , it shows an operation status of a notebook 30 . The notebook 30 has a first body 32 and a second body 33 . The first body 32 is either a host or a display screen. Likewise, the second body 33 is either a display screen or a host corresponding to the first body 32 . In the present invention, the first body 32 is a display screen and the second body 33 is a host. The first body 32 has a bottom wall 322 , a top wall 323 corresponding to the bottom wall 322 , and a side wall 324 disposed between the bottom wall 322 and the top wall 323 . A fastening slot 3221 is formed in the bottom wall 322 . The surface of the second body 33 has a panel 332 with a plurality of keys 333 accommodated therein, and a sliding slot 335 is correspondingly disposed on one side of the panel 332 . An opening 336 is formed in the panel 332 corresponding to the fastening slot 3221 . The activation button 13 protrudes from the sliding slot 335 via the key body 131 . Moreover, the second body 33 is pivotally connected to the first body 32 , such that the first body 32 and the second body 33 are correspondingly closed and opened. When the first body 32 is intended to cover the second body 33 , the bottom wall 322 approaches and substantially contacts the panel 332 of the first body 32 .
Please refer to FIGS. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 A, and 4 B, since the activation button 13 is movably disposed on the second body 33 , and the activation button 13 is embedded in the fastening hole 142 via the fastening part 132 , when being applied with an external force, the activation button 13 drives the guide piece 14 and together move to a first position P 1 or a second position P 2 . The pivot shaft 152 on the other side of the fastener 15 is disposed on a fixing bracket 331 of the second body 33 , such that the other side of the fastener 15 is pivotally connected to the fixing bracket 33 - 1 , and thereby the fastener 15 rotates relative to the second body 33 . When the activation button 13 moves along the sliding slot 335 from the first position P 1 to the second position P 2 under an external force, it simultaneously drives the guide piece 14 to move from the first position P 1 to the second position P 2 , and the guide piece 14 further drives the fastener 15 to move along the guiding slot 141 . The fastener 15 glides within the guiding slot 141 via the shaft lever 151 , i.e., the shaft lever 151 glides from the first positioning hole 1411 to the second positioning hole 1412 , as shown in FIG. 2 . As such, the fastener 15 rotates relative to the second body 33 to protrude from the opening 336 , i.e., moving from a hidden position P 3 accommodated within the second body 33 to a fastening position P 4 outside the second body 33 , as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B . Likewise, if the activation button 13 is intended to move from the second position P 2 to the first position P 1 , the guide piece 14 drives the fastener 15 to move along the guiding slot 141 . The fastener 15 glides within the guiding slot 141 via the shaft lever 151 , i.e., the shaft lever 151 glides from the second positioning hole 1412 to the first positioning hole 1411 , such that the fastener 15 rotates relative to the second body 33 , i.e., moving from the fastening position P 4 outside the second body 33 to the hidden position P 3 accommodated within the second body 33 .
When the first body 32 is intended to cover the second body 33 , the bottom wall 322 approaches and substantially contacts the panel 332 of the first body 32 . At this time, the activation button 13 located at the first position P 1 is pushed, such that the shaft lever 151 of the fastener 15 is located at the second positioning hole 1412 . The activation button 13 is located at the second position P 2 , and the fastener 15 is located at the fastening position P 4 , such that the fastener 15 is fastened to the fastening slot 3221 via the inverted hook 154 . When the second body 33 is intended to rotate relative to the first body 32 to make the first body 32 be released from the second body 33 , the activation button 13 at the second position P 2 is pushed, such that the shaft lever 151 of the fastener 15 is positioned at the first positioning hole 1411 . As such, the activation button 13 is located at the first position P 1 , the fastener 15 is located at the hidden position P 3 , such that the fastener 15 is removed from the fastening slot 3221 via the inverted hook 154 and then released from the fastening slot 3221 .
Please refer to FIGS. 5A and 5B . FIG. 5A is a schematic view of positioning an activation button according to the present invention. FIG. 5B is another schematic view of positioning the activation button according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5A , the activation button 13 is further provided with a plurality of positioning slots 133 A, and a positioning salient point 338 A is disposed on the second body 33 corresponding to each of the positioning slots 133 A. When the activation button 13 is pushed to perform the fastening operation, each of the positioning salient points 338 A is sequentially embedded in each of the positioning slots 133 A. As shown in FIG. 5B , the activation button 13 is further provided with a plurality of positioning salient points 133 B, and positioning slots 338 B are disposed on the second body 33 corresponding to each of the positioning salient points 133 B. When the activation button 13 is pushed to perform the fastening operation, each of the positioning salient points 133 B is sequentially embedded in each of the positioning slots 338 B.
The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.
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A hidden fastening structure applied to an electronic device is provided, which comprises a actuator and a fastener controlled by the actuator, wherein the fastener is rotatably disposed on the electronic device. When the actuator is pushed by external forces in the horizontal direction, the fastener is driven to rotate about the electronic device, thereby providing a hidden position accommodated within the electronic device or a fastening position outside the electronic device.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to semiconductor integrated circuit devices and more particularly charge pump boost circuits. The invention is particularly applicable to dynamic random access memory devices ("DRAMs") in which the charge pump is used for providing current to voltage-sensing amplifiers ("sense amps") which are part of the integrated circuits.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Even though semiconductor integrated circuit devices, including the present invention, are comprised of various materials which are either conductive, insulating or semiconductive electrically, such circuit devices are usually simply referred to as "semiconductor devices." One of the semiconductive materials typically used is silicon, which is utilized in either single-crystal silicon form or in poly-crystalline silicon form (i.e., as "polysilicon" or "poly").
In the operation of certain semiconductor devices, it is necessary to "draw up" a node of the sense amps to a potential above V CC , the basic operating voltage of the device. In the context of the present invention, these nodes to be drawn up occur on isolation ("iso") devices on an array of a memory device and on word lines for an array. Memory devices with word lines, which use such iso devices on an array, include DRAMs. A conventional arrangement of DRAM memory cells with a sense amp is shown in FIG. 1, which is discussed in greater detail hereinafter. Other types of memory devices, such as static RAMs and video RAMs also may have similar circuit arrangements. An iso device operates to isolate, electrically, circuitry for providing digits during a "digit load" from a sense amp so that during digit load the sense amp can amplify the digit load signal faster without having to first overcome the effects of a directly coupled load. More specifically, where the iso device comprises an n-channel transistor connected in series along a digit line, the iso device can be used to control the RC loading on the sense amp. By turning the iso device to the OFF state, the digit line is separated into two pans, each pan presenting a reduced RC load in comparison with the load of the whole digit line as is presented to the sense amp when the iso device transistor in the ON state.
Generally, with respect to the design of iso devices, it is known that "gating" an iso device with a higher potential, i.e., increasing V GS speeds (i.e., reduces) read time and reduces the required size of the iso device. Typically, in a DRAM, the iso device is used with either multiplexed or non-multiplexed sense amps. In the case of multiplexed sense amps, reducing the size of the iso device (by increasing V GS ) allows the circuit layout to be configured with the iso-devices "on pitch" (two pitch) rather than in a four pitch pattern. This simplifies layout design because the two pitch layout provides a configuration in which, for each sense amp, both iso devices are individually aligned with that sense amp. With four pitch layout patterns, more than one sense amp must be balanced as a unit. The decrease in device width is obtained because increasing potential to gate gives the device a greater effective electrical transistor width as is necessary to keep discharge time short and response speed high.
In the prior art, bootstrapping had been used in order to charge nodes of a circuit (such as iso nodes) to an increased potential. A bootstrap circuit provides an increased voltage level at a particular time in response to a particular sequence of events, such as the receipt of a series of timing signals. A charge pump circuit, on the other hand, provides a continuous output and an increased potential. The continuous high-potential output of a charge pump circuit essentially means that the charge pump's output is not especially dynamic and that the timing sensitivities of the output do not limit its utility in providing elevated voltage to circuit nodes. This is particularly important when a high-potential node is used (as is frequently the case) for the word line of a DRAM memory device, since the timing for selecting and addressing the word line is critical to the access speed of the DRAM. Because the bootstrap circuit provides the increased voltage in a timed manner, individual bootstrap circuits must be provided for each of several nodes, each of which requires current at elevated potentials at specific different times. The charge pump, with its continuous output, can be used for supplying current to any of these nodes without similar timing restrictions.
Also, unlike bootstrap circuits, charge pumps do not involve problems of proximate spacing. A bootstrap circuit is positioned by the portion of the device which obtains elevated potential from that bootstrap circuit, that individual bootstrap circuit being dedicated to a particular driven circuit. Because bootstrap circuits are dedicated to particular driven circuits and positioned thereby to facilitate the operation of the particular driven circuit, the amount of total effective circuit area of the driven circuits is necessarily increased. This increase could occur even where the driven circuits include relatively small individual transistors. Charge pumps can provide elevated potential to many nodes and need not be positioned proximately.
Prior art charge pumps consist of an oscillator and capacitor. The use of an oscillator and capacitor along with a single clamp circuit provides a relatively constant elevated potential, but is somewhat inefficient when compared to a bootstrap circuit.
With respect to additional design considerations, an ideal auxiliary circuit for performing a function such as voltage elevation should automatically respond to circuit conditions which make the auxiliary circuit unsuitable for its application. For example, a voltage boosting circuit would ideally attenuate its increased potential output or be bypassed as external system voltage becomes sufficiently high to make the use of the boosting circuit undesirable.
U.S. Pat Nos. 5,023,465 and 5,038,325 describe charge pumps in which a minimum potential is maintained by providing a bypass circuit at the charge pumps's outputs, which include an overvoltage shutdown circuit that functions to disable the charge pumps when output potential exceeds a predetermined level. In each case, the auxiliary circuits to the charge pumps do not change the functional performance of charge pump circuitry itself, while that circuitry is in operation.
An additional circuitry feature, which does affect a basic functional performance characteristic of a charge pump, relates to the oscillator frequency. Certain DRAM parts made by the assignee of the present invention, Micron Technology, Inc., for example, have been designed with a metal mask option which permits production changes in the oscillation frequency of the oscillator used to drive the DRAM charge pump. Such a design allows the charge pump to be set with respect to (1) the time required to achieve an elevated voltage, and (2) the elevated voltage attainable, by selecting the charge pump's drive frequency from among available frequencies. This feature only affects the initial selection of the drive frequency on a one-time basis, however, usually prior to fabrication.
Accordingly, the known practices for using a charge pump circuit to provide elevated voltage have benefits over bootstrap circuits, but have disadvantages with respect to efficiency, and responsiveness to contingencies during operation and in multi-product design. The present invention addresses the aforementioned problem confronted using prior art charge pump circuits.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, an integrated circuit device includes a charge pump to provide current at a potential which is greater than a supply potential. The current is supplied to certain nodes on the integrated circuit device in order to enhance the performance of the integrated circuit device.
When used with an integrated circuit device, such as a DRAM, the current from the charge pump may be supplied to any of several nodes on isolation devices and nodes on word lines. This allows the nodes to be operated at an elevated potential, thereby improving the performance of the DRAM. This enhanced performance is achieved without substantially tailoring the design of the charge pump to match any particular isolation device or word line nodes, and while maintaining sufficient separation between the charge pump circuit and nodes of the DRAM to be driven, and flexibility in the charge pump design so that, in the event that the use of the charge pump proves to be inopportune, the charge pump can be bypassed by minor changes in the masks used to produce the integrated circuit device. This configuration allows the same basic mask layout to be used in different DRAMs designed to operate under different parameters.
Likewise, in accordance with the principles and teaching of this invention, and in keeping with one of its aspects, the charge pump is provided with an overvoltage shutoff circuit. The overvoltage shutoff circuit permits the charge pump to operate under conditions of low supply voltage when an elevated voltage is needed from the charge pump, but allows charge pump to be effectively bypassed when supply voltage is sufficiently high to make bypass desirable.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the charge pump is designed to operate at a higher efficiency by the use of a pair of clamp circuits. An oscillator provides an output to a pair of capacitors. Each capacitor is bypassed respectively by one of the clamp circuits, and the clamp circuits are separately timed. The output of the first capacitor is also connected to an output transistor which is gated by the second clamp circuit connected in parallel to the second capacitor. The controlled gating of the output transistor permits the clamp circuit to maintain a continuous output at an elevated potential, while reducing power loss caused by impedances within the charge pump circuit.
By using the charge pump as a source of elevated potential, the circuit layout of the DRAM array is simplified and the potential boosting circuitry can be located outside of the array, on the periphery of the integrated circuit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 shows a conventional configuration of sense amps in a DRAM array;
FIG. 2 schematically shows a configuration of a charge pump;
FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a charge pump with overcharge protection, which can be constructed with an oscillator circuit made in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a detailed schematic diagram showing the oscillator circuit for a charge pump according to the present invention;
FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic diagrams showing the first and second delay circuits of FIG. 4 in greater detail; and
FIG. 7 is a timing diagram showing the relationship of node potential and oscillator frequency for the operation of a charge pump constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIG. 1, a sense amp 11 is connected between Digit and Digit* lines 13 and 15 on a DRAM array. Digit and Digit* lines 13 and 15 are connected to an array of memory cells, such as cells 21-28, which are also shown.
The memory cells 21-28 are connected to Digit and Digit* lines 13 and 15 through word lines, such as word line 31, comprising the gate of the transistor associated with one of memory cells 21-28. Iso devices 33 and 35 are used to gate the current between the sense amp 11 and either of the Digit and Digit* lines 13 and 15 in order to permit the sense amp 11, which is a differential amplifier, to sense the relative levels of the Digit and Digit* lines 13 and 15. By selectively gating one of the memory cells 21-28 to either of Digit and Digit* lines 13 and 15, it is possible to detect the memory storage level in the memory cell. The memory storage level of the selected memory cell on the connected line will be either higher or lower than the potential of the other and unconnected line. The bit represented by the level of the selected cell is a logical high (one) or low (zero), depending on whether it is higher or lower, respectively, than the level of the unconnected line.
In order to increase the sensitivity of the differential amp 11 and to permit the differential amp 11 to more rapidly respond to the differential potential between Digit and Digit* lines 13 and 15, the iso devices 33 and 35 must have a relatively large effective transistor width. One way to accomplish effectively larger transistor width without actually increasing the physical size of iso devices 33 and 35 is to gate the iso devices 33 and 35 at a slightly elevated potential, i.e., to have V GS greater than V CC . Having V GS greater than V CC reduces resistance between gate and source, thereby increasing effective transistor width.
That is, preferably, the gating of iso devices 33 and 35 of the higher V GS potential is by means of a signal line to iso devices 33 and 35. The inclusion of the signal line, which is part of an address circuit and makes the iso devices larger, involves further size considerations and requires a specific design trade off; as a rule, smaller iso devices advantageously increase sensing speed but cause a disadvantageous increase in the time required for Digit and Digit* lines to fully discharge to ground. Bigger iso devices discharge more quickly, allowing Digit and Digit* lines to be written to opposite states faster, but yield a decrease in sensing speed. However, the slow discharge problem associated with a smaller iso device of a given desired drive ability can be addressed by elevating V GS . Thus, addressing the reduced-resistance and time-to-discharge issues by elevating V GS results in a relatively smaller iso device which is easier to design into high density circuitry.
With respect to other features of the context in which the invention is applicable, FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an auxiliary circuit for elevating potential at a circuit node. The node 43 at which the auxiliary circuit is coupled to the node to be elevated has an inherent capacitance, indicated by capacitor 45, resulting primarily from the line capacitance of the load. The amount of inherent capacitance represented by capacitor 45 may be unpredictable until the circuit is constructed, but this capacitance is believed to stabilize the potential from the auxiliary circuit and, in effect, function as an integral part of the auxiliary circuit. The charge pump of the present invention provides a way to vary the frequency and, thus, variation in the inherent and useful capacitance of the charge pump is possible. However, an inherent capacitance exists and will be maintained for any frequency choice.
FIG. 3 shows a basic circuit for a charge pump into which the present invention can be incorporated. This circuit is described in the assignee's U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,023,465 and 5,038,325. This circuitry is used in a preferred embodiment of the invention which further includes the oscillator described in detail below with reference to FIG. 4.
The charge pump 51 includes an oscillator 53 that is powered by a signal level voltage source V CC . The oscillator 53 provides its output to a pulse circuit 54. The pulse circuit 54 responds to the oscillator 53 in a manner which results in the pulse circuit 54 providing a potential output at an output node 63 at a boosted level V CCP as compared to the signal level voltage source V CC in response to an oscillating signal from the oscillator 53. The pulse circuit 54 includes three switching circuits illustrated as a first clamp circuit 61, a second clamp circuit 62, and a transistor 57. The clamp circuits 61, 62 are connected across capacitors 55, 56, respectively.
The charge pump 51 is designed to operate at a higher efficiency by the use of the pair of clamp circuits 61, 62. The oscillator 53 provides an output to the capacitors 55, 56. Each capacitor 55, 56 is bypassed respectively by one of the clamp circuits 61, 62, and the clamp circuits 61, 62 are separately timed. The output of the first capacitor 55 is also connected to the transistor 57, which is gated the second clamp circuit 62. The controlled gating of the transistor 57 permits the charge pump to maintain a continuous output at an elevated potential V CCP with respect to the signal level voltage source V CC , while reducing power loss caused by impedances within the charge pump circuit 51.
A decoupling capacitor 46 is coupled to the output node 63 to help maintain a steady boosted output. A potential limiting circuit 52 is coupled between the output node 63 and the oscillator 53 to prevent the potential at the output node 63 from exceeding a predetermined value. If the potential provided by the charge pump 51 at the output node 63 is inadequate, a diode-connected transistor 58 is used to bypass the charge pump 51.
In order to reduce operating current in the semiconductor device, it is desired to determine the minimum power and corresponding frequency required to provide a sufficient boosted potential output from the charge pump to the device. The minimum frequency is a function of the physical parameters of the component circuit elements, and may be variably and dynamically set by adjusting the frequency of oscillator 53. By so doing, it is possible to construct a charge pump which, if operated at a first frequency, provides a reduced output, and if operated at a second higher frequency, provides an increased output. The present invention provides a means to control the output of the charge pump in the aforementioned manner.
With respect to power requirements for a DRAM, it is known that different read and write cycles cause an increase or decrease in power demand, and that the need for an increased charge pump output also can be caused by changes in supply potential V CC . However, it is not necessary in making the charge pump responsive to determine dynamically the state of all power demand variables. It is sufficient for a dynamically responsive charge pump to determine a fixed number, for example, two load states to which the charge pump output (V CC reg) can be made to correspond. It is necessary to determine the maximum load at which a boosted output of the charge pump (V CC reg) must be provided; and it is advantageous to determine a steady state or quiescent operating mode, during which V CC reg) is provided to a reduced load. With the present invention, the output of charge pump 51 is adjusted to correspond to load states by adjusting the oscillator frequency of oscillator 53 used to drive the pulse circuit 54. This is preferably accomplished by selectively bypassing a portion of the ring oscillator circuitry of oscillator 53 in accordance with the output potential or output load of the charge pump 51.
FIG. 4 shows a configuration of the oscillator 53 in which a ring oscillator 71 includes a primary loop 73 and a secondary loop portion 74. As will be seen, the primary loop 73 functions alone during a fast mode of operation, and it functions in combination with the secondary loop portion 74, to form a larger loop, during a slow mode of operation.
Primary loop 73 consists of a NOR gate 83 and a first plurality of invertors 85. The circuit is effectively a delay line which transmits pulses to an output node 91. Pulse signals at the output node 91 are either transmitted through the secondary loop portion 74 and back to primary loop 73 through NOR gate 83 or through transistors 95 and 96 back to only primary loop 73 through NOR gate 83. In either case, the receipt of the pulse signal at NOR gate 83 results in the signal being transmitted through the first plurality of invertors 85, and therefore results in a repetitively pulsed output at the output node 91. The number of invertors comprising plurality 85 should be EVEN; the plurality may comprise, for example, 20 invertors. This pulsed output is used as an oscillator or pulse signal to drive the pulse circuit 54 of the charge pump 51 (see FIG. 2).
Transistors 95 and 96 form a pan of a bypass circuit, which includes lines 97 and 98, for allowing transmission of pulses from the output node 91 to NOR gate 83, bypassing secondary loop portion 74.
Secondary loop portion 74 consists of a NAND gate 103 and a second plurality of invertors 105. Pulse signals at the output node are provided to the NAND gate 103, which in turn provides signals to the second plurality of invertors 105. The number of invertors comprising plurality 105 should be ODD; the plurality may comprise, for example, 17 invertors. The second plurality of invertors 105 provide an input, at node 109, to NOR gate 83. The secondary loop portion effectively delays the pulses at the output node 91 from being transmitted to NOR gate 83, thereby slowing the pulse repetition rate, and therefore, reducing the oscillation frequency at the output node 91.
When secondary loop portion 74 is not bypassed and operates to reduce the oscillation frequency at the output node 91, the bypass circuit through transistors 95 and 96 is shut off. This prevents signals being transmitted directly back to NOR gate 83 through transistors 95 and 96 at that time. That avoids the faster pulse repetition rate obtained by transmitting pulses through transistors 95 and 96.
For purposes of explanation, NAND gate 103 corresponds to the oscillation control according to the invention. However, the invention can be practiced without NAND gate 103 by using other components. Indeed, any other components which may be used suitably to provide the function of NAND gate 103 in controlling secondary loop portion 74 according to the principles of the present invention are acceptable for use as the oscillation control apparatus.
Transistors 95 and 96 form a pan of a bypass control circuit 111. The bypass circuit (which includes transistors 95 and 96, and lines 97 and 98 and also a series connection of invertors and a delay circuit, which are described below) is activated in response to a sensed potential which corresponds to a predetermined output potential of the charge pump 51. That is, when the potential at the output node 91 is of a certain level relative to the desired output V CCP as described below, the activation of the bypass circuit will take place. As described above in connection with one embodiment, the activation of the bypass circuit increases the oscillation frequency of the ring oscillator 71 by removing secondary loop portion 74 from the operative oscillator loop.
When the output potential V CCP of the charge pump 51 falls below a predetermined level, that indicates that the charge pump 51 must increase its output, and therefore, the ring oscillator 71 must provide an increased oscillation frequency. The increased oscillation frequency will increase the output of the charge pump 51, and consequentially increase V CCP .
While the bypass circuit through transistors 95 and 96 is activated, NAND gate 103 transmits a continuous signal (at a 0 logic level), and therefore the secondary loop portion 74 is made quiescent. An input invertor 113 and a secondary trigger invertor 115 provide a signal to NAND gate 103, which allows NAND gate 103 to respond to signals from the output node 91. Input invertor 113 responds if charge pump output signal V CCP supplied to the invertor 113 is at a predetermined level which is sufficient to trigger the invertor 113. If the potential to V CCP to input invertor 113 is below the predetermined level (of V CCP ), then NAND gate 103 receives a logical 0 and the secondary loop portion 74 is forced quiescent (the continuous 0 logic level). This is the desired result, since in the preferred embodiment, the primary loop 73 does not receive signals from the secondary loop portion 74 when providing the increased oscillation frequency. Bypass control circuit 111 receives the inverted signal and is responsive to the input invertor 113. The bypass control circuit 111 receive the inverted signal from input invertor 113, which is again inverted through invertors 122, 123 and 124. This signal is provided to a First Delay Circuit 125, which causes transistors 95 and 96 to conduct when the potential to input invertor 113 is below the predetermined level of V CCP . As shown in FIG. 5, First Delay Circuit 125 includes NOR gates 127 and 128 and other components, which achieve the above-described control of transistors 95 and 96. First Delay Circuit 125 is configured so that the state of the input to NOR gate 127 will affect the delay of the output from the invertor connected to the output of NOR gate 128, as herein described. When the input to NOR gate 127 goes from HIGH to LOW, the invertor output will go from HIGH to LOW relatively slowly, following a path through all the components of circuit 125. When the input to NOR gate 127 goes from LOW to HIGH, the invertor output transitions from LOW to HIGH with less delay, following a path which bypasses NOR gate 127 and the invertor in series with it and going to NOR gate 128 directly and then to the invertor.
The bypass control circuit 111 causes transistors 95 and 96 to open the bypass circuit when the secondary loop portion 74 is functioning. The bypass control circuit 111 prevents signals being transmitted directly back to NOR gate 83 through transistors 95, 96 at that time. That avoids the faster pulse repetition rate obtained by transmitting pulses through those transistors 95 and 96. A Second Delay Circuit 131 responds to the signal from invertor 124 to ground the outputs of transistors 95 and 96, thereby permitting NOR gate 83 to respond to signals at the output of secondary loop portion 74. This operation of the Second Delay Circuit 131 occurs when bypass control circuit 111 is holding transistors 95 and 96 open. FIG. 6 shows Second Delay Circuit 131 in greater detail. Second Delay Circuit 131 includes NAND gates 133, 135, and 137 and is configured so that the state of the input to NAND gate 133 will affect the delay of the output from the invertor connected to the output of NAND gate 137, as herein described. When the input to NAND gate 133 goes from LOW to HIGH, the invertor output will be delayed through all the devices of the delay circuit. When the input to NAND gate 133 goes from HIGH to LOW, the invertor output will be delayed only briefly, the signal following a path which bypasses NAND gates 133 and 135 and going to NAND gate 137 directly and then to the invertor. The delay realized with the above described delay circuits keep node 98 in a predictable state during transitions between frequencies.
An overvoltage circuit 139 uses diodes 141,142, 143 and 144 to sense a rise in V CCP above a predetermined limit. In that event, a continuous signal is provided to NOR gate 83, causing the primary loop 73 to go quiescent until V CCP drops below the predetermined limit. In the absence of a voltage sufficient to bias diodes 141-144 (i.e., zero volts or anything below the predetermined amount corresponding to the combined bias voltage), diodes 145 and 146 will pull node 147 to ground keeping the oscillator ON. At or above the predetermined voltage, node 147 will rise causing the oscillator to go OFF.
It is anticipated that current from another bypass circuit (not shown) would maintain potential at the output of the charge pump 51 in order to prevent V CCP from dropping to ground. One method of maintaining potential is a diode-connected transistor. The diode connected transistor is an n channel device connected to a supply voltage node V CCP . The transistor will conduct power as long as V CCP <(V CC -V T ). It is off whenever V CCP >(V CC -V T ). This portion of the circuit also helps charge up V CCP on power up.
Oscillator Frequency Output Illustrated
FIG. 7 shows a timing diagram of potential levels generated by the inventive oscillator circuit 71. This diagram represents a computer-generated depiction of the operation of an actual fabricated circuit. The line designated V CCP shows the potential at the input to invertor 113, which is used to drive the oscillator 71. In actuality, the input potential V CCP is in pan controlled by the oscillator 71. Line 91 is the potential at the output node 91.
The left-most side of the diagram shown in FIG. 7 shows the operation of both the primary loop 73 and the secondary loop portion 74. V CCP is at a range at which the ring oscillator 71 is required to operate at a moderate boost mode of operation using primary loop 73 and secondary loop portion 74. This is shown at time period A.
Time period B shows the operation of the circuit when V CCP drops below a predetermined potential. This causes the oscillator 71 to operate in a supplemental boost mode of operation to increase the output of charge pump 51. The secondary loop portion 74 goes quiescent and primary loop 73 oscillates more rapidly as a result of feedback conduction through transistors 95 and 96. The rapid oscillation of the primary loop 73 continues until V CCP increases to above the predetermined potential. The predetermined potential is the potential supplied to the invertor 113 which is sufficient to trigger the invertor 113.
Time period C shows the operation of the ring oscillator 71 when V CCP has again reached the predetermined potential. As in the case of time period A, both primary loop 73 and secondary loop portion 74 are operating, and transistors 95 and 96 open the bypass circuit.
Time period D shows the operation of the overvoltage circuit 139, wherein a continuous signal is provided to NOR gate 83, causing the primary loop 73 to go quiescent until V CCP drops below the predetermined limit. Secondary loop portion 74 is also bypassed. While V CCP is shown rising to substantial levels, it is anticipated that this would not occur during normal operation.
Finally, time period E shows the moderate boost mode of operation, followed by the supplemental boost mode of operation during period F when the potential V CCP drops. While the potential V CCP is shown dropping to 0, it is anticipated that this would normally occur only when a memory part is shut down.
While the invention was developed for use with DRAM memories, it is anticipated that the invention would be useful in other circuits in which a boosted power supply is needed. It is also anticipated that the circuit may be adapted for use with other circuits in which a variable frequency is required.
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An integrated circuit semiconductor device includes a charge pump to provide current at a potential which is greater than a supply potential. The charge pump utilizes an oscillator, which causes the charge pump to cycle, and thereby provide a continuous output at an elevated potential. In order to optimize efficiency of the charge pump, the oscillator is able to change its frequency in response to output potential. In the preferred embodiments, this is accomplished by selectively inserting a supplemental portion into a ring oscillator loop. When used with an integrated circuit device, such as a DRAM, the current from the charge pump may be supplied to nodes on isolation devices and nodes on word lines, thereby improving the performance of the DRAM without substantially changing the circuit configuration of the DRAM array.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to starter systems for motors, and more particularly, to an improved starter system operable to rapidly start a motor.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Conventional engine systems commonly include a starter motor, a flywheel, and a vehicle engine. Responsive to operation of an ignition switch, the starter motor is operable to deliver a force directly to the flywheel of the engine to rotate the flywheel and start the engine.
[0003] While such systems adequately start a vehicle engine, they do not facilitate continual starting and stopping of the vehicle engine because the torque required by the starter motor to rotate the flywheel and start the engine cannot be rapidly generated. In this manner, conventional systems require vehicles to remain running when temporarily stopped such as at traffic lights and railroad crossings.
[0004] Further, while use of a larger starter motor may provide sufficient torque to rapidly and start a vehicle engine on demand, and may significantly reduce disparity in gear ration between the starter motor and flywheel, a larger starter motor typically creates packaging issues within an engine compartment of a vehicle. In addition, implementing a larger starter motor likely requires replacing a standard 12-volt vehicle battery/electrical system with a larger and more expensive 42-volt vehicle battery/electrical system to handle the electrical requirements of the larger starter motor.
[0005] Therefore, a need exists for a starter system arrangement that facilitates rapid and repeated starting (on-demand) of a vehicle engine when a vehicle is temporarily stopped. Additionally, such a starter system capable of operating with a conventional 12-volt vehicle battery is also desirable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Accordingly, the present invention provides an apparatus for improving engine starting wherein the apparatus includes a gearing arrangement in a torque transfer element arranged to momentarily delay driving of an output connected to an engine crankshaft, thereby allowing the torque transfer element to attain maximum rotation speed when driven by an engine starter motor before engine load is applied thereto. In this manner, the present invention provides a kinetic energy accumulator or “storage” arrangement in the torque transfer element operable to allow the output shaft of the starter motor to rotate up to speed for a predetermined period of time prior to transfer of rotational torque to the output.
[0007] In another aspect of the invention, a method for starting an engine is provided and includes providing a starter motor having an output shaft and a planetary gear set driven by the output shaft of the starter motor, rotating the starter motor to accumulate kinetic energy without concurrently driving an output of the planetary gear set, transferring the kinetic energy from the starter motor to the output of the planetary gear set once maximum or desired kinetic energy is achieved, such that the output of the planetary gear set is driven at a reduced rotational speed, and finally, fixing the output of the planetary gear set to a crankshaft of the engine and rotating the crankshaft in response to rotation of the output of the planetary gear set to thereby start the engine.
[0008] 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
[0009] The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a starter system shown operably attached to a vehicle engine;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the starter system of FIG. 1 ;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a side view of the starter system of FIG. 1 in a first position; and
[0013] FIG. 4 is a side view of the starter system of FIG. 1 in a second position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0014] With reference to the figures, a starter system 10 for use with a vehicle engine 12 is provided and includes a starter motor 14 (in the exemplary embodiment the starter motor is arranged to operate in a conventional 12-volt vehicle electrical system), a torque coupler element including a planetary gear set 16 , and a pulley assembly 18 . The starter motor 14 is operable to rotate the planetary gear set 16 in response to an external signal. The planetary gear set 16 is operable to permit the starter motor 14 to accumulate sufficient kinetic energy prior to transmitting a rotational force to the pulley assembly 18 and vehicle engine 12 . In this manner, the planetary gear set 16 is operable to allow starter motor 14 , even if the vehicle electrical system is only a conventional 12-volt system, with the ability to build up a sufficient rotational force prior to engaging the pulley assembly 18 to ensure a sufficient torque is supplied to start the vehicle engine 12 , as will be discussed further below.
[0015] With reference to FIG. 1 , the starter motor 14 is shown operably connected to the planetary gear set 16 . The starter motor 14 includes a main body 20 and an output shaft 22 extending therefrom. The main body 20 is operable to receive an external signal and rotate the output shaft 22 on demand.
[0016] A stop plate 24 is disposed between the main body 20 of the starter motor 14 and includes an elongate planar section 25 and a flared top section 27 . The planar section 25 extends generally along the length of the planetary gear set 16 and terminates at a base of the top section 27 , as best shown in FIG. 2 . The top section 27 includes a first reaction surface 29 and a second reaction surface 31 for interaction with the planetary gear set 16 , as will be discussed further below. The stop plate 24 is fixed relative to the planetary gear seat 16 and the starter motor 14 to an external structure (not shown) such that as the planetary gear set 16 and output shaft 22 rotates, the stop plate 24 is held in position relative thereto.
[0017] The planetary gear set 16 includes a sun gear 26 , a plurality of pinion gears 28 , a ring gear 30 , and a planet carrier 32 . The sun gear 26 is splined for rotation with the output shaft 22 of the starter motor 14 and includes a series of helical teeth 34 . The pinion gears 28 include a series of helical teeth 36 which are in meshed engagement with the helical teeth 34 of the sun gear 26 . As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the pinion gears 28 are axially disposed around the sun gear 26 such that movement of the helical teeth 36 relative to the helical teeth 34 causes the pinion gears 28 to rotate around the sun gear 26 .
[0018] The ring gear 30 axially surrounds the pinion gears 28 and includes an inner surface having a series of helical teeth 38 and a stop arm 40 . As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the helical teeth 38 of the ring gear 30 are in meshed engagement with the helical teeth 36 of the pinion gears 28 . In this manner, as the helical teeth 36 of the pinion gears 28 move relative to the helical teeth 38 of the ring gear 30 , one of the pinion gears 28 or the ring gear 30 will rotate relative to the sun gear 26 , as will be discussed further below. The stop arm 40 extends from a first surface 42 of the ring gear 30 and includes a first engagement surface 44 and a second engagement surface 46 . The first engagement surface 44 is operable to selectively engage the first engagement surface 29 of the stop plate 24 while the second engagement surface 46 is operable to selectively engage the second engagement surface 31 of the stop plate 24 . While helical teeth are disclosed, it should be understood that any arrangement operable to transfer rotational force between the sun gear 26 , pinion gears 28 , and ring gear 30 , such as a frictional engagement, is anticipated and should be considered within the scope of the present invention.
[0019] The planet carrier 32 includes a main body 48 , a plurality of pinion shafts 50 , and a main shaft 52 extending therefrom. The pinion shafts 50 extend from a first face 54 of the main body 48 such that the pinion shafts 50 are rotatably received by each of the pinion gears 28 such that each pinion gear 28 is journally supported by the pinion shafts 50 . The main shaft 52 extends from a second face 56 of the main body 48 generally in an opposite direction to that of the pinion shafts 50 .
[0020] The main body 48 is journally supported by the output shaft 22 of the starter motor 14 such that rotation of the output shaft 22 will not cause rotation of the planet carrier 32 . Specifically, a bore 55 of the main body 48 receives the output shaft 22 generally at the first face 54 , as best shown in FIG. 1 . In this manner, the planet carrier 32 may rotate relative to the output shaft 22 of the starter motor 14 and will rotate each of the pinion gears 28 concurrently as the planet carrier 32 is rotated relative to the output shaft 22 . As can be appreciated, the pinion gears 28 are operable to rotate the planet carrier 32 if a force is applied to the pinion gears 28 relative to the output shaft 22 . Alternatively, the planet carrier 32 is operable to rotate the pinion gears 28 relative to the output shaft 22 if a sufficient force is applied to the planet carrier 32 , as will be discussed further below.
[0021] The pulley assembly 18 is disposed between the planetary gear set 16 and the vehicle engine 12 and includes a first pulley 60 , a second pulley 62 , and a drive belt 64 . The first pulley 60 includes a central bore 66 and a reaction surface 68 axially surrounding an exterior surface 70 of the first pulley 60 . The main shaft 52 of the planet carrier 32 fixedly supports the first pulley 60 , whereby the central bore 66 of the first pulley 60 matingly receives the main shaft 52 of the planet carrier 32 . In this regard, rotation of either the planet carrier 32 or the first pulley 60 will cause rotation of the other of the planet carrier 32 and the first pulley 60 .
[0022] The second pulley 62 is substantially the same as the first pulley 60 . In this manner, a detailed description of the second pulley 62 is unnecessary. The second pulley 62 is fixedly attached to an input shaft 72 of the vehicle engine 12 at the central bore 66 and arranged to rotate therewith of the second pulley 62 .
[0023] The drive belt 64 is received by the exterior surfaces 70 of the first and second pulleys 60 , 62 and engages the reaction surfaces 68 of each of the first and second pulleys 60 , 62 . As can be appreciated, movement of the drive belt 64 along the reaction surfaces 68 of the first and second pulleys 60 , 62 causes the first and second pulleys 60 , 62 to concurrently rotate. In this manner, a force applied to one of the first and second pulleys 60 , 62 will cause the other of the first and second pulleys 60 , 62 to rotate as the force will be transmitted along the drive belt 64 between the first and second pulleys 60 , 62 . It should be understood that while a drive belt 64 is disclosed, any suitable load transfer element such as a drive chain and the like, is anticipated and should be considered within the scope of the present invention.
[0024] In addition to a belt driven system, it is will be understood that the planetary gear set 16 of the present invention could also be used in a direct in-line coupling arrangement. Specifically, the planetary gear set 16 could be directly coupled to the input shaft 72 of the vehicle engine 12 via main shaft 52 of planet carrier 32 .
[0025] With reference to the figures, the operation of the starter system 10 will be described in detail. As previously discussed, the starter system 10 is operable to rotate an input shaft of a vehicle engine 14 in order to start the engine. To begin the start sequence, an external signal is sent to the starter motor 14 , thereby causing the starter motor 14 to rotate output shaft 22 at a predetermined speed. Rotation of the output shaft 22 concurrently causes rotation of the sun gear 26 as the sun gear 26 is fixed for rotation with the output shaft 22 .
[0026] As the sun gear 26 rotates relative to the main body 20 of the starter motor 14 , the pinion gears 28 transfer the rotational motion from the sun gear 26 to the ring gear 30 , thereby causing the ring gear 30 to rotate relative to the main body 20 of the starter motor 14 . At this point, the pinion gears 28 simply transfer the rotational force from the sun gear 26 to the ring gear 30 and do not rotate relative to the main body 20 . In an exemplary embodiment, the sun gear 26 and ring gear 30 can have a gear ratio of approximately 3 : 1 such that for every three rotations of the sun gear 26 , the ring gear rotates one time. In this regard, the sun gear 26 freely rotates relative to the main body 20 of the starter motor 14 without transferring any rotational forces to the planet carrier 32 , pulley system 18 , or the vehicle engine 12 , thereby allowing the sun gear 26 to build up kinetic energy prior to engaging the planet carrier 32 .
[0027] Sufficient rotation of the ring gear 30 will cause the first engagement surface 44 of the stop arm 40 to contact the first reaction surface 29 of the stop plate 24 , thereby restricting further rotation of the ring gear 30 . As the ring gear 30 is abruptly stopped against the stop arm 40 , the pinion gears 28 are caused to instantaneously rotate relative to the ring gear 30 due to the built-up kinetic energy of the rotating output shaft 22 and sun gear 26 . In this regard, the pinion gears 28 will initially rotate with a great deal of force, thereby causing the planet carrier 32 to rotate at a high speed and with a large amount of torque.
[0028] As previously discussed, rotation of the planet carrier 32 causes concurrent rotation of the first pulley 60 . Once the first pulley 60 begins to rotate, the rotational forces 60 exerted thereon are transferred to the second pulley 62 and input shaft 72 of the engine 12 via the drive belt 64 . The rotational force exerted on input shaft 72 is large enough to rapidly turn the input shaft 72 , thereby causing the engine 12 to fire and start very quickly due to the build up kinetic energy of the freely spinning sun gear 26 and the rapid transfer of this energy to the planet carrier 32 .
[0029] As the engine 12 begins to rotate, the input shaft 72 will build up speed to a point where it is rotating at a much faster rate than the output shaft 22 of the starter motor 14 . At this point, power to the output shaft 22 of the starter motor 14 is stopped, thereby causing the sun gear 26 to impart a force on the pinion gear 28 and restrict further rotation of the output shaft 22 . As can be appreciated, such restriction by the sun gear 26 causes the ring gear 30 to disengage the stop arm 40 and rotate such that the first engagement surface 44 disengages the first reaction surface 29 . Such rotation of the ring gear 30 is accomplished by the rotation of the pinion gears 28 relative to the sun gear 26 .
[0030] As the ring gear 30 rotates away from engagement with the first reaction surface 29 of the stop plate 40 , the second engagement surface 46 approaches the second reaction surface 31 of the stop plate 40 . Once the ring gear 30 has sufficiently rotated away from the first reaction surface 29 , the second engagement surface 46 will contact the second reaction surface 31 of the stop plate 40 , thereby restricting further rotation of the ring gear 30 , as best shown in FIG. 4 . At this point, the rotation of the planet carrier 32 will still cause rotation of the pinion gears 28 relative to the ring gear 30 . As previously discussed, the pinion gears 28 are in meshed engagement with the sun gear 26 and ring gear 30 , and as such, rotation of the pinion gears 28 relative to the ring gear 30 cause concurrent rotation of the sun gear 26 . In this manner, the engine 12 is operable to drive the output shaft 22 of the starter motor 14 at very high speeds without damaging the gearing of the planetary gear set 16 . As the engine 12 rotates the output shaft 22 , the starter motor 14 begins to act as an alternator, thereby generating electricity for use with other components associated with the vehicle (not shown).
[0031] As described, the starter system 10 of the present invention allows for the engine 12 to be stopped repeatedly, such as at traffic lights and the like, and is operable to be quickly started when movement of a vehicle is desired. In this regard, fuel can be conserved. In addition, the starter system 10 of the present invention concurrently provides a starter motor 14 with the ability to act as an alternator in response to the vehicle engine 12 rotating the output shaft 22 of the starter motor 14 at high speeds.
[0032] The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.
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An arrangement for starting an engine includes a torque coupler provided between a starter motor and the engine crankshaft. The torque coupler includes a gear mechanism arranged to allow a starter motor to rotate for a period of time prior to transferring rotational torque to the crankshaft to turn the engine over.
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[0001] This invention relates generally to space cooling systems, in particular to apparatus for controlling a space cooling system with respect to the defrost cycle. This application claims benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/485,836 filed on Jul. 10, 2003.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Field of the Invention
[0003] A typical space cooling system includes at least one evaporator system contained within the space that is to be cooled, a condenser system that is located outside of the cooled space, and a compressor positioned between the condenser system outlet and the evaporator system inlet and, finally, an expansion valve which completes the loop joining together the condenser system outlet and the evaporator system inlet. A refrigerant is circulated within the loop which cools the space as follows. The refrigerant is compressed by the compressor which raises the temperature and pressure of the refrigerant. The hot pressurized refrigerant gas then flows through the condenser system which serves as heat exchanger to allow the refrigerant to dissipate the heat of pressurization. The refrigerant condenses into a liquid and then flows through the expansion valve, where the liquid refrigerant moves from a high pressure zone into a low pressure zone, thus expanding and evaporating. In evaporating, the refrigerant becomes cold where it then passes into coils of the evaporator, thus absorbing heat from inside the space that is to be cooled and the cycle then repeats until the space reaches the desired temperature.
[0004] In addition to these major components, additional components are also included. A fan assist the heat transfer from the cooled space to the coils of the evaporator system and another fan is used to assist the heat transfer from the coils of the condenser to outside environment. A negative pressure differential is present on the evaporator outlet when the device is operating in a refrigeration mode thereby suctioning the gas refrigerant to the compressor. Further, thermistor sensors are placed at the inlet and outlet of the evaporator system for measuring the level of superheat across the evaporator. A sensor located on the outlet side of the compressor measures the discharge temperature of compressor. The ambient temperature of the spaced to be cooled is measured by still another sensor. Finally, the need to defrost the evaporator from any ice build-up due to the cooling process is determined by another sensor that is associated with evaporator so that defrosting procedures can be monitored.
[0005] There are two basic options for providing a defrost cycle. U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,248, issued to Derosier on Sep. 3, 1996, discloses the use of a controller to control the operation of a space cooling system. While this device permits the use of an electrically controlled expansion valve, either utilizing an electrically operated solenoid or an electrically operated step motor, Derosier also teaches the use of heater which is activated on a programmed time schedule, either a time between successive defrost cycles or a compressor run time. The use of heater for providing defrost function requires the additional expense of the heater as well as associated valving, piping and supply wiring connections. Additionally, there must a pumpdown condition present before defrost procedures can begin and the fans must remain on during pumpdown.
[0006] Another option is disclosed by Russell of Brea, Calif. in its HIGH SIERRA model refrigeration device. This device teaches the use of reversing valve which permits the elimination of the heater. However, the HIGH SIERRA model requires the use of check valve at the outlet of the compressor and another check valve in the drain pan circuit as well as additional piping and connection fittings. Most importantly, the HIGH SIERRA model does not disclose or suggest the use of an electrical controller which permits, among other things, the use of electrically controlled expansion valve such as taught by Derosier.
[0007] An refrigeration apparatus that has both an electrical controller that responds to evaporator superheat and return air temperature to the expansion valve as well as controls a reversing valve which provides for a defrosting cycle, eliminates the need for electric heaters, check valves, head pressure control valve as well as the associated piping and connections is not found in the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] It is an aspect of the invention to provide a refrigeration system that provides an electrical controller that controls the electric expansion valve and the defrost cycle using a reversing valve.
[0009] It is another aspect of the invention to provide a refrigeration system that eliminates the need for a heater circuit to achieve a defrost of the evaporator system.
[0010] It is still another aspect of the invention to provide a refrigeration system that permits defrosting the evaporator system in less than the time required for a conventional electronic defrost system.
[0011] Further, another aspect of the invention is to provide a refrigeration system that leaves the evaporator coil virtually clean after each defrost cycle.
[0012] It is another aspect of the invention to provide a refrigeration system that eliminates the need for a head pressure control valve.
[0013] Another aspect of the invention is to provide a refrigeration system that eliminates the need for check valves and an expansion valve at the condenser.
[0014] Still another aspect of the invention is to provide a refrigeration system that has less wiring and is less expensive to produce and operate than present devices.
[0015] It is another aspect of the invention to provide a refrigeration system that requires no pumpdown before the defrost cycle has been initiated.
[0016] It is another aspect of the invention to provide a refrigeration system that enables the compressor to run during defrost.
[0017] It is still another aspect of the invention to provide a refrigeration system wherein the need to defrost is determined by the controller and defrost will only occur when it is necessary thus saving energy costs associated with unnecessary defrost.
[0018] Finally, it is another aspect of the invention to provide a refrigeration system that prevents steaming and heat from being introduced into the cooled space during the defrost cycle.
[0019] These and other aspects of the invention will become apparent in light of the detailed description of the invention which follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] FIG. 1 is a schematic of the most basic embodiment of the invention operating during a refrigeration cycle.
[0021] FIG. 2 is a schematic of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 operating during a defrost cycle.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] While certain representative embodiments of the invention have been described herein for the purposes of illustration, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modification therein may be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention. Like parts are referenced in the specification and accompanying figures with the same reference call out numbers. Note that the drawings are not necessarily to scale and that some elements may be larger or smaller or otherwise oriented to more clearly depict the important features of the invention.
[0023] As shown in FIG. 1 . which depicts the basic elements of the invention 10 , the refrigeration cycle is similar to that discussed above for the typical space cooling device discussed in the background. However, note that unlike prior art devices, invention 10 includes both a controller 12 and a reversing valve 24 which are discussed below. Refrigerant (not shown) is compressed by the compressor 26 . The temperature and pressure of the refrigerant is raised. The hot pressurized refrigerant gas then flows through the reversing valve 24 to the condenser system 22 . As above, condenser system 22 functions as a heat exchanger to allow the refrigerant to dissipate the heat of pressurization. The refrigerant condenses into a liquid and then flows through the expansion valve 20 , where the liquid refrigerant moves from a high pressure zone into a low pressure zone, thus expanding and evaporating. Electric expansion valve 20 is preferably a step motor such as manufactured by companies such as Sporlan, Alco, Parker or Danfoss. The refrigerant flow of the electric expansion valve 20 is controlled by controller 12 and is modulated to control the superheat of the evaporator 28 . The superheat of evaporator 28 is determined by measuring sensor 16 and 18 using techniques well known in the art. In evaporating, the refrigerant then passes into coils of the evaporator 28 , thus absorbing heat from inside the space 30 that is to be cooled and the cycle then repeats until the space reaches the desired temperature as provided by sensor 14 .
[0024] The controller 12 can be set to defrost mode that is either electric (using standard heater technology) or reverse cycle (utilizing the instant invention). When the reverse cycle defrost option is selected, the following sequence will be used as shown in FIG. 2 .
[0025] When there is a demand for defrost whether by set time schedule or manual defrost or demand defrost as determined by the controller 12 , the controller 12 sends a signal to reverse valve assembly 24 . Reverse valve assembly 24 is readily available from companies such as Ranco, Alco, Danfoss and Sanhua. This type of valve is typically used on heat pumps. As shown in FIG. 2 , the refrigerant flows change from refrigerating cycle to defrost cycle.
[0026] Simultaneously, the electrical expansion valve 20 is forced open ranging from 40% to 60% of maximum. Controller 12 then checks sensors 16 and 18 . If the temperature at sensor 18 indicates that it is greater than or equal to the defrost termination temperature (DTT), the defrost ends and then goes to a drip mode. The default setting on controller 12 is preferably ranges from 40° F. to approximately 50° F. If 40° F.>Sensor 16 −DTT>20° F., expansion valve 20 is changed ranging from 20% to 30% of the fully open position. The temperature monitored at sensor 16 will keep rising. If 99° F.>sensor 16 >=40° F.+DTT, the controller 12 will again close the expansion valve 20 ranging from 5% to 15% of the fully open position. Sensor 18 will continue to be monitored to determine whether the DTT temperature has been reached. As noted, once it has, the defrost ends. This process will repeat until sensor 18 indicates that the DTT temperature has been reached and then defrost ends.
[0027] The sensor 18 is monitored continuously by controller 12 to determine the coil temperature rise of evaporator 28 relative to the DTT temperature. When the temperature reading on sensor 18 is greater than or equal to the pre-set DTT, defrost is considered to be complete and controller 12 will enter the drip mode and close the expansion valve 20 completely. Compressor 26 may pumpdown the refrigerant and may be cut off by the low-pressure control of compressor 26 . While the compressor 26 is engaged in the pumpdown mode, the evaporator fans (not shown) remain off. Compressor 26 may also be shut off by controller 12 if so wired.
[0028] Reversing valve assembly 24 is not de-energized until the end of the drip mode. The refrigerant flows change from defrost cycle to refrigerating cycle when controller 12 enters the fan delay mode (cool mode if the fan delay mode is skipped) after drip mode. If the pumpdown after a defrost cycle takes longer than drip model, the controller 12 will enter fan delay mode even though the pumpdown may not be completed. For example, if a pumpdown takes 4 minutes to complete and the drip time is pre-set to 3 minutes, when the 3 minute drip time expires, controller 12 will enter fan delay mode and expansion valve 20 will be modulating. Note the compressor 26 may be running through pumpdown mode, drip mode and fan delay mode. A reverse cycle defrost is considered complete when the controller 12 enters the fan delay mode. As noted above, when there is no defrost, all operations are the same as current version of the applicant's electric expansion valve refrigeration control system which is well known in the art.
[0029] Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions would be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein.
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A cooling system that has an electrical controller that controls an electric expansion valve and the defrost cycle using a reversing valve. The need for heater circuit to achieve defrost is eliminated. The system permits the defrosting the evaporator system in less time required for conventional defrost methods. The cooling system also eliminates the need for a head pressure control valve and check valves. Due to the less wiring and lower operating costs, the invention provides significant cost savings.
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This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/748,624, filed Dec. 22, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,608.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to methods and devices for improving indoor air quality. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and devices for controlling humidity and/or for removing volatile organic compounds and particulate material from the inside space.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Indoor air quality is a subject of increasing concern. Indoor air quality is impacted by several air contaminants such as humidity, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), and particulate material. While it is desirable to control the level of humidity at a precise level, it is also desirable to cause a high rate of removal of the other components such as VOCs and particulate materials.
Normally, indoor air quality in commercial buildings is managed by controlling the fresh air ventilation rate. Leakage and sometimes outside combustion air supply provides sufficient refresh air supply for most residential structures. However, it will be more important to control the air composition as homes and buildings become tighter and as concern over the presence of organic impurities and particulates becomes greater. Currently, carbon adsorption, sometimes known as carbon filtration, is used to remove organic vapors from air streams. The strategy is usually to add enough carbon granules to an adsorption bed to remove organic compound impurities from the air for a period of weeks or months. Under normal circumstances, the carbon is used for three to six months and then replaced. Unfortunately, the performance and usage of this type of system is limited by cost of purchase and disposal of large carbon canisters and by the amount of back-pressure that can be tolerated in the forced air system.
Although it is important to remove organic impurities from building air, it is also important to remove or add the proper amount of water vapor. Humidity control is necessary because air that is too wet causes mold and other undesirable contaminants. This generates biologically-derived organic compounds and air dispersed biological molecules, which can cause health and building structure problems. Air that is too dry causes a decrease in the function of mucous membranes, which decreases human disease resistance.
While organic compounds typically should be removed at a level as high as possible, humidity should be controlled within a range, such as between 40-60% relative humidity. In the winter, humidity can be increased to this range by use of wicking or ultrasonic dispersion methods in commercial and residential buildings. In the summer, humidity can be decreased to this range by over-cooling the air at the cooling coil in the main air handling unit, and then re-heating the over-cooled air to a more reasonable supply level. The air is over-cooled to wring out the desired excess water. Reheat is often accomplished with a heating coil located in the main air handler and immediately downstream of the cooling coil (central reheat), or with smaller re-heat coils located in the discharge/supply registers (called terminals) located within the occupied space. A limitation of this approach is that over-cooling the air and then re-heating the over-cooled air can consume significant energy. Further, the cost and complexity of such systems can be high. For these and other reasons, the humidity in residential buildings is typically not controlled during the cooling season.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides methods and devices for improving indoor air quality by providing a robust, relatively simple system that can control the air quality in buildings during both the heating and cooling seasons. In doing so, the present invention can control the humidity and remove volatile organic compounds and particulate material from the inside space.
In one illustrative embodiment of the present invention, and during a first cycle, a first air stream is directed through an air treatment module and back into the inside space. During this first cycle, a desiccant in the air treatment module adsorbs water, volatile organic compounds and/or particulate material from the first air stream. During a second cycle, a second air stream is directed through the air treatment module to a location outside of the inside space. The second air stream is preferably heated relative to the first air stream so that at least a portion of the adsorbed water, volatile organic compounds and/or particulate material are desorbed from the desiccant into the second air stream. The second air stream carries the desorbed water, volatile organic compounds and/or particulate material to a location outside the inside space.
The air treatment module preferably includes a chamber with an inlet, a first outlet and a second outlet. A first valve selectively obstructs the first outlet, and a second valve selectively obstructs the second outlet. The first air stream is directed through the air treatment module and back into the inside space by closing the first valve and opening the second valve. During this cycle, the air treatment module adsorbs water, volatile organic compounds and/or particulate material from the first air stream.
The second air stream is then directed through the air treatment module to a location outside of the inside space by opening the first valve and closing the second valve. The second air stream can be heated to a temperature above the first air stream in any number of ways, including for example, activating a heating element during a cooling cycle, or restricting the flow of the second air stream during a heating cycle. Other illustrative embodiments are contemplated, as further described below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a system for treating air within an inside space in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an additional view of the system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a graph showing desiccant water inventory on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis;
FIG. 4 is a graph showing desiccant water inventory on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis;
FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic representation of an additional illustrative embodiment of a system in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of yet another illustrative embodiment of a system in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 7 is an additional view of the system of FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic representation of yet another illustrative embodiment of a system in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic representation of yet another illustrative embodiment of a system in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic representation of yet another illustrative embodiment of a system in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 11 is a plan view of an illustrative embodiment of a panel in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 12 is a plan view of an additional illustrative embodiment of a panel in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a fiber in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a fiber or granule 892 in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a fiber 992 in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The following detailed description should be read with reference to the drawings, in which like elements in different drawings are numbered in like fashion. The drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, depict selected embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. In some cases, the drawings may be highly diagrammatic in nature. Examples of constructions, materials, dimensions, and manufacturing processes are provided for various elements. Those skilled in the art will recognize many of the examples provided have suitable alternatives which may be utilized.
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of an inside space 20 and a system 100 in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. The system 100 may be used to treat the air within the inside space 20 by removing vapors (e.g., organic vapors), gases, and particles. Additionally, the system 100 may be used to humidify and de-humidify the air within the inside space 20 . Additional embodiments of a system in accordance with the present invention may also be used to ventilate the inside space 20 by introducing fresh air into the inside space 20 .
In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1, the system 100 includes a controller 102 that is coupled to a motor 104 . The motor 104 is coupled to a blower 106 . The blower 106 is in fluid communication with a first duct 110 and a second duct 112 . The blower 106 may be used to draw air from the inside space 20 through the first duct 110 and return air to the inside space 20 via second duct 112 .
An air treatment module 120 is disposed in fluid communication with the blower 106 and the inside space 20 . The air treatment module 120 includes a plurality of walls 122 defining a chamber 124 , and an inlet 126 in fluid communication with the chamber 124 . The air treatment module 120 also includes a first outlet 128 , a second outlet 130 , a first valve 132 , and a second valve 134 . Each outlet is in fluid communication with the chamber 124 . The first valve 132 is preferably adapted to selectively obstruct the first outlet 128 . Likewise, the second valve 134 is preferably adapted to selectively obstruct the second outlet 130 . The first valve 132 is coupled to a first actuator 136 and the second valve 134 is coupled to a second actuator 138 .
In FIG. 1, it may be appreciated that the controller 102 is coupled to the first actuator 136 and the second actuator 138 . The controller 102 is preferably adapted to selectively actuate the first valve 132 and the second valve 134 . In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the first valve 132 is in a closed position and the second valve 134 is in an open position. With the first valve 132 and the second valve 134 in the positions shown in FIG. 1, a first air stream 140 passes through the chamber 124 and is directed into the inside space 20 .
FIG. 2 is an additional view of the system 100 of FIG. 1 . In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the first valve 132 has been actuated to an open position by the first actuator 136 and the controller 102 . The second valve 134 has been actuated to a closed position by the second actuator 138 and the controller 102 . With the first valve 132 and the second valve 134 in the positions shown in FIG. 2, a second air stream 142 passes through the chamber 124 and is directed to a location outside of the inside space 20 . In FIG. 2, this location has been labeled VENT.
An air treatment matrix 144 is disposed within the chamber 124 of the air treatment module 120 . In the embodiment of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the air treatment matrix 144 includes a first panel 146 , a second panel 148 and a third panel 150 . In a preferred embodiment, the first panel 146 is adapted to remove particles from the air that passes through the chamber 124 . The second panel 148 is adapted to adsorb water vapor from the air that passes through the chamber 124 , and the water vapor adsorbed by the second panel 148 may be selectively desorbed in a process which may be referred to as regeneration. The third panel 150 is adapted to adsorb organic vapors from the air that passes through the chamber 124 . In a particularly preferred embodiment, the organic vapors adsorbed by the third panel 150 may be selectively desorbed in a process which may be referred to as regeneration. The number, type, and relative position of the panels may be varied, as many embodiments of the air treatment matrix 144 are contemplated without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Various illustrative embodiments of panels for use in the air treatment matrix 144 will be described below.
The system 100 also includes a furnace 152 having a heat exchanger 154 that is in fluid communication with the blower 106 and the air treatment module 120 . The furnace 152 may be used to heat an air stream passing through the heat exchanger 154 . In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the furnace 152 is coupled to the controller 102 . The controller 102 is preferably adapted to selectively activate the furnace 152 .
The system 100 may be used to remove vapors from the air in the inside space 20 . One method of removing vapors from the air of the inside space 20 may proceed as follows:
1) Directing a first air stream 140 (shown in FIG. 1) from the inside space 20 through the air treatment module 120 and back into inside space 20 , wherein air treatment module 120 adsorbs vapor from first air stream 140 .
2) Positioning the first valve 132 and the second valve 134 so that a second air stream 142 (shown in FIG. 2) passing through the air treatment module 120 is directed to a location outside of the inside space 20 .
3) Activating the furnace 152 to heat second air stream 142 so that second air stream 142 has a temperature that is higher than the temperature of the first air stream 140 , wherein at least a portion of vapor adsorbed by the air treatment module 120 is desorbed from the air treatment module 120 and carried away by second air stream 142 . Examples of vapors that may be suitable in some applications include water vapor, organic vapors, and volatile organic compounds (VOC's). Examples of organic vapors include ether vapors, hydrocarbon vapors, aldehyde vapors, ester vapors, ketone vapors, amide vapors, and amine vapors.
In one method in accordance with the present invention, the air treatment matrix 144 is adapted to adsorb water vapor from first air stream 140 . In this method, second air stream 142 may be directed through the air treatment matrix 144 until substantially all of the water adsorbed from first air stream 140 by the air treatment module 120 is desorbed into second air stream 142 . This approach is illustrated in FIG. 3, which is a graph showing desiccant water inventory on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis. In FIG. 3 it may be appreciated that the desiccant water inventory approaches zero during each cycle.
It is to be understood that after the very first cycle, the water content and/or the VOC content will not be zero. Instead, the low point in FIG. 3 will be a characteristic determined by the adsorbent type, regeneration time, and temperature. Similarly, the high point will be determined by the feed composition, adsorption time and temperature. The difference between the low and high contents is the effective dynamic capacity. Thus, the 0% and 100% values in FIG. 3 represent 0% and 100% of the effective dynamic capacity.
Methods in accordance with the present invention are also contemplated in which second air stream 142 is directed through the air treatment matrix 144 until a portion of the water adsorbed from first air stream 140 by the air treatment module 120 is desorbed into the second air stream 142 . This approach is illustrated in FIG. 4, which is a graph showing desiccant water inventory on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis. In FIG. 4 it may be appreciated that some water remains in the desiccant throughout each cycle.
In some applications, it may be desirable to allow some water to remain adsorbed within the air treatment module 120 . For example, in one method, water is intentionally left in the air treatment module 120 , and a gas which is present in first air stream 140 forms an acidic solution with the water present in the air treatment module 120 . This method may be advantageously used to remove gases from the air in the inside space 20 . Examples of gases that may be removed using this approach include carbon dioxide gas, and nitrogen dioxide gas.
FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic representation of an additional illustrative embodiment of a system 200 in accordance with the present invention. The system 200 of FIG. 5 is substantially similar to the system 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2, except that the system 200 includes a third valve 256 . The third valve 256 is coupled to a third actuator 258 that is coupled to a controller 202 . The third valve 256 may be selectively activated to place the blower 206 in fluid communication with air that is outside of the inside space 20 . The controller 202 is preferably adapted to selectively activate the third valve 256 to introduce fresh air into the inside space 20 .
The system 200 of FIG. 5 also includes a temperature transducer 260 that is coupled to the controller 202 and is adapted to supply the controller 202 with a signal which is indicative of the air temperature within the inside space 20 . The system 200 also includes a humidity transducer 262 that is coupled to the controller 202 and is adapted to supply the controller 202 with a signal which is indicative of the humidity of the air within the inside space 20 . The controller 202 may use the signals from the temperature transducer 260 and the humidity transducer 262 as input to control algorithms. It should be appreciated that the system 100 of FIG. 1 may also include the temperature transducer 260 and/or the humidity transducer 262 without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It should also be appreciated that other systems in accordance with the present invention may include the temperature transducer 260 and/or the humidity transducer 262 without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of yet another illustrative embodiment of a system 300 in accordance with the present invention. The system 300 of FIG. 6 includes an air conditioner 364 having a compressor 366 , a condenser 368 and an evaporator 370 . In FIG. 6, a first air stream 340 is shown flowing through the evaporator 370 . The evaporator 370 may be used to cool first air stream 340 before it enters the inside space 20 . In FIG. 6 it may be appreciated that the system 300 includes a fourth valve 372 , a fifth valve 374 , and a sixth valve 376 .
FIG. 7 is an additional view of the system 300 of FIG. 6 . In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the fourth valve 372 , the fifth valve 374 , and the sixth valve 376 have each been actuated by actuators (not shown) so that they direct the flow of a second air stream 342 . The actuators associated with the fourth valve 372 , the fifth valve 374 , and the sixth valve 376 are all preferably coupled to the controller 302 . Second air stream 342 flows past the condenser 368 and through the chamber 324 of the air treatment module 320 . In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the condenser 368 may be used to heat the second air stream 342 .
FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic representation of yet another illustrative embodiment of a system 400 in accordance with the present invention. The system 400 of FIG. 8 includes a furnace 452 having a heat exchanger 454 . The system 400 also includes an air conditioner 464 having a compressor 466 , a condenser 468 and an evaporator 470 . In the diagram shown, the evaporator 470 and heat exchanger 454 are on opposite sides of the chamber. It is contemplated however, that the evaporator 470 and heat exchanger may be placed at or near a single location such as a conventional furnace/air conditioning system. The operation of the system 400 during a cooling season may be described with reference to Table 1 below.
TABLE 1
First
Second
Stage
Compressor
Blower
Valve
Valve
Furnace
Stage
Description
466
406
432
434
452
A
Start
ON
OFF
CLOSED
OPEN
OFF
B
Cooling-dry
ON
ON
CLOSED
OPEN
OFF
D
Cooling-Stop
OFF
ON
CLOSED
OPEN
OFF
E
Regeneration-heating
OFF
ON
OPEN
CLOSED
ON
F
Regeneration-purge
OFF
ON
OPEN
CLOSED
OFF
Stage A of Table 1 is a beginning stage in which the blower 406 is off and the air conditioner compressor 466 is on. During stage B, the blower 406 is turned on so that an air stream flows past the second valve 434 and the evaporator 470 into the inside space 20 . This provides cold air into space 20 . Vapors are preferably adsorbed from the air as the air stream flows through the air treatment matrix 444 . In stage D, the cooling of the air stream is stopped by turning the compressor 466 off.
Stage E is a regeneration/heating stage. In stage E, the first valve 432 is opened and the second valve 434 is closed so that an air stream is directed through the air treatment matrix 444 to a location outside of the inside space 20 . The furnace 452 is turned on so that it heats the air stream. The heated air stream heats the air treatment matrix, causing it to desorb the previously adsorbed vapors. The desorbed vapors are carried by the air stream to a location outside of the inside space 20 . During Stage F, the furnace 452 is turned off, but the flow of the purging air stream continues, preferably allowing the air treatment matrix 444 to cool.
The operation of the system 400 during a heating season may be described with reference to Table 2 below. It may be noted in Table 2, the compressor 466 of the air conditioner 464 typically remains off.
TABLE 2
First
Second
Stage
Compressor
Blower
Valve
Valve
Furnace
Stage
Description
466
406
432
434
452
A
Start
OFF
OFF
CLOSED
OPEN
OFF
B
Heating
OFF
ON
CLOSED
OPEN
ON
D
Heating
OFF
ON
CLOSED
OPEN
OFF
E
Regeneration-heating
OFF
ON
OPEN
CLOSED
ON
F
Regeneration-purge
OFF
ON
OPEN
CLOSED
OFF
Stage A of Table 2 is a beginning stage in which the blower 406 is off and the furnace 452 is off. During stage B, both the blower 406 and the furnace 452 are turned on so that an air stream flows past the heat exchanger 454 of the furnace 452 and into the inside space 20 . Vapors are preferably adsorbed from the air as the air stream flows through the air treatment matrix 444 . In stage D, the heating of the air stream is stopped by turning the furnace off. Turning the furnace off and on may be used to regulate the temperature of the air contained within the inside space 20 .
Stage E is a regeneration/heating stage. In stage E, the first valve 432 is opened and the second valve 434 is closed so that an air stream is directed through the air treatment matrix 444 to a location outside of the inside space 20 . The furnace 452 is turned on so that it heats the air stream. The heated air stream heats the air treatment matrix, causing it to desorb vapors. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the volumetric flow rate of air passing through the air treatment matrix 444 is less during the regeneration stage, thereby causing an increase in temperature of the air passing through the air treatment matrix 444 . The desorbed vapors are preferably carried away by the air stream to a location outside of the inside space 20 . During Stage F, the furnace 452 is turned off, but the flow of the purging air stream continues, preferably allowing the air treatment matrix 444 to cool.
FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic representation of yet another illustrative embodiment of a system 500 in accordance with the present invention. The system 500 of FIG. 9 operates using a single valve (first valve 532 ). The system 500 includes a furnace 552 having a heat exchanger 554 . The system 500 also includes an air conditioner 564 having a compressor 566 , a condenser 568 and an evaporator 570 .
The system 500 of FIG. 9 also includes an air treatment matrix 544 . The illustrative air treatment matrix 544 includes a first panel 546 , a second panel 548 , a third panel 550 , a fourth panel 594 , a fifth panel 596 , and a sixth panel 598 . In a preferred embodiment, the first panel 546 and the sixth panel 598 are roughing filters (e.g., 20-30% ASHRAE according to ASHRAE standard 52.5). The second panel 548 and the fifth panel 596 are high efficiency filters (e.g., >90% efficiency according to ASHRAE standard 52.2). The third panel 550 and the fourth panel 594 include a plurality of fibrils and an adsorbent material.
The operation of the system 500 may be described with reference to Table 3 below.
TABLE 3
First
Compressor
Blower
Valve
Furnace
Stage
Description
566
506
532
552
A
Start
ON
OFF
CLOSED
OFF
B
Cooling-dry
ON
ON
CLOSED
OFF
D
Cooling-Stop
OFF
ON
CLOSED
OFF
E
Regeneration-
OFF
ON
OPEN
ON
heating
F
Regeneration-
OFF
ON
OPEN
OFF
purge
Stage A of Table 3 is a beginning stage in which the blower 506 is off, the air conditioner compressor 566 is off, and the furnace 552 is off. During stage B, the blower 506 is turned on so that an air stream flows past the evaporator 570 into the inside space 20 . Vapors are preferably adsorbed from the air as the air stream flows through the air treatment matrix 544 .
Stage E is a regeneration/heating stage. In stage E, the first valve 532 is opened allowing an air stream to pass to a location outside of the inside space 20 . Referring to FIG. 9, it will be noted that the regeneration/heating stage may be accomplished utilizing a single valve, namely first valve 532 . This single valve operation reduces the complexity of system 500 .
Also during stage E, the furnace 552 is turned on so that it heats the air stream. The heated air stream, preferably, heats the air treatment matrix 544 , causing it to desorb vapors as it passes through the first panel 546 , the second panel 548 , and the third panel 550 of the air treatment matrix 544 . The desorbed vapors are preferably carried away by the air stream to a location outside of the inside space 20 . During Stage F, the furnace 552 is turned off, but the flow of the purging air stream continues, preferably allowing the air treatment matrix 544 to cool.
FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic representation of yet another illustrative embodiment of a system 600 in accordance with the present invention. The system 600 of FIG. 10 includes an air treatment matrix 644 having a heater 678 . The heater 678 preferably includes a heating element 680 . The operation of the system 600 may be described with reference to Table 4 below.
TABLE 4
First
Second
Stage
Compressor
Blower
Valve
Valve
Heater
Stage
Description
666
606
632
634
678
A
Start
ON
OFF
CLOSED
OPEN
OFF
B
Cooling-dry
ON
ON
CLOSED
OPEN
OFF
D
Cooling-Stop
OFF
ON
CLOSED
OPEN
OFF
F
Regeneration-heating
OFF
ON
OPEN
CLOSED
ON
F
Regeneration-purge
OFF
ON
OPEN
CLOSED
OFF
Stage A of Table 4 is a beginning stage in which the blower 606 is off and the air conditioner compressor 666 is on. During stage B, the blower 606 is turned on so that an air stream flows through the air treatment matrix 644 and into the inside space 20 . This provides cool air into space 20 . Vapors are preferably adsorbed from the air as the air stream flows through the air treatment matrix 644 . In stage D, the cooling of the air stream is stopped by turning the compressor 666 off.
Stage E is a regeneration/heating stage. In stage E, the first valve 632 is opened and the second valve 634 is closed so that an air stream is directed through the air treatment matrix 644 to a location outside of the inside space 20 . The heater 678 is turned on so that it heats the air treatment matrix 644 causing it to desorb vapors. The desorbed vapors are preferably carried away by the air stream to a location outside of the inside space 20 . During Stage F, the heater 678 is turned off, but the flow of the purging air stream continues, preferably allowing the air treatment matrix 644 to cool.
FIG. 11 is a plan view of an illustrative embodiment of a panel 747 in accordance with the present invention. Panel 747 is preferably included in an air treatment matrix as described above.
The panel 747 comprises a frame 782 and a plurality of fibrils 784 . In the embodiment of FIG. 11, the fibrils 784 are arranged in a substantially randomly intertangled pattern. The fibrils 784 define a plurality of the air flow pathways 786 . The air flow pathways 786 are preferably substantially tortuous. The panel 747 also preferably includes a dessicant deposition preferably disposed between lobes of the fibrils 784 .
It is to be appreciated that various desiccants may be utilized without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Examples of desiccants which may be suitable in some applications are included in the list below which is not exhaustive: alumina, aluminum oxide, activated carbon, barium oxide, barium perchlorate, calcium bromide, calcium chloride, calcium hydride, calcium oxide, sulfate, glycerol, glycols, lithium aluminum hydride, lithium bromide, lithium chloride, lithium iodide, magnesium chloride, magnesium perchlorate, magnesium sulfate, molecular sieves, phosphorus pentoxide, potassium hydroxide (fused, sticks, etc.), potassium carbonate, resins, silica gel, sodium hydroxide, sodium iodide, sulfuric acid, titanium silicate, zeolites, zinc bromide, zinc chloride, and combinations of such desiccants. The desiccants may be used in various forms. For example, the desiccant may a solids and/or a liquid. The desiccant may also comprise part of an aqueous solution.
FIG. 12 is a plan view of an additional illustrative embodiment of a panel 749 in accordance with the present invention. Panel 749 is preferably included in an air treatment matrix as described above. The illustrative panel 749 includes a frame 782 and a plurality of walls 722 defining a plurality of the air flow channels 790 . In the embodiment of FIG. 12, each air flow channel 790 has a substantially polyhedral shape including an inlet surface, an outlet surface and four side surfaces. The air flow channels 790 may have other shapes (e.g., cylindrical, decahedral, etc.) without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The panel 749 also preferably includes a deposition 788 overlaying at least some of walls 722 . In some embodiments, walls 722 include an electrically conductive material that warms when an electrical current is provided therethrough. Thus, the walls 722 may act as heating element 780 of FIG. 10 .
The deposition 788 preferably includes a desiccant. The deposition 788 may include additional materials without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Examples of additional materials include odor absorbent materials. For example, an exemplary deposition may include a desiccant, a first odor absorbent, and second odor absorbent. By way of a second example, the deposition may include carbon, a zeolite and chemically coated alumina or silica.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a fiber or granule 792 in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. Fiber or granule 792 had a trilobal shape, and includes a plurality of lobes 793 . The fiber or granule 792 may further include a deposition 788 overlaying an outer surface of at least one of the lobes 793 .
In one illustrative embodiment, a panel may be provided that includes a plurality of granules, like granules 792 of FIG. 13, randomly stacked so that they define a plurality of air flow pathways. The air flow pathways are preferably substantially tortuous. The plurality of granules may be contained between a front screen and a back screen. An outer frame may be disposed about the outer edges of the front screen and the back screen.
Each granule 792 preferably includes a deposition 788 overlaying one or more outer surfaces of the granule 792 , the deposition 788 preferably includes a desiccant. The deposition 788 may, of course, include additional materials. For example, the deposition 788 may include a desiccant, a first odor absorbing material and a second absorbing material. By way of a second example, deposition 788 may include carbon, a zeolite, and chemically coated alumina or silica. Additional embodiments of granule 792 are possible without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, embodiments of granule 792 which do not include deposition 788 have been envisioned. Embodiments of granule 792 have also been envisioned in which the body granule 792 is formed of a desiccant material. In the embodiment of FIG. 13, the granule 792 has a generally trilobal shape. Granules in accordance with the present invention may have other shapes (e.g., spherical, tubular, etc.) without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a fiber or granule 892 in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. Referring back to FIG. 11, it is contemplated that the fibrils 784 of FIG. 11 may have a generally triad shape, as shown in FIG. 14 . In the embodiment of FIG. 14, fiber 892 includes a plurality of lobes 893 with endcaps, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,368, which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a fiber 992 in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. Referring back to FIG. 11, it is contemplated that the fibrils 784 of FIG. 11 may have a generally triad shape, as shown in FIG. 15 . In the embodiment of FIG. 15, fiber 992 includes a plurality of lobes with endcaps 993 . In the embodiment of FIG. 15, a desiccant deposit 995 is disposed between each adjacent pair of lobes 993 .
Having thus described the preferred embodiments of the present invention, those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that yet other embodiments may be made and used within the scope of the claims hereto attached. Numerous advantages of the invention covered by this document have been set forth in the foregoing description. It will be understood, however, that this disclosure is, in many respects, only illustrative. Changes may be made in details, particularly in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts without exceeding the scope of the invention. The invention's scope is, of course, defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed.
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A robust, relatively simple air quality control system that can control the air quality in buildings during both the heating and cooling seasons. In one illustrative embodiment, a first air stream is directed through an air treatment module and back into the inside space. A desiccant in the air treatment module adsorbs water, volatile organic compounds and/or particulate material from the first air stream. A second air stream is then directed through the air treatment module to a location outside of the inside space. The second air stream is preferably heated relative to the first air stream so that at least a portion of the adsorbed water, volatile organic compounds and/or particulate material are desorbed from the desiccant into the second air stream. The second air stream carries the desorbed water, volatile organic compounds and/or particulate material to a location outside the inside space.
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This invention relates to an advertising device, and more particularly to an advertising device capable of publicizing a business, especially a business related to a vehicle, by mounting the same on a vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As is well known, a vehicle dealer likes to advertise. This is done by putting the dealership name on a vehicle in some fashion. The dealer hopes that new customers can be developed by seeing the name on the vehicle. Typical manners of so doing include putting a dealer name plaque on the vehicle itself or putting the dealership name on a frame mounted around a license plate.
With the dealer plaque on the vehicle itself, problems can arise. That dealer may not sell the vehicle. Whatever dealer does sell the vehicle cannot possibly appreciate having another dealer's name on the vehicle being sold. Such a plaque must be removed and replaced with one from the selling dealer. This procedure complicates the selling of a vehicle.
Two problems with the frame around a license plate are that the frame lacks durability and has a limited function, especially with regard to advertising. The limited function advertising is due to the small space available therefore.
The frame around a license plate, for example, can only be used with a license plate. This frame cannot be used without the plate. Thus, if a dealership desires to use the same, it must store the frames and attach them to the vehicle as the vehicle sells.
It is desired to minimize the problems associated with this storage of the frames. If a way can be found to store the frames efficiently and have a flexible use of the frames while at the same time providing the additional advertising or additional use of the frames, great advantages are obtained.
One item providing many functions for a vehicle dealer offers many advantages. However, it is difficult to provide this multi functioned item and keep the cost reasonable and the device simple, while granting these advantages. Any efforts in this area can be greatly appreciated by an auto dealer or a similar business.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Among the many objectives of this invention is the provision of an adaptable advertising sheet having the shape of a license plate.
A further objective of this invention is the provision an adaptable advertising plate capable of fitting with a variety of license plates.
Yet a further objective of this invention is the provision of an adaptable advertising sheet capable of being easily stored.
A still further objective of this invention is the provision of an adaptable advertising sheet capable of being efficiently used.
Another objective of this invention is the provision of an adaptable advertising sheet having an adjustable advertising area.
These and other objectives of the invention (which other objectives become clear by consideration of the specification, claims and drawings as a whole) are met by providing an advertising device capable of publicizing a business, especially a business related to a vehicle, by mounting the advertising device on a vehicle with or without framing a license plate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 depicts a front plan view of advertising device 100 of this invention showing a first embodiment 120 .
FIG. 2 depicts an exploded view of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 depicts a front plan view of advertising device 100 of this invention showing a second embodiment 140 .
FIG. 4 depicts an exploded view of FIG. 3 .
FIG. 5 depicts a front plan view of advertising device 100 of this invention showing still another and a third embodiment 150 .
Throughout the figures of the drawings, where the same part appears in more than one figure of the drawings, the same number is applied thereto.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
This invention relates to an advertising device in the form of a generally rectangular plate. Around the plate is a frame. Within the frame, thereby completing the plate, is a center section adapted to be punched out or removed from the frame as desired. The frame contains the necessary apertures for securing the device to a vehicle with or without a center portion.
The center portion is removably secured therein by cutting or other mechanisms. When the center portion is cut out or otherwise removed, the appropriate parts of the license plate can be seen through the frame. For example, some states have a requirement that the lower center portion of the plate be viewed in order for an add on tag to be adhesively secured to the plate, while avoiding the changing of the plate. Another plate requires that the upper right or left hand corner thereof be viewed in order to reveal the tags that belong there, depending on the style of tag or plate as used.
With this in mind, the center portion can be cut or adapted to be removed as required. Thus, if the upper corners are needed, the inner portion can be cut to expose that area. Because the sheet is flat, the entire sheet may be used to advertise the dealership. The center portion can contain advertising, which is usable for advertising until a license plate must be attached to the vehicle.
The sheet is applied to a vehicle thereby affixing a dealer's name to the vehicle in a simplified fashion. When it comes time to sell the vehicle and put license plates on it, it becomes a simple matter to punch out the center portion and secure the frame around the plate. Not only does the center portion of the device have advertising for the dealer, but the outside frame does too. Thus, with the device secured to the vehicle, the storage problem for license plate frames is avoided. Not only is advertising placed on a vehicle with this device, but this device is kept directly with the vehicle until the vehicle is sold and a license plate has to be more securely attached thereto than the device of this invention. The device may then be modified to support the plate.
In a preferred form the device may have one short tab on each of the four sides of device. Tabs may be added or reduced as desired depending on the structure desired. If a harder separation of the center from the frame is desired, the slits are shorter and the tabs are more numerous. However, the harder separation be desired in order to have a sturdier device. Such determinations can easily be determined, by considering this application as a whole.
Referring now to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the first embodiment 120 of advertising device 100 has low tag plate frame 122 with low tag plate 124 removably secured therein. Low tag plate 124 is partially separated from low tag plate frame 122 by long slits 126 . Separating one of long slits 126 from another of long slits 126 by short tabs 130 . Breaking or cutting of short tabs 130 , separates low tag plate 124 from frame 122 and leaves each frame apertures 134 free to receive a fastener (not shown) and to thereby secure frame 122 around a license plate (not shown). Low tag area 136 permits a license plate to receive the appropriate sticker (not shown) and be visible.
Referring now to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , the second embodiment 140 of advertising device 100 has upper tag plate frame 142 with upper tag plate 144 removably secured therein. Upper tag plate 144 is partially separated from upper tag plate frame 142 by long separations 146 . Separating one of long separations 146 from another of long separations 146 by short tabs 130 . Breaking or cutting of short tabs 130 , separates upper tag plate 144 from upper tag frame 142 and leaves frame apertures 134 free to secure frame 142 around a license plate for a vehicle. This upper tag frame 142 permits the appropriate sticker to be displayed in a corner of a license plate if required.
Referring now to FIG. 5 , a third embodiment 150 depicts still another front plan view of advertising device 100 . Third embodiment combines elements of FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 . With dual frame 152 and dual purpose plate 154 having upper flap 160 , upper corners of dual frame 152 provide for corner tags due to the shape of dual tag plate. With lower flap 156 , low tag area 136 is also provided therein.
Upper tag plate 144 , dual purpose plate 154 , and lower tag plate 124 can be modified as desired depending on the type of license plate and where the yearly sticker for the license plate must be seen. Long separations 146 or long slits 126 are cut, molded, or otherwise formed in advertising device 100 . Advertising device 100 is preferably formed from a flexible, durable, break-resistant plastic.
This application—taken as a whole with the abstract, specification, claims, and drawings being combined—provides sufficient information for a person having ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention as disclosed and claimed herein. Any measures necessary to practice this invention are well within the skill of a person having ordinary skill in this art after that person has made a careful study of this disclosure.
Because of this disclosure and solely because of this disclosure, modification of this method and device can become clear to a person having ordinary skill in this particular art. Such modifications are clearly covered by this disclosure.
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An advertising device capable of publicizing a business, especially a business related to a vehicle, by mounting the advertising device on a vehicle, preferably in the license plate area, is secured to a vehicle with or without framing a license plate.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a component protection apparatus for an excavator. More particularly, the present invention relates to a component protection apparatus for an excavator, which is improved structurally to protect internal components including a hydraulic valve and a turning joint of an upper swing structure from foreign substances R including pieces of rocks and stones that fall in the rear of a boom and prevent damage of the internal components during a scratch work of the excavator in a stony mountain.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In an excavator as a construction machine, various kinds of components required to operate the machine, for example, components including a turning joint or a swing drive, and a main control valve or a hydraulic valve are equipped inside an upper swing structure between a rear portion of a boom base and an engine room. The scratch work of the excavator requires advanced professional capability to manipulate the work apparatus or the machine since rocks or stones should be crushed, collected or loaded through a boom-bucket manipulation on a construction side including a rocky mountain or a hill.
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view schematically showing an example in which a scratch work is performed through a conventional excavator in accordance with the prior art.
In general, an excavator is provided with a lower traveling structure 1 including a track, and an upper swing structure 2 including a bucket 3 , an arm 4 , a boom 5 , an operator's cab 6 , a fuel tank 7 , a hydraulic tank 8 , and a cowl frame 9 , which are equipped on the lower traveling structure 1 . All the components included in the upper swing structure 2 can typically be equipped on an upper frame.
Distal ends of the boom 5 and the arm 4 supporting the bucket 3 maintain an erected posture at a position higher than that of the operator's cab 6 of the upper swing structure 2 , and the bucket 3 crushes or scratches rocks or stones included in a rocky mountain through the operator's manipulation and during a scratch work of the excavator.
In this case, there frequently occurs a phenomenon in which foreign substances R including pieces of rocks and stones fall into the upper swing structure 2 in the rear of the boom 5 .
For example, as shown in FIG. 2 , a rear portion of a boom base provided at a lower portion of the boom 5 is generally positioned in the proximity of the top center portion of the upper swing structure 2 , and a separate protection structure is not designed to be disposed adjacent to the fuel tank 7 or the hydraulic tank 8 and the cowl frame 9 . For this reason, the foreign substances directly fall into the upper swing structure 2 in terms of the structure of the boom base.
Therefore, such a conventional excavator entails a problem in that the foreign substances R including pieces of rocks and stones fall in the rear of the boom or the boom base during a scratch work of the excavator, thereby causing a damage to the components including hydraulic valve and the turning joint that are equipped inside the upper swing structure
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Technical Problems
Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the aforementioned problem occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a component protection apparatus for an excavator, in which although pieces of rocks and stones fall in the rear of a boom base positioned in the proximity of the top center portion of an upper swing structure, the components mounted in the upper swing structure can be protected and maintained.
Technical Solution
To accomplish the above object, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a component protection apparatus for an excavator, which protects internal components of an upper swing structure from foreign substances R including pieces of rocks and stones that fall in the rear of a boom during a scratch work of the excavator, the apparatus including:
an upper frame including a boom base that supports a lower portion of the boom, a left center frame that extends from one side of the boom base, and a right center frame extending from the other side of the boom base;
a left cover support frame installed to extend upwardly from the left center frame;
a right cover support frame installed to extend upwardly from the right center frame; and
a protective cover body detachably installed on the top surfaces of the left and right cover support frames,
wherein the protective cover body includes a fitting part coupled to a rear portion of the boom, a damping plate that absorbs an impact during the falling of the foreign substances, and a bottom plate formed on the underside of the damping plate in such a manner s to be contactingly supported on one sides of the top surfaces of the left and right cover support frames.
Another feature of the present invention resides in that the protective cover body 30 includes an accommodation portion 34 concavely bent toward a central portion of one side thereof.
Still another feature of the present invention resides in that the damping plate 32 and the bottom plate 33 are integrally formed with each other.
Yet another feature of the present invention resides in that the damping plate 32 includes a rubber member that is in direct contact with the foreign substances R to absorb the impact, and the bottom plate 33 is made of a steel material to support a rated load of the foreign substances.
A further feature of the present invention resides in that anti-vibration members 35 and 36 are respectively installed between the underside of the bottom plate 33 and the top surfaces of the left and right cover support frames 23 and 24 .
Another further feature of the present invention resides in that each of the left and right cover support frames include a plural coupling holes formed on the top surfaces thereof, and the bottom plate includes a plural through-holes formed on one side thereof, so that the bottom plate is fixedly held on the top surfaces of the left and right cover support frames when fastening members are coupled to the left and right cover support frames while passing through the through-holes and the coupling holes.
Another still further feature of the present invention resides in that the protective cover body further includes a handgrip attached to one side thereof.
Advantageous Effect
The component protection apparatus for an excavator in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention as constructed above has the following advantages.
When foreign substances R fall in the rear of the boom during a scratch work of the excavator, an impact caused by the falling of the foreign substances can be absorbed and buffered by the damping plate 32 . In addition, even if vibration of the excavator or movement of the upper swing structure 2 occurs, the foreign substances R can be held in the accommodating part 34 with them collected therein.
Besides, in the case where a rated load is large or an impact caused by the falling of the foreign substances R is large due to an increase in the amount of the foreign substances R collected in the accommodating part 34 , the anti-vibration members 35 and 36 interposed between the bottom plate 33 and each of the left and right cover support frames 23 and 24 can secondarily absorb and buffer the rated load and the impact.
Ultimately, the component protection apparatus for an excavator in accordance with the present invention has an advantageous effect in that internal components the upper swing structure can be protected from foreign substances R that fall in the rear of the boom and damage of the internal components can be prevented during a scratch work of the excavator.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above objects, other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view schematically showing an example in which a scratch work is performed through a conventional excavator in accordance with the prior art; and
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which foreign substances fall in the rear of a boom base adjacent to the top center portion of an upper swing structure during a scratch work of an excavator;
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a component protection apparatus for an excavator in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A shown in FIG. 3 .
PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
Here, the terms or words used in the specification and the claims of the present invention should not be construed as being typical or dictionary meanings, but should be construed as meanings and concepts conforming to the technical spirit of the present invention on the basis of the principle that an inventor can properly define the concepts of the terms in order to describe his or her invention in the best way.
Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Prior to the description of the present invention, corresponding reference numbers are used to denote corresponding elements. That is, 20 denotes an upper frame, 21 denotes an left center frame, 22 denotes a right center frame, 23 denotes a left cover support frame, 24 denotes a right cover support frame, 30 denotes a protective cover body, 32 denotes a damping plate, 33 denotes a bottom plate, and 34 denotes an accommodating part.
A component protection apparatus for an excavator according to the present invention is an example of an embodiment that is intended to protect internal components of an upper swing structure 2 from foreign substances R including pieces of rocks and stones that fall in the rear of a boom 5 during a scratch work of the excavator. The component protection apparatus is applied to an excavator as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 .
A component protection apparatus for an excavator in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 2 includes: an upper frame 20 including a boom base 5 a that supports a lower portion of the boom 5 , a left center frame 21 that extends from one side of the boom base 5 a , and a right center frame 22 extending from the other side of the boom base 5 a ; a left cover support frame 23 installed to extend upwardly from the left center frame 21 ; a right cover support frame 24 installed to extend upwardly from the right center frame 22 ; and a protective cover body 30 detachably installed on the top portions of the left and right cover support frames 23 and 24 .
In addition, the protective cover body 30 includes a fitting part 31 coupled to a rear portion of the boom ( 5 ), a damping plate 32 that absorbs an impact during the falling of the foreign substances, and a bottom plate 33 formed on the underside of the damping plate 32 in such a manner s to be contactingly supported on one sides of the top portions of the left and right cover support frames 23 and 24 .
The protective cover body 30 includes an accommodation portion 34 concavely bent toward a central portion of one side thereof. In addition, anti-vibration members 35 and 36 are installed between the underside of the bottom plate 33 and the top surfaces of the left and right cover support frames 23 and 24 .
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 , the component protection apparatus for an excavator in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention prevents application of an impact and a damage to the internal components of an upper swing structure 2 due to foreign substances R including pieces of rocks and stones that fall in the rear of a boom 5 during a scratch work of the excavator
In the excavator, the left center frame 21 and the right center frame 22 are generally formed at the central portion of the upper frame 20 in the forward and rearward directions of the excavator, and the boom base 5 a is typically integrally formed with the left center frame 21 and the right center frame 22 .
The boom base 5 a may include pin coupling holes 5 b so as to be assembled to a lower portion of the boom 5 in a pin-coupling manner.
The left and right cover support frames 23 and 24 for contactingly supporting the lower portion of the protective cover body 30 include a plurality of frame support members 25 and 26 mounted to extend upwardly from the left and right center frames 21 and 22 , respectively. The protective cover body 30 may be configured such that it is detachably installed on the top surfaces of the left and right cover support frames 23 and 24 in a bolting or clamping manner.
Moreover, the protective cover body 30 includes a fitting part 31 coupled to a rear portion of the boom 5 , a damping plate 32 that absorbs an impact during the falling of the foreign substances R, and a bottom plate 33 formed on the underside of the damping plate 32 in such a manner s to be contactingly supported on one sides of the top surfaces of the left and right cover support frames 23 and 24 .
The damping plate 32 can be formed on the entire top surface of the bottom plate 33 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , but may be modified such as a damping element that is partially disposed in plural numbers or consists of a number of divided small fragments in consideration of an impact load of the foreign substances R.
In the meantime, the protective cover body 30 includes an accommodation portion 34 concavely bent toward a central portion of one side thereof. The accommodating part 34 may have a geometrical structure with a U-shape in cross section, and performs a function of collecting foreign substances therein.
Preferably, the damping plate 32 and the bottom plate 33 are integrally formed with each other. In the integral formation of the damping plate 32 and the bottom plate 33 with each other, fixing holes may further be provided on the damping plate 32 or the bottom plate 33 so as to securely fix the damping plate 32 or the bottom plate 33 .
Anti-vibration members 35 and 36 are respectively installed between the underside of the bottom plate 33 and the top surfaces of the left and right cover support frames 23 and 24 . The anti-vibration members 35 and 36 is preferably configured in the form of an elongated spacer made of a rubber material to cover the entire top surfaces of the left and right cover support frames 23 and 24 to absorb vibration caused by an impact, but may be configured in the form of a washer that is fitted around each of the fastening members 38 .
Meanwhile, the damping plate 32 includes a rubber member that is in direct contact with the foreign substances R to absorb the impact, and the bottom plate 33 is made of a steel material to support a rated load of the foreign substances R. Further, each of the left and right cover support frames 23 and 24 include a plural coupling holes 27 formed on the top surfaces thereof to securely fix the protection cover body 30 , the bottom plate 33 includes a plural through-holes 37 formed on one side thereof, and the bottom plate 33 is fixedly held on the top surfaces of the left and right cover support frames 23 and 24 when fastening members 38 are coupled to the left and right cover support frames 23 and 24 while passing through the through-holes 37 and the coupling holes 27 .
In an embodiment of the present invention, although not shown in the drawings, a handgrip may further be attached to one side of the protective cover body 30 . The handgrip can be used to remove the foreign substances R collected in the accommodating part 32 and to perform a maintenance and repair work
The component protection apparatus for an excavator in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention enables foreign substances R including pieces of rocks and stones falling in the rear of the boom during a scratch work to be blocked by the protective cover body 30 . Thus, the foreign substances R is not introduced into the upper swing structure 2 , but hit against the outer surface of the protection cover body 30 .
In this case, the foreign substances R are primarily brought into close contact with the damping plate 32 , which in turn absorbs an impact. In addition, even if vibration of the excavator or movement of the upper swing structure 2 occurs, the foreign substances R are held in the accommodating part 34 with them collected therein.
In the case where a rated load is large or an impact caused by the falling of the foreign substances R is large due to an increase in the amount of the foreign substances R collected in the accommodating part 34 , the anti-vibration members 35 and 36 interposed between the bottom plate 33 and each of the left and right cover support frames 23 and 24 secondarily absorb and buffer the rated load and the impact. The anti-vibration members 35 and 36 exhibit a function of absorbing and buffering even the vibration of the excavator transferred through the upper frame 20 .
Under the circumstances, if the foreign substances R collected on the protective cover body 30 and in the accommodating part 34 are excessively loaded on the excavator, an operator may perform a necessary operation of removing the foreign substances by releasing the fastened state of the fastening members 38 . It should be, of course, noted that when the handgrip is additionally provided to one side of the protective cover body 30 , the operator can more easily perform the foreign substance removing operation.
While the present invention has been described in connection with the specific embodiments illustrated in the drawings, they are merely illustrative, and the invention is not limited to these embodiments. It is to be understood that various equivalent modifications and variations of the embodiments can be made by a person having an ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the true technical scope of the present invention should not be defined by the above-mentioned embodiments but should be defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
As described above, the component protection apparatus for an excavator in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is useful in a construction machine, which requires the internal components of the upper swing structure to be protected from foreign substances including pieces of rocks and stones that fall in the rear of the boom during a scratch work of the excavator.
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The present invention relates to a structurally improved apparatus for protecting components of an excavator, which protects components inside an upper swing body comprising a hydraulic valve and a turning joint from damage from residue (R) such as rock fragments or stone fragments falling to the bottom of a boom base during scratch processing in a quarry mine. The apparatus comprises: a boom base supporting the bottom of a boom; a left and right cover support frame formed on a left and right center frame extending from the boom base; and a protective cover body detachably installed on the top of the left and right cover support frame. The protective cover body comprises: an inserting portion coupled to the back of the boom; a dipping plate for absorbing shock when residue falls; and a bottom plate formed on the bottom of the damping plate and contacting and supported on the upper side of the left and right cover support frame.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to molds used in injection molding machines and, more particularly, to a method for sequencing the startup of electric heating elements used in such molds.
2. Description of the Related Art
The molds used to form injection molded products often include heating elements to control the temperature of certain portions (zones) of the mold. In particular, heaters are used in "hot runner" systems to provide a temperature controlled flow path for the plastic melt that travels from the injection unit of the molding machine to the mold cavity. Such systems typically include a manifold that supplies a number of nozzles that each supply melt to a mold cavity. Multiple heaters are strategically positioned throughout the mold and/or hot runner system to maintain the proper temperature and thereby ensure that good quality melt is used to form each part. However, given the various constraints on the number and location of heating elements, as dictated by a particular mold's construction (e.g., gates, coolant passages, core mechanisms, ejector pins, etc.), the thermal mass associated with each heater can vary considerably. If the heater zones are not properly sequenced at startup, there can be excessive wear on associated mechanical elements of the system (due to differences in thermal expansion), degradation of plastic within the mold, lengthy mold prep time, and unsuitable total current draw by the system.
Various startup systems have been proposed in the prior art. The simplest method is simultaneous startup of all zones. The molding machine operator implements this method by activating all zones of heat at the same time. The result is that zones with less mass ("fast rising" zones) reach the desired temperature more quickly, resulting in degradation the material while the operator is waiting for the other zones to reach the appropriate temperature. In addition, the time differential in reaching temperature can result in excessive wear of the associated sealing elements because the nozzles (and possibly other manifold components) have expanded in size and apply pressure on the manifold in one direction while the manifold is still expanding in another direction.
An alternative to simultaneous startup is manual sequencing of the heaters. In this method, the operator begins heater startup by switching electrical power to the heaters associated with the largest thermal masses (as determined by the operator, the manifolds, for example), allowing them to approach the temperature setpoint before turning on the heaters in the smaller zones (the nozzles, for example). If there are multiple levels of manifolds, the operator may turn on one level, then the next level and, finally, the nozzles.
Although manual sequencing can be an improvement over simultaneous startup, there are still several drawbacks. The operator may simply forget to sequence, turning on all heater zones at about the same time, resulting in the disadvantages for simultaneous startup noted above. In particular, uneven thermal expansion causes the fit between assemblies to grow tight before the manifolds have fully expanded. This causes wear and binding between adjoining surfaces, which can mean premature failure of the sealing elements between system components. Furthermore, nozzles usually come up to heat within a few minutes but the manifolds may take between 15 and 30 minutes to reach the desired temperature. This causes the material in the nozzles to degrade, possibly to the point where material flow becomes blocked--if this happens, it is necessary to disassemble and clean the system.
Manual sequencing also allows the operator to extend the total startup time considerably beyond what is actually required by being overly conservative in how the sequence is implemented. Alternatively, the operator may turn on the manifold heaters and leave the machine to attend to other matters. The manifold may actually be up to heat for some time before the operator returns to turn on the next level of manifold or the nozzles. Since this will extend the time the first level is under heat, it will extend startup time. The danger of material degradation is also present under these circumstances. To minimize startup time and material degradation, the operator has to monitor the process closely in order to determine when each level in the sequencing is up to heat and when to activate the next level.
A more automatic method is "uniform" startup where a computerized system monitors the rate of temperature rise of each zone of heating in the system. This type of control identifies the zones where the temperature is rising quickly and controls the power to the heaters to slow the rate of temperature increase. Basically, the computer allows the fast rising zones to reach a certain temperature and then inhibits further heat input, allowing the slower rising zones to "catch up." This process is continued until the temperatures for the various zones reach their setpoint.
Despite the more "uniform" thermal expansion of the different zones in this method, material degradation can still occur. For example, even though the nozzles may not reach the setpoint temperature for an extended period of time (while "waiting" for the manifold to reach temperature), they will still be at elevated temperatures for this extended period, resulting in some material degradation. In addition, wear still occurs even though all system components are coming up to heat and expanding at roughly the same rate. While this method reduces some of the wear and degradation problems, it does not eliminate them. It treats all zones of heat the same by providing a uniform rise in heat of all zones. As such, it does not actually sequence the startup.
It should be noted that the electrical heaters used in the described systems are often hygroscopic; i.e., they absorb moisture from the air and must be "dried out" before full voltage or power is applied. If not properly dried prior to applying full power, the heaters may be permanently damaged. Although manifold heaters are often constructed in such a way that moisture absorption is not a problem, nozzle heaters rarely are. This difference suggests that the manifold heaters may not require dry-out at the onset of the startup procedure, while the heaters for the nozzle zones must always be properly dried out before applying full voltage. According to the methods of the prior art, dry-out of the nozzle heaters does not commence until they are turned on, usually after the manifolds are nearly up to temperature; this further extends startup time. Only the "uniform" method allows for dry-out of all zones during the sequencing. Unfortunately, the "uniform" method also allows for significant rise in heat of the nozzles, resulting in thermal expansion and material degradation, as described above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of controlling the activation and sequencing of the heater zones that results in less wear of sealing elements and effectively prevents the degradation of plastic melt due to prolonged exposure to heat.
Consistent with the stated objective, the method of the present invention involves detecting the heater zone having the largest mass, applying heat to that zone, thus allowing that segment of the mold to grow (expand due temperature rise) unimpeded. The heater zones associated with smaller mass are kept at minimal temperatures until the larger zones come up to heat. The system is capable of detecting multiple levels of rates of temperature increase and can provide sequential startup of these differing types of thermal loads. The operator may also manually program the system to override certain automated sequences in order to guarantee a startup sequence that best minimizes mechanical wear and prevents the degradation of plastic material.
The mold heater startup sequencing method of the present invention monitors the rate of temperature increase in the various zones to determine the relative thermal mass; i.e., the larger the mass, the slower the temperature increase. The method then applies power to the zones of higher mass to control thermal expansion of the primary mold elements in a way that minimizes wear of the associated mechanical components and sealing elements. The heater startup method also minimizes or prevents the degradation of plastic material by reducing the amount of time that the material is subject to high temperatures. In addition, the disclosed method serves to minimize the amount of time it takes to prepare the molding system for operation while accomplishing the previously noted advantages for system startup. Lastly, the sequencing of power application to large heaters, as taught by the present invention, reduces the peak current draw of the system, helping to prevent electrical circuit overloads and peak demand charges from utility companies. The apparatus associated with the disclosed method includes suitable microprocessor(s), analog to digital converter(s) and triacs (or other suitable power switching devices) that are operatively coupled to the heaters and corresponding temperature sensors in each zone.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an elevational view, shown partially in section, of a hot runner system for an injection mold, including heating elements controlled according to the method of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the hot runner system for an injection mold illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a top view of the level one manifold of the hot runner system for an injection mold illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a top view of the level two manifold of the hot runner system for an injection mold illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic representation of a single microprocessor control system that includes the mold heater startup method of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of a modular control system that includes the mold heater startup method of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The method of the present invention is typically employed in association with electric heating elements that are used to provide supplemental heat to components associated with an injection mold. FIG. 1 illustrates a hot runner system 10 that is used to convey thermoplastic melt from the injection unit of an injection molding machine to multiple mold cavities. The is a "level one" manifold 12 that receives the flow of plastic melt from the injection unit though a nozzle adapter 14. The plastic melt is conveyed through conduits 16 in the level one manifold 12 to be received by two "level two" manifolds 18. The level two manifolds 18 also include flow passages 20 to convey the melt from the level one manifold 12 to multiple nozzles 22. Each of the nozzles 22 is in communication with a mold cavity in order to convey the plastic melt received from an associated flow passage 20 in the level two manifold 18, through a central passage 24 and into the mold cavity.
Since the plastic melt is in a fluid state during production operation of the injection molding machine, it is necessary for the connections between the manifolds and nozzles to be fluid tight. For this reason, seals 26 are provided at the junction of the passages 16 of the level one manifold 12 with the passages 20 of the level two manifold 18. Similarly, seal rings 28 are provided at the junction of the passages 20 of the level two manifold 18 with the central passages 24 of the nozzles 22.
The hot runner system 10 is provided with multiple heating elements in order to bring the components (manifolds 12,18 and nozzles 22) up to a suitable operating temperature (at initial start-up) and maintain the desired temperature of the plastic melt as it is conveyed to the mold. Typically, the desired operating temperatures are dictated by the type of plastic material used in a given application. As shown more clearly in FIGS. 2-4, the level one manifold 12 has two heating elements 30 encircling the flow passage 16. Similarly, the level two manifolds 18 have two sets of serpentine heating elements 32 to supply heat in close proximity to the flow passages 20. Alternatively, the manifolds 12, 18 could be fitted with standard cartridge type heaters, rather than the elongated, serpentine elements shown. The nozzles 22 are equipped with heating elements 34 that encircle the main body of the nozzles 22 to ensure proper flow through the central passage 24.
The effect that the heaters have on the components of the hot runner system 10 is monitored by multiple thermocouples positioned to indicate accurately the thermal gradients in the system. In particular, as shown in the drawings, the level one manifold 12 has thermocouples 36, the level two manifolds 18 have thermocouples 38 and the nozzles 22 are provided with thermocouples 40. The setpoints for the heaters are initially based on the type of plastic being processed and are adjusted, often by trial and error, to achieve a set of conditions that facilitate continuous operation of the injection molding machine without "hot spots" that can cause material degradation.
However, there are various circumstances that require the operation of the injection molding machine to be stopped; e.g., mold change, color change, mold maintenance, etc. Obviously, when the heaters are turned "off", the plastic contained in the flow passages 16, 20, 24 solidifies. When it is later desired to restart the molding process, the material in the flow passages 16, 20, 24 must be re-melted before the machine can be operated to produce parts. The heaters 30, 32, 34 must be controlled so that (a) the thermal expansion of the components is relatively uniform to avoid damaging the seals 26,28 and (b) the plastic material is not held at temperatures that will cause it to degrade. These are the principle objectives of the heater start-up method of the present invention.
As illustrated in FIG. 5, the method of the present invention can be implemented by a control system that uses a single microprocessor (CPU) to monitor and control the temperatures in all heater zones for a particular mold configuration; this is generally referred to as a multiplexed or multi-loop control system.
Alternatively, the heater startup method can be included in a modular heater system constructed from multiple single-loop control modules (see FIG. 6) where a communications interface between the modules allows the independent heater zones to communicate with each other so that the desired startup sequence can be implemented. More specifically, in the modular configuration, a neural network or other communication means is utilized to allow each zone to share information with other zones to determine the relative thermal characteristics of the zones. Generally speaking, it is likely that the heater zones of a hot runner system will be broken into two, three or more sets of thermal characteristics. Each set becomes a "level" to be included in the startup sequence. The set with the fastest rate of heat rise characteristics will typically be the zones including nozzle heaters 34. These "fast rising" zones will be the last to be sequenced in all cases.
In hot runner systems where there are multiple sets of "slow rising" heater zones (multiple manifold levels, for example), it may be necessary for the operator to determine the sequence; i.e., which set will be the first to be powered up, which is the next, etc. Furthermore, even when the method can automatically detect the different thermal sets, the system is designed to have sufficient flexibility to allow the operator to determine which set is to be sequenced first. In other words, the operator would be allowed to sequence the zones in such a way that might possibly override the automatically determined sets and sequence.
Implementation of the method of the present invention begins with all zones being activated in a dry-out mode; i.e., very low voltage (or power). Using feedback generated by appropriate sensors during the initial part of the dry-out mode, the "slow" and "fast" heater zones are identified. More specifically, a large current draw by a particular zone during dry-out would indicate there are high-power heaters in this zone that would be associated with a large thermal mass. Conversely, a low current draw by a particular zone indicates smaller heaters associated with less thermal mass. Alternatively, the determination of slow and fast heater zones can be made more directly by calculating the rate of temperature in the various zones during dry-out; the higher the rate, the "faster" the zone.
Once dry-out of the "slowest" zone has been completed, a predetermined voltage is applied to bring that zone to its programmed set point. Depending on the mold construction, voltage may be applied to multiple zones if no adverse expansion will occur. In any case, the application of the low (dry-out) voltage is maintained for the "fast" zones until the "slow" zones have all reached their set point temperatures. Application of low voltage means that there will only be minimal temperature rise in the "fast" zones to prevent undesirable thermal expansion and degradation of material.
If there are only two levels to be sequenced, the heater zones for the nozzles will be released from low voltage (dry-out) when the single set of manifolds reaches a predetermined temperature (often the lower end of the control's proportional or alarm band). With the multiple levels of manifolds, the second level manifold will be released from dry-out when the first level achieves the predetermined temperature; this process is continued until all manifold levels reach the desired set point. Finally, the heaters for the nozzles are activated to bring them up to temperature. Preferably, the system control would allow the operator to input the predetermined (set point) temperatures that trigger the startup of the next level or set of heater zones.
Although this sequence for heater start-up means that the manifolds will hold temperature for some amount of time before the nozzles come up to heat, material degradation in the manifolds is insignificant. The manifolds have large flow channels and more thermal mass that allow them to distribute the heat without adverse effects. In contrast, if material in the small orifices of the nozzles is held at an elevated temperature for a prolonged time, degradation is likely.
If desired, the method of the present invention could be used in conjunction with the "Mold Heater Moisture Detection and Dry Out Apparatus" disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,842 to (a) prevent the application of if a large amount of ground leakage current was detected and/or (b) shut-off power to a heater if the ground leakage current exceed a preset maximum and cannot be corrected with the application of low voltage.
In the preferred embodiment, microprocessors are used to determine the thermal properties of the zones quickly and automatically. Optionally, the operator could enter the thermal relationship of the zones, if known, into the control system manually via keyboard, touch-screen or other means as known in the art. However, in a modular control system (as generally shown in FIG. 6), the modules may be programmed using physical switches or jumpers to provide the desired thermal level identification.
With the preferred embodiment, the heater zone sets are displayed on a computer screen or other appropriate readout to provide visual feedback to the operator. The operator would then be able to modify the set assignment for each zone, if desired. The operator would also be able to enter this information prior to performing an initial startup of the control system.
Finally, in the preferred embodiment, the control system would allow the operator to save the learned and/or programmed thermal mass relationship of the heater to a storage device, such as hard/floppy disk, or solid state memory devices, such as battery backed RAM, EEPROM, EAROM, or flash ROM. The same storage device could also store the setpoint temperatures used to determine when to sequence startup of the subsequent levels.
While the invention has been illustrated and described in some detail according to the preferred embodiment, there is no intention to thus limit the invention to such detail. On contrary, it is intended to cover all modifications, alterations, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, depending on mold construction, a single zone may include more than one heater or different heater configurations. In addition, other systems or mechanisms can be used to control the supply of electric power to the heaters.
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A method for mold heater startup and sequencing detects the heater zones associated with greater mass and allows them to heat up before zones of lesser mass, thereby reducing wear of the associated mechanical components and minimizing degradation of plastic material. The zones of smaller mass are kept at minimal temperatures until the zones with greater mass reach a set point. The system is capable of detecting multiple levels of thermal load and provides appropriate sequential startup of the identified thermal loads. The operator may also manually program the system to override certain automated sequences in order to ensure an optimal startup sequence. The sequencing of power application to large heaters also minimizes the peak current draw of the system.
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CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-059426, filed Mar. 23, 2015, entitled “Vehicle With Load-Carrying Platform,” the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a vehicle with a load-carrying platform that provides the load-carrying platform in a rear portion.
BACKGROUND ART
Among vehicles provided with a load-carrying platform in a rear portion, a vehicle is known that provides a load-carrying platform extension means referred to as a bed extender to the load-carrying platform in order to increase a carrying capacity of the load-carrying platform.
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a known bed extender. As shown in FIG. 1 , the vehicle is provided with the load-carrying platform in the rear portion, and this load-carrying platform is provided with a front-portion standing plate 123 , one side-portion standing plate 125 , another side-portion standing plate 127 , a tailgate 137 , and a bed extender 111 . In FIG. 1 , the bed extender 111 is placed in a stowed position.
From this state, the bed extender 111 is inversely moved 180 ° with a fulcrum portion 191 as a rotation center.
As a result, as illustrated in FIG. 2 , the bed extender 111 rests on the tailgate 137 in an opened state. The bed extender 111 is fixed to the tailgate 137 by a lock mechanism 149 .
Due to a difference in weight between the tailgate 137 and the bed extender 111 , the tailgate 137 and the bed extender 111 exhibit different behaviors during travel. When the behaviors differ, a load on the lock mechanism increases. Increasing a rigidity of the lock mechanism 149 to handle the increase in the load invites enlargement and weight increasing of the lock mechanism 149 .
In seeking weight reduction of the vehicle, a structure is sought that handles the difference in behaviors between the tailgate 137 and the bed extender 111 without inviting enlargement of the lock mechanism.
SUMMARY
The present invention has as a task to provide a vehicle with a load-carrying platform that can mitigate a load on an elastic band (corresponding to the conventional lock mechanism) that affixes a bed extender to a tailgate.
In one embodiment, a vehicle with a load-carrying platform includes a load-carrying platform that is provided in a vehicle rear portion and has a tailgate that can open and close; and a bed extender that has both ends axially supported by a side gate provided to the load-carrying platform, the bed extender being rotatable between a stowed state in contact with the load-carrying platform and an extended state in contact with the tailgate in an open position, the extended state effectively extending a load-carrying space in the vehicle rear portion to include the open tailgate. An elastic band is provided so a rear portion of the tailgate and a rear portion of the bed extender enter a tensioned state when the bed extender is in the extended state. A regulating cord is provided that regulates the elastic band from stretching beyond a predetermined distance. A rotation regulation mechanism is provided to the tailgate and the bed extender that regulates further rotational movement by the tailgate and the bed extender making contact when the tailgate closes.
In some aspects of embodiment, the rotation regulation mechanism can be made from a gate-side stopper member that is connected to the tailgate and has a front-facing stopper surface and an extender-side stopper member that is connected to the bed extender and has a rear-facing stopper surface. The bed extender can be connected to the tailgate and have a predetermined space opened between the front-facing stopper surface and the rear-facing stopper surface.
In further aspects, the gate-side stopper member can be integrally formed with a wire bracket that holds the tailgate in the open position.
In further aspects, the rotation regulation mechanism can include an elastic member that abuts either the front-facing stopper surface or the rear-facing stopper surface.
In still further aspects, the gate-side stopper member can be further integrally formed with an installation portion of the elastic band.
In still further aspects, the gate-side stopper member can be provided in correspondence to a diagonal surface formed in a corner portion between a rear surface of the bed extender and a side surface of the bed extender on the left or right. The gate-side stopper can be provided on an upper surface of the tailgate.
In other aspects, the extender-side stopper member can be provided on a rear surface of a member positioned downward when the bed extender is in its extended state.
In further aspects, the extender-side stopper member can be provided on a chamfered portion formed in a corner portion between a rear surface of the bed extender and a side surface of the bed extender on the left or right. The extender-side stopper member can include a plate bent in an L-shape.
In another embodiment, a bed extender system for a vehicle with a load-carrying platform can include an extender-side stopper member that is connected to the bed extender and has a rear-facing stopper surface, an elastic member, and a gate-side stopper member having a front-facing stopper surface. The gate-side stopper member can be configured to mount to a vehicle surface and abut the elastic member, the elastic member further abutting the extender-side stopper member to regulate rotation of the bed extender.
In further aspects, the gate-side stopper member can be further integrally formed with an installation portion for the elastic band.
In further aspects, the extender-side stopper member can be provided on a rear surface of a member positioned downward when the bed extender is in its extended state.
In further aspects, the extender-side stopper member can be provided on a chamfered portion formed in a corner portion between a rear surface of the bed extender and a side surface of the bed extender on the left or right.
In further aspects, the extender-side stopper member can include a plate bent in an L-shape.
In further aspects, the gate-side stopper member is integrally formed with a wire bracket for being connected to a tailgate configured to move between a closed position and an open position, and wherein the wire bracket is configured to hold the tailgate in the open position.
In still further aspects, the rotation regulation mechanism can be configured to regulate further rotational movement by the tailgate and the bed extender making contact when the tailgate closes.
In yet another embodiment, a rotation regulation mechanism for a bed extender of a vehicle with a load-carrying platform can include an extender-side stopper member with a rear-facing stopper surface, the extender-side stopper member configured for attachment to the bed extender; an elastic member; and a gate-side stopper member having a front-facing stopper surface, the gate-side stopper member configured for attachment to a tailgate of the vehicle and to abut the elastic member, the elastic member further abutting the extender-side stopper member to regulate motion of the stopper members, the bed extender and the tailgate.
In further aspects, the gate-side stopper member can be integrally formed with an installation portion configured to receive an elastic band.
In further aspects, the extender-side stopper member can include a plate bent in an L-shape.
Various advantages of embodiments of the invention may be realized. For example, where the bed extender is fixed to the tailgate by the elastic band, both can be continuously placed in the tensioned state to suppress generation of noise due to rattling. Independent movements of the bed extender relevant to the tailgate can be regulated by the regulating cord even with regard to excessive movement while optimizing a tension load. The bed extender and the tailgate can be prevented from rotating in the same direction by the rotation regulation mechanism.
In embodiments where the predetermined space is opened in a connected state, the weight of the bed extender is not applied to the gate-side stopper member. Because the gate-side stopper member does not have to bear the weight of the bed extender, its size can be significantly reduced.
In some embodiments, an impact force generated in conjunction with interference can be absorbed by the elastic member, greatly reducing noise.
In embodiments where the gate-side stopper member is integrally formed with the wire bracket, and optionally further integrally formed with the installation portion of the elastic band, different components share fixtures. By sharing fixtures, a component count can be reduced, costs can be reduced, and assembly properties can be improved.
In embodiments where the extender-side stopper member is provided on the rear surface below the fulcrum portion of the bed extender, the stopper member can efficiently regulate return rotation movement by the bed extender.
Embodiments with particular designs for the extender-size stopper member can simplify configuration, reduce costs, and eliminate projection.
Other benefits of the features described herein will be recognized by those of skill in the art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art bed extender in a stowed state.
FIG. 2 illustrates the prior art bed extender in an extended state.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a rear portion of a vehicle with a load-carrying platform according to the present disclosure.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of a bed extender.
FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged view of FIG. 3 .
FIG. 6 is a plan view of a gate-side stopper member.
FIG. 7 is a line 7 - 7 cross-sectional view of FIG. 6 .
FIGS. 8A-8C are operational views of a rotation regulation mechanism.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As illustrated in FIG. 3 , a vehicle with a load-carrying platform 10 is provided with side gates 12 , 12 on the left and right on a load-carrying platform 11 and a tailgate 13 of a rear portion of the vehicle, which may for example be a bed associated with a multi-utility vehicle (an “MUV”) or a pickup truck. Although the illustrations herein are consistent with the vehicle being an MUV or a pickup truck having a bed, it will be understood that any vehicle having a load-carrying platform and tailgate as described herein may be consistent with the disclosure. The tailgate 13 is supported by the load-carrying platform 11 or lower portions of the side gates 12 , 12 with a hinge pin 14 and is made to open from a standing position to a horizontal position. In the diagram, the tailgate 13 is opened to a horizontal position and suspended by a gate wire 15 .
Additionally, a bed extender 20 is connected to a rear portion of the side gate 12 . The bed extender 20 is axially supported by the side gates 12 , 12 at fulcrum portions 16 , 16 .
The bed extender 20 in a stowed state resting on the load-carrying platform 11 comes to rest on the tailgate 13 by being inverted with the fulcrum portions 16 , 16 as rotation centers. This position, illustrated in FIG. 3 , represents the extended state for the bed extender 20 . In the extended state, the total area available for placing items on the bed is increased to include the area of the tailgate 13 , thus effectively extending the load-carrying platform 11 .
While the bed extender 20 may be of any shape, an exemplary shape as illustrated in FIG. 3 is a fence whose main elements are four posts 21 to 24 and an upper pipe 25 , a middle pipe 26 , and a lower pipe 27 bridging the posts 21 to 24 . The upper pipe 25 , the middle pipe 26 , and the lower pipe 27 have front end portions linked by linking plates 28 , 28 . Extending plates 29 , 29 are extended from both ends of the middle pipe 26 and these extending plates 29 , 29 are linked to the side gates 12 , 12 at the fulcrum portions 16 , 16 .
A vibration-dampening cap 46 can be installed at one end of the posts 21 to 24 . The cap 46 may be made of an elastic substance such as soft plastic or rubber in order to act to dampen the vibrations at the interface between the load-carrying platform 11 and the posts 21 to 24 when the bed extender 20 is stowed. Similarly, another vibration-dampening end cap 47 can be installed on the other end of the posts 21 to 24 that abuts an upper surface of the tailgate 13 when the bed extender 20 is in the extended state.
As illustrated in FIG. 4 , the four posts 21 to 24 can be square pipes. The four posts 21 to 24 can be channels (channel steel) or angles (angled steel).
The upper pipe 25 can be made from a transverse portion 31 that extends in a vehicle-width direction; chamfered portions 32 , 32 that extend diagonally forward from both ends of this transverse portion 31 ; and extending portions 33 , 33 that extend to a vehicle front from respective tips of these chamfered portions 32 , 32 . The middle pipe 26 and the lower pipe 27 can be similarly apportioned.
As shown, the chamfered portions 32 , 32 are provided between a rear surface of the bed extender 20 and side surfaces of the bed extender 20 on the left and right. As a result, triangular spaces 34 , 34 made by connecting the rear surface of the bed extender 20 and the side surfaces of the bed extender 20 on the left and right are formed in the corner portions.
As illustrated in FIG. 3 , an elastic band 36 (not seen on a post 24 side) extends from the posts 21 , 24 , and a lower end of this elastic band 36 is detachably hooked to a band installation portion 37 provided on a tailgate 13 side. A rotation regulation mechanism 50 is provided near this band installation portion 37 . Details of this rotation regulation mechanism 50 are described below.
As illustrated in FIG. 5 , the elastic band 36 extends from the post 21 . The elastic band 36 includes a band main body 38 made of a elastic material such as rubber; rings 39 , 41 connected to upper and lower ends of the band main body 38 ; and a regulating cord 42 passed through the pair of rings 39 , 41 . The regulating cord 42 is made of a material of higher tensile strength and lower elasticity than the band main body 38 . In some implementations, both the regulating cord 42 and rings 39 , 41 may be made of metal. The regulating cord 42 is set to be longer than a free length of the band main body 38 and is tensioned when the band main body 38 stretches to a predetermined distance, thereby regulating further stretching. By this regulation, the band main body 38 does not stretch in excess of a permissible range.
The elastic band 36 has the ring 39 on an upper side fixed to the post 21 using an oval fixing plate 43 . The oval fixing plate 43 is fixed to the post 21 with two fasteners 44 , 44 , one each above and below the metal ring 39 . Each fastener 44 may be, for example, a screw or bolt. The oval fixing plate 43 is affixed securely to withstand the pull of the ring 39 away from the post 21 .
The rotation regulation mechanism 50 comprises a gate-side stopper member 51 installed on the tailgate 13 side and an extender-side stopper member 65 installed on the bed extender 20 side.
The gate-side stopper member 51 has integrated on a rear portion the band installation portion 37 of a tongue shape that detachably hooks the metal ring 41 on the bottom. Moreover, the gate-side stopper member 51 has integrated on a front portion a wire bracket 52 that locks a lower end of the gate wire 15 .
The vibration-dampening cap 47 is on the other end (lower end in this diagram) of the posts 21 to 24 and secures a predetermined space (space D in FIG. 6 ) against a tensile force of the elastic band 36 .
As illustrated in FIG. 6 , the gate-side stopper member 51 is made from a base portion 54 that is provided with bolt holes 53 , 53 separated in the vehicle-width direction through which bolts that are fixed to the tailgate 13 are passed; the wire bracket 52 that is formed bent upward on a vehicle-width-direction outer side of this base portion 54 ; a standing wall portion 55 that is raised from the base portion 54 ; and a main body portion 56 that extends in the rearward direction from an upper end of the standing wall portion 55 .
The main body portion 56 is integrally formed with the tongue-shaped band installation portion 37 . A lower end portion of the gate wire 15 that supports the tailgate is locked by a bolt 57 to the wire bracket 52 .
The surface 58 of the standing wall portion 55 that is facing the front of the vehicle acts as a stopper surface 58 . In this example, an elastic member 59 that protrudes further forward is attached to the front-facing stopper surface 58 . Because an external force to the vehicle rear is applied to the standing wall portion 55 , the standing wall portion 55 is reinforced by bridging a stay 61 between the base portion 54 and the standing wall portion 55 and bridging a stay 62 between the standing wall portion 55 and the main body portion 56 . The elastic member 59 may be provided on a rear-facing stopper surface 67 .
Furthermore, the extender-side stopper member 65 is connected to a rear surface 27 a of the lower pipe 27 . This extender-side stopper member 65 is made from a bent plate 66 in an L-shape in a plan view, and a rear surface becomes the rear-facing stopper surface 67 . The L-shape may be a V-shape.
The gate-side stopper member 51 and the extender-side stopper member 65 comprising the rotation regulation mechanism 50 of the form described above are disposed in the triangular space 34 illustrated in FIG. 4 . The extender-side stopper member 65 is installed on the chamfered portion 32 , and the gate-side stopper member 51 is provided in correspondence to a diagonal surface (rear surface 27 a ) formed in the corner portion.
The rotation regulation mechanism 50 is housed in the triangular space 34 , and the rotation regulation mechanism 50 does not protrude sideways from the side surface of the bed extender 20 .
As illustrated in FIG. 7 , the predetermined space D is set between the rear-facing stopper surface 67 and the elastic member 59 .
Note that the elastic member 59 may be omitted. If omitted, the predetermined space D is set as between the rear-facing stopper surface 67 and the front-facing stopper surface 58 .
Because the predetermined space D is set, a weight of the bed extender 20 is not applied to the gate-side stopper member 51 , a rigidity of the gate-side stopper member 51 can be decreased, and reducing a weight of the gate-side stopper member 51 can be easily achieved.
An operation of the rotation regulation mechanism 50 of the present invention is next described.
As illustrated in FIG. 8A , the tailgate 13 is put in an opened state by being turned around the hinge pin 14 . Meanwhile, the bed extender 20 is inverted around the fulcrum portion 16 to rest on the tailgate 13 . While omitted in this diagram, the ring 41 of the elastic band 36 is locked to the band installation portion 37 .
Note that the extender-side stopper member 65 is provided on the rear surface 27 a of a member (the lower pipe 27 in this example) positioned downward in a usage time when the bed extender 20 is inverted relative to the fulcrum portion 16 provided on the side gate 12 , that is, below the fulcrum portion 16 .
Because of this, a first line 72 that passes through a first point 71 on the rear-facing stopper surface 67 and the fulcrum portion 16 extends downward to the vehicle rear. Moreover, a second line 74 that passes through a second point 73 on the front-facing stopper surface (elastic member 59 ) and the hinge pin 14 extends upward to the vehicle rear.
FIG. 8B is a view that excerpts the first and second lines 72 , 74 at the usage time (more precisely, a usage commencement time), and the predetermined space D exists between the first point 71 and the second point 73 . When travel is commenced, due to an influence from unevenness of a road surface or the like, the vehicle may sway up and down. In conjunction with this swaying, the second point 73 on the tailgate 13 side rises along an arc line 75 around the hinge pin 14 . Meanwhile, the first point 71 on the bed-extender 20 side rises along an arc line 76 around the fulcrum portion 16 .
Because the second point 73 is above the hinge pin 14 , when rising, it moves to the vehicle front. Meanwhile, because the first point 71 is below the fulcrum portion 16 , it first moves to the vehicle rear and then starts to move to the vehicle front once it moves above the fulcrum portion 16 .
In an initial period of rising, the first point 71 and the second point 73 move so as to approach each other.
As a result, as illustrated in FIG. 8C , the rear-facing stopper surface 67 and the front-facing stopper surface 58 abut.
When these abut, a triangle is formed whose vertices are the first and second points 71 , 73 ; the fulcrum portion 16 ; and the hinge pin 14 . Because this triangle is structurally rigid, the shape does not change. That is, the first and second points 71 , 73 do not rise further, and rotation of the side gate 12 and the bed extender 20 is regulated.
Because rotation is regulated, there is no concern that an excessive force will be applied to the elastic band 36 . As a result, the elastic band 36 can be made compact and lightweight.
The present invention is favorable in a vehicle with a load-carrying platform provided with a tailgate that can open and close, such as an MUV or pickup truck.
The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, 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.
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In a vehicle with a load-carrying platform, an elastic band is provided so a rear portion of a tailgate and a rear portion of a bed extender enter a tensioned state. A rotation regulation mechanism is provided to the tailgate and the bed extender that regulates further rotational movement by the tailgate and the bed extender making contact when the tailgate is rotated towards a closed position. The bed extender and the tailgate are prevented from rotating in the same direction by the rotation regulation mechanism, and the load on the elastic band is mitigated.
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BACKGROUND
High performance rechargeable batteries, such as Li-ion batteries, are widely used to power electric vehicles. One operating characteristic that affects the performance of such batteries is the pressure experienced by the battery cells within a battery assembly. Some battery assemblies include a stack of battery cells compressed using a structure that maintains a relatively constant pressure on the battery cells within the stack. In the case of pouch cells with no metal enclosure, this also provides the required support for the cell. This pressure is selected to achieve optimum performance of the cells and is typically specified by the manufacturer of the cells. For example, for some cells with a capacity of around 14-20 Ah, the recommended pressure is about 35-50 kPa. In some cases, the pressure specified by the manufacturer is designed to prevent delamination of the cells during use.
SUMMARY
In one aspect, in general, a method of operating a battery assembly that includes one or more rechargeable battery cells includes: monitoring one or more operational parameters of the battery cells; and dynamically controlling pressure applied to the one or more battery cells based at least in part on one or more of the monitored operational parameters.
Aspects can include one or more of the following features.
The battery assembly includes a plurality of rechargeable battery cells and wherein dynamically controlling pressure involves dynamically controlling pressure applied to the plurality of battery cells.
Dynamically controlling the pressure comprises controlling the pressure applied to the plurality of battery cells as a function of one or more of the monitored operational parameters.
The method further includes cooling the battery cells by flowing coolant between neighboring battery cells.
Dynamically controlling the pressure comprises modulating pressure of the coolant flowing between neighboring battery cells.
Modulating pressure of the coolant flowing between neighboring battery cells comprises changing a flow rate of the coolant flowing between neighboring battery cells.
Dynamically controlling the pressure comprises applying a bias pressure to the battery cells and modulating pressure applied to the plurality of battery cells relative to the bias pressure.
At least one of the operational parameters is charging rate, state of charge, or temperature of the cells.
At least one of the operational parameters is charging rate.
Monitoring the one or more operational parameters includes monitoring a change in at least one of the operational parameters during charging of the battery cells.
The method further comprises detecting a change in a volume of a coolant region within the battery assembly.
In another aspect, in general, an apparatus includes: one or more rechargeable battery cells; at least one sensor configured to monitor one or more operational parameters of the battery cells; and a pressure control system configured to dynamically control pressure applied to the one or more battery cells based at least in part on one or more of the monitored operational parameters.
Aspects can include one or more of the following features.
The one or more rechargeable battery cells is a plurality of battery cells.
The pressure control system is configured to control the pressure applied to the plurality of battery cells as a function of one or more of the monitored operational parameters.
The pressure control system comprises: a rigid housing with the plurality of battery cells contained with the rigid housing; and a pressure modulator configured to modulate pressure applied to the plurality of battery cells to control pressure applied to the plurality of battery cells.
The pressure control system further comprises one or more pressure sensors configured to monitor pressure applied to the plurality of battery cells.
The pressure control system further comprises control circuitry configured to receive input from the one or more pressure sensors and to provide a modulation signal to the pressure modulator.
The apparatus further includes a coolant system including a plurality of coolant flow plates interleaved among the plurality of battery cells.
The pressure modulator is configured to modulate pressure of coolant flowing through the plurality of coolant flow plates so as to modulate pressure applied to the battery cells among the plurality of battery cells.
The pressure modulator comprises a pump for flowing coolant through the plurality of coolant flow plates and wherein the pressure modulator is configured to change a flow rate of the coolant flowing through the plurality of coolant flow plates so as to modulate the pressure applied to the plurality of battery cells.
At least one of the operational parameters is charging rate, state of charge, or temperature of the cells.
At least one of the operational parameters is charging rate and wherein the pressure control system is configured to dynamically control pressure applied to the plurality of battery cells as a function of the charging rate.
The apparatus further includes a sensor for detecting a change in a volume of a coolant region within the battery assembly.
The sensor comprises a diaphragm or a piston.
Aspects can have one or more of the following advantages.
As mentioned above, some battery assemblies include a stack of battery cells compressed using a structure that maintains a relatively constant pressure on the battery cells within the stack. (See, for example, U.S. Ser. No. 13/445,458, entitled “A Multi-Cell Battery Assembly”, incorporated herein by reference.) The performance and/or longevity of rechargeable battery cells can be improved by dynamically controlling the pressure that is applied to the cells during operation (e.g., during charging and/or discharging) of the battery cells. For example, increasing the pressure applied to the battery cells during ultra-fast charging helps to prevent delamination or damage to the cells. For Li-ion pouch cells, which can undergo a 5-10% swelling per 500 cycles, this mechanism also prevents cells from being over-pressurized. It is also desirable in pouch cells to minimize stresses and bending as part of the mounting. The cell pressure should also be uniform over the pouch, which can be achieved with a pressure control system. Incorporating portions of a pressure control system into a coolant system for a battery assembly facilitates the ability to evenly control the pressure applied to different battery cells within a stack and across the surface of each battery cell. Since a coolant system may be needed anyway, the pressure control system can make use of features of the coolant system to accomplish both goals (pressure control and temperature control) in an efficient way. In some operating environments, such as in electric vehicles, the batteries can experience exceptionally high loads as a result of, for example, rapid acceleration or rapid breaking. Such high loads can generate large electrical currents, which in turn may result in a significant warming of the Li-ion cells due to their internal resistance. The temperature of the cells can be controlled by interleaving layers between the battery cells that contain a flow of coolant that dissipates some of the generated heat. In the case of Li-ion batteries, for example, achieving efficient operation calls for the battery cells to be operated within a specific temperature range. At operating temperatures greater than about 40° C., the life span of the battery can be significantly reduced. In addition, the temperature gradient among cells in a multi-cell battery should be no greater than about 5-10 degrees centigrade. The interleaved flow plates define an array of parallel flow channels through which coolant is passed both to cool the battery cells and to control the pressure applied to the battery cells, with respect to a bias pressure. The coolant is confined within the channels defined by the flow plates and thus does not come into direct contact with the battery cells.
Monitoring pressure and volume changes also allows the early detection of gas buildup in pouches and the prevention of failure.
Other features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following description, and from the claims.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a battery assembly.
FIG. 2A is an auxiliary view of a battery assembly.
FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the battery assembly shown in FIG. 2A .
FIG. 3 illustrates a flat or prismatic battery cell used in the battery assembly of FIGS. 2A and 2B .
FIG. 4 shows a side view of a portion of a corrugated flow plate used in the battery assembly of FIGS. 2A and 2B .
FIGS. 5A and 5B show front and back views, respectively, of the cover plate and back plate, which make up the manifold from the battery assembly of FIGS. 2A and 2B .
DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG. 1 , a battery assembly 10 includes a battery stack 12 that includes a number of battery cells 14 with pressure layers (not shown) between respective pairs of adjacent battery cells. Rigid end plates at both ends of the stack apply a certain minimum pressure on the cells 14 within the stack 12 . The pressure layers are configured to change thickness in order to change the amount of pressure applied to the battery cells 14 . In the described embodiment, the pressure layers are coolant flow plates for containing a flow of coolant fluid that is used to both cool the battery cells as well as change the thickness of the flow plates, as described in more detail below.
The battery assembly 10 includes a pressure control system for controlling the pressure applied to the battery cells 14 . The pressure control system uses a pressure modulator 16 to, in effect, modulate the thickness of the pressure layers to apply a corresponding modulation in the pressure applied to the battery cells 14 within the stack 12 . The pressure modulator 16 can be of various types. For example, it can include a gear-driven positive displacement pump that flows coolant through flow plates between the battery cells 14 . The pump is configured to prevent back flow through the pump, i.e., it only permits coolant flow in one direction through the flow plates. This allows steady bias pressure to be exerted by this unidirectional flow. By controlling the pump to adjust the flow rate of the coolant within some range higher or lower than the default unidirectional flow rate, the pressure modulator 16 can adjust the pressure exerted by the flow plates on the battery cells 14 with respect to the bias pressure. To facilitate this there is a restrictor that constricts the flow of fluid coming out of the battery assembly to increase the effectiveness of the pump in controlling the pressure within the battery assembly.
An alternative approach, which does not use pump speed to control pressure involves pressurizing the entire coolant system. According to this approach, the coolant system is a closed pressurized system. The pump operates at a predetermined rate to achieve effective cooling and a separate mechanism is provided to modulate the pressure of the coolant. For example, an actuator-controlled diaphragm or piston, which is on contact with the coolant, can be used to modulate the pressure applied to the coolant. This has the advantage of separating the cooling function (or flow rate) from the pressure control function.
The pressure control system also includes a control module 18 to control the pressure modulator 16 based on input received from one or more pressure sensors 20 and one or more operational sensors 22 . The control module 18 includes circuitry (e.g., digital circuitry and/or analog circuitry) to perform a control procedure that ensures that the pressure modulator 16 is modulating the pressure within stack 12 based on one or more predetermined operational parameters of the battery cells 14 . The one or more pressure sensors 20 can be distributed throughout the stack 12 (e.g., between a pressure layer and a battery cell). A pressure sensor 20 can include, for example, a strain gauge or other type of transducer that generates an electrical signal in response to an applied force. An electrical output signal from the pressure sensors 20 is provided to the control module 18 , which monitors the pressure sensed by the sensors 20 to determine how much pressure is being applied to the battery cells 14 by the pressure modulator 16 and pressure layers within the stack 12 .
The control module 18 also receives input from the one or more operational sensors 22 to monitor one or more operational parameters. Based on that monitoring, the control module 18 controls the pressure applied to the battery cells 14 by the pressure modulator 16 . In some embodiments, the control module 18 adjusts the pressure as a function of one of the operational parameters. For example, one operational parameter that is used in some embodiments is the rate of charging of the battery cells 14 , where the pressure is increased as the rate of charge increases according to a formula programmed into the circuitry of the control module 18 . The control module 18 changes the pressure as a function of rate of charge, for example, according to a formula that defines a particular target value of pressure that should be applied for a particular value or range of values of a measurement of the rate of charge. The precise functional relationship specifying how the pressure is adjusted as a function of a particular operational parameter depends on the particular battery cell that is being used and can be determined empirically. The control module 18 includes a memory or storage device that stores code and/or parameters used to characterize the functional relationship being implemented. Another operational parameter that may affect the target pressure to be applied to the battery cells, and thus would also be represented in the functional relationship, is the temperature of the cells, which can be measured by using temperature sensors also located within the stack of battery cells.
An example of a scenario in which there is a particular target pressure that should be applied for a particular value of a measured operational parameter is when the battery assembly is being charged by a power source 30 using, for example a fast charging protocol such as the one described in U.S. Ser. No. 13/278,963 (Pub. No. 2012/0098481), entitled “Apparatus and Method for Rapidly Charging Batteries,” filed on Oct. 21, 2011, and incorporated herein by reference. In this example, the operational sensors 22 measure charging rate. There is a charging rate threshold that identifies a point beyond which damage to the cells will occur and the life of the cells will be shortened. This threshold varies as a function of various parameters such as state of charge, charging rate, cell temperature, and pressure applied to the cells. During fast charging, the charging rate should be just below this threshold. By varying the pressure on the cells during the charging process, the threshold can be increased and the cells can be charged at a higher charging rate without negatively impacting the life or reliability of the cells. Thus, by modulating the pressure applied to the cells during fast charging, the time it takes to fully charge the cells can be reduced even further.
Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B , an exemplary embodiment of the battery assembly 10 is a liquid-cooled multi-cell battery assembly 100 . The battery assembly 100 includes a stack of 16 rechargeable lithium-ion battery cells 102 clamped together by two rectangular-shaped end plates 104 a and 104 b . The end plates 104 a and 104 b , which have holes in each of their four corners, are mounted on four rods 127 , with each rod 127 passing through a corresponding hole in each of the two end plates 104 a and 104 b . On each end of each rod 127 there is a retaining structure 130 that prevents each end plate from sliding further than a predetermined distance from the other end plate. The end plates held together by the rods form a rigid housing that presses against and applies pressure on the stack of battery cells. A stack of the battery cells 102 is contained within the battery assembly 100 . In FIG. 2A , only their positive and negative terminals 108 a and 108 b , which extend through a wedge bus bar plate 110 , are visible. The bus bar plate 110 holds bus bar clamps, which make up the bus that electrically interconnects the terminals of the battery cells.
In the illustrated embodiment, a pressure modulator and a coolant system both make use of the flow plates between the battery cells to both support a flow of coolant and apply pressure to the adjacent battery cells. Coolant is delivered to and from the flow plates by two manifolds 112 a and 112 b located on opposite sides of the stack of battery cells 102 . Each manifold 112 a and 112 b includes a cover plate 114 and a back plate 116 secured together by two rows of bolts 118 . Coolant introduced into one manifold 112 a through an input port 120 a flows between and cools the battery cells 102 in the assembly and is collected on the other side by the other manifold 112 b , which has a corresponding exit port 120 b . The battery assembly 100 also includes a control module implemented in circuitry on a circuit board 124 mounted on the bus bar plate 110 that includes circuitry of the control module 18 and any circuitry needed for coupling signals from the operational sensors 22 and managing operations of the battery assembly 100 including charging, discharging, and balancing of the battery cells 102 during use.
FIG. 3 shows one of the battery cells 102 that is contained within the battery assembly 100 . In this example, the battery cell 102 is a laminated polymer pouch with a flat, thin geometry (also known as a “prismatic cell”). Two terminals 108 a (the positive terminal) and 108 b (the negative terminal) extend out of the edge of one end the pouch. Prismatic cells are commercially available from multiple sources. The nominal operating parameters of a prismatic cell will vary widely. But some typical values for the operating parameters might be: an output voltage of nominally 3.3 volts, and a capacity of 14-20 Ah. For optimal operation of a prismatic cell, an applied compressive pressure during operation should be in a particular range (e.g., about 35-50 kPa).
Referring again to FIG. 2B , the internal structure of battery assembly 100 is shown in cross-section. In each of the manifolds 112 a and 112 b , the cover plate 116 and back plate 114 define an internal chamber 117 for receiving the coolant that flows through the flow plates. Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B , the inside surface of cover plate 116 is recessed with the surface tapering at a constant gradient from an outer location in toward the inlet/exit port 120 a/b . The back plate 114 also includes a recessed region 126 on the side that faces the cover plate 116 when the manifold 112 a is assembled. On the wall within recessed region 126 there is an array of equally spaced slots 128 through the back plate 114 . Extending between the two manifolds 112 a/b is an array of flow plates, provided here as corrugated flow plates 160 , for carrying coolant between the battery cells from one manifold 112 a to the other manifold 112 b.
Referring to FIG. 4 , each corrugated flow plate 160 has two liquid impermeable side sheets 162 separated from each other by an array of equally spaced, parallel ribs 164 connecting one sheet to the other sheet. The array of ribs forms an array of parallel channels 166 extending in one direction inside of the flow plate and through which coolant is flowed. The ribs 164 prevent the flow sheet from collapsing when put under compressive forces. The impermeable side sheets 162 are flexible and will bulge outward in response to the increased pressure of the coolant and will thereby apply variable pressure to the battery cells. In the described embodiment, the corrugated flow plates are commercially available Coroplast™ sheets that are made of an extruded polypropylene polymer having a thickness of about 2 mm. Other thicknesses are commercially available, e.g. 2-10 mm.
Referring again to FIGS. 2B, 5A and 5B , the flow plates 160 fit into slots 128 in back plates 114 of the two manifolds 112 a/b , with a flow plate 160 arranged in each slot 128 . The slots 128 are sized so that the flow plates 160 fit snuggly into them. Flow plates 160 are oriented so that channels 126 within the flow plates 160 extend from one manifold to the other. Flow plates 160 pass through the slots 128 in the back plates 114 and extend into the chamber 117 defined within manifold 112 . On the inside of manifold 112 , there is an epoxy seal 168 along a slot 128 between the flow plate 160 and the back plate 114 that prevents coolant from leaking into the regions inside of the battery assembly where it would contact the cells. Each slot 128 has a tapered entrance on the side that is within the manifold and another smaller tapered entrance (not visible in the figures) on the opposite side. The smaller taper makes insertion of flow plate 160 into slots 128 during assembly easier. The larger taper on the inside facilitates a better seal between the flow plate 160 and the back plate 114 when epoxy is applied by drawing the epoxy into the tapered area and providing a larger surface area for forming the seal.
The sloped upper wall of the chamber 117 that is formed by the inside surface of cover plate 116 serves to reduce or prevent the Coanda Effect, which could result in some of the many flow channels within the flow plates not supporting a flow and containing stagnant fluid/coolant.
The separations between the flow plates provide spaces into which the battery cells are inserted during assembly. The distances between the flow plates are selected so as to provide a snug fit for the battery cells. This enables the compressive forces provide by the end plates to be effectively distributed throughout the stack of battery cells and all battery cells will be under bias pressure when the battery assembly is fully assembled, so that during operation (e.g., charging or discharging) the pressure modulator will be able to modulate the pressure, higher or lower, about this bias pressure. On the inside of the back plate 116 there is a channel 142 formed around the perimeter of the back plate 116 . This channel 142 receives a flexible o-ring (not shown), which forms a seal when the cover plate 114 is bolted onto the back plate 116 .
Battery cells 102 are arranged within the battery assembly 100 in alternating orientations, i.e., back-to-back, front-to-front. By alternating the battery cells 102 , if the first cell will has its positive terminal on the right, then second cell (i.e., the second cell in the stack) will have its negative terminal on the right, the third cell will have its positive terminal on the right, etc. Thus, when an interface for a power supply or a device being powered is able to electrically connect a negative terminal of one battery cell with a positive terminal of a neighboring battery cell. In this way, terminal clamps of an interface electrically connect the cells in series so that the total output voltage of a battery assembly with N cells is N times the voltage of an individual cell (e.g. 3.3N volts).
Various materials can be used for various parts of the battery assembly. In some embodiments, end plates 104 a and 104 b are made of aluminum, and the manifolds 112 a and 112 b and the bottom cover are made of ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) or polypropylene, and the epoxy adhesive: is DP100 Plus from 3M. The coolant could be water or Fluorinert™, which is an electrically insulating coolant sold commercially by 3M. Of course, there are many other commercially available acceptable alternatives to these materials that could be used. In addition, the battery assembly can have any number of battery cells depending on the output voltage requirements of the application. Furthermore, mechanisms other than the end plates and rods described herein can be used to provide a rigid housing to compress the interleaved stack of battery cells and flow plates with a minimum bias pressure.
In addition, flow plates other than the corrugated structures are possible. The Coroplast™ flow plates are particularly convenient because they are commercially available, inexpensive, and have properties that are particularly appropriate for this application. However, there are other ways to design and fabricate the flow plates. For example a corrugated plate can be constructed by bonding a “wavy” sheet of material between two flat sheets of impermeable material. The resulting structure would look more like corrugated cardboard.
The piston or diaphragm mentioned above as a way of controlling pressure also provides a mechanism for monitoring the health of the cells. One mode of cell failure involves expansion of the cell pouch as a result of gas generated within the pouch. It is desirable to detect when this mode of failure is occurring so that corrective action can be taken. The expansion of a cell pouch pushes against the coolant flow plates and forces coolant out of the cell assembly. This, in turn, causes the piston and/or diaphragm to move outwards. The outward motion of the piston and/or diaphragm can be detected by a position sensor and will provide an indicator of this failure mechanism. In effect, the motion sensor detects a reduction in the volume of the coolant system within the battery assembly that results from the expansion a failing battery cell pouch.
It is to be understood that the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the appended claims. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.
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Operating a battery assembly that includes one or more rechargeable battery cells includes: monitoring one or more operational parameters of the battery cells; and dynamically controlling pressure applied to the one or more battery cells based at least in part on one or more of the monitored operational parameters.
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TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a load driving device, and to an electronic device incorporating a load driving device.
BACKGROUND ART
Conventionally, load driving devices such as motor driver ICs and switching regulator ICs are in wide and common use.
An example of related conventional technology is seen in Patent Document 1 listed below.
LIST OF CITATIONS
Patent Literature
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-263733
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Problem to be Solved by the Invention
In general, a component (device) that constitutes an output circuit of a load driving device (in particular, an output device such as a power transistor) is designed to have a withstand voltage that suits the electrical characteristics (such as the absolute maximum rated value of a supply voltage) defined in the specification of the load driving device. Thus, when overvoltage destruction testing exceeding the rating is conducted, the load driving device may suffer smoking or destruction.
The simplest imaginable solution to the above problem is to raise the withstand voltage of the component. However, raising the withstand voltage (in particular, the gate-source withstand voltage) of the output device among all the components constituting the circuit requires increasing the size of the output device and hence increasing the chip area, posing another problem. In particular, in a load driving device designed to feed a large current to a load, a large output device is used to reduce its on-state resistance, and thus the output device occupies a very large proportion of the entire chip area. Thus, further increasing the size of the output device simply to cope with destructive testing leads to an even larger chip area and hence a higher cost, making the solution impractical.
Another imaginable solution to the above problem is to provide an overvoltage protection capability on the part of the target product in which the load driving device is incorporated. However, providing the target product with an overvoltage protection capability requires externally fitting additional components to the load driving device, and thus leads to a higher cost of the product as a whole, thereby posing another problem.
In view of the problem experienced by the present inventors, an object of the present invention is to provide a load driving device that withstands destructive testing without unnecessarily increasing the withstand voltage of a component, and to provide an electronic device incorporating such a load driving device.
Means to Solve the Problem
To achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, a load driving device includes: an internal circuit which operates by being fed with a supply voltage; an output circuit which drives a load by being fed with the supply voltage; a fault detection circuit which monitors the supply voltage to generate a fault detection signal; and a power switch which connects/disconnects a supply voltage feed line leading to the internal circuit according to the fault detection signal (a first configuration).
In the load driving device according to the first configuration described above, preferably, the internal circuit includes a driving circuit which feeds the output circuit with a driving signal (a second configuration).
In the load driving device according to the second configuration described above, preferably, there is further provided a pull-down resistor which is connected between a supply voltage input node of the internal circuit and a grounded node (a third configuration).
In the load driving device according to the third configuration described above, preferably, the output circuit includes a p-type upper transistor which is connected between a supply voltage node and an output node (a fourth configuration).
In the load driving device according to the fourth configuration described above, preferably, there is further provided a first upper switch which connects/disconnects between the gate of the upper transistor and the supply voltage node according to the fault detection signal (a fifth configuration).
In the load driving device according to the fifth configuration described above, preferably, there is further provided a second upper switch which connects/disconnects between the gate of the upper transistor and the driving circuit according to the fault detection signal (a sixth configuration).
In the load driving device according to any one of the fourth to sixth configurations described above, preferably, the output circuit includes an n-type lower transistor which is connected between the grounded node and the output node (a seventh configuration).
In the load driving device according to the seventh configuration described above, preferably, there is further provided a first lower switch which connects/disconnects between the gate of the lower transistor and the grounded node according to the fault detection signal (an eighth configuration).
In the load driving device according to the eighth configuration described above, preferably, there is further provided a second lower switch which connects/disconnects between the gate of the lower transistor and the driving circuit according to the fault detection signal (a ninth configuration).
In the load driving device according to any one of the first to ninth configurations described above, preferably, the internal circuit includes a first internal circuit which operates by receiving a first supply voltage and a second internal circuit which operates by receiving a second supply voltage lower than the first supply voltage, and the output circuit includes a first output circuit which drives a first load by receiving the first supply voltage and a second output circuit which drives a second load by receiving the second supply voltage (a tenth configuration).
In the load driving device according to the tenth configuration described above, preferably, the fault detection circuit includes a first overvoltage detector which monitors the first supply voltage to generate a first overvoltage detection signal, a second overvoltage detector which monitors the second supply voltage to generate a second overvoltage detection signal, and a fault detection signal generator which generates the fault detection signal based on the first and second overvoltage detection signals (an eleventh configuration).
In the load driving device according to the eleventh configuration described above, preferably, the first overvoltage detector includes a first comparator which generates the first overvoltage detection signal by comparing the first supply voltage with a first overvoltage detection voltage, and the second overvoltage detector includes a second comparator which generates the second overvoltage detection signal by comparing the second supply voltage with a second overvoltage detection voltage (a twelfth configuration).
In the load driving device according to the eleventh or twelfth configuration described above, preferably, there is further provided a first level shifter which shifts the signal level of, and then feeds to the fault detection signal generator, the first overvoltage detection signal (a thirteenth configuration).
In the load driving device according to the thirteenth configuration described above, preferably, the first level shifter includes a transistor of which the drain is connected to a node to which the first supply voltage is applied and the gate is connected to a node to which the first overvoltage detection signal is applied; a current source which is connected between the source of the transistor and the grounded node; and an inverter of which the input node is connected to the source of the transistor, the output node is connected to the fault detection signal generator, the first supply voltage node is connected to a node to which the second supply voltage is applied, and the second supply voltage node is connected to the grounded node (a fourteenth configuration).
In the load driving device according to any one of the eleventh to fourteenth configurations described above, preferably, the fault detection circuit further includes an undervoltage detector which monitors the first supply voltage to generate an undervoltage detection signal, and the fault detection signal generator generates the fault detection signal based on the first overvoltage detection signal, the second overvoltage detection signal, and the undervoltage detection signal (a fifteenth configuration).
In the load driving device according to the fifteenth configuration described above, preferably, the undervoltage detector generates the undervoltage detection signal by comparing the first supply voltage with an undervoltage detection voltage (a sixteenth configuration).
In the load driving device according to any one of the first to sixteenth configuration described above, preferably, there is further provided a second level shifter which shifts the signal level of the fault detection signal (a seventeenth configuration).
In the load driving device according to the seventeenth configuration described above, preferably, the second level shifter shifts the signal level of the fault detection signal from a state where the fault detection signal pulsates between the second supply voltage and a ground voltage to a state where the fault detection signal pulsates between the first supply voltage and a first compensated supply voltage which is lower than the first supply voltage by a predetermined value or to a state where the fault detection signal pulsates between the second supply voltage and a second compensated supply voltage which is lower than the second supply voltage by a predetermined value (an eighteenth configuration).
In the load driving device according to the eighteenth configuration described above, preferably, there is further provided a compensated supply voltage generator which generates from the first or second supply voltage, and feeds to the second level shifter, the first or second compensated supply voltage (a nineteenth configuration).
In the load driving device according to the nineteenth configuration described above, preferably, the compensated supply voltage generator includes: a first transistor of which the source is connected to a node to which the first or second compensated supply voltage is applied and the drain is connected to the grounded node; a second transistor of which the emitter is commented to the gate of the first transistor; a zener diode of which the anode is connected to the base and the collector of the second transistor and the cathode is connected to the node to which the first or second supply voltage is applied; a first resistor which is connected between the source of the first transistor and the node to which the first or second supply voltage is applied; and a second resistor which is connected between the emitter of the second transistor and the grounded node (a twelfth configuration).
According to another aspect of the present invention, an electronic device includes the load driving device according to any one of the first to twelfth configurations described above and a load driven by the load driving device (a twenty-first configuration).
Preferably, the electronic device according to the twenty-first configuration described above is an optical disc drive which is incorporated in a computer for playback from, or for recording to and playback from, an optical disc, and the load is at least one of a spindle motor, a sled motor, a loading motor, a focus actuator, a tracking actuator, and a tilt actuator (a twenty-second configuration).
Advantageous Effects of the Invention
According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a load driving device that withstands destructive testing without unnecessarily increasing the withstand voltage of a component, and to provide an electronic device incorporating such a load driving device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of an optical disc drive according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of an exemplary configuration of a load driving circuit 11 and a fault detection circuit 12 ;
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a modified example of the load driving circuit 11 ;
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing an exemplary configuration of a switching regulator IC;
FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an exemplary configuration of a first overvoltage detector 121 ;
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an exemplary configuration of an undervoltage detector 122 ;
FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing an exemplary configuration of a second overvoltage detector 123 ;
FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing an exemplary configuration of a level shifter 124 a;
FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram showing an exemplary configuration of a compensated supply voltage generator CVG;
FIG. 10 is a timing chart showing an example of fault protection operation; and
FIG. 11 is an external view of a desktop PC incorporating an optical disc drive.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
<Optical Disc Drive>
Hereinafter, a detailed description will be given of an example where the present invention is applied to a motor driver IC incorporated in an optical disc drive.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of an optical disc drive. The optical disc drive 1 is, for example, incorporated in a personal computer (PC) to allow playback from, or recording to and playback from, optical discs (such as BDs, DVDs, and CDs). The optical disc drive 1 includes a motor driver IC 10 , a plurality of loads 20 , and a microprocessor 30 .
The motor driver IC 10 is a multiple-channel load driving device which drives and controls, according to instructions from the microprocessor 30 , a plurality of loads (a spindle motor 21 , a sled motor 22 , a loading motor 23 , a focus actuator 24 , a tracking actuator 25 , and a tilt actuator 26 ). The motor driver IC 10 includes, as a multiple-channel load driving circuit 11 , a spindle motor driver circuit 111 , a sled motor driver circuit 112 , a loading motor driver circuit 113 , a focus actuator driver circuit 114 , a tracking actuator driver circuit 115 , and a tilt actuator driver circuit 116 . The motor driver IC 10 further includes a fault detection circuit 12 which monitors a first supply voltage HV (for a 12 V system) and a second supply voltage LV (for a 5 V system), both fed from outside the IC, to generate a fault detection signal S 1 .
The spindle motor driver circuit 111 is fed with the first supply voltage HV, and drives and controls the spindle motor 21 so as to rotate a turntable (not illustrated), on which an optical disc is placed, at a constant linear velocity or at a constant rotational velocity. Usable as the spindle motor 21 is, for example, a brushed DC motor or a three-phase brushless motor.
The sled motor driver circuit 112 is fed with the first supply voltage HV, and drives and controls the sled motor 22 so as to slide an optical pickup (not illustrated) in the radial direction of the optical disc. Usable as the sled motor 22 is, for example, a brushed DC motor or a two-phase brushless stepping motor.
The loading motor driver circuit 113 is fed with the first supply voltage HV, and drives and controls the loading motor 23 so as to slide a loading tray (not illustrated), on which an optical disc is placed. Usable as the loading motor 23 is, for example, a brushed DC motor.
The focus actuator driver circuit 114 is fed with the second supply voltage LV, and drives and controls the focus actuator 24 , thereby to drive an objective lens of the optical pickup so as to control the focus of the beam spot formed on the optical disc.
The tracking actuator driver circuit 115 is fed with the second supply voltage LV, and drives and controls the tracking actuator 25 , thereby to drive the objective lens of the optical pickup so as to control the tracking of the beam spot formed on the optical disc.
The tilt actuator driver circuit 116 is fed with the second supply voltage LV, and drives and controls the tilt actuator 26 , thereby to drive the objective lens of the optical pickup so as to compensate for fluctuations in signal strength ascribable to deformation of the optical disc.
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of an exemplary configuration of the load driving circuit 11 and the fault detection circuit 12 . As to the load driving circuit 11 shown there, it should be understood that, for simplicity's sake, only the circuitry of and around the output stage for one phase is illustrated with respect to one of the spindle motor driver circuit 111 , the sled motor driver circuit 112 , the loading motor driver circuit 113 , the focus actuator driver circuit 114 , the tracking actuator driver circuit 115 , and the tilt actuator driver circuit 116 .
The fault detection circuit 12 includes a first overvoltage detector 121 , an undervoltage detector 122 , a second overvoltage detector 123 , and a fault detection signal generator 124 .
The first overvoltage detector 121 monitors whether or not the first supply voltage HV is higher than an overvoltage detection voltage Vth 1 (for example, Vth 1 =18 V) to generate a first overvoltage detection signal SA. The first overvoltage detection signal SA is, when the first supply voltage HV is lower than the overvoltage detection voltage Vth 1 , at a normal-mode logical level (low level (GND)) and, when the first supply voltage HV is higher than the overvoltage detection voltage Vth 1 , at an abnormal-mode logical level (high level (HV)).
FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an exemplary configuration of the first overvoltage detector 121 . The first overvoltage detector 121 includes a comparator 121 a which compares the first supply voltage HV fed to its non-inverting input node (+) with the overvoltage detection voltage Vth 1 fed to its inverting input node (−) to generate the first overvoltage detection signal SA. The first power node (high-potential node) of the comparator 121 a is connected to a node to which the first supply voltage HV is applied. The second power node (low-potential node) of the comparator 121 a is connected to a node to which a ground voltage GND is applied.
The undervoltage detector 122 monitors whether or not the first supply voltage HV is lower than an undervoltage detection voltage Vth 2 (for example, Vth 2 =6 V) to generate an undervoltage detection signal SB. The undervoltage detection signal SB is, when the first supply voltage HV is higher than the undervoltage detection voltage Vth 2 , at a normal-mode logical level (low level (GND)) and, when the first supply voltage HV is lower than the undervoltage detection voltage Vth 2 , at an abnormal-mode logical level (high level (HV)).
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an exemplary configuration of the undervoltage detector 122 . The undervoltage detector 122 includes a comparator 122 a which compares the first supply voltage HV fed to its inverting input node (−) with the undervoltage detection voltage Vth 2 fed to its non-inverting input node (+) to generate the undervoltage detection signal SB. The first power node (high-potential node) of the comparator 122 a is connected to the node to which the first supply voltage HV is applied. The second power node (low-potential node) of the comparator 122 a is connected to the node to which the ground voltage GND is applied.
The second overvoltage detector 123 monitors whether or not the second supply voltage LV is higher than an overvoltage detection voltage Vth 3 (for example, Vth 3 =8.5 V) to generate a second overvoltage detection signal SC. The second overvoltage detection signal SC is, when the second supply voltage LV is lower than the overvoltage detection voltage Vth 3 , at a normal-mode logical level (low level (GND)) and, when the second supply voltage LV is higher than the overvoltage detection voltage Vth 3 , at an abnormal-mode logical level (high level (LV)).
FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing an exemplary configuration of the second overvoltage detector 123 . The second overvoltage detector 123 includes a comparator 123 a which compares the second supply voltage LV fed to its non-inverting input node (+) with the overvoltage detection voltage Vth 3 fed to its inverting input node (−) to generate the second overvoltage detection signal SC. The first power node (high-potential node) of the comparator 123 a is connected to a node to which the second supply voltage LV is applied. The second power node (low-potential node) of the comparator 123 a is connected to the node to which the ground voltage (GND)) is applied.
The fault detection signal generator 124 monitors the first overvoltage detection signal SA, the undervoltage detection signal SB, and the second overvoltage detection signal SC to generate the fault detection signal S 1 . The fault detection signal generator 124 includes a level shifter 124 a and an OR (logical addition) operator 124 b.
The level shifter 124 a shifts the level of the first overvoltage detection signal SA, which is driven to pulsate between the first supply voltage HV and the ground voltage GND, to generate a (shifted) first overvoltage detection signal SA′, which is driven to pulsate between the second supply voltage LV and the ground voltage GND. Using the level shifter 124 a eliminates the need to give the OR operator 124 b an unnecessarily high withstand voltage.
FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing an exemplary configuration of the level shifter 124 a . The level shifter 124 a of this exemplary configuration includes an N-channel MOS field-effect transistor a 1 , a current source a 2 , and an inverter a 3 . The drain of the transistor a 1 is connected to the node to which the first supply voltage HV is applied. The source of the transistor a 1 is connected, via the current source a 2 , to the node to which the ground voltage GND is applied. The gate of the transistor a 1 is connected to a node to which the first overvoltage detection signal SA is connected. The input node of the inverter a 3 is connected to the source of the transistor a 1 . The output node of the inverter a 3 is connected to the node to which the first overvoltage detection signal SA′ is applied. The first power node (high-potential node) of the inverter a 3 is connected to the node to which the second supply voltage LV is applied. The second power node (low-potential node) of the inverter a 3 is connected to the node to which the ground voltage GND is applied.
The OR operator 124 b calculates the OR (logical sum) of the first overvoltage detection signal SA′, the undervoltage detection signal SB, and the second overvoltage detection signal SC to generate the fault detection signal S 1 . The fault detection signal S 1 is, when any of the first overvoltage detection signal SA′, the undervoltage detection signal SB, and the second overvoltage detection signal SC is at high level, at high level (LV) and, when those signals are all at low level, at low level (GND).
The load driving circuit 11 includes a P-channel DMOS field-effect transistor PD 1 , an N-channel DMOS field-effect transistor ND 1 , P-channel MOS field-effect transistors P 0 and P 1 , an N-channel MOS field-effect transistor N 1 , a resistor R 1 , a pre-driver DRV, a buffer BUF, an inverter INV, and a compensated supply voltage generator CVG.
The source of the transistor PD 1 is connected to the node to which the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV) is applied. The drain of the transistor PD 1 is connected to an output node of an output signal OUT. The gate of the transistor PD 1 is connected to the pre-driver DRV. The source of the transistor ND 1 is connected to the node to which the ground voltage GND is applied. The drain of the transistor ND 1 is connected to the output node of the output signal OUT. The gate of the transistor ND 1 is connected to the pre-driver DRV.
The source of the transistor P 0 is connected to the node to which the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV) is applied. The drain of the transistor P 0 is connected to the supply voltage input node of the pre-driver DRV. The gate of the transistor P 0 is connected to the output node of the buffer BUF. The input node of the buffer BUF is connected to a node to which the fault detection signal S 1 is applied. The first end of the resistor R 1 is connected to the supply voltage input node of the pre-driver DRV. The second node of the resistor R 1 is connected to the node to which the ground voltage GND is applied.
The source of the transistor P 1 is connected to the node to which the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV) is applied. The drain of the transistor P 1 is connected to the gate of the transistor PD 1 . The gate of the transistor P 1 is connected to the output node of the inverter INV. The input node of the inverter INV is connected to the node to which the fault detection signal S 1 is applied. The source of the transistor N 1 is connected to the node to which the ground voltage GND is applied. The drain of the transistor N 1 is connected to the gate of the transistor ND 1 . The gate of the transistor N 1 is connected to a node to which the fault detection signal S 1 is applied.
In the load driving circuit 11 configured as described above, the transistors PD 1 and ND 1 correspond to a push-pull output circuit which, fed with the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV), drives a load. More specifically, the transistor PD 1 corresponds to an upper transistor which is connected between the node to which the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV) is applied and the output node of the output signal OUT; the transistor ND 1 corresponds to a lower transistor which is connected between the node to which the ground voltage GND is applied and the output node of the output signal OUT.
The pre-driver DRV is one of internal circuits which operate by being fed with the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV), and corresponds to a driving circuit that generates driving signals for the push-pull output circuit (the gate signals of the transistors PD 1 and ND 1 ) according to instructions from the microprocessor 30 .
The transistor P 0 corresponds to a power switch which connects/disconnects (that is, makes conduct/cuts off) a supply voltage feed line leading to the internal circuits (including the pre-driver DRV) according to the fault detection signal S 1 . When the fault detection signal S 1 is at low level (the normal-mode logical level), the transistor P 0 is turned on to conduct the supply voltage feed line to the internal circuits. On the other hand, when the fault detection signal S 1 is at high level (the abnormal-mode logical level), the transistor P 0 is turned off to disconnect the supply voltage feed line leading to the internal circuits.
The transistor P 1 corresponds to a first upper switch which, according to the fault detection signal S 1 , connects/disconnects between the gate of the transistor PD 1 and the node to which the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV) is applied. When the fault detection signal S 1 is at low level (the normal-mode logical level), the transistor P 1 is turned off to disconnect between the gate of the transistor PD 1 and the node to which the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV) is applied. On the other hand, when the fault detection signal S 1 is at high level (the abnormal-mode logical level), the transistor P 1 is turned on to connect between the gate of the transistor PD 1 and the node to which the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV) is applied.
The transistor N 1 corresponds to a first lower switch which, according to the fault detection signal S 1 , connects/disconnects between the gate of the transistor ND 1 and the node to which the ground voltage GND is applied. When the fault detection signal S 1 is at low level (the normal-mode logical level), the transistor N 1 is turned off to disconnect between the gate of the transistor ND 1 and the node to which the ground voltage GND is applied. On the other hand, when the fault detection signal S 1 is at high level (the abnormal-mode logical level), the transistor N 1 is turned on to connect between the gate of the transistor ND 1 and the node to which the ground voltage GND is applied.
The resistor R 1 corresponds to a pull-down resistor which is connected between the supply voltage input node for the internal circuits and the node to which the ground voltage GND is applied.
The buffer BUF shifts the level of the fault detection signal S 1 , which is driven to pulsate between the second supply voltage LV and the ground voltage GND, to generate a gate signal G 0 which is driven to pulsate between the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV) and a first compensated supply voltage HV′ (or a second compensated supply voltage LV′), and feeds the gate signal G 0 to the gate of the transistor P 0 . The first compensated supply voltage HV′ (or the second compensated supply voltage LV′) is given, for example, a voltage value lower than the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV) by a predetermined value α (for example, α=5 V). Using the buffer BUF having a level shifting capability eliminates the need to give the transistor P 0 an unnecessarily high withstand voltage.
The inverter INV shifts the level of the fault detection signal S 1 , which is driven to pulsate between the second supply voltage LV and the ground voltage GND, and then logically inverts the result to generate a gate voltage G 1 that is driven to pulsate between the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV) and the first compensated supply voltage HV′ (or the second compensated supply voltage LV′), and feeds the gate voltage G 1 to the gate of the transistor P 1 . Using the inverter INV having a level shifting capability eliminates the need to give the transistor P 1 an unnecessarily high withstand voltage.
FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram showing an exemplary configuration of the compensated supply voltage generator CVG. The compensated supply voltage generator CVG of this exemplary configuration includes a P-channel MOS field-effect transistor b 1 , an npn-type bipolar transistor b 2 , a zener diode b 3 , and resistors b 4 and b 5 . The source of the transistor b 1 is connected to a node to which the first compensated supply voltage HV′ (or the second compensated supply voltage LV′) is applied; it is also connected, via the resistor b 4 , to the node to which the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV) is applied. The drain of the transistor b 1 is connected to the node to which the ground voltage GND is applied. The gate of the transistor b 1 is connected to the emitter of the transistor b 2 , and is also connected, via the resistor b 5 , to the node to which the ground voltage GND is applied. The collector and the base of the transistor b 2 are both connected to the anode of the zener diode b 3 . The cathode of the zener diode b 3 is connected to the node to which the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV) is applied. The compensated supply voltage generator CVG of this exemplary configuration can generate the first compensated supply voltage HV′ (or the second compensated supply voltage LV′) which is lower than the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV) by a predetermined value α.
In the load driving circuit 11 configured as described above, when the fault detection signal S 1 turns to high level (the abnormal-mode logical level), the transistor P 0 is turned off, and the supply voltage feed line leading to the internal circuits including the pre-driver DRV is disconnected. Thus, even when there is a fault (an overvoltage or an undervoltage) in the first supply voltage HV or the second supply voltage LV, the internal circuits are prevented from destruction.
Incidentally, when the transistor P 0 is turned off and the supply voltage feed line leading to the internal circuits is disconnected, the supply voltage input node for the internal circuits is pulled down, via the resistor R 1 , to the node to which the ground voltage GND is applied. Thus, no indefinite voltage appears at the supply voltage input node for the internal circuits, which are thereby prevented from abnormal operation.
On the other hand, in the load driving circuit 11 configured as described above, to avoid a drop in power efficiency ascribable to the on-state resistance component across a switch, no switch for connecting/disconnecting is provided in the supply voltage feed line leading to the push-pull output circuit.
Instead, in the load driving circuit 11 configured as described above, as a means for protecting the transistors PD 1 and ND 1 , the transistors P 1 and N 1 are provided. When the fault detection signal S 1 turns to high level (the abnormal-mode logical level), the transistors P 1 and N 1 are turned on so that the transistors PD 1 and ND 1 both have their gate and source short-circuited together. As a result, the transistors PD 1 and ND 1 no longer receives any voltage between their gate and source. In this way, it is possible to protect the transistors PD 1 and ND 1 without unnecessarily increasing their gate-source withstand voltage. Needless to say, the transistors PD 1 and ND 1 need to be given a source-drain withstand voltage high enough to withstand a fault in the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV). Incidentally, when the fault detection signal S 1 turns to high level (the abnormal-mode logical level), the transistors PD 1 and ND 1 are both completely turned off, with the result that the output node of the output signal OUT is left in a floating state (a high-impedance state). FIG. 10 is a timing chart showing an example of the fault protection operation described above, showing, from top, the first supply voltage HV, the fault detection signal S 1 , the gate voltages of the transistors P 1 and N 1 , the gate voltages of the transistors PD 1 and ND 1 , and the output signal OUT.
Although not illustrated in FIG. 2 , an electrostatic protection diode is commonly connected between the node to which the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV) is applied and the node to which the ground voltage GND is applied. The electrostatic protection diode lies outside the scope of the protection operation based on the fault detection signal S 1 , and therefore needs to be implemented with a device that has a sufficiently high withstand voltage.
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a modified example of the load driving circuit 11 . As shown in FIG. 3 , the load driving circuit 11 may be so configured as to have analog switches SW 1 and SW 2 connected to the gates of the transistors PD 1 and ND 1 respectively.
The analog switch SW 1 corresponds to a second upper switch which, according to the fault detection signal S 1 , connects/disconnects between the gate of the transistor PD 1 and the pre-driver DRV. When the fault detection signal S 1 is at low level (the normal-mode logical level), the analog switch SW 1 is turned on to connect between the gate of the transistor PD 1 and the pre-driver DRV. On the other hand, when the fault detection signal S 1 is at high level (the abnormal-mode logical level), the analog switch SW 1 is turned off to disconnect between the gate of the transistor PD 1 and the pre-driver DRV. Providing the analog switch SW 1 makes it possible to more reliably keep the gate of the transistor PD 1 at the first supply voltage HV (or the second supply voltage LV) when the fault detection signal S 1 turns to high level (the abnormal-mode logical level).
The analog switch SW 2 corresponds to a second lower switch which, according to the fault detection signal S 1 , connects/disconnects between the gate of the transistor ND 1 and the pre-driver DRV. When the fault detection signal S 1 is at low level (the normal-mode logical level), the analog switch SW 2 is turned on to connect between the gate of the transistor ND 1 and the pre-driver DRV. On the other hand, when the fault detection signal S 1 is at high level (the abnormal-mode logical level), the analog switch SW 2 is turned off to disconnect between the gate of the transistor ND 1 and the pre-driver DRV. Providing the analog switch SW 2 makes it possible to more reliably keep the gate of the transistor ND 1 at the ground voltage GND when the fault detection signal S 1 turns to high level (the abnormal-mode logical level).
As described above, a motor driver IC 10 adopting the configuration shown in FIG. 2 or 3 eliminates the need, in order to cope with overvoltage destruction testing and destructive testing in which supply voltages for two systems are connected the wrong way around (so-called cross connection testing), to give the transistors PD 1 and ND 1 an unnecessarily increased withstand voltage, or to connect an additional component externally to the motor driver IC 10 . This contributes to reducing the chip area and reducing the cost of target products.
For example, in a case where overvoltage destruction testing is conducted in which the first supply voltage HV or the second supply voltage LV is intentionally brought into an overvoltage state, while the first supply voltage HV or the second supply voltage LV is held in an overvoltage state, the first overvoltage detection signal SA or the second overvoltage detection signal SC remains at high level, and this causes the fault detection signal S 1 to turn to high level (the abnormal-mode logical level) and thereby activates the fault protection operation described above (see FIG. 10 ). The IC is thus prevented from smoking or destruction.
As discussed above, according to the protection technology described above, with respect to a device that handles a small signal, it can be protected from destruction by turning off a switch in a power supply line and, with respect to an output device that cannot be protected in that way, it can be protected from destruction through the introduction of a switch for turning its gate off That is, as circuit elements for realizing the protection technology described above, both a gate-off switch against destruction of an output device and a switch for disconnecting a power supply line are both essential. The reason that a power supply line connected to an output device is not disconnected is to avoid an apparent increase in the on-state resistance of the output device which would result from the insertion of the switch.
On the other hand, in a case where destructive testing is conducted in which the first and second supply voltages LH and LV are connected the wrong way around (so-called cross connection testing), the undervoltage detection signal SB or the second overvoltage detection signal SC turns to high level and thereby activates the protection operation described above. The IC is thus prevented from smoking or destruction.
(Desktop PC)
FIG. 11 is an external view of a desktop personal computer (PC) incorporating the optical disc drive 1 . The desktop PC X of this exemplary configuration includes a cabinet X 10 , a liquid crystal display monitor X 20 , a keyboard X 30 , and a mouse X 40 .
The cabinet X 10 accommodates a central processing unit (CPU) X 11 , a memory X 12 , an optical drive X 13 , a hard disk drive X 14 , etc.
The CPU X 11 executes an operating system and various application programs stored on the hard disk drive X 14 , and thereby controls the operation of the desktop PC X in an integrated fashion.
The memory X 12 is used as a working area (for example, an area where task data is stored during execution of a program) by the CPU X 11 .
The optical drive X 13 reads and writes optical discs. Examples of optical discs include CDs (compact discs), DVDs (digital versatile discs), and BDs (Blu-ray discs). As the optical drive X 13 , the optical disc drive 1 described previously can suitably be used.
The hard disk drive X 14 is a type of large-capacity auxiliary storage device that stores programs and data on a non-volatile basis by use of a magnetic disk hermetically sealed inside a housing.
The liquid crystal display monitor X 20 outputs video based on instructions from the CPU X 11 .
The keyboard X 30 and the mouse X 40 are each a type of human interface device that accepts user operation.
<Modifications and Variations>
Although the embodiment described above deals with, as an example, a configuration where the present invention is applied to a motor driver IC 10 , this is not meant to limit the scope of application of the present invention; the present invention finds wide application in load driving devices in general, such as switching regulator ICs like the one shown in FIG. 4 .
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing an exemplary configuration of a switching regulator IC to which the present invention is applicable. The switching regulator IC 40 of this exemplary configuration is a semiconductor integrated circuit device including a P-channel MOS field-effect transistor 41 , a rectification diode 42 , a switch controller 43 , an overvoltage protector 44 , and a power switch 45 ; it further has, externally connected to it as discrete devices constituting an output stage, a coil L 11 , a capacitor C 11 , and resistors R 11 and R 12 . Although in this exemplary configuration, the output stage is configured as a step-down type, this is not meant to limit the configuration of the output stage; it may instead be of a step-up type or a step-up and -down type.
In the switching regulator IC 40 of this exemplary configuration, the transistor 41 corresponds to the transistor PD 1 in FIG. 2 , and the rectification diode 42 corresponds to the transistor ND 1 in FIG. 2 . The rectification diode 42 may be replaced with a synchronous-rectification transistor. The switch controller 43 corresponds to the pre-driver DRV (an internal circuit) in FIG. 2 , and the overvoltage protector 44 corresponds to the fault detection circuit 12 in FIG. 2 . The power switch 45 corresponds to the transistor P 0 in FIG. 2 . Although not explicitly shown in FIG. 4 , a device corresponding to the transistor P 1 in FIG. 2 may be provided, for example, between the gate and the source of the transistor 41 .
Although the embodiment described above deals with, as an example, a configuration where the motor driver IC 10 is fed with supply voltages (HV and LV) for two systems, this is not meant to limit the present invention; even in cases where it is fed with supply voltages for three or more systems, it is possible to flexibly cope with them by providing an overvoltage detector and an undervoltage detector for each system and performing level shifting so as to adapt the signal level of a fault detection signal for each load driving circuit.
As discussed above, the present invention may be implemented in any other manners than specifically described by way of an embodiment above, with many modifications made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. That is, it is to be understood that the embodiment described above is in every way illustrative and not restrictive. The technical scope of the present invention is defined not by the description of the embodiment above but by the scope of the appended claims, and is to be understood to encompass any modifications made in the sense and scope equivalent to those of the claims.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
The present invention contributes to enhancing the reliability of load driving devices.
LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS
1 optical disc drive
10 load driving device (motor driver IC)
11 load driving circuit
111 spindle motor driver circuit
112 sled motor driver circuit
113 loading motor driver circuit
114 focus actuator driver circuit
115 tracking actuator driver circuit
116 tilt actuator driver circuit
12 fault detection circuit
121 first overvoltage detector
121 a comparator
122 undervoltage detector
122 a comparator
123 second overvoltage detector
123 a comparator
124 fault detection signal generator
124 a level shifter
a 1 N-channel MOS field-effect transistor
a 2 current source
a 3 inverter
124 b OR operator
20 load (motor/actuator)
21 spindle motor
22 sled motor
23 loading motor
24 focus actuator
25 tracking actuator
26 tilt actuator
30 microprocessor
40 switching regulator IC
41 P-channel MOS field-effect transistor
42 rectification diode
43 switch controller (internal circuit)
44 overvoltage protector (fault detection circuit)
45 power switch
PD 1 P-channel DMOS field-effect transistor
ND 1 N-channel DMOS field-effect transistor
P 0 , P 1 P-channel MOS field-effect transistor
N 1 N-channel MOS field-effect transistor
R 1 resistor
DRV pre-driver
BUF buffer (with a level shifting capability)
INV inverter (with a level shifting capability)
CVG compensated supply voltage generator
b 1 P-channel MOS field-effect transistor
b 2 npn-type bipolar transistor
b 3 zener diode
b 4 , b 5 resistor
SW 1 , SW 2 analog switch
L 11 coil
C 11 capacitor
R 11 , R 12 resistor
X desktop PC
X 10 cabinet
X 11 CPU
X 12 memory
X 13 optical drive
X 14 hard disk drive
X 20 liquid crystal display monitor
X 30 keyboard
X 40 mouse
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A load driving device according to the present invention has: an internal circuit (DRV) that operates in response to the supply of a power supply voltage (HV or LV); an output circuit (PD 1 and PD 2 ) for driving a load in response to the supply of the power supply voltage (HV or LV); an abnormality detection circuit ( 12 ) for monitoring the power supply voltage (HV or LV) and generating an abnormality detection signal (S 1 ); and a power supply switch (P 0 ) for, according to the abnormality detection signal (S 1 ), conducting or cutting off a power-supply-voltage supply line to the internal circuit (DRV).
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This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 164,975, filed July 1, 1980 abandoned.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
It has been found that useful fungicidal properties are possessed by certain N-(3-pyridylmethyl)-N-acyl anilines, of the formula: ##STR2## wherein R is hydrogen, or is alkyl or alkoxyalkyl of from one to six carbon atoms, R 1 is hydrogen or alkyl of from one to four carbon atoms, X is halogen and n is zero, one or two.
This invention thus provides a method for combatting fungi at a locus which comprises applying to that locus a fungicidally effective amount of a compound of Formula I. In particular, the invention provides a method for combatting barley powdery mildew.
Compounds of Formula I form N-oxides; acid addition salts with acids, for example mineral acids such as sulphuric or hydrochloric acid or organic acids such as citric or tartaric acid; and complexes with metal salts, for example complexes of the compound of Formula I with a salt, for example a halide, of calcium, copper or iron, in the ratio of 2:1, 1:1 or 1:2. The use of such derivatives forms part of the present invention, and the derivatives may be prepared from compounds of Formula I by methods analogous to known methods.
In the method according to the invention, the compound of Formula I or acid addition salt, N-oxide or metal salt complex thereof, is suitably applied to the locus to be treated at a dosage in the range of from 0.1 to 3 kilogram per hectare. Most conveniently it is applied in the form of a composition containing the compound together with one or more suitable carriers.
These fungicidal compounds can be prepared by acylating a compound of the general formula ##STR3## in which R 1 and X n have the meanings given for the compounds of Formula I, using a suitable acylating agent to introduce the R--C(O)--moiety.
Any suitable acylating agent, for example a carboxylic acid or an acid anhydride or, preferably, acid halide, derived from a carboxylic acid, may be used. Acid chlorides are especially suitable, and the reaction is then preferably carried out in the presence of an acid binding agent, which may be an organic or inorganic base. Organic amines, for example triethylamine, are especially suitable acid-binding agents. The reaction is preferably carried out in the presence of an insert solvent, for example a hydrocarbon such as benzene, at a temperature in the range of from 50° to 150° C., preferably 60° to 100° C. The reaction is conveniently carried out under reflux.
The compound of Formula II may for example be prepared by reduction of a compound of the general formula: ##STR4## in which R 1 and X n have the meanings given for the compounds of Formula I. The reduction may for example be carried out using gaseous hydrogen and a catalyst, or using formic acid. When formic acid is used the reaction conditions may be chosen such that at least some of the compound of formula II produced is formylated in situ, thus directly producing a compound of the general formula I in which R 1 represents a formyl group starting from a compound of Formula III.
The compound of Formula III may be prepared by methods analogous to methods known in the art, for example by coupling a compound of the general formula: ##STR5## with a compound of the general formula: ##STR6##
The method of combatting fungi according to the invention is suitably carried out using a composition which comprises the active compound together with a suitable carrier. The invention therefore also provides a biologically active composition which comprises a novel compound according to the invention together with a suitable carrier. Preferably the amount of active ingredient in the composition is in the range of from 0.05 to 95% by weight of the composition.
A carrier in a composition according to the invention is any material with which the active ingredient is formulated to facilitate application to the locus to be treated, which may for example be a plant, seed or soil, or to facilitate storage, transport or handling. A carrier may be a solid or a liquid, including a material which is normally gaseous but which has been compressed to form a liquid, and any of the carriers normally used in formulating agricultural compositions may be used.
Suitable solid carriers include natural and synthetic clays and silicates, for example natural silicas such as diatamaceous earths; magnesium silicates, for example talcs; magnesium aluminium silicates, for example attapulgites and vermiculites; aluminium silicates, for example kaolinites, montmorillonites and micas; calcium carbonate; calcium sulphate; synthetic hydrated silicon oxides and synthetic calcium or aluminium silicates; elements, for example carbon and sulphur; natural and synthetic resins, for example coumarone resins, polyvinyl chloride, and styrene polymers and copolymers; solid polychlorophenols; bitumen; waxes, for example beeswax, paraffin wax, and chlorinated mineral waxes; and solid fertilizers, for example superphosphates.
Suitable liquid carriers include water; alcohols, for example isopropanol and glycols; ketones, for example acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone and cyclohexanone; ethers; aromatic or araliphatic hydrocarbons, for example benzene, toluene and xylene; petroleum fractions, for example kerosine and light mineral oils; chlorinated hydrocarbons, for example carbon tetrachloride, perchloroethylene and trichloroethane. Mixtures of different liquids are often suitable.
Agricultural compositions are often formulated and transported in a concentrated form which is subsequently diluted by the user before application. The presence of small amounts of a carrier which is a surface-active agent facilitates this process of dilution.
A surface-active agent may be an emulsifying agent, a dispersing agent or a wetting agent; it may be nonionic or ionic. Examples of suitable surface-active agents include the sodium or calcium salts of polyacrylic acids and lignin sulphonic acids; the condensation products of fatty acids or aliphatic amines or amides containing at least 12 carbon atoms in the molecule with ethyene oxide and/or propylene oxide; fatty acid esters of glycerol, sorbitan, sucrose or pentaerythritol; condensates of these with ethylene oxide and/or propylene oxide; condensation products of fatty alcohol or alkyl phenols, for example p-octylphenol or p-octylcresol, with ethylene oxide and/or propylene oxide; sulphates or sulphonates of these condensation products; alkali or alkaline earth metal salts, preferably sodium salts, of sulphuric or sulphonic acid esters containing at least 10 carbon atoms in the molecule, for example sodium lauryl sulphate, sodium secondary alkyl sulphates, sodium salts of sulphonated castor oil, and sodium alkylaryl sulphonates such as sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonate; and polymers of ethylene oxide and copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide.
The compositions of the invention may for example be formulated as wettable powders, dusts, granules, solutions, emulsifiable concentrates, emulsions, suspension concentrates and aerosols. Wettable powders usually contain 25, 50 and 75% w of active ingredient and usually contain, in addition to solid inert carrier, 3-10% w of a dispersing agent and, where necessary, 0-10% w of stabilizer(s) and/or other additives such as penetrants or stickers. Dusts are usually formulated as a dust concentrate having a similar compositions to that of a wettable powder but without a dispersant, and are diluted in the field with further solid carrier to give a composition usually containing 178-10% w of active ingredient. Granules are usually prepared to have a size between 10 and 100 BS mesh (1.676-1.152 mm), and may be manufactured by agglomeration or impregnation techniques. Generally, granules will contain 1/2-25% w active ingredient and 0-10% w of additives such as stabilizers, slow release modifiers and binding agents. Emulsifiable concentrates usually contain, in addition to a solvent and, when necessary, co-solvent, 10-50% w/v active ingredient, 2-20% w/v emulsifiers and 0-20% w/v of other additives such as stabilizers, penetrants and corrosion inhibitors. Suspension concentrates are usually compounded so as to obtain a stable, non-sedimenting flowable product and usually contain 10-75% w active ingredient, 0.5-15% w of dispersing agents, 0.1-10% w of suspending agents such as protective colloids and thixotropic agents, 0-10% w of other additives such as defoamers, corrosion inhibitors, stabilizers, penetrants and stickers, and water or an organic liquid in which the active ingredient is substantially insoluble; certain organic solids or inorganic salts may be present dissolved in the formulation to assist in preventing sedimentation or as anti-freeze agents for water.
Aqueous dispersions and emulsions, for example compositions obtained by diluting a wettable powder or a concentrate according to the invention with water, also lie within the scope of the present invention. The said emulsions may be of the water-in-oil or of the oil-in-water type, and may have a thick `mayonnaise`-like consistency.
The compositions of the invention may also contain other ingredients, for example, other compounds possessing insecticidal, herbicidal, plant growth regulating or fungicidal properties.
The following Examples illustrate the invention.
In each of these examples, the identity of each intermediate and product was confirmed by appropriate chemical and spectral analyses.
EXAMPLE 1
4-Chloro-N-(3'-pryidylmethyl)-N-trimethylacetyl Aniline (1)
To a stirred solution of 3.0 g of trimethylacetyl chloride in 50 ml of dry benzene under nitrogen was added a solution of 2.5 g of dry trimethylaniline in 25 ml of dry benzene, followed by 4.9 g of 4-chloro-N-(3'-pyridylmethyl)-aniline. (Prepared by the method of V. Carelli, et al., Farmaco (Pavia) Ed. Sci., 16, 375-386 (1961)). The mixture was stirred and heated under reflux for 6.5 hours; then cooled, and washed with water and the organic phase dried over anhydrous MgSO 4 . After filtration, the solvent was removed under reduced pressure and the residue crystallized from hexane to give 1, as a crystalline solid, m.p.: 82°-3° C.
EXAMPLES 2 TO 11
Using methods analogous to those described in Example 1, the following further individual compounds of the invention were prepared.
TABLE I______________________________________ In Formula I: MeltingExample No. (X).sub.n R R.sup.1 Point C______________________________________2 4-fluorot-butyl H 103-1053 4-chloro --CH.sub.2 OCH.sub.3 H Oil4 4-chloro --CH.sub.2.t- H 75-76 butyl5 2,4-dichlorot.butyl H 45-476 3,4-cichlorot.butyl H 63-657 2,4-difluorot.butyl H 73.5-75.58 3-chloro-4-fluorot.butyl H 61-62(n = 0)t.butyl H 38-4010 4-bromot.butyl H 90-9211 4-chlorot.butyl CH.sub.3 Oil______________________________________
EXAMPLE 12
The fungicidal activity of compounds of Formula I was investigated by means of the following tests:
(a) Activity against vine downy mildew (Plasmopera viticola-Pv.a.)
The test was a direct anti-sporulant one using a foliar spray. The lower surfaces of leaves of whole vine plants, were inoculated by spraying with an aqueous suspension containing 10 5 zoosporangia/milliliter 4 days prior to treatment with the test compound. The inoculated plants were kept for 24 hours in a high humidity compartment, 48 hours at glasshouse ambient temperature and humidity and then returned for a further 24 hours to high humidity. The plants were then dried and infected leaves detached and sprayed on the lower surfaces at a dosage of 1 kilogram of active material per hectare using a track sprayer. After drying the petioles of the sprayed leaves were dipped in water and the leaves returned to high humidity for a further 72 hours incubation, followed by assessment. Assessment was based on the percentage of the leaf area covered by sporulation compared with that on control leaves.
(b) Activity against vine downy mildew (Plasmopera viticola-Pv.t.)
The test was a translaminar protectant one using a foliar spray. The upper surfaces of leaves of whole vine plants were sprayed at a dosage of 1 kilogram of active material per hectare using a track sprayer. The lower surfaces of the leaves were then inoculated, up to 6 hours after treatment with the test compound, by spraying with an aqueous suspension containing 10 5 zooporangia/milliliter. The inoculated plants were kept for 24 hours in a high humidity compartment, 4 days at glasshouse ambient temperature and humidity and then returned for a further 24 hours to high humidity. Assessment was based on the percentage of the leaf area covered by sporulation with that on control leaves.
(c) Activity against vine grey mould (Botrytis cinerea-B.c.)
The test was a direct eradicant one using a foliar spray. The under-surfaces of detached vine leaves were inoculated by pipetting ten large drops of an aqueous suspension containing 5×10 5 conidia/milliliter on to them. The inoculated leaves were kept uncovered overnight during which time the fungus has penetrated the leaf and a visible necrotic lesion might be apparent where the drop was made. The infected regions were sprayed directly with a dosage of 1 kilogram of active material per hectare using a track sprayer. When the spray had dried the leaves were covered with petri dish lids and the disease allowed to develop under the moist conditions. The extent of the necrotic lesion beyond the original drop together with the degree of sporulation was compared with that on control leaves.
(d) Activity against potato late blight (Phytophthora infestans-P.i.e.)
The test was a direct eradicant one using a foliar spray. The upper surfaces of the leaves of potato plants (12-18 centimeter high, in monopots) were inoculated by spraying with an aqueous suspension containing 5×10 3 zoosporangia/milliliter 16-19 hours prior to treatment with the test compound. The inoculated plants were kept overnight at high humidity and then allowed to dry before spraying at a dosage of 1 kilogram of active material per hectare using a track sprayer. After spraying the plants were returned to high humidity for a further period of 48 hours. Assessment was based on a comparison between the levels of disease on the treated and control plants.
(e) Activity against potato late blight (Phytophthora infestans-(P.i.p.)
The test measured the direct protectant activity of compounds applied as a foliar spray. Tomato plants, Cultivar Ailsa Craig, 1-15 centimeters high, in monopots were used. The whole plant was sprayed at a dosage of 1 kilogram of active material per hectare using a track sprayer. The plant was then inoculated up to 6 hours after treatment with the test compound, by spraying with an aqueous suspension containing 5×10 3 zoosporangia/milliliter. The inoculated plants were kept in high humidity for 3 days. Assessment was based on a comparison between the levels of disease on the treated and control plants.
(f) Activity against barley powdery mildew (Erysiphe graminis-E.g.)
The test measured the direct anti-sporulant activity of compounds applied as a foliar spray. For each compound about 40 barley seedlings were grown to the one-leaf stage in a plastic pot of sterile potting compost. Inoculation was effected by dusting the leaves with conidia of Erysiphe graminis, spp. hordei. 24 hours after inoculation the seedlings were sprayed with a solution of the compound in a mixture of acetone (50%), surfactant (0.04%) and water using a track sprayer. The rate of application was equivalent to 1 kilogram of active material per hectare. First assessment of disease was made 5 days after treatment, when the overall level of sporulation on the treated pots was compared with that on control pots.
(g) Activity against wheat brown rust (Puccinia recondita-P.r.)
The test was a direct antisporulant one using a foliar spray. Pots containing about 25 wheat seedlings per pot, at first leaf stage were inoculated by spraying the leaves with an aqueous suspension, containing 10 5 spores/milliliter plus a little Triton X-155 (Trade Mark), 20-24 hours before treatment with the compound under test. The inoculated plants were kept overnight in a high humidity compartment, dried at glass-house ambient temperature and then sprayed at a dosage of 1 kilogram of active material per hectare using a track-sprayer. After treatment the plants were kept at glass-house ambient temperature and assessment made about 11 days after treatment. Assessment was based on the relative density of sporulating pustules per plant with that on control plants.
(h) Activity against broad bean rust (Uromyces fabe-U.f.)
The test was a translaminar antisporulant one using foliar spray. Pots containing 1 plant per pot were inoculated by spraying an aqueous suspension, containing 5×10 4 spores/milliliter plus a little Triton X-155, onto the undersurface of each leaf 20-24 hours before treatment with test compound. The inoculated plants were kept overnight in a high humidity compartment, dried at glass-house ambient temperature and then sprayed, on the leaf upper surface, at a dosage of 1 kilogram per hectare of active material using a track sprayer. After treatment the plants were kept at glasshouse temperature and assessment made 11-14 days after treatment. Symptoms were assessed on the relative density of sporulating pustules per plant compared with that on control plants.
(i) Activity against rice leaf blast (Pyricularia oryzae-P.o.)
The test was a direct eradicant one using a foliar spray. The leaves of rice seedlings (about 30 seedlings per pot) were sprayed with an aqueous suspension containing 10 5 spores/milliliter 20-24 hours prior to treatment with the test compound. The inoculated plants were kept overnight in high humidity and then allowed to dry before spraying at a dosage of 1 kilogram of active material per hectare using a track sprayer. After treatment the plants were kept in a rice compartment at 25°-30° C. and high humidity. Assessment was made 4-5 days after treatment and was based on the density of necrotic lesions and the degree of withering when compared with control plants.
(j) Activity against rice sheath blight (Pellicularia sasakii-P.s.)
The test was a direct eradicant one using a foliar spray. 20-24 hours prior to treatment with the test compound rice seedlings (about 30 seedlings per pot) were sprayed with 5 millileters of an aqueous suspension containing 0.2 grams of crushed sclerotia/mycelium per milliliter. The inoculated plants were kept overnight in a humid cabinet maintained at 25°-30° C., followed by spraying at a dosage of 1 kilogram of active material per hectare. The treated plants were then returned to high humidity for a further period of 3-4 days. With this disease brown lesions are seen that start at the base of the sheath and extend upwards. Assessments were made on the number and extent of the lesions when compared with the control.
The extent of disease control is expressed as a control rating according to the criteria:
0=less than 50% disease control
1=50-80% disease control
2=greater than 80% disease control/S1 and /S2 indicate systemic activity, using the same scale of rating. The obtained control ratings are set out in Table II.
TABLE II______________________________________Fungicidal ActivityCompound ofExample No. B.c E.g.______________________________________1 22 23 2 2/1S4 2______________________________________
EXAMPLE 13
Further compounds of Formula I were tested for fungicidal activity against the same species as described in Example 12 except that tests on the two following species replaced tests on Pellicularia sasakii.
(k) Activity against apple powdery mildew (Podosphaera leuco-tricha, P.l.)
The test measured that direct anti-sporulant activity of compounds applied as a foliar spray. For each compound, apple seedlings were grown to the three to five leaf stage in a plastic pot of sterile potting compost. Inoculation was effected by spraying the leaves with a suspension in water of conidia of the test species. 48 hours after inoculation the seedlings were sprayed with a solution of the test compound in a mixture of acetone (50%), surfactant (0.04%) and water using a track sprayer. The rate of application was equivalent to 1 kilogram active material per hectare. First assessment of disease was made 10 days after treatment, when the overall level of sporulation on the treated pots were compared with those on control pots.
(1) Activity against peanut leaf spot (Cercospora arachidicola-C.a.)
The procedure of (k) above was repeated using peanut seedlings grown to height of about 15 centimeters. Assessment of disease was made 14 days after treatment. The results of the tests of Example 13 are given in Table III below.
TABLE III______________________________________Compound ofExample No. B.c. E.g. P.r. U.f. P.l.______________________________________5 2 2 2 26 2 2 27 2/2S 1 28 2 19 2 110 2/1S 111 2______________________________________
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Use as fungicides of N-(3-pyridylmethyl)-N-acyl anilines, of the formula ##STR1## wherein the symbols have assigned meanings.
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FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a system and method for joining workpieces to form an article.
DRAWINGS
[0002] The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
[0003] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary manufacturing system constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure;
[0004] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the manufacturing system of FIG. 1 , illustrating an exemplary positioning fixture constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure;
[0005] FIG. 3 is a schematic view depicting a portion of the positioning fixture of FIG. 2 ;
[0006] FIG. 4 is a schematic view depicting a portion of the positioning fixture of FIG. 2 ;
[0007] FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary process for joining workpieces in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure;
[0008] FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary assembly that is formed of workpieces that are to be joined in a workstation of the manufacturing system of FIG. 1 ;
[0009] FIG. 7 is an enlarged portion of FIG. 6 that depicts a first orientation of selected features on a workpiece and a revised orientation of the selected features that is obtained through an optimization algorithm;
[0010] FIGS. 8 and 9 are schematic depictions of workpieces that are to be joined in the manufacturing system of FIG. 1 , the workpieces being depicted as having independent and dependent relationships, respectively; and
[0011] FIG. 10 is a plot that depicts the propagation of variation in the fabrication of an article.
[0012] Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] With reference to FIG. 1 of the drawings, an exemplary system for manufacturing an article is generally indicated by reference numeral 10 . The manufacturing system 10 can include a plurality of workstations that are employed to form one or more potions of the article from various workpieces. The workstations can be collectively or generally designated by reference numeral 12 , or can be referred to specifically by reference numerals 12 ( a ), 12 ( b ), . . . 12 (n−1) and 12 ( n ). Each of the portions of the article can comprise two or more workpieces (e.g., W 1 , W 2 ) that have been joined together in one of the workstations 12 . In the particular example provided, the workpieces form a slip joint that is joined or secured by welding, but those of skill in the art will appreciate that each workstation 12 could employ one or more joining techniques, such as welding (e.g., arc-welding, MIG welding, TIG welding, spot welding, resistance welding), bonding, riveting, fastening, nailing, brazing, soldering, etc. Additionally, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the particular joint need not be a slip joint, but could be any type of joint, including a butt joint. Each workstation 12 can comprise a positioning fixture 20 , a measuring device 22 , and a workstation controller 24 .
[0014] With reference to FIG. 2 , each positioning fixture 20 can be configured to hold one or more workpieces (W 1 , W 2 ) so that the joining process can be conducted in the workstation 12 . The positioning fixture 20 can have a frame (jig) 30 and a plurality of locators 32 that are configured to position one or more of the workpieces relative to the frame 30 .
[0015] Depending on the configuration of the workpieces that are to be joined in the workstation 12 , the locators 32 can be configured in one or more sets. Generally speaking, one set of locators 32 can be employed to locate a first workpiece relative to the frame 30 and another set of locators 32 can be employed to locate a second workpiece relative to the frame 30 . It will be understood, however, that one or more of the locators 32 in one set of locators 32 could be employed to position two or more workpieces relative to the frame 30 . As will be discussed in more detail below, the locators 32 will include at least one primary locator 32 p. In some situations, a first workpiece can be positioned in a given workstation with a set of locators having no primary locators 32 p, and each workpiece that is to be joined to the first workpiece in the given workstation can be positioned with a set of locators having two primary locators 32 p. The locators 32 can be configured to engage one or more of the workpieces in a controlled manner to both locate the workpiece(s) in a desired manner and to eliminate translating movement along and rotational movement about X, Y and Z axes. One technique commonly employed in the design of positioning fixtures is referred to as the 3-2-1 principal of fixture design. Details regarding the design of such fixtures are beyond the scope of this disclosure, but briefly, the positioning fixture 20 is configured such that each workpiece:
[0016] a) rests on three non-collinear points on a bottom surface (i.e., in an X-Y plane), which fixes the location of the workpiece in a first direction along the Z-axis, rotationally about the Y-axis, and in a first rotational direction about the X-axis;
[0017] b) rests on two points on a side (X-Z plane), which fixes the location of the workpiece in one direction along the Y-axis and in a first rotational direction about the Z-axis; and
[0018] c) rests on one point on an adjacent surface (Y-Z plane) to fix the location of the workpiece in one direction along the X-axis and in a second rotational direction about the Z-axis.
[0000] Each locator 32 is disposed at a corresponding one of the points on which the workpiece rests. The locators 32 can comprise rest buttons or pads, concentric locators and radial locators. Clamps 38 can be employed to secure the workpiece to the positioning fixture 20 to thereby inhibit translation of the workpiece relative to the positioning fixture 20 along the X, Y and Z-axes, as well as rotationally about the X-axis in a second rotational direction.
[0019] If desired, the locators 32 can be movably coupled to the positioning fixture 20 so as to be capable of being used for the production of different finished articles. For example, the locators 32 could be positionable in a first orientiation to facilitate the joining of workpieces for a first finished article (e.g., the body-in-white of a sedan) and a second orientation to facilitate the joining of workpieces for a second finished article (e.g., the body-in-white of a sport-utility vehicle). The positioning of the locators 32 can be accomplished manually, or in an automated manner via an appropriate mechanism, such as one or more linear motors (not shown). Moreover, in situations where the locators 32 are moved in an automated manner, the positioning of the locators 32 can be controlled on an as-needed basis, so that workpieces for a variety of different finished articles could be processed together through the manufacturing system 10 ( FIG. 1 ) without the need for significant down-time to re-tool the manufacturing system 10 ( FIG. 1 ).
[0020] With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 , one or more of the locators 32 , which can be a concentric locator or a radial locator, can be a primary locator 32 p. In the particular example provided, the primary locator 32 p is a concentric locator and comprises a pin 40 , as well as first, second and third linear motors 42 , 44 and 46 , that are configured to translate the pin 40 along the X, Y and Z-axes, respectively, relative to the frame 30 . As is schematically depicted in FIG. 3 , the pin 40 can optionally be fixedly coupled the one or more other locators 32 in a given set of locators (i.e., a “first set of locators” in the particular example provided) so that operation of the first, second and third linear motors 42 , 44 and 46 can optionally move all or a portion of the locators 32 in the particular set of locators (i.e., as a group) along the X, Y and Z-axes. The first, second, and third linear motors 42 , 44 and 46 are depicted as employing jack- or ball-screws in the particular example provided, but it will be appreciated that any type of linear motor could be employed.
[0021] In some situations, the positioning fixture 20 can be configured to have a quantity of primary locators 32 p that is one less than the quantity of workpieces that are to be joined in the workstation 12 , and each of the primary locators 32 p can be associated with a different set of locators. It will be appreciated, however, that the quantity of primary locators 32 p employed in a particular positioning fixture 20 can be varied as desired. For example, a single primary locator 32 p could be employed if movement of one type (e.g., translation along the X, Y and/or Z axes) was desired, while two primary locators 32 p could be if more than one type of movement (e.g., translation and rotation) was desired.
[0022] It will be appreciated that the purpose of the primary locators 32 p is to permit the set of locators 32 that control the positioning of one workpiece to be moved relative to the set of locators 32 that control the positioning of a second workpiece. Optionally, as shown in FIG. 4 , the primary locator 32 p can include a pair of retractable clamping jaws 50 that are movable between a retracted position, which permits an associated workpiece W 1 to be loaded onto the primary locator 32 p, and an extended position that can be employed to urge the workpiece W 1 against a shoulder 52 or rest button to thereby fix the workpiece W 1 against the shoulder 52 or rest button to inhibit translation along and rotation of the workpiece W 1 about (the pin 40 ) of the primary locator 32 p.
[0023] Returning to FIG. 1 , the measuring device 22 can be any type of device that is configured to collect data in real time relating to the physical positioning of various features on the workpieces when the workpieces are mounted on the positioning fixture 20 prior to the commencement of a joining operation. For example, the measuring device 22 can comprise a first device, such as a laser radar device or an optical measurement device, which is configured to collect 3-dimensional data relating to the workpieces, and an analyzing tool that can be employed to evaluate the 3-dimensional data and identify the size, shape and relative position of selected features on the workpieces. In the particular example provided, the analyzing tool employs data from the first device in conjunction with data transformation techniques and pattern recognition techniques to identify one or more of the selected features. Each of the features can comprise a surface or edge of a workpiece, a datum on a workpiece, a hole or slot in a workpiece, etc. and is selected for its ability to influence variation in the finished article. In the particular example provided, the analyzing tool is employed to a) determine the magnitude of variances between actual feature dimensions (size, location, etc.) and associated nominal feature dimensions (as determined from blueprints or CAD data), b) determine if any of the actual feature dimensions is out of tolerance, and c) statistically analyze the magnitude of the variances to determine if the actual feature dimensions are in statistical control or out of statistical control. The statistical analysis can be employed to identify instances where one or more features are being manufactured in a non-ideal manner so that corrective action can be implemented to ensure that workpieces subsequently fed into the manufacturing system 10 are less apt to add significant variation into the finished article. It will be appreciated that the non-ideal manner of manufacture could be the manufacture of the feature in an out-of-tolerance manner, or could be the positioning or forming of the feature at a position or to a size that deviates from its nominal blueprint location or size. Optionally, the measuring device 22 can be employed to identify features and/or components of the workpiece(s) and/or assembly that can be out-of-tolerance or otherwise non-conforming (e.g., incomplete or improperly assembled/fabricated) and generate an appropriate response, such as an alarm, flag or shut-down command, which can be used to prevent the out-of-tolerance/non-conforming workpiece or assembly from being used.
[0024] The workstation controller 24 can receive data and information from the measuring device 22 and can employ an optimizing algorithm to re-orient one or more of the workpieces relative to the other workpieces as desired. In this regard, the results of the optimizing algorithm can be employed to operate the first, second and third linear motors 42 , 44 and 46 ( FIG. 3 ) to move one or more of the locators 32 in a desired manner.
[0025] Generally speaking, the optimization algorithm can determine two vectors that can be employed to control the movement of a workpiece to an optimized location. The two vectors can include a first vector, which relates to rotation of the workpiece about an axis, and a second vector that relates to translation of the workpiece in a plane. It will be appreciated that the two vectors could be employed in separate movements (i.e., sequentially) or may be combined in some situations so that rotation and translation corrections could be implemented simultaneously. The optimization algorithm can also coordinate the movement of the primary locators 32 p for a given workpiece to prevent binding of a workpiece on a fixture or the breaking of one or more of the locators 32 , and can perform a mapping function that identifies the (new) position of one or more of the features after the primary locator(s) 32 p have moved the workpiece(s).
[0026] With reference to FIGS. 5 , a method for performing a joining operation at a given workstation 12 ( FIG. 1 ) is schematically depicted. The method can begin at block 60 , where a first workpiece and a second workpiece are mounted on first and second sets of locators 32 a and 32 b ( FIG. 1 ), respectively. At this initial stage, each of the primary locators 32 p ( FIG. 1 ) associated with the first set of locators 32 a ( FIG. 1 ) is positioned relative to the second set of locators 32 b ( FIG. 1 ) by an associated set of the first, second and third linear motors 42 , 44 and 46 ( FIG. 3 ) at an initial position. Clamps (not specifically shown) can be operated to secure the first and second workpieces to the frame 30 ( FIG. 1 ).
[0027] The method can proceed to block 62 , where the measuring device 22 ( FIG. 1 ) can collect and analyze 3-dimensional data regarding selected features on the first and second workpieces. In the particular example shown in FIG. 6 , which depicts a door D for an automotive vehicle, the features comprise first and second pairs of hinge mount holes HM 1 and HM 2 , respectively, a pair of latch mount holes LM, and a datum line DL.
[0028] Returning to FIGS. 1 and 5 , the method can proceed to decision block 64 where control (e.g., the workstation controller 24 ) can determine if the several features are in their optimized location. For purposes of this methodology, an optimized location of the features is the positioning of the first and second workpieces in a manner that minimizes the effect that the features of the first and second workpieces have on the magnitude of the variation in the fabrication of the article. Note that the optimized location of the features is not necessarily the location that minimizes the variation between the nominal location of each feature and the actual location of each feature, as in a least squares regression analysis. In our experience, the several features will have differing levels of influence on the magnitude of variation in the fabrication of the article and consequently, we employ a weighting technique in addition to advanced kinematics and engineering principals.
[0029] Referring to the example of FIG. 6 , a hinge (not shown) that is to be mounted to the door D via the second pair of hinge mount holes HM 2 and a latch (not shown) that is to be mounted to the door D via the pair of latch mount holes LM are configured with a relatively large degree of compliance (e.g., the holes in the hinge and the latch that receive fasteners that are threaded into the second hinge mount holes HM 2 and latch mount holes LM are relatively larger in diameter than the fasteners), another hinge (not shown) that is to be mounted to the door D via the first pair of hinge mount holes HM 1 is configured with a relatively smaller degree of compliance, and the datum line DL is critical to the gap-and flush fit of the door D to the remainder of the body (not shown) of the automotive vehicle. In this example, the datum line DL is given a first weight (e.g., a weight of one (1.0)), the first hinge mount holes HM 1 is given a second, smaller weight (e.g., a weight of one-half (0.5)), while the second pair of hinge mount holes HM 2 and the latch mount holes LM are each given still smaller weights (e.g., a weight of one-tenth (0.1)). Accordingly, the several features can be prioritized in the optimization algorithm such that the feature or features that most influence the magnitude of variation in the article can be oriented as close as possible to their nominal positions to thereby reduce the magnitude of variation in the article.
[0030] In some situations, the weighting could cause one or more of the features to be moved away or further away from their nominal position(s). In the example of FIG. 7 , the latch mount holes LM are originally located at their nominal locations, but due to the priority associated with the location of the datum line DL, the workpiece W 1 can be moved somewhat to re-orient the datum line (depicted in broken line), which can move the hinge mount holes HM (as shown in broken line) away from their nominal positions. In severe instances, one or more lower weighted features could actually be moved into a position that is actually considered out-of-tolerance but which nevertheless permits the first and second workpieces to be joined and functionally integrated into the article. For example, if second pair of hinge mount holes HM 2 were to be positioned within +/−0.5 mm from their nominal position, but were positioned +0.6 mm from their nominal position due to the prioritization of the datum line DL, the optimization algorithm would permit the configuration if there was sufficient compliance between the hinge and the second pair of hinge mount holes HM 2 to permit the door D to be mounted to the remainder of the vehicle body such that the door D opened, closed and latched properly and all criteria associated with the gap-and-flush fitting of the door D to the remainder of the vehicle body could be satisfied. One key to obtain the maximum benefit of the optimization algorithm is to appreciate that some tolerances may be somewhat arbitrary and that an out-of-tolerance situation for one feature does not necessarily render the article defective or inoperative. It will be appreciated, however, that limits could optionally be placed on the optimization algorithm that would not permit the location of one or more features to be positioned at an out-of-tolerance position.
[0031] With reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 , another key to maximizing the benefit of the optimization algorithm concerns identifying or determining whether the workpieces that are to be joined are “independent”, which is shown in FIG. 8 , or “dependent”, which is shown in FIG. 9 . In both examples, two sets of locators (not specifically shown) are employed, with a first set of the locators being employed to position a first workpiece W 1 and a second set of the locators being employed to position a second workpiece W 2 . In these situations only one primary locator (not shown) is required, but it will be appreciated that one or more additional primary locators could be integrated into the first set of locators and/or the second set of locators.
[0032] With reference to FIG. 8 , an independent situation is depicted in which the features on one workpiece (e.g., the features Fa, Fb, Fc and Fd on the first workpiece W 1 ) are able to be positioned relative to the features on a second workpiece (e.g., the features Fg, Fh, Fi, Fj and Fk on the second workpiece W 2 ) without causing movement of the second workpiece W 2 . In the example provided, a portion of the first workpiece W 1 overlies a portion of the second workpiece W 2 and the two workpieces W 1 , W 2 are joined together via a lap weld. The first workpiece W 1 can be positioned independently of the second workpiece W 2 so that the features Fa, Fb, Fc and Fd can be collectively oriented in a desired manner without movement of the second workpiece W 2 or the features Fg, Fh, Fi, Fj and Fk.
[0033] With reference to FIG. 9 , a dependent situation is depicted in which independent movement of the features on one workpiece (e.g., the features Fa, Fb, Fc, Fd, Fe and Ff on the first workpiece W 1 ) relative to the features on a second workpiece (e.g., features Fg, Fh, Fi, Fj, Fk, Fl and Fm on the second workpiece W 2 ) is limited by an interaction between at least one of the features on the first workpiece W 1 and at least one of the features on the second workpiece W 2 . In the example provided, a portion of the first workpiece W 1 overlies a portion of the second workpiece W 2 and the first and second workpieces W 1 , W 2 are secured to one another via a lap weld. Unlike the prior example, however, the features Fe and Ff on the first workpiece W 1 and the features Fl and Fm on the second workpiece W 2 are holes that are to be aligned to one another to receive threaded fasteners (not shown) therethrough that permit the joined first and second workpieces W 1 and W 2 to be mounted to a portion of the vehicle body. In this situation, movement of the first workpiece W 1 relative to the second workpiece W 2 is limited by a number of factors, including the amount of clearance between the holes and the threaded fasteners and the location of the holes in the vehicle body that receive the threaded fasteners.
[0034] Returning to FIGS. 1 and 5 , if the features are not in their optimized locations, the method can proceed to block 66 where the primary locator 32 p (with the associated set of locators 32 ) can be moved by the first, second and third linear motors 42 , 44 and 46 ( FIG. 3 ) as required to position the first workpiece at a location that positions the features on the first and second workpieces at their optimized locations. The method can loop back to block 62 , which permits the measuring device 22 to confirm the positioning of the features in their optimized locations (within predefined limits) and to permit the workstation controller 24 to confirm that the optimized locations have not changed.
[0035] Returning to decision block 64 , if the features are in their optimized locations, the method can proceed to block 68 where the workpieces can be secured together. In the example provided, the workpieces are joined via a MIG welding process, but as noted above, other joining processes could be employed in the alternative. The method can proceed to block 70 .
[0036] In block 70 the measuring device 22 can be employed to determine the locations of the features. The method can proceed to decision block 72 .
[0037] In decision block 72 , control determines whether the features are in their optimized locations within predefined tolerances. If the features are not in their optimized locations within the predefined tolerances, the method proceeds to block 74 where the assembly (i.e., the joined workpieces) are identified as being non-compliant. Such pieces may be scrapped or reworked as necessary.
[0038] Returning to decision block 72 , if the features are in the optimized locations with the predefined tolerances, the method proceeds to bubble 76 where the method ends. The assembly is considered to be compliant with tolerances and can be fed into a subsequent workstation as part of the subsequent steps for fabricating the article. It will be appreciated that the positions of the primary locators 32 p can be returned to a “home” or “nominal position” after the joined assembly has been removed from the fixture. Optionally, the positions of the primary locators 32 p can be left at their current positions.
[0039] With reference to FIG. 10 , a first plot P 1 and a second plot P 2 are employed to illustrate variation created in a prior art multi-step fabrication process and a multi-step fabrication process in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure, respectively. A prior art system for fabricating an article is configured in a manner that seeks to position each pair of workpieces that are to be joined at predefined positions (e.g., their nominal positions) prior to the joining operation. Fabrication of the article in this manner produces variation (due to deviations in the tooling that is employed to fixture and orient the workpieces, as well as deviations in the workpieces themselves) that is compounded at each subsequent step of the fabrication process as depicted by the first plot P 1 and as such, the magnitude of the variation that is possible in the finished article can be relatively large if there are many steps to the fabrication process and/or if the article is relatively complex in its configuration, such as a body-in-white. In contrast, the fabrication system of the present disclosure seeks to position each pair of workpieces that are to be joined in a manner that minimizes the magnitude of variation in article. In this regard, the several workpieces in a workstation can be positioned in optimized locations to eliminate variation caused by deviations in the tooling that is used to fixture and orient the workpieces, as well as to reduce variation caused by deviations in the workpieces themselves. Accordingly, variation created in one workstation can be attenuated in a subsequent station as shown in the second plot P 2 and consequently, the magnitude of variation that is possible in the finished article is significantly reduced as compared to the prior art multi-step fabrication process.
[0040] It will be appreciated that the location optimizing technique that is employed in the workstations of the manufacturing system 10 ( FIG. 1 ) can eliminate the effect of tooling wear on the fixturing that is used to position the workpieces, can eliminate the production of assemblies that are not fit for use in the finished article through real-time monitoring of the features of the workpieces before the joining operation, can reduce scrap by permitting the use of some workpieces having one or more out-of-tolerance features, and can improve the overall quality of the finished article relative to a conventional joining operation that seeks to orient workpieces in their nominal positions prior to joining the workpieces.
[0041] While the manufacturing system 10 ( FIG. 1 ) has been described as employing a plurality of workstations 12 ( FIG. 1 ), each having a positioning fixture 20 ( FIG. 2 ) that includes a jig or a frame 30 ( FIG. 2 ) and at least one primary locator 32 p ( FIG. 2 ), it will be appreciated that a portion of the jig or frame 30 ( FIG. 2 ) could be coupled to or integrated with a robot (i.e., the end effector of a robot) and the robot could be employed to vary the position of an associated workpiece in 3-dimensional space as needed. Configuration in this manner essentially integrates a set of the locators 32 ( FIG. 2 ) with portion of the jig or frame 30 ( FIG. 2 ) so that the motors that are employed to position the robot are substituted for the linear motors and move (as a group) the portion of the jig or fixture and an associated set of locators.
[0042] The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
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A workpiece having at least one physical feature is placed into a workstation fixture having at least one adjustable locator. Measurement data reflecting the position of the at least one physical feature of the workpiece and measurement data reflecting the position of the at least one adjustable locator are obtained. A processor ingests and utilizes the collection of assembly data and the measurement data to define and store in memory at least one ordered pair correlating the physical feature and the adjustable locator. The processor defines a test vector that connects the position of the at least one physical feature and the position of the at least one adjustable locator. The processor to computationally discovers a best fit for adjusting the position of the adjustable locator to register with the physical feature by applying to the test vector a computational optimization process that seeks to minimize the length of the test vector to thereby generate a digital shim vector. The adjustable locator is then physically moved according to the digital shim vector, which is stored in association with the collection of assembly data.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] DNA-Encoded chemical library members are chemical entities generated by combinatorial chemical synthesis processes that are associated with combinations of encoding oligonucleotide tags. The combinations of tags associated with individual library members may be determined and used to deduce the chemical synthesis history of the associated library member.
[0002] One method to generate such libraries is by the successive chemical ligation of oligonucleotide tags to a headpiece oligonucleotide, upon which a chemically-generated entity is displayed, by successive split-and-mix steps. During each split step a chemical synthesis step is performed along with an oligonucleotide ligation step.
[0003] Oligonucleotide ligation steps that are chemical, rather than enzyme-mediated, permit greater flexibility with regard to solution conditions and may reduce the buffer exchange steps necessary—potentially for thousands of low-volume individually segregated compartments.
[0004] Most oligonucleotide linkage structures resulting from chemical ligation reactions, however, result in linkages that cannot be translocated through by polymerases. This means that such linkages cannot be utilized directly in processes that use polymerases to decode individual library members such as sequencing.
[0005] This invention relates to methods for tagging DNA-encoded chemical entities with wild-type linkages utilizing chemical ligation techniques. This allows for the advantages of chemical ligation to be realized while maintaining the convenience of linkages readable by polymerases.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] One strategy that can be utilized that simultaneously takes advantage of chemical ligation as a means to encode chemical history, while also retaining the ability of polymerases to directly recover tag sequence and association information, is to perform chemical ligation in a manner that generates wild-type phosphodiester linkages. Such methods generally utilize condensing agents such as cyanogen bromide or similar along with 5′-phosphate and 3′-hydroxyl oligonucleotides in a double-stranded or templated context. Similarly cyanogen bromide has also been shown to chemically ligate pairs of substrate oligonucleotides that are 5′-hydroxyl and 3′-phosphate. However, these methods suffer from poor efficiency making them ill-suited for use in an iterative process such as tagging DNA-encoded libraries.
[0007] The present inventors have developed an oligonucleotide tagging strategy that utilizes wild-type linkages (e.g., phosphodiester linkages) derived from oligonucleotide pairs bearing 5′-monophospho and 3′-hydroxy termini and also from 5′-hydroxy and 3′-monophospho termini using cyanoimidazole and Zn 2+ in relatively high yields. Because this chemical ligation method is template-dependent and permits the use of orthogonal 3′- and 5′-phosphates a high degree of control over the sequential ligation of encoding oligonucleotides with a low rate of misincorporation or miscoding may be exerted, including in a double-stranded context.
[0008] Accordingly, in a first aspect, the invention features a method of producing an encoded chemical entity. This method includes: (a) providing a headpiece comprising a first functional group and a second functional group; (b) binding the first functional group of the headpiece to a component of a chemical entity, wherein the headpiece is directly connected to the component or the headpiece is indirectly connected to the component by a bifunctional spacer; and (c) ligating the second functional group of the headpiece to a first oligonucleotide tag via chemical ligation to form an encoded chemical entity, wherein the chemical ligation generates a phosphodiester, phosphonate, or phosphorothioate linkage; wherein steps (b) and (c) can be performed in any order and wherein the first oligonucleotide tag encodes for the binding reaction of step (b), thereby producing an encoded chemical entity.
[0009] In another aspect, the invention features a further method of producing an encoded chemical entity. This method includes: (a) providing a headpiece comprising a first functional group and a second functional group; (b) binding the first functional group of the headpiece to a component of the chemical entity, wherein the headpiece is directly connected to the component or the headpiece is indirectly connected to the component by a bifunctional spacer; (c) ligating the second functional group of the headpiece to a first oligonucleotide tag via chemical ligation to form a complex, wherein the chemical ligation generates a phosphodiester, phosphonate, or phosphorothioate linkage; (d) binding n c number of additional components of the encoded chemical entity, wherein n c is an integer between 1 and 10; and (e) ligating n t number of additional oligonucleotide tags having n t linkages to form an encoded chemical entity wherein n t is an integer between 1 and 10 and wherein each of the linkages is between two adjacent tags and each tag encodes the identity of at least one of the components; wherein steps (b) and (c) can be performed in any order and wherein the first oligonucleotide tag encodes for the binding reaction of step (b); and wherein the steps (d) and (e) can be performed in any order and wherein each additional tag encodes for the binding reaction of each additional component of the step (d), thereby producing an encoded chemical entity.
[0010] In some embodiments, ligation of at least one of n t linkages is not via chemical ligation that generates a phosphodiester, phosphonate, or phosphorothioate linkage (e.g., ligation of at least one of n t linkages is via enzymatic ligation, or chemical ligation that generates a readable or unreadable linkage).
[0011] In some embodiments, n c and n t are each independently an integer between 1 and 2, 1 and 3, 1 and 4, 1 and 5, 1 and 6, 1 and 7, 1 and 8, 1 and 9, 1 and 10, 2 and 3, 2 and 4, 2 and 5, 2 and 6, 2 and 7, 2 and 8, 2 and 9, 2 and 10, 3 and 4, 3 and 5, 3 and 6, 3 and 7, 3 and 8, 3 and 9, 3 and 10, 4 and 5, 4 and 6, 4 and 7, 4 and 8, 4 and 9, 4 and 10. In certain embodiments, n c is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. In some embodiments, n t is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10.
[0012] In some embodiments, the chemical ligation generates a phosphodiester linkage. In certain embodiments, the chemical ligation generates a phosphonate linkage. In some embodiments, the chemical ligation generates a phosphorothioate linkage.
[0013] In some embodiments, the headpiece comprises a double-stranded oligonucleotide, a single-stranded oligonucleotide, or a hairpin oligonucleotide. In certain embodiments, the headpiece comprises a double stranded oligonucleotide or a hairpin oligonucleotide.
[0014] In some embodiments, the headpiece comprises a third functional group. In certain embodiments, the method further includes (d) ligating the third functional group of the headpiece to a second oligonucleotide tag via chemical ligation, wherein the chemical ligation generates a phosphodiester, phosphonate, or phosphorothioate linkage.
[0015] In some embodiments, the method further comprises (d) ligating said third functional group of said headpiece to a second oligonucleotide tag, wherein said ligation is not via chemical ligation that generates a phosphodiester, phosphonate, or phosphorothioate linkage (e.g., the ligation is enzymatic ligation or chemical ligation that results in a readable or unreadable linkage).
[0016] In certain embodiments, the headpiece includes a phosphate at the 5′-terminus and/or the 3′-terminus (e.g., the headpiece includes a phosphate at the 5′-terminus, the 3′-terminus, or when the headpiece is double stranded or a hairpin oligonucleotide, the headpiece optionally includes a phosphate on both the 5′-terminus and the 3′-terminus).
[0017] In some embodiments, the chemical ligation includes the ligation of a 5′- or 3′-phosphate on said headpiece to a 5′- or 3′-hydroxyl oligonucleotide. In some embodiments, the chemical ligation includes ligation of a phosphate at the 5′-terminus of the headpiece to a 5′-hydroxyl oligonucleotide or a 3′-hydroxyl oligonucleotide. In certain embodiments, the chemical ligation includes ligation of a phosphate at the 3-terminus of the headpiece to a 5′-hydroxyl oligonucleotide or a 3′-hydroxyl oligonucleotide.
[0018] In some embodiments, the chemical ligation includes the ligation of a 5′-phosphate on said headpiece to a 3′-hydroxyl oligonucleotide and/or a 3′-phosphate on said headpiece to a 5′-hydroxyl oligonucleotide. In some embodiments, the chemical ligation includes ligation of a phosphate at the 5′-terminus of the headpiece to a 3′-hydroxyl oligonucleotide and ligation of a phosphate at the 3′-terminus of the headpiece to a 5′-hydroxyl oligonucleotide.
[0019] In certain embodiments, the chemical ligation includes the simultaneous ligation of a 5′-phosphate on said headpiece to a 3′-hydroxyl oligonucleotide and a 3′-phosphate on said headpiece to a 5′-hydroxyl oligonucleotide.
[0020] In some embodiments, the chemical ligation includes the use of cyanoimidazole. In certain embodiments, the chemical ligation further includes the use of a divalent metal source (e.g., a soluble divalent metal source) such as a Zn 2+ source (e.g., any soluble Zn 2+ source such as ZnF 2 , ZnCl 2 , ZnBr 2 , ZnI 2 , Zn(NO 3 ) 2 , Zn(ClO 3 ) 2 , ZnSO 4 , or Zn(O 2 CCH 3 ) 2 or elemental zince oxidized in situ), a Mn 2+ source (e.g., any soluble Mn 2+ source such as MnSO 4 , or MnCl 2 ), or a Co 2+ source (e.g., any soluble Co 2+ source such as CoF 2 , CoCl 2 , CoBr 2 , or CoI 2 ).
[0021] In some embodiments, the headpiece is indirectly connected to the component of the chemical entity by a bifunctional spacer (e.g., linear or branched chains including a C 1-10 alkyl, a heteroalkyl of 1 to 10 atoms, a C 2-10 alkenyl, a C 2-10 alkynyl, C 5-10 aryl, a cyclic or a polycyclic system of 3 to 20 atoms, a phosphodiester, a peptide, an oligosaccharide, an oligonucleotide, an oligomer, a polymer, or a polyalkyl glycol such as a polyethylene glycol, such as —(CH 2 CH 2 O) n CH 2 CH 2 —, where n is an integer from 1 to 50).
[0022] In certain embodiments, the headpiece is directly connected to the component of an encoded chemical entity.
[0023] In certain embodiments, the chemical entity further includes one or more first library-identifying tag(s), use tag(s), and/or origin tag(s).
[0024] In some embodiments, the chemical entity includes between 2 to 20 tags (e.g., between 2 to 17 building block or scaffold tags, one first library-identifying tag, one optional use tag, and one origin tag). In some embodiments, each of the tags includes from 1 to 75 nucleotides (e.g., as described herein, such as about 6 to 12 nucleotides). In certain embodiments, each of the tags within an individual tag set includes about the same mass.
[0025] In some embodiments, the encoded chemical entity includes RNA, DNA, modified DNA, and/or modified RNA. In certain embodiments, the modified DNA or modified RNA is PNA, LNA, GNA, TNA, or a mixture thereof within the same oligonucleotide.
[0026] In certain embodiments, the encoded chemical entity includes a site for reversible immobilization. In some embodiments, the site for reversible immobilization is immobilized after at least one of the binding steps and released prior to a subsequent binding step. In some embodiments, the site for reversible immobilization is immobilized after a plurality of the binding steps and released prior to a subsequent binding step.
[0027] In some embodiments, the site for reversible immobilization includes one member of a binding pair, e.g., a nucleic acid, such as a hybridization-competent oligonucleotide (e.g., a hybridization-competent single-stranded oligonucleotide), a peptide, or a small molecule.
[0028] In another aspect, the invention features a library including one or more chemical entities produced by any of the foregoing methods.
[0029] In certain embodiments, the library includes a plurality of headpieces. In some embodiments, each headpiece of the plurality of headpieces includes an identical sequence region (e.g., a primer-binding region) and a different encoding region (e.g., a first tag that encodes for use of the library, origin of the library, identity of the library, history of the library, a linkage, a spacer, or addition of a first component; or an oligonucleotide sequence that facilitates hybridization, amplification, cloning, or sequencing technologies).
[0030] In certain embodiments, the library includes between about 10 2 to 10 20 chemical entities (e.g., about 10 2 to 10 3 , 10 2 to 10 4 , 10 2 to 10 5 , 10 2 to 10 6 , 10 2 to 10 7 , 10 2 to 10 8 , 10 2 to 10 9 , 10 2 to 10 10 , 10 2 to 10 11 , 10 2 to 10 12 , 10 2 to 10 13 , 10 2 to 10 14 , 10 2 to 10 15 , 10 2 to 10 16 , 10 2 to 10 17 , 10 2 to 10 18 , 10 2 to 10 19 , 10 4 to 10 5 , 10 4 to 10 6 , 10 4 to 10 7 , 10 4 to 10 8 , 10 4 to 10 9 , 10 4 to 10 10 , 10 4 to 10 11 , 10 4 to 10 12 , 10 4 to 10 13 , 10 4 to 10 14 , 10 4 to 10 15 , 10 4 to 10 16 , 10 4 to 10 17 , 10 4 to 10 18 , 10 4 to 10 19 , 10 4 to 10 20 , 10 5 to 10 6 , 10 5 to 10 7 , 10 5 to 10 8 , 10 5 to 10 9 , 10 5 to 10 10 , 10 5 to 10 11 , 10 5 to 10 12 , 10 5 to 10 13 , 10 5 to 10 14 , 10 5 to 10 15 , 10 5 to 10 16 , 10 5 to 10 17 , 10 5 to 10 18 , 10 5 to 10 19 , or 10 5 to 10 20 complexes). In certain embodiments of the library, each chemical entity is different.
[0031] In another aspect, the invention features a method of screening a plurality of encoded chemical entities. This method includes: (a) contacting a target with an encoded chemical entity prepared by any of the foregoing methods and/or any of the foregoing libraries; and (b) selecting one or more encoded chemical entities having a predetermined characteristic for said target, as compared to a control, thereby screening a plurality of encoded chemical entities.
[0032] In some embodiments, the predetermined characteristic includes increased binding for the target, as compared to a control. In certain embodiments, the predetermined characteristic includes increased inhibition of the target, as compared to a control. In some embodiments, the predetermined characteristic includes increased activity of the target, as compared to a control.
[0033] In any of the above embodiments, an oligonucleotide (e.g., the headpiece, the first tag, and/or one or more additional tags, if present) encodes for the identity of the library. In some embodiments, the oligonucleotide (e.g., the headpiece, the first tag, and/or one or more additional tags, if present) includes a first library-identifying sequence, where the sequence encodes for the identity of the first library. In particular embodiments, the oligonucleotide is a first library-identifying tag. In some embodiments, the method includes providing a first library-identifying tag, where the tag includes a sequence that encodes for a first library, and/or binding the first library-identifying tag to the complex. In some embodiments, the method includes providing a second library and combining the first library with a second library. In further embodiments, the method includes providing a second library-identifying tag, where the tag includes a sequence that encodes for a second library. In some embodiments, more than two libraries are combined (e.g., three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, or more libraries).
[0034] In any of the above embodiments, the encoded information is provided in one or more tags or in a combination of more than one tag. In some embodiments, the encoded information is represented by more than one tag (e.g., two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, or more tags). In some embodiments, the encoded information is represented by more than one tag, where all encoding tags are contained within the encoding sequence (e.g., by using of a specific tag combination to encode information). In some embodiments, the encoded information is represented by more than one tag, where less than all encoding tags are contained within the encoding sequence (e.g., by using one tag from a set of more than one individual tag to encode within an individual encoding sequence). In some embodiments, the encoded information is represented orthogonally, where encoded information is represented by a combination of more than one tag with less than all of the encoding information being contained within an individual library member, such that more than one corresponding library member needs to be sequenced in order to deconvolute the encoded information. In some embodiments, more than one chemical building block is represented by a single tag (e.g., for a racemic building block, such as two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, or more building blocks represented by a single tag).
[0035] In any of the above embodiments, an oligonucleotide (e.g., a headpiece and/or one or more building blocks) encodes for the use of the member of the library (e.g., use in a selection step or a binding step, as described herein). In some embodiments, the oligonucleotide (e.g., the headpiece, the first tag, and/or one or more additional tags, if present) include a use sequence, where the sequence encodes for use of a subset of members in the library in one or more steps (e.g., a selection step and/or a binding step). In particular embodiments, the oligonucleotide is a use tag including a use sequence. In some embodiments, an oligonucleotide (e.g., a headpiece and/or one or more oligonucleotide tags) encodes for the origin of the member of the library (e.g., in a particular part of the library). In some embodiments, the oligonucleotide (e.g., the headpiece, the first tag, and/or one or more additional tags, if present) includes an origin sequence (e.g., a random or degenerate sequence having a length of about 10, 9, 8, 7, or 6 nucleotides), where the sequence enables the discrimination between amplification products derived from the same or different instances of otherwise identical library members. In particular embodiments, the oligonucleotide is an origin tag including an origin sequence. In some embodiments, the method further includes joining, binding, or operatively associating a use tag and/or an origin tag to the complex.
[0036] In any of the embodiments herein, the methods, compositions, and complexes optionally include a tailpiece, where the tailpiece includes one or more of a library-identifying sequence, a use sequence, or an origin sequence, as described herein. In particular embodiments, the methods further include joining, binding, or operatively associating the tailpiece (e.g., including one or more of a library-identifying sequence, a use sequence, or an origin sequence) to the complex.
[0037] In any of the above embodiments, the methods, compositions, and complexes, or portions thereof (e.g., the headpiece, the first tag, and/or the one or more additional tags, if present), may include a modification that support solubility in semi-, reduced-, or non-aqueous (e.g., organic) conditions. In some embodiments, the bifunctional spacer, headpiece, or one or more tags is modified to increase solubility of a member of said DNA-encoded chemical library in organic conditions In some embodiments, the modification is one or more of an alkyl chain, a polyethylene glycol unit, a branched species with positive charges, or a hydrophobic ring structure. In some embodiments, the modification includes one or more modified nucleotides having a hydrophobic moiety (e.g., modified at the C5 positions of T or C bases with aliphatic chains, such as in 5′-dimethoxytrityl-N4-diisobutylaminomethylidene-5-(1-propynyl)-2′-deoxycytidine,3′-[(2-cyanoethyl)-(N,N-diisopropyl)]-phosphoramidite; 5′-dimethoxytrityl-5-(1-propynyl)-2′-deoxyuridine,3′-[(2-cyanoethyl)-(N,N-diisopropyl)]-phosphoramidite; 5′-dimethoxytrityl-5-fluoro-2′-deoxyuridine,3′-[(2-cyanoethyl)-(N,N-diisopropyl)]-phosphoramidite; and 5′-dimethoxytrityl-5-(pyren-1-yl-ethynyl)-2′-deoxyuridine, or 3′-[(2-cyanoethyl)-(N,N-diisopropyl)]-phosphoramidite) or an insertion having a hydrophobic moiety (e.g., an azobenzene). In some embodiments, the member of the library has an octanol:water coefficient from about 1.0 to about 2.5 (e.g., about 1.0 to about 1.5, about 1.0 to about 2.0, about 1.3 to about 1.5, about 1.3 to about 2.0, about 1.3 to about 2.5, about 1.5 to about 2.0, about 1.5 to about 2.5, or about 2.0 to about 2.5).
[0038] In any of the above embodiments, a polymerase may have reduced ability to read or translocate through at least one of the linkages of an encoded chemical entity as described in International Application No. PCT/US13/50303, herein incorporated by reference. In some embodiments, the polymerase has reduced ability to read or translocate through at least about 10% (e.g., about 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or even 100%, as compared to control) of the linkages of an encoded chemical entity. In particular embodiments, the polymerase has reduced ability to read or translocate through about 10% to about 100% of the linkages of an encoded chemical entity (e.g., 20% to 100%, 25% to 100%, 50% to 100%, 75% to 100%, 90% to 100%, 95% to 100%, 10% to 95%, 20% to 95%, 25% to 95%, 50% to 95%, 75% to 95%, 90% to 95%, 10% to 90%, 20% to 90%, 25% to 90%, 50% to 90%, or 75% to 90%, as compared to control (e.g., as compared to a control oligonucleotide lacking the linkage)).
[0039] In some embodiments, less than about 10% (e.g., about 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, or 95%) of the linkages of an encoded chemical entity include an enzymatic linkage. In some embodiments, the linkages of an encoded chemical entity include between 0% to 90% enzymatic linkages (e.g., about 0% to 40%, 0% to 45%, 0% to 50%, 0% to 55%, 0% to 60%, 0% to 65%, 0% to 70%, 0% to 75%, 0% to 80%, 0% to 85%, 0% to 90%, 0% to 95%, 0% to 96%, 0% to 97%, 0% to 98%, 0% to 99%, 5% to 40%, 5% to 45%, 5% to 50%, 5% to 55%, 5% to 60%, 5% to 65%, 5% to 70%, 5% to 75%, 5% to 80%, 5% to 85%, 5% to 90%, 5% to 95%, 5% to 96%, 5% to 97%, 5% to 98%, 5% to 99%, 10% to 40%, 10% to 45%, 10% to 50%, 10% to 55%, 10% to 60%, 10% to 65%, 10% to 70%, 10% to 75%, 10% to 80%, 10% to 85%, 10% to 90%, 10% to 95%, 10% to 96%, 10% to 97%, 10% to 98%, 10% to 99%, 15% to 40%, 15% to 45%, 15% to 50%, 15% to 55%, 15% to 60%, 15% to 65%, 15% to 70%, 15% to 75%, 15% to 80%, 15% to 85%, 15% to 90%, 15% to 95%, 15% to 96%, 15% to 97%, 15% to 98%, 15% to 99%, 20% to 40%, 20% to 45%, 20% to 50%, 20% to 55%, 20% to 60%, 20% to 65%, 20% to 70%, 20% to 75%, 20% to 80%, 20% to 85%, 20% to 90%, 20% to 95%, 20% to 96%, 20% to 97%, 20% to 98%, or 20% to 99%).
[0040] In some embodiments, at least one of the linkages of an encoded chemical entity includes a chemical linkage (e.g., a chemical-reactive group, a photo-reactive group, an intercalating moiety, or a cross-linking oligonucleotide). In particular embodiments, at least one (e.g., two, three, four, five, or more) chemical-reactive group, photo-reactive group, or intercalating moiety is present in a 5′-connector at or in proximity to the 5′-terminus of the tag and/or in a 3′-connector at or in proximity to the 3′-terminus of the tag. In other embodiments, the sequence of at least one of the 5′-connector is complementary to the sequence of the adjacent 3′-connector or identical or sufficiently similar to allow for hybridization to a complementary oligonucleotide. In some embodiments, at least 10% (e.g., about 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or even 100%) of the linkages of an encoded chemical entity are chemical linkages. In other embodiments, about 10% to about 100% of the linkages of an encoded chemical entity (e.g., 20% to 100%, 25% to 100%, 50% to 100%, 75% to 100%, 90% to 100%, 95% to 100%, 10% to 95%, 20% to 95%, 25% to 95%, 50% to 95%, 75% to 95%, 90% to 95%, 10% to 90%, 20% to 90%, 25% to 90%, 50% to 90%, or 75% to 90%) are chemical linkages.
[0041] In some embodiments, the chemical-reactive group is selected from a pair of an optionally substituted alkynyl group and an optionally substituted azido group; a pair of an optionally substituted diene having a 4 π-electron system and an optionally substituted dienophile or an optionally substituted heterodienophile having a 2 π-electron system; a pair of a nucleophile and a strained heterocyclyl electrophile; a pair of an optionally substituted amino group and an aldehyde or a ketone group; a pair of an optionally substituted amino group and a carboxylic acid group; a pair of an optionally substituted hydrazine and an aldehyde or a ketone group; a pair of an optionally substituted hydroxylamine and an aldehyde or a ketone group; a pair of a nucleophile and an optionally substituted alkyl halide; a platinum complex; an alkylating agent; or a furan-modified nucleotide.
[0042] In some embodiments, the photo-reactive group includes an intercalating moiety, a psoralen derivative, an optionally substituted cyanovinylcarbazole group (e.g., a 3-cyanovinylcarbazole group, such as 3-cyanovinylcarbazole-1′-β-deoxyriboside-5′-triphosphate), an optionally substituted vinylcarbazole group (e.g., a amidovinylcarbazole group, a carboxyvinylcarbazole group, or a C 2-7 alkoxycarbonylvinylcarbazole group, as described herein), an optionally substituted cyanovinyl group, an optionally substituted acrylamide group, an optionally substituted diazirine group, an optionally substituted benzophenone, or an optionally substituted azide group.
[0043] In some embodiments, the intercalating moiety is a psoralen derivative (e.g., psoralen, 8-methoxypsoralen, or 4-hydroxymethyl-4,5,8-trimethyl-psoralen (HMT-psoralen)), an alkaloid derivative (e.g., berberine, palmatine, coralyne, sanguinarine (e.g., iminium or alkanolamine forms thereof, or aristololactam-β-D-glucoside), an ethidium cation (e.g., ethidium bromide), an acridine derivative (e.g., proflavine, acriflavine, or amsacrine), an anthracycline derivative (e.g., doxorubicin, epirubicin, daunorubicin (daunomycin), idarubicin, and aclarubicin), or thalidomide.
[0044] In some embodiments, the chemical linkage includes the cross-linking oligonucleotide, where the sequence of at least five nucleotides at the 5′-terminus of the cross-linking oligonucleotide is complementary to the sequence of at least five nucleotides at the 3′-terminus of one or more tags or identical or sufficiently similar to allow for hybridization to a complementary oligonucleotide, and where the sequence of at least five nucleotides at the 3′-terminus of the cross-linking oligonucleotide is complementary to the sequence of at least five nucleotides at the 5′-terminus of one or more tags or identical or sufficiently similar to allow for hybridization to a complementary oligonucleotide. In particular embodiments, the 3′-terminus of one or more tags includes a 3′-connector. In particular embodiments, the 5′-terminus of one or more tags includes a 5′-connector.
[0045] In some embodiments, the 5′-terminus and/or 3′-terminus of the cross-linking oligonucleotide include a reversible co-reactive group (e.g., a cyanovinylcarbazole group, a cyanovinyl group, an acrylamide group, a thiol group, or a vinyl sulfone group, as described herein).
[0046] In some embodiments, the 3′-connector and/or 5′-connector includes a reversible co-reactive group (e.g., a cyanovinylcarbazole group, a cyanovinyl group, an acrylamide group, a thiol group, or a vinyl sulfone group, as described herein).
[0047] In any of the above embodiments, the headpiece, the tailpiece, the first tag, the one or more additional tags, the library-identifying tag, the use tag, and/or the origin tag, if present, may include from about 5 to about 75 nucleotides (e.g., from 5 to 7 nucleotides, from 5 to 8 nucleotides, from 5 to 9 nucleotides, from 5 to 10 nucleotides, from 5 to 11 nucleotides, from 5 to 12 nucleotides, from 5 to 13 nucleotides, from 5 to 14 nucleotides, from 5 to 15 nucleotides, from 5 to 16 nucleotides, from 5 to 17 nucleotides, from 5 to 18 nucleotides, from 5 to 19 nucleotides, from 5 to 20 nucleotides, from 5 to 30 nucleotides, from 5 to 40 nucleotides, from 5 to 50 nucleotides, from 5 to 60 nucleotides, from 5 to 70 nucleotides, from 6 to 7 nucleotides, from 6 to 8 nucleotides, from 6 to 9 nucleotides, from 6 to 10 nucleotides, from 6 to 11 nucleotides, from 6 to 12 nucleotides, from 6 to 13 nucleotides, from 6 to 14 nucleotides, from 6 to 15 nucleotides, from 6 to 16 nucleotides, from 6 to 17 nucleotides, from 6 to 18 nucleotides, from 6 to 19 nucleotides, from 6 to 20 nucleotides, from 7 to 8 nucleotides, from 7 to 9 nucleotides, from 7 to 10 nucleotides, from 7 to 11 nucleotides, from 7 to 12 nucleotides, from 7 to 13 nucleotides, from 7 to 14 nucleotides, from 7 to 15 nucleotides, from 7 to 16 nucleotides, from 7 to 17 nucleotides, from 7 to 18 nucleotides, from 7 to 19 nucleotides, from 7 to 20 nucleotides, from 8 to 9 nucleotides, from 8 to 10 nucleotides, from 8 to 11 nucleotides, from 8 to 12 nucleotides, from 8 to 13 nucleotides, from 8 to 14 nucleotides, from 8 to 15 nucleotides, from 8 to 16 nucleotides, from 8 to 17 nucleotides, from 8 to 18 nucleotides, from 8 to 19 nucleotides, from 8 to 20 nucleotides, from 9 to 10 nucleotides, from 9 to 11 nucleotides, from 9 to 12 nucleotides, from 9 to 13 nucleotides, from 9 to 14 nucleotides, from 9 to 15 nucleotides, from 9 to 16 nucleotides, from 9 to 17 nucleotides, from 9 to 18 nucleotides, from 9 to 19 nucleotides, from 9 to 20 nucleotides, from 10 to 11 nucleotides, from 10 to 12 nucleotides, from 10 to 13 nucleotides, from 10 to 14 nucleotides, from 10 to 15 nucleotides, from 10 to 16 nucleotides, from 10 to 17 nucleotides, from 10 to 18 nucleotides, from 10 to 19 nucleotides, from 10 to 20 nucleotides, from 10 to 30 nucleotides, from 10 to 40 nucleotides, from 10 to 50 nucleotides, from 10 to 60 nucleotides, from 10 to 70 nucleotides, from 10 to 75 nucleotides, from 11 to 12 nucleotides, from 11 to 13 nucleotides, from 11 to 14 nucleotides, from 11 to 15 nucleotides, from 11 to 16 nucleotides, from 11 to 17 nucleotides, from 11 to 18 nucleotides, from 11 to 19 nucleotides, from 11 to 20 nucleotides, from 12 to 13 nucleotides, from 12 to 14 nucleotides, from 12 to 15 nucleotides, from 12 to 16 nucleotides, from 12 to 17 nucleotides, from 12 to 18 nucleotides, from 12 to 19 nucleotides, from 12 to 20 nucleotides, from 13 to 14 nucleotides, from 13 to 15 nucleotides, from 13 to 16 nucleotides, from 13 to 17 nucleotides, from 13 to 18 nucleotides, from 13 to 19 nucleotides, from 13 to 20 nucleotides, from 14 to 15 nucleotides, from 14 to 16 nucleotides, from 14 to 17 nucleotides, from 14 to 18 nucleotides, from 14 to 19 nucleotides, from 14 to 20 nucleotides, from 15 to 16 nucleotides, from 15 to 17 nucleotides, from 15 to 18 nucleotides, from 15 to 19 nucleotides, from 15 to 20 nucleotides, from 16 to 17 nucleotides, from 16 to 18 nucleotides, from 16 to 19 nucleotides, from 16 to 20 nucleotides, from 17 to 18 nucleotides, from 17 to 19 nucleotides, from 17 to 20 nucleotides, from 18 to 19 nucleotides, from 18 to 20 nucleotides, from 19 to 20 nucleotides, from 20 to 30 nucleotides, from 20 to 40 nucleotides, from 20 to 50 nucleotides, from 20 to 60 nucleotides, from 20 to 70 nucleotides, from 20 to 75 nucleotides, from 30 to 40 nucleotides, from 30 to 50 nucleotides, from 30 to 60 nucleotides, from 30 to 70 nucleotides, from 30 to 75 nucleotides, from 40 to 50 nucleotides, from 40 to 60 nucleotides, from 40 to 70 nucleotides, from 40 to 75 nucleotides, from 50 to 60 nucleotides, from 50 to 70 nucleotides, from 50 to 75 nucleotides, from 60 to 70 nucleotides, from 60 to 75 nucleotides, and from 70 to 75 nucleotides). In particular embodiments, the headpiece, the first tag, the second tag, the one or more additional tags, the library-identifying tag, the use tag, and/or the origin tag, if present, have a length of less than 20 nucleotides (e.g., less than 19 nucleotides, less than 18 nucleotides, less than 17 nucleotides, less than 16 nucleotides, less than 15 nucleotides, less than 14 nucleotides, less than 13 nucleotides, less than 12 nucleotides, less than 11 nucleotides, less than 10 nucleotides, less than 9 nucleotides, less than 8 nucleotides, or less than 7 nucleotides).
[0048] In any of the above embodiments, the encoding sequence (e.g., the headpiece, the tailpiece, the first tag, the one or more additional tags, the library-identifying tag, the use tag, and/or the origin tag, if present) may include more than 20 nucleotides (e.g., more than 25, 30 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, or 75 nucleotides).
Definitions
[0049] By “about” is meant +/−10% of the recited value.
[0050] By “bifunctional” is meant having two reactive groups that allow for binding of two chemical moieties.
[0051] By “bifunctional spacer” is meant a spacing moiety having two reactive groups that allow for binding of a chemical entity and the encoding information of the complex. In one non-limiting example, the bifunctional spacer is provided between a chemical entity and a tag. In another non-limiting example, the bifunctional spacer is provided between a chemical entity and a headpiece. Exemplary bifunctional spacers are provided herein.
[0052] By “binding” is meant attaching by a covalent bond or a non-covalent bond. Non-covalent bonds include those formed by van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds, entrapment or physical encapsulation, absorption, adsorption, and/or other intermolecular forces. Binding can be effectuated by any useful means, such as by enzymatic binding (e.g., enzymatic ligation to provide an enzymatic linkage) or by chemical binding (e.g., chemical ligation to provide a chemical linkage). By “ligating” is meant attaching by a covalent bond.
[0053] By “building block” is meant a structural unit of a chemical entity, where the unit is directly linked to other chemical structural units or indirectly linked through the scaffold. When the chemical entity is polymeric or oligomeric, the building blocks are the monomeric units of the polymer or oligomer. Building blocks can have one or more diversity nodes that allow for the addition of one or more other building blocks or scaffolds. In most cases, each diversity node is a functional group capable of reacting with one or more building blocks or scaffolds to form a chemical entity. Generally, the building blocks have at least two diversity nodes (or reactive functional groups), but some building blocks may have one diversity node (or reactive functional group). Alternatively, the encoded chemical or binding steps may include several chemical components (e.g., multi-component condensation reactions or multi-step processes). Reactive groups on two different building blocks should be complementary, i.e., capable of reacting together to form a covalent or a non-covalent bond.
[0054] By “chemical entity” is meant a compound comprising one or more building blocks, one or more scaffolds, or a site for reversible immobilization. The chemical entity can be any small molecule, peptide, nucleic acid, peptide drug, or drug candidate designed or built to have one or more desired characteristics, e.g., capacity to bind a biological target, solubility, availability of hydrogen bond donors and acceptors, rotational degrees of freedom of the bonds, positive charge, negative charge, or site for reversible immobilization. In certain embodiments, the chemical entity can be reacted further as a bifunctional or trifunctional (or greater) entity.
[0055] By “chemical-reactive group” is meant a reactive group that participates in a modular reaction, thus producing a linkage. Exemplary reactions and reactive groups include those selected from a Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction with a pair of an optionally substituted alkynyl group and an optionally substituted azido group; a Diels-Alder reaction with a pair of an optionally substituted diene having a 4 π-electron system and an optionally substituted dienophile or an optionally substituted heterodienophile having a 2 π-electron system; a ring opening reaction with a nucleophile and a strained heterocyclyl electrophile; a splint ligation reaction with a phosphorothioate group and an iodo group; and a reductive amination reaction with an aldehyde group and an amino group, as described herein. By “complementary” is meant a sequence capable of hybridizing, as defined herein, to form secondary structure (a duplex or a double-stranded portion of a nucleic acid molecule). The complementarity need not be perfect but may include one or more mismatches at one, two, three, or more nucleotides. For example, complementary sequence may contain nucleobases that can form hydrogen bonds according to Watson-Crick base-pairing rules (e.g., G with C, A with T or A with U) or other hydrogen bonding motifs (e.g., diaminopurine with T, 5-methyl C with G, 2-thiothymidine with A, inosine with C, pseudoisocytosine with G). The sequence and its complementary sequence can be present in the same oligonucleotide or in different oligonucleotides.
[0056] By “complex” or “ligated complex” is meant a headpiece that is operatively associated with a chemical entity and/or one or more oligonucleotide tags by a covalent bond or a non-covalent bond. The complex can optionally include a bifunctional spacer between the chemical entity and the headpiece.
[0057] By “component” of a chemical entity is meant either a scaffold or a building block.
[0058] By “connector” of an oligonucleotide tag is meant a portion of the tag at or in proximity to the 5′- or 3′-terminus having a fixed sequence. A 5′-connector is located at or in proximity to the 5′-terminus of an oligonucleotide, and a 3′-connector is located at or in proximity to the 3′-terminus of an oligonucleotide. When present in a complex, each 5′-connector may be the same or different, and each 3′-connector may be the same or different. In an exemplary, non-limiting complex having more than one tags, each tag can include a 5′-connector and a 3′-connector, where each 5′-connector has the same sequence and each 3′-connector has the same sequence (e.g., where the sequence of the 5′-connector can be the same or different from the sequence of the 3′-connector). In another exemplary, non-limiting complex, the sequence of the 5′-connector is designed to be complementary, as defined herein, to the sequence of the 3′-connector (e.g., to allow for hybridization between 5′- and 3′-connectors). The connector can optionally include one or more groups allowing for a linkage (e.g., a linkage for which a polymerase has reduced ability to read or translocate through, such as a chemical linkage).
[0059] By “constant” or “fixed constant” sequence is meant a sequence of an oligonucleotide that does not encode information. Non-limiting, exemplary portions of a complex having a constant sequence include a primer-binding region, a 5′-connector, or a 3′-connector. The headpiece of the invention can encode information (thus, a tag) or alternatively not encode information (thus, a constant sequence). Similarly, the tailpiece of the invention can encode or not encode information.
[0060] By “cross-linking oligonucleotide” is meant an oligonucleotide that operatively associates, as defined herein, at a particular junction between two adjacent tags in a complex. In a non-limiting example, one terminus of the cross-linking oligonucleotide hybridizes to the 3′-connector of a first tag and the other terminus of the cross-linking oligonucleotide hybridizes to the 5′-connector of a second tag that is adjacent to the first tag. Exemplary, non-limiting embodiments of cross-linking oligonucleotides include those having one or more reactive groups (e.g., a chemical-reactive group, a photo-reactive group, an intercalating moiety, or a reversible co-reactive group, or any described herein) that operatively associates with adjacent tags or connectors of adjacent tags.
[0061] By “diversity node” is meant a functional group at a position in the scaffold or the building block that allows for adding another building block.
[0062] By “headpiece” is meant a chemical structure for library synthesis that is operatively linked to a component of a first chemical entity, to a tag, e.g., a starting oligonucleotide, and to a second chemical entity comprising a site for reversible immobilization. Optionally a headpiece may contain few or no nucleotides, but may provide a point at which they may be operatively associated. Optionally, a bifunctional spacer connects the headpiece to the component.
[0063] By “hybridize” is meant to pair to form a double-stranded molecule between complementary oligonucleotides, or portions thereof, under various conditions of stringency. (See, e.g., Wahl, G. M. and S. L. Berger (1987) Methods Enzymol. 152:399; Kimmel, A. R. (1987) Methods Enzymol. 152:507.) For example, high stringency hybridization can be obtained with a salt concentration ordinarily less than about 750 mM NaCl and 75 mM trisodium citrate, less than about 500 mM NaCl and 50 mM trisodium citrate, or less than about 250 mM NaCl and 25 mM trisodium citrate. Low stringency hybridization can be obtained in the absence of organic solvent, e.g., formamide, while high stringency hybridization can be obtained in the presence of at least about 35% formamide or at least about 50% formamide. High stringency hybridization temperature conditions will ordinarily include temperatures of at least about 30° C., 37° C., or 42° C. Varying additional parameters, such as hybridization time, the concentration of detergent, e.g., sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and the inclusion or exclusion of carrier DNA, are well known to those skilled in the art. Various levels of stringency are accomplished by combining these various conditions as needed. In one embodiment, hybridization will occur at 30° C. in 750 mM NaCl, 75 mM trisodium citrate, and 1% SDS. In an alternative embodiment, hybridization will occur at 37° C. in 500 mM NaCl, 50 mM trisodium citrate, 1% SDS, 35% formamide, and 100 μg/ml denatured salmon sperm DNA (ssDNA). In a further alternative embodiment, hybridization will occur at 42° C. in 250 mM NaCl, 25 mM trisodium citrate, 1% SDS, 50% formamide, and 200 μg/ml ssDNA. Useful variations on these conditions will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.
[0064] For most applications, washing steps that follow hybridization will also vary in stringency. Wash stringency conditions can be defined by salt concentration and by temperature. As above, wash stringency can be increased by decreasing salt concentration or by increasing temperature. For example, high stringency salt concentrations for the wash steps may be, e.g., less than about 30 mM NaCl and 3 mM trisodium citrate, or less than about 15 mM NaCl and 1.5 mM trisodium citrate. High stringency temperature conditions for the wash steps will ordinarily include a temperature of, e.g., at least about 25° C., 42° C., or 68° C. In one embodiment, wash steps will occur at 25° C. in 30 mM NaCl, 3 mM trisodium citrate, and 0.1% SDS. In an alternative embodiment, wash steps will occur at 42° C. in 15 mM NaCl, 1.5 mM trisodium citrate, and 0.1% SDS. In a further alternative embodiment, wash steps will occur at 68° C. in 15 mM NaCl, 1.5 mM trisodium citrate, and 0.1% SDS. Additional variations on these conditions will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Hybridization techniques are well known to those skilled in the art and are described, for example, in Benton and Davis (Science 196:180, 1977); Grunstein and Hogness (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA 72:3961, 1975); Ausubel et al. (Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Wiley Interscience, New York, 2001); Berger and Kimmel (Guide to Molecular Cloning Techniques, 1987, Academic Press, New York); and Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York.
[0065] By “intercalating moiety” is meant a reactive group that results in inclusion of a moiety between two or more nucleotides. In a non-limiting example, the intercalating moiety reacts with one or more nucleotides to form inter- or intra-strand cross-links between duplex or triplex oligonucleotides. Exemplary, non-limiting intercalating moieties are described herein.
[0066] By “junction” is meant a nick (lack of an internucleotide bond) or a gap (lack of one or more nucleotides) between two adjacent tags in a complex. The junction can also be between two adjacent connectors present in two adjacent tags (e.g., between the 3′-connector of a first tag and the 5′-connector of a second tag that is adjacent to the first tag).
[0067] By “library” is meant a collection of molecules or chemical entities. Optionally, the molecules or chemical entities are bound to one or more oligonucleotides that encodes for the molecules or portions of the chemical entity.
[0068] By “linkage” is meant a chemical connecting entity that allows for operatively associating two or more chemical structures, where the linkage is present between the headpiece and one or more tags, between two tags, or between a tag and a tailpiece. The chemical connecting entity can be a non-covalent bond (e.g., as described herein), a covalent bond, or a reaction product between two functional groups. By “chemical linkage” is meant a linkage formed by a non-enzymatic, chemical reaction between two functional groups such as a monophosphate and a hydroxyl group. Exemplary, non-limiting functional groups include a chemical-reactive group, a photo-reactive group, an intercalating moiety, or a cross-linking oligonucleotide (e.g., as described herein). By “enzymatic linkage” is meant an internucleotide or internucleoside linkage formed by an enzyme. Exemplary, non-limiting enzymes include a kinase, a polymerase, a ligase, or combinations thereof. By a linkage “for which a polymerase has reduced ability to read or translocate through” is meant a linkage, when present in an oligonucleotide template that provides a reduced amount of elongated and/or amplified products by a polymerase, as compared to a control oligonucleotide lacking the linkage. Exemplary, non-limiting methods for determining such a linkage include primer extension as assessed by PCR analysis (e.g., quantitative PCR), RT-PCR analysis, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, sequence demographics, or other methods. Exemplary, non-limiting polymerases include DNA polymerases and RNA polymerases, such as DNA polymerase I, DNA polymerase II, DNA polymerase III, DNA polymerase VI, Taq DNA polymerase, Deep VentR™ DNA Polymerase (high-fidelity thermophilic DNA polymerase, available from New England Biolabs), T7 DNA polymerase, T4 DNA polymerase, RNA polymerase I, RNA polymerase II, RNA polymerase III, or T7 RNA polymerase.
[0069] By “multivalent cation” is meant a cation capable of forming more than one bond with more than one ligand or anion. The multivalent cation can form either an ionic complex or a coordination complex. Exemplary multivalent cations include those from the alkali earth metals (e.g., magnesium) and transition metals (e.g., manganese (II) or cobalt (III)), and those that are optionally bound to one or more anions and/or one or more univalent or polydentate ligands, such as chloride, amine, and/or ethylenediamine.
[0070] By “oligonucleotide” is meant a polymer of nucleotides having a 5′-terminus, a 3′-terminus, and one or more nucleotides at the internal position between the 5′- and 3′-termini. The oligonucleotide may include DNA, RNA, or any derivative thereof known in the art that can be synthesized and used for base-pair recognition. The oligonucleotide does not have to have contiguous bases but can be interspersed with linker moieties. The oligonucleotide polymer and nucleotide (e.g., modified DNA or RNA) may include natural bases (e.g., adenosine, thymidine, guanosine, cytidine, uridine, deoxyadenosine, deoxythymidine, deoxyguanosine, deoxycytidine, inosine, or diamino purine), base analogs (e.g., 2-aminoadenosine, 2-thiothymidine, inosine, pyrrolo-pyrimidine, 3-methyl adenosine, C5-propynylcytidine, C5-propynyluridine, C5-bromouridine, C5-fluorouridine, C5-iodouridine, C5-methylcytidine, 7-deazaadenosine, 7-deazaguanosine, 8-oxoadenosine, 8-oxoguanosine, 0(6)-methylguanine, and 2-thiocytidine), modified bases (e.g., 2′-substituted nucleotides, such as 2′-O-methylated bases and 2′-fluoro bases), intercalated bases, modified sugars (e.g., 2′-fluororibose; ribose; 2′-deoxyribose; arabinose; hexose; anhydrohexitol; altritol; mannitol; cyclohexanyl; cyclohexenyl; morpholino that also has a phosphoramidate backbone; locked nucleic acids (LNA, e.g., where the 2′-hydroxyl of the ribose is connected by a C 1-6 alkylene or C 1-6 heteroalkylene bridge to the 4′-carbon of the same ribose sugar, where exemplary bridges included methylene, propylene, ether, or amino bridges); glycol nucleic acid (GNA, e.g., R-GNA or S-GNA, where ribose is replaced by glycol units attached to phosphodiester bonds); threose nucleic acid (TNA, where ribose is replace with α-L-threofuranosyl-(3′→2)); and/or replacement of the oxygen in ribose (e.g., with S, Se, or alkylene, such as methylene or ethylene)), modified backbones (e.g., peptide nucleic acid (PNA), where 2-amino-ethyl-glycine linkages replace the ribose and phosphodiester backbone), and/or modified phosphate groups (e.g., phosphorothioates, 5′-N-phosphoramidites, phosphoroselenates, boranophosphates, boranophosphate esters, hydrogen phosphonates, phosphoramidates, phosphorodiamidates, alkyl or aryl phosphonates, phosphotriesters, bridged phosphoramidates, bridged phosphorothioates, and bridged methylene-phosphonates). The oligonucleotide can be single-stranded (e.g., hairpin), double-stranded, or possess other secondary or tertiary structures (e.g., stem-loop structures, double helixes, triplexes, quadruplexes, etc.). Oligonucleotides may also contain one or more 3′-3′ or 5′-5′ linkages, or one or more inverted nucleotides. This may mean that they contain two 3′-termini or two 5′-termini. Oligonucleotides may also branch one or more times, wherein they may contain more than two termini. Oligonucleotides may also be circularized, wherein they may contain less than two termini and may contain no termini at all.
[0071] By “one member of a binding pair” is meant a chemical entity that is capable of forming a pair with another complementary chemical entity for reversible immobilization (e.g., a nucleic acid, a peptide, or a small molecule).
[0072] By “operatively linked” or “operatively associated” is meant that two or more chemical structures are directly or indirectly linked together in such a way as to remain linked through the various manipulations they are expected to undergo. Typically, the chemical entity and the headpiece are operatively associated in an indirect manner (e.g., covalently via an appropriate spacer). For example, the spacer may be a bifunctional moiety with a site of attachment for chemical entity and a site of attachment for the headpiece.
[0073] By “phosphodiester linkage” is meant a linkage including the structure:
[0000]
[0074] By “phosphonate linkage” is meant a linkage including the structure:
[0000]
[0075] By “phosphorothioate linkage” is meant a linkage including the structure:
[0000]
[0076] By “photo-reactive group” is meant a reactive group that participates in a reaction caused by absorption of ultraviolet, visible, or infrared radiation, thus producing a linkage. Exemplary, non-limiting photo-reactive groups are described herein.
[0077] By “protecting group” is a meant a group intended to protect the 3′-terminus or 5′-terminus of an oligonucleotide or to protect one or more functional groups of the chemical entity, scaffold, or building block against undesirable reactions during one or more binding steps of making, tagging, or using an oligonucleotide-encoded library. Commonly used protecting groups are disclosed in Greene, “Protective Groups in Organic Synthesis,” 4 th Edition (John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2007), which is incorporated herein by reference. Exemplary protecting groups for oligonucleotides include irreversible protecting groups, such as dideoxynucleotides and dideoxynucleosides (ddNTP or ddN), and, more preferably, reversible protecting groups for hydroxyl groups, such as ester groups (e.g., O-(α-methoxyethyl)ester, O-isovaleryl ester, and O-levulinyl ester), trityl groups (e.g., dimethoxytrityl and monomethoxytrityl), xanthenyl groups (e.g., 9-phenylxanthen-9-yl and 9-(p-methoxyphenyl)xanthen-9-yl), acyl groups (e.g., phenoxyacetyl and acetyl), and silyl groups (e.g., t-butyldimethylsilyl). Exemplary, non-limiting protecting groups for chemical entities, scaffolds, and building blocks include N-protecting groups to protect an amino group against undesirable reactions during synthetic procedure (e.g., acyl; aryloyl; carbamyl groups, such as formyl, acetyl, propionyl, pivaloyl, t-butylacetyl, 2-chloroacetyl, 2-bromoacetyl, trifluoroacetyl, trichloroacetyl, phthalyl, o-nitrophenoxyacetyl, a-chlorobutyryl, benzoyl, 4-chlorobenzoyl, 4-bromobenzoyl, 4-nitrobenzoyl, and chiral auxiliaries, such as protected or unprotected D, L or D, L-amino acids, such as alanine, leucine, phenylalanine; sulfonyl-containing groups, such as benzenesulfonyl, p-toluenesulfonyl; carbamate forming groups, such as benzyloxycarbonyl, p-chlorobenzyloxycarbonyl, p-methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl, p-nitrobenzyloxycarbonyl, 2-nitrobenzyloxycarbonyl, p-bromobenzyloxycarbonyl, 3,4-dimethoxybenzyloxycarbonyl, 3,5 dimethoxybenzyl oxycarbonyl, 2,4-dimethoxybenzyloxycarbonyl, 4 methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl, 2-nitro-4,5-dimethoxybenzyloxycarbonyl, 3,4,5 trimethoxybenzyloxycarbonyl, 1-(p-biphenylyl)-1-methylethoxycarbonyl, α,α-dimethyl-3,5 dimethoxybenzyloxycarbonyl, benzhydryloxy carbonyl, t-butyloxycarbonyl, diisopropylmethoxycarbonyl, isopropyloxycarbonyl, ethoxycarbonyl, methoxycarbonyl, allyloxycarbonyl, 2,2,2,-trichloroethoxycarbonyl, phenoxycarbonyl, 4-nitrophenoxy carbonyl, fluorenyl-9-methoxycarbonyl, cyclopentyloxycarbonyl, adamantyloxycarbonyl, cyclohexyloxycarbonyl, phenylthiocarbonyl; alkaryl groups, such as benzyl, triphenylmethyl, benzyloxymethyl; and silyl groups such as trimethylsilyl; where preferred N-protecting groups are formyl, acetyl, benzoyl, pivaloyl, t-butylacetyl, alanyl, phenylsulfonyl, benzyl, t-butyloxycarbonyl (Boc), and benzyloxycarbonyl (Cbz)); O-protecting groups to protect a hydroxyl group against undesirable reactions during synthetic procedure (e.g., alkylcarbonyl groups, such as acyl, acetyl, pivaloyl; optionally substituted arylcarbonyl groups, such as benzoyl; silyl groups, such as trimethylsilyl (TMS), tert-butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS), tri-iso-propylsilyloxymethyl (TOM), triisopropylsilyl (TIPS); ether-forming groups with the hydroxyl, such methyl, methoxymethyl, tetrahydropyranyl, benzyl, p-methoxybenzyl, trityl; alkoxycarbonyls, such as methoxycarbonyl, ethoxycarbonyl, isopropoxycarbonyl, n-isopropoxycarbonyl, n-butyloxycarbonyl, isobutyloxycarbonyl, sec-butyloxycarbonyl, t-butyloxycarbonyl, 2-ethylhexyloxycarbonyl, cyclohexyloxycarbonyl, methyloxycarbonyl; alkoxyalkoxycarbonyl groups, such as methoxymethoxycarbonyl, ethoxymethoxycarbonyl, 2-methoxyethoxycarbonyl, 2-ethoxyethoxycarbonyl, 2-butoxyethoxycarbonyl, 2-methoxyethoxymethoxycarbonyl, al lyloxycarbonyl, propargyloxycarbonyl, 2-butenoxycarbonyl, 3-methyl-2-butenoxycarbonyl; haloalkoxycarbonyls, such as 2-chloroethoxycarbonyl, 2-chloroethoxycarbonyl, 2,2,2-trichloroethoxycarbonyl; optionally substituted arylalkoxycarbonyl groups, such as benzyloxycarbonyl, p-methylbenzyloxycarbonyl, p-methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl, p-nitrobenzyloxycarbonyl, 2,4-dinitrobenzyloxycarbonyl, 3,5-dimethylbenzyloxycarbonyl, p-chlorobenzyloxycarbonyl, p-bromobenzyloxy-carbonyl; and optionally substituted aryloxycarbonyl groups, such as phenoxycarbonyl, p-nitrophenoxycarbonyl, o-nitrophenoxycarbonyl, 2,4-dinitrophenoxycarbonyl, p-methyl-phenoxycarbonyl, m-methylphenoxycarbonyl, o-bromophenoxycarbonyl, 3,5-dimethylphenoxycarbonyl, p-chlorophenoxycarbonyl, 2-chloro-4-nitrophenoxy-carbonyl); carbonyl-protecting groups (e.g., acetal and ketal groups, such as dimethyl acetal, 1,3-dioxolane; acylal groups; and dithiane groups, such as 1,3-dithianes, 1,3-dithiolane); carboxylic acid-protecting groups (e.g., ester groups, such as methyl ester, benzyl ester, t-butyl ester, orthoesters; silyl groups, such as trimethylsilyl, as well as any described herein; and oxazoline groups); and phosphate-protecting groups (e.g., optionally substituted ester groups, such as methyl ester, isopropyl ester, 2-cyanoethyl ester, allyl ester, t-butyl ester, benzyl ester, fluorenylmethyl ester, 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl ester, 2-(methylsulfonyl)ethyl ester, 2,2,2-trichloroethyl ester, 3′,5′-dimethoxybenzoin ester, p-hydroxyphenacyl ester).
[0078] By “proximity” or “in proximity” to a terminus of an oligonucleotide is meant near or closer to the stated terminus than the other remaining terminus. For example, a moiety or group in proximity to the 3′-terminus of an oligonucleotide is near or closer to the 3′-terminus than the 5′-terminus. In particular embodiments, a moiety or group in proximity to the 3′-terminus of an oligonucleotide is one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, fifteen, or more nucleotides from the 3′-terminus. In other embodiments, a moiety or group in proximity to the 5′-terminus of an oligonucleotide is one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, fifteen, or more nucleotides from the 5′-terminus.
[0079] By “purifying” is meant removing any unreacted product or any agent present in a reaction mixture that may reduce the activity of a chemical or biological agent to be used in a successive step. Purifying can include one or more of chromatographic separation, electrophoretic separation, and precipitation of the unreacted product or reagent to be removed. Purifying may also include the removal of solvent.
[0080] By “reversible co-reactive group” is meant a reactive group that participates in a reversible reaction. Exemplary, non-limiting reactive groups include photo-reactive groups, where exposure to a particular absorption radiation results in a linkage between the photo-reactive groups and exposure to a different, particular absorption radiation results in cleavage of the formed linkage (e.g., a cyanovinylcarbazole group, a cyanovinyl group, and an acrylamide group). Another exemplary, non-limiting reactive group includes redox-reactive groups, where such groups can be reversibly reduced or oxidized (e.g., a thiol group).
[0081] By “reversible immobilization” is meant immobilization of a complex in a manner which allows for detachment from the support under gentle conditions (e.g., adsorption, ionic binding, affinity binding, chelation, disulfide bond formation, oligonucleotide hybridization, small molecule-small molecule interactions, reversible chemistry, protein-protein interactions, and hydrophobic interactions).
[0082] By “scaffold” is meant a chemical moiety that displays one or more diversity nodes in a particular special geometry. Diversity nodes are typically attached to the scaffold during library synthesis, but in some cases one diversity node can be attached to the scaffold prior to library synthesis (e.g., addition of one or more building blocks and/or one or more tags). In some embodiments, the scaffold is derivatized such that it can be orthogonally deprotected during library synthesis and subsequently reacted with different diversity nodes.
[0083] By “small molecule” drug or “small molecule” drug candidate is meant a molecule that has a molecular weight below about 1,000 Daltons. Small molecules may be organic or inorganic, isolated (e.g., from compound libraries or natural sources), or obtained by derivatization of known compounds.
[0084] By “substantial identity” or “substantially identical” is meant a polypeptide or polynucleotide sequence that has the same polypeptide or polynucleotide sequence, respectively, as a reference sequence, or has a specified percentage of amino acid residues or nucleotides, respectively, that are the same at the corresponding location within a reference sequence when the two sequences are optimally aligned. For example, an amino acid sequence that is “substantially identical” to a reference sequence has at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identity to the reference amino acid sequence. For polypeptides, the length of comparison sequences will generally be at least 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20 contiguous amino acids, more preferably at least 25, 50, 75, 90, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, or 350 contiguous amino acids, and most preferably the full-length amino acid sequence. For nucleic acids, the length of comparison sequences will generally be at least 5 contiguous nucleotides, preferably at least 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, or 25 contiguous nucleotides, and most preferably the full length nucleotide sequence. Sequence identity may be measured using sequence analysis software on the default setting (e.g., Sequence Analysis Software Package of the Genetics Computer Group, University of Wisconsin Biotechnology Center, 1710 University Avenue, Madison, Wis. 53705). Such software may match similar sequences by assigning degrees of homology to various substitutions, deletions, and other modifications.
[0085] By “substantially” is meant the qualitative condition of exhibiting total or near-total extent or degree of a characteristic or property of interest. One of ordinary skill in the biological arts will understand that biological and chemical phenomena rarely, if ever, go to completion and/or proceed to completeness or achieve or avoid an absolute result. The term “substantially” is therefore used herein to capture the potential lack of completeness inherent in many biological and chemical phenomena.
[0086] By “tag” or “oligonucleotide tag” is meant an oligonucleotide portion of the library at least part of which encodes information. Non-limiting examples of such information include the addition (e.g., by a binding reaction) of a component (i.e., a scaffold or a building block, as in a scaffold tag or a building block tag, respectively), the headpiece in the library, the identity of the library (i.e., as in an identity tag), the use of the library (i.e., as in a use tag), and/or the origin of a library member (i.e., as in an origin tag). Tag sets may optionally be comprised of equal or nearly-equal mass tags thereby facilitating analytical evaluation of the library by mass spectrometry.
[0087] By “tailpiece” is meant an oligonucleotide portion of the library that is attached to the complex after the addition of all of the preceding tags and encodes for the identity of the library, the use of the library, and/or the origin of a library member.
[0088] By “primer” is meant an oligonucleotide that is capable of annealing to an oligonucleotide template and then being extended by a polymerase in a template-dependent manner.
[0089] Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following Detailed Description and the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0090] FIG. 1 is an image that illustrates a double-stranded hairpin structure utilized as a headpiece oligonucleotide that offers sites for both chemical ligation of encoding oligonucleotide tags and a protected primary amine for the synthesis of a covalently attached encoded small-molecule.
[0091] FIG. 2 is an image of a gel illustrating the progress of an exemplary ligation reaction.
[0092] FIG. 3 is an image of two LCMS traces illustrating the progress of an exemplary ligation reaction.
[0093] FIG. 4A is an image illustrating a deprotection reaction of a protected amine.
[0094] FIG. 4B is an image of a gel illustrating the progress of the deprotection reaction.
[0095] FIG. 4C is an image of a LCMS trace illustrating the progress of the deprotection reaction.
[0096] FIG. 5A is an image of a mass spectrum of the product of the reaction of HP006 with 1-cyanoimidazole.
[0097] FIG. 5B is an image illustrating the reaction of HP006 with 1-cyanoimidazole.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Encoded Chemical Entities
[0098] This invention features methods of producing encoded chemical entities including a chemical entity, one or more tags, and a headpiece operatively associated with the first chemical entity and one or more tags. The chemical entities, headpieces, tags, linkages, and bifunctional spacers are further described below.
Chemical Entities
[0099] The chemical entities or members (e.g., small molecules or peptides) of the invention can include one or more building blocks and optionally include one or more scaffolds.
[0100] The scaffold S can be a single atom or a molecular scaffold. Exemplary single atom scaffolds include a carbon atom, a boron atom, a nitrogen atom, or a phosphorus atom, etc. Exemplary polyatomic scaffolds include a cycloalkyl group, a cycloalkenyl group, a heterocycloalkyl group, a heterocycloalkenyl group, an aryl group, or a heteroaryl group. Particular embodiments of a heteroaryl scaffold include a triazine, such as 1,3,5-triazine, 1,2,3-triazine, or 1,2,4-triazine; a pyrimidine; a pyrazine; a pyridazine; a furan; a pyrrole; a pyrrolline; a pyrrolidine; an oxazole; a pyrazole; an isoxazole; a pyran; a pyridine; an indole; an indazole; or a purine.
[0101] The scaffold S can be operatively linked to the tag by any useful method. In one example, S is a triazine that is linked directly to the headpiece. To obtain this exemplary scaffold, trichlorotriazine (i.e., a chlorinated precursor of triazine having three chlorines) is reacted with a nucleophilic group of the headpiece. Using this method, S has three positions having chlorine that are available for substitution, where two positions are available diversity nodes and one position is attached to the headpiece. Next, building block A n is added to a diversity node of the scaffold, and tag A n encoding for building block A n (“tag A n ”) is ligated to the headpiece, where these two steps can be performed in any order. Then, building block B n is added to the remaining diversity node, and tag B n encoding for building block B n is ligated to the end of tag A n . In another example, S is a triazine that is operatively linked to a tag, where trichlorotriazine is reacted with a nucleophilic group (e.g., an amino group) of a PEG, aliphatic, or aromatic linker of a tag. Building blocks and associated tags can be added, as described above.
[0102] In yet another example, S is a triazine that is operatively linked to building block A n . To obtain this scaffold, building block A n having two diversity nodes (e.g., an electrophilic group and a nucleophilic group, such as an Fmoc-amino acid) is reacted with the nucleophilic group of a linker (e.g., the terminal group of a PEG, aliphatic, or aromatic linker, which is attached to a headpiece). Then, trichlorotriazine is reacted with a nucleophilic group of building block A n . Using this method, all three chlorine positions of S are used as diversity nodes for building blocks. As described herein, additional building blocks and tags can be added, and additional scaffolds S n can be added.
[0103] Exemplary building block A n 's include, e.g., amino acids (e.g., alpha-, beta-, gamma-, delta-, and epsilon-amino acids, as well as derivatives of natural and unnatural amino acids), chemical-reactive reactants (e.g., azide or alkyne chains) with an amine, or a thiol reactant, or combinations thereof. The choice of building block A n depends on, for example, the nature of the reactive group used in the linker, the nature of a scaffold moiety, and the solvent used for the chemical synthesis.
[0104] Exemplary building block B n 's and C n 's include any useful structural unit of a chemical entity, such as optionally substituted aromatic groups (e.g., optionally substituted phenyl or benzyl), optionally substituted heterocyclyl groups (e.g., optionally substituted quinolinyl, isoquinolinyl, indolyl, isoindolyl, azaindolyl, benzimidazolyl, azabenzimidazolyl, benzisoxazolyl, pyridinyl, piperidyl, or pyrrolidinyl), optionally substituted alkyl groups (e.g., optionally substituted linear or branched C 1-6 alkyl groups or optionally substituted C 1-6 aminoalkyl groups), or optionally substituted carbocyclyl groups (e.g., optionally substituted cyclopropyl, cyclohexyl, or cyclohexenyl). Particularly useful building block B n 's and C n 's include those with one or more reactive groups, such as an optionally substituted group (e.g., any described herein) having one or optional substituents that are reactive groups or can be chemically modified to form reactive groups. Exemplary reactive groups include one or more of amine (—NR 2 , where each R is, independently, H or an optionally substituted C 1-6 alkyl), hydroxy, alkoxy (—OR, where R is an optionally substituted C 1-6 alkyl, such as methoxy), carboxy (—COOH), amide, or chemical-reactive substituents. A restriction site may be introduced, for example, in tag B n or C n , where a complex can be identified by performing PCR and restriction digest with one of the corresponding restriction enzymes.
Site for Reversible Immobilization
[0105] In some embodiments, the encoded chemical entities optionally include a site for reversible immobilization. Reversible immobilization can be utilized to facilitate buffer-exchange and reagent/contaminant removal during the split-and-mix synthesis of encoded libraries. For example, after a chemical reaction to add a building block to the first chemical entity, the complex may be reversibly immobilized. The excess reagents and solvents may then be removed, the reagents and solvents for the ligation reaction added, and then the complex may be detached from the support. This method incorporates the benefits of solid supported synthesis, such as ease of purification and/or removal of solvents and reagents incompatible with subsequent steps, while allowing the steps that are used to construct the library and oligonucleotide tags to be performed in solution or alternatively while the nascent library is reversibly immobilized.
[0106] Exemplary reversible immobilization strategies include: oligonucleotide hybridization including substituted oligonucleotides (2′-modified, PNA, LNA etc.), including double and triple-stranded; Oligonucleotide-ion exchange interactions (e.g. with DEAE-Cellulose); small-molecule-small molecule interactions (e.g. adamantane-cyclodextrin); reversible chemistry (e.g. disulfide bond formation); reversible photochemistry (e.g. cyanovinyl uridine photo-cross-linking); reversible chemical cross-linking (e.g. with an exogenously added reactive entity); immobilized metal affinity chromatography (e.g., immobilized Ni-NTA with His 6 ); antibody-epitope interaction (e.g. immobilized anti-FLAG antibody and FLAG peptide); protein-protein interaction; protein-small-molecule interaction (e.g. immobilized streptavidin with iminobiotin or immobilized maltose-binding protein and maltose); reversible oligonucleotide ligation (e.g. the ligation of restricted dsDNA followed by restriction); and hydrophobic interaction (e.g. a fluorous tag and a hydrophobic surface). In some embodiments, the site for reversible immobilization comprises one member of a binding pair of any of the reversible immobilization strategies described herein, e.g., a nucleic acid, peptide, or small molecule.
[0107] Headpiece
[0108] In an encoded chemical entity, the headpiece operatively links each chemical entity to its encoding oligonucleotide tag. Generally, the headpiece is a starting oligonucleotide having at least two functional groups that can be further derivatized, where the first functional group operatively links the first chemical entity (or a component thereof) to the headpiece and the second functional group operatively links one or more tags to the headpiece. A bifunctional spacer can optionally be used as a spacing moiety between the headpiece and a chemical entity.
[0109] The functional groups of the headpiece can be used to form a covalent bond with a component of a chemical entity and another covalent bond with a tag. The component can be any part of the small molecule, such as a scaffold having diversity nodes or a building block. Alternatively, the headpiece can be derivatized to provide a spacer (e.g., a spacing moiety separating the headpiece from the small molecule to be formed in the library) terminating in a functional group (e.g., a hydroxyl, amine, carboxyl, sulfhydryl, alkynyl, azido, or phosphate group), which is used to form the covalent linkage with a component of the chemical entity. The spacer can be attached to the 5′-terminus, at one of the internal positions, or to the 3′-terminus of the headpiece. When the spacer is attached to one of the internal positions, the spacer can be operatively linked to a derivatized base (e.g., the C5 position of uridine) or placed internally within the oligonucleotide using standard techniques known in the art. Exemplary spacers are described herein.
[0110] The headpiece can have any useful structure. The headpiece can be, e.g., 1 to 100 nucleotides in length, preferably 5 to 20 nucleotides in length, and most preferably 5 to 15 nucleotides in length. The headpiece can be single-stranded or double-stranded and can consist of natural or modified nucleotides, as described herein. For example, the chemical moiety can be operatively linked to the 3′-terminus or 5′-terminus of the headpiece. In particular embodiments, the headpiece includes a hairpin structure formed by complementary bases within the sequence. For example, the chemical moiety can be operatively linked to the internal position, the 3′-terminus, or the 5′-terminus of the headpiece.
[0111] Generally, the headpiece includes a non-self-complementary sequence on the 5′- or 3′-terminus that allows for binding an oligonucleotide tag by polymerization, enzymatic ligation, or chemical reaction. The headpiece can allow for ligation of oligonucleotide tags and optional purification and phosphorylation steps. After the addition of the last tag, an additional adapter sequence can be added to the 5′-terminus of the last tag. Exemplary adapter sequences include a primer-binding sequence or a sequence having a label (e.g., biotin). In cases where many building blocks and corresponding tags are used (e.g., 100), a mix-and-split strategy may be employed during the oligonucleotide synthesis step to create the necessary number of tags. Such mix-and-split strategies for DNA synthesis are known in the art. The resultant library members can be amplified by PCR following selection for binding entities versus a target(s) of interest.
[0112] The headpiece or the complex can optionally include one or more primer-binding sequences. For example, the headpiece has a sequence in the loop region of the hairpin that serves as a primer-binding region for amplification, where the primer-binding region has a higher melting temperature for its complementary primer (e.g., which can include flanking identifier regions) than for a sequence in the headpiece. In other embodiments, the complex includes two primer-binding sequences (e.g., to enable a PCR reaction) on either side of one or more tags that encode one or more building blocks. Alternatively, the headpiece may contain one primer-binding sequence on the 5′- or 3′-terminus. In other embodiments, the headpiece is a hairpin, and the loop region forms a primer-binding site or the primer-binding site is introduced through hybridization of an oligonucleotide to the headpiece on the 3′ side of the loop. A primer oligonucleotide, containing a region homologous to the 3′-terminus of the headpiece and carrying a primer-binding region on its 5′-terminus (e.g., to enable a PCR reaction) may be hybridized to the headpiece and may contain a tag that encodes a building block or the addition of a building block. The primer oligonucleotide may contain additional information, such as a region of randomized nucleotides, e.g., 2 to 16 nucleotides in length, which is included for bioinformatics analysis.
[0113] The headpiece can optionally include a hairpin structure, where this structure can be achieved by any useful method. For example, the headpiece can include complementary bases that form intermolecular base pairing partners, such as by Watson-Crick DNA base pairing (e.g., adenine-thymine and guanine-cytosine) and/or by wobble base pairing (e.g., guanine-uracil, inosine-uracil, inosine-adenine, and inosine-cytosine). In another example, the headpiece can include modified or substituted nucleotides that can form higher affinity duplex formations compared to unmodified nucleotides, such modified or substituted nucleotides being known in the art. In yet another example, the headpiece includes one or more cross-linked bases to form the hairpin structure. For example, bases within a single strand or bases in different double strands can be cross-linked, e.g., by using psoralen.
[0114] The headpiece or complex can optionally include one or more labels that allow for detection. For example, the headpiece, one or more oligonucleotide tags, and/or one or more primer sequences can include an isotope, a radioimaging agent, a marker, a tracer, a fluorescent label (e.g., rhodamine or fluorescein), a chemiluminescent label, a quantum dot, and a reporter molecule (e.g., biotin or a his-tag).
[0115] In other embodiments, the headpiece or tag may be modified to support solubility in semi-, reduced-, or non-aqueous (e.g., organic) conditions. Nucleotide bases of the headpiece or tag can be rendered more hydrophobic by modifying, for example, the C5 positions of T or C bases with aliphatic chains without significantly disrupting their ability to hydrogen bond to their complementary bases. Exemplary modified or substituted nucleotides are 5′-dimethoxytrityl-N4-diisobutylaminomethylidene-5-(1-propynyl)-2′-deoxycytidine,3′-[(2-cyanoethyl)-(N,N-diisopropyl)]-phosphoramidite; 5′-dimethoxytrityl-5-(1-propynyl)-2′-deoxyuridine,3′-[(2-cyanoethyl)-(N,N-diisopropyl)]-phosphoramidite; 5′-dimethoxytrityl-5-fluoro-2′-deoxyuridine,3′-[(2-cyanoethyl)-(N,N-diisopropyl)]-phosphoramidite; and 5′-dimethoxytrityl-5-(pyren-1-yl-ethynyl)-2′-deoxyuridine, or 3′-[(2-cyanoethyl)-(N,N-diisopropyl)]-phosphoramidite.
[0116] In addition, the headpiece oligonucleotide can be interspersed with modifications that promote solubility in organic solvents. For example, azobenzene phosphoramidite can introduce a hydrophobic moiety into the headpiece design. Such insertions of hydrophobic amidites into the headpiece can occur anywhere in the molecule. However, the insertion cannot interfere with subsequent tagging using additional DNA tags during the library synthesis or ensuing PCR once a selection is complete or microarray analysis, if used for tag deconvolution. Such additions to the headpiece design described herein would render the headpiece soluble in, for example, 15%, 25%, 30%, 50%, 75%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99%, or 100% organic solvent. Thus, addition of hydrophobic residues into the headpiece design allows for improved solubility in semi- or non-aqueous (e.g., organic) conditions, while rendering the headpiece competent for oligonucleotide tagging. Furthermore, DNA tags that are subsequently introduced into the library can also be modified at the C5 position of T or C bases such that they also render the library more hydrophobic and soluble in organic solvents for subsequent steps of library synthesis.
[0117] In particular embodiments, the headpiece and the first tag can be the same entity, i.e., a plurality of headpiece-tag entities can be constructed that all share common parts (e.g., a primer-binding region) and all differ in another part (e.g., encoding region). These may be utilized in the “split” step and pooled after the event they are encoding has occurred.
[0118] In particular embodiments, the headpiece can encode information, e.g., by including a sequence that encodes the first split(s) step or a sequence that encodes the identity of the library, such as by using a particular sequence related to a specific library.
[0119] Oligonucleotide Tags
[0120] The oligonucleotide tags described herein (e.g., a tag or a portion of a headpiece or a portion of a tailpiece) can be used to encode any useful information, such as a molecule, a portion of a chemical entity, the addition of a component (e.g., a scaffold or a building block), a headpiece in the library, the identity of the library, the use of one or more library members (e.g., use of the members in an aliquot of a library), and/or the origin of a library member (e.g., by use of an origin sequence).
[0121] Any sequence in an oligonucleotide can be used to encode any information. Thus, one oligonucleotide sequence can serve more than one purpose, such as to encode two or more types of information or to provide a starting oligonucleotide that also encodes for one or more types of information. For example, the first tag can encode for the addition of a first building block, as well as for the identification of the library. In another example, a headpiece can be used to provide a starting oligonucleotide that operatively links a chemical entity to a tag, where the headpiece additionally includes a sequence that encodes for the identity of the library (i.e., the library-identifying sequence). Accordingly, any of the information described herein can be encoded in separate oligonucleotide tags or can be combined and encoded in the same oligonucleotide sequence (e.g., an oligonucleotide tag, such as a tag, or a headpiece).
[0122] A building block sequence encodes for the identity of a building block and/or the type of binding reaction conducted with a building block. This building block sequence is included in a tag, where the tag can optionally include one or more types of sequence described below (e.g., a library-identifying sequence, a use sequence, and/or an origin sequence).
[0123] A library-identifying sequence encodes for the identity of a particular library. In order to permit mixing of two or more libraries, a library member may contain one or more library-identifying sequences, such as in a library-identifying tag (i.e., an oligonucleotide including a library-identifying sequence), in a ligated tag, in a part of the headpiece sequence, or in a tailpiece sequence. These library-identifying sequences can be used to deduce encoding relationships, where the sequence of the tag is translated and correlated with chemical (synthesis) history information. Accordingly, these library-identifying sequences permit the mixing of two or more libraries together for selection, amplification, purification, sequencing, etc.
[0124] A use sequence encodes the history (i.e., use) of one or more library members in an individual aliquot of a library. For example, separate aliquots may be treated with different reaction conditions, building blocks, and/or selection steps. In particular, this sequence may be used to identify such aliquots and deduce their history (use) and thereby permit the mixing together of aliquots of the same library with different histories (uses) (e.g., distinct selection experiments) for the purposes of the mixing together of samples together for selection, amplification, purification, sequencing, etc. These use sequences can be included in a headpiece, a tailpiece, a tag, a use tag (i.e., an oligonucleotide including a use sequence), or any other tag described herein (e.g., a library-identifying tag or an origin tag).
[0125] An origin sequence is a degenerate (random, stochastically-generated) oligonucleotide sequence of any useful length (e.g., about six oligonucleotides) that encodes for the origin of the library member. This sequence serves to stochastically subdivide library members that are otherwise identical in all respects into entities distinguishable by sequence information, such that observations of amplification products derived from unique progenitor templates (e.g., selected library members) can be distinguished from observations of multiple amplification products derived from the same progenitor template (e.g., a selected library member). For example, after library formation and prior to the selection step, each library member can include a different origin sequence, such as in an origin tag. After selection, selected library members can be amplified to produce amplification products, and the portion of the library member expected to include the origin sequence (e.g., in the origin tag) can be observed and compared with the origin sequence in each of the other library members. As the origin sequences are degenerate, each amplification product of each library member should have a different origin sequence. However, an observation of the same origin sequence in the amplification product could indicate multiple amplicons derived from the same template molecule. When it is desired to determine the statistics and demographics of the population of encoding tags prior to amplification, as opposed to post-amplification, the origin tag may be used. These origin sequences can be included in a headpiece, a tailpiece, a tag, an origin tag (i.e., an oligonucleotide including an origin sequence), or any other tag described herein (e.g., a library-identifying tag or a use tag).
[0126] Any of the types of sequences described herein can be included in the headpiece. For example, the headpiece can include one or more of a building block sequence, a library-identifying sequence, a use sequence, or an origin sequence.
[0127] Any of these sequences described herein can be included in a tailpiece. For example, the tailpiece can include one or more of a library-identifying sequence, a use sequence, or an origin sequence.
[0128] Any of tags described herein can include a connector at or in proximity to the 5′- or 3′-terminus having a fixed sequence. Connectors facilitate the formation of linkages (e.g., chemical linkages) by providing a reactive group (e.g., a chemical-reactive group or a photo-reactive group) or by providing a site for an agent that allows for a linkage (e.g., an agent of an intercalating moiety or a reversible reactive group in the connector(s) or cross-linking oligonucleotide). Each 5′-connector may be the same or different, and each 3′-connector may be the same or different. In an exemplary, non-limiting complex having more than one tags, each tag can include a 5′-connector and a 3′-connector, where each 5′-connector has the same sequence and each 3′-connector has the same sequence (e.g., where the sequence of the 5′-connector can be the same or different from the sequence of the 3′-connector). The connector provides a sequence that can be used for one or more linkages. To allow for binding of a relay primer or for hybridizing a cross-linking oligonucleotide, the connector can include one or more functional groups allowing for a linkage (e.g., a linkage for which a polymerase has reduced ability to read or translocate through, such as a chemical linkage).
[0129] These sequences can include any modification described herein for oligonucleotides, such as one or more modifications that promote solubility in organic solvents (e.g., any described herein, such as for the headpiece), that provide an analog of the natural phosphodiester linkage (e.g., a phosphorothioate analog), or that provide one or more non-natural oligonucleotides (e.g., 2′-substituted nucleotides, such as 2′-O-methylated nucleotides and 2′-fluoro nucleotides, or any described herein).
[0130] These sequences can include any characteristics described herein for oligonucleotides. For example, these sequences can be included in tag that is less than 20 nucleotides (e.g., as described herein). In other examples, the tags including one or more of these sequences have about the same mass (e.g., each tag has a mass that is about +/−10% from the average mass between within a specific set of tags that encode a specific variable); lack a primer-binding (e.g., constant) region; lack a constant region; or have a constant region of reduced length (e.g., a length less than 30 nucleotides, less than 25 nucleotides, less than 20 nucleotides, less than 19 nucleotides, less than 18 nucleotides, less than 17 nucleotides, less than 16 nucleotides, less than 15 nucleotides, less than 14 nucleotides, less than 13 nucleotides, less than 12 nucleotides, less than 11 nucleotides, less than 10 nucleotides, less than 9 nucleotides, less than 8 nucleotides, or less than 7 nucleotides).
[0131] Sequencing strategies for libraries and oligonucleotides of this length may optionally include concatenation or catenation strategies to increase read fidelity or sequencing depth, respectively. In particular, the selection of encoded libraries that lack primer-binding regions has been described in the literature for SELEX, such as described in Jarosch et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 34: e86 (2006), which is incorporated herein by reference. For example, a library member can be modified (e.g., after a selection step) to include a first adapter sequence on the 5′-terminus of the complex and a second adapter sequence on the 3′-terminus of the complex, where the first sequence is substantially complementary to the second sequence and result in forming a duplex. To further improve yield, two fixed dangling nucleotides (e.g., CC) are added to the 5′-terminus.
[0132] Linkages
[0133] The linkages of the invention are present between oligonucleotides that encode information (e.g., such as between the headpiece and a tag, between two tags, or between a tag and a tailpiece). Exemplary linkages include phosphodiesters, phosphonates, and phosphorothioates. In some embodiments, a polymerase has reduced ability to read or translocate through one or more linkages. In certain embodiments, chemical linkages include one or more of a chemical-reactive group such as a monophosphate and/or a hydroxyl group, a photo-reactive group, an intercalating moiety, a cross-linking oligonucleotide, or a reversible co-reactive group.
[0134] A linkage may be tested to determine whether a polymerase has reduced ability to read or translocate through that linkage. This ability can be tested by any useful method, such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, RT-PCR analysis, sequence demographics, and/or PCR analysis.
[0135] In some embodiments, chemical ligation includes the use of one or more chemical-reactive pairs to provide a linkage such as a monophosphate and a hydroxyl. As described herein, readable linkages may be synthesized by chemical ligation, for example, by reaction of a monophosphate, a monophosphotioate, or monophosphanate on a 5′- or 3′-terminus with a hydroxyl group on a 5′- or 3′-terminus in the presence of cyanoimidazole and a divalent metal source (e.g., ZnCl 2 ).
[0136] Other exemplary chemical-reactive pairs are a pair including an optionally substituted alkynyl group and an optionally substituted azido group to form a triazole via a Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction; an optionally substituted diene having a 4π-electron system (e.g., an optionally substituted 1,3-unsaturated compound, such as optionally substituted 1,3-butadiene, 1-methoxy-3-trimethylsilyloxy-1,3-butadiene, cyclopentadiene, cyclohexadiene, or furan) and an optionally substituted dienophile or an optionally substituted heterodienophile having a 2π-electron system (e.g., an optionally substituted alkenyl group or an optionally substituted alkynyl group) to form a cycloalkenyl via a Diels-Alder reaction; a nucleophile (e.g., an optionally substituted amine or an optionally substituted thiol) with a strained heterocyclyl electrophile (e.g., optionally substituted epoxide, aziridine, aziridinium ion, or episulfonium ion) to form a heteroalkyl via a ring opening reaction; a phosphorothioate group with an iodo group, such as in a splinted ligation of an oligonucleotide containing 5′-iodo dT with a 3′-phosphorothioate oligonucleotide; an optionally substituted amino group with an aldehyde group or a ketone group, such as a reaction of a 3′-aldehyde-modified oligonucleotide, which can optionally be obtained by oxidizing a commercially available 3′-glyceryl-modified oligonucleotide, with 5′-amino oligonucleotide (i.e., in a reductive amination reaction) or a 5′-hydrazido oligonucleotide; a pair of an optionally substituted amino group and a carboxylic acid group or a thiol group (e.g., with or without the use of succinimidyl trans-4-(maleimidylmethyl)cyclohexane-1-carboxylate (SMCC) or 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDAC); a pair of an optionally substituted hydrazine and an aldehyde or a ketone group; a pair of an optionally substituted hydroxylamine and an aldehyde or a ketone group; or a pair of a nucleophile and an optionally substituted alkyl halide.
[0137] Platinum complexes, alkylating agents, or furan-modified nucleotides can also be used as a chemical-reactive group to form inter- or intra-strand linkages. Such agents can be used between two oligonucleotides and can optionally be present in the cross-linking oligonucleotide.
[0138] Exemplary, non-limiting platinum complexes include cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II), e.g., to form GG intra-strand linkages), transplatin (trans-diaminedichloroplatinum (II), e.g., to form GXG inter-strand linkages, where X can be any nucleotide), carboplatin, picolatin (ZD0473), ormaplatin, or oxaliplatin to form, e.g., GC, CG, AG, or GG linkages. Any of these linkages can be inter- or intra-strand linkages.
[0139] Exemplary, non-limiting alkylating agents include nitrogen mustard (mechlorethamine, e.g., to form GG linkages), chlorambucil, melphalan, cyclophosphamide, prodrug forms of cyclophosphamide (e.g., 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide and ifosfamide)), 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU, carmustine), an aziridine (e.g., mitomycin C, triethylenemelamine, or triethylenethiophosphoramide (thio-tepa) to form GG or AG linkages), hexamethylmelamine, an alkyl sulfonate (e.g., busulphan to form GG linkages), or a nitrosourea (e.g., 2-chloroethylnitrosourea to form GG or CG linkages, such as carmustine (BCNU), chlorozotocin, lomustine (CCNU), and semustine (methyl-CCNU)). Any of these linkages can be inter- or intra-strand linkages.
[0140] Furan-modified nucleotides can also be used to form linkages. Upon in situ oxidation (e.g., with N-bromosuccinimide (NBS)), the furan moiety forms a reactive oxo-enal derivative that reacts with a complementary base to form an inter-strand linkage. In some embodiments, the furan-modified nucleotides forms linkages with a complementary A or C nucleotide. Exemplary, non-limiting furan-modified nucleotides include any 2′-(furan-2-yl)propanoylamino-modified nucleotide; or an acyclic, modified nucleotides of 2-(furan-2-yl)ethyl glycol nucleic acid.
[0141] Photo-reactive groups can also be used as a reactive group. Exemplary, non-limiting photo-reactive groups include an intercalating moiety, a psoralen derivative (e.g., psoralen, HMT-psoralen, or 8-methoxypsoralen), an optionally substituted cyanovinylcarbazole group, an optionally substituted vinylcarbazole group, an optionally substituted cyanovinyl group, an optionally substituted acrylamide group, an optionally substituted diazirine group, an optionally substituted benzophenone (e.g., succinimidyl ester of 4-benzoylbenzoic acid or benzophenone isothiocyanate), an optionally substituted 5-(carboxy)vinyl-uridine group (e.g., 5-(carboxy)vinyl-2′-deoxyuridine), or an optionally substituted azide group (e.g., an aryl azide or a halogenated aryl azide, such as succinimidyl ester of 4-azido-2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzoic acid (ATFB)).
[0142] Intercalating moieties can also be used as a reactive group. Exemplary, non-limiting intercalating moieties include a psoralen derivative, an alkaloid derivative (e.g., berberine, palmatine, coralyne, sanguinarine (e.g., iminium or alkanolamine forms thereof), or aristololactam-β-D-glucoside), an ethidium cation (e.g., ethidium bromide), an acridine derivative (e.g., proflavine, acriflavine, or amsacrine), an anthracycline derivative (e.g., doxorubicin, epirubicin, daunorubicin (daunomycin), idarubicin, and aclarubicin), or thalidomide.
[0143] For a cross-linking oligonucleotide, any useful reactive group (e.g., described herein) can be used to form inter- or intra-strand linkages. Exemplary reactive groups include chemical-reactive group, a photo-reactive group, an intercalating moiety, and a reversible co-reactive group. Cross-linking agents for use with cross-linking oligonucleotides include, without limitation, alkylating agents (e.g., as described herein), cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II)), trans-diaminedichloroplatinum(II), psoralen, HMT-psoralen, 8-methoxypsoralen, furan-modified nucleotides, 2-fluoro-deoxyinosine (2-F-dI), 5-bromo-deoxycytosine (5-Br-dC), 5-bromo deoxyuridine (5-Br-dU), 5-iodo-deoxycytosine (5-I-dC), 5-iodo-deoxyuridine (5-I-dU), succinimidyl trans-4-(maleimidylmethyl)cyclohexane-1-carboxylate, SMCC, EDAC, or succinimidyl acetylthioacetate (SATA).
[0144] Oligonucleotides can also be modified to contain thiol moieties that can be reacted with a variety of thiol reactive groups such as maleimides, halogens, and iodoacetamides and thus can be used for cross-linking two oligonucleotides. The thiol groups can be linked to the 5′- or the 3′-terminus of an oligonucleotide.
[0145] For inter-strand cross-linking between duplex oligonucleotides at a pyrimidine (e.g., thymidine) position, the intercalating, photo-reactive moiety psoralen can be chosen. Psoralen intercalates into the duplex and forms covalent inter-strand cross-links with pyrimidines, preferentially at 5′-TpA sites, upon irradiation with ultraviolet light (about 254 nm). The psoralen moiety can be covalently attached to a modified oligonucleotide (e.g., by an alkane chain, such as a C 1-10 alkyl, or a polyethylene glycol group, such as —(CH 2 CH 2 O) n CH 2 CH 2 —, where n is an integer from 1 to 50). Exemplary psoralen derivatives can also be used, where non-limiting derivatives include 4′-(hydroxyethoxymethy)-4,5′,8-trimethylpsoralen (HMT-psoralen) and 8-methoxypsoralen.
[0146] Various portions of the cross-linking oligonucleotide can be modified to introduce a linkage. For example, terminal phosphorothioates in oligonucleotides can also be used for linking two adjacent oligonucleotides. Halogenated uracils/cytosines can also be used as cross-linker modifications in the oligonucleotide. For example, 2-fluoro-deoxyinosine (2-F-dl) modified oligonucleotides can be reacted with disulfide-containing diamines or thiopropylamines to form disulfide linkages.
[0147] As described below, reversible co-reactive groups include those selected from a cyanovinylcarbazole group, a cyanovinyl group, an acrylamide group, a thiol group, or a sulfonylethyl thioethers. An optionally substituted cyanovinylcarbazole (CNV) group can also be used in oligonucleotides to cross-link to a pyrimidine base (e.g., cytosine, thymine, and uracil, as well as modified bases thereof) in complementary strands. CNV groups promote [2+2] cycloaddition with the adjacent pyrimidine base upon irradiation at 366 nm, which results in an inter-strand cross-link. Irradiation at 312 nm reverses the cross-link and thus provides a method for reversible cross-linking of oligonucleotide strands. A non-limiting CNV group is 3-cyanovinylcarbozaole, which can be included as a carboxyvinylcarbazole nucleotide (e.g., as 3-carboxyvinylcarbazole-1′-β-deoxyriboside-5′-triphosphate).
[0148] The CNV group can be modified to replace the reactive cyano group with another reactive group to provide an optionally substituted vinylcarbazole group. Exemplary non-limiting reactive groups for a vinylcarbazole group include an amide group of —CONR N1 R N2 , where each R N1 and R N2 can be the same or different and is independently H and C 1-6 alkyl, e.g., —CONH 2 ; a carboxyl group of —CO 2 H; or a C 2-7 alkoxycarbonyl group (e.g., methoxycarbonyl). Furthermore, the reactive group can be located on the alpha or beta carbon of the vinyl group. Exemplary vinylcarbazole groups include a cyanovinylcarbazole group, as described herein; an amidovinylcarbazole group (e.g., an amidovinylcarbazole nucleotide, such as 3-amidovinylcarbazole-1′-β-deoxyriboside-5′-triphosphate); a carboxyvinylcarbazole group (e.g., a carboxyvinylcarbazole nucleotide, such as 3-carboxyvinylcarbazole-1′-β-deoxyriboside-5′-triphosphate); and a C 2-7 alkoxycarbonylvinylcarbazole group (e.g., an alkoxycarbonylvinylcarbazole nucleotide, such as 3-methoxycarbonylvinylcarbazole-1′-β-deoxyriboside-5′-triphosphate). Additional optionally substituted vinylcarbazole groups and nucleotides having such groups are provided in the chemical formulas of U.S. Pat. No. 7,972,792 and Yoshimura and Fujimoto, Org. Lett. 10:3227-3230 (2008), which are both hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
[0149] Other reversible reactive groups include a thiol group and another thiol group to form a disulfide, as well as a thiol group and a vinyl sulfone group to form a sulfonylethyl thioethers. Thiol-thiol groups can optionally include a linkage formed by a reaction with bis-((N-iodoacetyl)piperazinyl)sulfonerhodamine. Other reversible reactive groups (e.g., such as some photo-reactive groups) include optionally substituted benzophenone groups. A non-limiting example is benzophenone uracil (BPU), which can be used for site- and sequence-selective formation of an interstrand cross-link of BPU-containing oligonucleotide duplexes. This cross-link can be reversed upon heating, providing a method for the reversible cross-linking of two oligonucleotide strands.
[0150] In other embodiments, chemical ligation includes introducing an analog of the phosphodiester bond, e.g., for post-selection PCR analysis and sequencing. Exemplary analogs of a phosphodiester include a phosphorothioate linkage (e.g., as introduced by use of a phosphorothioate group and a leaving group, such as an iodo group), a phosphoramide linkage, or a phosphorodithioate linkage (e.g., as introduced by use of a phosphorodithioate group and a leaving group, such as an iodo group). For any of the groups described herein (e.g., a chemical-reactive group, a photo-reactive group, an intercalating moiety, a cross-linking oligonucleotide, or a reversible co-reactive group), the group can be incorporated at or in proximity to the terminus of an oligonucleotide or between the 5′- and 3′-termini. Furthermore, one or more groups can be present in each oligonucleotide. When pairs of reactive groups are required, then oligonucleotides can be designed to facilitate a reaction between the pair of groups. In the non-limiting example of a cyanovinylcarbazole group that co-reacts with a pyrimidine base, the first oligonucleotide can be designed to include the cyanovinylcarbazole group at or in proximity to the 5′-terminus. In this example, a second oligonucleotide can be designed to be complementary to the first oligonucleotide and to include the co-reactive pyrimidine base at a position that aligns with the cyanovinylcarbazole group when the first and second oligonucleotide hybridizes. Any of the groups herein and any of the oligonucleotides having one or more groups can be designed to facilitate reaction between the groups to form one or more linkages.
[0151] Bifunctional Spacers
[0152] The bifunctional spacer between the headpiece and a chemical entity can be varied to provide an appropriate spacing moiety and/or to increase the solubility of the headpiece in organic solvent. A wide variety of spacers are commercially available that can couple the headpiece with the small molecule library. The spacer typically consists of linear or branched chains and may include a C 1-10 alkyl, a heteroalkyl of 1 to 10 atoms, a C 2-10 alkenyl, a C 2-10 alkynyl, C 5-10 aryl, a cyclic or polycyclic system of 3 to 20 atoms, a phosphodiester, a peptide, an oligosaccharide, an oligonucleotide, an oligomer, a polymer, or a poly alkyl glycol (e.g., a poly ethylene glycol, such as —(CH 2 CH 2 O) n CH 2 CH 2 —, where n is an integer from 1 to 50), or combinations thereof.
[0153] The bifunctional spacer may provide an appropriate spacing moiety between the headpiece and a chemical entity of the library. In certain embodiments, the bifunctional spacer includes three parts. Part 1 may be a reactive group, which forms a covalent bond with DNA, such as, e.g., a carboxylic acid, preferably activated by a N-hydroxy succinimide (NHS) ester to react with an amino group on the DNA (e.g., amino-modified dT), an amidite to modify the 5′ or 3′-terminus of a single-stranded headpiece (achieved by means of standard oligonucleotide chemistry), chemical-reactive pairs (e.g., azido-alkyne cycloaddition in the presence of Cu(I) catalyst, or any described herein), or thiol reactive groups. Part 2 may also be a reactive group, which forms a covalent bond with the chemical entity, either building block A n or a scaffold. Such a reactive group could be, e.g., an amine, a thiol, an azide, or an alkyne. Part 3 may be a chemically inert spacing moiety of variable length, introduced between Part 1 and 2. Such a spacing moiety can be a chain of ethylene glycol units (e.g., PEGs of different lengths), an alkane, an alkene, a polyene chain, or a peptide chain. The spacer can contain branches or inserts with hydrophobic moieties (such as, e.g., benzene rings) to improve solubility of the headpiece in organic solvents, as well as fluorescent moieties (e.g. fluorescein or Cy-3) used for library detection purposes. Hydrophobic residues in the headpiece design may be varied with the spacer design to facilitate library synthesis in organic solvents. For example, the headpiece and spacer combination is designed to have appropriate residues wherein the octanol:water coefficient (P oct ) is from, e.g., 1.0 to 2.5.
[0154] Spacers can be empirically selected for a given small molecule library design, such that the library can be synthesized in organic solvent, for example, in 15%, 25%, 30%, 50%, 75%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99%, or 100% organic solvent. The spacer can be varied using model reactions prior to library synthesis to select the appropriate chain length that solubilizes the headpiece in an organic solvent. Exemplary spacers include those having increased alkyl chain length, increased poly ethylene glycol units, branched species with positive charges (to neutralize the negative phosphate charges on the headpiece), or increased amounts of hydrophobicity (for example, addition of benzene ring structures).
[0155] Examples of commercially available spacers include amino-carboxylic spacers, such as those being peptides (e.g., Z-Gly-Gly-Gly-Osu (N-alpha-benzyloxycarbonyl-(Glycine) 3 -N-succinimidyl ester) or Z-Gly-Gly-Gly-Gly-Gly-Gly-Osu (N-alpha-benzyloxycarbonyl-(Glycine) 6 -N-succinimidyl ester, SEQ ID NO: 1)), PEG (e.g., Fmoc-aminoPEG2000-NHS or amino-PEG (12-24)-NHS), or alkane acid chains (e.g., Boc-ε-aminocaproic acid-Osu); chemical-reactive pair spacers, such as those chemical-reactive pairs described herein in combination with a peptide moiety (e.g., azidohomoalanine-Gly-Gly-Gly-OSu (SEQ ID NO: 2) or propargylglycine-Gly-Gly-Gly-OSu (SEQ ID NO: 3)), PEG (e.g., azido-PEG-NHS), or an alkane acid chain moiety (e.g., 5-azidopentanoic acid, (S)-2-(azidomethyl)-1-Boc-pyrrolidine, 4-azidoaniline, or 4-azido-butan-1-oic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester); thiol-reactive spacers, such as those being PEG (e.g., SM(PEG)n NHS-PEG-maleimide), alkane chains (e.g., 3-(pyridin-2-yldisulfanyl)-propionic acid-Osu or sulfosuccinimidyl 6-(3′-[2-pyridyldithio]-propionamido)hexanoate)); and amidites for oligonucleotide synthesis, such as amino modifiers (e.g., 6-(trifluoroacetylamino)-hexyl-(2-cyanoethyl)-(N,N-diisopropyl)-phosphoramidite), thiol modifiers (e.g., S-trityl-6-mercaptohexyl-1-[(2-cyanoethyl)-(N,N-diisopropyl)]-phosphoramidite, or chemical-reactive pair modifiers (e.g., 6-hexyn-1-yl-(2-cyanoethyl)-(N,N-diisopropyl)-phosphoramidite, 3-dimethoxytrityloxy-2-(3-(3-propargyloxypropanamido)propanamido)propyl-1-O-succinoyl, long chain alkylamino CPG, or 4-azido-butan-1-oic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester)). Additional spacers are known in the art, and those that can be used during library synthesis include, but are not limited to, 5′-O-dimethoxytrityl-1′,2′-dideoxyribose-3′-[(2-cyanoethyl)-(N,N-diisopropyl)]-phosphoramidite; 9-O-dimethoxytrityl-triethylene glycol,1-[(2-cyanoethyl)-(N,N-diisopropyl)]-phosphoramidite; 3-(4,4′-dimethoxytrityloxy)propyl-1-[(2-cyanoethyl)-(N,N-diisopropyl)]-phosphoramidite; and 18-O-dimethoxytrityl hexaethyleneglycol,1-[(2-cyanoethyl)-(N,N-diisopropyl)]-phosphoramidite. Any of the spacers herein can be added in tandem to one another in different combinations to generate spacers of different desired lengths.
[0156] Spacers may also be branched, where branched spacers are well known in the art and examples can consist of symmetric or asymmetric doublers or a symmetric trebler. See, for example, Newcome et al., Dendritic Molecules: Concepts, Synthesis, Perspectives, VCH Publishers (1996); Boussif et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92:7297-7301 (1995); and Jansen et al., Science 266:1226 (1994).
[0157] Enzymatic Ligation and Chemical Ligation Techniques
[0158] Various ligation techniques can be used to add tags, to the headpiece to produce a complex. Accordingly, any of the binding steps described herein can include any useful ligation techniques, such as enzymatic ligation and/or chemical ligation. These binding steps can include the addition of one or more tags to the headpiece or complex. In particular embodiments, the ligation techniques used for any oligonucleotide provide a resultant product that can be transcribed and/or reverse transcribed to allow for decoding of the library or for template-dependent polymerization with one or more DNA or RNA polymerases.
[0159] Generally, enzymatic ligation produces an oligonucleotide having a native phosphodiester bond that can be transcribed and/or reverse transcribed. Exemplary methods of enzyme ligation are provided herein and include the use of one or more RNA or DNA ligases, such as T4 RNA ligase 1 or 2, T4 DNA ligase, CircLigase™ ssDNA ligase, CircLigase™ II ssDNA ligase, and ThermoPhage™ ssDNA ligase (Prokazyme Ltd., Reykjavik, Iceland).
[0160] Chemical ligation can also be used to produce oligonucleotides capable of being transcribed or reverse transcribed or otherwise used as a template for a template-dependent polymerase. The efficacy of a chemical ligation technique to provide oligonucleotides capable of being transcribed or reverse transcribed may need to be tested. This efficacy can be tested by any useful method, such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, RT-PCR analysis, PCR analysis, electrophoresis, and/or sequencing. In particular embodiments, chemical ligation includes the use of one or more chemical-reactive pairs to provide a spacing moiety that can be transcribed or reverse transcribed. An example of the methods of the present invention is outlined in FIG. 1 in which a double-stranded hairpin structure is utilized as a bifunctional headpiece oligonucleotide that offers sites for both chemical ligation of encoding oligonucleotide tags and a protected primary amine for the synthesis of a covalently attached encoded small-molecule. The headpiece bears both 3′- and 5′-phosphate groups, each of which may be ligated to a corresponding complementary unphosphorylated oligonucleotide using cyanoimidazole and a divalent metal ion such as Zn 2+ . The same construct may only be hemi-ligated using enzymatic ligation with T4 DNA ligase since this enzyme only supports the ligation of 5′-phosphate to 3′-hydroxyl oligonucleotides, not of 3′-phosphate to 5′-hydroxyl oligonucleotides, as indicated in FIG. 1 . It was observed that unprotected primary amines reacted with the cyanoimidazole to give a guanidine adduct, however, Fmoc protection of the amine can prevent this from occurring, and the protected amine does not deprotect under the chemical ligation reaction conditions. Fmoc is readily removed with piperidine.
[0161] Reaction Conditions to Promote Enzymatic Ligation or Chemical Ligation
[0162] The methods described herein can include one or more reaction conditions that promote enzymatic or chemical ligation between the headpiece and a tag or between two tags. These reaction conditions include using modified nucleotides within the tag, as described herein; using donor tags and acceptor tags having different lengths and varying the concentration of the tags; using different types of ligases, as well as combinations thereof (e.g., CircLigase™ DNA ligase and/or T4 RNA ligase), and varying their concentration; using poly ethylene glycols (PEGs) having different molecular weights and varying their concentration; use of non-PEG crowding agents (e.g., betaine or bovine serum albumin); varying the temperature and duration for ligation; varying the concentration of various agents, including ATP, Co(NH 3 ) 6 Cl 3 , and yeast inorganic pyrophosphate; using enzymatically or chemically phosphorylated oligonucleotide tags; using 3′-protected tags; and using preadenylated tags. These reaction conditions also include chemical ligations.
[0163] The headpiece and/or tags can include one or more modified or substituted nucleotides. In preferred embodiments, the headpiece and/or tags include one or more modified or substituted nucleotides that promote enzymatic ligation, such as 2′-O-methyl nucleotides (e.g., 2′-O-methyl guanine or 2′-O-methyl uracil), 2′-fluoro nucleotides, or any other modified nucleotides that are utilized as a substrate for ligation. Alternatively, the headpiece and/or tags are modified to include one or more chemically reactive groups to support chemical ligation (e.g. an optionally substituted alkynyl group and an optionally substituted azido group). Optionally, the tag oligonucleotides are functionalized at both termini with chemically reactive groups, and, optionally, one of these termini is protected, such that the groups may be addressed independently and side-reactions may be reduced (e.g., reduced polymerization side-reactions).
[0164] As described herein, chemical ligation which results in phosphodiester, phophonate, or phosphorothioate linkages may be performed by reaction of a 5′- or 3′-phosphate, phosphonate, or phosphorothioate with a 5′- or 3′-hydroxyl group in the presence of cyanoimidazole and a divalent metal ion such as Zn 2+ .
[0165] Enzymatic ligation can include one or more ligases. Exemplary ligases include CircLigase™ ssDNA ligase (EPICENTRE Biotechnologies, Madison, Wis.), CircLigase™ II ssDNA ligase (also from EPICENTRE Biotechnologies), ThermoPhage™ ssDNA ligase (Prokazyme Ltd., Reykjavik, Iceland), T4 RNA ligase, and T4 DNA ligase. In preferred embodiments, ligation includes the use of an RNA ligase or a combination of an RNA ligase and a DNA ligase. Ligation can further include one or more soluble multivalent cations, such as Co(NH 3 ) 6 Cl 3 , in combination with one or more ligases.
[0166] Before or after the ligation step, a complex or encoded chemical entity can be purified. In some embodiments, the complex or encoded chemical entity can be purified to remove unreacted headpiece or tags that may result in cross-reactions and introduce “noise” into the encoding process. In some embodiments, the complex or encoded chemical entity can be purified to remove any reagents or unreacted starting material that can inhibit or lower the ligation activity of a ligase. For example, orthophosphate may result in lowered ligation activity. In certain embodiments, entities that are introduced into a chemical or ligation step may need to be removed to enable the subsequent chemical or ligation step. Methods of purifying the complex or encoded chemical entity are described herein. Purification of the complex may be carried out by reversible immobilization of the complex followed by purification and release prior to a subsequent step.
[0167] Enzymatic and chemical ligation can include poly ethylene glycol having an average molecular weight of more than 300 Daltons (e.g., more than 600 Daltons, 3,000 Daltons, 4,000 Daltons, 5,000, 6,000, 7,000, 8,000, 9,000, 10,000, 15,000, 20,000, 25,000, 30,000, 35,000, 40,000, or 45,000 Daltons). In particular embodiments, the poly ethylene glycol has an average molecular weight from about 3,000 Daltons to 9,000 Daltons (e.g., from 3,000 Daltons to 8,000 Daltons, from 3,000 Daltons to 7,000 Daltons, from 3,000 Daltons to 6,000 Daltons, and from 3,000 Daltons to 5,000 Daltons). In preferred embodiments, the poly ethylene glycol has an average molecular weight from about 3,000 Daltons to about 6,000 Daltons (e.g., from 3,300 Daltons to 4,500 Daltons, from 3,300 Daltons to 5,000 Daltons, from 3,300 Daltons to 5,500 Daltons, from 3,300 Daltons to 6,000 Daltons, from 3,500 Daltons to 4,500 Daltons, from 3,500 Daltons to 5,000 Daltons, from 3,500 Daltons to 5,500 Daltons, and from 3,500 Daltons to 6,000 Daltons, such as 4,600 Daltons). Poly ethylene glycol can be present in any useful amount, such as from about 25% (w/v) to about 35% (w/v), such as 30% (w/v).
Methods for Determining the Nucleotide Sequence of a Complex
[0168] This invention features a method for determining the nucleotide sequence of a complex, such that encoding relationships may be established between the sequence of the assembled tag sequence and the structural units (or building blocks) of the chemical entity. In particular, the identity and/or history of a chemical entity can be inferred from the sequence of bases in the oligonucleotide. Using this method, a library including diverse chemical entities or members (e.g., small molecules or peptides) can be addressed with a particular tag sequence.
[0169] Any of the linkages described herein can be reversible or irreversible. Reversible linkages include photo-reactive linkages (e.g., a cyanovinylcarbozole group and thymidine) and redox linkages. Additional linkages are described herein.
[0170] In an alternative embodiment, an “unreadable” linkage can be enzymatically repaired in order to generate a readable or at least translocatable linkage. Enzymatic repair processes are well known to those skilled in the art and include, but are not limited to, pyrimidine (e.g., thymidine) dimer repair mechanisms (e.g., using a photolyase or a glycosylase (e.g., T4 pyrimidine dimer glycosylase (PDG))), base excision repair mechanisms (e.g., using a glycosylase, an apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonuclease, a Flap endonuclease, or a poly ADP ribose polymerase (e.g., human apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonuclease, APE 1; endonuclease III (Nth) protein; endonuclease IV; endonuclease V; formamidopyrimidine [fapy]-DNA glycosylase (Fpg); human 8-oxoguanine glycosylase 1 (α isoform) (hOGG1); human endonuclease VIII-like 1 (hNEIL1); uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG); human single-strand selective monofunctional uracil DNA glycosylase (SMUG1); and human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase (hAAG)), which can be optionally combined with one or more endonucleases, DNA or RNA polymerases, and/or a ligases for the repair), methylation repair mechanisms (e.g., using a methyl guanine methyltransferase), AP repair mechanisms (e.g., using an apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonuclease (e.g., APE 1; endonuclease III; endonuclease IV; endonuclease V; Fpg; hOGG1; and hNEIL1), which can be optionally combined with one or more endonucleases, DNA or RNA polymerases, and/or a ligases for the repair), nucleotide excision repair mechanisms (e.g., using excision repair cross-complementing proteins or excision nucleases, which can be optionally combined with one or more endonucleases, DNA or RNA polymerases, and/or a ligases for the repair), and mismatch repair mechanisms (e.g., using an endonuclease (e.g., T7 endonuclease I; MutS, MutH, and/or MutL), which can be optionally combined with one or more exonucleases, endonucleases, helicases, DNA or RNA polymerases, and/or ligases for the repair). Commercial enzyme mixtures are available to readily provide these kinds of repair mechanisms, e.g., PreCR® Repair Mix (New England Biolabs Inc., Ipswich MA), which includes Taq DNA Ligase, Endonuclease IV, Bst DNA Polymerase, Fpg, Uracil-DNA Glycosylase (UDG), T4 PDG (T4 Endonuclease V), and Endonuclease VIII.
Methods for Tagging Encoded Libraries
[0171] This invention features a method for operatively associating oligonucleotide tags with chemical entities, such that encoding relationships may be established between the sequence of the tag and the structural units (or building blocks) of the chemical entity. In particular, the identity and/or history of a chemical entity can be inferred from the sequence of bases in the oligonucleotide. Using this method, a library including diverse chemical entities or members (e.g., small molecules or peptides) can be encoded with a particular tag sequence.
[0172] Generally, these methods include the use of a headpiece, which has at least one functional group that may be elaborated chemically and at least one functional group to which a oligonucleotide tag may be bound (or ligated). Binding can be effectuated by any useful means, such as by enzymatic binding (e.g., ligation with one or more of an RNA ligase and/or a DNA ligase) or by chemical binding (e.g., by a substitution reaction between two functional groups, such as a nucleophile and a leaving group).
[0173] To create numerous chemical entities within the library, a solution containing the headpiece can be divided into multiple aliquots and then placed into a multiplicity of physically separate compartments, such as the wells of a multiwell plate. Generally, this is the “split” step. Within each compartment or well, successive chemical reaction and ligation steps are performed with a oligonucleotide tag within each aliquot. The relationship between the chemical reaction conditions and the sequence of the—tag are associated. The reaction and ligation steps may be performed in any order. Then, the reacted and ligated aliquots are combined or “pooled,” and optionally purification may be performed at this point. Purification may be performed by reversible immobilization of the complex, removal of the solvent and any reagents/containments, followed by release of the complex prior to a subsequent step. These split and pool steps can be optionally repeated.
[0174] Next, the library can be tested and/or selected for a particular characteristic or function, as described herein. For example, the mixture of tagged chemical entities can be separated into at least two populations, where the first population is enriched for members that bind to a particular biological target and the second population that is less enriched (e.g., by negative selection or positive selection). The first population can then be selectively captured (e.g., by eluting on a column providing the target of interest or by incubating the aliquot with the target of interest) and, optionally, further analyzed or tested, such as with optional washing, purification, negative selection, positive selection, or separation steps. Finally, the chemical histories of one or more members (or chemical entities) within the selected population can be determined by the sequence of the operatively linked oligonucleotide. Upon correlating the sequence with encoded library members chemical history, this method can identify the individual members of the library with the selected characteristic (e.g., an increased tendency to bind to the target protein and thereby elicit a therapeutic effect). For further testing and optimization, candidate therapeutic compounds may then be prepared by synthesizing the identified library members with or without their associated oligonucleotide tags.
[0175] The methods described herein can include any number of optional steps to diversify the library or to interrogate the members of the library. For any tagging method described herein, successive “n” number of tags can be added with additional “n” number of ligation, separation, and/or phosphorylation steps. Exemplary optional steps include restriction of library member-associated encoding oligonucleotides using one or more restriction endonucleases; repair of the associated encoding oligonucleotides, e.g., with any repair enzyme, such as those described herein; ligation of one or more adapter sequences to one or both of the termini for library member-associated encoding oligonucleotides, e.g., such as one or more adapter sequences to provide a priming sequence for amplification and sequencing or to provide a label, such as biotin, for immobilization of the sequence; reverse-transcription or transcription, optionally followed by reverse-transcription, of the assembled tags in the complex using a reverse transcriptase, transcriptase, or another template-dependent polymerase; amplification of the assembled tags in the complex using, e.g., PCR; generation of clonal isolates of one or more populations of assembled tags in the complex, e.g., by use of bacterial transformation, emulsion formation, dilution, surface capture techniques, etc.; amplification of clonal isolates of one or more populations of assembled tag in the complex, e.g., by using clonal isolates as templates for template-dependent polymerization of nucleotides; and sequence determination of clonal isolates of one or more populations of assembled tags in the complex, e.g., by using clonal isolates as templates for template-dependent polymerization with fluorescently labeled nucleotides with reversible terminator chemistry. Additional methods for amplifying and sequencing the oligonucleotide tags are described herein.
[0176] These methods can be used to identify and discover any number of chemical entities with a particular characteristic or function, e.g., in a selection step. The desired characteristic or function may be used as the basis for partitioning the library into at least two parts with the concomitant enrichment of at least one of the members or related members in the library with the desired function. In particular embodiments, the method comprises identifying a small drug-like library member that binds or inactivates a protein of therapeutic interest. In another embodiment, a sequence of chemical reactions is designed, and a set of building blocks is chosen so that the reaction of the chosen building blocks under the defined chemical conditions will generate a combinatorial plurality of molecules (or a library of molecules), where one or more molecules may have utility as a therapeutic agent for a particular protein. For example, the chemical reactions and building blocks are chosen to create a library having structural groups commonly present in kinase inhibitors. In any of these instances, the oligonucleotide tags encode the chemical history of the library member and in each case a collection of chemical possibilities may be represented by any particular tag combination.
[0177] In one embodiment, the library of chemical entities, or a portion thereof, is contacted with a biological target under conditions suitable for at least one member of the library to bind to the target, followed by removal of library members that do not bind to the target, and analyzing the one or more oligonucleotide tags associated with the target. This method can optionally include amplifying the tags by methods known in the art. Exemplary biological targets include enzymes (e.g., kinases, phosphatases, methylases, demethylases, proteases, and DNA repair enzymes), proteins involved in protein:protein interactions (e.g., ligands for receptors), receptor targets (e.g., GPCRs and RTKs), ion channels, bacteria, viruses, parasites, DNA, RNA, prions, and carbohydrates.
[0178] In another embodiment, the chemical entities that bind to a target are not subjected to amplification but are analyzed directly. Exemplary methods of analysis include microarray analysis, including evanescent resonance photonic crystal analysis; bead-based methods for deconvoluting tags (e.g., by using his-tags); label-free photonic crystal biosensor analysis (e.g., a BIND® Reader from SRU Biosystems, Inc., Woburn, Mass.); or hybridization-based approaches (e.g. by using arrays of immobilized oligonucleotides complementary to sequences present in the library of tags).
[0179] In addition, chemical-reactive pairs (or functional groups) can be readily included in solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis schemes and will support the efficient chemical ligation of oligonucleotides. In addition, the resultant ligated oligonucleotides can act as templates for template-dependent polymerization with one or more polymerases. Accordingly, any of the binding steps described herein for tagging encoded libraries can be modified to include one or more of enzymatic ligation and/or chemical ligation techniques. Exemplary ligation techniques include enzyme ligation, such as use of one of more RNA ligases and/or DNA ligases; and chemical ligation, such as use of chemical-reactive pairs (e.g., a pair including optionally substituted alkynyl and azido functional groups).
[0180] Furthermore, one or more libraries can be combined in a split-and-mix step. In order to permit mixing of two or more libraries, the library member may contain one or more library-identifying sequences, such as in a library-identifying tag, in a ligated tag, or as part of the headpiece sequence, as described herein.
[0000] Methods for Encoding Chemical Entities within a Library
[0181] The methods of the invention can be used to synthesize a library having a diverse number of chemical entities that are encoded by oligonucleotide tags. Examples of building blocks and encoding DNA tags are found in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0224607, the building blocks and tags of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
[0182] Each chemical entity is formed from one or more building blocks and optionally a scaffold. The scaffold serves to provide one or more diversity nodes in a particular geometry (e.g., a triazine to provide three nodes spatially arranged around a heteroaryl ring or a linear geometry).
[0183] The building blocks and their encoding tags can be added directly or indirectly (e.g., via a spacer) to the headpiece to form a complex. When the headpiece includes a spacer, the building block or scaffold is added to the end of the spacer. When the spacer is absent, the building block can be added directly to the headpiece or the building block itself can include a spacer that reacts with a functional group of the headpiece. Exemplary spacers and headpieces are described herein.
[0184] The scaffold can be added in any useful way. For example, the scaffold can be added to the end of the spacer or the headpiece, and successive building blocks can be added to the available diversity nodes of the scaffold. In another example, building block A n is first added to the spacer or the headpiece, and then the diversity node of scaffold S is reacted with a functional group in building block A n . Oligonucleotide tags encoding a particular scaffold can optionally be added to the headpiece or the complex. For example, S n is added to the complex in n reaction vessels, where n is an integer more than one, and tag S n (i.e., tag S 1 , S 2 , S n-1 , S n ) is bound to the functional group of the complex.
[0185] Building blocks can be added in multiple, synthetic steps. For example, an aliquot of the headpiece, optionally having an attached spacer, is separated into n reaction vessels, where n is an integer of two or greater. In the first step, building block A n is added to each n reaction vessel (i.e., building block A 1 , A 2 , . . . A n-1 , A n is added to reaction vessel 1, 2, . . . n-1, n), where n is an integer and each building block A n is unique. In the second step, scaffold S is added to each reaction vessel to form an A n -S complex. Optionally, scaffold S n can be added to each reaction vessel to from an A n -S n complex, where n is an integer of more than two, and each scaffold S n can be unique. In the third step, building block B n is to each n reaction vessel containing the A n -S complex (i.e., building block B 1 , B 2 , . . . B n-1 , B n is added to reaction vessel 1, 2, . . . n-1, n containing the A 1 -S, A 2 -S, . . . A n-1 -S, A n -S complex), where each building block B n is unique. In further steps, building block O n can be added to each n reaction vessel containing the B n -A n -S complex (i.e., building block C 1 , C 2 , . . . C n-1 , C n is added to reaction vessel 1, 2, . . . n-1, n containing the B 1 -A 1 -S . . . B n -A n -S complex), where each building block C n is unique. The resulting library will have n 3 number of complexes having n 3 tags. In this manner, additional synthetic steps can be used to bind additional building blocks to further diversify the library.
[0186] After forming the library, the resultant complexes can optionally be purified and subjected to a polymerization or ligation reaction, e.g., to a tailpiece. This general strategy can be expanded to include additional diversity nodes and building blocks (e.g., D, E, F, etc.). For example, the first diversity node is reacted with building blocks and/or S and encoded by an oligonucleotide tag. Then, additional building blocks are reacted with the resultant complex, and the subsequent diversity node is derivatized by additional building blocks, which is encoded by the primer used for the polymerization or ligation reaction.
[0187] To form an encoded library, oligonucleotide tags are added to the complex after or before each synthetic step. For example, before or after the addition of building block A n to each reaction vessel, tag A n is bound to the functional group of the headpiece (i.e., tag A 1 , A 2 , . . . A n-1 , A n is added to reaction vessel 1, 2, . . . n-1, n containing the headpiece). Each tag A n has a distinct sequence that correlates with each unique building block A n , and determining the sequence of tag A n provides the chemical structure of building block A n . In this manner, additional tags are used to encode for additional building blocks or additional scaffolds.
[0188] Furthermore, the last tag added to the complex can either include a primer-binding sequence or provide a functional group to allow for binding (e.g., by ligation) of a primer-binding sequence. The primer-binding sequence can be used for amplifying and/or sequencing the oligonucleotides tags of the complex. Exemplary methods for amplifying and for sequencing include polymerase chain reaction (PCR), linear chain amplification (LCR), rolling circle amplification (RCA), or any other method known in the art to amplify or determine nucleic acid sequences.
[0189] Using these methods, large libraries can be formed having a large number of encoded chemical entities. For example, a headpiece is reacted with a spacer and building block A n , which includes 1,000 different variants (i.e., n=1,000). For each building block A n , a DNA tag A n is ligated or primer extended to the headpiece. These reactions may be performed in a 1,000-well plate or 10×100 well plates. All reactions may be pooled, optionally purified, and split into a second set of plates. Next, the same procedure may be performed with building block B n , which also include 1,000 different variants. A DNA tag B n may be ligated to the A n -headpiece complex, and all reactions may be pooled. The resultant library includes 1,000×1,000 combinations of A n ×B n (i.e., 1,000,000 compounds) tagged by 1,000,000 different combinations of tags. The same approach may be extended to add building blocks C n , D n , E n , etc. The generated library may then be used to identify compounds that bind to the target. The structure of the chemical entities that bind to the library can optionally be assessed by PCR and sequencing of the DNA tags to identify the compounds that were enriched.
[0190] This method can be modified to avoid tagging after the addition of each building block or to avoid pooling (or mixing). For example, the method can be modified by adding building block A n to n reaction vessels, where n is an integer of more than one, and adding the identical building block B 1 to each reaction well. Here, B 1 is identical for each chemical entity, and, therefore, an oligonucleotide tag encoding this building block is not needed. After adding a building block, the complexes may be pooled or not pooled. For example, the library is not pooled following the final step of building block addition, and the pools are screened individually to identify compound(s) that bind to a target. To avoid pooling all of the reactions after synthesis, a binding assay e.g. ELISA, SPR, ITC, Tm shift, SEC or similar, for example, may be used to monitor binding on a sensor surface in high throughput format (e.g., 384 well plates and 1,536 well plates). For example, building block A n may be encoded with DNA tag A n , and building block B n may be encoded by its position within the well plate. Candidate compounds can then be identified by using a binding assay (e.g., ELISA, SPR, ITC, Tm shift, SEC or similar) and by analyzing the A n tags by sequencing, microarray analysis and/or restriction digest analysis. This analysis allows for the identification of combinations of building blocks A n and B n that produce the desired molecules.
[0191] The method of amplifying can optionally include forming a water-in-oil emulsion to create a plurality of aqueous microreactors. The reaction conditions (e.g., concentration of complex and size of microreactors) can be adjusted to provide, on average, a microreactor having at least one member of a library of compounds. Each microreactor can also contain the target, a single bead capable of binding to a complex or a portion of the complex (e.g., one or more tags) and/or binding the target, and an amplification reaction solution having one or more necessary reagents to perform nucleic acid amplification. After amplifying the tag in the microreactors, the amplified copies of the tag will bind to the beads in the microreactors, and the coated beads can be identified by any useful method.
[0192] Once the building blocks from the first library that bind to the target of interest have been identified, a second library may be prepared in an iterative fashion. For example, one or two additional nodes of diversity can be added, and the second library is created and sampled, as described herein. This process can be repeated as many times as necessary to create molecules with desired molecular and pharmaceutical properties.
[0193] Various ligation techniques can be used to add the scaffold, building blocks, spacers, linkages, and tags. Accordingly, any of the binding steps described herein can include any useful ligation technique or techniques. Exemplary ligation techniques include enzymatic ligation, such as use of one of more RNA ligases and/or DNA ligases, as described herein; and chemical ligation, such as use of chemical-reactive pairs, as described herein.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
Preparation of the Components for the Chemical Ligation (Double-Stranded Headpiece and Double-Stranded Tag)
[0194] Headpiece HP006, chemically phosphorylated at its 5′ end SEQ ID NO: 1 -(p)CCTGTGTTZTTCACGGCCT, where Z stands for C6-amino dT modification, was acquired from Biosearch Inc. HP006 was then modified by DMT-MM acylation using Fmoc-NH-PEG4-CH2CH2COOH (Chem Pep Inc) using the following procedure.
[0195] 50 equivalents of Fmoc-NH-PEG4-CH2CH2COOH (Chem Pep Inc) were dissolved in DMA (Dimethyl acetamide, Acros) and added to 1 equivalent of HP006 dissolved in 0.5 M Borate buffer pH 9.5 together with 50 equivalents of DMT-MM (4-(4,6-Dimethoxy-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-4-methylmorpholinium Chloride, Acros), freshly dissolved in water. The reaction was allowed to proceed for 2-4 hrs, followed by a second addition of 50 equivalents of Fmoc-NH-PEG4-CH2CH2COOH and of 50 equivalents of DMT-MM and the reaction was then allowed to proceed overnight. Completion of the reaction was monitored by LCMS.
[0196] The product was ethanol precipitated and desalted by size exclusion spin filtration using 3,000 MW cut-off centrifugal spin filters (Millipore). LCMS of the product confirmed the MW as 6,803.3 (Calcd 6,802.5).
[0197] Oligonucleotides TagZA1+_deltaC_5OH: SEQ ID NO: 2-5′ CATCAAGACCCAGAAAG-3′, TagZB_CNIm_bot3OH; SEQ ID NO: 3-5′-(p)TCTGGGTCTTGATGGCTATCC-3′ (chemically phosphorylated at 5′ terminus), PrA_CNIm_bot5P; SEQ ID NO: 4-5′-(p)TGGCTGAGG-3′ (chemically phosphorylated at 5′ terminus) and PrA_top_extraC_3P; SEQ ID NO: 5-5′-(p)CAGCCAGGATAGC(p)-3′ (chemically phosphorylated at both 5′ and 3′ termini) were acquired from IDT DNA.
[0198] Oligos tagZA1+_deltaC and TagZB_CNIm_bot3OH were then dissolved to a 2 mM final concentration in water and combined at equimolar ratio to make 1 mM solution of double stranded TagZA.
[0199] Oligos PrA_CNIm_bot5P and PrA_top_extraC_3P were also dissolved to a 2 mM final concentration in water and combined at equimolar ratio to make 1 mM solution of double stranded “CNIm-PrA”.
[0200] Fmoc-amino-PEG4-HP006 was then enzymatically ligated to one equivalent of double stranded CNIm-PrA using T4 DNA ligase and a standard ligation protocol. The resulting oligo, (Fmoc-amino-PEG4-HP013), was ethanol precipitated and desalted using Illustra NAP-5 columns (GE Healthcare Life Science). LCMS confirmed MW 13,772 (calcd 13,770.7).
Example 2
The Chemical Ligation of a Double-Stranded Headpiece to a Double-Stranded Tag
[0201] Fmoc-amino-PEG4-HP013 and double-stranded TagZA oligonucleotides were dissolved to a final concentration of 0.33 mM in 80 mM MES buffer pH 6.0, containing 800 mM NaCl, and 8 mM ZnCl 2 . 1-Cyanoimidazole was freshly dissolved to 1 M in DMF and 1-2 additions were made to the reaction over a 12-hour period to a final concentration of 1-cyanoimidazole of 150 mM. The reaction was then incubated at 4° C. overnight.
[0202] The completed reaction was analyzed by denaturing gel electrophoresis as well as by LCMS. The samples were then resolved on a 15% denaturing analytical TBE-8M Urea gel and visualized by UV shadowing over a TLC plate with a fluorescent dye (254 nm). LCMS confirmed formation of the double-stranded ligated product with MW 25,417.3 (calc 25,415.3) with ˜70% conversion. Additional products with MW 20,254.7 and 18,935.4 were observed, which corresponded to either the (hemi-ligated) top or bottom strand ligation products.
[0203] Analytical gel electrophoresis of the chemical ligation products with a 15% TBE-8M Urea denaturing gel is shown in FIG. 2 :
[0204] 1—Starting material—Fmoc-amino-PEG4-HP013
[0205] 2—dsTag ZA, which is an equimolar mixture of tagZA1_deltaC_5OH and TagZA1+_CNIm_bot3OH
[0206] 3, 4, 5—Cyanoimidazole ligation reactions
[0207] 6—Enzymatic ligation control (T4 DNA ligase) ligates only the bottom strand, the junction between 3′ OH and 5′phosphate; the junction between 3′phosphate and 5′ OH is not be ligated by this enzyme.
[0208] LCMS of the chemical ligation products are shown in FIG. 3 . (In each panel—top UV (260 nm) LC trace, middle—TIC, bottom—mass spectrum)
A.—Starting materials: mixture of double stranded TagZA (MW 5,182 and 6,500.2 Da) as well as Fmoc-amino-PEG4-HP013 (13,772). B—Products of the chemical ligation reaction: doubly ligated: MW 25,417.3 (calc 25,415.3). Hemi-ligated (either top or bottom strand) products: MW 20,254.7 and 18,935.4.
Example 3
Fmoc Deprotection of the Chemical Ligation Reaction Products
[0211] Products of the 1-cyanoimidazole ligation reaction were ethanol precipitated, dissolved in water and deprotected by incubation in 10% piperidine for 2 hours at room temperature. Following this deprotection step, the material was purified on a 15% TBE-8M urea gel. The LC-MS performed on the purified sample confirmed the presence of the deprotected amino-PEG4-HP013-TagZA (MW 25,192.4, calc 25,193.2) as well as the two hemi-ligated deprotected products (MW 18,738.6 and 20,029.3).
[0212] Integration of the LC trace gives the relative yields of the full length product at 64%, while the hemi-ligated products at roughly 18% each. The efficiency of the ligation per strand can be estimated at 83%.
[0213] Schematics of the amino deprotection by piperidine are shown in FIG. 4A . Gel purification of the ligation reaction products: 15% TBE-Urea gel, UV shadowing is shown in FIG. 4B . LCMS analysis of the purified material is shown in FIG. 4C . Full-length ligation product at MW 25,192.4 Da, hemi-ligated products at MW 18,738.6 and 20,029.3 Da.
Example 4
Illustration of the Necessity for Amino-Group Protection with Fmoc
[0214] HP006, which features an amino-C6 linker at T in the loop, as described above, was incubated in the reaction mixture with 1-cyanoimidazole for 12 hours at 4 ° C. Following the incubation, HP006 was ethanol-precipitated, incubated for 2 hrs at room temperature in 10% piperidine and ethanol precipitated again.
[0215] LCMS analysis of this material demonstrated that there are two products in the mixture, the MW 6,333.4 Da HP006 and a MW 6,426.4 reaction product (30-40% conversion). The addition of 94 Da corresponds to the formation of an N-imidazole guanidine derivative of HP006. Fmoc protection of the amino group completely eliminates this unwanted reaction.
[0216] A deconvoluted mass spectrum of the product of the reaction of HP006 with 1-cyanoimidazole is shown in FIG. 5A . MW 6,333.4 Da corresponds to unmodified HP006, MW 6,426.4 corresponds to an N-imidazole guanidine derivative of HP006.
[0217] A schematic of the generation of the N-imidazole guanidine derivative of HP006 is shown in FIG. 5B .
Example 5
Chemical Ligation with Alternative Divalent Metal Ions
[0218] Cyanoimidazole-mediated chemical ligation was performed as described above with the substitution of 8 mM of alternative divalent metals. Significant ligation yields were observed with CoCl 2 (30% full-length product, 70% of hemi-ligated products), MnCl 2 (75% full-length product, 25% of hemi-ligated products and ZnCl 2 (60% of full-length product with 30% of hemi-ligated products). Soluble divalent salts of lead, magnesium, tin and copper produced no significant ligation.
Example 6
Chemical Ligation with Alternative Flanking Nucleotides
[0219] The following chemically phosphorylated oligonucleotides were acquired from IDT DNA Top strand, pair 1:
[0000]
PrA_top: SEQ ID NO: 6-
5′-(p)CAGCCA GGATAG -3′;
Tag_ZA1+:
5′-(p)CCATCAAGACCCAGAAAG-3′;
Top strand, pair 2:
PrA_top_extraC_3P:
5′-(p)CAGCCAG GATAGCp -3′;
tagZA1_deltaC_5OH:
5′-CATCAAGACCCAGAAAG-3′
(overlap sequences in bold)
Bottom strand, pair A:
PrA_CNlm_bot5P:
5′-pTGGCTGAGG-3′;
TagZB_CNlm_bot3OH:
5′-pTCTGGGTCTTGATGGCTATCC-3′
Bottom strand, pair B:
PrA_CNlm_bot5OH:
5′-TGGCTGAGG-3′:
TagZB_CNlm_bot3P:
5′-pTCTGGGTCTTGATGGCTATCCp-3′
[0220] Four combinations of oligonucleotides were tested for the efficiency of 1-cyanoimidazole ligation, as shown in Table 2. While bottom strands demonstrated consistently high yields of ligation with both 6- and 7-nucleotide overlaps (greater than 80%), and in both tested combinations of flanking nucleotides (C to C and C to T), the top strand ligations were apparently dependent on the identity of the flanking nucleotides, e.g. ligation of C to G was inefficient, whereas C to C junctions ligated at high yield.
[0000]
TABLE 2
Summary of ligation junction designs
and yields of chemical ligation
Overlap
Ligation
Bottom strand
Relative ligation
length
junction
ligation
conversion
Reaction
(nts)
(top strand)
junction
(top strand)
1-A
6
C-3′ + 5′pG
C-3′ + 5′pT
20%
1-B
6
C-3′ + 5′pG
Cp-3′ + 5′-T
25%
2-A
7
Cp-3′ + 5′-C
C-3′ + 5′pT
90%
2-B
7
Cp-3′ + 5′-C
Cp-3′ + 5′-T
95%
Other Embodiments
[0221] Various modifications and variations of the described method and system of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific desired embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention that are obvious to those skilled in the fields of medicine, pharmacology, or related fields are intended to be within the scope of the invention.
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The present invention relates to methods for producing encoded chemical entities. In particular, the oligonucleotides and methods can include encoded chemical entities having wild-type linkages formed through chemical ligation techniques. One strategy that can be utilized that simultaneously takes advantage of chemical ligation as a means to encode chemical history, while also retaining the ability of polymerases to directly recover tag sequence and association information, is to perform chemical ligation in a manner that generates wildtype phosphodiester linkages. Such methods generally utilize condensing agents such as cyanogen bromide or similar along with 5′-phosphate and 3′-hydroxyl oligonucleotides in a double-stranded or templated context. Similarly cyanogen bromide has also been shown to chemically ligate pairs of substrate oligonucleotides that are 5′-hydroxyl and 3′-phosphate. However, these methods suffer from poor efficiency making them ill-suited for use in an iterative process such as tagging DNA-en-coded libraries.
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RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] Priority is claimed from U.S. Provisional Application 61/272,547 filed Oct. 5, 2009 entitled “Jet-Drilling And Completion Process” listing Conrad Ayasse as inventor. Such provisional application is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to a method for recovering hydrocarbons from a well bore, and more particularly to a method for drilling lateral recovery bores in a vertical well using jet-drilling.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Jet-drilling is an established rock drilling method. Lateral holes ranging in diameter from about 0.5 inches to 3 inches or more are drilled out laterally from a vertical wellbore and can extend horizontally for up to 100 meters or more into the formation. For petroleum recovery, these holes provide reservoir fluid flow channels and can increase petroleum recovery rates from a reservoir or they can be used to improve fluid infectivity into a formation as in a water disposal well. Jet-drilled holes are left as ‘open holes’ which means that there is no liner placed in the hole.
[0004] Typically a coiled tubing from the surface is attached to a “shoe” and the shoe is located at the desired side-entry point in a vertical well. The shoe is a curved opening that abuts the well wall and contains a curved opening. A steel-drilling bit is lowered through the coiled tubing from the surface and is sufficiently flexible the make the sharp 90° bend at the shoe to reach the well wall. The drilling bit is activated from the surface and drills out a hole in the steel well wall and through any outer cement that may be placed outside the wall. After the drilling bit is withdrawn, a jet-drilling nozzle is lowered inside the coiled tubing. The nozzle is attached to a slim flexible jet-fluid delivery tubing conduit that can carry a high-pressure jet-drilling liquid from the surface to the nozzle. The Jet-drilling fluid can be formation water which is delivered to the nozzle at high pressure in the range of up to approximately 15,000 psi. The fluid exits the nozzle at the tip and blasts a hole in the rock ahead of the nozzle, while also exiting backwards from the side of the nozzle to provide a forward propulsion force. This latter force pulls the entire assembly forward as the hole advances in the rock. It also washes drilling debris back to the horizontal well, where it falls to the bottom of the vertical wellbore. In some operations, the shoe can be quickly rotated and/or lowered to enable horizontal holes to be drilled horizontally in any desired direction and at low cost relative to traditional large-diameter horizontal well drilling.
[0005] In a consolidated rock the jet-drilled holes are stable and permanent. However, in an un-consolidated rock the hole can collapse and be of little use, so a way is needed to stabilize jet-drilled holes in un-consolidated rock formations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention solves the problem of borehole collapse in unconsolidated formations.
[0007] The method of the present invention provides for Jet-drilled boreholes in un-consolidated subterranean formation which are stabilized and remain permanently open by using the forward drive energy of a jet nozzle to drag a perforated liner into the borehole while the borehole is being drilled.
[0008] At the completion of the jet drilling the jet-drilling nozzle and jet-fluid delivery tubing can be left in the borehole, or the tubing can be detached from the nozzle and recovered at the surface. The perforated liner may extend to the surface or be severed inside the vertical well. The liner perforation dimensions are chosen to enable exclusion of formation solids while permitting entry of formation fluids.
[0009] Accordingly, in a first broad aspect of the method of the present invention for creating a borehole extending perpendicularly outwardly from a well bore, such method comprises the steps of:
[0010] placing a shoe comprising a 90 degree curved member having an inner arcuate curved passage, to which a one end is affixed coiled tubing, against a side wall of said well bore;
[0011] inserting a drilling bit into said coiled tubing, and thereby deflecting said drilling bit via said shoe against said side wall of said well bore;
[0012] operating said drilling bit to drill through said side wall in said well bore, and thereafter removing said drilling bit;
[0013] directing a jet drill member and attached perforated liner member, in which is located a jetting fluid feed line to said jet drill member, through said coiled tubing; and
[0014] supplying a fluid under pressure to said jet drill member to drill a lateral borehole extending perpendicularly outwardly from said well bore.
[0015] In a further broad aspect of the method of the present invention of creating at least one lateral borehole extending perpendicularly outwardly from a pre-drilled vertical well bore drilled in an underground formation, such method comprises the steps of:
[0016] attaching coil tubing to one end of a 90 degree curved member, said curved member having an inner arcuate curved passage,
[0017] attaching an opposite end of said curved member against a side wall of said vertical well bore;
[0018] inserting a drilling bit into said coiled tubing and into said curved member, and deflecting said drilling bit via said arcuate curved passage against said side wall of said well bore;
[0019] operating said drilling bit to drill through said side wall in said vertical well bore, and thereafter removing said drilling bit from said curved member and said well bore;
[0020] attaching a jet drill apparatus to a perforated liner member;
[0021] locating a jetting fluid feed line co-axially within said perforated liner member, and coupling said fluid feed line to said jet drill apparatus so that said jet drill apparatus is in fluid communication therewith;
[0022] directing said jet drill apparatus and attached perforated liner member, in which said jetting fluid feed line is co-axially located, through said coiled tubing and said curved member; and
[0023] supplying a fluid under pressure to said jet drill apparatus via said jetting fluid feed line and drilling a lateral borehole extending perpendicularly outwardly from said vertical well bore.
[0024] In yet a still further broad aspect of the method of the present invention of creating at least one lateral borehole extending perpendicularly outwardly from a pre-drilled vertical well bore drilled in an underground formation, such method comprises the steps of:
[0025] attaching coil tubing to one end of a 90 degree curved member having an inner arcuate curved passage,
[0026] attaching an opposite end of said curved member against a side wall of said vertical well bore;
[0027] inserting a drilling bit into said coiled tubing and into said curved member, and deflecting said drilling bit via said arcuate curved passage against said side wall of said well bore;
[0028] operating said drilling bit to drill through said side wall in said vertical well bore, and thereafter removing said drilling bit from said curved member and said well bore;
[0029] coupling a jet drill apparatus to a jetting fluid feed line so as to be in fluid communication with each other;
[0030] locating said jetting fluid feed line co-axially within a perforated liner member, and attaching said perforated liner member to said jet drill apparatus or said jetting fluid line so that said perforated liner member moves with said jet drill jet drill apparatus; and
[0031] directing said jet drill apparatus and said perforated liner member in which said jetting fluid feed line is co-axially located, through said coiled tubing and said curved member; and
[0032] supplying a fluid under pressure to said jet drill apparatus via said jetting fluid feed line and drilling a lateral borehole extending perpendicularly outwardly from said vertical well bore.
[0033] In a refinement of each of the above methods, the method further comprising the step of detaching said jetting fluid feed line from said jet drill apparatus and removing said jetting fluid feed line from said lateral borehole.
[0034] In an alternative refinement of each of the above methods, the method further comprises the step, after the step of supplying fluid under pressure to said jet drill member, of severing said coiled tubing at said side wall of said well bore.
[0035] In a combination of refinements, the method of the present invention further comprises the steps, after the step of supplying fluid under pressure to said jet drill member and after the step of detaching said jetting fluid feed line from said jet drill member and removing said jetting fluid feed line from the lateral borehole, of severing said coiled tubing at said side wall of said well bore.
[0036] Finally, in a further broad aspect of the invention, such invention comprises a method of recovering liquid hydrocarbons from an underground formation, comprising the steps of:
[0037] (i) creating a vertical well;
[0038] (ii) creating lateral boreholes extending perpendicularly outwardly from said vertical well by:
(a) placing a shoe comprising a 90 degree curved member having an inner arcuate curved passage, to which at one end is affixed coiled tubing, against a side wall of said well bore; (b) inserting a drilling bit into said coiled tubing, and thereby deflecting said drilling bit via said shoe against said side wall of said well bore; (c) operating said drilling bit to drill through said side wall in said well bore, and thereafter removing said drilling bit; (d) directing a jet drill member and attached perforated liner member, in which is located a jetting fluid feed line to said jet drill member, through said coiled tubing; and (e) supplying a fluid under pressure to said jet drill member to drill a lateral borehole extending perpendicularly outwardly from said well bore;
[0044] (iii) allowing hydrocarbons to flow into said lateral boreholes; and
[0045] (iv) pumping said hydrocarbons to surface.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0046] Further advantages and permutations will appear from the following detailed description of various non-limiting embodiments of the invention, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0047] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a jet drilling apparatus being used in the method of the prior art, with a jet nozzle being used to drill toward the left-hand side of the page;
[0048] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a jet-drilling apparatus being used in the method of the present invention, showing the manner of inserting a perforated liner into a horizontal well bore utilizing a jet nozzle, with a jet nozzle being used to drill toward the left-hand side of the page;
[0049] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the completion of the vertical well when the perforated liners are terminated at the vertical well;
[0050] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a plurality of horizontally-drilled holes in a vertical well, each of said horizontal bores having a perforated liner; and
[0051] FIG. 5 is a detail view of a single horizontal well of FIG. 4 which has been drilled by the method of the present invention, showing a perforated liner being introduced to the horizontal wellbore during the jet-drilling process.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0052] Similar items in each of FIGS. 1-5 with identical function are identified with the same reference number.
[0053] FIG. 1 shows a jet-drilling nozzle 1 being used in the jet-drilling method of the prior art, typically reserved for consolidated formations, having a jet-fluid delivery tube 2 , which is caused to create a hole 10 in a formation 20 .
[0054] Interstitial space 3 within hole 10 conducts fluids to surface (not shown) when the hole 10 is stable, such as for consolidated rock, but which hole 10 will become blocked with the collapse of the hole when rock in the formation 20 is unconsolidated.
[0055] In operation, jetting fluid 4 exits the front of the nozzle 1 and blast the rock in formation 20 to create an open hole 10 . Jetting fluid 5 which exits the nozzle 1 from the side of nozzle 1 creates a forward drive force that pulls nozzle 1 and the jet-fluid delivery tube 2 forward, while simultaneously flushing the drilling debris back along open interstitial space 3 to a vertical well 12 where it can fall to a sump.
[0056] FIG. 2 shows the method of the present invention for drilling a bore 10 in a formation using a jet-drilling nozzle 1 and jet-fluid delivery tubing 2 , while simultaneously inserting a perforated well liner 6 into the resulting bore 10 in formation 20 . Perforated liner 6 is attached directly or indirectly to jet-nozzle 1 . Again, in operation, jetting fluid 4 exits the front of the nozzle 1 and blasts rock in formation 20 to create an open hole 10 . Jetting fluid 5 which exits the nozzle 1 from the side of nozzle 1 creates a forward drive force that pulls nozzle 1 and the jet-fluid delivery tube as well as the perforated liner 6 attached to the jet-nozzle 1 forward, while simultaneously flushing the drilling debris back along open interstitial space 3 to a vertical well 12 where it can fall to a sump.
[0057] Perforated liner 6 is of a design that will permit the entry of fluids, such as liquid hydrocarbons, but not solids. Such design may comprise a series of small apertures or perforations within perforated liner 6 , or a combination of apertures in combination with screens (not shown). However, other designs of perforated liners 6 may be used as are known to persons of skill in the art. A fluid flow space 7 inside the perforated liner 6 , for delivering produced fluids to the vertical well 12 and thence to the surface, is provided. This fluid flow space 7 is enlarged upon the (optional) detachment of jet-fluid delivery tubing 2 from jet nozzle 1 and removal of the jet-fluid delivery tubing 2 to surface at the completion of the borehole drilling and liner insertion process.
[0058] Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 , FIG. 3 depicts a completed vertical well 12 , having a series of individual separate left-side lateral bores 10 each with an associated perforated liner 6 and a similar series of individual separate right-side lateral bores 10 , each likewise having an associated perforated liner 6 . Each of lateral bores 10 and the respective associated perforated liners 6 terminate at the vertical well 12 . In order for this to have occurred, after the step of terminating the supply of the jet fluid 4 , 5 to the jet drilling nozzle 1 upon each lateral borehole 10 being drilled, the jet drill nozzle 1 is decoupled from the jet fluid delivery tubing 2 via known methods such as unscrewing, or decoupling via a “on-off” tool (not shown), and the jet fluid delivery tubing 2 is removed from the borehole 10 , leaving the perforated liner 6 remaining in borehole 10 . Packers 30 , 32 , and 34 isolate various zones A, B, C and D respectively in vertical well bore 12 . Hydrocarbons flowing into boreholes 10 are collected in respective isolated zones A, B, C, and D of vertical wellbore 12 . Feeding tubes B′, C′, and D′ deliver fluids to surface from respective zones B, C, and D.
[0059] Perforated liner 6 will be of sufficient material strength and thickness to resist collapse of unconsolidated rock in a borehole 10 . For such reason liner 6 will typically be of a hard, but somewhat flexible material, such as Kevlar, to permit bending from the vertical to the horizontal. In some cases steel may need to be used in instances where it is desired that fluid flow into borehole 10 via such liner 6 for subsequent collection, particularly if borehole diameter is small and liner 6 must accordingly be as thin as possible to preserve borehole diameter and at the same time have numerous and sufficiently-sized perforations to allow ingress of fluid. However the perforations are of insufficient size and number to weaken the liner 6 to a sufficient extent that liner 6 has insufficient strength to substantially resist collapse due weight of to unconsolidated rock in formation 20 .
[0060] FIG. 4 is a view of a vertical well 12 similar to the vertical well 12 of FIG. 3 , but without the use of packers 30 , 32 , or 34 , having similar lateral boreholes 10 . Jet drilled boreholes 10 within vertical well 12 , permit the separate injection of fluids into formation 20 via coil tubing 40 , or alternatively permit the flow of fluids from the formation 20 through perforated liners in boreholes 6 , through curved arcuate “shoes” 42 , and thereafter via coil tubing 40 to surface.
[0061] FIG. 5 is a detailed view of a borehole 10 shown in FIG. 4 at the time of drilling is the borehole 10 of FIG. 4 , and is perhaps best illustrative of the method of the present invention for creating lateral boreholes 10 extending perpendicularly outwardly from a well bore 12 .
[0062] In this regard FIG. 5 shows a vertical well 12 drilled in subterreanean formation 20 . Shoe 42 , having coil tubing 42 attached thereto has been placed against the steel vertical well side wall 12 ′ of vertical well 12 at the desired entry point during the initial drilling of aperture 16 in steel vertical well side wall 12 ′ (as described below). Perforated liner 6 is coupled to an non-perforated liner segment 50 , which may extend to surface within coil tubing 40 , to collect liquid hydrocarbons which may have drained into borehole 10 .
Example 1
[0063] The method of the invention in creating a borehole in a non-consolidated rock formation 20 will now be described, with reference to FIG. 5 .
[0064] Firstly, in order to ready the vertical well 12 for the borehole drilling operation shown in FIG. 5 an initial first series of steps of creating an aperture 16 in the side of a vertical well 12 is carried out, and is hereinafter described as follows.
[0065] A shoe 42 , which is affixed at the end of a coiled tubing 40 , is placed against the steel vertical well side wall 12 ′ of vertical well 12 at the desired entry point. Shoe 42 is a steel device having a 90 degree curved inner arcuate passage 43 , as shown in FIG. 5 . A drilling bit (not shown), typically of steel or titanium-coated steel, is lowered from the surface into the coiled tubing 40 and is deflected at the shoe 42 from the vertical to the horizontal direction. The steel drilling bit drills out an aperture 16 through the vertical well steel sidewall 12 ′ and through any cement that may have been emplaced outside vertical well 12 , and reaches into the rock formation 20 . The steel drilling bit is thereafter retracted, and the assembly described in FIG. 1 , namely a jet nozzle 1 with a jet fluid delivery tube 2 , and an attached perforated liner 6 , is lowered into the coiled tubing 40 for the purpose of jet-drilling a horizontal borehole 10 in formation. 20 , extending perpendicularly outwardly from vertical well 12 . The jet-drilling assembly comprising high-pressure jet nozzle 1 with an attached jetting liquid delivery tubing 2 permits the nozzle 1 to spray liquid 4 , 5 in two main directions: ahead with liquid spray 4 to pulverize rock and create a borehole 10 , as well as direct liquid spray 5 sideways and backwards to provide a driving force that moves the jet nozzle 1 , jetting fluid delivery tubing 2 , and attached perforated liner 6 forward and into borehole 10 , while simultaneously flushing drilling debris back towards the vertical well 12 along coiled tubing 40 , and to surface or to a sump in the vertical well. Drilling pressures with respect to supplied fluid 4 , 5 may be up to 15,000 psi or even higher.
[0066] In the operation of this invention, perforated liner 6 is attached at or nearby the jet nozzle 1 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 . Liner 6 and jetting-liquid delivery tubing 2 which is inside the liner 6 are fed in at the surface as the assembly of nozzle 1 , jetting-liquid feed line 2 and perforated liner 6 simultaneously advance in the borehole 10 while jet-drilling.
[0067] When the jet-drilling is completed, there are several choices.
[0068] Firstly, the jet drilling assembly comprising the jet nozzle 1 , jetting fluid delivery tubing 2 , and perforated liner 6 can be left in the borehole 10 , and the liner 4 and coiled tubing 40 can be put on production at the surface. Any borehole hole collapse will be limited by the perforated liner and fluids which enter the liner 6 and flow to the surface or to a pump placed downhole. The jetting fluid delivery tubing 2 inside liner 6 provides only minor obstruction to fluid flow in either direction since there will remain ample open fluid flow area 7 inside the liner 6 .
[0069] Alternatively, in a more preferred embodiment, the jetting-liquid delivery tubing 2 is detached from nozzle 1 as described above, or alternatively by a break-away device or procedure such as strong pulling on the delivery tubing 2 . This will leave the liner 6 completely clear, and the shoes 42 can also be removed. Therefore the invention can be employed for fluid production from a reservoir 20 or for fluid injection as may occur in water disposal, and it may be employed in both consolidated rock or un-consolidated rock. The material of construction for the liner 6 must have sufficient strength to hold back sand from borehole collapse and sufficient flexibility to make the sharp turn from vertical to horizontal at the shoe 42 . A number of materials are candidates, such as steel mentioned above, but also perforated Kevlar tubing, particularly where fluid (such as water) is being supplied to borehole 10 and not being withdrawn. In order to maintain maximum strength a favored embodiment for perforation is small holes of a size appropriate to exclude sand or other grains, but to permit fluid passage. The methodologies for determining the maximum perforation size are well known to those skilled in the art.
[0070] FIG. 3 shows the embodiment wherein the coil tubing 40 and shoe 42 (see FIG. 5 ) is severed at the vertical well 12 . Fluids entering the vertical wellbore 12 from boreholes 10 a & 10 b admix in the annular space of the vertical well 12 with access to the surface. These fluids are segregated from others by a packer 30 . Fluids entering from holes 10 c & 10 d are admixed in annular space B, and can rise to the surface via tubing B′ and are segregated by packers 30 & 32 . Fluids entering from boreholes 10 e and 10 f admix in annular area C, and get to the surface via tubing C′ and are segregated by packers 32 & 34 . Finally, fluids entering vertical well 12 via boreholes 10 g and 10 h admix in annular area D, and get to the surface via tubing D′, and are segregated by packer 34 and the bottom of the vertical well 12 ″. Therefore segregated fluid flow to and from multiple zones A, B, C, and D can be achieved, even in un-consolidated or poorly-consolidated formations. This can be exploited in certain enhanced oil recovery processes. For example in a gravity-stable miscible gas flooding project, solvent gas can be injected in an upper zone and oil produced from a lower zone.
Example 2
[0071] A preferred embodiment for maximizing the oil recovery rate at low cost is to eliminate the packers 30 , 32 , & 34 and tubings B′, C′ and D′ shown in FIG. 3 and let fluids flow into the wellbore 12 from all boreholes 10 a - 10 f . The mixture can then be pumped to the surface via a standard production tubing. The jet-liquid feed line 2 can be pulled out and the perforated liner 6 cut at the intersection of the vertical well bore 12 and borehole 10 , or such feed line 2 can be left in place.
Example 3
[0072] In this example, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 , the shoe 42 and coiled tubing 40 assembly is retained after creation of aperture 16 and drilling of boreholes 10 , and each liner 6 that is emplaced in the jet-drilled borehole 10 while drilling thereby retains direct access via coil tubing 40 to the surface. The jet-liquid feed line 2 can be left in the liner 6 or removed as described in Example 1. Details of this embodiment are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 . This embodiment provides the greatest flexibility because every jet-drilled wellbore 10 is individually accessible and can have many uses. This configuration eliminates the need for downhole packers.
[0073] Although the disclosure describes and illustrates preferred embodiments of the method of the present invention, it is understood that the invention is not limited to these particular embodiments. Many variations and modifications will now occur to those skilled in the art. For a full definition of the invention, reference is to be made to the appended claims.
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A method of drilling a slim hole and inserting a slotted liner into such hole drilled in an underground reservoir using jet-drilling. The method enables jet-drilling to be effective in unconsolidated subterranean formations, such as some petroleum reservoirs. The method enables fluid injection or production to be undertaken on individual jet-drilled holes or on groups of holes drilled laterally at different vertical intervals in a vertical well within an underground formation.
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This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/080,142, filed July 29, 1987 abandoned; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 06/744,597, filed June 14, 1985, now abandoned.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to certain novel alkyl and phenyl-substituted diperoxy glutaric and adipic acids which have utility as oxidizing agents, particularly in the bleaching of fabrics.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The bleaching properties and disinfectant properties possessed by oxidizing agents are well known. The most common types of oxidizing agents used for bleaching and disinfecting are chlorine (e.g., hypochlorites and chloramines); hydrogen peroxide and other peroxy compounds; chlorite and chlorine dioxide.
The need for improved oxidizing agents for disinfecting and bleach use is increasing in view of energy conservation and environmental protection measures. For example, in the detergent industry improved cleansing of fabrics is being sought since washing performance has suffered because of lower wash temperatures, reduced use of phosphate builders and increased use of synthetic fabrics. The use of improved oxidizing agents for bleaching is an effective way to restore this lost performance.
A number of peroxy compounds have been evaluated as bleaching agents and some of these have been diperoxy acids. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,959,163, Farley, issued May 25, 1976, and 4,094,808, Stewart et al., issued June 13, 1978, disclose bleach compositions where the active agent is disperisophthalic acid; U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,850, McCrudden et al., issued Jan. 16, 1979, discloses bleaching compositions where the active agents is a cycloaliphaticdiperoxy acid; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,813,896, Krimm, issued Nov. 19, 1957, and 4,126,573, Johnson, issued Nov. 21, 1978, disclose bleaching utility for alpha omega long chain aliphatic diperoxy acid.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,487,723, Mayer, issued Dec. 11, 1984, and 4,391,725, Bossu, issued July 5, 1983, disclose certain alkyl and/or phenyl-substituted diperoxy succinic acids and their use as fabric bleaches.
Although satisfactory results are achieved using the diperoxy acids disclosed in various of the foregoing references, there remains a need for new and structurally different diperoxy acids to satisfy specialized applications in home laundry bleaching and in disinfecting. Hence, those skilled in the art of bleach and disinfectant composition formulation are constantly looking for new and improved peroxy compounds for use as in such formulations. The present invention provides to the art a group of novel diperoxy acids which are highly suitable for use in bleaching and/or disinfecting compositions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to novel peroxyacids having the formula: ##STR2## wherein X is an alkylene group selected from propylene and butylene, R is alkyl containing from 4 to 12 carbon atoms or phenyl and m is 1 or 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention it has been found that certain substituted diperoxy glutaric and adipic acids are highly suitable oxidizing agents for use as laundry bleaching agents. They are also suitable for disinfectant use.
The compounds of the invention have the general formula ##STR3## wherein X is a propylene (i.e., --CH 2 CH 2 --CH 2 --) or butylene (i.e., --CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 --) group and R is an alkyl (acyclic or cyclic) group containing from about 4 to about 12 (preferably from about 6 to about 8) carbon atoms, benzyl or phenyl, substituted onto said propylene or butylene group, and m is 1 or 2. Preferably m is 1. When X is propylene the compounds are substituted diperoxyglutaric acids and when X is butylene the compounds are substituted diperoxyadipic acids. Exemplary compounds are β-hexyldiperoxyglutaric acid, β-cyclohexyldiperoxyglutaric acid, β-octyldiperoxyglutaric acid, α-decyldiperoxyglutaric acid α-heptyldiperoxyglutaric acid, α-phenyldiperoxyglutaric acid, β-phenyldiperoxyglutaric acid, α-benzyldiperoxyglutaric acid, α-t-butyldiperoxyadipic acid, α-pentyldiperoxyadipic acid, α-octyldiperoxyadipic acid, α-decyldiperoxyadipic acid, α-phenyldiperoxyadipic acid, α-cyclohexyldiperoxyadipic acid, α-benzyldiperoxyadipic acid, β-hexyldiperoxyadipic acid, β-octyldiperoxyadipic acid, β-t-octyldiperoxyadipic acid, β-dodecyldiperoxyadipic acid, β-phenyldiperoxyadipic acid, β,β-dihexyldiperoxyglutaric acid, β-methyl-β-hexyldiperoxyglutaric acid and β-ethyl-β-octyldiperoxyglutaric acid.
The compounds of the invention exhibit a unique combination of surface activity, water solubility and chemical stability in aqueous solution which has not been observed in other peroxy-acids. The compounds are particularly effective bleaching agents for use in hard water.
The presence of hydrophobic substituent groups and hydrophilic percarboxy groups in the same molecule renders the molecule surface active, thereby causing, in an aqueous solution, a concentration of the diperoxyacid molecules at the surface of the sustrate (e.g., fabric) being treated with the solution. It is believed that the 3-4 carbon-atom spacing between the percarboxy groups in these compounds, in combination with the preferred alkyl chain lengths, is about optimal for achieving maximum surface activity while retarding formation of micelles. Micellization of the diperoxyacid compounds in solution tends to inhibit concentration of the compounds at substrate surfaces and promotes nonproductive decomposition in solution, thereby reducing bleaching and/or disinfecting efficiency.
The compounds of the invention are solids at room temperature and therefore can conveniently be formulated in granular compositions such as laundry granules.
The peroxyacids of the invention can be made by oxidation of the parent dicarboxylic acids by known oxidation techniques, such as by hydrogen peroxide in either a water/sulfuric acid or water/methanesulfonic acid solvent system. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,119,660, Hutchins, issued Oct. 10, 1978; 4,233,235, Camden et al., issued Nov. 11, 1980; 4,244,884, Hutchins, issued Jan. 13, 1981; and 4,487,723, Mayer, issued Dec. 11, 1984, all incorporated by reference herein.
The parent dicarboxylic acids can be made by known synthetic techniques. Some examples are given below.
α-alkylglutaric acids can be prepared by malonic ester synthesis techniques. See J. C. Roberts et al., J. Chem. Soc. p. 2482 (1950), incorporated byy reference herein. The following reaction sequence is followed: ##STR4## In preparing the α-alkyladipic acids the same procedure is followed, except that in the second step, I(CH 2 ) 3 CO 2 Et is used as the substituting agent instead of I(CH 2 ) 2 CO 2 Et. Benzyl iodide can be used in place of alkyl iodide in the first step to prepare the corresponding benzyl-substituted diacids.
α-phenyl glutaric acids and α-phenyladipic acids can be made by the same procedure as α-alkylglutaric acids and α-alkyladipic acids except that in the first step phenyl iodide is used as the substituting agent instead of alkyl iodide. Alternatively, the phenyl-substituted glutaric and adipic acids can be made by using the procedure described in Org. Syn. 16 (1936), 33; Coll. Vol. II (1943), 288 (incorporated by reference herein) to prepare the diester of the first step.
β-monosubstituted alkylgutaric acids can be prepared by the procedure described by Day et al., J. Chem. Soc. 117, p. 1465 (1920), incorporated by reference herein. In this procedure cyanoacetamide is reacted with an aldehyde, followed by acid hydrolysis. ##STR5##
β,β-dialkyl glutaric acids can be prepared by the procedure described by Handley et al., Aust. J. Chem., 13, p. 129 (1960), incorporated by reference herein. In this procedure, ethylcyanoacetate is reacted with a dialkyl ketone in the presence of ammonia, followed by acid hydrolysis. ##STR6##
β-alkyladipic acids can be prepared by the procedure described by Goheen et al., J. Org. Chem., 53, p. 891 (1958), incorporated by reference herein. In this procedure an acyl chloride is reacted with phenol in the presence of aluminum chloride to form the ortho and para acylsubstituted phenol. The para isomer is then isolated by distillation and subjected to Clemenson reduction in the presence of Zn/HCl to convert the acyl phenol to the corresponding alkyl phenol. The alkyl phenol is then converted to the corrsponding alkyl cyclohexanol by reduction with hydrogen. The alkyl cyclohexanol is then oxidized by nitric acid in the presence of ammonium vanadate to form the β-alkyladipic acid. ##STR7##
The substituted diperoxy acids of the invention are conveniently employed as the primary bleaching agent in the form of particulate solids in granular or powder formulations containing diluents and stabilizers which retard the loss of available oxygen which can occur due to exothermic decomposition when exposed to elevated temperatures, or catalytic decomposition when exposed to heavy metal ions.
Suitable stabilizers to prevent exothermic decomposition of these compounds are those which are capable of liberating moisture at a temperature below the composition of the particular substituted-diperoxyacid compound. A wide variety of exotherm control materials can be used and include hydrated materials, such as potassium aluminum sulfate dodecahydrate, magnesium sulfate heptahydrate, sodium aluminum sulfate dodecahydrate, magnesium ammonium sulfate hexahydrate, and acids, such as boric acid. Boric acid is the preferred exotherm stabilizer (See U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,095, Hutchins, issued July 11, 1978, incorporated by reference herein).
Suitable stabilizers to prevent catalytic decomposition of the instant compounds in the presence of heavy metals, for example, iron and copper, are chelating agents. Suitable chelating agents are alkali metal polyphophates such as tetrasodium pyrophosphate and disodium acid pyrophosphate, 8-hydroxyquinoline, ethylenediamine tetra acetic acid, 1-hydroxy-ethylidene diphosphonic acid, aminotri (methylene phosphonic acid), phosphoric acid and mixtures thereof. Phosphoric acid or a mixture of phosphoric acid and terasodium pyrophosphate is preferred.
In addition to the chelating agents and exotherm control agents mentioned above, coating materials can also be used to extend the shelf life of dry formulations containing the substituted diperoxyacid compounds of this invention as the primary bleaching agent. Suitable coating materials include a wide variety of fatty acids, fatty alcohols, derivatives thereof, such as esters and ethers, derivatives of polyethylene glycols, such as esters and ethers, hydrocarbon oils and waxes. These materials not only aid in preventing moisture from reaching the diperoxyacid compound, but can also be used to segregate the diperoxyacid from other agents which may be present in the formulation and adversely affect the stability of the diperoxyacid.
Coating of the diperoxyacid particles with a surfactant such as the alkali metal salt of an alkylbenzene sulfonate having from 10 to 14 carbon atoms in the alkyl group, a C 9 -C 22 alkyl sulfonate or a C 9 -C 22 alkyl sulfate, can be employed to improve the water solubility properties of the diperoxyacid particles. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,573, Johnson, issued Nov. 21, 1978, incorporated by reference herein.
A diluent is optionally employed as a processing aid with the diperoxyacids herein to adjust the concentration of the peroxyacid and to facilitate handling, shipping and subsequent addition to the wash water, or to facilitate blending the diperoxyacid with additional detergent materials such as surfactants, builders, antistatic agents, coloring agents, bleach activators, perfumes and the like to form granular detergent-bleach compositions. The diluent or processing aid can conveniently be used in an amount to provide a formulation containing from about 30 to 60 percent by weight of the active diperoxyacid, from about 1 to 5 percent by weight chelating agent, from about 15 to 55 percent by weight exotherm control agent. A preferred diluent is sodium sulfate, which is compatible with the diperoxyacids and stabilizers, as well as with ingredients in detergent formulations.
Compositions containing the diperoxyacids of the invention should contain as little free moisture as possible, since presence of free moisture is detrimental to storage stability of the diperoxyacids. Preferably, the moisture level should be less than 1% of the composition.
In the bleaching of fabrics with the peroxyacids of the present invention, the fabrics are contacted with an aqueous solution containing an amount of the peroxyacid sufficient to provide at least about 2 ppm and preferably from about 6 to about 20 ppm available oxygen in the solution.
The invention will be further illustrated by the following examples.
EXAMPLE I
Preparation of β-t-octyladipic Acid
4-t-octylphenol (250 g, used as received from Rohm and Haas), methanol (250 ml), acetic acid (2.5 ml) and rhodium on carbon catalyst (5.0 g, 5% rhodium, MCB Chemicals) were added to a 3 L glass lined autoclave. The autoclave was charged to 60 psig H 2 and heated at 60° C. until hydrogen uptake was complete (about 10 hrs.). The mixture was cooled to room temperature and the catalyst was removed by filtration in a glove bag under a nitrogen atmosphere (CAUTION: pyrophoric catalyst). The solvent was removed on a rotary evaporator and the residue was dissoved in dichloromethane and extracted with 10% sodium carbonate solution (3×250 ml) to remove phenolic contamination, thus avoiding the formation of a yellow impurity in the subsequent oxidation step. The dichloromethane solution was washed with 25% sulfuric acid (2×100 ml) distilled water (1×250 ml), and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, after which the solvent was evaporated to isolate 4-t-octylcyclohexanol as a low melting off-white solid (182 g, 81%).
70% nitric acid (330 g) and distilled water (140 ml) were added to a 1 L 3-neck flask equipped with a water cooled condenser, a mechanical stirrer and a thermometer. The solution was heated to 80° C. and ammonium vanadate (1 g) was added which caused a color change from colorless to dark red to yellow. A small portion (about 1 g) of 4-t-octylcyclohexanol was added to initiate the reaction evidenced by evolution of brown NO 2 gas after which external heating was discontinued and the remainder of the 4-t-octylcyclohexanol (249 g) was added in small portions at a rate to maintain the temperature at 80°-90° C. (4 hr. addition period). The mixture was refluxed until the NO 2 evolution subsided (about 24 hrs.). Upon cooling, a yellow pasty mass separated which was isolated and washed free of nitric acid with distilled water. The mass was dissolved in dichloromethane (1 L) and washed with 25% sulfuric acid (3×150 ml) followed by distilled water (2×200 ml). Removal of the solvent on a rotary evaporator provided a yellow solid which was recrystallized from toluene to afford β-t-octyladipic acid as a white solid (195 g, 64% yield; mp 135°-137° C., Lit. 136°-137° C.; acid value 429.6, theoretical 434).
EXAMPLE II
Preparation of β-n-Hexyladipic Acid
A stirred suspension of 4-n-hexylphenol (972 g; 5.46 mol), 61.7 g of 5% rhodium on carbon catalyst (46.0 g of Alfa Chemical Co. lot 063081 and 17.7 g of MCB Chemicals lot A12M04), HOAc (21 ml), and MeOH (5.0 L) was hydrogenated in a 5 gallon autoclave (100 psi) at 35°-55° until 73% of theoretical H 2 was consumed. A sample was withdrawn and NMR and GC tests showed that a small amount of the hexylphenol remained. Hydrogenation was continued until a total of 78% of theoretical H 2 was consumed. The catalyst was filtered off, and the clear filtrate was concentrated in vacuo to a clear oil, 1065 g (106%); IR (neat) cm -1 3400, (OH) 1715 (carbonyl); NMR (CDCl 3 ) no aromatic absorbance was observed.
The amounts described in the following paragraph represent total quantities used for the sum of two identical side-by-side reactions (CAUTION: strong exotherm potential).
A stirred solution of 50% aqueous HNO 3 (2.3 L) and NH 4 VO 3 (900 mg) was heated to 95° then cooled to 70°. The heating mantle was replaced with a cooling bath then 4-n-hexylcyclohexanol (1002 g apparent amount; 946 g corrected to 100% versus 106%) was added dropwise during 3 hours. During the addition the internal temperature was maintained between 60°-70°. After the addition was complete, the reaction mixture was stirred at 65°-70° for 5 hours then stored at room temperature for 16 hours. The precipitated solid was collected on a filter, washed with H 2 O, then dissolved in Et 2 O (5.0 L). The organic solution was washed with H 2 O (3×2 L), dried over Na 2 SO 4 , then concentrated in vacuo to an oil. This material was vacuum distilled to give 870 g (73%) of partially purified product; bp 190° -210° (0.4-0.7 torr). The distillate crystallized upon cooling. This material was recrystallized from warm (60°) benzene-hexane (1.1 L:8.0 L) followed by pulverization and screening to give 582 g (67% recovery) of purified β-n-hexyladipic acid as white crystals; mp 70°-71°; literature mp 71°-72°. IR (Nujol Mull) cm -1 3400-3000 (broad absorbance for --CO 2 H); 2800-2500 (--CO 2 H); 1700 (carbonyl). NMR (CDCl 3 ) δ11.85 (s, 2H, --CO 2 H; 2.60-2.15 (m, 4H, ##STR8## 2.00-0.70 (16H, --CH--, --CH 2 --, and --CH 3 ).
EXAMPLE III
Preparation of β-n-heptylglutaric Acid
Cyanoacetamide (202 g, 2.4 mol) and distilled water (800 ml) were added to a 3 L 3-neck flask fitted with a mechanical overhead stirrer, thermometer and addition funnel. Octanal (154 g, 1.2 mol) was added from the addition funnel over a period of 10 minutes followed by piperidine (6 ml) added at once. The solution was stirred at room temperature. Over a period of 30 minutes at room temperature the solids slowly dissolved leaving a clear greenish solution. After a period of 50 minutes white solid began to precipitate from solution resulting in a thick white slurry after 6 hours a room temperature. After 22 hours, the mixture was suction filtered. The resultant solid was returned to the flask and 1 L of 50% aqueous hydrochloric acid was added. The mixture was heated at reflux for 19 hours at which time an aliquot was removed, extracted with diethyl ether and the ether extract in turn was extracted with 10% sodium carbonate. After acidification with concentrated HCl and reextraction into ether, the resultant base-soluble fraction was analyzed by HPLC (C 18 ODS column, 66% methanol) and found to contain a large number (greater than 10) of components. After 115 hours of heating at reflux, the base-soluble extract analyzed by HPLC as one major component (81%). Upon cooling, the reaction mixture separated into a red organic upper layer and a colorless aqueous lower layer. The aqueous layer was extracted with ether (300 ml). The ether extract was combined with the organic layer and the whole was extracted with 10% Na 2 CO 3 (4×200 ml). The aqueous extract was then acidified which resulted in separation of a dark oil (249 g, 90%; acid value 279, theoretical acid value 487). The oil was dissolved in hexane, cooled in a dry ice bath with rapid stirring which resulted in precipitation of white hygroscopic crystalline product (131 g, 46%; acid value 485.9; mp 43°-44° C.).
EXAMPLE V
β-t-octyldiperoxyadipic Acid
β-t-octyladipic acid (86.1 g, 0.33 mol) was powdered using a mortar and pestle and added to a beaker containing 98% methanesulfonic acid. The resultant suspension was cooled to 20° C. and 70% hydrogen peroxide was added slowly with constant stirring to maintain the temperature just below 40° C. After the addition was complete (about one-half hour) the suspension was stirred at room temperature for 1 hour after which the resultant clear solution was poured into 500 ml of cold distilled water, and extracted with dichloromethane (3×100 ml). The dichloromethane solution was washed with distilled water (2×50 ml), dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate after which the solvent was removed on a rotary evaporator to provide a clear oil. Storage of the oil in a stoppered flask overnight at 0.5° C. resulted in crystallization of β-t-octyldiperoxyadipic acid as a white brittle solid (83.4 g,; mp 60°-62° C.; % AvO=9.3, theory 11.0; HPLC, C 18 ODS column, 70% methanol solent, retention time: 6.3 min., diperoxy-acid, relative peak area 76%; 7.4 min, monoperoxyacid, relative peak area 24%.
Yield of β-t-octyldiperoxyadipic acid= ##EQU1##
EXAMPLE V
Preparation of β-n-hexyldiperoxyadipic Acid
Attempted peroxidation of β-n-hexyladipic acid prepared as described in Example II resulted in an uncontrollable exothermic reaction. Thus, it was necessary to further purify the starting material before it could be successfully peroxidized. β-n-hexyladipic acid, (100 g) was dissolved in dichloromethane (500 ml) and washed with 25% sulfuric acid (3×150 ml), 5% sodium bicarbonate (3×100 mls), and distilled water (2×100 ml). The dichloromethane solution was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate after which the solvent was removed on a rotary evaporator leaving a clear oil which was crystallized from hexane to afford a white waxy solid (76.4 g). The purified β-n-hexyladipic acid (70.0 g, 0.304 mol) and 98% methanesulfonic acid (149 g, 1.55 mol) were added to a beaker and cooled to 15° C. 70% hydrogen peroxide (59.14 g, 1.74 mol) was added at a rate which maintained the temperature of about 30° C. while constantly stirring the suspension using a magnetic stirrer. After the addition was complete (about 10 minutes), the suspension was stirred at room temperature for an additional 1 hour, 50 minutes, which resulted in a clear solution. The solution was poured into cold distilled water (500 ml) and extracted with dichloromethane (1×300 ml, 2×250 ml). The dichloromethane solution was in turn extracted with 5% sodium sulfate solution 1×300 ml, 2×200 ml), dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate after which the solvent was removed on a rotary evaporator. The oily residue was recrystallized from toluene to yield β-n-hexyldiperoxyadipic acid as a powdery white solid (49.7 g, mp 51.5°-52.5° C.; %AvO=11.6, theory=12.2; HPLC, C 18 ODS column, 67% methanol solvent, retention time: 5.84 minutes, diperxoy acid, relative peak area 96%, 10.00 min, diacid, relaive peak area 4%).
Yield of β-hexyldiperoxyadipic acid=11.6/12.2 (49.7)=47.25 ##EQU2##
EXAMPLE VI
Preparation of β-n-heptyldiperoxyglutaric Acid
β-n-heptylglutaric acid (85 g, 0.36 mol) was added to an 800 ml beaker along with 98% methansulfonic acid (176 g, 1.84 mol) and the mixture was cooled to 10° C. 70% hydrogen peroxide was added slowly with constant stirring to maintain a reaction temperature of about 30° C. After the addition was complete, the solution was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours. Work-up as described for the alkyldiperoxyadipic acids provided β-n-heptyldiperoxyglutaric acid as an oil which solidified upon cooling to 0° C. but was found on rewarming to have a melting point of 19°-22° C. (yield 93 g; %AvO=10.7, theory=12.2; HPLC, C 18 ODS column, 67% methanol, retention time: 6.3 minutes, diperoxyacid, relative peak area 87%, 7.6 minutes, monoperoxyacid, relative peak area 13%.).
Yield of β-hexyldiperoxyglutaric acid= ##EQU3##
EXAMPLE VII
Preparation of Stabilized Soluble Bleach Granules
Containing β-n-hexyldiperoxyadipic Acid
A bleach granule was prepared which had the following composition:
______________________________________Chemical %______________________________________β-hexyldiperoxyadipic acid 9.29β-hexyladipic acid 0.37C.sub.13 linear alkylbenzene sulfonate 4.82Boric acid 12.56Tetrasodium pyrophosphate 0.038Phosphoric acid 0.028Dipicolinic acid 0.028Sodium sulfate 69.85Moisture 3.00 99.98%______________________________________
C 13 LAS paste (124.0 g, 31.4% C 13 LAS, 15% Na 2 SO 4 , balance water) was added to a stainless steel mini-crutcher maintained at 100° F. Tetrasodium pyrophosphate, (0.306 g), phosphoric acid (0.230 g), dipicolinic acid (0.230 g), and water (227.8 g) were added and the paste was blended to a uniform consistency. Boric acid (101.4 g), β-n-hexyldiperoxyadipic acid (78.0 g, 11.73% AvO), and sodium sulfate (545.2 g) were added and the mixture was again blended to a uniform consistency. The crutcher mix was then spread on a tray and cooled to ca 40° F. after which it was forced through a 20 mesh nylon screen and the resultant granules were dried at 80° F., 15% relative humidity overnight. After drying, the granules contained 3% free moisture and had an available oxygen conent of 1.0% (Theory 1.1%).
The bleach granules were used in combination with recommended amounts of typical laundry detergents to bleach a variety of stains and dingy clothing articles. Excellent bleaching performance was observed when the bleach granules were added at a level of 96 grams to 64 liters of wash water thereby providing 15 ppm AvO in the wash solution.
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Novel peroxyacids of the formula: ##STR1## wherein X is an alkylene group selected from propylene and butylene, R is alkyl containing from 4 to 12 carbon atoms, benzyl or phenyl and m is 1 or 2. The compounds are useful as disinfectants and fabric bleaches.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention discloses a multiple function sensing means for a fluid system. More specifically, this invention relates to a sensor for a vehiclular coolant system. The sensor is a compact structure to monitor under-pressure and over-temperature in a coolant system, and provides a signal means indicative of a malfunction. Coolant can boil away at normal operating temperatures if the system is open, such as with a ruptured hose or loose radiator cap.
2. Prior Art
Monitoring devices and sensors for fluid systems are known in the art, particularly temperature sensing apparatus for automobile coolant systems. There have been efforts to provide both over-pressure and over-temperature sensing devices, but not an under-pressure and over-temperature sensor. Indicative of this prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 3,439,356 (Kinzer) which discloses a pressure-temperature sensor. In this apparatus, opposed bellows chambers are coupled by a movable electrically conducting disc, which is displaced between a tube end and a thermocouple junction. The disc is moved to contact the thermocouple switch to energize a signal means and thereafter the disc is adjusted with a fluid at a known pressure to disclose an accurate pressure reading. The thermocouple is utilized in a known fashion to yield the temperature of a surrounding fluid.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,933,453 (Schlaich) teaches an indicating device responsive to both temperature and pressure. However, this device requires a coil resistor 13, a temperature coil shown as bimetal coil 16, and a diaphragm operator 24. The diaphragm operator 24 is responsive to an excess pressure to open a circuit. This device provides a current from a battery (not shown) to the end of resistor coil 13 and wiper 14 which is operable by diaphragm 24. The temperature actuation, although reasonably accurate at most temperatures, is inadequate to move the indicator for its entire distance or stroke. However, at an overheated condition sufficient for the liquid to boil vigorously, an excess pressure is disclosed that will actuate the diaphragm to move the indicator for substantially its entire travel range. A drawback noted in this device is, that until vigorous boiling occurs, the thermometer or temperature indicator does not accurately indicate the water temperature due to the difference between the water temperature and air temperature of the space surrounding the temperature responsive instrument.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,338,099 (Remick, Jr., et al) teaches a boiling point indicator which utilizes two sensors, one for pressure and one for temperature. A diaphragm operator moves a mechanical indicator. There is no teaching of an electrical signal provided for such readings. This particular device is operable only as an indicator of a safe-unsafe temperature.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,728 (Metz) teaches an instrument for monitoring a physical parameter, either temperature or pressure, utilizing an elastic sensor displaceable as a function of the monitored physical parameter. However, it is capable of only monitoring one parameter at a time. The device requires a belt having characteristics which change along the length thereof. The elastic sensor is responsive to the belt characteristic to produce an output signal which varies as a function of the physical parameter being monitored. Such a device is impractical for most automotive or vehicular usages.
Illustrative of early efforts at monitoring fluid bath temperatures is U.S. Pat. No. 1,815,642 (Zubaty) illustrating a bellows filled with a heat responsive fluid, which bellows is immersed in a fluid bath. A mechanical arm is connected between the bellows and a temperature indicator. As the fluid within the bellows is heated, the bellows is permitted to expand to move the mechanical arm and indicate the temperature. There is no teaching or consideration of pressure measurement.
Most vehicle coolant systems are operated at an elevated pressure which permits them to operate at a higher temperature. Generally these coolant systems are provided with relief valves to protect against an over-pressure condition. At a lower pressure the coolant will boil and evaporate from the system at a lower temperature. Therefore, it is vital to be forewarned of an under-pressure condition as well as an over temperature condition in these coolant systems. The above devices, which require immersion in or communication with a fluid to sense either over-temperature or over-pressure, do not provide a means for measuring both an over-temperature condition and an under-pressure condition. The under-pressure condition prevails when the system fluid pressure is lost from a cooling system, such as by a loose radiator cap.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A pressure-biased, temperature sensor constructed in accordance with the invention includes a housing having a chamber with an open end, and a bellows also having an open end; the housing and bellows being joined at their open ends. A conducting terminal is mounted on the housing closed end with an insulator means therebetween. A reference conductor extends from the conducting terminal through said housing chamber and bellows cavity. A signal circuit is provided and includes a signal means that is energized by a completed circuit at contact of the bellows and reference conductor. The bellows is operable by a vapor which is responsive to changes in temperature and pressure. As the temperature of the environment increases, the vapor expands with either a temperature increase or external pressure decrease, and the bellows expands to complete the signal circuit. The sensor provides a low pressure bias to the over-temperature alarm.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
In the figures of the drawings, like reference numerals identify like components, and in the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a cross-section of a schematic illustration of a pressure-biased, temperature sensor;
FIG. 2 is an alternative embodiment of a pressure-biased, temperature sensor;
FIG. 3 is a graphical illustration of an operating curve for a pressure-temperature sensor; and
FIG. 4 illustrates a family of vapor pressure-temperature curves for various fluids utilized in sensors; and
FIG. 5 is a cross-section of a schematic illustration of the embodiment in FIG. 1 with a single chamber.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In FIG. 1, a pressure-biased, temperature sensor [PBTS] 10 is shown with a housing 12 having a wall 11 defining a chamber 14, a closed end 16, an open end 18 and a through-bore 13 in wall 11. A bellows 20, which may be formed of a metal such as copper, includes a side wall 21 defining a bellows cavity 22, an open end 24 and a conducting contact surface on lower wall 27 26 closing the opposite end. The open ends 18 and 24 of housing 12 and expandable bellows 20, respectively, are mated with each other, however, an electrically insulating seal 28 is provided in the mating area. Communication between housing chamber 14 and bellows cavity 22 is sealed by seal 28, which seal 28 defines a passage 30 and a through bore or port 32 communicating between chamber 14 and cavity 22.
A conducting terminal 36 is positioned on housing closed end 16 with an insulator means 80 mounted between housing 12 and terminal 36. A reference conductor means 38 with a terminus 39 and an opposite end 37 is coupled to conducting terminal 36 and extends through insulator means 80, housing chamber 14, passage 30 and bellows cavity 22 to contact conducting contact surface 26 of bellows 20. Reference conductor means 38 is insulated from housing 12, and seals passage 30 of seal means 28. In this embodiment, the lower surface of bellows wall 21 is utilized as contact surface 26.
A signal circuit 40 includes a normally-closed relay 42 with a winding 41 and conducting means 44 and 46 in a series circuit. A parallel circuit of said signal means circuit 40 has a signal means 48 with conductor means 50 and 52 connected in parallel with series circuit 42, 44, 46. Conductor means 50 is connected between a contact point 54 of relay 42 and signal means 48. A second contact means 56 of relay 42 is coupled to conductor means 46. Relay 42 normally contacts and provides communication across contacts 54 and 56. Coupled to conductor means 46 is a source of electrical energy 58. Housing 12 and bellows 20 may be electrically conductive materials. Further, seal means 28 is an insulating device such as a ceramic seal. A filler tube 60 extends through bore 13 and through bore 32 to provide a fluid to evacuated bellows cavity 22. Thereafter, tube 60 is sealed. Further, tube 60 seals through-bore 32 of seal means 28 to inhibit communication between chamber 14 and cavity 22.
In FIG. 1, first conductor means 44 is connected between conducting terminal 36 and relay 42. Second conductor means 46 is coupled between relay 42 and housing 12. In this embodiment, housing 12 and bellows 20 are electrically conductive materials. At the reference position, reference conductor 38 and contact surface 26 are touching to complete a circuit through relay 42 and conductors 44 and 46, thereby maintaining relay 42 in the open position. Signal means 48 is not energized when conductor 38 and contact surface 26 communicate.
FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative embodiment wherein the seal means 28 is not provided to maintain reference conductor 38 insulated from housing 12. In this embodiment, housing 12 and bellows 20 cooperate to define chamber 14. Through-bore 13 of housing 12 is sealed by tube 60, which is itself sealed after fluid is introduced into chamber 14. It is only requisite that reference conductor 38 be insulated from housing 12 and that chamber 14 be adequately sealed against leakage. Insulator 80 is provided to isolate and insulate reference conductor 38 from the housing as well as to insulate terminal 36. Sleeve like insulator 80 may be provided in any of the embodiments about the length of reference conductor 38 extending through closed end 16 of housing 12.
In operation housing 12, illustrated with screw threads 62, is mounted in a coolant circuit such as an automotive radiator or engine block (not shown), and bellows 20 extends into the coolant fluid. The vapor fluid in bellows 20 is responsive to changes in temperature and pressure, and expands as a function of such changes. In the reference mode illustrated in FIG. 1, reference conductor 38 touching contact surface 26 closes circuit 40 and maintains relay 42 in the open position. As the temperature of the coolant increases, the vapor pressure within the bellows increases. Illustrative of such a change is the effect shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In FIG. 3 a curve 70 illustrates the change of pressure as a function of temperature for a given vapor fluid and notes an area below the curve labelled "safe operating condition". Below the curve 70, bellows 20 will remain contracted to maintain the closed circuit of FIG. 1. However, above the curve in the area noted as "warning on", the vapor expands in bellows cavity 22 to disengage contact surface 26 from terminus 39 and open circuit 40. When circuit 40 is open relay 42 closes, connecting contacts 54 and 56, and completing the parallel circuit to energize signal means 48.
FIG. 4 illustrates a family of curves for various liquids that may be provided to bellows cavity 22. These curves demonstrate the change in vapor pressure with changing temperatures. Therefore, a specific response can be acquired either by altering the particular bellows composition and its reaction rate at a given temperature or pressure or the fluid in the bellows. In addition to the temperature effect, a drop in fluid pressure at a given temperature will likewise effect the expansion of bellows 20. In FIGS. 1 and 5, a loss of coolant from the fluid system results in a decrease in the fluid pressure surrounding bellows 20, allowing bellows 20 to expand and open the circuit and thus closing relay 42 to complete the parallel circuit to energize signal means 48.
FIG. 2 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the above-noted invention wherein a seal means is shown but is not a requisite for the invention, and terminus 39 is in proximity to the lower surface of bellows 20. Conducting contact 26 extends from bellows wall 21 to contact terminus 39 at bellows 20 expansion. First conducting means 44 of circuit 40 is coupled between terminal 36 and signal means 48. Second conducting means 46 is connected between signal means 48 and housing 12. A power supply or means of energization 58 may be coupled to conducting means 46 to provide a source of energy to energize signal means 48. In this embodiment, circuit 40 is a series circuit and reference conductor 38 is not in contact with contact means 26. Therefore, as bellows 20 expands, contact means 26 contacts terminus 39 to close circuit 40, completing the circuit and energizing signal means 48. An insulator 23 is provided on wall 21 to insulate terminus 39 from wall 21.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that certain variations can be made in the illustrated embodiments. While only specific embodiments of the invention have been described and shown, it is apparent that various alterations and modifications can be made therein. It is, therefore, the intention in the appended claims to cover all such modifications and alterations as may fall within the true scope and spirit of the invention.
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A pressure-biased, temperature sensor for monitoring a fluid system for either an over-temperature or under-pressure condition. The sensor includes a bellows operator immersed in the fluid of a coolant system. The bellows operator expands in response to changes above a predetermined temperature or below a predetermined pressure to complete a signal circuit and energize a signal means.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device, and more particularly to a semiconductor memory device in which a plurality of semiconductor chips that include a memory cell array chip are stacked.
2. Description of the Related Art
The miniaturization of semiconductor integrated circuits has raised the degree of integration and has thus advanced the development of higher capacities in DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and SRAM (Static Random Access Memory). However, because there are limits to the miniaturization of semiconductors, new technologies are being sought to achieve further increases in the degree of integration.
Three-dimensional semiconductors, in which semiconductor chips are stacked, have been proposed as one technology for raising the degree of integration of memory. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H04-196263 describes a means for realizing a large-scale integrated circuit without changing the chip area by stacking semiconductor chips and discloses the integration of memory circuits on a separate chip that is stacked on the main body of a semiconductor integrated circuit. In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-026283 describes a multilayer memory configuration in which memory cell arrays are multilayered to obtain greater capacity.
Multilayering of semiconductor chips necessitates interconnections between semiconductor chips in addition to the previously required interconnections within the semiconductor chip area. As the interconnections between semiconductor chips, vias that pass through semiconductor chips have been proposed as a means of increasing interconnection density. In K. Takahashi et al. in the Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 40, 3032 (2001), a technology is disclosed in which a silicon chip was thinned to 50 μm, square holes measuring 10 μm on each side were opened in the silicon chip, and these holes were then filled with a metal to form vias for use in interconnections between semiconductor chips. The interconnections between semiconductor chips that are realized by these vias can be arranged two-dimensionally within the surface of a semiconductor chip, and thus allow several hundred interchip interconnections.
In-plane interconnections can be long because the dimension of one edge of a semiconductor chip may be greater than 10 mm, while the length of semiconductor interchip interconnections can be extremely short because the thickness of a semiconductor chip is on the order of just 50 μm. Accordingly, when transferring data between a plurality of stacked semiconductor chips, the use of a multiplicity of interconnections between semiconductor chips that are arranged two-dimensionally within the area of the semiconductor chips, as with vias, allows a reduction of the total interconnection length of the three-dimensional interconnections.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the interconnections of a memory cell array in which a plurality of memory cell arrays are arranged in a plane without using interconnections between chips, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a memory cell array chip having a number n of banks 20 .
As shown in FIG. 1 , a memory cell array chip of the prior art is provided with a plurality of memory cell arrays 10 that are configured as banks for the purpose of interleaving memory access operations. Each memory cell array 10 is provided with row decoder 12 and column decoder 13 for carrying out read and write operations. In addition, each memory cell array 10 has DQ 11 (which are data lines for input/output of one bit, these being paired lines in some cases) for all input/output bits (DQ 0 , DQ 1 , DQ 2 , and DQ 3 ), and when one interchip interconnection is used for each bit for transferring data between chips, a plurality of interconnections of a length on the order of the chip size is necessary within the chip area for collecting the DQ lines for each bit from all banks that are arranged over the entire chip area.
As shown in FIG. 2 , each bank has memory regions for all input/output bits, and in-plane interconnections are therefore required for DQ lines that connect the banks that are distributed over the entire area of the chip surface.
This in-plane interconnection is further necessary for the number of stacked memory cell array chips. In contrast, when interchip interconnections are provided for input/output bits in each and every memory cell array 10 , the need for long interconnections between in-plane banks can be eliminated, and increase in the three-dimensional interconnection length can therefore be suppressed despite increase in the number of stacked chips.
As explained in the foregoing explanation, the application of interchip interconnections to a semiconductor memory device, in which semiconductor chips are stacked, is effective for suppressing an increase in the interconnection length. Nevertheless, vias that are used in three-dimensional interchip interconnections have a problem of greater capacitance than ordinary in-plane interconnections. Compared to in-plane chip interconnections, which have a thickness of just 1 μm or less, vias must have a thickness of 10 μm or more due to processing restrictions, and further, these vias are enclosed by the silicon substrate chip and further have a long perimeter, whereby vias exhibit considerable parasitic capacitance with the substrate.
As an example, when a via having a circular cross section with a diameter of 20 μm passes through a silicon substrate that is interposed between dielectric films having a thickness of 250 nm, the thickness of the substrate will be 50 μm, i.e., the length of the via will be 50 μm, and the capacitance will reach 0.45 pF. In-plane interconnections that are normally used have a capacitance on the order of 0.2 pF per 1 mm, and this via capacitance is therefore equivalent to approximately 2 mm of in-plane interconnections. Thus, when a multiplicity of interchip interconnections are used to transfer data between chips, the interconnection capacitance will not be small despite the reduction in the total interconnection length. In particular, in the case of a memory cell array chip with a configuration in which one chip has a plurality of banks, interchip interconnections must be provided for the number of banks for each one-bit DQ line. This increase in interconnection capacitance raises the problem of increased power consumption of the memory device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was achieved in view of the above-described problems of the prior art and has as an object the provision of a three-dimensional semiconductor memory device that allows a reduction of the interconnection capacitance that is necessary for charging and discharging when transferring data between chips and that thus reduces power consumption of the memory device.
The stacked semiconductor memory device of the present invention includes:
a memory cell array chip that is stacked on a first semiconductor chip and in which sub-banks into which a bank memory is divided are organized and arranged according to input/output bits; and
interchip interconnections for connecting the memory cell array chip with the first semiconductor chip and that are provided for the number of the input/output bits, and that pass through the memory cell array chip in the direction of stacking.
A stacked semiconductor memory device according to another aspect of the present invention includes:
a plurality of memory cell array chips that are stacked on a first semiconductor chip and in which sub-banks into which bank memories are divided are organized and arranged according to input/output bits; and
interchip interconnections that are provided for the number of the input/output bits for connecting the sub-banks such that the corresponding input/output bits are the same, and that pass through the memory cell array chips in the direction of stacking of the memory cell array chips.
In this case, the sub-banks may be the divisions of a plurality of bank memories, and the bank memory configuration of each memory cell array chip may be the same.
Alternatively, the sub-banks may be the divisions of a plurality of bank memories, and the bank memory configuration of each memory cell array chip may differ.
The sub-banks may be the divisions of a single bank memory, and the bank memory configuration of each memory cell array chip may be the same.
Alternatively, the sub-banks may be the division of a single bank memory, and the bank memory configuration of each memory cell array chip may differ.
In addition, each memory cell array chip may be provided with an insulation means for electrically isolating the memory cell array chip from the interchip interconnections.
In addition, the interchip interconnections may be used for transferring data, and the stacked semiconductor memory device according to the present invention may further include a control means for controlling the insulation means such that, during the process of transferring data in any of the memory cell array chips, the other memory cell array chips are electrically isolated from the interchip interconnections.
In any of the above-described configurations, the first semiconductor chip may be an interface chip having an interface circuit with the outside.
In addition, the first semiconductor chip may be a processor chip having a microprocessor circuit.
In addition, the memory cell array may be a DRAM.
According to the present invention, in a three-dimensional semiconductor memory device in which memory cell array chips are stacked, the banks of a memory cell array may be divided sub-banks equal in number to the number of input/output bits and organized and arranged for each input/output bit. Connecting DQ lines from the sub-banks t to interchip interconnections for each input/output bit minimizes both the length of chip in-plane DQ lines and the number of interchip interconnections, whereby the interconnection capacitance can be reduced and the power consumption of the three-dimensional semiconductor memory device can be decreased.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a memory cell array chip of an example of the prior art;
FIG. 2 shows the configuration of a memory cell array of an example of the prior art;
FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a memory cell array of the present invention;
FIG. 4 shows the configuration of a first working example of the present invention;
FIG. 5 shows (in the upper portion) the number of sub-banks and (in the lower portion) the sub-bank capacitance that correspond to the configuration of the number of bits and number of banks when the working example shown in FIG. 4 is applied to 512-Mb DRAM;
FIG. 6 shows the configuration of a second working example of the present invention;
FIG. 7 shows the configuration of a third working example of the present invention; and
FIG. 8 shows the configuration of a fourth working example of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The following explanation regards the details of a working example of the present invention with reference to the accompanying figures.
Explanation first regards the constituent elements of the present invention with reference to the plan view of FIG. 3 .
In the present invention, banks are divided into a number of sub-banks equal to the number j of input/output bits, resulting in a total j×n of sub-banks 21 , and the sub-banks are collectively arranged for each input/output bit. In memory region 22 in which sub-banks 21 are collected for one input/output bit, the DQ lines from the sub-banks within memory region 22 are collected and connected to interchip interconnections, and data are transferred for each bit.
In the present invention that is configured as described above, in-plane interconnections may be used to connect sub-banks within memory region 22 in which sub-banks 21 are arranged for each bit, thus enabling reduced chip in-plane interconnection length and lower chip in-plane interconnection capacitance. In addition, the interchip interconnections need be provided in a number equal only to the number j of input/output bits and need not be provided in a number equal to the number n of banks, whereby the interconnection capacitance of the interchip interconnections is also reduced. Thus, a three-dimensional memory device in which memory cell array chips are stacked, can suppress the power required for the charge and discharge of interconnections in the transfer of data between a memory cell and another chip.
WORKING EXAMPLE 1
FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the first working example of a stacked semiconductor memory device according to the present invention.
In the present working example, memory cell array chip 31 , which is DRAM having a memory capacity of 512 Mb, is stacked on interface chip 30 on which integrated circuits are provided for interfacing with the outside. Memory cell array chip 31 has four input/output bits DQ 0 , DQ 1 , DQ 2 , and DQ 3 , and four banks BK 0 , BK 1 , BK 2 , and BK 3 .
Each bank is divided into four, which is the number of input/output bits. For example, bank BK 0 is divided into the four sub-banks: BK 0 (DQ 0 ) that is composed of the memory cells of DQ 0 , BK 0 (DQ 1 ) that is composed of the memory cells of DQ 1 , BK 0 (DQ 2 ) that is composed of the memory cells of DQ 2 , and BK 0 (DQ 3 ) that is composed of the memory cells of DQ 3 . Banks BK 1 , BK 2 , and BK 3 are similarly divided into the sub-banks BK 1 (DQ 0 )-BK 1 (DQ 3 ), BK 2 (DQ 0 )-BK 2 (DQ 3 ), and BK 3 (DQ 0 )-BK 3 (DQ 3 ), respectively, resulting in a total of 16 sub-banks. Each of the sub-banks is provided with a column decoder and a row decoder for address signals (neither decoder is shown in the figures).
In memory cell array chip 31 , the sub-banks are collectively arranged for each input/output bit. In the present working example, the number of input/output bits is four, and the surface of memory cell array chip 31 is therefore divided into four DQ regions, and the sub-banks of all of the banks are arranged in each DQ region. Each DQ region is composed of four sub-banks, and one interchip interconnection 32 , which is a via, is provided in the center of each of the four sub-banks, the DQ lines of the four sub-banks being connected to this via. In this arrangement, interchip interconnections 32 are provided in the vicinity of all of the sub-banks, and almost no in-plane interconnection is required within the surface of memory cell array chip 31 for the DQ lines from the banks.
Memory cell array chip 31 and interface chip 30 are connected by four interchip interconnections in four DQ portions, and these serve as the data bus between the two chips. If the difficulty of sending different DQ data by a single interchip interconnection is taken into consideration, four interchip interconnections are the minimum number of interconnections that are needed in a four-input/output bit configuration. The interconnection capacitance is therefore low in both the interchip interconnections and within the in-plane interconnections, and therefore an increase in the power consumption of the DRAM can be reduced.
In the working example that is shown in FIG. 4 , the memory configuration includes four input/output bits and four banks, but even if each of these numbers is increased, the interconnection capacitance can be suppressed and the power consumption reduced by dividing the banks into a number of sub-banks that is equal to the number of input/output bits and then collectively arranging the sub-banks for each input/output bit.
FIG. 5 shows the relation between the number of input/output bits and the number of banks with regard to the number of sub-banks and capacitance for DRAM having a capacity of 512 Mb.
WORKING EXAMPLE 2
The following explanation regards the second working example of the present invention with reference to FIG. 6 . FIG. 6 shows the configuration of a three-dimensional semiconductor DRAM device. In the present working example, memory cell array chips 51 of DRAM having a memory capacity of 512 Mb are stacked on interface chip 50 in which interface circuits with the outside are integrated.
All of memory cell array chips 51 have the same configuration with four input/output bits DQ 0 , DQ 1 , DQ 2 , and DQ 3 , and four banks BK 0 , BK 1 , BK 2 , and BK 3 . Each bank is divided into four, which is the number of input/output bits. For example, bank BK 0 is divided into the four sub-banks: BK 0 (DQ 0 ) that is composed of the memory cells of DQ 0 ; BK 0 (DQ 1 ) that is composed of the memory cells of DQ 1 ; BK 0 (DQ 2 ) that is composed of the memory cells of DQ 2 ; and BK 0 (DQ 3 ) that is composed of the memory cells of DQ 3 . BK 1 (DQ 0 )-BK 1 (DQ 3 ), BK 2 (DQ 0 )-BK 2 (DQ 3 ), and BK 3 (DQ 0 )-BK 3 (DQ 3 ) are similarly divided, resulting in a total of 16 sub-banks. Each of the sub-banks has a column decoder and a row decoder for address signals (neither decoder being shown in the figures).
The sub-bank arrangement is identical for all of memory cell array chips 51 , and all of memory cell array chips 51 therefore can share interchip interconnections 52 that pass through these chips as DQ lines. Inter chip interconnections 52 connect with input/output buffer 53 that is provided on interface chip 50 , and memory read and write operations are carried out using input/output buffer 53 and interchip interconnections 52 . Even when four memory cell array chips 51 are stacked, data transfer can be carried out between all of the chips by four interchip interconnections, and even within the chip plane, almost no in-plane interconnection is required from the sub-banks to the interchip interconnections. As a result, power consumption due to interconnections can be suppressed to a low level.
In addition, while a particular memory cell array chip is being accessed, the other chips can be electrically isolated from the interchip interconnections that are being used as DQ lines. In such a case, a greater effect in reducing power can be obtained by providing components such as tristate buffers and transfer gate switches as insulation means between the interchip interconnections and the data amplifiers of DQ lines of the memory cell array on a memory cell array chip surface, by providing a control means somewhere in the device for implementing control such that a memory cell array chip is uniquely selected, and then by electrically isolating the interconnections, whereby the capacitance load of all of the circuits that are connected to the DQ lines of that chip is prevented from reaching the interchip interconnections.
In the present working example, the arrangement of all sub-banks is the same in chips that are stacked above and below as shown in FIG. 6 , but for the purpose of sharing DQ lines, the actual arrangement of sub-banks that are collected within the DQ regions is in fact free as long as the regions in which sub-banks of the same DQ are collected are arranged in the same positions vertically. In addition, the number of stacked memory cell array chips may be further increased to increase the capacity of the memory device.
WORKING EXAMPLE 3
The following explanation regards the third working example of the present invention with reference to FIG. 7 . FIG. 7 shows the configuration of a three-dimensional semiconductor DRAM device, which is the third working example of the present invention. In the present working example, four memory cell array chips 61 that are DRAM having a memory capacity of 512 Mb are stacked on interface chip 60 , on which interface circuits that connect with the outside are integrated. Memory cell array chips 61 are composed of memory cell arrays having four input/output bits and four banks.
Although all memory cell array chips 51 have the same memory configuration in the second working example, in the present working example, the chips have four different banks on each chip. In other words, the memory configuration of the four stacked DRAM devices includes four input/output bits DQ 0 , DQ 1 , DQ 2 , and DQ 3 , and 16 banks from BK 0 –BK 15 . Each bank is then divided into four parts, which is the number of input/output bits, whereby the number of sub-banks is 64. Each of the sub-banks has a column decoder and row decoder for address signals (neither decoder being shown in the figures).
All of memory cell array chips 61 share a single interchip interconnection 62 with respect to the same direction of stacking as the DQ line, and the sub-banks are therefore collectively arranged for each DQ in each memory cell array chip 61 , and moreover, the DQ region of each memory cell array chip 61 is arranged at the same position in the direction of stacking. Inter chip interconnections 62 are connected to input/output buffer 63 that is provided on interface chip 60 , and memory read and write operations are carried out using input/output buffer 63 and interchip interconnections 62 .
The bank configuration of the same DQ regions differs between upper and lower chips, and for the purpose of interleaving memory access between banks, while data are being transferred to the memory of particular memory cell array chips 61 , the sub-banks of other chips are placed in an electrically isolated state from interchip interconnections 62 that are the DQ lines. In particular, a greater effect in reducing power can be obtained by providing components such as tristate buffers and transfer gate switches as insulation means between the interchip interconnections 62 and the data amplifiers of the DQ lines of the memory cell array on the surface of each memory cell array chip 61 , by providing a control means somewhere in the device for implementing control such that memory cell array chips are uniquely selected, and then by electrically isolating the interconnections, whereby the capacitance load of all of the circuits that are connected to the DQ lines of memory cell array chip 61 is prevented from reaching the interchip interconnections 62 .
As described in the foregoing explanation, by collectively arranging the sub-banks for each DQ in the present working example, all interchip data transfer can be realized by interchip interconnections of the DQ types, regardless of the number of memory cell array chips. For example, even if eight stacked memory cell array chips have different bank configurations, data transfer between all of the chips can be realized by four interchip interconnections, and further, almost no in-plane interconnections are required from sub-banks to the interchip interconnections within the chip planes, whereby power consumption due to interconnections can be reduced to a low level.
WORKING EXAMPLE 4
The following explanation regards the fourth working example of the present invention with reference to FIG. 8 . FIG.8 shows the configuration of a three-dimensional semiconductor DRAM device that is the fourth working example of the present invention.
In the present working example, eight DRAM memory cell array chips 71 each having a memory capacity of 128 Mb are stacked on an interface chip 70 in which interface circuits that connect with the outside are integrated. Each of the memory cell arrays that make up the memory cell array chips 71 has four input/output bits.
In the first to third working examples, the memory cell arrays are configured from a plurality of banks within a memory cell array chip, but in the present working example, the memory cell arrays have a single-bank configuration. In other words, the eight DRAM devices have a four-bit memory configuration of input/output bits DQ 0 , DQ 1 , DQ 2 , and DQ 3 , and eight banks from BK 0 to BK 7 . The plurality of memory cell array chips may also have a single-bank configuration. Each of the banks has a column decoder and a row decoder for address signals (neither decoder being shown in the figures). All memory cell array chips 71 share one interchip interconnection 72 as a DQ line for each input/output bit with relation to the direction of stacking. Inter chip interconnection 72 is connected to input/output buffer 73 that is provided on interface chip 70 , and memory read and write operations are carried out using input/output buffer 73 and interchip interconnection 72 .
Compared to a case having a configuration with a plurality of banks within the plane of a memory cell array chip, as in the first to third working examples, a case in which a plurality of banks is realized by stacking chips as in the present working example is advantageous in that the need is eliminated for in-plane interconnections for DQ lines between banks as shown in FIG. 3 , and further, the number of banks can be increased by stacking chips without increasing the number of interchip interconnections, which is the number of input/output bits. However, in order to interleave memory access between banks, while transferring data to the memory of the bank of a particular memory cell array chip, the memory of the banks of other memory cell array chips must be electrically isolated from the interchip interconnections, which are the DQ lines.
A greater effect in reducing power can be obtained by providing components such as tristate buffers and transfer gate switches as insulation means between the interchip interconnections 72 and the data amplifiers of DQ lines of the memory cell array on the surface of memory cell array chips 71 , by providing a control means somewhere in the device for implementing control such that a memory cell array chip is uniquely selected, and then by electrically isolating the interconnections, whereby the capacitance load of all of the circuits that are connected to the DQ lines of each memory cell array chip 71 is prevented from reaching the interchip interconnections.
Although the memory was DRAM in each of the working examples that have been described above, a similar configuration can be realized using SRAM. In addition, although a memory cell array chip was stacked on an interface chip and data transfer carried out between chips in each of the working examples, a memory cell array chip having the same sub-bank configuration as each working example may be stacked on a semiconductor chip in which microprocessors are integrated and data transfer then carried out between memories of the sub-banks and the processors for each DQ. Further, memory cell arrays may be integrated on semiconductor chips in which interface circuits or microprocessor circuits have been integrated and data transfer then carried out between memory cell arrays that are between chips.
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A three-dimensional semiconductor memory device having the object of decreasing the interconnection capacitance that necessitates electrical charge and discharge during data transfer and thus decreasing power consumption is provided with: a plurality of memory cell array chips, in which sub-banks that are the divisions of bank memory are organized and arranged to correspond to input/output bits, are stacked on a first semiconductor chip; and interchip interconnections for connecting the memory cell arrays such that corresponding input/output bits of the sub-banks are the same, these interchip interconnections being provided in a number corresponding to the number of input/output bits and passing through the memory cell array chips in the direction of stacking.
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TECHNICAL FIELD
Various exemplary embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to surgical devices.
BACKGROUND
Various surgical procedures involve the distraction of bones away from one another. For example, a spinal discectomy may require that the vertebrae adjacent the disc to be removed be temporarily separated. This separation may enable removal of the disc and subsequent introduction of an intervertebral implant. To effect such distraction, a surgeon may employ the use of a distraction device, specifically adapted to move bones away from one another.
SUMMARY
A brief summary of various exemplary embodiments is presented below. Some simplifications and omissions may be made in the following summary, which is intended to highlight and introduce some aspects of the various exemplary embodiments, but not to limit the scope of the invention. Detailed descriptions of a preferred exemplary embodiment adequate to allow those of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the inventive concepts will follow in later sections.
Various exemplary embodiments relate to a distractor system including: a distraction screw including a double threaded distal portion and a nonthreaded locking feature near a proximal end of the distraction screw; a crossbar; a first arm coupled to the crossbar; a second arm coupled to the crossbar and having an interior bore sized to receive at least a portion of the distraction screw; and a lock having a nonthreaded aperture sized to receive at least a portion of the distraction screw therethrough, wherein the lock is configurable in a first position and a second position, when configured in the first position the lock engages the locking feature to substantially inhibit axial movement of the distraction screw within the interior bore, and when configured in the second position the lock substantially permits axial movement of the distraction screw within the interior bore.
Various exemplary embodiments relate to a distractor system including: an arm having an interior bore sized to receive at least a portion of a distraction screw; and a lock having a nonthreaded aperture sized to receive at least a portion of the distraction screw therethrough, wherein the lock is configurable in a first position and a second position, when configured in the first position the lock substantially inhibits axial movement of the distraction screw within the interior bore, and when configured in the second position the lock substantially permits axial movement of the distraction screw within the interior bore.
Various exemplary embodiments relate to a distractor system including: a distraction screw including: a distal portion configured to be driven into bone, wherein the distal portion includes a first thread and a second thread that is at least partially intertwined with the first thread, a nonthreaded locking feature near a proximal end of the distraction screw, wherein the nonthreaded locking feature is configured to be engaged by a lock attached to a distractor arm.
Various embodiments are described wherein the second arm includes a proximal arm portion and a distal arm portion movable with respect to the proximal arm portion.
Various embodiments are described wherein the lock is biased into the first position.
Various embodiments are described wherein the lock includes a spring that biases the lock into the first position.
Various embodiments are described wherein: the second arm further includes a slot that extends to the inner bore; and the lock is slideably received within the slot.
Various embodiments are described wherein: the nonthreaded locking feature includes a groove that extends at least part way around the distraction screw; and the nonthreaded aperture of the lock includes a ridge that extends at least part way around an interior surface of the aperture and is sized to fit within the groove of the distraction screw.
Various embodiments are described wherein: the distraction screw further includes an enlarged portion that has a diameter that is greater than a diameter of the interior bore; and the second arm further includes a counterbore at an end of the interior bore, the counterbore sized to receive the enlarged portion.
Various embodiments are described wherein the distraction screw further includes a driver groove that extends at least part way around the distraction screw and is configured to be engaged by a driver tool.
Various embodiments are described wherein: the groove of the nonthreaded locking feature is a square groove; and the driver groove is a round groove.
Various embodiments are described wherein the distractor screw further includes a ribbed portion.
Various embodiments are described wherein the distractor screw further includes: a flange portion; and a hex portion disposed at a proximal end of the flange portion, wherein the flange portion is wider than the hex portion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In order to better understand various exemplary embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary distractor system;
FIG. 2 illustrates a bottom view of the distractor system;
FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the distractor system in an alternate configuration;
FIG. 4 illustrates a right side view of the distractor system in the alternate configuration;
FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of an adjustment mechanism of the locking distractor;
FIG. 6 illustrates a partial exploded view of the distractor system;
FIG. 7 illustrates a top view of an exemplary distraction screw;
FIG. 8 illustrates a perspective view of a key;
FIG. 9A illustrates a top view of an arm of the locking distractor in a closed configuration;
FIG. 9B illustrates a cross section of the arm of the locking distractor in the closed configuration;
FIG. 9C illustrates a cross section of the arm of the locking distractor in the closed configuration;
FIG. 9D illustrates a cross section of the arm of the locking distractor in the closed configuration;
FIG. 10A illustrates a top view of an arm of the locking distractor in an open configuration;
FIG. 10B illustrates a cross section of the arm of the locking distractor in the open configuration;
FIG. 10C illustrates a cross section of the arm of the locking distractor in the open configuration;
FIG. 10D illustrates a cross section of the arm of the locking distractor in the open configuration;
FIG. 11 illustrates a right side view of an arm of the locking distractor and a distraction screw;
FIG. 12 illustrates a cross section of the arm of the locking distractor and the distraction screw in a closed position;
FIG. 13 illustrates a cross section of the arm of the locking distractor and the distraction screw in an open position;
FIG. 14 illustrates a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a distractor system;
FIG. 15 illustrates a top view of the alternative embodiment of the distractor system; and
FIG. 16 illustrates cross section of a distraction screw and an arm of the alternative embodiment of a locking distractor.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used to designate elements having substantially the same or similar structure or substantially the same or similar function.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
It will 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 scope. Furthermore, all examples 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(s) to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Additionally, the term, “or,” as used herein, refers to a non-exclusive or (i.e., and/or), unless otherwise indicated (e.g., “or else” or “or in the alternative”). Also, the various embodiments described herein are not necessarily mutually exclusive, as some embodiments can be combined with one or more other embodiments to form new embodiments.
FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary distractor system 100 . Distractor system 100 may include an exemplary locking distractor 102 , a first distraction screw 104 , and a second distraction screw 106 . Locking distractor 102 may include a crossbar 108 , a stationary arm 110 , and a locking arm 120 . Stationary arm 110 and traveling arm 120 may both constitute distractor arms 110 , 120 . Stationary arm 110 may include a proximal arm portion 112 , a distal arm portion 114 , and a lock 116 . Traveling arm 120 may include a proximal arm portion 122 , a distal arm portion 124 , a lock 126 , and an adjustment mechanism 128 .
Various embodiments herein may be formed from stainless steel. For example, locking distractor 102 may be formed of 17-4 stainless steel, while distraction screws 104 , 106 may be formed of 316 stainless steel. It will be understood that various alternative materials may be used to form all or part of distraction system 100 .
Stationary arm 110 may be coupled to crossbar 108 such that stationary arm 110 does not move with respect to crossbar 108 . For example, proximal arm portion 112 of stationary arm 110 may include a recess sized to receive an end portion of crossbar 108 but not sized to allow the crossbar 108 to advance completely through proximal arm portion 112 .
Traveling arm 120 may be coupled to crossbar 108 such that traveling arm 120 is able to move with respect to crossbar 108 and stationary arm 110 . As can be seen in FIG. 2 , crossbar 108 may pass entirely through proximal arm portion 122 of traveling arm 120 . Traveling arm 120 may slide or otherwise move along crossbar 108 . As will be explained in greater detail below with respect to FIG. 5 , adjustment mechanism 128 may enable locking of the traveling arm 120 to crossbar 108 and fine adjustments of the position of traveling arm 120 along crossbar 108 .
Distractor arms 110 , 120 may both include multiple portions movably connected to one another. As shown, stationary arm 110 may include proximal arm portion 112 and distal arm portion 114 . Distal arm portion 114 may be hingedly attached to proximal arm portion 112 at a connection point, such as a connecting pin, such that distal arm portion 114 may rotate in one or more planes around the connection point. Various alternative structures for connecting proximal arm portion 112 to distal arm portion 114 will be apparent.
As further shown, traveling arm 120 may include proximal arm portion 122 and distal arm portion 124 . Distal arm portion 124 may be hingedly attached to proximal arm portion 122 at a connection point, such as a connecting pin, such that distal arm portion 124 may rotate in one or more planes around the connection point. Various alternative structures for connecting proximal arm portion 122 to distal arm portion 124 will be apparent.
As described, the distal arm portions 114 , 124 may be repositioned to extend in an advantageous direction without repositioning the entire locking distractor 102 . For example, as shown in FIGS. 3-4 , distal arm portions 114 , 124 may be rotated to point generally downward with respect to the remainder of locking distractor 102 . Such a configuration may, for example, be advantageous to access the vertebrae of a patent where the locking distractor is mounted above the patient. It will be apparent that various other configurations may be possible. For example, distal arm portions 114 , 124 may instead be rotated to point generally upward with respect to the remainder of locking distractor 102 . Such a configuration may, for example, be advantageous if the locking distractor 102 were mounted upside down.
As will be explained in greater detail below, distraction screws 104 , 106 may be adapted for insertion into bone. Distraction screws 104 , 106 may also be sized to be received within distal arm portions 114 , 124 , respectively. After inserting distraction screws 104 , 106 into bone and into distal arm portions 114 , 124 , a surgeon may operate adjustment mechanism 128 to move distractor arms 110 , 120 toward or away from one another, thereby moving the distraction screws 104 , 106 and the bones to which distraction screws 104 , 106 are anchored.
It will be appreciated that various alternative embodiments may include alternative combinations of stationary and traveling arms. For example, an alternative distractor may include two traveling arms. As another example, a distractor may include two stationary arms coupled to a mechanism that enables the stationary arms to move with respect to one another. It will further be understood that various alternative embodiments may include fewer or additional arms. For example, an alternative embodiment may include three distractor arms or only one distractor arm. Various alternative embodiments may utilize fewer or additional portions for a distractor arm. For example, a distractor arm may include only one portion and no hinges. As another example, a distractor arm may include three portions that are hingedly connected to each other at two positions.
FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of an adjustment mechanism 128 of the locking distractor 102 . As shown, crossbar 108 may include a rack of teeth 130 . Connection mechanism may include a ratchet 132 and a pinion 134 .
Ratchet 132 may be configured to engage the rack 130 to inhibit movement in one or more directions. Ratchet 132 may include a finger sized to fit between two teeth of rack 130 . Ratchet 132 may be pivotally attached to proximal arm portion 122 and biased such that the finger naturally lies against rack 130 . In this configuration, ratchet 132 may allow movement of adjustment mechanism 128 along crossbar 108 to the left, as viewed in FIG. 5 , and may prevent movement of adjustment mechanism 128 along crossbar 108 to the right, as viewed in FIG. 5 . Ratchet 132 may also be manually operable to pivot with respect to proximal arm portion 122 , thereby removing the finger from rack 130 and permitting uninhibited motion of connection mechanism 128 along crossbar 108 in either direction.
Pinion 134 may engage rack 130 with mating teeth (not shown). As such, pinion 134 may be manually turned counter clockwise to cause the connection mechanism to travel along crossbar 108 to the right, as viewed in FIG. 5 . Pinion 134 may also be manually turned clockwise to cause the connection mechanism to travel along crossbar 108 to the left, as viewed in FIG. 5 . Such motion may be impeded, however, if the ratchet is not released and is currently engaged with rack 130 .
It will be understood that various alternative adjustment mechanisms may be employed. For example, an alternative adjustment mechanism may include only ratchet 132 or only pinion 134 . As another example, an alternative adjustment mechanism may constitute a clamp that may be releasably attached at various points along crossbar 108 .
FIG. 6 illustrates a partial exploded view of the distractor system 100 . As illustrated, distal arm portion 124 may include an interior bore 136 and a slot 138 . As further illustrated, lock 126 may include a key 140 , spring 142 , and cap 144 . It will be understood that distal arm portion 114 may include a similar interior bore and slot while lock 116 may include a similar key, spring, and cap.
Interior bore 136 may be sized to receive distraction screw 106 . Further, slot 138 may extend from the exterior of distal arm portion 124 to the interior bore 136 . In various embodiments, slot 138 may extend from one exterior surface of the distal arm portion 124 , through the interior bore 136 , to the opposite exterior surface of the distal arm portion. Slot 138 may be sized to receive a portion of key 140 therethrough, such that key 140 may be partially disposed within interior bore 136 .
As will be described in greater detail below, key 140 may be slidable within slot 138 between an open and a closed position. Spring 142 may be a compression spring and may bias key 140 in the closed position. Cap 144 may attach to the key 140 to prevent spring 142 from ejecting key 140 from slot 138 .
FIG. 7 illustrates a top view of an exemplary distraction screw 700 . It will be understood that distraction screw 700 may correspond to either distraction screw 104 or distraction screw 106 . Distraction screw 700 may include a locking feature 702 , driver groove 704 , ribbed portion 706 , hex portion 708 , flange portion 710 , and threaded portion 720 .
Locking feature 702 may be a feature configured to be engaged by a lock. As illustrated, locking feature 702 may include a groove having a substantially square profile. This square groove may be sized to receive a ridge of a lock, as will be described in greater detail below. Driver groove 704 may be a feature configured to enable a driver tool (not shown) to engage distraction screw 700 . Driver groove may have a substantially round profile. A driver tool (not shown) may include a round ridge or ring that, when coupled to distraction screw 700 , engages with driver groove 704 to retain the screw 700 within the driver.
Ribbed portion 706 may include one or more grooves that provide the body of screw 700 with a plurality of ribs. For example, as shown, ribbed portion 706 may include twenty-six evenly-spaced circular grooves. In various alternative embodiments, ribbed portion 706 may include one or more threads or helical grooves that provide ribs. Ribbed portion 706 may provide additional friction to resist screw 700 falling out of a distractor such as locking distractor 102 or another distractor (not shown) that may or may not include locking features.
Hex portion 708 may be wider than other portions of distraction screw 700 and may include six faces. Hex portion may be adapted for engagement with an end of a driver tool (not shown), such that the driver tool may rotate distraction screw 700 , such that distraction screw may be driven into bone. Various alternative configurations for hex portion 708 will be apparent. For example, hex portion 708 may include fewer or additional faces. For example, hex portion 708 may have 10 sides or may be star shaped.
Flange portion 710 may be wider than other portions of distraction screw 700 . For example, as shown, flange portion 710 may be the widest portion of distraction screw 700 . Flange portion 710 may provide a stop to indicate when screw 700 has been sufficiently driven into bone and should not be driven further. Additionally, flange portion 710 may provide a surface on which a driver tool (not shown) may rest as the tool acts on hex portion 708 .
Threaded portion 720 may include threads 722 , 724 , one or more flutes 726 , and a pointed tip 728 . Flutes 726 and pointed tip 728 may enable screw 700 to begin driving and cutting threads into bone. Threaded portion 720 may be double threaded to increase the rate at which screw 700 is driven into bone per turn. As such, threaded portion 720 may include a first thread 722 and a second thread 724 . Threads 722 , 724 may be intertwined with each other to provide for screw 700 to be driven into bone faster and more efficiently. For example, threads 722 , 724 may have a thread pitch of 1 mm, thereby providing for advancement of the screw 700 by 2 mm per turn.
FIG. 8 illustrates a perspective view of a key 800 . Key 800 may correspond to key 140 of lock 126 or to a key of lock 116 . Key 800 may include body 802 , button 804 , and peg 806 . Body 802 may be shaped and sized to be slideably received within a slot of a distal arm portion, such as slot 138 of distal arm portion 124 . Body portion may include an aperture 808 formed therein. Aperture 808 may be large enough to allow at least a portion of a distraction screw, such as screw 700 , to pass therethrough. Aperture 808 may also include a ridge 810 disposed at least part way around the interior of aperture 808 . Ridge 810 may be substantially square or may otherwise be shaped to be received within a locking feature of a distraction screw. For example, ridge 810 of key 800 may be received within locking feature 702 of distraction screw 700 . It will be appreciated that alternative engagements may be used. For example, aperture 808 may instead include a groove (not shown) which may receive a ridge locking feature (not shown) of a distraction screw.
Button 804 may be an enlarged portion that is sized to not fit within a slot such as slot 138 . Button 804 may be sized and shaped to be manually pushed in to advance body through a slot such as slot 138 . Peg 806 may be sized and shaped to extend out of a slot and be inserted through a cap (not shown) such as cap 144 . Such cap (not shown) may retain key 800 within the slot so that a spring (not shown) does not force the key 800 back out of the slot.
FIG. 9A illustrates a top view of an arm 110 of the locking distractor 102 in a closed configuration. As shown, lock 116 is not depressed and is biased outward, into the closed position. FIG. 9B shows a partial cross-sectional view taken along line B-B. As shown, in the closed configuration, ridge 810 of lock 116 is disposed in line with inner bore 136 . FIG. 9C shows a partial cross-sectional view taken along line C-C, while FIG. 9D shows a partial cross-sectional view taken along line D-D. As further shown in FIGS. 9C-D , when in the closed configuration, ridge 810 of lock 116 is disposed in line with inner bore 136 . Thus, when lock 116 is not being acted upon by an external force, lock 116 rests in the closed configuration and ridge 810 may be disposed in line with inner bore 136 .
FIG. 10A illustrates a top view of an arm 110 of the locking distractor 102 in a closed configuration. As shown, lock 116 is depressed to overcome the biasing force and take on the open position. FIG. 10B shows a partial cross-sectional view taken along line E-E. As shown, in the open configuration, ridge 810 of lock 116 is not disposed in line with inner bore 136 . FIG. 9C shows a partial cross-sectional view taken along line C-C, while FIG. 9D shows a partial cross-sectional view taken along line D-D. As further shown in FIGS. 9C-D , when in the open configuration, ridge 810 of lock 116 pushed out of line with inner bore. Thus, when lock 116 is depressed, lock 116 is disposed in the open configuration and ridge 810 may not be disposed in line with inner bore 136 . As such, a distraction screw (not shown) may be free to slide through the aperture of lock 116 and therefore may slide freely within interior bore 136 .
It will be noted that the foregoing description with respect to stationary arm 110 may also be applicable to traveling arm 120 . For example, the lock 126 of traveling arm 120 may operate in a substantially similar manner to that described above with respect to lock 116 .
FIG. 11 illustrates a right side view of an arm 110 of the locking distractor 102 and a distraction screw 104 . As shown, distraction screw may be received within distal arm portion 114 . Lock 116 may currently be situated in either the closed position or the open position. FIG. 12 may illustrate a partial cross section view taken along line A-A when lock 116 is in the closed position. As illustrated, spring 142 may bias key 140 upward, as view in FIG. 12 , while cap 144 may prevent key from leaving slot 138 . In this closed configuration, ridge 810 of body 140 may engage with locking feature 702 of distraction screw 104 . This engagement may substantially inhibit screw 104 from sliding within interior bore 136 , thereby locking distraction screw 104 in place.
FIG. 13 may illustrate a partial cross section view taken along line A-A when lock 116 is in the open position. As illustrated, when a force is applied to body 140 to overcome the biasing force of spring 142 , body 140 may slide through slot 138 to occupy the open position. This sliding may move ridge 810 out of interior bore 136 or out of engagement with locking feature 702 . Thus, when body 140 occupies the open position, screw 104 may freely move within interior bore 136 .
FIG. 14 illustrates a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a distractor system 200 . FIG. 15 may illustrate a top view of the alternative embodiment of a distractor system 200 . Distractor system 200 may include an exemplary locking distractor 202 , a first distraction screw 104 , and a second distraction screw 106 . Locking distractor 202 may include a crossbar 108 , a stationary arm 210 , and a locking arm 220 . Stationary arm 210 and traveling arm 220 may both constitute distractor arms 210 , 220 . Stationary arm 210 may include a proximal arm portion 112 , a distal arm portion 214 , and a lock 116 . Traveling arm 120 may include a proximal arm portion 122 , a distal arm portion 224 , a lock 126 , and an adjustment mechanism 128 .
Distractor system 200 may differ from distractor system 100 in that distal arm portions 214 , 224 may be sized and configured to receive more of screws 104 , 106 than distal arm portions 114 , 124 . For example, as shown in FIG. 1 , the hex portions of screws 104 , 106 may be disposed outside of distal arm portions 114 , 124 . Returning to FIGS. 14-15 , the hex portions of screws 104 , 106 may be disposed inside distal arms portions 214 , 224 .
FIG. 16 may illustrate a partial cross section view taken along line H-H. As shown, distal arm portion 214 may include an interior bore 236 and a counterbore 250 . It will be understood that distal arm portion 224 may include a similar bore and counterbore (not shown). Interior bore 236 may be sized to receive portions of the distraction screw 104 , such as ribbed portion 706 , but may not be sized to receive other portions of the distraction screw 104 , such as hex portion 708 . Counterbore 250 may begin at the distal end of distal arm portion 214 and may be sized to receive at least some of hex portion 708 . As such, hex portion 708 of screw 104 may be recessed within distal arm portion 214 during use.
According to the foregoing, various exemplary embodiments enable a distractor that provides a more secure engagement with distraction screws. By providing a biased locking mechanism, a distractor may lock an engagement screw in place within a distractor arm during the performance of a distraction procedure. Further, by providing a distraction screw with intertwined threads, the distraction screw may be introduced into bone more quickly and efficiently. Other advantages will be apparent from the foregoing description.
Although the various exemplary embodiments have been described in detail with particular reference to certain exemplary aspects thereof, it should be understood that the invention is capable of other embodiments and its details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects. As is readily apparent to those skilled in the art, variations and modifications can be effected while remaining within the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing disclosure, description, and figures are for illustrative purposes only and do not in any way limit the invention, which is defined only by the claims.
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Various exemplary embodiments relate to a distractor system including one or more of the following: a distraction screw comprising a double threaded distal portion and a nonthreaded locking feature near a proximal end of the distraction screw; a crossbar; a first arm coupled to the crossbar; a second arm coupled to the crossbar and having an interior bore sized to receive at least a portion of the distraction screw; and a lock having a nonthreaded aperture sized to receive at least a portion of the distraction screw therethrough, wherein the lock is configurable in a first position and a second position, when configured in the first position the lock engages the locking feature to substantially inhibit axial movement of the distraction screw within the interior bore, and when configured in the second position the lock substantially permits axial movement of the distraction screw within the interior bore.
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This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 642,747 filed Jan. 18, 1991, now abandoned.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a vibration-proofing device and particularly it relates to a vibration-proofing device wherein an upper structure, such as a building, a machine or a floor on which such machine is mounted, is swingably supported on a lower structure, such as a foundation, thereby isolating vibrations, such as earthquakes, traffic vibrations produced around buildings, and vibrations produced from the equipment installed in another room of the building to protect said upper structure from such vibrations. The present invention is also applicable to a dynamic damper designed to reduce resonance, a damper utilizing rolling and/or frictional resistance on rollers, etc.
Various vibration-proofing devices have been developed to protect buildings and machines from vibrations, such as earthquakes and traffic vibrations, by horizontally swingably supporting an upper structure, such as said building, computers and other machines, and a floor on which such machines are mounted, on a lower structure, such as a foundation, so as to reduce the input acceleration to the upper structure as when an earthquake occurs, thereby protecting said upper structure
Such vibration-proofing devices include various types: (a) a first type in which a laminate of a soft rubber-like elastic plate, such as natural rubber or synthetic rubber, and a steel plate is used as a support for upper structures, (b) a second type in which a slide member, such as of Teflon, installed between upper and lower structures, is used as a support, and (c) a third type in which a rolling body assembly, such as a ball bearing or roll bearing, is used as a support.
Such bearing type of vibration-proofing device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 17945/1989. This vibration-proofing device comprises a plurality of ball bearings installed between upper and lower structures so as to support the upper bearing structure for horizontal swing movement, and a stud which allows the upper structure to return to its original position when it is horizontally displaced.
Another bearing type of vibration-proofing device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 140453/1982. This vibration-proofing device comprises a plurality of roll bearings with eccentric rolls of small and large diameters are installed in two rows in orthogonal relation between upper and lower structures, the arrangement being such that when the upper structure is horizontally displaced on the roll bearings, it is lifted by the eccentric rolls of small and large diameters of the roll bearings. The lifted upper structure lowers to its original position; thus, the potential energy is utilized.
A further bearing type of vibration-proofing device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 45303/1979. This vibration-proofing device comprises a plurality of roll bearings disposed in two vertically spaced rows, side by side and orthogonal to each other, the arrangement being such that the rolling of the roll bearings absorb horizontal vibrations.
In the conventional vibration-proofing devices, particularly the one described in (a) above, a load of about 50 kg is required per cm 2 of the area of the mount, but the amount of movement of the upper structure relative to the lower structure caused as by an earthquake is about 25 cm. To provide for this amount of displacement with safety, it has been required that the outer diameter of the laminated rubber support be not less than 50 cm. Therefore, the total load required for every one laminated rubber support is about 100-300 t or more. In this connection, since a small-sized building, such as a dwelling house, weights about 100-300 t, it has been regarded as difficult to provide a vibration-proofing design using a laminated rubber support. Therefore, each vibration-proofing device for small-sized buildings is desired to have a load support capacity of several tons to tens of tons. The vibration-proofing device described in (b) above is not suitable for structures which should avoid vibration.
Further, in the conventional bearing type of vibration-proofing devices described above, since the ball and roll bearings which support an upper structure are rigid bodies of metal and since the upper and lower structures disposed above and below and in contact with the ball and roll bearings are rigid bodies of concrete or steel plate, there have been the following problems.
First, upon occurrence of an earthquake or traffic accident, not only horizontal but also vertical vibrations take place and the latter vibrations are transmitted directly to the upper structure without being absorbed, resulting in a decrease in dwelling comfortability and damage to machines.
Second, since the areas of contact between the ball and roll bearings and the upper and lower structures are very small, the pressures on the areas are very high, with the result that when strong vertical vibrations are produced during an earthquake, the ball and roll bearings or the upper and lower structures can be easily damaged; this danger is high particularly for ball bearings. If damage has once started in this manner, strong vibrations and loud noises are produced and damage become enlarged during the rolling of the ball and roll bearings, leading to failure in vibration-proofing function.
Third, since it is technically difficult to machine the outer diameters of ball and roll bearings with high precision or to provide accurate spacing between upper and lower structures and maintain accurate parallelism of upper and lower structures, some of the ball and roll bearings fail to function, thus making it impossible to develop the proper vibration-proofing function.
Fourth, if foreign matter in the form of small solids enters the rolling surfaces of ball and roll bearings, it interferes with the rolling of the ball and roll bearings, thus degrading the vibration-proofing function to a great extent.
Last, in the vibration-proofing device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 140453/1982, since a plurality of roll bearings having eccentric small and large diameter rolls are used, if there is a difference in the amount of relative displacment of the roll bearings upon horizontal displacement of the upper structure, the timing with which the upper structure lifted is lowered as it returns to its original position is disturbed for the respective roll bearings, thus producing the so-called rocking phenomenon in the upper structure, which means an increase in the amount of sway of the upper portion of the upper structure. Further, a force greater than the weight of the upper structure acts on the roll bearings, thus damaging the latter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed with the above in mind and has for its object the provision of a bearing type of vibration-proofing device which is simple in construction and is capable of reliably absorbing not only the horizontal but also vertical components of an earthquake or traffic vibration and which properly functions even under low load and produces little vibration during operation.
The technical means for achieving the above object of the invention lies in an arrangement wherein rolling bodies for supporting an upper structure for horizontal swing are held between the upper and lower structures, said arrangement being characterized in that said rolling bodies are cylindrical rollers, with elastomeric bodies disposed between said cylindrical rollers and the upper and lower structures.
Further, in the present invention, it is desirable that the cylindrical rollers be stacked in n rows and that the rows of cylindrical rollers form an angle of 180°/n.
Further, it is also desirable that an air spring or coil spring means be disposed vertically of the cylindrical rollers or that a plurality of taper rollers be disposed vertically of the cylindrical rollers and radially connected together.
In a vibration-proofing device according to the invention, since the rolling bodies are made in the form of cylindrical rollers, their areas of contact with the upper and lower structures are very large, providing an increased pressure resistance. And the elastomeric bodies disposed between the cylindrical rollers and the upper and lower structures will be elastically deformed under the vertical load of the upper structure to increase the load support areas of the cylindrical rollers, dispersing the vertical load of the upper structure. Further, the elastic deformation of the elastomeric bodies accommodates variations in the outer diameter of the cylindrical rollers and in the parallelism of the upper and lower structures. Further, even if foreign matter in the form of solids adheres to the rolling surfaces of the cylindrical rollers, the elastomeric bodies elastically deform to accommodate them, thereby maintaining the rolling performance of the cylindrical rollers.
Further, said cylindrical rollers are stacked in n rows and the cylindrical rollers between the rows form an angle of 180°/n. With this arrangement, the property of absorbing vibrations in the vertical direction is improved. In addition, when n=1, the device acts in one direction only, but when n≧2, it acts in all horizontal vibration directions. As this n increases, the difference in the rolling resistance in the horizontal vibration directions decreases. Further, when n=2, the angle between the cylindrical rollers in the upper and lower rows must be accurately set at 90°, but when n≧3, there will be no problem even if the angle formed by the cylindrical rollers in adjacent rows is not accurately set.
Further, in the vibration-proofing device of the invention, an air spring or coil spring means is disposed vertically of a plurality of rollers interposed between the upper and lower structures, so that not only a weak vibration such as a traffic vibration or a vibration from the equipment in another room but also the vertical component of strong vibration such as an earthquake can be reliably absorbed by the air spring or coil spring means. In the case where an air spring is used, the adjustment of the horizontal level of the upper structure can be adjusted by adjusting the internal air pressure in the air spring.
A plurality of taper rollers are disposed vertically of the rollers interposed between the upper and lower structures and a radially connected together in a horizontal plane. In this arrangement, even if a torsional movement including a rotational component is inputted, the taper rollers are rolled in a horizontal plane in the direction of rotation, whereby the rotational component of the torsional vibration can be reliably absorbed.
Vibration-proofing devices according to embodiments of the invention will now be described with the reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of the invention having cylindrical rollers stacked in two rows;
FIG. 2 is a plan view including parts omitted in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view of the principal portion of FIG. 1;
FIGS. 4 and 5 are front views of vibration-proofing devices showing modifications of the first embodiment;
FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view for explaining drawbacks caused by positional shift of the upper rollers in FIG. 2;
FIG. 7 is a front view showing a second embodiment having cylindrical rollers stacked in three rows;
FIG. 8 is a plan view including parts omitted in FIG. 1;
FIG. 9 is a front view of a connecting plate supporting rollers;
FIG. 10 is a plan view showing rollers arranged with different pitches;
FIG. 11 is a plan view showing rollers in slanted arrangement;
FIG. 12 is an enlarged plan view showing a pair of rollers taken from FIG. 11;
FIG. 13 is a front view showing a restoring elastic body and a damper installed between the upper and lower structures;
FIG. 14 is a front view showing a third embodiment having an air spring added to the vibration-proofing device of the first embodiment;
FIG. 15 is a sectional view showing the vibration-proofing device of FIG. 1 applied for proofing floors against vibrations;
FIG. 16 is a plan view of FIG. 15;
FIG. 17 is a front view showing a fourth embodiment having coil spring means added to the vibration-proofing device of the first embodiment;
FIG. 18 is a front view showing a fifth embodiment having means added to the vibration-proofing device of the first embodiment, said means being capable of absorbing vibrations including rotational components;
FIG. 19 is a plan view of FIG. 18;
FIG. 20 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view of FIG. 18;
FIG. 21 is a front view showing a sixth embodiment having an air spring added to the vibration-proofing device of the fifth embodiment; and
FIG. 22 is a front view showing a seventh embodiment having coil spring means added to the vibration-proofing device of the fifth embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a vibration-proofing device A having rolling bodies to be later described which are arranged in two rows. This device is installed between an upper structure 11, such as a building, and a lower structure 12, such as a foundation, or, within a building, said device is installed between an upper structure 11 which is the floor on which machines, such as computers and precision measuring instruments, are mounted, and a lower structure 12 which is a slab of the building.
In the vibration-proofing device A of this first embodiment, the numeral 13 denotes an upper pressure resisting plate in the form of a steel plate fixed to the lower surface of the upper structure 11, with an elastomeric body 14 in the form of a sheet bonded to the lower surface thereof as by vulcanization adhesion. The numeral 15 denotes a lower pressure resisting plate in the form of a steel plate fixed to the upper surface of the lower structure 12 in opposed relation to the upper pressure resisting plate 13, with an elastomeric body 15 in the form of a sheet bonded to the upper surface thereof as by vulcanization adhesion. The material of the elastomeric bodies 14 and 16 may be anything that has elasticity, for example, rubber or plastic material. The numerals 17 and 18 each denote a plurality of rolling bodies disposed between the upper and lower pressure resisting plates 13 and 15, which are cylindrical rollers (hereinafter referred to as the upper and lower rollers, respectively). The upper and lower rollers 17 and 18 are stacked in two rows forming an angle of 90°. In addition, the material of the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18 may be anything that can withstand vertical loads, for example, metal, concrete, ceramics, rigid plastics, or FRP. The numeral 19 denotes an intermediate pressure resisting plate in the form of a steel plate or the like interposed between the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18, with elastomeric bodies 20 and 21 in the form of sheets bonded to the upper and lower surfaces thereof as by vulcanization adhesion. With this arrangement, the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18 are held between the upper and intermediate pressure resisting plates 13 and 19 and between the intermediate and lower pressure resisting plates 19 and 15, respectively, through the elastomeric bodies 14, 20 and 21, 16. The surfaces of the elastomeric bodies 14, 20, and 21, 16 against which the upper and lower rollers abut serve as the rolling surfaces for the upper and lower rollers. In addition, instead of applying the elastomeric bodies 14, 16, 20, 21 in the form of sheets to the upper, lower and intermediate pressure resisting plates 13, 15 and 19, the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18 themselves or their surfaces may be formed of elastomer.
In the vibration-proofing device A of the first embodiment, the upper structure 11 is supported for horizontal swing movement by the upper and lower rollers, so that upon occurrence of an earthquake or traffic vibrations, the input acceleration to the upper structure 11 is reduced to protect the upper structure 11. In this connection, in an actual earthquake, not only horizontal vibrations but also vertical vibrations are produced. In this vibration-proofing device A, since the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18 are cylindrical, their areas of contact with the upper and lower structures 11 and 12 are much larger than when balls are used, thus exhibiting greater pressure resisting performance. Further, since the elastomeric bodies 14, 16, 20 and 21 are disposed on and under the upper and lower rollers, the elastomeric bodies 14, 16, 20 and 21 are elastically deformed, as shown in FIG. 3, thereby increasing the load carrying areas of the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18 and dispersing the vertical load of the upper structure 11. Further, even in the case where the outer dimensions of the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18 vary or where the parallelism of the upper and lower structures is not accurate, this can be accommodated by the elastic deformation of the elastomeric bodies 14, 16, 20 and 21. Further, even if foreign matter in the form of small solids adhere to the rolling surfaces for the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18, the elastic deformation of the elastomeric bodies 14, 16, 20 and 21 accommodate them, thereby maintaining the rolling performance of the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18. In this manner, vertical vibrations can be reliably absorbed by the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18 and the elastomeric bodies 14, 16, 20 and 21.
In the first embodiment described above, a description has been given of the vibration-proofing device A wherein the intermediate pressure resisting plate 19 having elastomeric bodies 20 and 21 in the form of sheets bonded to the upper and lower surfaces thereof is interposed between the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18. However, the invention is not limited thereto. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, instead of using the intermediate pressure resisting plate, an elastomeric body 22 in the form of a sheet alone may be interposed between the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18. Alternatively, an intermediate pressure resisting plate having no elastomeric bodies applied thereto may be interposed or, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper rollers 17 may be placed directly on the lower rollers 18.
In the first embodiment and the modifications described above, the vibration-proofing devices A, A' and A" have been described wherein the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18 are stacked in two rows at an angle of 90°. In this case, this angle 90° formed between the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18 must be accurately set.
This reason will now be described. Usually, such vibration-proofing devices will be installed at a plurality of places for a single upper structure. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, if the upper rollers 17 in one vibration-proofing device A 1 are somewhat shifted counterclockwise relative to the lower rollers 18 while the upper rollers 17 in another vibration-proofing device A 2 are somewhat shifted clockwise relative to the lower rollers 18, then when a horizontal force F acts axially of the lower rollers 18 owing to an earthquake, forces f 1 and f 2 act on the upper rollers 17 in the two vibration-proofing devices A 1 and A 2 , said forces being orthogonal to the axes of the upper rollers. However, since the upper rollers 17 in the vibration-proofing devices A 1 and A 2 are positionally shifted as described above, the directions of forces f 1 and f 2 acting on the upper rollers 17 differ from each other. If the rolling directions of the upper rollers 17 in the two vibration-proofing devices A1 and A2 disposed between the upper and lower structures differ in this manner, the upper structure 11 will sometimes become unable to swing horizontally, failing to develop its vibration-proofing function.
Thus, in the case where it is difficult to set the angle between the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18 accurately at 90°, a vibration-proofing device having cylindrical rollers stacked in three or more rows is preferred.
A second embodiment having cylindrical rollers stacked in three rows will now be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. In addition, parts which are identical or correspond to those of the vibration-proofing device A in FIGS. 1 and 2 are marked with the same reference characters.
This vibration-proofing device B has cylindrical rollers 17, 23 and 18 (hereinafter referred to as the upper, intermediate and lower rollers, respectively) stacked in three rows between the upper and lower structures 11 and 12. The angles formed between the upper, intermediate and lower lowers 17, 23 and 18 are set at 60°. Further, interposed between the upper and lower structures are upper and lower pressure resisting plates 13 and 15 having elastomeric bodies 14 and 16 in the form of sheets bonded thereto to form rolling surfaces for the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18. Further, interposed between the upper and lower rollers are first and second pressure resisting plates 19a and 19b having elastomeric bodies 20a, 21a, 20b and 21b in the form of sheets bonded thereto to form rolling surfaces for the upper, intermediate and lower rollers 17, 23 and 18.
In the vibration-proofing device B of this second embodiment, like the vibration-proofing device A of the first embodiment, upon occurrence of an earthquake, not only horizontal but also vertical vibrations are reliably absorbed to reduce the input acceleration to the upper structure to protect the upper structure 11 from earthquakes. In this connection, in the case of the vibration-proofing device A having two rows of cylindrical rollers, the angle formed between the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18 must be set accurately at 90°, as described with reference to FIG. 6. However, in the case of the vibration-proofing device B having three rows of cylindrical rollers, even if the angles formed between the upper, intermediate and lower rollers 17, 23 and 18 are not set accurately at 60°, since the rollers 17, 23 and 18 compensate each other there is no danger of the upper structure 11 becoming unable to swing horizontally to exert the vibration-proofing function.
In addition, in the vibration-proofing device B of this second embodiment, the first and second intermediate pressure resisting plates 19a and 19b having elastomeric bodies 20a, 21a, 20b and 21b bonded thereto have been used. However, they are not absolutely necessary; as in the case of the vibration-proofing devices A' and A" in FIGS. 4 and 5, elastomeric bodies alone with no intermediate pressure resisting plates combined therewith may be interposed or intermediate pressure resisting plates with no elastomeric bodies bonded thereto may be interposed or the rollers 17, 23 and 18 may be directly stacked using neither intermediate pressure resisting plates nor elastomeric bodies.
As for the elastomeric bodies used in the first and second embodiments described above, those which have a poor damping property may be used. However, since the rolling surfaces of the elastomeric bodies locally moved up and down as the rollers 17, 18 and 23 roll, the performance of the vibration-proofing device can be further improved by using elastomeric bodies of high damping property which are capable of absorbing greater energy as they are deformed.
Further, if the rollers 17, 18 or 23 in each row in the first and second embodiments are supported for rotation by a connector plate 24 as shown in FIG. 9, the positional relation of the rollers 17, 18 and 23 can be desirably maintained. If the connector plates 24 are connected to the associated pressure resisting plates 13, 15, 19a and 19b so that they are slidable in the rolling direction, the positional relation of the rollers 17, 18 and 23 can be correctly maintained for a long period of use and their durability is desirably improved.
If the elastomeric bodies are subjected to the vertical load of the upper structure 11, the affected areas thereof creep to thereby form recesses. This phenomenon serves as a trigger when they are subjected to a vibration input. However, if they are subjected to a high vibration input, the rollers 17, 18 and 23 fall into the recesses resulting from the creep and vertical vibrations will thus be produced. This can be prevented, as shown in FIG. 10, by setting the pitches a, b, c, d, e of the rollers 17, 18 and 23 so that they all differ (a≠b≠c≠d≠e). With this arrangement, it is possible to prevent all rollers 17, 18 and 23 from simultaneously falling into the recesses resulting from creep.
As shown in FIG. 11, it is also possible to prevent falling into the recesses by inclining the direction of arrangement of the rollers 17, 18 and 23 with respect to the rolling direction. In this case, two rollers which are inclined with respect to the rolling direction by the same angle in opposite directions (17a and 17b are shown in the figure) must be paired. More preferably, two pairs of rollers (17a, 17b and 17c, 17d in the figure) are grouped in one set, whereby satisfactory linear motion and damping property (high reaction) can obtained. The reason will now be described. Referring to FIG. 12 showing two rollers 17a and 17b inclined with respect to the rolling direction by the same angle α in opposite directions, if a displacement E takes place in the rolling direction, slip takes place between the the rollers 17a, 17b and the elastomeric bodies by an amount corresponding to a displacement Da or Db corresponding to the angle of inclination α, acting as a damping force. In addition, the angle of inclination α is allowed to be about 45°, but since this results in too high resistance or unstability, angles of 30° or less are suitable.
To actually utilize the vibration-proofing devices A, A', A" and B, it is necessary to restore the upper structure 11 to its original position after its horizontal displacement when an earthquake takes place. To this end, as shown in FIG. 13, restoring elastic bodies 25 and 26 in the form of rubber-like elastic bodies or metal springs are installed between the upper and lower structures 11 and 12. In addition, the restoring elastic body 26 in the form of a metal spring may be installed horizontally. Since this restoring elastic body is not subjected to any load, springs of various spring constants ranging from high to low may be used. Generally, when the upper structure is light, springs of low spring constant are used, while when it is heavy, springs of high spring constant are used. Thereby, even if the upper structure weighs only several tens of kg, they can operate well. Further, to exert the damping performance, a damper 27, such as an oil damper, viscosity damper, lead damper, steel rod damper, friction damper or viscoelastic damper, may be installed between the upper and lower structures 11 and 12 to absorb vibration energy, or highly damping rubber may be used as said restoring elastic body 25 of rubber-like elastic material. Further, though not shown, the vibration-proofing devices A, A', A" and B may be provided with a stop for limiting the distance to be traveled by the rollers or a cover for preventing foreign matter from adhering to the rolling surfaces. Said stop may be opposed to the rolling direction of the rollers on the pressure resisting plate, while the cover may be disposed around the entire periphery of the pressure resisting plate so as to surround the clearances storing the rollers, or it may be disposed to close the spaces of the upper and lower structures along the outer wall.
A third embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 14 through 16. In addition, the parts which are identical or correspond to those used in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 are marked with the same reference characters.
The vibration-proofing device C of the third embodiment has an air spring 28 added to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1. More particularly, as described in the first embodiment, the upper rollers 17 are interposed between the upper and intermediate pressure resisting plates 13 and 19 through elastomeric bodies 14 and 20 and the lower rollers 18 are interposed between the intermediate and lower pressure resisting plates 19 and 15 through elastomeric bodies 21 and 16, said upper and lower rollers 17 and 18 being stacked in two rows, forming an angle of 90°. The upper and lower rollers 17 and 18 are respectively rotatably supported in parallel arrangement by their respective connector plates 24. In this third embodiment, the air spring 28 is disposed above the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18. The air spring 28 is fixed at its upper end to the lower surface of the upper structure 11 and at its lower end to the upper surface of the upper pressure resisting plate 13, with air at desired pressure being sealed therein. In addition, restoring elastic bodies 25 or 26 made of rubber or in the form of coil springs are provided between the peripheral edges of the upper and lower pressure resisting plates 13 and 15. Though not shown, as in the case of the first embodiment, various dampers may be provided or highly damping rubber may be used for said restoring elastic bodies 25 or stops and covers may be provided, of course.
In the vibration-proofing device C of this third embodiment, the vertical component of a weak vibration, such as a traffic vibration or a vibration from the equipment installed in another room, is absorbed by the elastic deformation of the elastomeric bodies 14, 16, 20 and 21 forming the rolling surfaces for the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18, while the vertical component of a strong vibration, such as an earthquake, is absorbed by the air spring 28. Further, the horizontal components of a weak vibration, such as a traffic vibration, and of a strong vibration, such as an earthquake, are absorbed in that the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18 roll on the rolling surfaces defined by the elastomeric bodies 14, 16, 20 and 21. In addition, during the rolling of the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18, the elastomeric bodies 14, 16, 20 and 21 elastically deform to thereby exert the damping performance In this manner, three-dimensional vibrations of vertical and horizontal directions of the lower structure due to traffic vibrations or earthquakes are blocked to maintain the upper structure stationary.
FIGS. 15 and 16 show a floor vibration-proofing arrangement wherein vibration-proofing devices C are applied to part of a building. The planar pattern of a plurality of vibration-proofing devices C disposed between a vibration-proofing floor which is an upper structure 11 and a slab which is a lower structure 12 is designed by vertical load distribution based on the disposition of machines mounted on the upper structure (positions of center of gravity). In this floor vibration-proofing arrangement, in order to supply the air springs 28 of the vibration-proofing devices C with compressed air, there are provided a compressed air supply source 29 and pipes 31 extending from the compressed air supply source 29 to the respective vibration-proofing devices C via pressure reducing valves 30.
Thereby, when the vertical load distribution changes owing to a shift of the disposition (positions of center of gravity) of the machines or when the vertical load distribution somewhat differs from its estimate made before the machines are installed, the level of the vibration-proofing floor which is the upper structure 11 can be adjusted. More particularly, the pressure reducing valves 30 are adjusted to adjust the compressed air pressure supplied to the vibration-proofing devices C from the compressed air supply source 29 via the pipes 31. In the vibration-proofing devices C, the compressed air pressures in the internal spaces of the air springs 28 are increased or decreased to control the respective heights of the air springs, thereby adjusting the level of the vibration-proofing floor.
In the vibration-proofing device C of this third embodiment, air springs 28 have been used to absorb the vertical component of a strong vibration, such as an earthquake; however, such air springs 28 may be replaced by coil spring means 32 as in the vibration-proofing device D of a fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 17. In addition, the parts which are identical or correspond to those of the vibration-proofing device C of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 14 are marked with the same reference characters to avoid a repetitive description.
The vibration-proofing device D of this fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 17 has coil spring means 32 disposed above the upper and lower rollers 17 and 18. Stated concretely, a plurality of vertical springs 33 are installed between the lower surface of the upper structure 11 and the upper pressure resisting plate 13. A pair of links 35 each comprising two levers 34 are installed between the end edges of the upper structure 11 and the upper pressure resisting plate 13, and a horizontal coil spring 37 is taut between the pivots 36 of the levers 34 of the links 35. In the figure, only one horizontal coil spring 37 is shown, but two or more horizontal coil springs may be provided. Further, it is not absolutely necessary to use both the vertical coil springs 33 and the horizontal coil spring 37 simultaneously; either of them alone may be used.
In the vibration-proofing device D of this fourth embodiment, if a strong vibration, such as an earthquake, is inputted in the direction Y, the vertical coil springs 33 are contracted to produce restoring forces acting in the direction opposite to the direction of contraction, folding the links 35 to stretch the horizontal coil spring 37 while stretching the horizontal spring 37 to produce a restoring force acting in the direction opposite to the direction of stretch. If a strong vibration, such as an earthquake, is inputted in the direction-Y, the vertical coil springs 33 are stretched while the horizontal spring 37 is contracted with restoring forces produced in the vertical and horizontal springs 33 and 37. In this manner, the vertical component of a strong vibration, such as an earthquake, is absorbed by the elastic deformation of the vertical and horizontal springs 33 and 37. The horizontal component of a strong vibration, such as an earthquake, and the vertical and horizontal components of a weak vibration, such as a traffic vibration, are absorbed in the same manner as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 14; therefore, a repetitive description thereof is omitted.
A fifth embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 18 through 20. In addition, the parts which are identical or correspond to those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the third embodiment shown in FIG. 14 or the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 14 are marked with the same reference characters to avoid a repetitive description.
The vibration-proofing device E of this fifth embodiment has means added to the first embodiment for absorbing rotational components. Stated concretely, the vibration-proofing device E has a plurality of taper rollers 38 radially disposed in horizontal plane, this taper roller assembly being located above the upper rollers 17, i.e., between the upper pressure resisting plate 13 and the upper structure 11. In this case, there is no need to provide an elastomeric body on the upper surface of the upper pressure resisting plate 13. Disposed on the lower surface of the upper structure 11 and the upper surface of the upper pressure resisting plate 13 are an inverted conical pressure resisting plate 39 and a conical pressure resisting plate 40, respectively, the lower and upper surfaces thereof having elastomeric bodies 41 and 42 bonded thereto as by vulcanization to form rolling surfaces for the rollers 38. The rollers 38 are rotatably held in radial arrangement by concentric large and small annular connector plates 43 and 44.
In the vibration-proofing device E of this fifth embodiment, when a torsional vibration having horizontal, vertical and rotational components, such as an earthquake, is inputted, the rollers 38 roll around the center O, and the rolling of the rollers in the rotational direction absorbs the torsional vibration including the rotational component. Thus, the invention exerts the superior vibration-proofing function, absorbing all vibrations having horizontal, vertical and rotational components, including weak vibrations, such as traffic vibrations, strong vibrations, such as earthquakes.
Lastly, sixth and seventh embodiments comprising the third embodiment of FIG. 14 and the fourth embodiment of FIG. 17 added to the fifth embodiment of FIG. 15 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 21 and 22.
In the vibration-proofing device E of the fifth embodiment shown in FIGS. 18 through 20, the rolling surfaces for the rollers 17, 18 and 38 are defined by elastomeric bodies 14, 16, 20, 21, 41 and 42 to absorb the vertical components of vibrations. When weak vibrations, such as traffic vibrations or vibrations from the equipment in another room are inputted, the elastic deformation of the elastomeric bodies 14, 16, 20, 21, 41 and 42 exerts satisfactory vibration-proofing function, but when a strong vibration, such as an earthquake, is inputted, there is a danger of it becoming difficult to cope with the situation.
Accordingly, the vibration-proofing device shown in FIGS. 21 and 22 has means added to the fifth embodiment shown in FIGS. 18 through 20 for reliably absorbing strong vibrations such as earthquakes. In addition, the parts which are identical to those of FIGS. 18 through 20 are marked with the same reference characters to avoid a repetitive description.
The vibration-proofing device F of the sixth embodiment shown in FIG. 21 has an air spring disposed above the rollers 38 of the fifth embodiment, while the vibration-proofing device G of the seventh embodiment shown in FIG. 22 has coil spring means 32, instead of an air spring 28, disposed above the rollers 38 of the fifth embodiment. The air spring 28 and the coil spring means 32 in the vibration-proofing devices F and G of the sixth and seventh embodiments are the same as those used in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 13 and the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 17 and a detailed description thereof is omitted.
The vibration-proofing devices F and G of the sixth and seventh embodiments shown in FIGS. 21 and 22 exert superior vibration-proofing function, absorbing all vibrations having horizontal, vertical and rotational components, including weak vibrations, such as traffic vibrations, and strong vibrations, such as earthquakes.
In addition, the horizontal component of a strong vibration, such as an earthquake, and the horizontal component of a weak vibration, such as a traffic vibration, are absorbed in the same manner as in the fifth embodiment shown in FIGS. 18 through 20, and a description thereof is omitted.
According to the vibration-proofing device of the present invention, since the rolling bodies are in the form of cylindrical rollers, the vibration-proofing effect is attained for lightweight buildings such as small buildings for which vibration-proofing designs have been considered to be difficult. Further, when vibrations are inputted into the lower structure or when vibrations stop, the cylindrical rollers roll to exert the vibration-proofing effect without producing strong vibrations. Further, since elastomeric bodies are disposed between the cylindrical rollers and the upper and lower structures, the device is superior in pressure resistance, and since no accuracy is required for the outer diameter of the cylindrical rollers and the parallelism of the upper and lower structures, manufacture and installation are easy and the appropriate vibration-proofing function is continuously exhibited; thus, the present vibration-proofing device is highly practical.
If an air spring or coil spring means is disposed vertically of the rollers, the vertical and horizontal components of not only weak vibrations, such as traffic vibrations and vibrations from the equipment housed in another room, but also strong vibrations, such as earthquakes, can be rapidly absorbed. And a vibration-proofing device having a superior vibration-proofing function can be constructed with a simple arrangement. In the case where said air spring is used, the level adjustment of the upper structure can be easily made by adjusting the internal air pressure of the air spring.
Further, if a plurality of taper rollers are radially arranged in a horizontal plane, then upon occurrence of traffic vibrations or earthquakes, the device can absorb torsional vibrations having rotational components as well as horizontal and vertical components.
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The present invention relates to a vibration-proofing device which supports an upper structure, such as a building, computers and other machines or a floor having such machines mounted thereon, on a lower structure, as a foundation, to allow the upper structure to swing, thereby isolating earthquakes, traffic vibrations and vibrations from the equipment installed in another room so as to protect the upper structure from vibrations. The invention is to provide a bearing type of vibration-proofing device which is simple in construction and capable of reliably absorbing not only horizontal but also vertical components of earthquakes, traffic vibrations and other vibrations, whether they are weak or strong, and which properly operates under low load and produces little vibration during operation. The invention provides an arrangement wherein interposed between upper and lower structures are rolling bodies for horizontally supporting the upper structure for swing movement. The rolling bodies are in the form of cylindrical rollers, elastomeric bodies are interposed between the cylindrical rollers and the upper and lower structures. It is desirable that the cylindrical rollers be stacked in n rows and that these rows of cylindrical rollers form an angle of 180° /n. An air spring or coil spring device is disposed vertically of the cylindrical rollers and a plurality of taper rollers is radially arranged in a horizonial plane vertically of the cylindrical rollers.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a method of treating liver disturbances resulting from alcohol consumption and a composition therefor.
2. Description of the Background:
Alcoholic liver disturbances give rise to symptoms of varying severity including a disturbance of consciousness to a mild degree, coma, numbness and, finally, death due to acute alcoholism.
For purposes of alleviating or treating such alcoholic liver disturbances, protoporphyrin preparations, gluconic acid preparations and amino acid preparations such as arginine hydrochloride, etc. have been employed heretofore.
Additionally, with respect to amino acids, it is also known that the administration of branched amino acids such as valine, leucine, isoleucine, etc., especially valine, are effective in treating patients with hepatic coma. See Published Examined Japanese Patent Application No. 29446/82. It is also known that ornithine improves detoxification and excretion of ammonia in the liver in hepatic coma.
Further, it is also known that a salt of ornithine with adenosine triphosphoric acid promotes the detoxification and excretion of the above-mentioned ammonia. See Published Examined Japanese Patent Application No. 9316/66.
Metabolic changes in liver functions due to alcohol consumption can be severe. While some limited therapeutic measures have been effected using drugs, largely as preventative measures, no measures have been suggested to date for alleviating the results of such metabolic changes once they have occurred.
Therefore, a need continues to exist for a method by which the damaging effects caused by metabolic changes in liver functions due to alcohol consumption can be alleviated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for treating alcoholic liver disturbances in mammals in a safe and effective manner.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method for preventing alcoholic liver disturbances in mammals in a safe and effective manner.
Further, it is also an object of this invention to provide a pharmaceutical composition for preventing and alleviating alcoholic liver disturbances in mammals in a safe and effective manner.
According to the present invention, the foregoing and other objects are attained by providing a pharmaceutical composition for treating or alleviating alcoholic liver disturbances in mammals which contains alanine or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or other derivative thereof capable of effectively acting as alamine in vivo or a mixture thereof and ornithine or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or other derivative thereof capable of effectively acting as ornithine in vivo or a mixture thereof in a molar concentration ratio of not less than about 1:0.001.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
According to the present invention, it has now been found that mixtures of alanine and ornithine exhibit a surprising effect in alleviating disturbances in the liver tissues of alcoholic mammals. Moreover, a surprising effect in alleviating disturbances or interruptions in consciousness in alcoholic mammals is also observed. These effects are quite surprising, particularly in view of the fact that such effects are not observed when administering either alanine or ornithine alone. Thus, according to the present invention, the alanine and ornithine must be used in combination.
The optimum ratio of alanine and ornithine to be used in combination varies depending upon, for example, the dose of alanine and the desired effect. In general, however, an acceptable ratio of alanine and ornithine in combination is not less than about 1/1000 moles of ornithine per alanine. There is no upper limit for the quantity of ornithine to alanine but where the dose of alanine is constant, no proportional increase in the effect is noted even when the dose of ornithine to be given in combination is increased. Rather, such increases in ornithine content are undesirable for the functional and economical reasons. Accordingly, mainly due to functional and economical reasons, the upper limit of ornithine to alanine to be used in combination is about 10 moles of the former per mole of the latter. On the other hand, the lower limit of ornithine to alanine is about 1/1000 the number of moles of alanine since the effects of the present invention are observed even exhibited with a small quantity of ornithine. However, the effects are not observed with a quantity of less than about that quantity. Accordingly, it is preferred that the ratio of ornithine to alanine be used in a combination of molar ratios of about 1:0.001 to 10 preferably 1:0.05 to 0.5.
Alanine and ornithine may be used in the form of salts thereof or other pharmaceutically acceptable derivatives thereof as long as they effectively act as alanine and ornithine in vivo. Specific examples of preferred combinations include L-alanine and L-ornithine, DL-alanine and L-ornithine, L-alanine and L-ornithine hydrochloride, DL-alanine and L-ornithine hydrochloride, etc.
The composition of the present invention may be provided in the form of drugs or foodstuffs. The drugs may be orally, parenterally or intraperitoneally administered.
The compositions of the present invention may be provided in the form of powders, granules, tablets, sugar-coated pills, capsules, liquids, etc. for oral administration, and in the form of suspensions, liquids, emulsions, ampules, injections or combinations thereof for parenteral administration. As diluting agents for combination with the present compositions, solid, semi-solid or liquid forms may be used. Examples of the same include water, gelatin, sugars, starch, fatty acids and salts thereof, alcohols, oils and fats, talc, physiological saline, etc. or a combination of two or more. According to the present invention, the ratio of the total weight of alanine, ornithine and/or salts thereof in such compositions may be generally from about 0.01 to 100 wt %.
Moreover, the compositions of the present invention should be administered in such amounts that the dosages of alanine and ornithine are provided to the mammal being treated in amounts effective to elicit the effects thereof. However, it has been found advantageous to use compositions such that alanine and ornithine are provided to the mammal in the amount of about 1-5 mmol/kg of body weight of alanine and 0.001-50 mmol/kg of body weight of ornithine. It is even better, however, to use amounts such that about 2-4 mmol/kg of body weight of alanine and 0.002-40 mmol/kg of body weight or ornithine are provided. Particularly preferred, however, are dosages of about 2.5 mmol/kg of body weight of alanine and 0.625 mmol/kg of body weight of ornithine.
On the other hand, the composition of the present invention may be advantageously provided as foodstuffs. Preferred modes for the foodstuffs are those that are taken together with, prior to or after consuming alcohols. Specific examples of such foodstuffs include smoked foodstuffs, shreds of dried cuttlefish, salted fish guts, Karasumi or salted and dried roe, salmon roe, walleye pollack roe, salted pollack roe, cavier, foie glas, rotten milk, tofu or soybean curds, cheese, potato chips, rice cake, bean cake and other high protein foodstuffs, high oil-and-fat foodstuffs or high starch foodstuffs generally used as so-called relishes taken with sake; or sauce of grilled meat, soysauce for Sashimi, sauce for boiled bean curds or tofu served cold, sauces such as dressing, mayonnaise, etc., seasonings such as Rha oil, vinegar, table salt, etc.; alcoholic drinks such as Sake, beer, Shochu, wine, whisky, grandy, samshu, gin, rum, campari, vermouth, various cocktails, etc.; sport drinks, tomato juice and other juices, or soft drinks such as coke, for example.
The ratio of the total weight of alanine, ornithine and/or salts thereof is generally from about 0.01 to 10% in the foodstuffs of the present invention. Where the use of the amino acids of the present invention in a high concentration are not preferred, the amino acids may be used after they are encapsuled, for example in oils and fats, proteins, starch, etc., having a relatively high melting point. Also, masking agents can be used, preferably, in combination thererwith.
The composition of the present invention contains alanine and ornithine as essential effective components but needless to say, other amino acids may also be present without departing from the object of the present invention.
By the administration of the composition of the present invention containing alanine and ornithine, a potent lifesaving effect is obtained as is seen in tests involving acute ethanol intoxication. Alleviation of the liver tissue disturbance symptoms is also noted. The disturbance or loss of consciousness due to the administration of ethanol is reduced by administration of the composition of the present invention. The capability of removing ethanol in blood is also accelerated by administration of the composition of the present invention. Further, a significant increase in blood sugar after administration of ethanol is also noted in mammals to which the composition of the present invention is administered. It is believed that accelerated neogenesis of such sugars indicates that the administration of ornithine, said to accelerate the urea cycle, is necessary when ethanol is administered. In relation to sugar neogenesis in the urea cycle and the metabolism of ethanol, etc., the lifesaving effect is due to the administration of alanine and ornithine in combination.
The present invention will now be further illustrated by certain examples and references which are provided for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the present invention.
EXAMPLE 1
Experiment on Acute Ethanolism of Mice:
Method:
Using mice of the JCI:ICR strain of about six (6) weeks age, test substances (0.1 to 0.125 M in 0.9% NaCl solution; pH 7.4) shown in Tables 1 and 2 were intraperitoneally injected after 20 hours of fasting. As a control, the same quantity of a 0.9% NaCl solution was interperitoneally injected. About 40 minutes after, 170 mmol/kg of a 19% W/V ethanol solution in 0.9% NaCl solution was intraperitoneally injected and the survival rate for the subsequent 5 days was observed.
As shown in Tables 1 and 2, the survival rate was 35% with a control group of 40 mice. Various amino acids, glucose and various organic acids were scrutinized for possible advantageous detoxifying effects. Amino acids such as alanine, threonine, leucine, isoleucine, etc., exhibited a modest lifesaving effect. With alanine alone, the survival rate increased to 67%. However, when administering alanine in combination with a small quantity of ornithine, the survival rate markedly increased to 100%. With administration of ornithine alone no increase in the survival rate was noted. With respect to the group to which alanine and ornithine was administered (AO administration), a large increase in body weight was observed as compared to the control group. Upon examining the liver tissue patterns of the control group, degenerated and swollen liver cells were remarkably observed around the central vein by H-E staining. But in the AO administration group, such liver tissue disturbances were alleviated and no such observations were made.
TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________Survival Rate in Single Administration ofAmino Acids, Organic Acids or Glucose Concen- Dose Number of Number of tration mmol/kg mg/kg Mice Dead Alive MiceSubstance (M) b.w. b.w. used Mice Number %__________________________________________________________________________0.9% NaCl Solution (control) -- -- -- 40 26 14 35L-α-Alanine 0.1 2.5 222.7 15 5 10 67L-Threonine 0.1 2.5 297.8 12 4 8 67L-Leucine 0.1 2.5 327.9 10 4 6 60L-Isoleucine 0.1 2.5 327.9 12 3 9 75L-Cysteine 0.1 2.5 302.9 12 4 8 67L-Glutamic acid 0.1 2.5 367.8 16 6 9 56L-Methionine 0.1 2.5 373.0 12 6 6 50L-arginine 0.1 2.5 435.5 10 6 4 40L-Valine 0.1 2.5 292.9 10 6 4 40L-Lysine.HCl 0.1 2.5 456.6 10 7 3 30L-Aspartic acid 0.1 2.5 332.7 10 7 3 30L-Glycine 0.1 2.5 187.7 10 10 0 0L-Serine 0.1 2.5 262.7 10 10 0 0L-Tryptophane 0.025 1.25 255.3 10 10 0 0L-Phenylalanine 0.1 2.5 422.8 10 10 0 0L-Ornithine 0.1 2.5 330.4 10 6 4 40α-Ketoglutaric 0.1 2.5 365.3 10 6 4 40acidL-Malic acid 0.1 2.5 335.2 10 10 0 0Oxaloacetic acid 0.1 2.5 330.2 10 10 0 0Pyruvic acid 0.1 2.5 220.2 10 7 3 30Glucose 0.1 2.5 450.4 10 6 4 40__________________________________________________________________________
TABLE 2__________________________________________________________________________Survival Rate in Administration of Amino Acidsin Combination Concen- Number Number tration Dose of Mice of Dead Alive MiceSubstance (M) mmol/kg b.w. mg/kg b.w. used Mice Number %__________________________________________________________________________0.9% NaCl Solution (control) -- -- -- 12 8 4 33L-α-Alanine 0.1 2.5 222.7 20 0 20 100L-Ornithine 0.025 0.625 85.9L-Threonine 0.1 2.5 297.8 10 6 4 40L-Ornithine 0.025 0.625 85.9L-Aspartic acid 0.1 2.5 332.7 12 8 4 33L-Ornithine 0.025 0.625 85.9L-Glutamic acid 0.1 2.5 367.8 12 6 6 50L-Ornithine 0.025 0.625 85.9L-Leucine 0.1 2.5 327.9 10 8 2 20L-Ornithine 0.025 0.625 85.9__________________________________________________________________________
EXAMPLE 2
The disturbance of consciousness caused by the administration of ethanol and, the blood sugar content and the influence of amino acids on ethanol in the blood were examined under the same conditions as in Example 1 except that ethanol was administered in an amount of 100 mmol/kg body weight, somewhat smaller than in Example 1. The results evidence that when coma or numbness of mice was observed after the administration of ethanol, the degree of disturbance of consciousness was markedly alleviated with the AO composition administration group but with the groups to which alanine or ornithine was administered singly, no such an effect was noted. Under the same conditions as in this example, blood was collected from the eyeground and, the blood sugar content and the change in ethanol content in the blood were examined. As compared to the control group, the rate of removing ethanol in blood was accelerated with the AO composition administration group. However, such an effect was not noted with the groups to which alanine or ornithine was administered singly. Further with the AO composition administration group, the blood sugar value gradually increased after administration of ethanol, resulting in a significantly higher value than with the other groups.
TABLE 3__________________________________________________________________________Survival Rate in acute Ethanolism depending onDose of Ethanol GivenConcen- Dose Number Numberration mmol/kg mmol/kg of mice of dead Time of Alive MiceSubstance % (W/V) body weight body weight used mice Coma Number %__________________________________________________________________________Ethanol 19 70 3.25 10 0 ca. 80 mins. 10 100Ethanol 19 105 4.87 10 0 ca. 3 hrs. 10 100Ethanol 19 142 6.5 10 4 ca. 18 hrs. 6 60Ethanol 19 170 7.8 10 6 ca. 30 hrs. 4 40Ethanol 19 211 9.75 5 5 ∞ 0 0Ethanol 19 282 13.0 5 5 ∞ 0 0__________________________________________________________________________ Mice used: Mice of JCI:ICR strain aging about 4 weeks Method: (I) Fasted for about 20 hours (accessible to water) (II) Each amount of ethanol in 0.9% NaCl solution (19% W/V) was intraperitoneally injected. (III) Time of coma subsequently occurred and survival rate for 5 days after II.
EXAMPLE 3
The lifesaving effect of the composition of the present invention was examined vis a vis acute ethanol alcoholism by administration of alanine and ornithine in combination. The mice used and method were the same as in the above Examples.
As shown in Table 4, the results indicate that a marked lifesaving effect was noted when administering alanine and ornithine in combination. In particular, the survival rate was 100% when the mole concentration ratio of alanine to ornithine was 1:0.25.
TABLE 4__________________________________________________________________________ Concen- Dose Number Number tration mg/kg of Mice of Dead Alive MiceSubstance (M) mmol/kg b.w. b.w. used Mice Number %__________________________________________________________________________0.9% NaCl solution -- -- -- 10 6 4 40(control)L-α-Alanine 0.1 2.5 222.7 10 0 10 100L-Ornithine 0.025 0.625 85.9L-α-Alanine 0.2 5.0 445.4 10 1 9 90L-Ornithine 0.025 0.625 85.9L-α-Alanine 0.12 3.0 267.2 10 1 9 90L-Ornithine 0.012 0.3 39.6L-α-Alanine 0.12 3.0 267.2 10 1 9 90L-Ornithine 0.025 0.625 85.9L-α-Alanine 0.12 3.0 267.2 10 1 9 90L-Ornithine 0.05 1.25 165.2__________________________________________________________________________
The composition of the present invention was also encapsulated in solid fat and was added to a commercially available sport drink in such a manner that the contents of alanine and ornithine were 5 g/dl and 1.5 g/dl, respectively. Thus, sport drink containing alanine and ornithine was prepared.
The sport drink so obtained was intraperitoneally injected to mice under the same conditions as in Example 2. With other conditions being identical, the disturbance of consciousness due to the administration of ethanol was examined and also the blood sugar content and the effect on the ethanol content in the blood due to the administration of amino acids was examined. The extent to which consciousness was disturbed by alcohol consumption was remarkably reduced with the group to which the sport drink containing the composition of the present invention was administered, as compared to the control group.
While the compositions and method of the present invention will be seen to be generally useful for all mammals, the compositions and method of the present invention have particular utility in treating acute ethanolism and liver disturbances therefrom in humans.
Having now fully described the present invention, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many changes and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth herein.
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A pharmaceutical composition for preventing or alleviating the effects of acute alcoholism, in particular liver disturbances in mammals, which comprises a mixture of alanine or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or derivative thereof capable of effectively acting as alanine in vivo or a mixture thereof, and ornithine or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or derivative thereof capable of effectively acting as ornithine in vivo or a mixture thereof in a ratio such that the amount of ornithine present in said mixture is at least about 1/1000 the amount of alanine present, both of said ornithine and alanine being present in an amount effective to prevent or alleviate said effects.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/795,601, filed Apr. 27, 2006, and titled “Apparatus for Interconnecting and Sealing Between Fixed and Rotating Conduits and Method of Installing Same,” which is hereby incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable.
BACKGROUND
The present invention relates generally to apparatus for providing high pressure fluid communication between generally aligned conduits that are rotatable relative to one another using pressure activated seals. In particular, but not exclusively, the disclosure relates to devices for sealing a wash pipe assembly between a fixed and rotating conduit as used in rotary drilling operations.
In applications requiring the transmission of fluid under relatively high pressure, it is sometimes necessary to interconnect a rotating conduit with a stationary conduit and to seal the connection therebetween. One such application is in drilling operations in which a fixed-to-rotating interface is located in apparatus that is supported from the derrick, and which may take the form of a swivel, a top drive unit, or similar device. The seal between the fixed and rotating parts typically includes pressure activated, elastomeric annular seals or packing rings that must be changed when seal wear or failure occurs. Seals in common use today typically must be replaced every few hundred hours of use. This replacement involves time consuming and sometimes dangerous procedures in which the replacement components and a worker are hoisted from the drill floor up to the equipment that houses the seals that are to be replaced. While suspended at a height that may be twenty to thirty feet or more above the drill floor, the worker typically utilizes a sledgehammer to hammer open certain unions allowing removal of the washpipe assembly that contains the seals. Thereafter, new seals are inserted into the assembly, and the assembly containing the new seals is hammered into place. Some conventional seal assemblies also require the use of a pressurized fluid in order to energize the pressure-activated seals once the assembly has been installed in the swivel or top drive. This again is accomplished while the worker dangles from support lines high above the drill floor. The change out of the washpipe and seal assembly is thus complicated and time consuming, and includes the danger of the worker dropping a heavy sledgehammer onto workers or equipment below.
One common washpipe assembly houses a plurality of redundant annular seals that, during replacement, are stacked in position in the seal gland housing while the worker is suspended above the drill floor. In other conventional assemblies, as mentioned above, the seals are pre-packed in a washpipe assembly before the assembly is hoisted to the swivel above the drill floor. However, in order for the assembly to be coupled into the conduits, the seals must be manipulated in order to energize the seals and cause them to sealingly engage the washpipe, or to allow coupling nuts to slide upon the washpipe assembly and engage the appropriate adjacent conduit. This may be accomplished by means of pressurized fluid as described, for example, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2005/0242512, incorporated herein by reference. The pressurized fluid, such as air, may also be used to set or energize the seals. The use of pressurized fluid requires the worker to also carry or be provided a line for supplying the pressurized fluid. As will be understood, the complications associated with handling the washpipe assembly itself, in addition to pneumatic lines and a sledgehammer, make the operation awkward and time consuming to perform twenty or more feet above the drill floor. Further, given that drilling must cease during this replacement procedure and that drilling costs may be thousands of dollars per hour, it is desirable that the washpipe assembly be changed as quickly as possible, but with personnel safety a priority.
Accordingly, it would be an advance in the art if a more convenient and pre-energized or ready-to-install washpipe assembly was available so as to minimize certain safety concerns and speed up to the process of changing failed seals.
SUMMARY OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In one embodiment, a seal assembly, for sealing between a stationary conduit and a rotating conduit, comprises an upper gland assembly, a washpipe, and a lower gland assembly. The upper gland assembly is operable to engage the stationary conduit. A washpipe partially disposed within the upper gland assembly. An upper seal member is disposed within the upper gland assembly around a periphery of the washpipe. An upper packing ring is engaged with the upper gland assembly so as to compress the upper seal member into sealing engagement with the washpipe. A lower gland assembly is disposed about the washpipe and operable to engage the rotating conduit. A lower seal member is disposed within the lower gland assembly and is compressed into sealing engagement with the washpipe by a lower packing ring that is engaged with the lower gland assembly. The engagement of the packing rings with their respective gland assemblies is independent of the engagement of the gland assemblies and the conduits, thus allowing the seals to be engaged with the washpipe independently of the location of the seal assembly
Embodiments of the present invention include a method for installing a washpipe assembly by first assembling a washpipe assembly on an assembly fixture so that both an upper and lower gland assembly are sealingly engaged with a washpipe. The washpipe assembly is then positioned in alignment with a stationary conduit and a rotatable conduit and coupled to both the stationary conduit and the rotatable conduit. The sealing engagement of the upper and lower gland assemblies with the washpipe is independent of the washpipe assembly being coupled to the stationary and rotatable conduits.
The present disclosure describes a combination of features aimed at overcoming various shortcomings of prior devices. The various characteristics described above, as sell as other features, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, and by referring to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a more detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a washpipe assembly disposed between a stationary and rotating conduit, portions thereof being shown in schematic form;
FIG. 2 is perspective view of one embodiment of a washpipe assembly constructed in accordance with embodiments of the current invention;
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the washpipe assembly shown in FIG. 2 .
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the lower seal gland housing of the washpipe assembly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 ;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the upper seal gland housing of the washpipe assembly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 ;
FIG. 6 is perspective view of a fixture employed in energizing the seals of the washpipe assembly shown in FIGS. 2-5 ;
FIG. 7 is a top view of the fixture shown in FIG. 6 ;
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the fixture shown in FIG. 7 ;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an assembly tool;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a torque-imparting bumper bar;
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the washpipe assembly of FIGS. 2 and 3 in a first stage of assembly;
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the washpipe assembly of FIGS. 2 and 3 in a second stage of assembly;
FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the washpipe assembly of FIGS. 2 and 3 in a third stage of assembly; and
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the washpipe assembly of FIGS. 2 and 3 positioned within a swivel housing.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Disclosed is an apparatus for interconnecting a fixed or stationary conduit to a conduit intended to rotate relative to the fixed conduit, and for sealing between the fixed and rotating conduits to prevent pressurized fluid from escaping from the intended path through the aligned conduits. One particular application for the apparatus disclosed herein is as a washpipe assembly as used in the drilling of oil and gas wells. In particular, in such application, a stationary conduit that extends from a conventional gooseneck is aligned with, but spaced apart from, a conduit forming a part of a rotatable swivel assembly. Pressurized drilling fluid is conveyed through the gooseneck and stationary conduit and into the rotating conduit. The assembly disclosed herein interconnects the aligned conduits and allows drilling fluid to be conducted therethrough by maintaining a dynamic seal as one conduit rotates relative to the fixed conduit.
Referring to FIG. 1 , a washpipe assembly 10 is shown disposed between a fixed conduit 18 and a conduit 20 that is adapted for rotation relative to fixed conduit 18 . Washpipe assembly 10 generally includes lower gland assembly 12 , upper gland assembly 14 , and washpipe 16 that is disposed through apertures in the lower and upper gland assemblies 12 , 14 and which is aligned with the fluid passageways in upper and lower conduits 18 , 20 . In general, the upper gland assembly 14 fixes the upper end of washpipe 16 to stationary conduit 18 and prevents fluid from escaping therebetween. Likewise, lower seal gland assembly 12 retains the lower end of washpipe 16 in alignment with rotating conduit 20 and is attached to conduit 20 such that lower gland assembly 12 rotates with rotating conduit 20 . Lower gland assembly 12 includes dynamic seals (described below) which rotate about stationary washpipe 16 and prevent pressurized fluid from passing from the interior passageway of the washpipe.
The components of washpipe assembly 10 are best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and comprise lower gland assembly 12 , lower gland nut 13 , upper gland assembly 14 , and washpipe 16 . When assembled, upper gland assembly 14 is disposed about the upper end of washpipe 16 and lower gland assembly 12 is disposed about the lower end of the washpipe. Lower gland nut 13 provides threaded region 51 that is operable to connect to a correspondingly threaded region of rotating conduit 20 (see FIG. 1 ). Upper gland assembly 14 provides threaded region 49 that is operable to connect washpipe assembly 10 to rotating conduit 20 and stationary conduit 18 , respectively.
As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the lower gland assembly 12 includes a lower gland housing 22 , threaded set ring 24 , intermediate packing rings 26 , 27 , upper packing ring 28 , and a series of annular resilient packing rings 30 . Lower gland housing 22 includes a top or base portion 23 and a cylindrical sleeve-like portion 25 extending therefrom, and includes inner and outer surfaces 32 , 33 , respectively. The outer surface 33 of the top portion includes four extending lugs 36 , as described in more detail below, and an annular, outwardly-extending flange 38 .
As best shown in FIG. 4 , the inner surface 32 of the lower housing 22 includes an internal threaded portion 34 for engaging corresponding threads formed on the radially-outer surface of threaded bottom packing ring 24 . The lower facing surface 35 of threaded bottom packing ring 24 includes a groove or seal gland 39 for retaining annular O-ring seal 40 , as well as six tool-engaging bores 41 described more fully below. Mounted in an aperture formed in sleeve portion 25 of the housing 22 is grease fitting 29 allowing for the introduction of grease within the seal assembly. Grease fitting 29 is installed through the housing and attached thereto to provide a means for lubricating between the washpipe and the seal surfaces. The grease fitting is a standard fitting having a check valve to allow grease to enter the assembly but restricting the outward flow of grease. Lower gland assembly 12 further includes a stop 21 that is intended to prevent damage to grease fitting 29 when lower gland nut 13 is raised when washpipe assembly 10 is lifted for installation. Upon assembly, upper packing ring 28 , intermediate packing rings 26 , 27 , and bottom threaded packing ring 24 are positioned in the interior of the housing with annular resilient packing rings 30 disposed between each packing ring. Threaded bottom packing ring 24 is threaded onto interior threads 34 of the inner housing surface 32 to energize seals 30 and causing them to sealingly engage washpipe 16 once ring 24 is fully seated.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 5 , the upper gland assembly 14 is shown to include upper gland housing 42 , threaded upper packing ring 43 , and annular resilient packing ring 44 . Upper gland housing 42 includes a base portion 45 and a cylindrical portion 46 extending therefrom. The upper gland housing 42 includes inner and outer surfaces 47 , 48 , respectively. Formed on the uppermost end of the inner surface 47 is a threaded region 49 for engaging a correspondingly-threaded extension (not shown) of the stationary conduit 18 . The inner surface 47 further includes a second threaded segment 50 adjacent to the base 45 for engaging a correspondingly threaded segment of the threaded upper packing ring 43 (also referred to herein as top or upper set ring 43 ). The outer surface 48 of base portion 45 includes four downwardly-extending lugs 52 , and cylindrical portion 46 of housing 42 includes radial tool-engaging recesses 53 as will be described in more detail below.
Upon assembly, annular resilient packing ring 44 is disposed adjacent to the base portion 45 of the upper gland housing, and the threaded upper packing ring 43 is threaded onto threaded portion 50 of the housing. As best shown in FIG. 5 , the facing surface 54 of the threaded upper packing ring 44 includes a seal gland or groove 55 which, in turn, houses an O-ring seal 56 . Also included in facing surface 54 are six tool-engaging bores 57 described in more detail below. As best shown in FIG. 2 , the upper end of washpipe 16 includes a plurality of milled grooves 90 extending longitudinally along the outside of the washpipe and spaced apart about the washpipe's circumference. Additionally, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , a circumferential groove 92 that intersects milled longitudinal grooves 90 is formed near the top of the washpipe for receiving a snap ring 93 as described more fully below.
As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , lower gland nut 13 includes an extending sleeve portion 60 , and a collar portion 61 . Collar portion 61 comprises two semicircular segments 62 a , 62 b that are connected to sleeve portion 60 by fastener 63 as shown in FIG. 2 . The collar portions 62 a , 62 b include a downwardly-extending flange or lip 64 that engages the outer surface of sleeve 60 . Each end of semicircular segments 62 a , 62 b includes a machined recess 62 c to provide clearance for grease fitting 29 and for stop 21 , as best shown in FIG. 2 . Each semicircular collar portion 62 a , 62 b includes a handle or grasping member 65 . In this arrangement, lower nut 13 may slide relative to housing 22 of lower gland assembly 12 until such time that the lower gland nut 13 threadedly connects the washpipe assembly 10 to rotating conduit 20 . Formed in the sleeve portion 60 of the lower gland nut 13 is a plurality of radial tool-engaging recesses 37 for use during the installation of the assembly.
In order to energize the packing seals 30 , 44 while the assembly is conveniently located on the rig floor, there is provided a compression fixture 70 best show in FIGS. 6-8 . As shown, the fixture 70 includes a base plate 72 and a generally cylindrical support pedestal 74 extending upwardly therefrom. A mounting ring 76 is attached to the support pedestal and includes a central threaded bore 78 and a circular recess 80 for receiving a pilot sleeve 82 . The pilot sleeve 82 seats in recess 80 and extends upwardly from the ring 76 . Sleeve 82 is affixed to ring 76 by a central fastener 86 , which includes a threaded portion 87 that engages threaded segment 78 of mounting ring 76 . The pilot sleeve 82 has an outer diameter slightly less than the inside diameter of the washpipe 16 .
The mounting ring 76 includes six upwardly extending locating pins 100 sized and spaced so as to be received within the tool-engaging bores 41 ( FIG. 4 ) formed in lower threaded packing ring 24 of the lower gland assembly 12 . As described in more detail below, the compression fixture 70 is provided and employed in order to energize the seals 30 , 44 prior to lifting the washpipe assembly 10 from the rig floor, such that the assembly 10 is ready-to-install without additional steps having to be taken to energize the seals after the worker has been lifted above the rig floor.
The assembly of the washpipe assembly is shown in FIGS. 11-13 . Referring to FIG. 11 , sleeve portion 25 of lower gland housing 22 is disposed through the central bore of the bottom gland nut 13 . Semicircular collar portions 62 a , 62 b are then attached to the upper surface of the gland nut sleeve 60 via fasteners 63 (see FIG. 2 ). The downwardly extending lip 64 formed on the lower surface of the collar portions extends over and captures the annular flange 38 extending from the outer surface of the lower gland housing 22 . Handles or grips 65 extend from the collar portions. In this position, gland nut 13 may slide relative to lower gland housing 22 to the limits permitted by the intersection of collar portions 62 a , 62 b with annular flanges 38 .
Prior to installation on fixture 70 (as shown in FIG. 11 ) lower gland housing 12 is inverted and positioned such that the lugs 36 rest against a work surface and the opening that retains the packing seals and rings is upwardly disposed. The uppermost packing ring 30 is then placed in the housing in the position shown in FIG. 4 such that its V-shaped annular extension is received by and mates with the correspondingly V-shaped annular recess formed in the inner surface 32 of the housing at base 23 . The upper packing ring 28 is next installed. In turn, the intermediate packing seals 30 and intermediate packing rings 26 , 27 are sequentially stacked within the housing as shown in FIG. 4 . Finally, the lowermost packing seal 30 and lower threaded packing ring 24 are installed. The lower threaded packing ring 24 is threaded by hand into engagement with the threaded portion 34 of the housing. At this stage of the assembly, ring 24 is not fully seated and, consequently, packing rings 30 are not yet set or energized.
Lower seal gland housing 22 is next inverted again such that lugs 36 face upward and washpipe 16 is then positioned within the central bore of lower seal gland housing 22 so that milled slots 90 (see FIG. 2 ) are at the top, and extend outwardly from the lower gland housing 22 . At this step of the assembly procedure, the lower gland housing 22 is placed on the compression fixture 70 such that the locating pins 100 on the fixture 70 mate with the bores 41 formed in the lower set ring 24 , as is shown in FIG. 11 . The packing seals 30 , at this step, have not been energized such that the washpipe 16 may slide through the opening in the lower gland housing 22 without difficulty. Top gland housing 42 is then disposed over the top of the washpipe 16 .
In this position, the downwardly extending lugs 52 of the top seal gland housing are oriented to engage with the corresponding upwardly extending lugs 36 from the lower gland assembly 12 such that rotation of the upper gland housing 42 will rotate the lower gland housing 22 via engagement of lugs 52 and 36 . The upper housing 42 is then rotated by use of bumper bar 120 (see FIG. 10 ) which, in turn, causes the lower housing 22 to rotate. Because set ring 24 is fixed into the compression fixture 70 , the lower housing 22 is rotated relative to the stationary set ring 24 causing the ring to be tightened within the housing and causing the ring 24 to set, or energize, the resilient packings 30 against the outer diameter of washpipe 16 .
Referring now to FIG. 12 , upper set ring 43 and upper packing seal 44 are disposed within upper housing 42 . Tool-receiving bores 57 of upper set ring 43 are upwardly-disposed. Rotation of the upper set ring 43 is accomplished by use of an assembly tool 102 , such as is shown in FIG. 9 . The tool 102 includes six extending lugs 104 sized and positioned so as to correspond to the tool-receiving bores 57 in the upper set ring 43 . The assembly tool further includes a cylindrical extension 106 having radially-positioned tool-receiving bores 108 . To set the top ring 43 and energize the upper packing seal 44 , the assembly tool 102 is disposed in the interior of the upper gland housing 42 such that the lugs 104 mate with the tool-receiving bores 57 in the set ring 43 . Using the bumper bar 120 ( FIG. 10 ) or another tool, the assembly tool 102 is rotated causing the set ring 43 to fully thread and bottom out against the inner surface 47 of the gland housing, thereby energizing seal 44 . The assembly tool 102 is the removed.
Referring now to FIG. 13 , O-ring seal 56 is disposed in the seal groove 55 and the lug collar 95 is next installed. Lug collar 95 includes a slotted inner surface enabling its surface to mate with the longitudinal slots 90 of the washpipe end. The lug collar 95 is positioned below the snap ring groove 92 and the snap ring 93 is then installed in circumferential groove 92 to retain the lug collar 95 on the washpipe. At this point, the washpipe assembly 10 is ready to be installed with all pressure-activated packing seals energized. Referring back to FIG. 2 , prior to installation, O-ring 40 is installed in seal groove 39 in the facing surface 35 of lower threaded packing ring 24 , and upper annular O-ring seal 98 is positioned in seal groove 99 formed in the upper surface of lug collar 95 .
Referring now to FIG. 14 , when it is necessary to change out the washpipe assembly, rig personnel are hoisted up to the swivel or top drive in order to remove the previously-installed washpipe assembly 10 . After that assembly has been removed, the stand-by and ready-to-install washpipe assembly 10 is lifted into position. The washpipe assembly 10 is then positioned between the stationary conduit 18 of the gooseneck and the rotating conduit 20 in the swivel. Because the rotary seals have previously been energized, no special pressurizing need be performed by the worker while suspended above the rig floor and thus no pneumatic or hydraulic lines need be carried or manipulated. Instead, installation is accomplished by first hand-threading the top gland housing 42 onto the threaded portion of the downwardly-extending conduit 18 and hand-threading the bottom gland nut 13 onto the upwardly-extending threaded conduit 20 of the swivel assembly. After hand tightening these components, the worker inserts the reduced diameter end portion of bumper bar 120 into the radial tool-engaging recesses 53 , 37 formed in the upper gland housing and lower nut 13 , respectively, and completes tightening the nuts by manipulating the bumper bar as shown in FIG. 11 . Should the worker lose his grip on the tool, a connected tether prevents the tool from falling to the rig floor. Upon completion of the installation, drilling operations can commence again.
While preferred embodiments have been shown and described, modifications thereof can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or teaching herein. The embodiments described herein are exemplary only and are not limiting. Many variations and modifications of the system and apparatus are possible and are within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of protection is not limited to the embodiments described herein, but is only limited by the claims which follow, the scope of which shall include all equivalents of the subject matter of the claims.
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A seal assembly, for sealing between a stationary conduit and a rotating conduit, comprises an upper gland assembly, a washpipe, and a lower gland assembly. The upper gland assembly is operable to engage the stationary conduit. A washpipe partially disposed within the upper gland assembly. An upper seal member is disposed within the upper gland assembly around a periphery of the washpipe. An upper packing ring is engaged with the upper gland assembly so as to compress the upper seal member into sealing engagement with the washpipe. A lower gland assembly is disposed about the washpipe and operable to engage the rotating conduit. A lower seal member is disposed within the lower gland assembly and is compressed into sealing engagement with the washpipe by a lower packing ring that is engaged with the lower gland assembly. The engagement of the packing rings with their respective gland assemblies is independent of the engagement of the gland assemblies and the conduits.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of an earlier filed copending application, Ser. No. 579.990, filed May 22, 1975, by Robert Frank Berry, entitled MANDREL LOCKING SLEEVE; now U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,124, issued Aug. 24, 1976 which earlier filed copending application is a contiuation-in-part of an original application, Ser. No. 411,983, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,233 filed Nov. 1, 1973, and issued on Sept. 9, 1975, by Robert Frank Berry, entitled TUBING SUSPENSION HANGER.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Normally, when running a pipe or rod string into or out of a borehole, a clamping device is utilized to suspend the string in the hole while another joint or section is threaded onto the top of the string or removed from the string.
In the past, these clamping devices have consisted of toothed clamping collars which are levered against the casing by external levers and linkages. An example of this type device is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,552,062 and 1,654,866. Other types of clamps utilize conical toothed inserts located in a tapered cylinder which are wedged against the tubing or rod. An example of this device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,017,305.
The deficiencies of these devices include their complexity, their inability to hold properly under all conditions, and the difficulty of installing from the middle of a long string section when the ends of the string are not readily accessible.
This invention solves the above problem by providing an inner toothed, generally cylindrical, unitary gripping member located concentrically and pivotably in a flanged container or abutment housing and encircling the pipe or rod to be clamped and suspended. The invention utilizes the pipe strings own weight to establish a rotational moment in the gripping member which forces the gripping member toward gripping engagement with the tubing or rod string.
This invention also provides a gripping member particularly advantageous for use in a well packer for gripping engagement with the packer mandrel to prevent unsetting of the packer. The gripping means used in the prior art devices utilize multiple wedge inserts having internal teeth therein. These wedge inserts are driven inward against the mandrel by externally applied forces acting on a cammed driver sleeve which slides up on the sloping faces of the wedge inserts thereby driving them inward. The actuating force on this type of gripping means must be constantly maintained or else slipping of the mandrel and unsetting of the packer will occur. Any additional forces on the packer tending to unset it, such as formation pressure surges, require an accompanying increase in force to be applied externally to the wedge inserts to prevent unsetting of the packer by the pressure surge.
This invention overcomes this disadvantage by providing an unitary gripping sleeve with dual axis bore passage therethrough; with a portion of said bore passage having internal gripping teeth therein. The sleeve locks against the mandrel by rotating against it and is arranged such that surge forces and compressive forces in the packer elements serve to rotate the sleeve into even tighter engagement with the mandrel thereby preventing unsetting of the packer.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the apparatus in a relaxed nonengaged position;
FIG. 2 illustrates the apparatus of FIG. 1 in a gripping position on the tubing;
FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the apparatus taken at line 3--3 of FIG. 2.
FIGS. 4 and 4a illustrate a cross-sectional side view and a top view of a different embodiment of the abutment housing;
FIG. 5 illustrates a top view of a different embodiment of the gripping sleeve;
FIGS. 6 and 6a illustrates a top view and a cross-sectional side view of a third embodiment of the gripping sleeve;
FIG. 7 illustrates another embodiment of the invention shown in schematic diagram; and,
FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 7.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring particularly to FIGS. 1-3, the invention is disclosed as having a tubular, generally cylindrical gripping sleeve 1 located fairly loosely within a sleeve chamber or abutment housing 2. The gripping sleeve is also located slidably on the tubing or rod string 3 which passes through the apparatus. The gripping sleeve 1 has a dual axis bore passage passing longitudinally therethrough with one axis 10 being generally coaxial with the central longitudinal cylindrical axis of the sleeve. A second portion of the bore passage is a cylindrical bore having a canted axis 11 intersecting the bore of axis 10 at an acute angle 12. Angle 12 may vary from about 5° up to about 45° and preferably is from 17 to 25°.
The location of two cylindrical bore passages within the gripping sleeve, with their axes at an angle to each other, allows the partial pivoting of the sleeve in the housing 2 about the rod or tubing string 3.
In FIG. 1, the sleeve is shown in the relaxed, non-engaging orientation with the canted axis 11 aligned with the central longitudinal axis of the pipe string passing through the sleeve. In FIG. 2, the pipe string axis coincides with axis 10 of the sleeve.
The bore passage formed along axis 10 contains a plurality of gripping teeth 13 formed as circumferential annular ridges on the inner wall of the sleeve in that portion of bore passage 10 not coinciding with bore passage 11.
Each tooth or ridge 13 has an upper surface at an angle of from 60 to 90 degrees to axis 10 and a lower slanted face going downward to the next adjacent tooth. The teeth are specifically arranged with the substantially perpendicular faces on the upper side so that the teeth will bite into the tubing or rod when it attempts to move downward against the teeth, but will be cammed out away from the tubing or rod when it moves upward against the teeth. This allows the rod or tubing to be moved upward through the apparatus at any time regardless of the position of sleeve 1.
The sleeve has a canted lower end 14 and an abutment shoulder 15, the upper surface of sleeve 1 may also be canted slightly or may be normal to axis 10.
The sleeve is contained in a hollow chamber 16 inside abutment housing 2. The housing may be polygonal or cylindrical in configuration. It contains a bottom plate 17 having a bore passage 18 therethrough for receiving the tubing or rod string 3. The remainder of bottom plate 17 serves to form an inwardly projecting annular abutment shoulder 17a which selectively abuts shoulder 15 of sleeve 1.
Bottom plate 17 has an outwardly projecting annular flange 17b having bolt holes 18a passing therethrough. Flange 17b is adapted to allow the abutment housing to be bolted to a permanent structure, frame, drilling table, or wellhead via bolts passing through holes 18a.
The housing inner walls may be canted, as at 19 and 20, to allow pivoting movement of sleeve 1, within the housing without causing interference between the housing and the sleeve.
Attached to one side of the inner chamber 16 is a curved leaf spring 21 attached to the housing and resiliently abutting sleeve 1, tending to continuously urge the gripping sleeve into the canted, non-engaging orientation as shown in FIG. 1.
An actuating arm 22 is pivotally pinned at 23 in a recessed area 24 in the wall of the housing. Arm 22 has an activating lever 25 projecting partially through a radial opening 26 in the housing wall from the pivot pin 23 and at approximately a right angle with arm 22.
An operating lever 27 extends partially through opening 26 and abuts lever 25 such that downward force on lever 27 is transferred into lever 25 and into arm 22 moving it inward into the housing against sleeve 1 which in turns pivots the sleeve in the housing to the position shown in FIG. 2.
An upper abutment head 28 is secured to the housing 2 and provides a top closure 28a to the chamber 16 and an opening 29 for the tubing string 3. Head 28 may be threadedly attached to housing 2 or by bolts, weldment, or any other suitable means.
FIG. 3 illustrates the structure of FIG. 2 taken at line 3--3 of FIG. 2 and shows the gripping sleeve 1 pivotally attached to housing 2 by means of pivot pins 30 threadedly engaged in and passing through the wall of housing 2 and projecting inwardly into recesses 31 formed in the side of sleeve 2.
OPERATION OF THE FIRST EMBODIMENT
When it is desirable to utilize a clamping and/or suspension means for tubing or rod strings in a wellbore, the present invention is particularly advantageous and is placed in operation by inserting the sleeve 1 into housing 2, inserting the pivot pins 30, and attaching upper head 28. The apparatus may then be lowered over the upwardly projecting rod or tubing end or the string may then be lowered down through the apparatus.
The housing is then secured to rigid means such as a frame, wellhead, drilling table, etc., by attaching with bolts through holes 18a in flange 17b or by clamping means or other devices.
In the relaxed, non-engaging position as shown in FIG. 1, the bore axis 11 of the sleeve is aligned with the central axis of the tubing string and there is sufficient room in bore 11 of sleeve 1 to pass tubing and connector collars unhindered therethrough.
When the string has been lifted or lowered, the required distance through sleeve 2 and it is then desired to let the string hang by its own weight suspended in the wellbore, the lever 27 is depressed downward, moving arm 22 against sleeve 1 thereby pivoting it about pins 30 until teeth 13 are brought into contact with the tubing. Then the weight is eased down on the tubing forcing abutment shoulder 15 against inner shoulder 17a of bottom plate 17. This junction of one side of the bottom of sleeve 1 with the plate 17 applies a rotational moment to the sleeve, forcing it into further pivotal movement toward the string and causing teeth 13 to bite into the wall of the string thereby securely gripping the string and holding it there. The perpendicular faces of the teeth are arranged to bite deeper into the tubing string increasing application of downward force and the sloped lower faces of the teeth allow them to be cammed out of engagement with the tubing upon upward movement of the string through the sleeve. Such an upward movement removes the rotational moment from the sleeve and spring 21 urges the sleeve into the canted non-engaging position once again. Should the sleeve adhere to the string as it moves upward, it will be dislodged by abutment with head 28 and return to its non-engaged position.
ALTERNATE EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to FIGS. 4-6, alternate constructions of the invention are illustrated, which embodiments are particularly advantageous when access to the end of the tubing string is hindered and it is desirable to place the clamping or suspension means on the string from the side rather than over the end.
In FIG. 4, an alternate housing construction is shown as having a lower abutment housing 102 with walls 104 and integral bottom plate 117. An upper head 128 is attached to housing 102 by removable means such as threaded bolts 105.
Upper head 128 has a central bore opening 129 for allowing passage of the tubing string 3 therethrough. Head 128 also has an entrance slot 106 passing therethrough and running from the central opening 129 radially outward to the outward circumference which allows the head to be slipped onto a tubing string from the side rather than having to go over the end of the tubing string.
Housing lower plate 117 likewise has a central opening 118 for allowing the tubing string 3 to pass therethrough unhindered. A radial slot 107 is formed through plate 117 from opening 118 through the circumference of the plate to allow the housing to be slipped onto the tubing string from the side as was the head 128.
After the housing and upper head have been placed on the tubing string and before the head is attached to the housing, the upper head will be rotated on the string about 180° to move slot 106 diametrically opposite slot 107 and prevent the housing from coming off the tubing string. This relationship is shown in the top view shown in FIG. 4a.
FIGS. 5, 6 and 6a show two embodiments of the gripping sleeve which will allow placement of the sleeve on the tubing string from the side rather than over the end of the tubing. In FIG. 5, the sleeve 101 is formed in two halves or is manufactured in one piece and later cut in half so that it can be placed about the tubing and then the halves rejoined together by securing them with means such as bolts 108.
FIGS. 6 and 6a illustrate a top and cross-sectional side view respectively of a gripping sleeve 201 which has been formed similar to the sleeve 1 of FIGS. 1-3, but having the additional feature of a longitudinal slot 206 running from the central bore passage through the outer wall of the sleeve 201 along the entire length of the sleeve to allow it to be slipped over the tubing string from the side.
Once the string 201 has been slipped over the tubing and located in housing 102, it will be prevented from moving sideways off of the tubing by the physical confinement of the housing walls and upper and lower head plates plus pivot pins in the housing wall similar to pins 30 in FIG. 3.
After the housing and sleeve have been slipped on the tubing string and assembled in place with the upper head attached to the housing, the operation of the apparatus is similar to that of the embodiments of FIGS. 1-3.
Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8, another embodiment of tubular gripping sleeve 301 is shown for use as a mandrel anchor in a well packer 310.
The tubular gripping sleeve 301 is slidably mounted externally on a tubular packer mandrel 311 below a hydraulic setting cylinder 312 which is slidably and sealingly mounted on mandrel 311. An annular flange 313 is secured to mandrel 311 inside cylinder 312 and sealingly abuts the inner wall thereof. One or more ports 314 pass through the wall of mandrel 311 and communicate the area between the lower end of cylindrer 312 and flange 313 with the inner bore 315 of mandrel 311.
A slidable abutment plate 316 is located on mandrel 311 below sleeve 301. A tubular well gripping member 317 is located slidably and partially rotatably on mandrel 311 below abutment plate 316. Gripping 317 may be of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat., Nos.: 3,548,936; 3,739,849; and 3,851,705.
A lower expander plate 318 is slidably mounted on mandrel 311 and rests on elastomeric well packer elements 319 and 320 which are adapted to be compressed longitudinally into radial expansion against the well casing inner wall. A bottom compression plate 321 is secured to mandrel 311 and provides a stationary surface against which compression of the packer elements may be accomplished by means of hydraulic actuation of cylinder 312.
FIG. 8 shows a close-up view of the tubular gripping sleeve 301. This member is preferably formed in a generally cylindrical configuration and has located therethrough a dual axis bore passage 307. The two intersecting axes of passage 307 are shown at X--X and Y--Y, which axes intersect at or near the center of rotation C of the member.
The tubular bore 304 defined by axis X--X is a smooth bore adapted to receive mandrel 311 in slidable relationship. The bore defined by axis Y--Y utilized toothed sections 302 and 303 for gripping engagement with mandrel 311 when the member 301 is rotated so that axis Y--Y generally coincides with the central longitudinal axis of mandrel 311.
The gripping sleeve 301 is provided at the upper and lower ends with abutment surfaces 306 and 305 which are arranged for abutting contact with cylinder 312 and plate 316. When such abutment occurs, for example as a result of hydraulic actuation of cylinder 312, a clockwise moment of rotation about center C is established in sleeve 301 which pivots axis Y--Y toward alignment with the longitudinal axis of mandrel 311. This simultaneously engages gripping teeth 302 and 303 with mandrel 311. It should be noted that the toothed sections 302 and 303 preferably are formed so that the teeth point in a generally upward direction to allow downward sliding movement of the teeth over the mandrel and biting engagement of the teeth into the mandrel upon upward motion of the sleeve against the mandrel.
In typical operation, the well packer is lowered into the borehole in a string of tubing until the packer is properly positioned in the hole. A plug or ball is dropped to seat in the packer or the tubing string below the packer, thereby closing off the inner bore of the toolstring.
Hydraulic pressure in the tubing acts through ports 314 against flange 313 and cylinder 312, driving the cylinder downward against gripping sleeve 301. Due to the upward slant of the teeth in sleeve sections 302 and 303, sleeve 301 will react by pivoting about C and sliding downward on mandrel 311 until plate 316 is contacted. The downward movement of sleeve 301 drives the slip 317 downward simultaneously compressing the packer elements 319 and 320 and rotating the slip into engagement with the casing.
After the release of the hydraulic pressure on the tubing, the resiliency of the packer elements will provide a continuous downward biasing force on lower plate 321, which force will be transferred therethrough to mandrel 311. The downward pull on mandrel 311 insures a secure engagement of the mandrel with the teeth in sleeve 301 which engagement is further aided by the moment of rotation generated by the contact of surface 305 with plate 316.
Thus, it can be seen that any errant force attempting to pull the mandrel downward to disengage the slip 317 and elements 319 and 320 from the casing wall will serve only to further set the anchor sleeve 301 against the mandrel and maintain the slip and packer elements in their expanded engaged position.
Although it is not necessary to the operation of this invention, it is possible to further add additional hydraulic actuating cylinder means below the packer elements in order to provide an upward compression force thereagainst, simultaneously with the downward force created by cylinder 312. This could be accomplished by using an additional set of ports in mandrel 311, by replacing bottom flange 321 with a sliding flange and an inverted cylinder and piston similar to 312 and 313, and by seating the plug or ball therebelow so that pressurization of the tubing string will actuate both hydraulic cylinders simultaneously. This would provide for further compression of elements 319 and 320 after setting of the slip 317 in the casing. Furthermore, an additional locking sleeve similar to sleeve 301 could be located between such lower hydraulic cylinder arrangement and the packer elements in an inverted orientation to provide locking action against unsetting of the expanded packer elements.
It is also clear that this invention could be utilized in dual string packers such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,707 by forming the locking sleeve with two parallel dual axis bore passages therethrough to receive the two mandrels of the dual string packer, much the same as the gripping slip of the aforementioned U.S. Patent utilizes two dual axis bore passages.
Although certain preferred embodiments of the present invention have been herein described in order to provide an understanding of the general principles of the invention, it will be appreciated that various changes and innovations can be afffected in the described tubing or rod hanger apparatus without departure from these principles. For example, although the housing and gripping member are both depicted as being cylindrical, it is clear that there are many possible physical configurations for these elements, such as polygonal or spherical. Also other spring means than the leaf spring shown could be used between the housing and sleeve, for instance coil springs or belleville springs would be operable therein. All modifications and changes of this type are deemed to be embraced by the spirit and scope of the invention except as the same may be necessarily limited by the appended claims or reasonable equivalents thereof.
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One or more unitary, internally toothed sleeves are located in a packer mechanism in partially slidable relationship on the packer mandrel such that actuation of the packer serves to rotate the locking sleeves on the mandrel, causing the internally toothed sections to engage the mandrel and maintain the packer in the set position.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is an application-layer control (signaling) protocol for creating, modifying, and terminating sessions with one or more participants or end-nodes. These sessions include Internet telephone calls, multimedia distribution, and multimedia conferences. The ability to request asynchronous notification of events proves useful in many types of SIP services for which cooperation between end-nodes is required. Examples of such services include automatic callback services (based on terminal state events), buddy lists (based on user presence events), message waiting indications (based on mailbox state change events), and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and Internet Internetworking (PINT) status (based on call state events).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Example embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in the form of a method or corresponding apparatus that communicates information in a session initiated protocol (SIP) network. A method and corresponding apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention includes, while requesting a SIP server, notify a SIP subscriber during a SIP dialog with information of a state of a resource or of an event, informing the SIP server that the SIP subscriber uploads information other than a state of a resource or an of an event, and uploading the information as informed to the SIP server during the SIP dialog.
[0003] A method and corresponding apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention includes creating a subscription responsive to a SIP subscriber requesting to be notified with information of a state of a resource or of an event during a SIP dialog, and responsive to the SIP subscriber informing that the SIP subscriber uploads information other than a state of a resource or of an event during the SIP dialog. And during the SIP dialog, notifying the SIP subscriber with information of a state of a resource or of an event as requested, while being uploaded by the SIP subscriber with information other than a state of a resource or an of an event as informed.
[0004] A method and corresponding apparatus according to yet another embodiment of the present invention includes creating a subscription by requesting to be notified by a SIP server with information of a state of a resource or of an event during a SIP dialog, and informing the SIP server that the SIP server is to be uploaded with information other than a state of a resource or of an event during the SIP dialog. And during the SIP dialog, uploading the SIP server with information other than a state of a resource or of an event as informed, while being notified by the SIP server with information of a state of a resource or of an event as requested.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particular description of example embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating embodiments of the present invention.
[0006] FIG. 1 is a ladder diagram of an example SIP dialog, in accordance with example embodiments of the present invention;
[0007] FIGS. 2A-2H are message diagrams of SIP messages communicated during a SIP dialog, in accordance with example embodiments of the present invention;
[0008] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example process for communicating in a SIP network, in accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention;
[0009] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example process for communicating in a SIP network between a SIP subscriber and a SIP server, in accordance with example embodiments of the present invention; and
[0010] FIGS. 5A-5B are block diagrams of example apparatuses to communicate in a SIP network, in accordance with example embodiments of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0011] A description of example embodiments of the invention follows.
[0012] Collecting diagnostic information from a remote device is common practice for many communication devices. Currently, only limited system related information can be retrieved from a management system. There is no way to obtain data such as usage behavior of a user. Vendors of commercial products or services are always interested in understanding, for example, how their products, services or advertisements are perceived by end users in each household.
[0013] Current approaches for collecting diagnostic information include: i) using a dial-up data call to transmit such information through a plain old telephone system (POTS); and ii) using file transfer protocol (FTP), or the like, to transmit such information through an internet protocol (IP) network. These current approaches are inadequate because: i) a session for transmitting the information is not always up; ii) is not “future proof,” and iii) FTP does not allow instruction or event update from an FTP server.
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates, in a session initiated protocol (SIP) network, during a SIP dialog 100 , a SIP subscriber 105 and a SIP server 110 communicate. The SIP subscriber 105 requests with a SUBSCRIBE message 115 that the SIP server 110 notify the SIP subscriber 105 with information of a state of a resource or of an event. Additionally, with the same SUBSCRIBE message 115 , the SIP subscriber 105 informs the SIP server 110 that the SIP subscriber 105 uploads information other than state of a resource or of an event.
[0015] The SUBSCRIBE message 115 conveys or otherwise communicates from the SIP subscriber 105 to the SIP server 110 an information package 120 . The information package 120 defines a set of state information to be reported by the SIP server 110 to the SIP subscriber 105 . The information package 120 also defines a set of information to be uploaded or otherwise reported by the SIP subscriber 105 to the SIP server 110 . In a convenient embodiment, the information package 120 defines further syntax and semantics to convey user, application, and system information including, but not limited to, text, extensible markup language (XML), and multimedia type of data.
[0016] The SIP server 110 acknowledges with a 200 OK message 125 the request by the SIP subscriber 105 to be notified with information of a state of a resource or of an event. With the same 200 OK message 125 , the SIP server 110 also acknowledges of being informed that the SIP subscriber 105 uploads information other than state of a resource or of an event.
[0017] The SIP server 110 notifies the SIP subscriber 105 with a NOTIFY message 130 of information of a state of a resource or of an event. The NOTIFY message 130 conveys or otherwise communicates from the SIP server 110 to the SIP subscriber 105 an information as requested 135 . The information as requested 135 corresponds to the information requested with the SUBSCRIBE message 115 and defined by the information package 120 . The SIP subscriber 105 acknowledges with a 200 OK message 125 being notified of, for example, a state of a resource or an event occurring.
[0018] Continuing with FIG. 1 , the SIP subscriber 105 notifies the SIP server 110 with a NOTIFY message 140 of information other than information of a state of a resource or of an event. The NOTIFY message 140 communicates from the SIP subscriber 105 to the SIP server 110 an information as informed 145 . The information as informed 145 corresponds to the information informed of by the SUBSCRIBE message 115 and defined by the information package 120 . The SIP server 110 acknowledges with a 200 OK message 125 being informed of, for example, user, application or system information.
[0019] As illustrated, both the SIP subscriber 105 and the SIP server 110 notify. Accordingly, it may be said that a notification is an act by either a notifier (e.g., the SIP server 110 ) or a subscriber (e.g., the SIP subscriber 105 ) sending a notify message (e.g., the NOTIFY message 130 or 140 ) to the subscriber or the notifier to inform, for example, a state of a resource located on the notifier or subscriber. For the purpose of discussion only, informing a subscriber (or SIP subscriber) with information is referred to hereinafter as “notifying” the subscriber of the information, and informing a notifier (or SIP server) with information is referred to hereinafter as “uploading” the information onto the notifier.
[0020] In a convenient embodiment, uploading information other than information of a state of a resource or of an event (e.g., the information as informed 145 ) onto a SIP server uses substantially the same NOTIFY message (at least in terms of format) for notifying a SIP subscriber with information of a state of a resource or of an event (e.g., the information as requested 135 ). It is important to distinguish, however, the NOTIFY message is being used for different purposes. The purpose of notifying with a NOTIFY message is to inform the SIP subscriber of a subscribed to state of a resource or event. The purpose of uploading with a NOTIFY message is to inform the SIP server of information not subscribed to and independent of a state of resource or event.
[0021] In a convenient embodiment, for SIP services requiring cooperation between end nodes, the foregoing requesting and notifying are performed in accordance with request for comments (RFC) 3265. Example of such services include automatic callback services (based on terminal state events), buddy lists (based on user presence events), message waiting indications (based on mailbox state change events), and PSTN and Internet Internetworking (PINT) status (based on call state events).
[0022] Information other than a state of a resource or of an event may not be required, but nonetheless may be useful to upload. Example embodiments upload information to provide, for example:
[0023] (1) a rating company with viewing behavior of internet protocol television (IPTV) customers. With internet group management protocol (IGMP) joins and leaves, example embodiments can determine what channel a customer watches at a certain point in time. Additionally, when a customer joins and leaves a channel (e.g., during commercials) or what channels are being watched more frequently;
[0024] (2) a rating company with web surfing behavior of high speed internet customers;
[0025] (3) a carrier with statistics on use of an optical network terminal (ONT )in a passive optical network (PON). For network planning purposes, the carrier can use example embodiments to understand how the ONT is being used; and
[0026] (4) in cases in which a field outage occurs, example embodiments may be used as a tool to send a post-mortem dump from the ONT out to, for example, a server for analysis.
[0027] Further it may be useful to upload information and to be notified of information during the same SIP dialog.
[0028] To summarize, in accordance with example embodiments of the present invention, a SIP subscriber exhibits the following features: i) receives a NOTIFY request or message from a SIP server, the NOTIFY requests contains information about the state of a resource in which the SIP subscriber is interested; and ii) generates a NOTIFY request or message for the purpose of uploading user, application, and system information onto the SIP server. Further, a SIP server: i) generates a NOTIFY request or message for the purpose of notifying a SIP subscriber of the state of a resource or of an event; and ii) processes a NOTIFY request or message uploading user, application, and system information onto the SIP server.
[0029] FIGS. 2A-2H illustrate an example demonstrating example embodiments of the present invention in greater detail. In the illustrated example, a user participates in a television programming survey conducted by a rating survey company, such as NIELSEN MEDIA RESEARCH and the like. In a typical scenario, the user is offered a package that involves certain incentives, such as reduced rates for data, voice, and video services (i.e., triple play service). In return, the user agrees to have data on its viewing behavior or characteristic collected in a video viewing survey by the rating survey company. An information package named video-rating is defined for the video viewing survey for the purpose of collecting data on the user's viewing behavior or characteristic (described below in greater detail).
[0030] FIG. 2A illustrates in a SIP network, during a SIP dialog 200 , a SIP subscriber 205 and a SIP server 210 communicate. In this example, the SIP subscriber 205 is the user who is associated with an optical network terminal (ONT) in a passive optical network (PON) and the SIP server 210 is the rating survey company. The SIP subscriber 205 and the SIP server 210 communicate messages enumerated A 1 -A 14 . FIGS. 2B-2H illustrate the message format and content of each message enumerated.
[0031] FIG. 2B , the SIP subscriber 205 subscribes to the video viewing survey and requests with a SUBSCRIBE message 215 that the SIP server 210 notify the SIP subscriber 205 with information of a state of a resource or of an event. Additionally, with the same SUBSCRIBE message 215 , the SIP subscriber 205 informs the SIP server 210 that the SIP subscriber 205 uploads information other than state of a resource or of an event.
[0032] In this example, the SUBSCRIBE message 215 conveys or otherwise communicates from the SIP subscriber 205 to the SIP server 210 a video-rating information package 220 . The video-rating information package 220 defines that the SIP server 210 notify the SIP subscriber 205 with: i) a state of the video viewing survey, ii) identify of the video viewing survey account, iii) a total number of videos viewed since last report, and iv) a number of videos viewed in the last report. The video-rating information package 220 also defines that the SIP subscriber 205 upload the SIP server 210 with: i) a total number videos viewed from last report, ii) a number of videos viewed in the last report, and iii) identity of the videos viewed.
[0033] The SIP server 110 acknowledges with a 200 OK message 225 the request by the SIP subscriber 205 to be notified with the information as requested and defined the video-rating information package 220 . With the same 200 OK message 225 , the SIP server 110 also acknowledges of being informed that the SIP subscriber 105 uploads the information as informed and defined the video-rating information package 220 .
[0034] As the video-rating information package 220 of this example demonstrates, embodiments of the present invention inform a SIP server that a SIP subscriber uploads information other than information of a state of a resource or of an event. In this particular example, the SIP subscriber 205 informs the SIP server 210 that it uploads the identity of videos viewed by the user.
[0035] FIG. 2C , the SIP server 210 notifies the SIP subscriber 205 with a NOTIFY message 230 of information of a state of a resource or of an event. The NOTIFY message 230 conveys or otherwise communicates from the SIP server 210 to the SIP subscriber 205 an information as requested 235 . The information as requested 235 corresponds to the information requested with the SUBSCRIBE message 215 and defined by the video-rating information package 220 . Further, because the SIP subscriber 205 , once informed, has the same information of a state of a resource or of an event as the SIP server 210 , it may be said that the NOTIFY message 230 synchronizes a current state of a subscribed to state or event.
[0036] In this example, the SIP server 210 notifies the SIP subscriber 205 with: i) the state of the video viewing survey (viz., on), ii) the identity of the video viewing survey account (viz., sip:ONT@survey.example.com), iii) the total number of videos viewed since last report (viz., 0), and iv) the number of videos viewed in the last report (viz., 0).
[0037] The SIP subscriber 205 acknowledges with a 200 OK message 225 being notified with the foregoing.
[0038] FIG. 2D , the user watches two video clips from YOUTUBE after subscribing to the video viewing survey. Given the user's viewing behavior or characteristic as detected and stored by, for example, the ONT, the SIP subscriber 205 notifies the SIP server 210 with a NOTIFY message 240 of information other than information of a state of a resource or of an event. The NOTIFY message 240 communicates from the SIP subscriber 205 to the SIP server 210 an information as informed 245 . The information as informed 245 corresponds to the information informed of by the SUBSCRIBE message 215 and defined by the video-rating information package 220 .
[0039] In this example, the SIP subscriber 205 uploads the SIP server 210 with: i) the total number videos viewed from last report (viz., 2), ii) the number of videos viewed in the last report (viz., 0), and iii) the identity of the videos viewed (viz., 13784434989@youtube.com and 13684434990@youtube.com). The SIP server 210 acknowledges with a 200 OK message 225 being informed with the foregoing.
[0040] FIG. 2E , maintaining the SIP dialogue 200 , the SIP subscriber 205 continues uploading information as requested as defined by the video-rating information package 220 . The SIP subscriber 205 re-subscribes with the SUBSCRIBE message 215 with a time to expire 217 refreshed or otherwise updated. As described previously, with the SUBSCRIBE message 215 , the SIP subscriber 205 subscribes to the video viewing survey and requests that the SIP server 210 notify the SIP subscriber 205 with information of a state of a resource or of an event. Additionally, with the same SUBSCRIBE message 215 , the SIP subscriber 205 informs the SIP server 210 that the SIP subscriber 205 uploads information other than state of a resource or of an event.
[0041] The SIP server 110 acknowledges with the 200 OK message 225 the request by the SIP subscriber 205 to be notified with the information as requested and defined the video-rating information package 220 . With the same 200 OK message 225 , the SIP server 110 also acknowledges of being informed that the SIP subscriber 105 uploads the information as informed and defined by the video-rating information package 220 .
[0042] FIG. 2F , maintaining the SIP dialogue 200 , the SIP server 210 continues notifying information as informed as defined by the video-rating information package 220 . The SIP server 200 notifies with the NOTIFY message 230 . As described previously, with the NOTIFY message 230 , the SIP server 200 notifies the SIP subscriber 205 with information of a state of a resource or of an event. In this example, the NOTIFY message 230 synchronizes the current state of the subscribed to video viewing survey, that is, the information as requested 235 (viz., the state of the state of the video viewing survey is on, the total number videos viewed from last report is 0, and the number of videos viewed in the last report is 2). In a convenient embodiment, the SIP server 200 periodically notifies with the NOTIFY message 230 . The SIP subscriber 205 acknowledges with the 200 OK message 225 being notified with the foregoing.
[0043] FIG. 2G , releasing the SIP dialogue 200 , the SIP subscriber 205 discontinues uploading information as requested and as defined by the video-rating information package 220 . The SIP subscriber 205 un-subscribes with the SUBSCRIBE message 215 with the time to expire 217 set to zero. The SIP server 110 acknowledges with the 200 OK message 225 that the SIP subscriber 205 no longer uploads information.
[0044] FIG. 2H , releasing the SIP dialogue 200 , the SIP server 210 discontinues notifying information as informed and as defined by the video-rating information package 220 . In this example, the NOTIFY message 230 synchronizes the current state of the subscribed to video viewing survey, that is, the information as requested 235 (viz., the state of the state of the video viewing survey is off, the total number videos viewed from last report is 0, and the number of videos viewed in the last report is 2).
[0045] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example process 300 for communicating information in a SIP network. The process 300 starts ( 301 ). The process 300 requests ( 305 ) a SIP server notify a SIP subscriber during a SIP dialog with information of a state of a resource or of an event. While the process 300 requests ( 305 ), the process 300 informs ( 310 ) the SIP server that the SIP subscriber uploads information other than a state of a resource or of an event. The process 300 uploads ( 315 ) the information as informed to the SIP server during the SIP dialog. The process 300 ends ( 316 ) with the information communicated.
[0046] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a SIP subscriber process 400 and a SIP server process 450 for communicating information in a SIP network.
[0047] The SIP subscriber process 400 and the SIP server process 450 start ( 401 ) and ( 451 ), respectively.
[0048] The SIP subscriber process 400 determines ( 405 ) whether to upload information. If the SIP subscriber process 400 determines ( 405 ) to upload information, the SIP subscriber process 400 initiates ( 410 ) a subscription with a SUBSCRIBE message 411 (described above); else the SIP subscriber process 400 continues to determine ( 405 ) whether to upload information.
[0049] The SIP server process 450 determines ( 455 ) whether the SUBSCRIBE message 411 is received. Upon determining ( 455 ) that the SUBSCRIBE message 411 is received, the SIP subscriber process 400 and the SIP server process 450 participate in authenticating and authorizing ( 415 ) and ( 460 ), respectively, with authentication and authorization data 416 . The SIP subscriber process 400 and the SIP server process 450 may also participate in accounting.
[0050] The SIP subscriber process 400 uploads ( 420 ) information with a NOTIFY message 421 (described above). In uploading ( 420 ) the information, the SIP subscriber process 400 may collect or otherwise retrieve the information to be uploaded with the NOTIFY message 421 .
[0051] The SIP server process 450 determines ( 465 ) whether the NOTIFY message 421 uploading information is received. If the SIP server process 450 determines ( 465 ) that the NOTIFY message 421 is received, the SIP server process 450 configures ( 470 ) a data store (or database) on the basis of the SUBSCRIBE message 411 and stores the information uploaded with the NOTIFY message 421 .
[0052] Recall, a SUBSCRIBE message conveys or otherwise communicates from a SIP subscriber to a SIP server, an information package. The information package defines a set of information to be uploaded or otherwise reported from the SIP subscriber to the SIP server. As such, the SIP server process 450 configures (and stores) ( 470 ) per an information package.
[0053] The SIP subscriber process 400 determines ( 425 ) whether to upload information. The SIP subscriber process 400 may determine ( 425 ) to upload information on a timed or scheduled basis. Alternatively, the SIP subscriber process 400 may determine ( 425 ) to upload information on an event basis. In a convenient embodiment, when or a time the SIP subscriber process 400 uploads ( 420 ) information or otherwise determines ( 425 ) to upload information may be defined by an information package.
[0054] If the SIP subscriber process 400 determines ( 425 ) there is no information to upload, the SIP subscriber process 400 then determines ( 430 ) whether to release or otherwise end the SIP dialog. If the SIP subscriber process 400 determines ( 430 ) to release the SIP dialog, the SIP subscriber process 400 un-subscribes ( 435 ) with a SUBSCRIBE message 436 with the time to expire set to zero; else the SIP subscriber process 400 continues to determine ( 425 ) whether there is no information to upload.
[0055] The SIP server process 450 determines ( 475 ) whether the SUBSCRIBE message 436 with the time to expire set to zero is received. If the SIP server process 450 determines ( 475 ) that the SUBSCRIBE message 436 with the time to expire set to zero is received, the SIP server process 450 acknowledges that the SIP subscriber process 400 has no information to upload and un-subscribes ( 480 ) with a 200 OK message; else the SIP server process 450 continues to determine ( 465 ) whether the NOTIFY message 421 uploading information is received.
[0056] Alternatively, the SIP server process 450 releases (not shown) the SIP dialog and notifies (not shown) the SIP subscriber process 400 with a NOTIFY message that synchronizes the current state of the subscribed subscription.
[0057] The SIP subscriber process 400 and SIP server process 450 end ( 440 ) and ( 485 ), respectively, with information in the SIP network communicated.
[0058] FIG. 5A is a block diagram of an example apparatus 500 to communicate information in a SIP network. The apparatus 500 has a subscription unit 505 and an upload unit 510 communicatively coupled to one another. The subscription unit 505 , using a SUBSCRIBE message 515 , creates a subscription by requesting to be notified by a SIP server with information of a state of a resource or of an event during a SIP dialog, and by informing the SIP server that the SIP server is to be uploaded with information other than a state of a resource or of an event during the SIP dialog.
[0059] The upload unit 510 , using a NOTIFY message 520 , during the SIP dialog, uploads the SIP server with information other than a state of a resource or of an event as informed 525 , while being notified by the SIP server with information of a state of a resource or of an event as requested 530 . Although, a NOTIFY message is normally used by a SIP server to notify a SIP subscriber during a SIP dialog with information of the state of the resource or of the event, in a convenient embodiment, the NOTIFY message 520 communicates or otherwise conveys both the information other than a state of a resource or of an event as informed 525 and the information of a state of a resource or of an event as requested 530 .
[0060] The information as informed 525 includes, for example, information about a user, application or system. The apparatus 500 may collect the information as informed 525 . Alternatively, the information as informed 525 may be given by, for example, a user, application or system using or otherwise associated with the apparatus 500 .
[0061] FIG. 5B is a block diagram of an example apparatus 550 to communicate information in a SIP network. The apparatus 550 has a subscription unit 555 and a notification unit 560 communicatively coupled to one another. The subscription unit 555 creates a subscription responsive to a SIP subscriber (not shown) sending a SUBSCRIBE message 565 requesting to be notified with information of a state of a resource or of an event during a SIP dialog, and informing that the SIP subscriber uploads information other than a state of a resource or of an event during the SIP dialog.
[0062] The notification unit, using a NOTIFY message 570 , during the SIP dialog, notifies the SIP subscriber with information of a state of a resource or of an event as requested 575 , while being uploaded by the SIP subscriber with information other than a state of a resource or of an event as informed 580 . Although, a NOTIFY message is normally used by a SIP server to notify a SIP subscriber during a SIP dialog with information of the state of the resource or of the event, in a convenient embodiment, the NOTIFY message 570 communicates or otherwise conveys both the information of a state of a resource or of an event as requested 575 and the information other than a state of a resource or of an event as informed 580 .
[0063] The information as requested 575 includes information required for services, such as automatic callback services (based on terminal state events), buddy lists (based on user presence events), message waiting indications (based on mailbox state change events), and PSTN, and Internet Internetworking (PINT) status (based on call state events).
[0064] While this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to example embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims.
[0065] It should be understood that the network, flow, and block diagrams may include more or fewer elements, be arranged differently, or be represented differently. It should be understood that implementation may dictate the network, flow, and block diagrams and the number of network, flow, and block diagrams illustrating the execution of embodiments of the invention.
[0066] It should be understood that elements of the network, flow, and block diagrams described above may be implemented in software, hardware, or firmware. In addition, the elements of the network, flow, and block diagrams described above may be combined or divided in any manner in software, hardware, or firmware. If implemented in software, the software may be written in any language that can support the embodiments disclosed herein. The software may be stored on any form of computer readable medium, such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), and so forth. In operation, a general purpose or application specific processor loads and executes the software in a manner well understood in the art.
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Collecting diagnostic information from a remote device in today's networks is limited to system related information. However, of more interest to vendors of commercial products or services is information related to, for example, how their products, services or advertisement are perceived by end users. Accordingly, a method and corresponding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention are provided that extends the Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) NOTIFY mechanism. Originally defined for server to client or downstream notification of a state of a resource or of an event, the present invention extends this functionality to include uploading information other than a state of a resource or of an event from the client to the server or upstream. As such, information, such as usage behavior of a user, may now be collected to understand end user perception of products, services or advertisements.
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RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/661,032, filed Mar. 18, 2015, which is a continuation application of PCT Application Serial No. PCT/US2013/052099, filed on Jul. 25, 2013 which claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/706,533, filed on Sep. 27, 2012 and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/706,537, filed on Sep. 27, 2012. The complete disclosure of each of these applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The invention relates to shaving systems having handles and replaceable blade units. Shaving systems often consist of a handle and a replaceable blade unit in which one or more blades are mounted in a plastic housing. After the blades in a blade unit have become dull from use, the blade unit is discarded, and replaced on the handle with a new blade unit. Such systems often include a pivoting attachment between the blade unit and handle, which includes a pusher and follower configured to provide resistance during shaving and return the blade unit to a “rest” position when it is not in contact with the user's skin.
SUMMARY
[0003] In general, the present disclosure pertains to shaving systems and to replaceable shaving assemblies for use in such systems. The systems include a flexible return element, e.g., of an elastomeric material, which provides the resistance and return force that are often provided by a pusher and follower mechanism in prior art shaving systems.
[0004] In one aspect, the invention features a replaceable shaving assembly that includes a blade unit comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending blades and defining an open rinsing area surrounding the blades, a shell bearing unit, mounted on a back surface of the blade unit, the shell bearing unit defining a pair of arcuate members disposed outside of the open rinsing area, and an interface element, configured to removeably connect the blade unit to a handle, on which the shell bearing unit is pivotably mounted.
[0005] Some implementations include one or more of the following features. The shell bearing element may interact with the interface element. In some cases, arcuate members define articulating surfaces that are configured to enable pivoting of the blade unit with respect to the interface element. The shell bearing element may include a return element formed integrally with the shell bearing unit. The return element is configured to bias the blade unit towards a rest position with respect to a pivot axis that is generally parallel to a long axis of the blade unit. The return element is generally elastomeric, and may comprise a synthetic elastomer or natural rubber material. The return element may include an elongated member that extends longitudinally between the arcuate members, and in some cases may further include anchoring members that extend generally perpendicularly to the elongated member and are molded onto the arcuate members. The elongated member may include an opening configured to receive a protrusion extending from the handle interface element, e.g., a central, generally rectangular opening.
[0006] In another aspect, the invention features a shaving system that includes a handle having a distal end and a proximal end, and, mounted on the handle, a shaving assembly that includes (a) a blade unit comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending blades and defining an open rinsing area surrounding the blades; (b) a shell bearing unit, mounted on a back surface of the blade unit, the shell bearing unit defining a pair of arcuate members disposed outside of the open rinsing area; and (c) an interface element configured to removeably connect the blade unit to the handle, on which the shell bearing unit is pivotably mounted.
[0007] Some implementations of this aspect can include any one or more of the features discussed above with regard to the shaving assembly.
[0008] In a further aspect, the invention features replaceable shaving assembly that includes a blade unit, a blade unit interface element mounted on the blade unit, and a handle interface element pivotably mounted on the blade unit interface element and configured to removably receive a handle. The blade unit interface element includes a return element configured to apply a return force to the handle interface element.
[0009] Some implementations include one or more of the following features. The return force comprises a torsional force. The return element may be configured to bias the blade unit towards a rest position with respect to a pivot axis that is generally parallel to a long axis of the blade unit. The return element may be elastomeric, for example the return element may comprise a synthetic elastomer or natural rubber material. The return element may include an elongated member that extends generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blade unit, and in some cases may further include anchoring members that extend generally perpendicularly to the elongated member and are molded onto the arcuate members. The elongated member may include an opening configured to receive a protrusion extending from the handle interface element, e.g., a central, generally rectangular opening. In some cases, the blade unit interface element includes a pair of spaced, generally parallel arcuate members, and the elongated member extends between the arcuate members.
[0010] In yet another aspect, the invention features a shaving system that includes a handle having a distal end and a proximal end, and mounted on the handle, a shaving assembly that includes a blade unit, a blade unit interface element mounted on the blade unit, and a handle interface element pivotably mounted on the blade unit interface element and configured to removably receive the handle. The blade unit interface element includes a return element configured to apply a return force to the handle interface element.
[0011] Some implementations of this aspect can include any one or more of the features discussed above with regard to the shaving assembly.
[0012] The invention also features methods of shaving. For example, in one aspect the invention features a method of shaving comprising contacting the skin with the blade unit of a shaving system comprising a handle having a distal end and a proximal end, and a replaceable shaving assembly comprising a blade unit, a blade unit interface element mounted on the blade unit, and a handle interface element pivotably mounted on the blade unit interface element and configured to removably receive a handle, wherein the blade unit interface element includes a return element configured to apply a return force to the handle interface element. As another example, the invention features a method of shaving comprising contacting the skin with the blade unit of a shaving system comprising a handle having a distal end and a proximal end, and a replaceable shaving assembly comprising a blade unit, a plurality of longitudinally extending blades and defining an open rinsing area surrounding the blades, a shell bearing unit, mounted on a back surface of the blade unit, the shell bearing unit defining a pair of arcuate members disposed outside of the open rinsing area, and a return element disposed between the blade unit and interface element and an interface element configured to removeably connect the blade unit to a handle, on which the shell bearing unit is pivotably mounted.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an assembled shaving system according to one embodiment.
[0014] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the shaving assembly portion of the shaving system.
[0015] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the shaving assembly.
[0016] FIG. 4 is a side plan view of the shaving assembly.
[0017] FIG. 5 is a rear plan view of the shaving system.
[0018] FIG. 6 is a plan view of the shell bearing unit with the return element and blade unit.
[0019] FIGS. 7-7B are perspective views showing a shell bearing assembly and return element according to an alternate embodiment. In FIG. 7A part of the return element is cut away to show the underlying area of the shell bearing assembly, and in FIG. 7 the guard is omitted whereas in FIG. 7B it is included.
[0020] FIG. 8 is a series of diagrammatic views illustrating how the angle of the blade unit with respect to the handle is measured.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] The present disclosure relates generally to consumer products and, in particular, to shaving systems with interchangeable blade units. In one embodiment, the present disclosure features a reusable consumer product system having an interchangeable pivoting blade unit.
[0022] Referring to FIG. 1 , a shaving system 10 includes a handle 12 , an interface element 14 , a return element 16 , a shell bearing unit 18 , and a blade unit 20 , which includes a plurality of blades 22 . Referring to FIG. 8 , the angle of blade unit 20 with respect to handle 12 can range from approximately 15° to 105°. The handle 12 provides a manner in which the shaving system can be manipulated and leverage can be applied to achieve desired shaving results.
[0023] Referring to FIG. 2 , a shaving assembly 5 comprises the blade unit 20 , shell bearing unit 18 , and interface element 14 . This shaving assembly would be sold to the user as a complete, replaceable unit. The interface element 14 has a handle interface portion 50 that allows the shaving assembly to be removably attached to the handle 12 ( FIG. 1 ). This could be accomplished in a number of manners, such as a mechanical locking mechanism, magnetic interaction, etc. For example, the handle interface element 14 and handle 12 can interface in the manner discussed in U.S. Ser. No. 61/651,732, filed May 25, 2012, the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
[0024] The shell bearing unit 18 includes arcuate members that define two articulating “shell bearing” surfaces 35 A and 35 B that are configured to interact with two complimentary surfaces 25 A and 25 B of the interface element 14 . This interaction allows controlled pivoting articulation of the blade unit 20 to occur. Pivoting of the blade unit 20 is about an axis that is generally parallel to the long axis of the blade unit and is generally positioned to allow the blade unit to follow the contours of a user's skin during shaving.
[0025] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4 , the interface element 14 includes clip members 11 A, 11 B that are configured to grasp the outer edges of the articulating surfaces 35 A and 35 B of the shell bearing unit 18 to effectively hold the shell bearing unit 18 together with the interface element 14 .
[0026] Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 5 , the shell bearing articulating surfaces 35 A and 35 B are positioned to align with the areas 21 A, 21 B ( FIG. 3 ) of the blade unit 20 that are outboard of the area of blades 22 that is exposed for rinsing. These areas 21 A, 21 B are generally where clips ( FIG. 3 ) are positioned to hold the blades in place. This configuration of the articulating surfaces 35 A and 35 B of the shell bearing unit 18 allows debris (e.g., hair) passing between the blades 22 in the rinsing areas 23 A- 23 C ( FIG. 3 ) to exit the blade unit 20 , resulting in less accumulation, increased rinsability and improved ease of cleaning.
[0027] Referring to FIG. 3 , the blade unit 20 is mounted on shell bearing unit 18 by the positioning of a pair of fingers 30 which extend from the shell bearing unit 18 into receiving bores 24 on the blade unit 20 . The receiving bores 24 may be molded integrally with the blade unit 20 . In addition, the shell bearing unit 18 includes tabs 40 A and 40 B that are received by bores 52 A and 52 B ( FIG. 3 ) on the blade unit 20 and serve as lateral attachment points for the blade unit 20 .
[0028] Referring to FIGS. 1-3 and 6 , a return element 16 extends longitudinally between the two arcuate members of the shell bearing unit 18 . The return element 16 may be integrally molded with the shell bearing unit 18 , e.g., by co-molding. It is noted that the term “co-molding,” as used herein, includes transfer molding and other techniques suitable for molding two or more different materials into a single part.
[0029] The return element 16 includes an opening 48 that is configured to receive a protrusion 27 that extends from the interface element 14 as shown, e.g., in FIG. 2 . Preferably, opening 48 is in the center of the return element as shown. The interaction of the protrusion 27 and return element 16 provides resistance during shaving, limiting the free pivoting of the blade unit about the pivot axis described above, and provides a torsional return force that biases the blade unit towards its rest position, in the same manner that resistance and return are typically provided by a pusher/follower assembly. No torque is applied at rest, but as soon as a force is applied to the blade unit a torsional load is generated on the return element. In some implementations, the return element is designed so that its geometry provides a force of up to 50 grams, e.g., from about 5 to 50 grams or about 10 to 40 grams.
[0030] As shown in FIGS. 7-7B , in some implementations the return element 16 includes a pair of anchoring portions 116 A, 116 B, that extend generally perpendicularly to the longitudinally extending portion of the return element 16 and are molded onto recessed areas 118 ( FIG. 7A ) of the shell bearing member.
[0031] In an alternate embodiment (not shown), a portion of the return element 16 is reinforced with a hard plastic or another stiffening element, so that the movement of the return element 16 is primarily rotational and lateral deflection is minimized.
[0032] The return element 16 can be formed, for example, from synthetic or natural rubber materials. Preferably, the return element is formed from the same material as the guard. Suitable materials are well known in the shaving system art, and include, for example, polyether-based thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) available from Kraiburg HTP, thermoplastic urethanes (TPUs), silicones, and polyether-based thermoplastic vulcanizate elastomer (TPVs) available from GLS PolyOne Corporation under the tradename Santoprene™. The elastomeric material is selected to provide a desired degree of restoring force and durability. In some implementations, the elastomer has a Durometer of less than about 45 Shore A, e.g., from about 20 to 90 Shore A.
[0033] A number of embodiments have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
[0034] For example, while the shell bearings have been shown as positioned entirely outboard of the rinsing areas, a small amount of the rinsing areas can be obstructed if necessary, e.g. less than 10%, preferably less than 5%, and more preferably less than 1% of the total rinsing area.
[0035] Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.
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Replaceable shaving assemblies are disclosed that include a blade unit, a shell bearing element, and an interface element. The interface element is configured to removeably connect the shaving assembly to a handle, on which the blade unit is pivotably mounted. In some cases, a return element is integrally formed on the shell bearing unit between the blade unit and interface element. Shaving systems including such shaving assemblies are also disclosed, as are methods of using such shaving systems.
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PRIORITY CLAIM
[0001] The present non-provisional patent Application claims priority under 35 USC §119(e) from U.S. Provisional Patent Application having Ser. No. 60/649,940, filed on Feb. 4, 2005, by Ma and titled SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE SAIL HANDLING SYSTEM THAT ALLOWS SAIL CONTROL TO BE CARRIED OUT SINGLE-HANDED FROM THE SAFETY OF THE COCKPIT, wherein the entirety of said provisional patent application is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to an improvement in sail raising, dousing, and stowing. It allows these operations to be carried out single-handed from the safety of the cockpit. The sail shape can be controlled continuously at any position as the sail is raised and lowered, offering a much wider range of sail configurations to suit wind conditions. The sail can self-fold/pleat neatly on top of the boom as lowered, ready to be covered.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] A conventional main sail set-up in the representative form of Bermudan rig 1 is shown in FIG. 1 . The rig 1 includes a mast 2 , boom 3 , and sail 4 rigged to the mast 2 and boom 3 . The sail 4 includes a leading edge or luff 5 , a bottom edge or foot 6 , a trailing edge or leech 7 , a lower forward comer or tack 8 , a lower rear corner or clew 9 , and a top corner or head 10 . The sail is raised or lowered by controlling tension on the halyard 11 .
[0004] Sail handling further involves operations such as partially lowering and reefing sail 4 when underway. This reduces the effective size of the sail 4 for de-powering depending upon wind conditions. As sail 4 is lowered, the sail tends to fold, collapse, or otherwise lose its shape unless tension is maintained along leech 7 . Conventionally, leech tension is restored by tying off reef points 12 at boom 3 . Sail 4 may include one or several lines of reef points 12 . For purposes of illustration, sail 4 includes a single line of these.
[0005] The lowering of sail 4 typically requires at least one crew member to be on the deck in any weather conditions to fold/pleat or otherwise gather the sail 4 manually along the boom 3 and then tie it down using sail ties via the reef points 12 . This operation has been awkward at least and often is dangerous in a rising sea and in windy conditions. Sail lowering also is a difficult and risky activity when sailing short handed, especially single-handed. This method of sail lowering also is uncontrolled, relying mainly on gravity. The loose sail itself is a hazard and may injure or knock crew overboard, block the view, fall onto the deck affecting the performance of other duty, and/or fall overboard into the water.
[0006] The lazy jack systems (not shown) are an inexpensive way to control a main sail and boom when lowering a sail. A wide variety of lazyjack systems are known, but all generally are intended to help support the main sail up on the boom, out of the way, until the sail is folded and covered. Lazy jacks are effective for fully battened sails. U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,281, for example, uses lazy jacks to guide the sail when it is lowered and uses a sail cover (bag) to catch the sail. U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,842 constructs a multiple-line lazy jack on each side of the sail to form essentially a basket or nest to effectively catch the sail as the sail is lowered. Inconveniently, the height of the lazy jack lines of this system are not self adjusted with the falling sail. The sail also lacks a self-flaking system. This highlights a drawback of the lazyjack systems in that the sail still needs to be folded/pleated manually along the boom.
[0007] The roller furling system offers another way to manage sail handling. In these systems, a sail can be furled around a mast or boom. These furling systems have been described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,371,037 and 4,057,023. Both forms of this technology, boom furling or mast furling, are relatively convenient to use. They do not require crew to leave the cockpit to operate. However, they are expensive, require complete replacement of the existing rigging system, and they affect sail shape especially in light air. In addition, furling is not as suitable as might be desired for battened sails.
[0008] Other sail handling systems are also known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,506 uses two or more lines threaded back and forth through vertically aligned rings in the sail to fold and hold the sail on to the boom when it is lowered. This system is for a fully battened sail and requires sail cover modification.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,750 uses luff shackles and leach flaking devices to pleat the sail. U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,952 flakes the sail using brailing lines to suspend the sail leech to the topping line. However, these two systems lack a mechanism to prevent side blowing of the sail when not tied to the boom.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] This invention provides a sail handling system and associated methods for sail raising, dousing, and stowing when operating sail-powered craft. The present invention allows these operations to be carried out single-handed from the safety of the cockpit in a wide range of wind and water conditions. The sail can self-fold/pleat neatly on top of the boom when lowered, ready to be covered. Preferred embodiments of the system incorporate one or more self-adjusting lazy jacks. The system is useable for many types of sails, including fully battened, short battened, no battens; main, jib, Bermudan or Marconi rigs, lug sails, sprit rig sails, combinations of these, and others.
[0011] The system may be easily fit onto new or existing rigging systems without alteration of existing rigging. In other words, the system adds to, but need not supplant existing rigging components. This invention is non-intrusive to conventional sailing activity, i.e. friendly to conventional sail reefing operation. Thus, this invention can be seamlessly employed or detached with no impact on the normal sail operation. This invention is simple, easy to handle, economical, and light weight.
[0012] In one aspect, the present invention relates to a sail handling system comprising at least one control line routed along a leech and a head of a sail in a manner such that a tension on the at least one control line helps to support the leech and exerts a downward force on the sail head.
[0013] In another aspect, the present invention relates to a sail head bridge. The bridge includes at least one bar member and at least one block attached to the bar member. Bridge is attached to a head of a sail in a manner such that the bridge moves up and down with the sail head.
[0014] In another aspect, the present invention relates to methods of using the sail handling system and/or the bridge for sail handling.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 shows a conventional, Bermudan main sail rig of the prior art.
[0016] FIG. 2 shows hardware components and rope basket lines of a sail handling system of the present invention incorporated into a Bermudan main sail rig.
[0017] FIG. 3 shows the sail head bridge used in the sail handling system of FIG. 2 .
[0018] FIGS. 4 a though 4 d show how a control line is incorporated into the sail handling system of FIG. 2 .
[0019] FIGS. 5 a and 5 b show how sail lowering is carried out using the modified Bermudan rig of FIGS. 2, 3 , and 4 a through 4 d.
[0020] FIG. 6 a shows an alternative embodiment of a sail handling system of the present invention incorporated into a Bermudan main sail rig that includes additional side rope rails/lazy jacks and sail catching rope nests/baskets on each side of the sail.
[0021] FIG. 6 b shows the sail head bridge used in the sail handling system of FIG. 6 a.
[0022] FIG. 7 a shows an alternative embodiment of a sail handling system of the present invention incorporated into a Bermudan main sail rig invention that uses multiple control lines.
[0023] FIG. 7 b shows the sail head bridge used in the sail handling system of FIG. 7 a.
[0024] FIG. 8 a shows an alternative embodiment of a sail handling system of the present invention incorporated into a Bermudan main sail rig invention that uses multiple control lines with additional side rope rails/lazy Jacks and side sail catching rope nests/baskets on each side of sail.
[0025] FIG. 8 b shows the sail head bridge used in the sail handling system of FIG. 8 a.
[0026] FIG. 9 a shows an alternative embodiment of a sail handling system of the present invention incorporated into a Bermudan main sail rig using additional side rope rails/lazy Jacks and side sail catching rope nests/baskets on each side of sail.
[0027] FIG. 9 b shows the sail head bridge used in the sail handling system of FIG. 9 a.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0028] The embodiments of the present invention described below are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed in the following detailed description. Rather the embodiments are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may appreciate and understand the principles and practices of the present invention.
[0029] The present invention can be used to enhance sail handling and control of a wide range of sailing rigs. For purposes of illustration, FIGS. 2 through 5 b illustrate use of one embodiment of a sail handling system 20 of the present invention with respect to a Bermudan rig 22 . The rig 22 includes a mast 24 , boom 26 , and sail 28 rigged to the mast 24 and boom 26 . A portion 29 of sail 28 has been removed for purposes of illustration to allow components of system 20 to be seen more readily on the other side of sail 28 . The sail 28 includes a leading edge or luff 30 , a bottom edge or foot 32 , a trailing edge or leech 34 , a lower forward comer or tack 36 , a lower rear comer or clew 38 , and a top comer or head 40 . The luff 30 is attached to the mast 24 via luff hanks 46 . Luff hanks 46 are attached to sail 28 via grommets 45 . Luff hanks 46 are also slidably coupled to mast 24 for smooth raising and lowering of sail 28 . The sail is raised or lowered by controlling tension on the halyard 42 led to head 40 through halyard block 44 fixed to the top of mast 24 . Deck block 49 directs the main halyard toward the cockpit for easy operation.
[0030] System 20 also includes an optional, but preferred, lazy jack functionality that helps to gather and support lowered portions of the sail 28 at the boom 26 . As the sail is lowered, the folds, or pleats, of sail 28 gather in “rope baskets” provided by the system 20 . The lazy jack functionality is self-adjusting, and, therefore, is retained regardless of sail position.
[0031] System 20 is easy to fit or retrofit onto a new or existing rig 22 , as its hardware and rigging components are easily attached to rig 22 with minimal modifications being required. Advantageously, the sail handling system 20 is fit or retrofit to a new or existing rig without any alternation of the original rigging. The system can be used with a wide variety of sails, including main, jib, or other sails that are full, short, battened, boomed, boomless, batten-less, and the like. The system does not interfere with sail shape, but rather helps maintain useful sail shape over a wider range of positions than is available with conventional rigs. Thus, system 20 is simple to implement as well as simple to use.
[0032] In more detail, system 20 includes a bi-directional, auto stopping winch 52 that is used for taking in and paying out a portion 53 of leech tension control line 54 from the safety of the cockpit (not shown) while raising or lowering the sail 28 . The bi-directional auto-stop winch 52 helps to take in and pay out the control line 54 and provide suitable tension to the line to prevent it from tangling up. Winch 52 is conveniently mounted to a deck or cockpit top. The attachment is desirably reinforced sufficiently to handle loads from line 54 . Deck block 55 takes the control line 54 from winch 52 and sends the line upward to the sail head bridge 56 . Sail head bridge 56 advantageously moves upward and downward with head 40 of sail 28 and serves as a dynamic control point for rigging lines to be routed to and from sail head 40 regardless of the hoisted position of sail head 40 . The ability of bridge 56 to follow head 40 up and down is an important factor in maintaining leech tension as well as in allowing the lazy jack functionality to be self adjusting. Preferably, therefore, sail head bridge 56 is most desirably attached to sail head 40 , although bridge 56 could be slidably coupled to mast 24 . Aft boom block 58 redirects the control line 54 from boom elevation upward to the head bridge 56 . Terminal 60 is used to fasten the fixed end of the control line 54 . Blocks 62 and 64 are hardware constituents of the self adjusting, lazyjack functionality. These blocks 62 and 64 are attached to lines 66 and 68 , respectively. Lines 66 and 68 , in turn, are attached to boom 26 . Rope baskets are thus formed at least in part by lines 66 and 68 on each side of boom 26 for gathering lowered portions of sail 28 as will be described further below.
[0033] Leech hanks 67 are attached to leech 34 and help guide line 54 along leech 34 . As shown in the Figures, the leech hanks 67 desirably are long enough to let the sail 28 take its shape freely when loaded with wind. On the other hand, leech hanks 67 are desirably short enough to confine the leech movement when the sail 28 is loose. By way of example, leech hanks 67 having a length of 15 cm have been found to be suitable for an exemplary sail have an area of 140 ft 2 , a foot having a length of 10 ft, a luff having a length of 28 ft. and a leech having a length of 31 ft.
[0034] Preferably, each leech hank 67 is preferably matched to a corresponding luff hank 46 so that each leech hank 67 and luff hank 46 of a corresponding pair are at the same height above boom 26 . In other words, an imaginary line connecting each leech hank 67 and its corresponding luff hank is preferably parallel to boom 26 when a portion of sail 28 including the pair is raised. This correspondence is shown by the interconnecting dotted lines among corresponding hanks 67 and 46 in the Figures. This correspondence greatly facilitates self-folding/pleating of the sail 28 as sail 28 is lowered.
[0035] FIG. 3 shows features of sail head bridge 56 in more detail. Bridge 56 includes bar member 70 having first end 72 positioned relatively proximal to luff 30 and second end 74 positioned relatively proximal to leech 34 . Luff block 76 is pivotably mounted to first end 72 , and leech block 78 is pivotably mounted to second end 74 . Shackle 80 is attached to bar member 70 at a convenient location intermediate between ends 72 and 74 . Shackle 80 may be used to attach bridge 56 to sail head 40 . The halyard 42 may also be attached directly to shackle 80 if desired, or alternatively directly to sail head 40 . Bridge 56 helps to manage control line traffic at the sail head 40 . The length of the bar member 70 and the location of the shackle preferably are selected such that luff block 76 sticks out from the luff 30 while leech block 78 is positioned rearward a short distance from leech 34 .
[0036] FIGS. 4 a through 4 d best illustrate how sail handling system 20 is rigged. As will become apparent from the following discussion, control line 54 advantageously performs many functions within system 20 . Referring first to FIG. 4 a , control line 54 is routed from the cockpit to winch 52 . Line 54 leaves winch 52 and is routed through deck block 55 . By passing deck block 55 and going upward, it reaches luff block 76 on bridge 56 . Luff block 76 directs line 54 back down towards block 62 .
[0037] As shown in FIG. 4 b , block 62 directs line 54 aft towards boom block 58 . Boom block 58 , in turn, directs line 54 up along leech 34 .
[0038] As shown in FIG. 4c , line 54 follows leech 34 upward towards leech block 78 of bridge 56 . Line 54 is routed through each of luff hanks 67 along leech 34 . This allows line 54 to be tensioned as desired to control leech tension. At the head of the sail 28 , leech block 78 helps direct line 54 downward toward block 64 . Thus, tension on line 54 lifts block 62 (and block 64 on the other side of sail 28 ), causing line 66 (and line 68 ) to form a rope basket constituent of a lazy jack system.
[0039] As shown in FIG. 4 d , block 64 helps to direct line 54 back at terminal 60 where the end of line 54 is secured. Respective portions of line 54 extending aft toward block 58 or terminal 60 from blocks 62 and 64 , as the case may be, thus provide respective rope rails for additional sail catching nest/basket functionality along the boom 26 as part of the lazy jack system. Because line 54 is attached to bridge 56 , which moves up and down with sail head 40 , the resultant lazyjacks continuously self-adjust as the sail 28 is raised and lowered. Additionally, by selecting the length of lines 66 and 68 , the location of attachment points of these lines along the boom 26 , and/or the location of attachment points of blocks 62 and 64 on these lines, one can easily adjust and achieve optimal sail catching/gathering over the boom 26 .
[0040] Another rope rail is formed by portions of line 54 that extend along leech 34 in the preferred embodiment. This rail confines the movement of the leech hanks 67 at all times. This rail also helps to prevent the leech 34 from falling away from the boom 26 when the sail 28 is lowered.
[0041] System 20 is easy to use and most if not all sail handling operations can take place single handed from the safety of the cockpit. FIGS. 5 a and 5 b illustrate sail 28 being completely lowered. As a preparation step, it is preferred to sail the boat into the wind, as has been done conventionally. In order to lower the sail, one releases the halyard 42 while maintaining a tension on the halyard 42 to prevent the sail 28 from falling freely. At the same time, winch 52 takes in and maintains some tension in control line 54 . As shown in FIG. 5 a , the tension of line 54 can be moderate for sail dousing. With halyard 42 , the head 40 and bridge 56 are pulled down under the downward force exerted by line 54 . The lazy jacks and rope rails formed by line 54 along the boom 26 self-adjust automatically. The leech section of the control line 54 , or leech rail, takes a new angle, but is shortened as well. The lowered sail 28 is therefore being confined within boundaries formed by the two lines 66 and 68 (functioning as lazy jacks), the rope rails formed by portions of line 54 extending aft of blocks 62 and 64 to the end of boom 26 , and the leech rail portion of line 54 . Within the limited space of these boundaries, the lowered sail takes a natural wavy shape with the help from each of the leech-luff hank pair alignments, as well as the fabric conformability of the sail 28 itself.
[0042] Referring now to FIG. 5 b , while continuing to take in the control line 54 while maintaining some halyard tension, the head 40 will come down toward the boom 26 with corresponding leech hank and luff hank pairs aligned with each other. As a consequence, the sail 28 self-pleats/folds and gathers within the cradle/basket of the lazy jacks and rope rails over top of the boom 26 . The sail 28 is therefore well nested on the boom 28 , ready for the sail cover (not shown).
[0043] For reefing, the sail 28 is only partially lowered. Also, more tension is maintained in line 54 in order to tension the leech appropriately and thereby establish good sail shape in the reefed sail. If sea conditions require reefing, the reef points 33 are fastened to the boom 26 . Because the pleated sail 28 is well supported by its rope supports, this is safer to do than with a conventional sail rig.
[0044] Raising the sail 28 is also simple. One uses the halyard 42 to pull up the head 40 of the sail 28 while letting the winch 52 pay out the control line 54 . As the sail 28 gradually moves up, the control line 54 is extended accordingly. The auto stop mechanism of the winch 52 can maintain a proper level of tension on the control line 54 . This helps to avoid having an excessive amount of line 54 foul or otherwise entangle the sail 28 or other hardware or rigging. In short, the system 20 of this embodiment allows sail raising to occur in a conventional manner and its presence is transparent to the user. On the other hand, if in some urgent situations the sail 28 needs to be lowered quickly, the only task that needs to be done is to release the halyard 42 and let the sail 28 drop. There is no need to deal with the control line 54 at that moment and it will fall together with the sail 28 .
[0045] In order to test the operability of the invention, the Bermudan main sail of a MacGregor 26 sailboat was rigged in accordance with the principles of system 20 described herein. Sail raising and lowering were performed successfully from the cockpit in 15 to 20 knots windy conditions.
[0046] An alternative embodiment of a sail handling system 120 is shown in Figs.6 a and 6 b fitted to Bermudan rig 122 . Features of rig 122 similar to that of rig 20 described above are identified by a similar reference numeral incremented by 100. Thus, whereas rig 20 includes mast 24 and boom 26 , rig 122 includes mast 124 and boom 126 , etc. However, as compared to system 20 described above, system 120 includes additional, self-adjusting lazy jack functionality added to each side of the sail 128 to enhance the sail catching performance of the device. A modified bridge 156 also is included to handle the additional rigging traffic at sail head 140 . Specifically, the additional lazy jack functionality is accomplished with additional blocks 169 (starboard side) and 171 (port side) and lines 186 (starboard side) and 188 (port side).
[0047] The modified bridge 156 is seen best in FIG. 6 b . Bridge 156 includes starboard and port bar members 170 and 177 . A starboard, mid-bridge, starboard block 190 is mounted to starboard bar member 170 , and a second mid-bridge, port block 191 is mounted to port bar member 177 . Bridge 156 further includes luff block 176 , leech block 178 , and shackle 180 .
[0048] In this embodiment, control line 154 still goes through blocks 155 , 176 , and then 162 . However, instead of going back directly to aft boom block 158 as was the case for system 20 , line 154 goes up to block 190 on the bridge 156 and comes back down toward block 169 to form one more lazyjack on the starboard side of the sail 128 . Leaving block 169 and 158 , line 154 turns back up and goes through the leech hanks 167 to arrive at block 178 to complete the leech rail as before.
[0049] On the port side of the sail 128 , line 154 comes down from block 178 . Line 154 goes through block 164 and turns back up to block 191 to form a first lazy jack. Line 154 comes down from block 191 , goes through block 171 , and then terminates at terminal 160 to finish the second lazy jack and the rope rail. With one more lazy jack on each side and the resultant denser rope nest, the system 120 can catch/gather sail 128 on the boom 126 more effectively.
[0050] Instead of using a single control line 54 or 154 , multiple control lines can be used. Such an alternative embodiment of a sail handling system 220 fitted to rig 222 is shown in Figs.7 a and 7 b , where features in common with system 20 are identified by the same reference numeral incremented by 200 except as expressly noted herein. System 222 is identical to system 20 except (a) starboard and port control lines 254 and 257 , respectively, are used instead of a single control line 54 ; (b) an additional port deck block 259 is used to help direct line 257 ; and (c) a modified bridge 256 is used. FIG. 6 b shows single winch 252 being used to handle both control lines 254 and 257 , but separate winches can be used for each of lines 254 and 257 if desired.
[0051] The modified bridge 256 is shown in FIG. 7 b . Bridge 256 includes starboard and port bar members 270 and 277 , respectively. A starboard, luff block 276 is mounted to bar member 270 , and a port luff block 279 is mounted to bar member 277 . Bridge 256 further includes shackle 280 and one or more line attachments 278 proximal to the sail leech 234 .
[0052] One can see in FIG. 7 a that the starboard control line 254 goes through block 255 , block 276 , and block 262 to form a starboard lazy jack. Line 254 then passes through aft boom block 258 and goes up through part or all leech hanks 267 to terminate at an attachment 290 on bridge 256 , which completes the rope rail on the starboard side and at least a portion of the leech rail. Line 257 does the same on the port side of the sail 228 to complete port lazy jack and rope rail there. It also goes up from block 258 and passes part or all leech hanks 267 to terminate at attachment 278 on bridge 256 .
[0053] The embodiment of system 320 shown in FIGS. 8 a and 8 b is similar to system 120 shown in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b with similar features being identified by the same reference numerals incremented by 200 . However, system 320 uses separate starboard and port control lines 354 and 357 . Additionally, system 320 includes an additional port deck block 359 to help guide control line 357 . Further, a modified bridge 356 suitable for system 320 is seen best in FIG. 8 b . Bridge 356 is similar to bridge 156 except that bridge 356 further includes starboard luff block 376 and luff block 379 . The leech end of bar members 370 and 377 provide an attachment point 378 for the control lines 354 and 357 , respectively.
[0054] More specifically, port control line 357 goes through deck block 359 , then through block 379 on the bridge 356 , and then through block 364 to form the first lazy jack. Line 357 then goes up to mid bridge block 391 and comes back to lazy jack block 371 to form the second lazyjack. From block 371 , line 357 proceeds to aft boom block 358 . From block 358 , line 357 ends at attachment 378 after passing through all or part of leech hanks 367 . Hence, line 357 finishes the port side formation of the rope rail and the leech rail system. Starboard control line 354 is routed through winch 352 , blocks 355 , 376 , 362 , 390 , 369 , and 358 , leech hanks 367 , and is secured at attachment 378 in a similar fashion.
[0055] Another embodiment of a sail handling system 420 is shown in FIGS. 9 a and 9 b . System 420 is similar to system 220 of FIGS. 7 a and 7 b with similar features being identified by the same reference numerals incremented by 200 , except system 420 includes additional blocks 461 and 463 . These additional blocks 461 and 463 allow portions of starboard control line 454 to perform the lazy jack function via portions of line 454 constituting lazy jack lines 466 and 468 . In this case, unlike in FIG. 7 a , after control line 454 leaves block 462 (upper roller), it goes to aft boom block 461 . In stead of going directly up from block 461 along leech 434 to terminate at the bridge 456 , starboard control line 454 heads for starboard lazy jack block 463 . From this block, line 454 is split. One portion 454 is routed back through lazy jack block 462 and is secured to boom 426 by point 482 to form starboard lazy jack suspension 466 , while the other split is routed through lazy jack block 464 and is secured to boom 426 at a point similar to point 482 to from port side lazyjack suspension 468 . When sail 428 is lowered, the shortened control line 454 reduces the lengths of lazy jack suspensions 466 and 468 such that the sail catching/gathering basket/cradle/nest shrinks along with the lowered sail. In the meantime, port control line 457 is routed in a similar fashion as port control line 257 of FIG. 7 a , terminating at 478 of bridge 456 . The bridge assembly for this case is shown in FIG. 9 b.
[0056] Other embodiments of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of this specification or from practice of the invention disclosed herein. Various omissions, modifications, and changes to the principles and embodiments described herein may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention which is indicated by the following claims.
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Sail handling system and associated methods for sail raising, dousing, reefing, and stowing when operating sail-powered craft. The present invention allows these operations to be carried out single-handed from the safety of the cockpit in a wide range of wind and water conditions. The sail shape can be controlled continuously at any position as the sail is raised and lowered, offering a much wider range of sail configurations to suit wind conditions. The sail can self-fold/pleat neatly on top of the boom when lowered, ready to be covered. Preferred embodiments of the system incorporate one or more self-adjusting lazy jacks.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to German Patent Application No. 10 2015 016 026.5, entitled “Door, in Particular Sectional Door, and Door Drive,” filed Dec. 11, 2015; and to German Patent Application No. 10 2016 006 706.3, filed Jun. 1, 2016. The entire contents of each of the above-cited applications are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This present disclosure relates to a door, in particular a sectional door or side-sliding sectional door, which comprises a plurality of interconnected panels which are guided in guide rails via track rollers. Via a door drive, the door leaf can be transferred at least from a completely open into a closed position.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY
[0003] For closing the openings of buildings, garages or the like there are generally used doors which are available in a variety of designs, for example in the form of up-and-over doors, overhead doors, roller doors, wing doors, but also as sectional doors. In sectional doors the door leaf consists of several interconnected panels which each are guided in guide rails via track rollers. These sectional doors are guided from a closed position into an open position in that they are guided along the guide rails under the ceiling, for example of the garage.
[0004] For reasons of manufacturing costs, assembly costs and also for optical reasons it actually is desirable to put the door together from as little large panels as possible. However, to be able to pull the track rollers of the door along the lateral guide rails, it is necessary that the width of the succeeding panels is comparatively small, so that the roller pairs can run along in the guide rails without polygons. The wider the individual panels become, the larger becomes the radius of the bent transition region of the guide rails, in order to ensure a uniform run. A comparatively large radius of the transition region of the guide rails in turn leads to a large camber above the opening which is to be closed with the garage door. Sectional doors with large panels hence substantially are suitable for building situations in which above the door opening enough space is present for the arrangement of the guide rails. Especially pre-fabricated garages, in which only a comparatively low camber is provided, in general can however not be provided with sectional doors with large panels, as here no high enough camber is available.
[0005] On the other hand it is desirable that even when closing with a door, an exchange of air with the environment is achieved upon request. For this purpose it is known already to use various types of ventilation systems. For example, the uppermost panel can be provided with ventilation slots. Alternatively, the bottommost panel also can be provided with a combination of a sealing and ventilation profile in the region of the closing edge.
[0006] Independent of the known solutions, there are also known ventilation systems in which in the completely closed position of the door the uppermost panel is folded away towards the inside by a pivoting movement, in order to provide for an air exchange of the region separated by the door with the environment.
[0007] From DE 20 2006 013 676 U1 a solution is known in which the door leaf is transferred into a ventilation position by the fact that the anyway present door drive for moving the door leaf at the same time is utilized for tilting the door leaf into a ventilation position. The door, however, is pivoted into a region of the uppermost freely tiltable panel by the carrier driven by means of the door drive, wherein the entire door is lifted off the ground by a gap. Thus, on the one hand a ventilation gap is obtained in the bottom region and a ventilation gap in the upper panel region. The formation of the gap region at the ground, however, is undesirable, as here vermin, for example rats or mice, can slip through the gap. In addition, after formation of the corresponding gap a burglar also might force open the door more easily by means of a corresponding pry tool. To prevent this from happening, DE 20 2006 013 676 U1; provides a separate locking device which secures the door leaf in an approachable ventilation position.
[0008] From DE 20 2008 001 121 another solution is known, in which the uppermost panel of a door leaf consisting of several panels can be tilted without a gap being produced between the ground and a panel close to the ground (bottommost panel). The tilting functionality of the uppermost panel is achieved in that a pair of track rollers connected with the uppermost panel is guided in a separate guide rail. The course of the guide rail disclosed in this document is shown in FIG. 1 which will be discussed in detail below. It can be seen that the guide rail for the uppermost pair of track rollers extends substantially horizontally, then transitions into a downwardly directed bend which at a kink point transitions directly into an upwardly directed bend. For tilting the uppermost panel, the upwardly extending bend of the guide rails, which proceeds from the kink point, is utilized to provide for tilting of the panel.
[0009] In the above-described design it is disadvantageous that the speed of movement of the door leaf or the panels must be lowered to zero when the uppermost pair of track rollers reaches the kink point, i.e. the lowest point of the guide rails especially provided for the uppermost pair of track rollers. At this point, the slope of the guide rail provided for the uppermost pair of track rollers changes abruptly, so that the speed of movement of the door or the pair of track rollers is throttled very much upon reaching this kink point or even must be decreased to the value zero or a value close to zero. This requires a particularly accurate sensor system, in order to reliably determine the point of reaching the kink point. For the traversing motor of the door leaf or for the door drive it furthermore is disadvantageous that during a closing or opening operation the motor drive cannot simply start or come to rest, but that at the predetermined point, namely upon reaching the kink point by the uppermost pair of track rollers, the motor drive must be braked deliberately before it can start again. It is clear to the skilled person that this inevitably leads to a shortening of the total service life of the drive, as starting and decelerating the drive belongs to the most wear-intensive states of a drive.
[0010] Proceeding from the known prior art, it is the object to develop a generic door such that it provides for designing the drive of the door less robust and nevertheless maintain the tilting functionality. Of course, it should also be ensured that the door touches the ground during the ventilation position.
[0011] This object is solved by a door comprising a door leaf which includes several interconnected panels, pairs of track rollers which are connected with one of the several panels, and are designed to guide a respective panel in guide rails, wherein the door comprises an uppermost pair of track rollers, a bottommost pair of track rollers and at least one middle pair of track rollers, and the uppermost pair of track rollers, the bottommost pair of track rollers and the at least one middle pair of track rollers each run in separate guide rails, wherein the guide rails of the uppermost pair of track rollers have a course which in one portion has a trough-like shape.
[0012] Accordingly, the door which in particular can be a sectional door comprises a door leaf which includes several interconnected panels, pairs of track rollers which are connected with one of the several panels and which are designed to guide a respective panel in guide rails, wherein the door comprises an uppermost pair of track rollers, a bottommost pair of track rollers and at least one middle pair of track rollers, and the uppermost pair of track rollers, the bottommost pair of track rollers and the at least one middle pair of track rollers each run in separate guide rails. The door according to the present disclosure furthermore is wherein the guide rails of the uppermost pair of track rollers have a course which at one portion has a trough-like shape.
[0013] The course of the guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers has a trough-like shape, i.e. in comparison to a linear extension has a bulge therefrom. This provides the advantage that tilting of the uppermost panel is possible for ventilating the space to be closed with the door, in that the uppermost pair of track rollers, which is connected with the uppermost panel, is moved into the trough in direction of the trough bottom. There is only triggered a tilting movement of the uppermost panel, so that a pulling movement of the other panels, which would lead to opening of the door, is not effected.
[0014] For the drive of the door it also is advantageous that the speed of movement from an open state of the door towards a closed state of the door only must be slowed down at an initial point and at an end point and not as previously in the prior art at a kink point in the guide rails associated to the uppermost pair of track rollers. It is clear to the skilled person that the trough shape has no kink points whatsoever, which would necessitate such a behavior.
[0015] It furthermore is advantageous that now there is no need anymore for sensors which effect stopping of the uppermost pair of track rollers at exactly the kink point with high reliability.
[0016] In general, the guide rail trough-shaped in its course is better for the drive motor of the door, as there is no slowing down and starting in the kink. The trough-shaped guide rails contain no kink or kink point. In addition, the manufacture of the guide rails provided for the uppermost pair of track rollers is simpler than that of guide rails with a kink point.
[0017] According to an embodiment, the course of the guide rails provided for the uppermost pair of track rollers is formed by two linear guide rail elements in its trough-like portion. It furthermore is advantageous when the two linear guide rail elements are arranged to each other such that they form a V-shape. The V-shape then is produced by a very open V, in which the angle between the two legs of the V-shape is greater than 90°, alternatively greater than 120°, or alternatively greater than 135°.
[0018] According to another modification the guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers and/or the bottommost pair of track rollers substantially consist of a plurality of interconnected linear guide rail elements, wherein at their ends protruding from each other the two linear guide rail elements forming the trough-like portion maybe be connected with further guide rail elements which are arranged on a common straight line. Hence, there is a guide rail for the uppermost pair of track rollers which substantially is linear and only is interrupted by the guide rail elements producing a V-shape.
[0019] According to another optional embodiment of the present disclosure the course of the guide rails provided for the uppermost pair of track rollers corresponds to a differentiable function in its trough-like portion, which may have an arc-shaped, a wave-shaped or a pan-shaped shape.
[0020] Again, this takes account of the fact that the inventive guide rail for the uppermost pair of track rollers has no kink point. A differentiable function is characterized by the fact that the derivative is unambiguous at each of its positions, i.e. has no peaks or kinks. The feature according to which the path of movement of the uppermost pair of track rollers through the guide rails corresponds to a differentiable function or the guide rails provide a path of movement which corresponds to a differentiable function, ensures that the guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers have no kink in their path of movement.
[0021] In addition it also is possible that the uppermost pair of track rollers can be located in the trough-like part of the associated guide rails, when the bottommost pair of track rollers has reached its end position, and the door is in a completely closed position when the uppermost pair of track rollers has gone through the trough-like part of the guide rails. Proceeding from an open state of the door, the uppermost pair of track rollers hence moves into the trough, goes through the trough valley and leaves the trough, in order to reach a completely closed state of the door. Moving back the uppermost pair of track rollers from a state of the closed door leads to tilting of the uppermost panel when the uppermost pair of track rollers moves in direction of the trough valley. For reaching a tilt position it is of subordinate importance whether or not the uppermost pair of track rollers stops exactly in the lowest point of the trough of the guide rails.
[0022] According to another modification of the present disclosure the convex side of the trough-like portion of the course of the guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers is aligned downwards and/or the guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers are aligned substantially horizontally.
[0023] The guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers have a linear portion which transitions into the trough-like portion. The trough-like portion thereby falls out of the linear portion and then approximately again leads up to the height of the linear portion after having gone through the trough valley. The guide rail formed in this way substantially is arranged horizontally, wherein the horizontal orientation can be defined with reference to the linear portion. The trough is oriented such that as seen from the linear portion the convex part is oriented downwards, i.e. towards the bottom.
[0024] According to an embodiment, the guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers are arranged such that in a closed state of the door the end of a guide rail closer to the trough-like part is closer to the panels than the end of the guide rail is to the trough-like part. It thereby is expressed that in a closed state the trough-like part of the guide rails is arranged close to the panels, so that the trough-like part also can effect the tilting function of the uppermost panel.
[0025] According to another optional development of the present disclosure the course of the respective guide rails with its trough-like shape each corresponds to a wave-like or pan-like course, which optionally declines into a bend from a linear portion, thereby forms a first pan edge, with a further bend produces the pan bottom and with a last bend produces the second pan edge. Optionally, at the end of the second pan edge the level of the linear portion again is reached in essence, which linear portion transitions into the first pan edge.
[0026] Optionally, the uppermost pair of track rollers moves in separate guide rails along the entire path of movement during opening or closing of the door. The guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers accordingly are available exclusively for this pair of track rollers and are not shared by another pair of track rollers, for example a middle pair of track rollers or the bottommost pair of track rollers.
[0027] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure the guide rails for the at least one middle pair of track rollers comprise a substantially vertical portion and a substantially horizontal portion, which each are connected with each other by an arc-shaped guide rail portion.
[0028] It also is possible that the guide rails at least partly consist of sheet-metal sections. Guide rails which at least partly consist of sheet-metal sections are particularly easy to manufacture and very robust.
[0029] Optionally, however, the guide rails, in particular the guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers consist of a molded plastic part in their bent region.
[0030] Furthermore, the present disclosure comprises a door according to any of the embodiments described above, which consists of two or more, in particular three or four panels.
[0031] According to another optional modification of the present disclosure the door leaf can be transferred from a completely open into a closed position by means of a door drive. Alternatively, however, the door leaf also can manually be transferable from a completely open into a closed position, which for example is advantageous in the case of a defective motor.
[0032] The present disclosure also relates to a door drive for a door according to any of the above-described embodiments for moving a door leaf from a completely open into a closed position and vice versa, comprising a drive motor, a guiding device, a carrier movable by the drive motor along the guiding device, which carrier is connected with the door leaf, and a controller, wherein the drive is wherein on opening of the door from the completely closed state at least one ventilation position initially can be moved to by the controller in that the uppermost panel is tilted, the uppermost pair of track rollers hence is located in the trough-like part of the associated guide rails.
[0033] Optionally, different ventilation positions are adjustable by tipping the uppermost panel into different tilt angles.
[0034] Further advantages and features of the present disclosure will become apparent in connection with the description of the drawings listed below. The figures are drawn to scale, although other relative dimensions may be used, if desired.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0035] FIG. 1 shows a door according to the prior art, which includes a kink in the guide rails which take up the uppermost pair of track rollers.
[0036] FIG. 2 shows a door according to the present disclosure, whose guide rails for the uppermost pair of track rollers have a course which in one portion has a trough-like shape.
[0037] FIG. 3 shows a door according to the present disclosure, in which the guide rails for the at least one middle pair of track rollers are shortened.
[0038] FIG. 4A shows a side view of the guide rails according to the present disclosure.
[0039] FIG. 4B shows a side view in a spaced arrangement of the guide rails.
[0040] FIG. 4C shows a cross-sectional view of a guide rail.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0041] FIG. 1 in simplified form shows a perspective view of a door 90 which serves for closing the opening of a pre-fabricated garage. This door is known already from the prior art. It is typical for the door known in the prior art that the guide rails 91 , in which the uppermost pair of track rollers 92 is guided, have a kink. The kink is designated with the reference numeral 93 . The disadvantages related therewith have been discussed already in the introductory part of the application, which is why they will not be discussed again.
[0042] FIG. 2 shows a section of a door 1 illustrated in simplified form in a perspective view, which door is formed as sectional door. It includes a total of three panels 21 , 22 , 23 , which are articulated to each other in a known manner. The lower edge of the bottommost panel 21 forms a closing edge in likewise known manner. On the panels pairs of track rollers 31 , 32 , 33 are arranged, of which only a part of the pair each is visible. An uppermost pair of track rollers 33 each is arranged laterally at the uppermost end of the upper panel 23 . A first middle pair of track rollers 32 is arranged in the upper region of the panel 22 adjoining the uppermost panel at the bottom, while the bottommost panel 21 once includes a middle pair of track rollers 32 in its upper region and in its lower region close to the closing edge includes a bottommost pair of track rollers 31 . The pairs of track rollers 31 , 32 , 33 run in separate guide rails 41 , 42 , 43 each arranged laterally.
[0043] For the middle pair of track rollers 32 there is each provided a guide rail 42 of the guide rail system, which in a known manner consists of a vertical and a horizontal region and a region connecting the same in the shape of an arc.
[0044] In FIG. 1 the door 1 is closed completely, wherein for transfer into a partly open or into an open state it is pulled into a non-illustrated carrier along the individual paths of movement of the guide rails 41 , 42 , 43 upwards into the garage. From the closed state of the door 1 , the uppermost panel 23 initially is tilted to the rear, so that the uppermost pair of track rollers 33 comes to lie in the trough-like portion of the guide rails 43 .
[0045] For a transition of the garage door 1 from a closed state into an open state, a pulling force is applied in the vicinity of the upper edge of the uppermost panel 23 in direction of the garage interior, which due to the trough-like portion 5 need not be slowed down or be decelerated to the value zero or a value close to zero during the movement from the closed position to an open position.
[0046] FIG. 3 shows an advantageous embodiment of the present disclosure, in which the guide rails 42 of the at least one middle pair of track rollers 32 are shortened. It is not required to let the middle guide rails 42 run as far as the vicinity of a bottom region or to extend the same along the entire length of the guide rails 43 for the uppermost pair of track rollers 33 . As shown in FIG. 3 , this results from the fact that even in a closed state of the door leaf 2 the bottommost panel 21 does not get near a region close to the ground with its middle pair of track rollers 32 .
[0047] Conversely, this also applies for the uppermost panel 23 which in a completely open state of the door 1 does not get in the vicinity of the uppermost pair of track rollers 33 with its middle pair of track rollers 32 . The guide rails 42 for the at least one middle pair of track rollers therefore can be shortened correspondingly.
[0048] In the present exemplary embodiment the door equipped according to the present disclosure was provided with a door drive. The present disclosure however does not depend on the presence of a corresponding door drive. A door according to the present disclosure can also be moved manually without leaving the inventive idea. As far as the door is moved manually, the uppermost tiltable panel can be provided with a lock, in order to fix and/or secure the same in a desired ventilation position.
[0049] FIG. 4A shows another embodiment of the present disclosure, in which the guide rails 43 , 41 for the uppermost and the bottommost pair of track rollers substantially consist of interconnected linear guide rail elements.
[0050] It can be seen that the guide rail 43 for the uppermost pair of track rollers substantially is arranged on a straight line from which only the trough-like shape 5 deviates. The same here is constructed by two linear guide rail elements 51 , 52 which together form a V-shape. The two distal ends of the V-shape are connected with the guide rail elements arranged on a straight line.
[0051] The guide rail 41 for the bottommost pair of rollers consists of a connection of two substantially linear guide rail elements.
[0052] The construction of the guide rails with the linear elements is advantageous with respect to the manufacturing costs, as the materials used therefor need not be bent.
[0053] FIG. 4B shows the individual guide rails in a view spaced from the other guide rails.
[0054] FIG. 4C shows the cross-section of a guide rail. In the cross-section it can be seen that the guide rail includes a running groove 61 in which the roller or the rollers are moved. One side of the running groove 61 is adjoined by a side wall 62 which typically is utilized to manufacture an attachment with a wall element of a building. Vertically in cross-section a roof 63 adjoins the side wall 62 , which should prevent the ingress of dirt. Between the end of the roof 63 protruding from the side wall 62 and the end of the running groove 61 remote from the side wall 62 an opening is provided, by which a connection with the door guided in the guide rail is accomplished.
[0055] FIGS. 1-4C show example configurations with relative positioning of the various components. If shown directly contacting each other, or directly coupled, then such elements may be referred to as directly contacting or directly coupled, respectively, at least in one example. Similarly, elements shown contiguous or adjacent to one another may be contiguous or adjacent to each other, respectively, at least in one example. As an example, components laying in face-sharing contact with each other may be referred to as in face-sharing contact. As another example, elements positioned apart from each other with only a space there-between and no other components may be referred to as such, in at least one example. As yet another example, elements shown above/below one another, at opposite sides to one another, or to the left/right of one another may be referred to as such, relative to one another. Further, as shown in the figures, a topmost element or point of element may be referred to as a “top” of the component and a bottommost element or point of the element may be referred to as a “bottom” of the component, in at least one example. As used herein, top/bottom, upper/lower, above/below, may be relative to a vertical axis of the figures and used to describe positioning of elements of the figures relative to one another. As such, elements shown above other elements are positioned vertically above the other elements, in one example. As yet another example, shapes of the elements depicted within the figures may be referred to as having those shapes (e.g., such as being circular, straight, planar, curved, rounded, chamfered, angled, or the like). Further, elements shown intersecting one another may be referred to as intersecting elements or intersecting one another, in at least one example. Further still, an element shown within another element or shown outside of another element may be referred as such, in one example.
[0056] Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
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The present disclosure relates to a door, in particular a sectional door, comprising a door leaf which includes several interconnected panels, pairs of track rollers which are connected with one of the several panels and which are designed to guide a respective panel in guide rails, wherein the door comprises an uppermost pair of track rollers, a bottommost pair of track rollers and at least one middle pair of track rollers, and the uppermost pair of track rollers, the bottommost pair of track rollers and the at least one middle pair of track rollers each run in separate guide rails, and wherein the guide rails of the uppermost pair of track rollers have a course which in one portion has a trough-like shape.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-0036630, filed on Apr. 20, 2011, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The following disclosure relates to a method of producing calcite by using an aqueous caustic soda solution and an aqueous calcium chloride solution, and more particularly, a method for controlling a grain size of crystallized calcite to a nano-size level by adjusting a concentration of the aqueous caustic soda solution.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Calcite is a compound having a chemical formula of CaCO 3 , and exhibits multiform characteristics that are classified into three different minerals, that is, calcite, aragonite, and vaterite. However, in fact, calcite is widely and industrially used, and it has various shapes, such as, a spindle shape, a cubic form, a spherical form, and the like, depending on the synthesis method thereof. In addition, as the grain size becomes smaller and the whiteness is further increased, calcite is a material utilized more often for various functions, which increases product costs.
[0004] Calcite is generally referred to as calcium carbonate in the industrial field, and is sorted into heavy calcium carbonate and hard calcium carbonate. The heavy calcium carbonate is natural calcite, and also called stone powder. It is prepared by pulverizing limestone or crystalline calcite into several sizes using a pulverizer, and utilized as a general-purpose material such as fuel-gas desulfurization or the like. Meanwhile, in general, the hard calcium carbonate is chemically prepared by subjecting limestone to firing, hydrating, and synthesizing processes. It is very widely utilized in various industries since the quality of products is relatively easy to improve and the shape of the grain is controllable in accordance with usage thereof. In addition, calcium carbonate for food and drug is subjected to procedures of crystalline form treatment and surface treatment, impurity control, and the like, to control functions thereof in accordance with respective food and drug products, and quality requirement levels thereof are higher and higher-purity products are required as compared with general traditional products. For example, whiteness thereof is 96 to 97, which is at a high level, and an average grain size thereof has about several microns, which is minute. In addition, a restriction value on several heavy metals, particularly arsenic, is several ppm, which is very strict. This is currently used as an additive in foods, cosmetics, toothpaste, drugs, and the like.
[0005] Methods of synthesizing calcite in a large amount are classified into a carbon dioxide combination method, a lime soda method, a soda method, and the like. According to the carbon dioxide combination method, a limestone source is used or calcium hydroxide which is a reagent is used to prepare lime milk, and CO 2 gas is blown thereinto (Equation 1). According to the lime soda method, lime milk or calcium hydroxide is reacted with sodium carbonate to prepare caustic soda, and here, calcite is yielded as a by-product (Equation 2). Meanwhile, according to the soda method, calcium chloride and sodium carbonate are reacted with each other to synthesize calcite (Equation 3). However, since the lime soda method and the soda method employ sodium carbonate and ammonium chloride, which are soluble salts, sufficient washing needs to be performed when calcium carbonate is collected, and grain sizes and grain shapes are difficult to control. Hence, in recent, they are never used.
[0006] Contrary to these, since the carbon dioxide combination method is relatively simple and leads to high purity, calcium carbonate is synthesized by this method, recently. This method has been known to easily control the grain shape thereof but not the grain size. Since, in particular, a growth rate of calcite is controlled by suppressing a dissolution rate of nucleus generated during a reaction procedure and diffusion of ions, a method of producing calcite for food, cosmetics, toothpaste, and drugs has recently been used by using a solvent, such as, ethanol, methanol, or the like, which has lower solubility and a lower dielectric constant than water.
[0007] The respective methods for synthesis are expressed as follows:
[0000] Ca(OH) 2 +CO 2 =CaCO 3 +H 2 O (Equation 1)
[0000] Ca(OH) 2 +Na 2 CO 3 =CaCO 3 +2NaOH (Equation 2)
[0000] CaCl 2 +Na 2 CO 3 =CaCO 3 +2NaCl (Equation 3)
SUMMARY
[0008] As described above, in the prior art, limestone or calcite is a very important resource since it can be variously utilized in many industrial applications and consumption thereof is very large. In domestic, however, there are no deposits of high-purity calcite, which is a basic material, such that fine grains need to be synthesized. However, fine grain synthesis technologies therefor have not been developed. Therefore, in domestic, a natural resource of calcite is entirely dependent on importing from other countries in order to produce high value products. As the grain size of calcite becomes smaller and whiteness thereof becomes higher, calcite is more expensive and is further utilized as a high-function material.
[0009] Therefore, an embodiment of the present invention is directed to providing, firstly, a method of producing high-purity and high-whiteness calcite to increase added value thereof and diversify usage thereof, and, ultimately, a method of synthesizing fine-grain calcite. More specifically, an embodiment of the present invention is directed to providing a method for controlling a grain size of calcite from several micrometers to several tens of nanometers.
[0010] In one general, a method of synthesizing calcite is capable of controlling a grain size of calcite, so as to prepare calcite having a sub-micron grain size from several hundreds of nanometers to several tens of nanometers, by using an aqueous calcium chloride solution as a material source and changing the concentration of an aqueous caustic soda solution while CO 2 gas is flown thereinto, under room temperature and room pressure, thereby crystallizing into calcite.
[0011] In the present invention, firstly, appropriate concentrations of an aqueous caustic soda solution and an aqueous calcium chloride solution are prepared. Purity of a solid reagent used herein is determined in consideration of target purity of the final product. As purity of the reagent becomes higher, whiteness of the calcite becomes higher but costs thereof correspondingly increase. The caustic soda solution is inputted into a reactor, and a thermometer and a pH meter are installed at the reactor. Also, a gas flow meter is installed at the reactor in order to flow CO 2 gas thereinto at a constant rate.
[0012] When preparation is completed as above, an aqueous calcium chloride solution is slowly inputted to the aqueous caustic soda solution. When the two solutions are well mixed by stirring and at the same time, CO 2 gas is flown into the mixed solution, calcite crystals are formed. That is to say, there is provided a method of collecting calcite.
[0013] According to the present invention, a method for controlling a grain size of calcite is described as follows. In the cases where the concentration of the aqueous caustic soda solution, which is a solvent, is increased to 1.7N, 2.5N, 3.5N, 5N, 7N, or the like, during the above reaction procedure, a difference in super-saturation of calcium hydroxide may occur, resulting in differences in a dissolving rate and a diffusing rate of calcium hydroxide. Therefore, a grain size of calcite can be reduction-controlled by regulating a crystal growth rate in proportion to the concentration of the aqueous caustic soda solution. At the same time, if the purity of the starting source materials is adjusted, purity and whiteness are largely increased. As such, purity and whiteness are controlled in addition to the grain size, thereby creating a more added value.
[0014] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1 .
[0015] The present invention may provide a method of synthesizing calcite, including: a) preparing source materials by preparing an aqueous caustic soda solution and an aqueous calcium chloride solution; b) performing crystallization by slowly adding the aqueous calcium chloride solution to the aqueous caustic soda solution under room temperature and room pressure and at the same time blowing CO 2 gas thereinto, to crystallize into calcite; and c) obtaining high-purity single-phase calcite by separating solid and liquid from each other in a slurry crystallized in Step b) and drying the solid.
[0016] In Step a), calcium chloride and caustic soda are general kinds of reagents, which are accessible on the market. However, they are not limited thereto, and industrial byproducts may be used therefor, or they may be intermediate products generated during a procedure of increasing the purity of limestone.
[0017] In Step a), it is preferable to prepare the aqueous caustic soda solution of 1N or more, and more specifically, 1 to 10N, and the aqueous calcium chloride solution of 1 to 10M, and more specifically, about 1 to 5M considering the concentration of slurry, which needs to be in a stoichiometric composition.
[0018] In Step b), the temperature at the time of reaction is room temperature, and more specifically, the reaction is performed at 15 to 25° C., but heating is not needed. The mixing is preferably performed by stirring, but is not limited thereto.
[0019] In Step b), since the calcite is formed through an exothermic reaction, an ending point of the reaction is mostly identical to a time point at which heat generation is stopped. Therefore, in the case of reaction in a 1-liter container, an increase in temperature is about 10 to 20° C.
[0020] In Step b), a mixing ratio of the two aqueous solutions is defined by a stoichiometric ratio. For example, 250 cc of 1M the aqueous calcium chloride solution is preferably inputted for 300 cc of 1.7N the aqueous caustic soda solution, and 250 cc of 1.75M the aqueous calcium chloride solution for 300 cc of 3.5N the aqueous caustic soda solution.
[0021] In Step b), the input flow amount of CO 2 gas is preferably 0.3 to 5 L/min, and more preferably, 0.5 to 2.0 L/min. Too much input flow amount or too less input flow amount of CO 2 gas results in rather decreased efficiency. A ratio of the input flow amount of CO 2 gas to the amount of conversion into calcite leads to efficiency of about 85% at about 1.5 to 1.0 L/min, which is more preferable.
[0022] In Step b), a pH of the reaction solution is about 14 to 12 for high alkaline solution (for example, 5 to 7N of caustic soda), and about 14 to 7 for low alkaline solution (for example, 1.7 to 2.5 N of caustic soda).
[0023] In Step b), as the alkalinity of the reaction solution becomes larger, the calcite crystallizes to have a smaller grain size. For example, calcite having a grain size of 50 to 100 nm is obtained for a 5N aqueous caustic soda solution, and calcite having a grain size of about 1 to 2 μm is obtained for the low alkaline solution, for example, a 1.7N aqueous caustic soda solution.
[0024] The reaction in step b) may be expressed by Equation 4 below.
[0000] CaCl 2 +2NaOH+CaCO 3 +2NaCl+H 2 O (Equation 4)
[0025] In Step b), the calcite may be obtained in a slurry state.
[0026] In Step c), solid and liquid are separated from each other in the slurry state of calcite, and then dried at 50 to 100° C., thereby obtaining single phase calcite.
[0027] It is convenient to employ a centrifugal separator, a press filter, or the like, as a separating unit, but the separating unit is not limited thereto. Any method that can separate solid and liquid from each other may be used. Here, the calcite obtained after drying the solid has purity of 99% or more, and hereby, high-purity, ultra-fine grain, and single-phase calcite can be obtained. A powder of the obtained calcite can be confirmed through instrumental analysis such as X-ray diffraction analysis, chemical analysis, or the like.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] FIG. 1 is a process flow chart simply showing a method of controlling a grain size of calcite according to the present invention;
[0029] FIG. 2 is an image showing X-ray diffraction analysis results of calcite produced by Examples 1, 2, and 3;
[0030] FIG. 3 is an image showing heat analysis results of calcite produced by Examples 1, 2, and 3;
[0031] FIG. 4 is an electron microscopic image of calcite produced by Example 1;
[0032] FIG. 5 is an electron microscopic image of calcite produced by Example 2; and
[0033] FIG. 6 is an electron microscopic image of calcite produced by Example 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0034] The advantages, features and aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, which is set forth hereinafter. The present invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. 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.
[0035] Hereinafter, the present invention will be in detail described by examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.
[0036] Whiteness is the most important physical property of a calcite powder. Whiteness of calcite was measured by using a whiteness meter (Whiteness tester, C100-3, Kett electric laboratory, Japan), and here Al 2 O 3 was employed as a standard specimen. Besides, characteristics of calcite were analyzed by using TGA and XRD.
Example 1
[0037] While 400 cc of 1N aqueous NaOH solution was continuously stirred at room temperature, 300 cc of 2M aqueous calcium chloride (CaCl 2 ) solution was slowly inputted thereinto at a rate of, specifically, about 20 cc/min, followed by reaction with CO 2 gas, thereby preparing a calcite slurry. An input flow rate of CO 2 gas was 1.5 L/min, and at the same time when of CO 2 gas was inputted, calcite crystallized. A pH of the aqueous reaction solution exhibited 14 at the initial time and about 8.2 after completion of the reaction.
[0038] After finishing the reaction, centrifugal separation was carried out at a rate of 1000 rpm for 10 minutes by using a laboratory centrifugal separator (Union32R, Hanil), and then solid-phase calcite was dried to obtain 51 g of a powder. Here, a grain size thereof was about 7 to 10 μm and whiteness thereof was 99.8 under the electron microscope ( FIG. 4 ).
[0039] As a result of X-ray diffraction analysis of the calcite, the calcite exhibited d=3.03 A (104), 2.285 A (113), 2.09 A (202), which confirmed that single-phase calcite was produced ( FIG. 2 ). Also, as a result of heat analysis of the calcite, the number of melting points was one and there was no thermal reaction, which confirmed that single-phase calcite was produced ( FIG. 3 ). The composition ratio of the above example is shown in Table 1 below.
Example 2
[0040] While 400 cc of 2.5N aqueous NaOH solution was continuously stirred at room temperature, 250 cc of 2M aqueous calcium chloride (CaCl 2 ) solution was slowly inputted thereinto at a rate of, specifically, about 14 cc/min, followed by reaction with CO 2 gas, thereby preparing a calcite slurry. An input flow rate of CO 2 gas was 1.5 L/min, and at the same time when CO 2 gas was inputted, calcite crystallized. A pH of the aqueous reaction solution exhibited 14 at the initial time and about 9.1 after completion of the reaction.
[0041] After finishing the reaction, centrifugal separation was carried out at a rate of 1000 rpm for 10 minutes by using a laboratory centrifugal separator (Union32R, Hanil), and then solid-phase calcite was dried to obtain 49 g of a powder. Here, a grain size thereof was about 1 to 2 μm and whiteness thereof was 99.6 under the electron microscope ( FIG. 5 ).
[0042] As a result of X-ray diffraction analysis of the calcite, the calcite exhibited d=3.03 A (104), 2.285 A (113), 2.09 A (202), which confirmed that single-phase calcite was produced ( FIG. 2 ). Also, as a result of heat analysis of the calcite, the number of melting points was one and there was no thermal reaction, which confirmed that single-phase calcite was produced ( FIG. 3 ). The composition ratio of the above example was shown in Table 1 below.
Example 3
[0043] While 300 cc of 5N aqueous NaOH solution was continuously stirred at room temperature, 205 cc of 2M aqueous calcium chloride (CaCl 2 ) solution was slowly inputted thereinto at a rate of, specifically, about 14 cc/min, followed by reaction with CO 2 gas, thereby preparing a calcite slurry. Here, colloidal type ultra-fine grain calcite was formed and gelled. An input flow rate of CO 2 gas was 1.5 L/min, and at the same time when CO 2 gas was inputted, calcite crystallized. A pH of the aqueous reaction solution exhibited 14 at the initial time and about 12.5 after completion of the reaction.
[0044] After finishing the reaction, centrifugal separation was carried out at a rate of 1000 rpm for 10 minutes by using a laboratory centrifugal separator (Union32R, Hanil), and then solid-phase calcite was dried to obtain 40 g of a powder. Here, a grain size thereof was about 200 to 100 nm and whiteness thereof was 101 under the electron microscope ( FIG. 6 ).
[0045] As a result of X-ray diffraction analysis of the calcite, the calcite exhibited d=3.03 A (104), 2.285 A (113), 2.09 A (202), which confirmed that single-phase calcite was produced ( FIG. 2 ). Also, as a result of heat analysis of the calcite, the number of melting points was one and there was no thermal reaction, which confirmed that single-phase calcite was produced ( FIG. 3 ).
[0046] The composition ratio of the above example was shown in Table 1 below.
[0000]
TABLE 1
Concentration
Amount
Concentration
Amount
of
of
of
of
aqueous
aqueous
aqueous
aqueous
Weight
NaOH
NaOH
Change
CaCl 2
CaCl 2
of
Grain
solution
solution
in
solution
solution
calcite
size
(mol)
(cc)
pH
(mol)
(cc)
(g)
Whiteness
(μm)
Example 1
1
450
14~8
2
300
51
100
7~10
Example 2
2.5
400
14~9
2
250
49
99
1~2
Example 3
5
300
14~12.5
2
205
40
101
0.2~0.1
[0047] It was seen that the calcite produced according to the method of the present invention was single phase calcite, and it was confirmed from the above table that the grain size of calcite was controllable to several nanometers to several micrometers by adjusting the concentration of the aqueous caustic soda solution and the content of the aqueous calcium chloride solution. Also, it was seen that whiteness of the produced calcite was 99 or more, which is excellent.
[0048] The grain size and the whiteness are the largest factors determining the usage and the added value of calcite. Between the two, the grain size is the most important factor. When the strong alkaline solvent is used to control the grain size of calcite according to the synthesizing method of the present invention, ultra-fine grain calcite can be easily produced. Here, high purity and high whiteness calcite can be produced by adjusting purity of caustic soda and calcium chloride which are the starting materials, and resultantly, all the grain size, purity, and whiteness of calcite can be controlled.
[0049] In particular, according to this method, calcite produced by mineral carbonation from phosphor-gypsum and fuel-gas desulfurization gypsum is recycled for industrial usage, thereby increasing the added value. Further, low-grade natural limestone also is treated as above to produce ultra-fine grain calcite, thereby increasing the utility of resources as well as protecting environment and recycling waste resources.
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Provided is a method of synthesizing high-purity calcite capable of controlling a grain size thereof, by reacting an aqueous calcium chloride solution with CO 2 gas under strong alkaline condition, to crystallize into white and ultra-fine grain calcite. The method of synthesizing fine-grain calcite according to the present disclosure can decrease super-saturation by producing calcite under the strong alkaline conditions, thereby suppressing generation and growth of grain, resulting in controlling the grain size. Therefore, the above method is useful in producing high-purity ultra-fine grain calcite and can control the grain size of calcite from several hundreds of nanometers to several tens of nanometers by regulating the concentration of an aqueous caustic soda solution.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a batch typed billing method and system using dispersed processing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Billing systems are used for submitting bills for charging usage fees. The billing system calculates the charged amount of money that users should pay for each predetermined period by adjusting the usage fees. Bills for public charges such as power, water, and telephone rates, bills for allotments, bills for mobile communication usage, and bills for credit card usage are generally submitted using such a billing system.
[0003] [0003]FIG. 1 a is a block diagram illustrating a conventional on-line/billing combination system that conjoins system resources with on-line systems.
[0004] In FIG. 1 a there is shown a prior art on-line/billing combination system comprising a plurality of on-line terminals 100 a, . . . 100 n (hereinafter 100 ), on-line system 110 , and a plurality of databases 130 .
[0005] The on-line system 110 is coupled with on-line terminals 100 of related agents or related branches. The on-line system 110 alters customer's information in conjunction with operation system 120 by storing the customer's information inputted from the on-line terminals 100 in the plurality of databases 130 co-owned with the operation system 120 .
[0006] The operation system 120 has the plurality of databases 130 with the on-line system 110 . This system processes batch transactions, billing transactions, receipting transactions and charging transactions.
[0007] The plurality of databases 130 store necessary data for customer management transactions, batch transactions, billing transactions, receipting transactions, or charging transactions and may be a general Relational Database. The Relational Database is an assembling object of data factors comprised of standard tables. The data is easily accessed and assembled with no change of the database's tables.
[0008] The reason for the conventional on-line/billing combination system is based on the database. Through this database, synchronous control and data consensus by the on-line and billing systems is maintained. By this configuration, file data consensus can be maintained in spite of system failure and the addition or alteration of attributes can occur easily compared to file-based systems, although the process is not fast.
[0009] Because the conventional on-line/billing combination system co-owns a plurality of the databases, it is (1) not necessary to copy data because the system can access on-line billing information directly and (2) bills are submitted by using the altered customer's information, such as an altered address.
[0010] However, this configuration induces poor system performance due to (1) a bottleneck effect at the time of accessing the database and (2) the load when billing. The billing system, especially in the case of (2), can only process limited billing transactions because the on-line system has limited access to databases. A detailed description of this will follow, referring to FIG. 1 b.
[0011] [0011]FIG. 1 b illustrates the billing process per month on the conventional on-line/billing combination system.
[0012] As shown in FIG. 1 b, the conventional on-line/billing combination system processes billing transactions from for example Mar. 5, 2001 to Mar. 10, 2001, for charged fees during the period of Feb. 1, 2001 to Feb. 28, 2001. All bills submitted by Mar. 10, 2001 are made during this term.
[0013] For describing the conventional on-line/billing combination system's disadvantages, the date of March 8 will be used.
[0014] Because the billing process using the on-line/billing combination system should use most parts of the system resources co-owned with the on-line system, it is considerably loaded and may even become overloaded. Accordingly, when the billing process is operated by the system using resources co-owned with the on-line system, the system's performance is significantly reduced due to the bottleneck effect. In order to avoid this problem, access to the databases by the on-line system may be restricted and the billing system may be given exclusive access to the system resources during a predetermined period of time. Typically the on-line terminal is restricted by allowing access to the on-line system only after a predetermined time (hereinafter called the deadline), for example 11 p.m and before another predetermined time, for example 9am. Accordingly, in our example the billing system operates billing transactions by having exclusive access to the system resources from 11p.m. to 9a.m. on Mar. 9, 2001.
[0015] This can be an effective method but restricts the number of bills that can be processed because it can only operate during the predetermined time period if overloading of the on-line/billing combination system is to be prevented and if it is to be stopped from getting out of order. Thus the number of bills able to undergo transactions is limited even though the billing system has exclusive use of the system resources. Accordingly, when the number of bills is increased some will not be able to be processed during the predetermined period. In order to overcome this problem, the system resources need to be upgraded or a new system is needed. However, both of these options are very expensive.
[0016] Another solution to overcome this problem may be to divide the on-line system and the billing system to process billing transactions. If the on-line system and the billing system were divided, the performance of the billing system would improve. Accordingly, the bottleneck phenomenon and the lowering of the system's performance would be overcome. However, the effectiveness of combining the on-line system and the billing system would inevitably be lost. Accordingly, the system's operator would need to decide whether to integrate or divide the on-line system and the billing system.
[0017] Further, when the billing transaction is processed during a predetermined time in order to prevent the on-line/billing combination system from getting out of order, a problem will occur if a customer pays after the conclusion of or during the billing process.
[0018] [0018]FIG. 1 c illustrates the receipt obtained from month fee process using the on-line terminal utilizing the existing prior art on-line billing combination system.
[0019] As shown in FIG. 1 c, the billing transaction for customer A is terminated on March 8 during the billing process period for February, 2001. However, customer A pays a fee that should be reflected in February's bills if errors are made in January 2001 and if the bill is not submitted by March 9. In this case, the conventional on-line/billing combination system should process the billing transaction for only customer A's related data, for the fee to be reflected in February's bill.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0020] The present invention aims to address the above disadvantages of the conventional on-line/billing combination system. Therefore, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a batch type billing method and system using dispersed processing.
[0021] It is another objective of the present invention to provide a batch type billing method and system using dispersed processing to address the disadvantages of dividing operation and integrating operation of the on-line system and billing system.
[0022] According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for batch type billing in an on-line system and a billing system which has at least one jointly accessable database, wherein the on-line system for operating custom management and the billing system for billing charges are designed for dispersedly processing their own tasks, comprising the steps of converting the first database, which the on-line system and the billing system have joint access to, into the state after the time of submitting the current month bill; copying a second database from the converted first database; performing billing by using the second database on the basis of a billing account; and synchronizing the second database with the first database.
[0023] Further, the step of converting preferably increases the consecutive numbers of the bill in the first database by a predetermined value in order that the alteration factors that occurred after the beginning of the billing are reflected on the next month's bill. Also, the step of synchronizing preferably comprises the steps of dividing the billing accounts into the number of simultaneously possible synchronizations, in correspondence with the number of billing accounts, which completes their billing process, determining whether or not any alteration occurred in the first database during the period of performing billing by comparing the first database with the second database on the basis of at least one billing account simultaneously and transmitting the data in the second database to the first database corresponding with the determined result. Preferably, the first database comprises at least one billing related database. Preferably, the second database comprises at least one database accessed by only the billing system. Preferably, the billing account comprises identification numbers granted for at least one customer.
[0024] According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a batch type billing system having an on-line system and a billing system which has at least one jointly accessible database, comprising billing conclusion means for converting a first database which the on-line system and the billing system have joint access to, into the state after that time of submitting the current month bill, copying means for transmitting data stored in the first database to a second database, billing means for performing billing by using the second database as the basis of a billing account, and at least one synchronizing means for synchronizing the second database with the first database.
[0025] Preferably, the billing conclusion means increases the consecutive number of the bill in the first database by a predetermined value in order that alteration factors occuring after the time of starting the billing is reflected on the next month's bill. Also, at least one synchronizing means preferably comprises, means for dividing the billing accounts into the number of simultaneously possible synchronizations, in correspondence with the number of billing accounts which completes their billing process, means for determining whether or not any alteration occurred in the first database during the period of performing billing by comparing the first database with the second database on the basis of at least one billing account simultaneously and means for transmitting the data in the second database to the first database corresponding with the determined result. Also, the first database preferably comprises at least one billing related database. Also, the second database preferably comprises at least one database accessed by only the billing system. Also, the billing account preferably grants an identification number for at least one customer.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] The objectives and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed descriptions of preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
[0027] [0027]FIG. 1 a is a block diagram illustrating a conventional on-line/billing combination system that has system resources jointly with the on-line system;
[0028] [0028]FIG. 1 b illustrates the billing process for every one month on the conventional on-line/billing combination system having the system resources with the on-line system;
[0029] [0029]FIG. 1 c illustrates the receipting of the current month fee process from the on-line terminal after the billing process in the conventional on-line/billing combination system having system resources with the on-line system;
[0030] [0030]FIGS. 2 a, 2 b and 2 c are schematic block diagrams illustrating data processing on a batch type billing system using dispersed processing according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0031] [0031]FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart illustrating data processing by a batch type billing method using dispersed processing according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0032] [0032]FIG. 4 a is an illustration describing the operation of a billing conclusion process in the on-line system;
[0033] [0033]FIG. 4 b is a flow chart illustrating the procedure of an on-line system by the billing conclusion process;
[0034] [0034]FIG. 4 c is a block diagram illustrating a billing account database
[0035] [0035]FIG. 4 d is an illustration describing an alteration procedure of the consecutive numbers of the bill by a billing conclusion process;
[0036] [0036]FIG. 5 a is an illustration describing copying of databases from an on-line/billing system co-ownership database to the billing system's database;
[0037] [0037]FIG. 5 b is an illustration describing a configuration of a settling list database;
[0038] [0038]FIG. 5 c is an illustration describing a configuration of a charging list database;
[0039] [0039]FIG. 5 d is an illustration describing a configuration of a receipting list database;
[0040] [0040]FIG. 6 a is an illustration describing a billing operation using an on-line/billing system co-ownership database terminated with billing;
[0041] [0041]FIG. 6 b is a block diagram illustrating a billing conclusion customer database;
[0042] [0042]FIG. 7 a is an illustration describing a process of transmitting information of customers or the billing accounts completed with billing to an on-line/billing system co-ownership database;
[0043] [0043]FIG. 7 b is an illustration describing alteration in an on-line/billing system co-ownership database after operation billing conclusion and before completion of billing; and
[0044] [0044]FIG. 7 c is an illustration describing synchronization between a copied on-line/billing system co-ownership database and an on-line/billing system co-ownership database.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0045] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.
[0046] [0046]FIGS. 2 a, 2 b and 2 c are schematic block diagrams illustrating data processing on a batch type billing system using dispersed processing in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0047] In FIGS. 2 a, 2 b and 2 c, a batch type billing system according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises on-line system 200 , billing system 210 , on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 , copied on-line/billing system co-ownership database 230 and billing system's exclusive database 240 .
[0048] On-line system 200 operates all processes for accepting a billing process in the existing on-line/billing combination system. The on-line system 200 may be a UNIX machine or mainframe or any other suitable system. On-line system 200 stores altered customer information, receipting information, or similar information transmitted from on-line terminals 100 in on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 , regardless of whether or not billing system 210 starts creating bills.
[0049] Also, on-line system 200 may further comprise existing processed bills for generating a requested fee list when customers request a fee list covering a previous period of time or when queries on existing bills are received. These historic lists and information may be generated on-line or off-line by on-line system 200 . In this case, billing system 210 may be used to operate the billing to adjust the amount of money charged to customers using bills and the existing processed billing, which provides an on-line and/or off-line fee list inquiry service for customers.
[0050] Billing system 210 may comprise a UNIX machine, mainframe or any other suitable system, which preferably is the same grade or lower grade as on-line system 200 . Billing system 210 preferably only operates billing for submitting bills. Preferably, an assistance or backup system is provided and used to carry out the operating tasks of the billing system during such times when the main system is not functioning effectively.
[0051] On-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 stores data for customer managing tasks, arranging tasks, billing tasks, receipting tasks, charging tasks and similar tasks. On-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 may be a general Relational Database or other suitable database. On-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 comprises settling list database 221 , charging list database 222 , billing account database 223 and receipting list database 224 .
[0052] Copied on-line/billing system co-ownership database 230 is copied from on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 . Preferably the copying occurs just before the billing system 220 starts to operate billing. Copied on-line/billing system co-ownership database 230 may be accessed by billing system 210 and at times will not be identical to the on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 altered by the on-line system 200 during billing operations. Namely, altered factors in the on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 , preferably should not be reflected to the copied on-line/billing system co-ownership database 230 until the billing operation for arbitrary customers or billing accounts is terminated.
[0053] The billing account may grant identical numbers for one customer or a plurality of customers, and may be a unique identifier for identifying a charging target. All of the billing related databases preferably comprise a billing account field. Examples of when a plurality of customers is granted one billing account include when a company pays for all its staff's business mobile communication fees, or when a family pays for all of the family's mobile communication fees together.
[0054] The billing system's exclusive database 240 is only used for billing operations by billing system 210 . Billing system's exclusive database 240 preferably stores customer's lists and/or billing account lists when the billing operation is terminated.
[0055] One embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the block diagrams in FIGS. 2 a, 2 b and 2 c.
[0056] As shown in FIG. 2 a, when the date for billing operation arrives for to prepare and submit bills, billing system 210 starts the billing operation and copies on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 for the billing operation.
[0057] As shown in FIG. 2 b, billing system 210 adjusts the amount to be charged or fee by customer or billing account, by using the copied on-line/billing system co-ownership database 230 . Billing system 210 stores customer information and/or billing accounts completed by the billing operation in the billing system's exclusive database 240 .
[0058] As shown in FIG. 2 c, billing system 210 retrieves the customer information and/or billing accounts completed by the billing operation from the billing system's exclusive database 240 , and copies billing data related to the customer information and/or the billing account in on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 from the copied on-line/billing system co-ownership database 230 .
[0059] [0059]FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart illustrating data processing by a batch type billing method using dispersed processing according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0060] In FIG. 3, billing conclusion process 201 closes processing of the on-line/billing co-ownership database 220 (Step 300 ). By the billing conclusion process 201 , on-line system 200 alters factors of the bill including alteration of customer information, and receipting activities during the billing operation, to be reflected in the next months bill and stores them in on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 .
[0061] At step 310 , copying process 202 copies the database of billing system 210 from on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 processed by the billing conclusion process 201 .
[0062] At step 320 , billing process 203 operates billing by customers or billing accounts by using the copied on-line/billing system co-ownership database 230 . Billing process 203 stores the customer list or the billing account list completed with billing operation in the billing conclusion customer database 240 . Billing conclusion customer database 240 may be the billing system's exclusive database illustrated in FIG. 2 a, 2 b and 2 c.
[0063] At step 330 , dividing process 204 retrieves the customers information and/or the billing accounts completed by the billing operation from billing conclusion customer database 240 , and calculates the number of the customers or the billing accounts, for transmitting the billing data to on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 . Dividing process 204 calls the database synchronizing processes 205 on the basis of the calculated numbers. Dividing process 204 divides the customer list or the billing account list for transmitting the billing data to the on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 into the called database synchronizing process 205 .
[0064] At step 340 , database synchronizing process 205 transmits the customer's billing data or the billing account's billing data from the copied on-line/billing system co-ownership database 230 to on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 , by referring to the customer list or the billing account list divided by the dividing process 204 . When the on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 is not the same as the copied on-line/billing system co-ownership database 230 due to alterations of customer's information or receipting activity after the billing conclusion time, the database synchronizing process 205 reads the related billing data from billing system 210 . Also, the database synchronizing process 205 alters the state of operating of the customer or the billing account in the billing conclusion customer database 240 .
[0065] A batch type billing method using dispersed processing in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail steps.
[0066] [0066]FIG. 4 a is an illustration describing the operation of a billing conclusion process in an on-line system. FIG. 4 b is a flow chart illustrating the procedure of an on-line system by the billing conclusion process. FIG. 4 c is a block diagram illustrating the billing account database. FIG. 4 d is an illustration describing the alteration procedure of the consecutive numbers of the bill by the billing conclusion process.
[0067] In FIG. 4 a, billing conclusion process 201 is operated in on-line system 200 and is terminated after that time of billing conclusion operation for billing account database 223 . When billing account database 223 is closed to billing, on-line system 200 alters the customer's information or receipting activity inputted from customer/receipt process during the period of billing operation, to be reflected on the month's bill.
[0068] The ordinary billing related database comprises consecutive numbers of the bills submitted by predetermined period (for example, by 1 month). Because the consecutive bill numbers are settled at the time of initial submission of the bills and are increased by predetermined value by every submission of the bills, the number of bills submitted to the customers may be recognized.
[0069] In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention, on-line system 200 determines that the alteration of the customer information and the receipting activity are able to be reflected in the correct months bill, by referring to the consecutive numbers of the bill stored in the billing account database 223 . Namely, on-line system 200 determines that the correct bill is submitted for the last month's use by referring to the consecutive numbers of the bill. When the correct month's bill is not submitted, on-lime system 200 includes the last month's use into the correct month's bill. When the correct month's bill has been submitted, on-line system 200 carries the last month's use forward to the next month's bill.
[0070] Accordingly, the billing conclusion process 201 increases the consecutive numbers of the bill in the billing related database by a predetermined value, when the date of billing operation is reached for preparing and submitting bills. On-line system 200 alters all of the factors including alteration of customer information and receipting activities, reflected to the next month bill. Namely, the on-line system 200 carries forward the current month's part or the next month's part.
[0071] In FIG. 4 b, at step 400 , billing conclusion process 201 accesses the billing related database. In accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, all the consecutive numbers of all the bills may be altered.
[0072] At step 410 , billing conclusion process 201 increases the consecutive numbers by the customers or the billing accounts according to a predetermined value. As shown in FIG. 4 d, the numbers 9 , 12 , 3 are stored in the consecutive numbers of the bill fields 223 c. Namely, each of the consecutive numbers of the bill of the current month by each billing account is 9 , 12 , and 3 . Consecutive numbers of the bill filed 223 c ′ can be increased. As shown each of the consecutive numbers is increased by a predetermined value (‘1’).
[0073] At step 430 , billing conclusion process 201 stores the increased consecutive numbers of the bill in the billing account database 223 .
[0074] In FIG. 4 c, billing account database 223 comprises a billing account field, a customer activity code field, a consecutive numbers of the bill field, a customer ID field, a first activity date field, an agreement type field, a total balance of amounts field, an account state field, an arrear identification field, a payment information field and a bill information field. Some of the fields illustrated in FIG. 4 c will be now be described.
[0075] Billing account field 223 a is a billing account field related to the current month bill. Billing account field 223 a is a primary key field and has unique value among a plurality of billing related databases.
[0076] Customer activity code field 223 b is a field rated to the customer management activity code that effects the state alteration of the current billing account. A basic value is allocated to the billing account when the billing account is created. Also, the billing account is renewed at the time of alteration of its state. The state of billing account comprises a current use customer, termination/cancellation of termination, integration of claimants, alteration of claimants, and use stoppage/cancellation of use stoppage.
[0077] Consecutive numbers of the bill field 223 c is a field related to the consecutive numbers of the bill submitted.
[0078] Customer activity conditions field 223 d is a field related to a customer activity conditions. The customer activity conditions comprises changes in occupation, sales promotion, termination/termination due to nonpayment/termination due to dissatisfaction of service.
[0079] Total balance accounts field 223 e is a field related to the balance between total charging amount and total receipting amount. The total balance accounts field 223 e is related to the nonpayment or payment in excess.
[0080] Receipt method field 223 f is a field related to payment means including credit card, bank account, and similar means.
[0081] The creation data of the last month bill field 223 g is a field related to the creation date of the last month bill.
[0082] Billing conclusion process 201 copies billing system 201 from a plurality of billing related databases terminated with billing. The copying of databases and operating billing will now be described.
[0083] [0083]FIG. 5 a illustrates copying of databases from an on-line/billing system co-ownership database to a billing system's database. FIG. 5 b illustrates the configuration of a settling list database. FIG. 5 c illustrates the configuration of a charging list database. FIG. 5 d illustrates the configuration of a receipting list database.
[0084] In FIG. 5 a, copying process 202 copies databases from an on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 to a billing system's database 210 . Copying process 202 may use (1) a copying method by table (database) by using the UNIX machine's import, export function, and (2) a copying method by disk box (storage) by using a data transmitting apparatus like the EMC's storage networking apparatus, or (3) any other suitable method. The first method is suitable for small amounts of data, but is slow for copy speed. Otherwise, the second method is suitable for large amount of data and is fast for copy speed. However, the second method is expensive.
[0085] Also, for the on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 , only billing operation fields may be copied. A system operator selects the billing operation fields in advance.
[0086] The settling list database 221 , charging list database 222 and receipting list database 224 copied by the copying process 202 will now be described in detail.
[0087] Referring to FIG. 5 b, settling list database 221 comprises a billing account field, a consecutive numbers settling field, a settlement division field, an occurrence data of settling field, a settling amount of money field, a reflection date of settling field, a field of consecutive numbers of bill that will be settled, and a settling target field. Settling list database 221 stores fee settlement lists of the billing accounts. Some consequence fields illustrated in FIG. 5 b will now be described.
[0088] The consecutive numbers of settling is a field 221 a related to a consecutive numbers of settling that may be unique identifier for identifying settling target in the same billing account and may be primary key.
[0089] Settlement division field 221 b has a ‘settlement’ or ‘cancellation of settlement’ field and is primary key or foreign key.
[0090] The occurrence date of settling field is a field related to the occurrence date of ‘settlement’ or ‘cancellation of settlement’.
[0091] The settling amount of money field 221 c is a field related to a ‘settling’ or ‘cancel of settling’ amount of money.
[0092] The reflection date of settling field 221 e is a field related to a ‘settling’ or ‘cancel of settling’ date.
[0093] The consecutive numbers of bill reflected settlement field 221 f is a field related to consecutive numbers of bill reflected with ‘settlement’ or ‘cancellation of settlement’.
[0094] The settling target field 221 g is a field related to a target reflected with ‘settlement’ or ‘cancellation of settlement’. The settling target may be a basic fee, a monthly fee, an entrance fee, the price of terminal or a fee of telephone call.
[0095] Referring to FIG. 5 c, charging list database 222 comprises a billing account field, a consecutive numbers of bill field, a date of operating billing field, a date of billing field, a date of payment field, a charging amount of the last month field, a receipting amount of the last month field, an increasing amount of the last month field, a settling amount of the last month bill field, a nonpayment amount of the last month field, a nonpayment amount of arrear target field, an un-charging amount of the current charging period by billing account field, a total charging amount of money field and a payment method field. Some consequence fields illustrated in FIG. 5 c will now be described.
[0096] The date of operating of billing field 222 a is related to a date of operating of billing.
[0097] The date of billing field 222 b is related to a submitting date of bill.
[0098] The date of payment field 222 c is a field related to a closing day of payment for charging fee.
[0099] The charging amount of the last month field 222 d is a field related to total charging amount of money for the last month. The charging amount of the last month has positive value or negative value.
[0100] The receipting amount of the last month field 222 e is a field related to receipting amount of money until the date of charging.
[0101] The settling amount of the last month bill field 222 f is a field related to charging amount occurred through on-line and to receipting amount through on-line.
[0102] The nonpayment amount of the last month field 222 g is a field related to total nonpayment amount expired the closing day of payment of the last month. The nonpayment amount of the last month has positive value or negative value.
[0103] The nonpayment amount of arrear target field 222 h is a field related to nonpayment amount imposed with additional charges out of nonpayment amount of the last month.
[0104] The arrears amount of money field 222 i is a field related to arrears charges imposed on the nonpayment amount of arrear target.
[0105] The un-charging amount of the current charging period by billing account field 222 j is a field related to charging amount accumulated between the date of billing and the date of submitting bill.
[0106] The total charging amount of money field 222 k is a field related to total charging amount of money for the current month for the customers or the billing accounts.
[0107] The payment method data field 222 l is a field related to payment methods.
[0108] Referring to FIG. 5 d, receipting list database 224 comprises a billing account field, a consecutive numbers of receipting field, a date of operating of receipting field, a receipting method field, a detail receipting information field, a bank code field, a credit card numbers field, a card admission numbers field, a actual payment amount by customer field, and a membership numbers field. Fields illustrated in FIG. 5 d will now be described.
[0109] The consecutive numbers of receipting field 224 a is a field related to a unique identifier for identifying receipting by billing accounts.
[0110] The date of operating of receipting field 224 b is a field related to a date of customer's actual receipting for charging fee.
[0111] The receipting method field 224 c is a field related to customer's receipting method for charging fee.
[0112] [0112]FIG. 6 a is an illustration describing billing operations using the on-line/billing system co-ownership database terminated with billing. FIG. 6 b is a block diagram illustrating the billing conclusion customer database.
[0113] Referring to FIG. 6 a, billing system 210 operates billing by using the on-line/billing system co-ownership database 230 copied from the on-line system terminated with billing.
[0114] The copied on-line/billing system co-ownership database 230 decreases the consecutive numbers of the bill by the predetermined value in order to restore the consecutive numbers to its original state. Billing process 203 extracts specific data for the billing operation and recomposes tables. Also, billing process 203 stores the extracted data in particular order in order that a lot of data can be processed in 1 block of the SGA area in the UNIX machine. Also, billing process 203 may recompose or eliminate indexes for improvement of performance of the billing system.
[0115] The customers information and/or the billing accounts completed with billing may be stored in the billing conclusion customer database 240 . Also, the state of operating field may be altered with ‘completion of billing’.
[0116] Referring to FIG. 6 b, billing conclusion customer database 240 comprises a billing account field, a consecutive numbers of bill field, a membership numbers field, a state of operating field, a operating time of billing conclusion field, and a completion time of billing operation field.
[0117] State of operating field 240 a is a field related to whether or not the billing operation is completed. The state of operating comprises ‘waiting for billing operation’, ‘billing operating’ and ‘completing of billing operation’.
[0118] Operating time of billing conclusion field 240 b is a field related to an operating time of billing conclusion in on-line system. The operating time of billing conclusion field 240 b may be a selective field, and may be used only for separately managing an altering time of databases as the time of billing conclusion in the on-line system 200 .
[0119] Completion time of billing operation field 240 c is a field related to a completion time of billing operation. The completion time of billing operation field 240 c may be a selective field, and may be used for separately managing an altering time of database in the on-line system 200 and simplifying the operation of the database synchronizing process 205 . Namely, the operating time of billing conclusion field 240 b and the completion time of billing operation field 240 c may be used for comparing the alteration times of the databases, in order that the comparing process in the database synchronizing process 205 is omitted.
[0120] [0120]FIG. 7 a illustrates transmitting customers' information and/or billing accounts completed with billing to the on-line/billing system co-ownership database. FIG. 7 b illustrates the alteration of the on-line/billing system co-ownership database after operation billing conclusion and before completion of billing. FIG. 7 c illustrates describing synchronization between the copied on-line/billing system co-ownership database and the on-line/billing system co-ownership database.
[0121] Referring to FIG. 7 a, dividing process 204 retrieves the customers information or the billing accounts completed with billing from the billing conclusion customer database 240 , and divides the customer list or the billing account list completed with billing into a plurality of database synchronizing processes 205 . The plurality of database synchronizing processes 205 reads the billing data related to the information of the customers and the billing accounts from the copied on-line/billing system co-ownership database 230 , by referring to the customer list or the billing account list, and transmits them to the on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 .
[0122] Referring to FIG. 7 b, at step 400 , dividing process 204 retrieves the customers' information or the billing accounts completed with billing from the billing conclusion customer database 240 .
[0123] At step 410 , the dividing process 204 alters the state of operating of the customers or the billing accounts completed with billing into ‘operating’. Also, the dividing process 204 counts the number of the customers or the billing accounts altered by their state as ‘operating’, and decides the number of necessary database synchronizing processes 205 . When the number of necessary database synchronizing processes 205 is decided, the necessary database synchronizing processes 205 are created in correspondence with the number.
[0124] If the number of created database synchronizing processes exceeds the number of operations, the exceeded database synchronizing processes are terminated, in order that system resources are allocated to the billing process. Also, the database synchronizing processes are terminated when they do not have any operation during the predetermined time.
[0125] At step 420 , dividing process 204 divides the customer list or the billing account list that their state is ‘operating’ into the created plurality of database synchronizing processes 205 . The quantity of the divided customer list or billing account list may be restricted to the number of one database synchronizing process's ability. Because the number of lists that the database synchronizing processes 205 operates during predetermined time is depended on each billing system's ability, the system operator may set up the predetermined value in advance.
[0126] At step 430 , database synchronizing process 205 reads the data of the customers or the billing accounts from the copied on-line/billing system co-ownership database 230 , compares the data with the billing data related to the customers or the billing accounts stored in the on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 . After copying the on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 for billing, some fields of the on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 are modified, deleted or created, if the on-line system 200 modifies the on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 . Referring to FIG. 7 c, on-line system 200 modifies the customer activity conditions field of the billing account database 223 from ‘using service’ to ‘terminating’, after starting the billing.
[0127] Database synchronizing process 205 compares each field of the copied on-line/billing system co-ownership database 230 with each field of the on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 , by referring to the customers or the billing accounts. Namely, the database synchronizing process 205 compares the setting list database 221 , the charging list database 222 , the billing account database 223 and the receipting list database 224 of the on-line system 200 with the database synchronizing process 205 compares the setting list database 231 , the charging list database 232 , the billing account database 233 and the receipting list database 234 of the billing system 210 respectively, by referring to the equal billing accounts.
[0128] At step 440 , if there is any alteration in the on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 , then step 450 is processed. If there is no alteration in the on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 , then step 470 is processed.
[0129] At step 450 , billing system 210 reads the billing data of the altered billing conclusion customers from the on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 , stores the billing data in the copied on-line/billing system co-ownership database 230 and modifies the state of operating field of the billing conclusion customer database 240 .
[0130] At step 460 , billing system 210 operates the billing process for the altered customers or the altered billing accounts.
[0131] At step 470 , billing system 210 transmits the customers billing data of the billing accounts that are not altered to the on-line system 200 . The on-line system 200 stores the billing data in the on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 . If there is no alteration during the billing process, both the databases are equal, except for the billing data of the copied on-line/billing system co-ownership database 230 modified by the billing process. Accordingly, it is preferable that billing system 210 transmits just the billing data comprising the total charging amount to the on-line/billing system co-ownership database 220 .
[0132] The present invention is intended to improve on-line processing efficiency and overcome limitations in billing process of companies that operate prior art combination systems of the on-line system and the billing system. The present invention facilitates a billing system with exclusively the necessary database for billing process during billing operation, and the on-line system reserves alterations of the customer information or the receipting activity on-line, and reprocesses the reserved alterations.
[0133] Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described it is not intended that the invention be limited to these embodiments. Modifications within the spirit of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art and are incorporated.
[0134] One advantage of the batch type billing method and system using dispersed processing in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention is that the system (1) charges fees using altered address/name when the address/name are altered at the beginning of the month, and (2) applies some alterations such as agreement termination or drawback to the bill of the current month because the on-line system and the billing system have jointly a plurality of databases.
[0135] Another advantage of the batch typed billing method and system using dispersed processing in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention is that (1) the billing system operates the billing process, no connection with the on-line system, (2) the billing performance is improved because there is no relation to the workloads on the on-line system, (3) the performance of the total system is improved because occupation competitions for system resources are removed, (4) the performance of the billing system is improved by reconstructing the tables of the database, because the billing system has exclusively a plurality of databases.
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The present invention relates to a batch typed billing method and system by using dispersed processing. One aspect of the present invention is a method for batch typed billing in an on-line system and a billing system which have at least one database jointly, wherein the on-line system for operating custom management and the billing system for billing charges are designed for dispersed processing their own task, comprising of the steps of converting a first database which the on-line system and the billing system have jointly, into the state after that time of submitting the current month bill; copying a second database from the converted first database; performing billing by using the second database on the basis of a billing account; and synchronizing the second database with the first database.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to compositions and methods for pain relief.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Pain results from the noxious stimulation of nerve endings. Nociceptive pain is caused by stimulation of nociceptors (e.g., a needle stick or skin pinch), which then transmit impulses over neural pathways to the spinal neurons and then to the brain. Neuropathic pain is caused by damage to neural structures, such as peripheral nerve endings or nociceptors, which can generate impulses in the absence of stimulation (e.g., herpes zoster pain after the rash has healed).
[0005] In contrast to pain treatment with systemic agents, pain can be treated locally by topically administering a pain relieving agent directly to the painful area to block the nociceptive mechanistic pathway. Local anesthetics prevent the generation and conduction of nociceptive nerve impulses. Thus, for example, a local anesthetic or analgesic can be topically applied at the pain area. Advantages of topical anesthetic or analgesic administration over systemic administration of pain relievers include decrease or preclusion of certain side effects, improved patient compliance, and reversible action (i.e., the action can be reversed by removing the anesthetic from the application site).
[0006] A variety of drug classes have anesthetic or analgesic properties and can be administered in topical formulations. Traditional local anesthetics or sodium-channel blockers, such as lidocaine prevent the generation and conduction of nerve impulses by decreasing or preventing the large transient increase in the permeability of excitable membranes to Na+. Other agents with analgesic properties include the non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (“NSAIDs”) and opioids, such as morphine.
[0007] It is common practice to provide a topical pain reliever using the well-known NSAID, salicylic acid (aspirin). Aspirin has been used effectively for many years in the medical and scientific community as a pain reliever. Despite its benefits, systemic administration of aspirin has been shown to cause certain side effects in its users, for example stomach irritation and other internal problems associated with ingesting aspirin.
[0008] Applying an aspirin solution topically to a user's skin, thereby avoiding the need for a user to ingest aspirin, has been shown to be an effective manner of gaining the benefits of aspirin without the potential side effects. However, there are difficulties associated with the ability to achieve a safe and stable form of a topical pain reliever containing aspirin that will remain in suspension within the solution of the topical pain reliever.
[0009] In view of these difficulties, other NSAIDs have been utilized for their anti-inflammatory or analgesic properties. It is an important aspect of any NSAID-based topical pain reliever to permeate the necessary layers of the integument or skin in order to relieve pain without adversely affecting vital internal organs. Accordingly, it is accepted that an effective topical pain reliever should be in the form that dissolves the analgesic agents and transports it to the area of pain where it can then permeate the integument or skin to provide effective relief.
[0010] Topical pain relievers have been introduced in the past, but such topical pain relievers have traditionally had problems of maintaining the analgesic in suspension within the solution of the topical pain reliever. Further, topical pain relievers have been known to have a delayed onset of action after they have been applied to the integument or skin. Several reasons may cause such a result, for example the topical pain reliever may not effectively permeate the skin.
[0011] Many patients with localized pain due to arthritis, bursitis, sprain or muscle strain, bruises or hematomas cannot tolerate conventional NSAIDS. In addition, topical administration of conventional NSAIDS has been known to be ineffective because only a therapeutically ineffective amount of the drug can penetrate the skin. In addition, indications such as acne, psoriasis and eczema are typically refractory to topical or oral administration of NSAIDS.
[0012] In addition, joint pain can often indicate the onset of a condition called osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease affecting articular cartilage developing in the fourth and fifth decades of life that was initially believed to be a disease of wear and tear due to mechanical stress on the joints. It is now known that the pathology of osteoarthritis is not entirely mechanical and involves changes in the joint metabolism. Specifically, altered glucosamine metabolism appears to play a key role in the development of osteoarthritis.
[0013] An effective treatment of osteoarthritis must address two types of problems: (i) pain, and joint tenderness, swelling and stiffness must be alleviated as an immediate patient's problem; and (ii) the degenerative process must be stopped preferably at its earlier stages. Treatment with anti-rheumatics and NSAIDs has not proven successful. Anti-rheumatics, although quickly effective, were recently shown to impair the very function that physicians were trying to improve, and anti-inflammatory drugs alleviate the pain but do not address the underlying degenerative disorder.
[0014] Therefore, what is needed is a topical composition that provides effective pain relief, is stable for long periods of time and provides a long shelf-life, and avoids the disadvantages associated with other topical analgesics or systemically administered drugs. What is further needed is a composition that is effective in treating a wide variety of inflammatory conditions by topical application of the composition.
[0015] These advantageous properties are provided by the composition set forth in the description that follows. Further advantages will be apparent from the description, or may be realized by the practice of the invention without undue experimentation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0016] The subject invention concerns a composition which can be topically applied to the skin for the relief of pain at the site of application. An embodiment of a composition according to the invention comprises an effective amount of at least one anti-spasmodic or GABA-agonist, at least one local anesthetic agent, at least one α 2 -adrenergic agonist, at least one NMDA-receptor antagonist, at least one Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug (NSAID), at least one serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), together with a solvent in a cream or ointment base.
[0017] A preferred embodiment for the composition of the subject invention comprises, in a cream or ointment base (inactive pharmaceutical compounding base):
about 1-20% anti-spasmodic or GABA-agonist about 1-5% local anesthetic agent about 0.1-1.0% α 2 -adrenergic agonist about 1-20% NMDA-receptor antagonist about 1-20% Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug (NSAID) about 1-10% Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor (SNRI), and about 1-10% solvent.
[0025] The cream or ointment pharmaceutical compounding base can comprise about 25% to about 75% (w/w) of the composition, and preferably comprises about 50% to about 60% of the composition.
[0026] In a more preferred embodiment, the subject composition comprises, in a cream or ointment base:
gabapentin—1-10% (anti-spasmodic or GABA-agonist baclofen—1-10% (anti-spasmodic or GABA-agonist) lidocaine HCl—1-10% (local anesthetic agent) clonidine HCl—0.1-1.0% (α 2 -adrenergic agonist) ketamine HCl—1-20% (NMDA-receptor antagonist) ketoprofen—1-20% (NSAID) amitriptyline HCl—1-10% (SNRI) DMSO—1-10% (solvent)
[0035] The above ingredients are preferably mixed with or into a pharmaceutical compounding base, such as PENcream, which makes up the balance of the composition, and typically comprises about 50-60% of the composition.
[0036] In a most preferred embodiment, a composition of the subject invention comprises:
gabapentin—5% baclofen—4% lidocaine—5% clonidine—0.2% ketamine—10% ketoprofen—10% amitriptyline—2% DMSO—5% PENcream base—58.8%
[0046] The subject invention further comprises a method of preparing the disclosed embodiments of the composition. For example, the process comprises the following steps:
1. adding all active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in a single vessel; 2. adding to the APIs about 75% of the final amount of compounding base; 3. adding the solvent (e.g., DMSO) to the APIs in 75% compounding base; 4. mixing the APIs in 75% compounding base and solvent for about 2 minutes using a mixer at relatively high speed (e.g., level 9 of 10); 5. adding the remaining about 25% of the compounding base to form a final mixture; 6. mixing the final mixture using a mixer until the mixture is substantially homogenous, typically for about 7 minutes at high speed (level 9 of 10).
[0053] The subject invention further comprises a method of using the composition, for example, topically applying a safe and effective amount of the composition to the skin for the treatment of pain caused by joint stiffness, arthritis, swelling, Inflammation or edema, muscle cramps or tremors, or for relief of discomfort from sensations such as a “burning” sensation or pain, or unspecified tingling sensations in limbs or hands or feet. An effective amount is typically an amount to cover the area experiencing the pain or sensation.
[0054] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a composition and method for the topical or transdermal relief of pain to provide immediate, long-lasting and cumulative relief from pain and inflammation of sore or stressed muscles and joints.
[0055] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a pain relief composition comprising a plurality of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, which is effective and comfortable to apply to the skin.
[0056] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a soothing, anti-inflammatory complex for the joints and muscles, which can be used in combination with other pain relief agents.
[0057] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from a review of the following specification.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0058] The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description of exemplary embodiments and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the exemplary embodiments may be constructed and/or utilized. The description sets forth the functions and the sequence of steps for preparation and/or use of the exemplary embodiments. However, it is to be understood that the same or equivalent functions and sequences which may be accomplished by different exemplary methods are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention.
[0059] As used herein, “safe and effective amount” means a sufficient amount of a compound, composition or other material described by this phrase to significantly induce a positive modification in the condition being treated, but low enough to avoid undue side effects (e.g., significant skin irritation or sensitization), within the scope of sound judgment of the skilled person. The safe and effective amount of the compound, composition or other material may vary with the particular person being treated, factoring the age and physical condition of the biological subject being treated, the severity of the condition, the duration of treatment, the nature of concurrent therapy, the specific compound, composition, or other material employed, the particular carrier utilized, and the factors within the knowledge and expertise of the skilled person.
[0060] A composition according to the subject invention comprises the following active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs):
1. At least one anti-spasmodic or GABA-agonist. A preferred embodiment of the subject composition comprises two anti-spasmodic or GABA-agonist APIs, most preferably gabapentin and baclofen. Gabapentin powder and baclofen, USP, are available commercially from Medisca (Plattsburg, N.Y.). Examples of other anti-spasmodics or GABA-agonists that can be used in a composition of the subject invention include, but are not limited to: Acamprosate, Picamilon, GHB, benzodiazepines, nonbenzodiazepines (e.g., Zolpidem, Zopiclone, Zaleplon), barbiturates, methaqualone, muscimol, progabide, and tiagabine, or salts, derivatives, isomers, polymorphs, or esters thereof. 2. At least one local anesthetic agent. A preferred embodiment of the subject composition comprises lidocaine, more preferably lidocaine HCl monohydrate, in the form of a solid powder as a local anesthetic component of the subject composition. Lidocaine HCl monohydrate is commercially available from Medisca (Plattsburg, N.Y.). Examples of other local anesthetics that can be used in a composition of the subject invention include, but are not limited to: local anesthetic esters, selected from the group Procaine, Benzocaine, Chloroprocaine, Cocaine, Cyclomethycaine, Dimethocaine/Larocaine, Piperocaine, Propoxycaine, Procaine/Novocaine, Proparacaine. and Tetracaine/Amethocaine; local anesthetic Amides, selected from the group Articaine, Bupivacaine, Cinchocaine/Dibucaine, Etidocaine, Levobupivacaine, Lidocaine/Lignocaine, Mepivacaine, Prilocaine, Ropivacaine, Trimecaine; salts, derivatives, isomers, polymorphs, or esters thereof, or combinations thereof. 3. At least one α 2 -adrenergic agonist. A preferred embodiment of the subject composition comprises clonidine, preferably clonidine HCl as an α 2 -adrenergic agonist component of the subject composition. Clonidine HCl, USP, is commercially available from Medisca (Plattsburg, N.Y.). Examples of other α 2 -adrenergic agonists that can be used in accordance with the subject composition include, but are not limited to: Guanfacine, Guanabenz, Guanoxabenz (a metabolite of guanabenz), Guanethidine, Xylazine, Tizanidine, Methyldopa, and Fadolmidine, or the salts, derivatives, isomers, polymorphs, or esters thereof. Other agents that classified as α-adrenergic agonists but which have not been determined as α 1 - or α 2 -adrenergic agonists include: amidephrine, amitraz, anisodamine, apraclonidine, brimonidine, cirazoline, detomidine, dexmedetomidine, epinephrine, ergotamine, etilefrine, indanidine, lofexidine, medetomidine, mephentermine, metaraminol, methoxamine, mivazerol, naphazoline, norepinephrine, norfenefrine, octopamine, oxymetazoline, phenylpropanolamine, rilmenidine, romifidine, synephrine, talipexole, and tizanidine, or salts, derivatives, isomers, polymorphs, or esters thereof. To the extent these agents are identified as α 2 -adrenergic agonists, they may be substituted for clonidine HCl in a composition of the subject invention. 4. At least one NMDA-receptor antagonist. A preferred embodiment of the subject composition comprises ketamine, preferably ketamine HCl as an NMDA-receptor antagonist component of the subject composition. Ketamine HCl, USP, is commercially available from Medisca (Plattsburg, N.Y.). Examples of other NMDA-receptor antagonists that can be used in accordance with the subject composition include, but are not limited to: Amantadine, Phencyclidine (PCP), Dextromethorphan or dextrorphan, Memantine, Riluzole, HU-211 (also a cannabinoid), Conantokins, or the dual opioids and NMDA-Antagonists: Ketobemidone, Methadone, Dextropropoxyphene, Tramadol, Kratom alkaloids, or Ibogaine. These compounds can also be used as the salts, derivatives, isomers, polymorphs, or esters thereof. 5. At least one Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug (NSAID). A preferred embodiment of the subject composition comprises ketoprofen, preferably ketoprofen HCl as an NMDA-receptor antagonist component of the subject composition. Ketoprofen HCl, USP, is commercially available from Letco Medical (Decatur, Ala.). Examples of other NSAIDs that can be used in accordance with the subject composition include, but are not limited to: the Salicylates—aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), Diflunisal, or Salsalate; the p-amino phenol derivatives—Paracetamol, or phenacetin; the Propionic acid derivatives—ibuprofen, Naproxen, Fenoprofen, Flurbiprofen, Oxaprozin, or Loxoprofen; the Acetic acid derivatives—indomethacin, Sulindac, Etodolac, Ketorolac, Diclofenac, or Nabumetone; theEnolic acid (Oxicam) derivatives—piroxicam, Meloxicam, Tenoxicam, Droxicam, Lornoxicam, or Isoxicam; the Fenamic acid derivatives (Fenamates)—mefenamic acid, Meclofenamic acid, Flufenamic acid, or Tolfenamic acid; the Selective COX-2 inhibitors (Coxibs)—celecoxib, Parecoxib, or Firocoxib; or salts, derivatives, isomers, polymorphs, or esters thereof. 6. At least one serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI). A preferred embodiment of the subject composition comprises amitriptyline, preferably amitriptyline HCl as an SNRI component of the subject composition. Amitriptyline HCl, USP, is commercially available from Medisca (Plattsburg, N.Y.). Examples of other SNRIs s that can be used in accordance with the subject composition include, but are not limited to: Venlafaxine, Desvenlafaxine, Duloxetine, Milnacipran, Levomilnacipran, Sibutramine, and Edivoxetine, or salts, derivatives, isomers, polymorphs, or esters thereof.
[0067] The subject composition further includes a solvent. Preferably a polar aprotic solvent, such as Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) can be used in the composition of the subject invention. DMSO is commercially available from Medisca (Plattsburg, N.Y.). Other polar aprotic solvents in this class include dimethylformamide, dimethylacetamide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, and HMPA.
[0068] The active components (1.-6., listed above) and solvent are formulated in a pharmaceutical compounding base, such as PENcream. PENcream is commercially available from HUMCO (Texarkana, Tex.). Pharmaceutical compounding bases are well known in the art, and other pharmaceutical compounding bases may be freely substituted for PENcream.
[0069] A topical composition prepared in accordance with the present invention may comprise other skin benefiting or carrier components, including, but not limited to conditioning agents, skin protectants, antioxidants, viscosity modifying agents, film formers, emollients, surfactants, solubilizing agents, preservatives, fragrance, chelating agents, foaming or antifoaming agents, opacifying agents, stabilizing agents, pH adjustors, absorbents, anti-caking agents, slip modifiers, various solvents, solubilizing agents, denaturants, bulking agents, emulsion stabilizing agents, suspending agents, colorants, binders, conditioning agent-emollients, surfactant emulsifying agents, biological products, cosmetic soothing aids, and/or combinations thereof.
[0070] Emollients that can be used in the subject composition include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Triglyceride esters which include, but are not limited to, vegetable and animal fats and oils such as palm oil, castor oil, cocoa butter, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, olive oil, cod liver oil, almond oil, avocado oil, palm oil, sesame oil, squalene, kikui oil and soybean oil; 2. Acetoglyceride esters, including but not limited to acetylated monoglycerides; 3. Ethoxylated glycerides such as ethoxylated glyceryl monostearate; 4. Alkyl esters of fatty acids having 10 to 20 carbon atoms which include, but are not limited to, methyl, isopropyl and butyl esters of fatty acids; 5. Alkenyl esters of fatty acids having 10 to 20 carbon atoms such as oleyl myristate, oleyl stearate, and oleyl oleate; 6. Fatty acids having 10 to 20 carbon atoms such as pelargonic, lauric, myristic, palmitic, stearic, isostearic, hydroxystearic, oleic, linoleic, ricinoleic, arachidic, behenic, and erucic acids; 7. Fatty alcohols having 10 to 20 carbon atoms such as lauryl, myristyl, cetyl, hexadecyl, stearyl, isostearyl, hydroxystearyl, oleyl, ricinoleyl, behenyl, erucyl, and 2-octyl dodecanyl alcohols; 8. Lanolin and lanolin derivatives including, but not limited to lanolin, lanolin oil, lanolin wax, lanolin alcohols, lanolin fatty acids, isopropyl lanolate, ethoxylated cholesterol and lanolin alcohols; 9. Polyhydric alcohol esters, including but not limited to, ethylene glycol mono and di-fatty acid esters, diethylene glycol mono-and di-fatty acid esters and polyethylene glycol (200-6000) mono- and di-fatty acid esters; 10. Wax esters such as beeswax, spermaceti, myristyl myristate, stearyl stearate; 11. Beeswax derivatives including but not limited to, polyoxyethylene sorbitol beeswax; 12. Vegetable waxes including, but not limited to, carnauba and candelilla waxes; 13. Phospholipids such as lecithin and derivatives; 14. Sterols including, but not limited to, cholesterol and cholesterol fatty acid esters; and 15. Amides such as fatty acid amides, ethoxylated fatty acid amides, and solid fatty acid alkanolamides.
[0086] In the manufacture of a preferred embodiment of a composition of the subject invention, a formulation includes:
Gabapentin powder—22.7 g Baclofen, USP, powder—18.16 g Lidocaine HCl monohydrate, USP—22.7 g Clonidine HCl, USP—0.908 g Ketamine HCl monohydrate, USP powder—45.4 g Ketoprofen USP powder—45.4 g Amitriptyline HCl, USP—9.08 g DMSO (reagent grade) ACS liquid—22.7 ml, and PENcream base—266.952 g.
[0096] The above components are weighed and each of the pre-weighed active ingredient powders (gabapentin, baclofen, lidocaine, clonidine, ketamine, ketoprofen, and amitriptyline) are added to a mixing vessel for a commercial mixer. About 75% of the pre-weighed PENcream compounding base (approximately 200 g), and the entire amount of the DMSO solvent, is added to the active ingredient powders in the mixing vessel. The active ingredient powders, solvent and compounding base are mixed for about 2 minutes at a mixing speed level of 9. The remaining 25% of the compounding base (approximately 67 g) is then added to provide a final mixture. The final mixture is mixed for about 7 minutes at a mixing speed level of 9 until the final mixture is substantially homogeneous, forming the final composition.
[0097] A preferred embodiment of the final composition comprises, in weight percent: gabapentin—5%; baclofen—4%; lidocaine—5%; clonidine—0.2%; ketamine—10%; ketoprofen—10%; amitriptyline—2%; DMSO—5%, and PENcream base—58.8%.
[0098] The final composition can then be placed into an appropriate container and/or packaging for shipping and storage. The packaging can include listings of ingredients and instructions for use.
[0099] A composition according to the subject invention can be topically applied. Typically, a safe and effective amount of the composition is applied to the skin for the treatment of pain caused by joint stiffness, arthritis, swelling, Inflammation or edema, muscle cramps or tremors, or for relief of discomfort from sensations such as a “burning” sensation or pain, or unspecified tingling sensations in limbs or hands or feet. A safe and effective amount is typically an amount (1-5 g) which can be spread onto and cover the specific area experiencing the pain or sensation.
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Described is a topically applied composition relief of pain. Also described are methods of preparing the composition and methods of using the composition to relieve pain.
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TECHNICAL FIELD
In the manufacture of miniaturized devices such as, e.g., semiconductor integrated-circuit devices, the invention is concerned with patterning by selective removal of surface material.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The manufacture of miniaturized devices such as, e.g., integrated-circuit, optical, opto-electronic, and magneto-optical devices typically involves the deposition and patterning of layers on a substrate, patterning being understood as involving selective removal of surface material. Prominent among patterning techniques in current use are those based on photolithographic processing--typically involving the deposition of an organic "resist" layer on a surface to be patterned, definition of a desired pattern in the resist layer by exposure to suitable radiation, chemical removal of exposed (or unexposed) resist material, and chemical transfer of the pattern. Variants of this patterning method may involve the use of alternate resist or mask materials such as silica, chalcogenide, or metallic material, and transfer of a pattern may involve the use of more elaborate means such as, e.g., a plasma. The following published items are cited as representative of such methods:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,276,368, issued June 30, 1981 to A. Heller et al., "Photoinduced Migration of Silver into Chalcogenide Layer";
U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,898, issued Oct. 19, 1982 to L. A. Coldren et al., "Method of Preferentially Etching Optically Flat Mirror Facets in InGaAs/InP Heterostructures";
L. D. Westbrook et al., "New Diffraction Grating Profiles in InP for DFB Lasers and Integrated Optics", Electronics Letters, Vol. 19 (1983), pp. 1076-1077; and
U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,129; issued Jan. 20, 1987 to G. E. Derkits, Jr. et al., "Selective Area III-V Growth and Lift-off Using Tungsten Patterning".
Patterning as described above typically is carried out at atmospheric pressure; accordingly, such patterning is well-suited for use in combination with atmospheric-pressure deposition methods such as e.g., liquid-phase or vapor-phase epitaxy. However, certain device structures (especially those requiring highly accurate layer thickness control) preferably involved layer deposition under high-vacuum conditions, e.g., by molecular-beam epitaxy.
While it is possible to produce patterns under high-vacuum conditions by (deflected-beam) ion exposure, such patterning is considered impractical due to its inherent slowness in removing relatively large volumes of material. Accordingly, and especially in combination with high-vacuum layer deposition, it is desirable to provide for patterning procedures which are suitable to be carried out under high-vacuum conditions also, and which involve the removal or modification of but a small volume of material, thereby providing for efficacious patterning of vacuum-deposited layers without breaking of the vacuum.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the interest of facilitating patterning of layers such as, e.g., Group III-4 and Group IV semiconductor layers on a substrate, and in the interest especially of facilitating patterning under high-vacuum conditions, a pattern is defined or generated in a semiconductor mask layer. Typically, pattern generation is by selective exposure of the mask layer to a (deflected) beam of energetic ions as used, e.g., for removing or damaging mask-layer material, or for ion implantation. In cases where such pattern generation results in selective uncovering of underlying layer material, a generated pattern is then transferred to the underlying layer by exposure to a removal agent which is chosen so as to leave mask-layer material unaffected or at least less affected than material to be removed. In other cases a developing step may be required prior to transfer, such step involving the use of a developing agent which is chosen to remove either exposed or else unexposed mask-layer material (as resulting, respectively, in a positive or a negative patterning method). The developing agent may be the same as the removal agent.
As the removal agent can be chosen to act with sufficiently greater efficacy on uncovered underlying layer material as compared with remaining mask material, relatively thin mask layers can be used as motivated by the desirability of high-speed pattern generation in the mask layer. In this respect, use of epitaxial mask layers is preferred. Epitaxially deposited mask layers are preferred also if, subsequent to transfer to the pattern, remaining mask material is buried in the course of further epitaxial layer deposition.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a structure comprising a semiconductor mask layer prior to patterning;
FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the structure of FIG. 1 after exposure to pattern-generating radiation;
FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the structure of FIG. 2 after removal of irradiated mask-layer material;
FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of the structure of FIG. 3, the pattern defined in the mask layer having been transferred by selective removal through openings in the mask layer;
FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of the structure of FIG. 1 after removal of unexposed mask-layer material as practiced in a negative patterning method alternative to the positive patterning method of FIGS. 3 and 4; and
FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the structure of FIG. 5, the pattern defined in the mask layer having been transferred by selective removal through openings in the mask layer.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Schematically shown in the Figures are substrate 1, layer 2, unexposed semiconductor mask-layer material 3, and irradiated or exposed semiconductor mask-layer material 4. FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4 can be viewed as representing sequential stages of a positive patterning process in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the invention, and FIGS. 1, 2, 5, and 6 as corresponding to a negative patterning process in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the invention. Specifically, in FIG. 1, a semiconductor layer 3 intended as a mask layer is shown as deposited on layer 2. In FIG. 2, the mask layer comprises unexposed portions 3 and irradiated portions 4. Either irradiated portions 4 or unexposed portions 3 are removed as respectively shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, and uncovered portions of layer 2 are removed as shown in corresponding FIGS. 4 and 6.
In the interest of minimizing the time required for pattern generation, mask layer thickness preferably does not exceed approximately 100 Angstroms. Choice of mask layer thickness is further influenced by the difference between the etch rate of the mask material remaining after pattern generation on the one hand, and that of the underlying layer material on the other, so that a desired depth of etching is achieved while areas not to be etched remain protected. When mask layers are deposited epitaxially and with sufficient uniformity, mask layer thickness may be as little as 30 Angstroms or even less.
Alternate to the situation depicted in FIG. 2, in the case of a positive patterning method, irradiation may result in complete or essentially complete removal of irradiated layer material, thereby leading directly to the structure of FIG. 3. More typically, however, mechanisms other than removal may play a significand role in pattern generation, and indeed, a developing agent for pattern generation can be chosen as based on selectivity of removal of irradiated versus unexposed mask-layer material. Such selectivity in turn may be due, e.g., to compositional selectivity between ion-implanted and unimplanted areas, to damage-selectivity, or to strain-selectivity. In particular, in the case of an epitaxial mask layer, it may suffice merely to selectively disturb the ordered structure of the mask layer as suggested in view of the following: In an indium gallium arsenide mask layer, a pattern can be generated effectively by selective exposure to a flux of gallium ions as 2×10 13 /cm 2 which is about two orders of magnitude lower than the surface atom density. Layer material underlying mask areas exposed to such flux may be etched away by a composition- or strain-sensitive etchant, while unexposed areas remain intact. Thus, advantageously, pattern generation may require much less time than would be required for removal of mask material.
Processing in accordance with the invention is readily combined with other processing steps of device manufacture such as, e.g., the deposition of buffer layers, semiconductor channel layers, electro-optically active layers, optical cladding layers, and electrical contacts. Indeed, compatibility with such processing steps (as carried out, e.g., by molecular-beam epitaxial deposition, gas-source molecular-beam epitaxial deposition, metal-organic molecular-beam epitaxial deposition, or metal-organic chemical vapor deposition) is considered to be a key benefit of patterning in accordance with the invention. And, in case of epitaxial deposition of the mask layer, additional layer growth after patterning may proceed without removal of the mask layer.
Example 1.
A 30-Angstrom layer of indium gallium arsenide, In 0 .53 Ga 0 .47 As (as lattice matched to InP), was deposited by molecular-beam epitaxial deposition on a (100)-oriented indium phosphide substrate; growth rate was approximately 100 Angstroms/min. A pattern of 100 rectangles, 5 by 10 micrometers each, was produced on 1-mm centers by gallium-ion exposure of the indium gallium arsenide layer. Apparatus used for patterning included gallium-beam column with an electrostatic focusing lens (magnification unity) and an octopole deflector; the gallium-ion spot size was approximately 0.2 micrometer at a working distance of approximately 50 mm. (With a beam energy of 20 keV, the octopole deflector is capable of scanning a field of approximately 1 mm. Larger areas can be covered by translating the sample as mounted on a computer-controlled x-y stage.) The ion dose was approximately 10 15 /cm 2 , and the time for "writing" the pattern was less than 2 seconds.
The pattern was transferred to the underlying indium phosphide material by chemical etching in a 3:1 solution of HCl:H 2 O, resulting in removal of exposed indium phosphide at a rate of approximately 300 Angstroms/sec while leaving the indium gallium arsenide mask layer essentially intact. The depth of the transferred pattern was approximately 1 micrometer which is about 300 times the thickness of the mask layer. After the etching step, the mask was found to be essentially intact, so that greater depth of etching could have been realized simply by longer etching.
Scanning electron micrographs of the etched surface showed excellent edge definition, with roughness less than 0.2 micrometer, and without discernible edge effects.
Example 2
Patterning was carried out as described in Example 1 above except that a (considerably lower) flux of 2×10 13 /cm 2 gallium ions was used for pattern generation. The quality of the etched pattern was as in Example 1.
Example 3
On a 1-micrometer layer of In 0 .53 Ga 0 .47 As, a 30-Angstrom layer of indium phosphide, InP, was deposited as a mask layer. A pattern was produced in the indium phosphide layer by ion exposure as described above in Example 1, and the pattern was transferred into the indium gallium arsenide layer by etching with a 1:1:10 solution of H 2 SO 4 :H 2 O 2 :H 2 O. Micrographic inspection showed straight, sharp edges as in Example 1.
Example 4
A 100-Angstrom layer of Si 0 .8 Ge 0 .2 was deposited as a mask layer on a silicon substrate. A pattern was produced in the mask layer by gallium-ion exposure as described above in Example 1. The pattern was transferred to the silicon substrate by etching with a strain-selective etchant. (This etch is strain-selective, i.e., the lattice strain of Si 0 .8 Ge 0 .2 decreases the etch rate by over an order of magnitude. Thus, features 1000 Angstroms deep can be etched in silicon while areas not to be etched are covered by as little as 100 Angstroms of Si 0 .8 Ge 0 .2.). Microscopic inspection revealed straight, sharp edges as in Example 1.
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When high-vacuum methods are used in the manufacture of miniaturized devices such as, e.g., semiconductor integrated-circuit devices, device layers on a substrate are preferably patterned without breaking of the vacuum. Preferred patterning involves deposition of a semiconductor mask layer, generation of the pattern in the mask layer by ion deflected-beam writing, and transfer of the pattern by dry etching. When the mask layer is an epitaxial layer, further epitaxial layer deposition after patterning may proceed without removal of remaining mask layer material.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a polycarbonate composition and to articles molded therefrom; more particularly the invention relates to compositions and articles which have an improved resistance to discoloration caused by exposure to High Intensity Discharge (HID) light and heat.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A polycarbonate composition having an improved resistance to discoloration caused by exposure to High Intensity Discharge (HID) light and heat is disclosed. Accordingly, the composition which is free from hydroxyphenyl organophosphorus compounds, contains polycarbonate resin, a dimeric benzotriazole and an ester of a 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyhydrocinnamic acid. In a preferred embodiment, a (co)polycarbonate sheet is rendered improved resistance to discoloration by having applied to at least one of its surfaces an adherent film comprising the polycarbonate composition of the invention.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Polycarbonate resins are characterized by their transparency, mechanical strength and dimensional stability. These properties make polycarbonate an ideal choice for the preparation of articles, especially laminates or sheets, useful in application in hostile environments. One of the drawbacks of the resin used in this application is its tendency to discolor upon prolonged exposure to the heat and/or UV. Among the relevant applications, mention may be made of lighting lenses and associated parts in conjunction with metal halide, mercury vapor, high pressure sodium and other High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps which generate UV radiation and significant heat. The tendency of polycarbonate to discolor, limits its applicability and methods to overcome the deficiency have long been sought.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide polycarbonate compositions which are suitable for the preparation of articles, most especially sheets and laminates, having improved resistance to discoloration caused by exposure to heat and/or UV.
The art has long recognized the efficacy of hindered phenols as antioxidants in the context of polymeric resins. U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,516 disclosed sterically hindered phenols as stabilizers of a carbonate polymer, and a hindered phenol phosphite was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,276,233 as a thermal stabilizer of polycarbonate resins. U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,498 disclosed a polycarbonate resin composition having improved resistance to deterioration when exposed to light and containing the bisbenzotriazole stabilizer of the present invention. Importantly, the possible use of the bis-benzotriazole in combination with phenolic antioxidants is disclosed in the '498 document.
The art is noted to include Canadian Patent 1,208,873 which disclosed a polycarbonate-based panel made resistant to UV radiation. Accordingly, a panel is structured to include a core layer of polycarbonate to which there is adhesively bonded an intermediate UV absorption layer and a cover layer. The purpose of the cover layer is to prevent vaporization of the UV absorber from the intermediate layer. The intermediate, UV-absorption layer may be prepared from polycarbonate and contains derivatives of benzotriazole as UV absorbers. Also noted is German Patent Application 1,670,951 which disclosed polycarbonate molded articles, including ribbons which are rendered resistant to UV radiation by incorporating the bis-benzotriazole compound of the present invention therewith. A method for coating a polycarbonate sheet with a protective layer was disclosed in UK Patent Application 2,028,228. A layer preferably of polymethacrylate and advantageously containing a UV absorber is said to be applied to the sheet by co-extrusion. U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,889 discloses UV stabilized polycarbonate moldings, the surfaces of which have been treated with a solution containing a benzotriazole. German DE-OS 3,617,978 discloses co-extruded sheets based on a polycarbonate resin which sheets are covered by a UV absorbing layer made from a branched polycarbonate resin containing the bis-benzotriazole of the present invention. Also relevant is European Patent Application 110,221 which disclosed a panel consisting of a core layer of polycarbonate containing not more than 0.5 wt. percent of a UV absorber and having on at least one side a coating layer which has been coextruded with the core and which contains at least 3 percent of a UV absorber.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,666 is noted to disclose a polycarbonate composition containing the bis-benzotriazole of the present invention useful in the preparation of a stain-protective layer for polycarbonate sheets. Also relevant in the present context is U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/732,262 filed Jul. 18, 1991 which disclosed relevant technology.
The present invention resides in the finding of a particularly efficient combination of stabilizers.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The (co)polycarbonate resins useful in the practice of the invention are homopolycarbonate, copolycarbonate and terpolycarbonate resins or mixtures thereof. Preferably, the (co)polycarbonate resins have molecular weights of 18,000-200,000 (weight average molecular weight), more preferably 20,000-80,000, and may alternatively be characterized by their melt flow of 1-65 gm/10 min. at 300° C. per ASTM D-1238. These (co)polycarbonates may be prepared, for example, by the known diphasic interface process from phosgene and dihydroxy compounds by polycondensation (see German DOS 2,063,050; 2,063,052; 1,570,703; 2,211,956; 2,211,957 and 2,248,817 and French Patent 1,561,518 and the monograph, H. Schnell, Chemistry and Physics of Polycarbonates, Interscience Publishers, New York 1964, all incorporated herein by reference).
In the present context, dihydroxy compounds suitable for the preparation of the (co)polycarbonates of the invention conform to the structural formulae (1) or (2)
wherein
A denotes an alkylene group with 1 to 8 carbon atoms, an alkylidene group with 2 to 8 carbon atoms, a cycloalkylene group with 5 to 15 carbon atoms, a cycloalkylidene group with 5 to 15 carbon atoms, a carbonyl group, an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, an —SO— or —SO 2 -radical; or a radical of the general formula
g denotes the number 0 or 1;
e denotes the number 0 or 1;
Z denotes F, Cl, Br or a C 1 -C 2 alkyl and if several Z radicals are substituents in one aryl radical, they may be identical or different;
d denotes 0 or an integer of from 1 to 4; and
f denotes 0 or an integer of from 1 to 3.
Among the useful dihydroxy compounds in the practice of the invention are hydroquinone, resorcinol, bis-(hydroxyphenyl)-alkanes, bis(hydroxyphenyl)-cycloalkanes, bis-(hydroxyphenyl)-ethers, bis-(hydroxyphenyl)-ketones, bis-(hydroxyphenyl)-sulfoxides, bis-(hydroxyphenyl)-sulfones and α,α-bis-(hydroxyphenyl)-diisopropylbenzenes. These and further suitable aromatic dihydroxy compounds are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,028,365; 2,999,835; 3,148,172; 3,271,368; 2,991,273; 3,271,367; 3,280,078; 3,014,891 and 2,999,846 (all incorporated herein by reference), in German Offenlegungsschriften (German Published Specifications) 1,570,703; 2,063,050; 2,063,052; 2,211,956 and 2,211,957, in French Patent Specification 1,561,418 and in the monograph, H. Schnell, Chemistry and Physics of Polycarbonates, Interscience Publishers, New York, 1964. Further examples of suitable dihydroxy compounds are 2,2-bis-(4 -hydroxyphenyl)-propane(bisphenol A), 2,4-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-methyl-butane, 1,1-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-cyclohexane, 2,2,4-trimethylcyclohexyl 1,1-diphenol, α,α-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-p-diisopropylbenzene, 2,2-bis-(3-chloro-4-hydroxyphenyl)-propane, hydroxybenzo-phenone and 4,4′-sulfonyl diphenol; the most preferred one is 2,2-bis-(4 -hydroxyphenyl)-propane(bisphenol A).
The (co)polycarbonates of the invention may entail in their structure, units derived from one or more of the suitable dihydroxy compounds.
The preparation of (co)polycarbonate resins may be carried out in accordance with any of the processes known in the art, for example, by the interfacial polycondensation process, polycondensation in a homogeneous phase or by transesterification.
The suitable processes and the associated reactants, catalysts, solvents and conditions are known in the art and have been described, inter alia, in German Patent Nos. 1,046,311 and 962,274 and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,248,414; 3,153,008; 3,215,668; 3,187,065; 3,028,365; 2,999,846; 2,999,835; 2,964,974; 2,970,137; 3,912,638 and 1,991,273.
Monofunctional reactants, such as monophenols, may be used in the preparation of the (co)polycarbonate resins of the invention in order to limit their molecular weights. Also optionally used in the preparation of the (co)polycarbonate resin which is suitable for the preparation of laminates and/or the protective film of the invention are branching agents of the type described below. Branching may be obtained by the incorporation of small amounts, preferably of between about 0.05 and 2.0 mol % (relative to diphenols employed), of trifunctional or more than trifunctional compounds, especially compounds having three or more aromatic hydroxyl groups. Polycarbonates of this type are described, for example, in German Offenlegungsschriften (German Published Specifications) 1,570,533; 1,595,762; 2,116,974 and 2,113,347; British Specification 1,079,821 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,544,514 (incorporated herein by reference).
Some examples of compounds with three or more than three phenyl hydroxyl groups which can be used are phloroglucinol, 4,6 -dimethyl-2,4,6-tri-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-heptane, 2,4,6-trimethyl-2,4,6-tri-(4 -hydroxyphenyl)-heptane, 1,4,5-tri-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-benzene, 1,1,-tri-(4 -hydroxyphenyl)-ethane, tri-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-methane, 2,2-bis[4,4-bis-(4 -hydroxyphenyl)-cyclohexyl]-propane, 2,4-bis-(4-hydroxyphenylisopropyl)phenol, 2,6-bis-(2-hydroxy-5′-methylbenzyl)-4-methylphenol, 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-propane, hexa-(4-(4-hydroxyphenylisopropyl)phenyl)-orthoterephthalic acid ester, tetra-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-methane tetra-(4-(4-hydroxyphenylisopropyl)phenoxy)-methane and 1,4-bis-((4′,4″-dihydroxytriphenyl)-methyl)-benzene. Some of the other trifunctional compounds are 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, trimesic acid cyanuric chloride and 3,3-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl-2-oxo-2,3-dihydroindole.
Among the resins suitable in the practice of the invention are included phenolphthalein-based polycarbonates, copolycarbonates and terpolycarbonates such as are described in U.S. Pat. Nos 3,036,036 and 4,210,741, both incorporated by reference herein.
The bis-benzotriazole of the present invention conforms to formula (3).
where Bridge is either
in which case it is preferred that the OH is in an ortho-position to the bridging group or bridge is
where p is an integer of 0 to 3, q is an integer of 1 to 10 and Y denotes
in which case it is preferred that the OH group be in a para-position to the bridging group. In the above formula R 1 , R 11 , R 2 and R 22 independent of each other are a hydrogen or a halogen atom, a C 1 -C 12 alkoxy, C 7 -C 18 arylalkoxy or a C 1 -C 10 alkyl, cycloalkyl, aralkyl or an aryl radical and R 3 and R 4 independent of each other are a hydrogen atom, a C 1 -C 10 alkyl, cycloalkyl, arylalkyl or an aryl radical, n is an integer of 0 to 4 and m is an integer of 1 to 3.
In a more preferred embodiment where —Bridge— is
R 3 and R 4 are hydrogen atoms, n is O, m is 1 and R 2 is a tertiary octyl radical. Another preferred embodiment is represented by a bisbenzotriazole where—Bridge—denotes
and is para-positioned to the OH groups and R 2 is a tertiary butyl, orthopositioned to the hydroxyl groups.
The most preferred dimeric benzotriazole suitable in the practice of the invention conforms structurally to
The stabilizer in the context of the invention is an ester of a 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyhydrocinnamic acid conforming structurally to
wherein R is a linear or branched C 1-24 -alkyl radical, preferably C 14-22 -alkyl radical. In a most preferred embodiment R is —C 18 H 37 .
The composition of the invention is free from organophosphorous compounds, and contains about 1.0 to 30, preferably about 1.0 to 15.0% of the bisbenzotriazole and about 0.1 to 5, preferably about 0.1 to 3.0% of the stabilizer, the percentages being relative to the weight of the composition.
The preparation of the inventive composition follows conventional procedures. The composition of the invention is suitable for the preparation of a variety of articles by thermoplastic molding, including extrusion and injection molding. Included among the applications for which the inventive composition is useful are sheets and laminates.
In a yet additional embodiment of the invention, a thermally stable laminate is prepared comprising a (co)polycarbonate sheet having a thickness of about 0.8 to 13.0 millimeter, and an adherent, protective film having a thickness of about 0.05 to 1.2 millimeter adherent to at least one surface of said sheet. The protective film is made of the inventive composition. In a preferred embodiment, the laminate is prepared by coextrusion of the sheet and protective film. Advantageously, the inventive composition of the protective film contains linear polycarbonate resin.
The laminate may be prepared conventionally, preferably by coextrusion in a known manner. It may be clear or pigmented, pigmentation attained by known means. Extrusion of polycarbonates as a method for forming sheets as well as coextrusion to form laminates are known and have previously been disclosed in the art.
In a preferred embodiment, the sheet and adherent layer are coextruded by known teachings and their surfaces are brought into contact at an elevated temperature resulting from the extrusion optionally in combination with the application of pressure, to effect adhesion resulting in the formation of a laminate.
The invention is further illustrated, but is not intended to be limited by the following examples in which all parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise specified.
EXAMPLES
The exposure to HID light which normally causes discoloration in articles molded of (co)polycarbonate may be carried out in an exposure chamber known as “Whirly-GIG-III” available from Electrical Concepts Norh, 12800 Taylor Road Charlevoix, Mi. 49720. The chamber includes a rotating specimen rack, thermostatic heat control and a 400 watt metal halide lamp. Test plaques are positioned on the rotating platform so that they are exposed directly to the arc tube of the lamp. The platform rotates at one rpm around the stationary lamp. The plaques are positioned about 6 inches from the bulb. An external source of heat is provided for permitting the temperature of the test specimens to be in the range of 90°-130° C.
Experimental:
Compositions in accordance with the invention were prepared and their properties determined as noted below. In preparing the compositions of the invention and the control compositions, the resins and the additives which were used were as follows:
(i) Polycarbonate Resin: a bisphenol-A based homopolycarbonate having a melt flow rate of about 6.0 g/10 min. determined in accordance with ASTM D-1238; available as Makrolon 3108 resin, from Miles Inc.
(ii) Dimeric Benzotriazole conforming to
where R 2 denotes t-octyl group and m is 1.
(iii) as thermal stabilizer one of the following compounds was used:
(a) octadecyl 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyhydrocinnamate (herein HPA) conforming to
(b) 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyhydrocinnamic acid triester with 1,3,5,-tris(2-hydroxyethyl)-S-triazine-2,4,6,(1H,3H,5H)-trione (herein HPB) conforming to
(c) thiodiethylene bis-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxy)-hydrocinnamate (herein HPC) conforming to
Each of protective films A1 to A4 in the tables below contained 10% of the dimeric benzotriazole and A2, A3 and A4 also contained 1% of the noted stabilizer, as indicated in the table. The noted percents are relative to the weight of the composition. Laminates of protective films and protected sheets were prepared by conventional methods which are well known in the art. The protective films (5 mils in thickness) made of the noted compositions were applied to the protected sheets, that is polycarbonate substrates (100 mils in thickness) to produce laminates. The laminates were exposed to HID at 105° C. for 2000 hours and the yellowness indices determined periodically as noted in Table 1 below.
TABLE 1
yellowness index of the laminate (protected sheet) after
exposure to HID for the indicated number of hours
laminate
0
1000
1500
2000
ΔY.I 2000
A1
3.1
7.0
24.0
36.8
33.7
A2-HPA
4.4
11.4
17.0
24.8
20.4
A3-HPB
4.1
9.4
25.5
38.6
34.5
A4-HPC
3.6
9.1
24.4
35.8
32.2
Clearly the effectiveness of protective films made of the composition of the invention is demonstrated by the results shown above. The laminate designated A2-HPA shows a considerably greater resistance to yellowing than do any of the other laminates.
Table 2 below reports the results of evaluation of the composition of the invention as protective film of substrate made of a copolycarbonate resin. The copolycarbonate used in this series of experiments was one derived from 65 mol % bisphenol A and 35 mol % of trimethylcyclohexane bisphenol. The resin has a melt flow rate of about 4.0 g/10 min. at 320° C. as determined in accordance with ASTM D 1238. The resin is available commercially from Miles Inc. as Apec HT DP9-9350 resin.
The compositional makeup of the protective film was as noted above for the series reported in Table 1. The laminates (protected sheets) were exposed to HID at 120° C. for 2000 hours and the yellowness indices determined periodically as noted below.
TABLE 2
yellowness index of the laminates (protected sheets) after
exposure to HID for the indicated number of hours
laminate
0
1000
1500
2000
ΔY.I 2000
C1
8.6
19.6
42.3
74.4
65.8
C2-HPA
8.2
14.0
23.4
39.6
31.4
C3-HPB
8.1
21.3
44.9
75.2
67.1
C4-HPC
7.8
21.0
43.7
74.1
66.3
Although the invention has been described in detail in the foregoing for the purpose of illustration, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that variations can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention except as it may be limited by the claims.
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A thermoplastic polycarbonate molding composition free from organo phosphorus compounds and having an improved resistance to discoloration caused by exposure to High Intensity Discharge (HID) light and heat is disclosed. Accordingly, the molding composition contains (co)polycarbonate resin, a dimeric benzotriazole and an ester of a 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyhydrocinnamic acid. In a preferred embodiment, a sheet made of (co)polycarbonate resin is rendered improved resistance to discoloration by having applied to at least one of its surfaces an adherent protective film prepared from the polycarbonate composition of the invention.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a system for conveying or collecting liquids and, more particularly, to liquid conveyance chambers for conveying storm water for collection or dispersal.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Various methods, systems and apparatus are known to handle wastewater and/or storm water. Culverts, catch basins, storm sewers and outfalls have been used. Although such systems provide substantial advantages over direct discharge into an existing water body, they preclude other uses of the land. This is particularly important where land values are high such as in urban, residential and industrial areas. In addition, such known approaches have adverse environmental effects, for example, by lowering local water tables when storm water is prohibited from dispensing into the earth.
[0003] Consequently, it is desirable to direct rain or storm water into the earth. This has typically been done by using infiltration trenches filled with large gravel or crushed stone with perforated pipes running therethrough. However, stone filled trench systems are expensive and inefficient since the stone occupies a substantial volume, limiting the ability of the system to handle large surge volumes of water associated with heavy storms. Both the stone and the perforated pipe are also susceptible to clogging by particles or debris carried by water.
[0004] In order to solve such problems and disadvantages, underground drainage chambers have been introduced in the market for handling storm water or sewage system effluent, although not limited thereto. Such chambers typically have an arch-shaped cross-section and are relatively long with open bottoms for dispersing water to the ground. These chambers may be laid on a gravel bed side-by-side in parallel rows to create large drainage systems. End portions of the chambers may be connected to a catch basin, typically through a pipe network, in order to efficiently distribute high velocity storm water.
[0005] Storm water chambers have been used for gathering and dispensing liquids such as, for example, storm water and waste water into the ground. Such storm water chambers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,226,241, entitled STORM WATER CHAMBER FOR GANGING TOGETHER MULTIPLE CHAMBERS, assigned to Cultec, Inc., which this application incorporates by reference in its entirety.
[0006] When large drainage systems are built away from the collection point, it can be difficult to convey the liquid to the drainage system for proper dispersal. As an example, a large shopping development may have a parking lot that collects storm water and a large drainage system built some distance away. Therefore, the liquid collected from the parking lot must be conveyed to the drainage system. Conveying that storm water to the drainage system for proper liquid dispersal can require a sophisticated and expensive system of piping. Pipes may also clog easily as refuse, leaves and other objects are carried by the water into the pipes.
[0007] Therefore, it would be beneficial to have a superior system for liquid storage and conveyance through the use of a storm water chamber with floor liner and method of use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The needs set forth herein as well as further and other needs and advantages are addressed by the present embodiments, which illustrate solutions and advantages described below.
[0009] The system according to the present teachings includes, but is not limited to, a storm water chamber having a first end, a second end, and two side walls running the length between the first end and second end, with each side wall having a bottom portion. The storm water chamber has a generally elongated arch shape between the side walls with an arch top, thereby defining an enclosure. The storm water chamber also has a chamber connector member on the second end for connecting a further storm water chamber, a plurality of liquid intake openings, and a plurality of circumferential reinforcing members disposed along the generally elongated arch shape for reinforcing structural strength thereof. A floor liner has two ends and two sides defining an area therebetween, with a plurality of raised portions within the area between the two sides. The floor liner also has a plurality of retaining members on each side for connecting the bottom portions of the two side walls of the storm water chamber, and a floor liner connector member on one end for connecting a further floor liner. A substantially enclosed assembly is created when the liquid dispersing chamber is connected with the floor liner and liquid directed into the assembly may be stored or conveyed in a predetermined direction.
[0010] Other embodiments of the system are described in detail below and are also part of the present teachings.
[0011] For a better understanding of the present embodiments, together with other and further aspects thereof, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and detailed description, and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a storm water chamber according to the present teachings;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a large drainage system incorporating storm water chambers according to the present teachings;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a floor liner according to the present teachings;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a cutout perspective view of one embodiment of a storm water chamber and floor liner according to the present teachings;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a perspective end view depicting the connection of a liquid dispending chamber and a floor liner in one embodiment according to the present teachings; and
[0017] FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting one embodiment of a method of using the floor liner according to the present teachings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0018] The present teachings are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the present embodiments are shown. The following description is presented for illustrative purposes only and the present teachings should not be limited to these embodiments.
[0019] Referring now to FIG. 1 , shown is a perspective view of one embodiment of a storm water chamber 100 according to the present teachings. Storm water chambers 100 may be used to help collect wastewater, storm water, or some other liquids for storage or dispersal. The storm water chamber 100 may have liquid intake openings 102 on its end or top, although not limited thereto. In fact, the liquid intake openings 102 could be designed for placement anywhere on the storm water chambers 100 according to the particular need, and the present teachings are not limited to this particular embodiment. Liquid that enters the liquid intake opening 102 may flow through the storm water chamber 100 along its length and disperse through an open bottom 104 to the earth. Similarly, the storm water chambers 100 may be used to store liquid instead of dispersing it.
[0020] The storm water chamber 100 is shaped to provide desirable characteristics of chamber volume and strength. It may have a generally elongated arch shape with an arch top and bottom side walls, and may have two, one or no end walls. The storm water chamber 100 defines an enclosure which may be fully enclosed or open on one or both ends. A plurality of circumferential reinforcing members are disposed along the generally elongated arch shape for reinforcing structural strength thereof. The reinforcing members may be ribs 106 , although not limited thereto. The storm water chambers 100 are shaped so as to be stackable and nestable, e.g. a plurality of the storm water chambers 100 can be nested together in a stack.
[0021] Additional storm water chambers 100 may be connected on an engaging end 108 to create a long, further extendable series of chambers for dispersing liquid over a larger area, discussed further below. If the storm water chamber 100 has ribs 106 , one or more of the ribs 106 on the engaging end 108 may be smaller in size, or configured in some other way to accept engagement of a further storm water chamber 100 , which may overlap it, for example.
[0022] Referring now to FIG. 2 , shown is a perspective view of one embodiment of a large drainage system 110 incorporating storm water chambers 100 according to the present teachings. The modular design of the storm water chamber 100 permits the creation of an extendable system that can disperse liquid over a wide area of ground. Each storm water chamber 100 may connect with each other at an engaging end 108 (shown in FIG. 1 ) to extend the system. Liquids entering an intake opening 102 can then travel through the series of chambers and disperse through an open bottom 104 (shown in FIG. 1 ). So constructed, the large drainage system 110 may be covered with earth so as not to occupy valuable ground surface area. Ribs 106 (shown in detail in FIG. 1 ) may help strengthen the storm water chambers 100 to support any additional weight.
[0023] Referring now to FIG. 3 , shown is a perspective view of one embodiment of a floor liner 120 according to the present teachings. The floor liner 120 may be manufactured with a heavy duty material similar to that used to manufacture the storm water chamber 100 (shown in FIG. 1 ). For example, although not limited thereto, it may be manufactured from polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or any number of types of plastics or metals. The floor liner 120 preferably has a shape which corresponds with the open bottom 104 of the storm water chamber 100 . As shown, the floor liner 120 is in a generally rectangular shape.
[0024] The floor liner 120 may have a generally flat bottom in order to make it more stable. This provides many benefits over the use of pipe systems when the floor liner 120 and storm water chamber 100 are connected to convey or store liquids, discussed further below. Pipes, in particular, are unstable and prone to shifting and breaking when the ground around them erodes. The floor liner 120 may be constructed with a plurality of raised portions 122 . Raised portions 122 may help direct liquid flow, trap sediment and increase the strength of the floor liner 120 , although not limited thereto. The floor liner 120 may further be constructed with retaining members 124 or clips (e.g., snaps, straps, screw holes, clamps, etc.) for securing the storm water chamber 100 , discussed further below.
[0025] The floor liner 120 may also have a connector 126 member on its end or ends in order to connect additional floor liners 120 in a series. In one embodiment, the connector 126 member may be a portion of the floor liner 120 that overlaps a corresponding portion in a further floor liner 120 . In this way, the overlap may hold the two floor liners 120 together. The connector 126 member may comprise hooks that interact with corresponding holes (as shown), straps, buckles, screws, tabs, or any other means for holding two floor liners 120 together, and the present teachings are not limited to this particular embodiment. This may be helpful when constructing a large drainage system 110 (shown in FIG. 2 ) or creating a series of floor liner 120 and storm water chamber 100 assemblies in order to convey liquid to a large drainage system 110 . Connecting multiple storm water chambers 100 and floor liners 120 in series allow liquid to be conveyed or stored (e.g., liquid not permitted to disperse through the chamber's bottom) over a large area.
[0026] Referring now to FIG. 4 , shown is a cutout perspective view of one embodiment of a storm water chamber 100 and floor liner 120 according to the present teachings. The storm water chamber 100 and floor liner 120 cooperate with each other in order to create a solitary assembly for storing or conveying liquid. Since both the floor liner 120 and storm water chamber 100 can be extended by connecting further floor liner 120 and storm water chamber 100 assemblies, the solitary structure provides the ability to store liquids over a long distance or mimic the benefits of traditional piping by conveying liquids over a long distance. However, the system described herein may be manufactured, shipped and installed less expensively and without the need for professional installers as with traditional pipe systems. In particular, extruded plastic pipe in the sizes typically used for storm water control systems is a large diameter tube which occupies a substantial volume when it is transported. It will often take multiple truck load deliveries to deliver the required amount of pipe to a worksite. In contrast, the present invention allows a more economical and fuel efficient worksite installation because the storm water chambers 100 are nestable with each other so that the required number of chambers can be stacked on a delivery truck bed and delivered in a single truckload. Optionally, the floor liners 120 are also nestable and stackable for efficient worksite delivery in the same way, however, this is an optional aspect of the invention since the relatively flat floor liners 120 will not occupy delivery truck volume to the same degree as the storm water chambers 100 .
[0027] Storm water chambers 100 and floor liners 120 may be constructed in any number of different sizes, shapes and thicknesses for a particular purpose. For example, although not limited thereto, the structure may be buried around the perimeter of a building, such as a residence. Since the dispensing chamber 100 may have liquid intake openings 102 on its top, rain gutters from the building may drain directly into the system, which may then convey the rain water to a drainage area built a distance away from the building. For this purpose, the dispensing chamber 100 and floor liner 120 assembly may only need to be between 12 and 36 inches in width. However, if designed for a large big box store or other large commercial or industrial application, the dispensing chamber 100 and floor liner 120 assembly may be between two and six feet in width. It is appreciated that the assembly could be designed in any size for a particular purpose and it is not limited to these particular embodiments.
[0028] Generally, it may be preferable to position the storm water chambers 100 and floor liners 120 over bed of gravel at a slight grade so that the liquid will flow in a predetermined direction. The use of the system described herein helps to prevent erosion resulting from high volume low velocity flows. And since storm water chambers 100 may have liquid intake openings 102 on its top, no expensive pipe Ts are needed. Instead, a pipe, gutter, etc., may drain directly into the system's liquid intake openings 102 .
[0029] Referring now to FIG. 5 , shown is a perspective end view depicting the connection of a liquid dispending chamber 100 and a floor liner 120 in one embodiment according to the present teachings. The floor liner 120 may have retaining members 124 (e.g., clips, etc.) which interact with a corresponding bottom portion 140 or lip of the liquid dispending chamber 100 in order to secure the two pieces to each other. It is appreciated that any number of different methods could be used to secure the liquid dispending chamber 100 with the floor liner 120 including snaps, straps, clamps, screws, a flange, etc., and the present teaching are not limited to this particular embodiment. It is desirable that the means for securing the liquid dispending chamber 100 with the floor liner 120 holds them adjacent to one another so that liquid travelling through the unified assembly does not easily escape.
[0030] Referring now to FIG. 6 , shown is a flowchart depicting one embodiment of a method of using the floor liner according to the present teachings. The following steps may be performed to use the system disclosed herein, although not limited thereto: connect the liquid dispersing chamber and the floor liner with each other; position the storm water chamber and the floor liner assembly in proximity with the ground; and direct liquid into the storm water chamber and floor liner assembly for storage and/or conveyance. Further storm water chambers and floor liners may be connected with the assembly in order to create a series of assemblies. The series may be connected to a liquid drainage system for conveying liquid thereto.
[0031] While the present teachings have been described above in terms of specific embodiments, it is to be understood that they are not limited to these disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and other embodiments will come to mind to those skilled in the art to which this pertains, and which are intended to be and are covered by both this disclosure and the appended claims. It is intended that the scope of the present teachings should be determined by proper interpretation and construction of the appended claims and their legal equivalents, as understood by those of skill in the art relying upon the disclosure in this specification and the attached drawings.
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A drainage system includes a storm water chamber and floor liner assembly for storing and conveying liquids. The storm water chamber comprises a generally elongated arch shape with an arch top and bottom side walls, thereby defining an enclosure, the enclosure having a plurality of liquid intake openings. The floor liner comprises two generally parallel sides each having a plurality of retaining members for connecting the storm water chamber. When the storm water chamber and floor liner are connected with each other, the system provides a substantially enclosed assembly for conveying liquids.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The cylindrical metal or cardboard containers in which engine oil has been, and sometimes still is, packaged are being replaced by molded plastic bottles. Pouring from the cans was facilitated to a degree by pouring spouts that punctured the lid of the container and hopefully sealed around the opening thus produced so that the oil would not leak at the interface. Unfortunately, this seal was seldom effective and a certain amount of oil leaked out onto the engine. Even more of a problem was, however, the lack of any valve that permitted the user to turn the container upside down without spilling its contents. The solution, therefore, was to hold the spout close to the oil intake opening and quickly turn the can upside down hoping that you hit the hole with the contents. As often as not, a good deal of it spilled onto the engine and dripped from there down onto the garage floor or driveway. These prior art can-puncturing spouts, however, had the advantage of admitting a certain amount of air to the can such that at least the contents poured out in a smooth stream.
The plastic bottle, while doing away with the necessity of puncturing the lid to get at the contents, nevertheless, has its own problems. To begin with it is every bit as difficult, if not more so, to pour from and hit the oil intake opening unless one uses a funnel. Moreover, since the pour opening is small, no air can enter the container and the contents come out "gurgling" and in surges which means that a good deal of it either overshoots or undershoots the opening thus resulting in more of a spill than one experienced with the prior art puncture type pouring spouts for use with metal-lidded cans and cardboard containers.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, therefore, to an improved pouring spout for liquid containers, particularly those in which engine oil is packaged, that is characterized by both a thumb-actuated ball valve mechanism conveniently located in the spout that permits the user to turn the container upside down with the spout in the oil intake opening in the valve cover before releasing the contents and, in addition, an air intake tube reaching into the bottom of the container that prevents surging. An essentially leakproof screw-on connection complements the assembly and cooperates with the other elements thereof to virtually eliminate spills.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pouring spouts for dispensing the contents of containers are, of course, well known in the art. The U.S. Patents to Sundholm 2,328,363; Dike 3,104,039 and Lampe 3,325,844 being examples of such units. The Dike patent discloses a spout which rotates to close off the pour opening in the screw-on closure. The Lampe patent, on the other hand, discloses a valved closure in which the particular valve used is of the rotating plate type wherein a pair of openings can be moved into registry with one another in the open position and out of registry in the closed one. Valves of this type are satisfactory when used with granular materials but they are difficult to seal and, therefore, tend to leak when used with liquids.
Accordingly, a need exists for a screw-on type valved pouring spout for attachment to the necks of the bottles containing motor oil and the like which need to be turned upside down and placed into small fluid-intake openings before the contents are allowed to flow. Means should also be provided for admitting air to the container while the fluid is flowing so as to eliminate surges and spillage. Preferably, the valve should be one that can be actuated by a finger or the thumb of the hand holding the container while holding the latter upside down with the spout tip already located within the fluid-intake opening.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Applicant has found that these and other worthwhile objectives can, in fact, be achieved by the novel, yet unobvious, expedient of providing a screw-on type pouring spout containing a ball valve rotatable a mere quarter turn between its open and closed positions by the thumb of the hand holding the container. The interior of the spout is partitioned off to divide same into a fluid-flow passage and an airflow passage superimposed above the latter. The valve, upon actuation, simultaneously opens and closes both of the aforementioned passages.
It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved pouring spout for attachment to liquid containers.
A second objective is to provide a device of the class described which includes a novel ball valve operative upon actuation to simultaneously close and open fluid-flow and airflow passages stacked one atop the other.
An additional object is to provide a pouring spout of the type aforementioned which is equipped with an actuator for the valve so positioned that the latter can be turned back and forth by the thumb of the hand holding the container.
Another objective of the within-described invention is that of providing a pouring spout for liquids which incorporates an airflow passage stacked atop the fluid-flow passage.
Further objects of the invention are to provide a valved and vented pouring spout for dispensing liquids which is simple, easy to operate, versatile, lightweight, inexpensive, compact, rugged and even decorative in appearance.
Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed out specifically hereinafter in connection with the description of the drawings that follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the valved and vented pouring spout of the present invention screwed onto the neck of the type of molded plastic bottle being used as a disposable container for motor oil and the like;
FIG. 2 is a section taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1 showing the pouring spout alone to a greatly enlarged scale;
FIG. 3 is a section taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2 to the same scale;
FIG. 4 is a section taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 2, again to the same scale;
FIG. 5 is an exploded view to a still larger scale;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the spout equipped with an extension, the scale being the same as in FIG. 1;
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary section taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 6 to approximately the same scale as FIG. 2;
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary longitudinal half section to approximately the same scale as FIG. 2 taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 6; and,
FIG. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of the extension spout, once again to the same scale as FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring next to the drawings for a detailed description of the present invention, reference numeral 10 has been chosen to broadly designate the pouring spout in its entirety while numeral 12 has been selected to similarly identify the ball valve used to simultaneously open or close both its airflow passage 14 and its fluid-flow passage 16 using the thumb-actuated fin-like handle 18 while holding the oil bottle 20. The rear end of the spout is shaped to rotatably mount an internally-threaded female connector subassembly which has been broadly designated by reference numeral 22 and which is designed and adapted to screw onto the externally-threaded male counterpart 24 on the neck of the container or, as seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, onto the reducer 26 used to neck-down the necks of oversize containers 20M. The front end 28 of the spout can, if desired, be threaded as shown at 30 to accept either the lid (not shown) off the bottle 20 or, alternatively, a spout extension 32 of the type seen in FIGS. 6, 8 and 9. This spout extension is flexible as represented by phantom lines in FIG. 6. Instead of being internally-threaded, the extension shown has a smooth-surfaced collar 34 adapted for frictional connection to the externally-threaded end 30 of the spout. Extensions of this type can be useful in dispensing the contents of the bottle into hard-to-reach places. As shown, this spout extension is provided with continuations of both the air intake passage 14 and the fluid discharge passage 16, the latter having been identified by reference numerals 14C and 16C, respectively.
Referring specifically to FIGS. 1-3, 5 and 6, it can be seen that just forwardly of the connector subassembly 22, the spout contains an integrally-formed enlargement 36, the interior of which is shaped to define a hemispherically-shaped seat 38 for the ball valve that has been indicated in a general way by reference numeral 40. In the open position of valve 40, it has passages 14B and 16B therein which align with the air intake and fluid discharge passages 14 and 16, respectively, of the spout. The bottom of the ball is slightly truncated to form a flat 42 from which projects a short generally cylindrically-shaped ear 44. The bottom of the seat 38 is similarly flattened as seen at 46 and provided with a semi-cylindrical socket 48 sized and adapted to receive the ear for rotation therein between the open position of the valve shown in the drawings and its closed position rotated a quarter turn counterclockwise as viewed from the top. The top of the ball valve is similarly truncated as indicated at 50 where a valve stem in the form of a pair of upstanding springable generally hook-shaped ears 52 are provided. These ears project up through an opening 54 in the top of the enlargement 36 where they are detachably connected to the actuating handle 18 through openings 56 in the latter. The size of these opening 56 is such as to easily pass the hooked ends of the ears 52 as seen most clearly in FIG. 3. Moreover, the relative positions of the ears and the openings therefor is such that the outer edges of the latter will cam the ears inwardly until the hooked ends pass therethrough, whereupon, these hooked ends will spring back out and releasably lock on top of the cylindrical disk 58 containing these openings and constituting a base for the handle 18.
The underside of the cylindrical base 58 for the handle is annularly-grooved as shown at 60 to receive a gasket 62. Opening 54 in the top of the enlargement 36 is bordered by an annular seat 64 and an upstanding annular flange 66 which cooperate with one another to confine the outside and the underside of the gasket. This annular flange 66 is flat on the top forming a rim 68 as a support for the base of the handle which is somewhat larger. Within that portion of the base resting atop the annular flange and outside the area occupied by the gasket is a stop 70 which rides within a 90° slot 72 in the rim 68 and thus defines as well as limits the open and closed positions of the valve 40.
Connector subassembly 22 serves several important functions in addition to that of detachably connecting the spout to the bottle. For instance, it forms the seat for the rear end of the ball valve and, in addition, seals around the air intake and fluid discharge openings therein. It also releasably latches onto the rear slightly flared funnel-forming end of the spout and holds the valve and its related parts in assembled relation. The details of the connector subassembly referred to above are most clearly revealed in FIGS. 2 and 5 to which reference will now be made.
In essence, the subassembly comprises an external cap-forming portion 74 inside of which is an integrally-formed tubular member 76 which has the internally-threaded portion 24 at its rear end that screws onto the bottle 20 and the ball-engaging spherically-shaped seat 78 at its front end. An air-intake passage 14A and a fluid-discharge passage 16A align with the corresponding passages 14C and 16C of the spout when the subassembly 22 is releasably latched in place onto the rear funnel-forming slightly flared end of the enlarged portion 38 of the spout in a manner which will be described in detail presently. Air intake passages 14C and 14A are connected together by passage 14B when the ball valve is in the open position shown. Likewise, the fluid-discharge passages 16C and 16A are similarly connected together by ball valve passage 16B under these same circumstances. Spherically-shaped seat 78 is bordered at its front end by a circumferential groove 80 into which fits an O-ring 82. This O-ring seats against the rear surface of the ball valve 40 and is held in place by the forwardly-tapering surface 84 on the inside of spout enlargement 36. As thus assembled, O-ring 82 prevents the fluid issuing from the bottle 20 from escaping into the enlarged area 36 of the spout.
A second annular groove 86 borders the front end of the air-intake opening 14A of the tubular member 76 of the connector subassembly 22 and it seats a second O-ring 86 which seals against the opposed spherical surface of the ball valve 40. Thus, the fluid moving through the fluid discharge passages 16 is sealed off from entering the air-intake passages 14 in all positions of the valve as the O-rings 82 and 88 remain at all times in essentially fluid-tight wiping contact therewith.
With continued reference to FIGS. 2 and 5, it can be seen that the rear end of the spout takes the form of a gently-flared skirt 90, the outer surface of which is provided both top and bottom with a diametrically-arranged pair of integrally-formed locking tabs 92U and 92L along with one or more integrally-formed guide tongues 94, the latter being shown only in FIG. 5. The inside surface of the cap-forming portion 74 of the connector subassembly 22 contains grooves 96 (FIG. 5) for the reception of the guide tongues 94 which cooperate therewith to orient the subassembly relative to the air-intake and fluid discharge openings. U-shaped slits 98 cut into the surface of the cap-forming portion 74 in longitudinal alignment with the locking tabs 92U and 92L free bendable fingers 100 which raise up as the tabs pass inside them and along channels 102 therebeneath prior to springing back into place behind them to hold the connector subassembly 22 and related parts in assembled relation.
Detachment of the connector subassembly from the spout, of course, opens up the flared end of the latter which can be used as a small funnel. The valve mechanism will remain in place as the funnel-forming portion is raised into a vertical position due to the connection between the handle 18 and the valve stem even though the projection 44 on the bottom of the ball is no longer retained in the semi-circular socket therefor because of the absence of the O-ring 82 and portion of the spherical seat therebehind that hold the latter in place against seat-forming surface 38.
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A pouring spout for attachment to liquid containers having superimposed passages therein, one for air to enter the container and the other for fluid to exit therefrom. a thumb-actuated ball valve seated in fluid-tight relation within a spherically-shaped pocket intermediate the ends of the spout becomes operative to either open or close both passages simultaneously upon rotation of the valve a quarter of a turn through the use of the thumb of the hand holding the container. The intake end of the spout is formed to provide it with a flared skirt cooperating with it to define a funnel effective to direct fluid into the latter when used separate from a container.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an article of manufacture intended for use as a multi-compartment container. More specifically, as a device containing up to three pourable materials in separate compartments from which eacy may be charged and discharged therefrom by the use of a common means acting either as a charging funnel or as a discharging spout.
The present invention enables the user to handily portage in one device three chemical substances which previously were transported in seperate containers. Particularly useful to users of household laundry cleaning chemicals such as detergent, bleach and fabric softener. Each chemical as a pourable substance in a powdered or granular solid, liquid or slurry form. By the use of the present invention, the user can bulk purchase said necessary chemical cleaning agents for laundering and fill the device at, for instance, home, with only the required quantities of chemicals necessary for the anticipated wash load number and size before utelizing them at, for instance, a self-service commercial laundry. The present invention makes the portaging, measuring and dispensing of such chemicals handy with a minimum of fuss and leakage.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
Previously multi-compartment containers and means of dispensing have been disclosed before. In the Patent literature, Class 222 Sub-Class 142.9 includes numerous inventions wherein seperate compartment containers are described somewhate similar to the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 4,380,307 shows a multiple container package with a means to select a radially oriented compartment by the use of a cover disc rotatable around a common axis with various orafice configurations differentiating a pouring or shaking means of dispensing which varies the volume and type of flow desired. However, a major disassembly of the cap and cover disc may be performed in order to fill or re-fill the invention. The present invention uses a means of filling and discharging much differently, namely, the fact that disassembly of any of the components is not required to either charge or discharge the device and the same apertures function in both the discharging and charging mode.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a multi-compartment container that permits up to three liquid or powdered solid chemicals to be portaged in one device within seperate compartments.
It is another object of the invention to provide a reusable multi-compartment container and a charging means that allows the user to predetermine the type and volume of chemicals charged into the device.
It is yet another object of the invention to utelize a means that dually facilitates the transfer of chemical agents into their respective compartments and simultaneously aids in the discharge of said chemical agents.
It is also another object of the invention to permit the passage of chemical agents used in laundering through a common orafice without fouling and coagulation.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a multi-compartment container with an integral charging and discharging means; both means deployed togethr in one structure and manipulated in a foolproof manner.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved by the use of a pivotal selector which when positioned accordingly can provide direct access to any of the compartments which are angularly offset from one another around a common central axis, or conversely, when positioned between adjacent apertures covers all apertures sealingly preventing spillage or cross-contamination. A rotatable flow directing device or funnel shaped structure directs flow into a passage on the selector. The rotational capability of the flow derecting device allows for two primary objects, first, it positions a handle outwardly facing for carrying the invention and secondly, it positions the spout outwardly facing making the invention able to easily discharge the contents of the compartments. Additionally, a third functional capability of the flow directing device as a sealing means is incorporated into the invention. By rotating the flow directing device, a covering seal is positioned over the selector aperture without having to reposition the selector aperture as previously described.
Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description and attatched drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWIANG
FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of an alternative arrangement of the top including a downwardly extending neck finish with an integral thread or thread segments.
FIG. 3 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of an alternative arrangement of the base.
FIG. 4 is a top view in a charging and discharging mode with a removed portion of the compartment access selector and selector linkage.
FIG. 5 is a top view in a portaging mode.
FIG. 6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view as shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 7 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of an alternative arrangement of the invention in a charging and discharging mode.
FIG. 8 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of an alternative arrangement of the invention in a portaging mode.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, a container portion consisting of an outside wall 10, three internal bulkhead partitions 11, 12 and 13, best viewed in FIG. 5 and a base 15 comprise a means to store seperately up to three different chemical agents in compartments 40, 41 and 42 respectively created therein. In the preferred embodiment shown, said outside wall, bulkhead partitions and base are integrally formed of a thermoplastic material. A forming process, namely, extrusion blow molding, utilizing a trifurcated mandrel to shape a preform with the desired alignment of the internal bulkhead partitions, outside wall and base. The preform can thus be converted into a container in a blow molding apparatus. Other means of fabrication will be apparent to those skilled in the art. A light transmitting thermoplastic material such as a high density polyethelene (HDPE), oriented polypropylene (PP) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) that are blended so as to meet the necessary requirements of the invention; three of which are of being nonreactive to the three chemicals, durable for multiple reuses and free from chemical cause stree cracks, and transparent or translucent so as to allow viewing of the quantities therein.
The outside wall may be of regular shape of substantial height, preferrably of a right circular cylindrical shape, however, a conical, jug-like or bulbous shape may be desired. Any type of outside wall shape and configuration may be assumed without detracting from the intention of the present invention. At the open end of the container formed, located exteriorly on the outside wall is a raised external thread or thread segments 29, in addition, can be content and/or volummetric indicia corresponding to each compartment. Indicia can be of applied or embossed nature.
A notional central longitudinal axis vertically aligned through the center of the container whereby said internal bulkhead partitions converge and are integrally formed to each other for the full height of the container and at the opposing end to the outside wall. Said bulkhead partitions are angularly offset from one another. Said base provides a means of continuously connecting the bottom of said outside wall and each bulkhead partition. A preferred arrangement for the angular relationship of the bulkhead partitions is such that the volummetric rations of the compartments 40, 41 and 42 within the tripartite container are 2:1:1. This volummetric preference is the approximate proportion of laundry detergent, bleach and fabric softener used in a typical wash load. It will be apparent that the ratios of the compartments bear a direct correspondence to the chemical agents commercially available. For instance, an increased concentration of chemical cleaning strength in the detergent may require a small volume within the container and a corresponding change in ratio.
FIG. 3 shows an alternative arrangement between base, bulkhead partitions and outside wall whereby a seperately formed circular shaped bottom closure 15A is continuously attatched in a leakproof manner by heat fusion, of which any suitable process, such as ultrasonic welding, for example, to each bulkhead partition (not shown), and outside wall 10B (as shown). Said bottom closure may include a continuous upending flange providing contact between the interiour vertical surface and the exterior surface of the outside wall 10B.
A circular shaped top 14 of a diameter equal to the outside diameter of outside wall 10, or if the outside wall is of non-cylindrical nature as previously described, then equal to the outside diameter of the open end of the body or neck portion. Said top may be injection molded of a thermoplastic material as described and is attatched at all points formed along the exposed end edge of outside wall 10 and each internal bulkhead partition 10, 11 and 12 respectively, to create a continuous leakproof seal and contains three compartment access apertures 21, 21A and 21B, as shown in FIG. 5, of elliptical shape providing a means of passage with compartments 40, 41 and 42 respectively. Said apertures are radially displaced from notional central vertical axis in a manner such that each said aperture's major diameter bisects the angle formed by subtending bulkhead partitions; each compartment receives one means of access. Each said aperture is equidistantly spread longitudinally of an equal dimension from the central vertical axial location and the distance seperating adjacent apertures is at least greater than each apertures minor diameter. At the center of said top corresponding to the notional central vertical axis of the container portion on the exteriorly facing horizontal surface is a raised frusto conical protuberance 25.
A compartment access selector 16 provides a means to individually communicate with apertures 21, 21A or 21B respectively, or as may be desired, in a non-communicating position which prevents the passage of contents to or from all of the compartments. Said compartment access selector is formed of thermoplastic material such as previosly described and may be fashioned in an injection molding apparatus. Said compartment access selector consists of a circular portion with a diameter equal and in contact with top 14 containing a recessed central frustoconical depression 26, an elliptical shaped compartment selector bottom aperture 20, a tubular raised neck 32 portion arising vertically and enclosing said compartment selector bottom aperture which terminates at a top horizontal bearing surface with an inscribed elliptical top aperture 22. A means of passage between compartment selector bottom aperture 20 and compartment selector top aperture 22 of said raised neck portion of the compartment access selector, is formed by the use of an inscribed wall. Both said top and bottom apertures are coaxially aligned with each aperture's main diameter extending outwardly to a central point plumb to the notional central vertical axis. On the raised neck 32 an exteriorly located raised thread or thread segments 27 is positioned. Compartment selector bottom aperture 20 is a shape of identical geometrical proportioning as apertures 21, 21A and 21B. Said compartment selector bottom aperture is spaced laterally of an equal longitudinal dimension from said notional central vertical axial location.
A selector linkage 17 provides a means to engage the compartment access selector 16 contact between said comparment access selector's lower horzontal surface and the top's upper horizontal surface. Said selector linkage may be injection molded of a thermoplastic material, for instance, like HDPE as previously described. Said selector linkage means consists of a circular ring-like structure with a depending flange providing contact with outside wall 10 by means of a continuous internal grooved thread or thread segments 30 mating with external thread or thread segments 29 formed on the exterior of outside wall 10. When said selector linkage is loosened, a rotational movement of the compartment access selector 16 on the top's upper horizontal surface around said raised frustoconical protuberance allows the user to select any of the apertures 21, 21A or 21B in the top by bringing into alignment compartment selector bottom aperture 20 for transfer of chemical agents or alternatively, the user may position the compartment access selector bottom aperture 20 between adjacent said apertures of the top. When the said compartment selector bottom aperture is aligned with said aperture in the top, a tightening of said selector linkage will provide positive contact between said compartment access selector and said top thereby allowing passage from or into said compartment or when positioned between adjacent apertures of said top and said selector linkage is tightened the passage of the chemical agents is hindered by the covering of all apertures in said top by the said compartment access selector's lower horizontal surface.
FIG. 2 depicts an alternative means of providing contact pressure adjustment between the selector linkage 17, the compartment selector 16 and the top14. Such an arrangement can allow for a different fabrication process of the outside wall, bulkhead partitions and base. In such an arrangement, an outside wall 10A is fabricated without an external thread or thread segments or any raised portions. A top 14A with a depending flange with an internal vertical surface in contact with and bonded to the outside wall 10A. An exteriorly located raised thread or thread segments 29A provides a means to secure a selector linkage 17A with an interiorly located groove thread or thread segments 30A thereby providing a means to loosen or tighten the pressure provided by the said flange underside horizontal surface on the top of the compartment selector 16A.
A funnel shaped structure 19 provides a passage for charging and discharging functions and a means for grasping the invention for both portaging and decanting. Said funnel shaped structure may be formed of a thermoplastic material as previously described by blow molding the funnel portion and compression molding the handle portion together in one apparatus. Other suitable means of fabrication will be apparent to thosed skilled in the art. The funnel shaped structure 19 consists of a main opening 24 and a port opening 23 both of differing geometrical properties and connected together by a wall of predetermined thickness providing a means of passage. Said openings are of elliptical proportions, axially offset and in parallel planes. At one edge of said main opening tangent to the major diameter a spout 33 or deformed lip facilitates flow during pouring; at the opposite end a handle 31 is integrally molded. At the base of the funnel shaped structure 19 a base flange 34 coplaner with said port opening has an outside diameter equal to the raised neck 32.
A funnel linkage 18 provides a means to loosen or tighten the base flange 34 contact between the lower horizontal surface and the upper horizontal surface of the raised neck 32. Said funnel linkage may be injection molded of a thermoplastic material such as HDPE, or as previously described. Said fjnnel linkage consists of a circular ring-like structure with a depending flange providing contact pressure adjustment with the exterior wall of said raised neck by means of a continuous internal grooved thread or thread segments 28 mating with the external thread or thread segments 27 formed on the outside of said raised neck. When the funnel linkage 18 is tightened to said thread or thread segments, the lower horizontal surface of the base flange 34 in contact with the upper horizontal surface of the raised neck 32 is compressed together thereby creating a leakproof seal. Alternatively when loosened, said funnel shaped structure can freely rotate around the raised neck 32 or can be completely detached.
FIGS. 4 and 5 show two modes of functioning. Referring to FIG. 4, the compartment access selector bottom aperture 20 is positioned over the aperture 21B, (hidden to view). The funnel shaped structure 19 is rotated arcuately on the raised neck 32 into alignment with top aperture 23 thus bringing lip 33 in an outwardly facing position so that the contents in compartment 42 can be decanted or filled. Alternatively, FIG. 5 shows said funnel shaped structure rotated through an arcuate path of one half a full turn from its decanting mode thereby positioning handle 31 outwardly facing the notional central vertical axis. Also when portaging, the compartment access selector 16 must be positioned away from the top apertures as previously described in order to prevent backflow.
FIGS. 7 and 8 both show an alternative arrangement whereby the dual positioning capability of said funnel shaped structure proviously described in detail includes an additional means to function as a cap or seal, thereby hindering passage of contents from either of the three compartments without having to reposition the compartment access selector 16. In this configuration, referring specifically to its unique features, a top 14A includes three semi-elliptical apertures 21C, 21D and 21E of which size and configuration is less that half the area of the raised neck portion of the compartment access selector. A compartment access selector 16A includes a raised neck portion 32A with an internal passage from which the compartment selector bottom aperture 20A connects the compartment selector top aperture 22A. A side wall 36 of this passage is visible. A funnel shaped structure 19A includes a port opening 23A of equivalent shape and size of the said compartment selector top aperture. A lower flow director 35 directs passage of contents to the said compartment selector top aperture. FIG. 7 shows the openings in the compartment access selector positioned over top aperture, for instance as is seen in the drawing, aperture 21C, and port opening 23A allows the passage of contents into or out of the invention. Lip 33A is outwardly facing the notional central vertical axis. FIG. 8 shows the funnel shaped structure 19A in a subtending position whereby the flow director 34 inhibits the passage of backflow from the compartment thereby acting as an effective seal when the funnel linkage is tightened.
To facilitate positioning both the funnel shaped structure in its two modes upon the upper horizontal surface of the raised neck an the compartment selector bottom aperture with any of the apertures in the top, the use of outwardly projecting boss or bosses in the base flange and receptive detents or the like in the upper horizontal surface of the raised neck may be used; likewise, the same may be employed between the compartment access selector and top. These features are not described in detail since they are well known in the art.
To further reduce clearances in the sealing region between both the top and compartment access selector and the base flange and the upper horizontal surface of the raised neck, the molding of both compartment access selector and base flange may be in a distorted shape so that they are elastically stressed when compressed by their respective linkages, thereby providing an improved seal preventing leakage or coagulation. Alternatively, another means achieving the same desired sealing effect may be employed by positioning resilient sealing members between the two respective surfaces.
It will be understood that all apertures in the top and compartment access selector must be of equal size and shape. Although the elliptical shape described herein in detail, other shapes such as circular providing a suitable means of passage may be substituted. Also, the elliptical and semi-elliptical shapes described in the compartment selector top aperture and port opening of the funnel shaped structure may be of other geometrical configuration, such as, circular or semi-circular.
The raised neck provides a passage connecting upper and lower apertures as described. The passage may be integral with the said raised neck engaging the raised neck at one or more points or may be seperate. The passage may be sloped providing a transition between the apertures of different size, shape or orientation.
Whereas, the invention has been described in relation to its preferred embodiments thereof, it is understood that other modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit thereof and the scope of the appended claims.
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A reusable multi-compartment container permitting the storage of up to three pourable materials. A swivel mounted selector acts as a compartment selector or seal; a charging and discharging device positioned atop the selector is operational in two modes for either decanting or charging, or portaging the invention, additionally this device may function as a compartment seal in one of its embodiments.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to a device for funneling objects, such as leaves, into a bag. More particularly, the invention relates to a collapsible device to assist a user in bagging leaves in a quick and efficient manner.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The collection of leaves and other debris from a yard or other land is tedious and time consuming. Various methods are typically employed to gather the leaves in a manageable area for transferring the leaves into a bag or waste can.
Numerous devices have been proposed for the collection of trash, leaves and other refuse. Some of the proposed devices employ a scoop or receiving section coupled to a bag or collection member. Examples of these types of devices include U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,666 to Rahtican for “Lawn Scoop”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,277 to Coker for “Debris Collecting and Bagging Apparatus”; U.S. Pat. No. D309,966 to Bishop for “Trash Bag Funnel”; U.S. Pat. No. D361,185 to Seiler et al., for “Bag Support Insert with Funnel Top”; U.S. Pat. No. D376,237 to Hayes, Sr. et al., for “Leaf Bagging Accessory for Use with Drawstring Leaf Bags”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,3118,419 to Lee for “Collection System and Method”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,742 to Weathers et al. for “Leaf and Debris Chute”.
None of the above patents, however, teach features for enhancing the airflow through a passageway and into a collection bag. Instead, when used with a leaf blower that expels high velocity air flows for directing leaves and other debris, performance of the above devices may be diminished due to turbulent airflow, which tends to allow leaves to escape the device rather than direct the leaves into the collection receptacle. Additionally, many of the above devices are not collapsible. Consequently, such devices are inconvenient for a typical homeowner, whose storage space may be limited.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is desirable to provide a collapsible device for efficiently funneling objects, such as leaves, into a bag. The device preferably includes a plurality of panels defining a passageway having an entrance and an exit. A support structure is provided that engages at least one of said plurality of panels defining said passageway. A first forwardly extending arm and a second forwardly extending arm are also preferably constructed of a plurality of panels that are affixed to the panels that define the passageway. The forwardly extending arms define an intake area adjacent said entrance to passageway. Inside surfaces of the first and second forwardly extending arms, which are adjacent to the intake area, are each substantially recessed at predetermined angles about a horizontal axis and define an inwardly pointed apex. Preferably, leaves or other objects are directed into the intake area with a leaf blower. The unique shape of the forwardly extending arms and associated panels that define the intake area result in advantageous airflow patterns that smoothly direct objects into the passageway.
A bag having a plurality of openings therein, e.g. a mesh bag, is removably affixed adjacent to the exit of the passageway. The bag is provided to collect objects passing through the passageway and to allow air to escape through openings in said bag. The plurality of panels that define the passageway preferably includes an upwardly angled lower panel configured such that the entrance to the passageway is larger than the exit of the passageway. The upwardly angled lower panel directs debris to an upper portion of the rear of the bag. Once openings in the rear of the bag are covered by debris, a circulation pattern develops wherein debris flows from back to front along a bottom of the bag before re-entering the high velocity airstream passing through the passageway. The result is a tendency not to clog the passageway with debris.
The plurality of panels that make up the leaf catcher are preferably collapsible into a substantially flat configuration for ease of transport and storage. Further, the construction of the leaf catcher enables easy set up and take down when manipulating the panels from a folded to a operational configuration and vice versa.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention showing the leaf catcher in an operational configuration with both sides open.
FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the leaf catcher of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the leaf catcher of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the leaf catcher of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the leaf catcher of FIG. 1 wherein the right side is shown with phantom lines so that support structures are visible.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the left side folding section of the leaf catcher of FIG. 1 , shown in a collapsed configuration.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the right side folding section of the leaf catcher of FIG. 1 , shown in a collapsed configuration.
FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of the support structures and center pieces of the leaf catcher of FIG. 1 in an operational “legs extended” configuration.
FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of the support structures and center pieces of the leaf catcher of FIG. 1 in folded configuration.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is important to understand that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the embodiments and steps described herein. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in a variety of ways. It is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.
Referring now to FIGS. 1-4 , the leaf catcher device of the invention is indicated generally by numeral 10 . Leaf catcher 10 is comprised of a plurality of panels foldably connected to one another that are labeled herein as panels A-K. Panels A-K may be connected via “living hinges”, i.e. seams formed in plastic panels or by other means. As will be discussed in greater detail below, certain panels are removably affixed to one another, e.g., by Velcro®, snaps, or other means. Preferably, panels A-K may be folded in a flat configuration for ease of storage and movement as shown in FIG. 9 . Panels A-K unfold to form an intake area 11 for leaves propelled by a leaf blower, e.g., leaf blower 13 ( FIG. 4 ). Additional advantages associated with the particular construction of the panels A-K will be discussed below. It should be noted that while the application refers primarily to bagging leaves, the leaf catcher of the invention is also suitable for collecting other objects such as grass clippings, trash and other debris.
In an operational or unfolded configuration as shown in FIGS. 1-4 , panels A-K are preferably configured as follows. Panels A and A′ are hingedly affixed to the end of forwardly extending arms designated generally as 12 and 14 . Panels A and A′ preferably are folded back towards arms 12 and 14 , respectively, to form a stabilizing member and to secure leaf catcher 10 against the ground when leaf blower 13 is employed.
Left and right arms 12 , 14 include arm panels B and B′. Arm panels B and B′ preferably lean outwardly and are supported in part by support panels A and A′. Arms 12 and 14 additionally include lower transition panels C and C′. Upper arm panels D and D′ angle back towards intake area 11 . The combination of arm panels B and B′ and upper arm panels D and D′ form a generally recessed structure for each of left and right arms 12 and 14 . Upper transition panels E and E′ are provided to communicate with upper arm panels D and D′.
Leaf catcher 10 defines passage 16 . Passage 16 is defined by side panels F and F′ that communicate with lower opening panel G. Upper panel H communicates with upper transition panels E and E′. Panel H is provided to assist in funneling leaves and other objects through passage 16 . Upper opening panel J communicates with a rear edge of panel H and with upper edges or side panels F and F′ to enclose passage 16 .
Panels F, F′, G and H, which define passage 16 , are supported by a support structure which is designated generally as 20 . Referring now in particular to FIGS. 2 , 5 , 8 and 9 , support structure 20 includes forward members 22 and 22 ′ and rearward members 24 and 24 ′. Forward and rearward members are pivotally connected at hinge members 26 and 26 ′. Hinge members 26 and 26 ′ are preferably constructed with arcuate members or stops 27 ( FIGS. 8 , 9 ) that abut one another when forward members 22 , 22 ′ are rotated away from rearward members 24 , 24 ′ approximately 30°. Although a separation of forward member 22 from rearward member 24 of approximately 30° is shown in FIG. 8 , it should be understood that other angles of separation may be used to provide a stable support structure 20 . As can best be seen in FIGS. 1 , 4 , and 5 , forward member 22 and rearward member 24 are connected to forward member 22 ′ and rearward member 24 ′ with upper crossbar 28 . Additionally, forward member 22 and rearward member 24 are connected to forward member 22 ′ and rearward member 24 ′ with lower crossbar 30 ( FIGS. 2 , 8 ). As can be seen in FIG. 8 , upper opening panel J and attached panel H are pivotally connected to upper crossbar 28 . Preferably upper opening panel J defines a cut-out area 29 ( FIGS. 1 , 4 ) so that upper crossbar 28 may be used as a handle.
Preferably, a plurality of attachment members, such as hooks 32 ( FIGS. 2 , 8 , 9 ), protrude from a rearward face of rearward members 24 and 24 ′ and from rear panel K. Hooks 32 are used to removably secure catch bag 34 .
As can be seen most clearly in FIG. 9 , leaf catcher 10 is designed to fold into a substantially flat configuration for ease of storage and transportation. When leaf catcher 10 is desired to be deployed, panels A-J may be easily unfolded from the flat configuration of FIG. 9 to the fully open configuration shown in FIG. 1 . To set up leaf catcher 10 , first forward members 22 and 22 ′ of support structure 20 are opened with respect to rearward members 24 and 24 ′ of support structure 20 . Forward members 22 and 22 ′ are rotated away from rearward members 24 and 24 ′ until stops 27 abut one another to establish a support base as can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 9 . Upper opening panel J and attached upper panel H are rotated from their forward location shown in FIG. 9 about upper crossbar 28 to a rearward position adjacent rearward members 24 and 24 ′.
Left arm 12 , which includes support panel A, arm panel B, lower transitional panel C and upper arm panel D, is rotated outwardly from the flat position adjacent forward members 22 and 22 ′ (shown in FIG. 9 ) to the open configuration shown in FIG. 1 . Similarly, right arm 14 , which includes support panel A′, arm panel B′, lower transitional panel C′ and upper arm panel D′, is transitioned from the flat location adjacent forward members 22 and 22 ′ (shown in FIG. 9 ) into the open configuration shown in FIG. 1 .
Upper opening panel J and attached upper panel H are then rotated back from the temporary location adjacent to rearward members 24 and 24 ′ into a forwardly projecting position as shown in FIG. 1 . At this time, left and right edges of upper opening J are affixed to upper edges of side panels F and F′, e.g. with a fastener such as Velcro® strip 25 . Once upper opening panel J has been affixed to upper edges of side panels F and F′, left arm 12 and right arm 14 may be adjusted to ensure that arm panels B and B′ lean outwardly away from intake area 11 . Preferably, arm panels B lean back such that they form approximately a 30° angle with respect to the ground.
Next, upper arm panels D and D′ and attached upper transitional panels E and E′ are raised so that upper transition panels E and E′ may be affixed to upper panel H. Upper arm panels D and adjacent arm panels B then form a generally recessed structure as shown in FIGS. 1 , 3 and 4 . Once upper arm panels D and D′ are in position, then support panels A and A′ may be folded outwardly to support arms 12 and 14 .
At this time, leaf catcher structure 10 is fully assembled and catch bag 34 may be removably affixed to attachment members, such as hooks 32 , provided on rear members 24 , 24 ′. Set up of leaf catcher 10 can easily be completed in less than one (1) minute.
In use, leaf blower 13 may be employed to direct leaves into intake area 11 , through passage 16 and into catch bag 34 . The configuration of an assembled leaf catcher 10 provides desirable airflow patterns that facilitate efficient leaf collection in catch bag 34 . The generally recessed structure associated with arms 12 and 14 results in a spiral or corkscrew-type airflow pattern proximate arms 12 and 14 as shown in FIG. 4 . More particularly, leaves adjacent arms 12 , 14 are forcefully directed in a corkscrew-type flow path that occurs within intake area 11 , which is defined by arm panels B, B′ and upper arm panels D, D′. As the leaves progress towards passage 16 , they are directed by high velocity airflow from leaf blower 13 in a corkscrew flow path, formed in part by the action of high velocity air from leaf blower 13 along recessed sections of arms 12 , 14 . The flow path adjacent each of arms 12 , 14 creates a vortex for drawing leaves into passage 16 defined by upper opening J, side panels F and lower opening panel G.
A further desirable airflow feature results from the upwardly angled lower surface of passage 16 defined by lower opening panel G. As the high velocity airflow and leaves are ejected from the rear of opening 16 , the ramped lower surface, defined by lower opening panel G, results in high velocity airflow directed to the rear of bag 34 . As leaves build up at the rear of bag 34 , which restricts airflow through the rear of bag 34 , leaves are circulated back towards the leaf catcher in a lower portion of the catch bag 34 . Rear panel K establishes a rear face for preventing migration of leaves under the ramp formed by lower opening panel G. Additionally, rear panel K provides a boundary to facilitate air circulation within bag 34 and facilitates a substantially dead air space adjacent rear panel K. The effect of the air circulation flow path is that leaves do not back up into passage 16 but instead substantially remain confined within bag 34 . A further desirable result of the air circulation path is that leaves tend to be deposited in a substantially even distribution along the portion of the bag that is adjacent to the ground. An even leaf distribution allows for improved filling of the bag and lessens a likelihood that opening 16 will become blocked.
A further desirable airflow feature results from the airflow path within intake area 11 . The configuration of arms 12 and 14 results in the leaf catcher 10 being pushed against the ground during use. Support panels A, A′ also bear against the ground. Consequently, leaf catcher 10 does not need to be affixed to the ground, either by staking or otherwise.
The construction of catch bag 34 further assists in the ease of collection of leaves. By providing a bag having openings of approximately ½″ to ¾″, it has been found that the above-described airflows do not tend to cause the leaves to exit bag 34 . A suitable bag for use with the leaf catcher of the invention is 35″ by 50″ long and constructed of woven polypropolene. However, other shapes and materials may also be suitable.
As set forth above, advantages of the leaf catcher 10 of the invention include a unique panel configuration that induces advantageous airflow patterns for directing leaves through passage 16 into catch bag 34 . Additionally, the upwardly-sloped bottom surface of passage 16 induces a circulating airflow path within catch bag 34 that has the beneficial effect of maintaining an unobstructed passage 16 . Further, downward pressure resulting from the airflow forces the leaf catcher downwards, which results in a self-anchoring effect. This allows the unit to be used on lawns or paved surfaces without having to secure the leaf catcher with stakes or by other means.
Additional advantages include the easily collapsible and expandable panel configuration wherein the leaf catcher of the invention may be collapsed into a substantially flat storage position. A further advantage is the easy assembly of the leaf catcher from the storage position to the operable configuration. The invention is preferably constructed of one (1) piece so there is no assembly required.
The inventive ramp directs debris towards an upper portion of the rear of the catch bag, which is beneficial for preventing clogging of the outlet. Further, the ramp creates a smaller outlet that chokes down the airflow, which increases velocity and aids in the efficient distribution of debris in the bag.
The invention alleviates physical strain by reducing significant stress to the back and knees associated with more conventional methods of bagging leaves. Therefore, the invention is particularly desirable for use by the elderly and/or disabled.
The invention can be used with any standard leaf blower. The invention allows a user to collect leaves in a fraction of the time it takes using conventional leaf gathering tools.
Thus, the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and attain the ends and advantages mentioned above as well as those inherent therein. While presently preferred embodiments have been described for purposes of this disclosure, numerous changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are encompassed within the spirit of this invention as defined by the appended claims.
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A device for funneling leaves into a bag, preferably used in conjunction with a leaf blower. The device includes a plurality of panels that define a passageway and two forwardly extending arms that define an intake area adjacent an entrance to the passageway. A bag is removably affixed adjacent to the exit of the passageway for receiving leaves and other objects blown therethrough. A ramp in the passageway induces circulating airflow in the bag. Additionally, the arms induce a corkscrew airflow and facilitate improved performance in directing objects through the passageway. The plurality of panels that make up the leaf catcher are preferably collapsible into a substantially flat configuration for ease of transport and storage. Further, the construction of the leaf catcher enables easy set up and take down when manipulating the panels from a folded to a operational configuration and vice versa.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to helicopter rotor blades that are made from composite materials. More particularly, the present invention is directed to the processes and apparatus that are used in the manufacture of such composite rotor blades.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Rotor blades are a critical component of every helicopter. The rotor blades are subjected to a complex set of rather extreme aerodynamic forces that vary continually during flight. The rotor blades function as rotating airfoils or wings that are shaped to provide the aerodynamic lift required for a given aircraft. Rotor blades typically include a spar that extends from the root of the rotor blade to its tip. The spar is a major structural element of the rotor blade that provides the blade with the structural strength needed to carry high operational loads.
[0005] The typical rotor blade spar is a long tubular structure around which the rest of the blade is formed. The spar tube has an elliptical cross-section that is formed to provide a forward or leading edge and rearward or trailing edge. In order to provide optimum aerodynamic performance, many spar tubes include a slight twist about the longitudinal axis. Typical twists in the spar provide rotations of the elliptical cross-section of up to 10 degrees and more as one moves from the root of the rotor blade to its tip. In addition, the elliptical shape of the spar cross-section may be varied from the spar root to the spar tip to meet a variety of aerodynamic and structural loading parameters.
[0006] High strength materials, such as titanium and aluminum alloys, have typically been used to make rotor blades. These high strength metal materials are particularly well suited for forming the rotor blade spar. Titanium has been routinely formed into the relatively long, tubular spar structure and machined or otherwise fabricated to provide a complex variety of twists and varying cross-sectional shapes.
[0007] Composite materials have also been used to form rotor blade spars. The combination of light weight and structural strength have made composites a popular choice for making not only the rotor blade spar, but the entire rotor blade. Exemplary composite rotor blades and the processes for making them are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,892,462; 5,346,367; 5,755,558; and 5,939,007.
[0008] The typical composite spar is fabricated by applying the uncured composite material to the surface of a long cylindrical mold or mandrel that is shaped to provide the interior surface of the spar tube. After the composite material is applied to the mold or mandrel, it is compacted and cured at an elevated temperature to provide the final spar structure. A problem associated with making composite spars revolves around what to do with the mold or mandrel once the spar has been formed. The length of the mold and the variations in elliptical cross-section of the spar, as well as any twist in the spar, make it very difficult to remove the mold or mandrel after the spar has cured.
[0009] One approach to solving the mold/mandrel removal problem has been to make a mold out of a material that is strong enough to maintain its shape during pre-cure fabrication of the composite spar, but which disintegrates or otherwise shrinks during the cure cycle so that it can be removed from the spar cavity or simply left in place. For example, a variety of foams have been used alone or in combination with an underlying hard mandrel structure to provide a suitable spar mold. The foam melts or otherwise shrinks to a fraction of its initial size during curing at elevated temperatures. The resulting shrunken mold is sufficiently small so that it can be removed from the spar cavity or left in place.
[0010] Although foam molds have been used successfully in fabricating composite spars for rotor blades, it is many times difficult to find a foam or other material that has the needed structural strength to maintain critical spar dimensions during formation of the spar, while at the same time being able to deteriorate relatively rapidly during cure. In addition, the mold can only be used once, which adds considerably to the cost of spar fabrication.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] In accordance with the present invention, methods and apparatus are provided for making a rotor blade spar from composite material wherein a multi-component mandrel is used to form the composite spar. The mandrel is made using a number of components, which are assembled to provide a structure that is sufficiently strong to maintain the spar shape during pre-cure lay up, compaction and curing of the composite material. The multiple components used to form the mandrel can be separated from each other and easily removed from the spar either before or after curing of the composite material. The mandrel components can then be re-assembled and re-used to form additional composite spars.
[0012] As a feature of the present invention, a multi-component mandrel is provided for use in molding a helicopter blade wherein the rotor blade includes a spar that extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rotor blade. The spar that is being formed includes interior surfaces that form a spar cavity that also extends longitudinally from the root of the blade to the tip. The spar interior surfaces include a leading edge surface that is composed of an upper leading edge portion and a lower leading edge portion. The spar interior surfaces further include a trailing edge surface that is composed of an upper trailing edge portion and a lower trailing edge portion. The spar interior surfaces also include an upper surface that extends between the leading edge upper portion and the trailing edge upper portion, as well as a lower surface that extends between the leading edge lower portion and the trailing edge lower portion.
[0013] The mandrel is made up of a forward component that includes an exterior surface that is shaped to provide the leading edge surface of the spar interior surface. The forward component includes an upper rear edge that has an outer surface, which is shaped to provide the upper leading edge portion of the spar interior surfaces. The forward component also includes a lower rear edge that is shaped to provide the lower leading edge portion of the spar interior surfaces. The mandrel also includes a rearward component that is shaped to provide the trailing edge surface of the spar interior surfaces. The rearward component includes an upper forward edge that is shaped to provide the upper trailing edge portion of the spar interior surfaces. The rearward component also includes a lower forward edge that is shaped to provide the lower trailing edge portion or the spar interior surfaces.
[0014] The forward and rearward components of the mandrel are connected together by an upper component and a lower component. The upper component is shaped to provide the upper surface of said spar interior surfaces. The upper component includes a forward edge that is connected to the upper rear edge of the forward component and a rearward edge that is connected to the upper forward edge of the rearward component. The lower component is shaped to provide the lower surface of said spar interior surfaces. The lower component includes a forward edge that is connected to the lower rear edge of the forward component and a rearward edge that is connected to the lower forward edge of said rearward component.
[0015] The final component of the mandrel is a roller assembly that functions as a support structure that is located between the upper component and the lower component. The roller assembly provides reinforcement for the upper and lower components and also holds them in place against the forward and rearward components. As a feature of the present invention, the roller assembly may be removed by pulling it longitudinally from the mandrel. Once the roller assembly is removed, the upper and lower components of the mandrel can be disconnected from the forward and rearward components. The components can then be removed individually from the spar cavity.
[0016] The present invention also covers methods for making the multi-component mandrels that include the roller assembly support structure, as well as the methods for molding composite rotor blade spars using the multi-component mandrel and the resulting rotor blade spar. The multi-component mandrel of the present invention provides a number of advantages over existing methods for making composite rotor blades. These advantages include the ability to withstand the forces applied to the mandrel during fabrication of the composite blade in order to avoid any undesirable variations in blade shape. In addition, the mandrel can be used to form relatively large and complex spar shapes including spars with varying degrees of twist and changes in elliptical cross-sectional geometry. A further advantage is that the mandrel can be re-assembled and used repeatedly.
[0017] The above described and many other features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become better understood by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of an exemplary composite helicopter rotor blade that includes a spar that can be made using the multi-component mandrel in accordance with the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of a preferred exemplary multi-component mandrel in accordance with the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the rib cage of the portion of an exemplary roller assembly located at the root of the spar cavity.
[0021] FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the same portion of the roller assembly located at the root of the spar cavity as shown in FIG. 3 , except that the rollers are shown mounted to the rib cage to show the complete roller assembly and the view has been rotated 180 degrees.
[0022] FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of the same exemplary root portion of the roller assembly shown in FIG. 4 .
[0023] FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of the rib cage of the portion of an exemplary roller assembly located at the tip of the spar cavity.
[0024] FIG. 7 is top perspective view of the same portion of the roller assembly located at the tip of the spar cavity as shown in FIG. 8 , except that the rollers are shown mounted to the rib cage to show the complete roller assembly.
[0025] FIG. 8 is a bottom perspective view of the same exemplary tip portion of the roller assembly shown in FIG. 7 .
[0026] FIG. 9 is a top perspective exploded view showing the components of an exemplary mandrel at the root of the spar cavity.
[0027] FIG. 10 is a side view showing disassembly of the mandrel after the composite spar has been formed and the roller assembly removed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0028] The individual components of a preferred exemplary multi-component mandrel in accordance with the present invention for use in molding a helicopter rotor blade from composite material are shown generally at 10 in FIG. 2 . An exemplary helicopter rotor blade that can be molded utilizing the mandrel components 10 is shown in a simplified form in FIG. 1 at 12 . The rotor blade 12 includes a spar 14 that extends parallel to the longitudinal axis 16 of the rotor blade 12 . The spar 14 typically extends from the root of the rotor blade (not shown) to the tip 18 . The spar 14 is a tubular structure that has an elliptically shaped cross-section as shown in FIG. 1 . The spar 14 includes a number of interior surfaces that are formed by the mandrel components 10 . These interior spar surfaces define the spar cavity 20 .
[0029] Referring to FIG. 1 , the spar interior surfaces are composed of a leading edge surface 22 , trailing edge surface 24 , an upper surface 26 and a lower surface 28 . The leading edge surface 22 includes an upper leading edge portion 30 and a lower leading edge portion 32 . The trailing edge surface 24 includes an upper trailing edge portion 34 and lower trailing edge portion 36 . The upper surface 26 extends between the upper leading edge portion 30 and the upper trailing edge portion 34 . The lower surface 28 extends between the lower leading edge portion 32 and the lower trailing edge portion 36 .
[0030] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 10 , the mandrel 10 includes a forward component 38 that has an exterior surface, which is shaped to provide the spar interior leading edge surface 22 . The mandrel forward component 38 includes an upper rear edge 40 that has an exterior surface, which is shaped to provide the upper leading edge portion 30 of the spar. The mandrel forward component 38 also includes a lower rear edge 42 that has an exterior surface, which is shaped to provide the lower leading edge portion 32 of the spar.
[0031] The mandrel 10 also includes a rearward component 44 that has an exterior surface, which is shaped to provide the spar interior trailing edge 24 . The mandrel rearward component 44 includes an upper forward edge 46 that has an exterior surface, which is shaped to provide the upper trailing edge portion 34 . The mandrel rearward component 44 also includes a lower forward edge 48 that has an exterior surface, which is shaped to provide the lower trailing edge portion 36 .
[0032] The mandrel 10 further includes an upper component 50 that has an exterior surface, which is shaped to provide the spar upper interior surface 26 . The upper component 50 includes a forward edge 52 that is connected to the upper rear edge 40 of the forward component 38 . The upper component 50 also includes a rearward edge 54 that is connected to the upper forward edge 46 of the rearward component 44 . The mandrel 10 also includes a lower component 56 that has an exterior surface, which is shaped to provide the spar lower interior surface 28 . The lower component 56 includes a forward edge 58 that is connected to the lower rear edge 42 of the forward component 38 . The lower component 56 also includes a rearward edge 60 that is connected to the lower forward edge 48 of the rearward component 44 .
[0033] The final component of mandrel 10 is a roller assembly support structure, which is shown in FIG. 2 at 62 . The roller assembly 62 extends longitudinally within the mandrel 10 (i.e. parallel to the longitudinal axis 16 of the spar). The roller assembly 62 is located within the mandrel cavity so as to provide support for the upper component 50 and lower component 56 along their entire lengths. It should be noted that rollers are only shown only at the root 63 and tip 65 of the mandrel for demonstrative purposes. In accordance with the present invention, it is required that the rollers be present along substantially the entire length of the roller assembly 62 in order to allow removal of the roller assembly from the mandrel. “Substantially” means that the rollers are present along at least 80 percent (preferably 90 percent) of the length of the mandrel. It is preferred that the rollers be spaced at uniform intervals continuously along the entire length of the roller assembly to provide uniform support for the upper and lower mandrel components and to prevent frictional contact between the assembly and the mandrel. However, the rollers may be arranged in non-continuous and non-uniform configurations provided that there are sufficient rollers located along a sufficient length of the mandrel to adequately support the upper and lower mandrel components and to allow the roller assembly to be removed from the mandrel without undue force or damage to the mandrel components.
[0034] As can be seen from FIG. 10 , the forward and rearward edges 52 and 54 of the upper component 50 are shaped so that they overlap on the inside of the upper rear edge 40 of the forward component 38 and upper forward edge 46 of the rearward component 44 , respectively. This overlapping arrangement provides for a secure, but releasable, connection between the upper component 50 and the forward and rearward components 38 and 44 . Likewise, the forward and rearward edges 58 and 60 of the lower component 56 are shaped so that they overlap on the inside of the lower rear edge 42 of the forward component 38 and lower forward edge 48 of the rearward component 44 , respectively. This overlapping arrangement also provides for a secure, but releasable, connection between the lower component 56 and the forward and rearward components 38 and 44 .
[0035] The roller assembly 62 provides a support structure that holds the upper and lower mandrel components 50 and 56 in place and provides compression connections along the four locations where the mandrel components overlap as described above. These compression connections keep the mandrel in the form of a single relatively strong structure during fabrication of the composite spar. Upon removal of the roller assembly 62 , the upper and lower components 50 and 56 may be moved toward each other and disconnected from the forward and rearward components 38 and 44 as shown in FIG. 10 .
[0036] The root section 63 of the roller assembly 62 is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 . The root section 63 includes a rib cage structure 80 to which a plurality of upper rollers 82 and lower rollers 84 are attached. The rib cage structure 80 is shown without the rollers in FIG. 3 to provide a better view of the openings 86 in the structure. The opening may be any shape and any size desired provided that the rib cage is sufficiently strong to support the rollers in position during mold compaction and/or curing. The openings 86 are not essential and it is possible to provide a solid roller support structure or one that has a limited number of openings. However, it is preferred to use the largest size and maximum number openings 86 to form a rib cage structure that is as light as possible, while still providing the necessary structural support for the rollers.
[0037] The rib cage structure 80 may be made from any strong and preferably lightweight material that can be machined in to form roller support structures of the type shown in FIG. 3 . Although any number of metals are suitable, it is preferred that the rib cage structure 80 be made from a quasi-isotropic chopped prepreg composite material, such as HexMC® which is available from Hexcel Corporation (Dublin, Calif.). HexMC® is a moldable and machinable carbon fiber/epoxy composite material that is particularly well suited for making strong, lightweight and relatively complex rib cage structures. HexMC® and related quasi-isotropic chopped prepreg composite materials are described in published United States patent application US2007-0012858 A1 and PCT published application WO2007/008953.
[0038] The upper rollers 82 and lower rollers 84 may be mounted to the rib cage 80 using any conventional mounting method provided that the rollers are able to rotate freely. It is preferred that mounting pins or axles 88 be provided at the ends of each roller. The mounting pins 88 may be press fit or machined into the ends of each roller. Corresponding low-friction bushings or roller bearings are located in the rib cage 80 to provide for mounting of the pins 88 . When using a carbon fiber composite material, such as HexMC® for the rib cage 80 , it is only necessary that mounting holes 90 be provided (See FIG. 3 ). Separate bushings or bearings for mounting the roller pins 88 are not required because HexMC®-type materials are self-lubricating. The rollers 82 and 84 may be made from any metal that is typically used for roller bearings and the like. Other suitable roller materials include nylon, fiberglass and polypropylene.
[0039] As shown in FIG. 9 , the roller assembly 62 is located between the upper component 50 and lower component 56 so that the upper rollers 82 contact and support the upper component 50 and the lower rollers 84 contact and support the lower component 56 of the assembled mandrel. The rotational axis 92 of the rollers is preferably substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 94 of the rotor blade and spar cavity (see FIG. 4 ). The term “substantially perpendicular” means that angle between the rotational axis 92 of the rollers and the longitudinal axis 94 of the rotor blade is between 75 and 105 degrees and preferably between 85 and 95 degrees.
[0040] As shown in FIG. 5 , the upper rollers 82 located in the root section 63 are divided into pairs of forward upper rollers 96 and pairs of rearward upper rollers 98 . It is preferred that the rotational axis of the forward upper rollers 96 and the rotational axis of the rearward upper rollers be substantially co-planar as shown at 100 to provide a plurality of co-planar upper rollers. This configuration of upper rollers is preferred when the upper mandrel component is relatively flat and must be supported in a substantially co-planar manner. The term “substantially co-planar” means that the rotational axis of the rollers lies within an angle of plus or minus 10 degrees of the same plane and preferably within an angle of plus or minus 5 degrees of the same plane. It is also preferred in the root section 63 that the forward lower rollers and rearward lower rollers have rotational axis that are substantially co-planar. Further, it is preferred that the rotational axis of the co-planar upper rollers be substantially parallel to the rotational axis of the co-planar lower rollers as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 . The term “substantially parallel” means that the rotational axis of the upper and lower rollers diverge or converge upon each other by an angle of less than 10 degrees and preferably less than 5 degrees.
[0041] The tip section 65 of the roller assembly 62 is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 . The tip section 65 includes the outer end of rib cage structure 80 to which a plurality of upper rollers 82 and lower rollers 84 are attached. The tip section of rib cage structure 80 is shown without the rollers in FIG. 6 to provide a better view of the openings 86 in the structure. The openings 86 are not essential. However, as previously mentioned, they are preferred in order to reduce the weight of the roller assembly 62 as much as possible. The rollers in the tip section 65 of the exemplary roller assembly 62 are mounted to the rib cage structure 80 in the same manner as the root section 63 , except that the rollers are not mounted in pairs and the orientation of their rotational axis is varied to accommodate the decrease in size and the change in shape of the spar cavity.
[0042] As shown in FIG. 7 , the upper rollers 82 that are located in the tip section 65 are divided into individual forward upper rollers 102 and individual rearward upper rollers 104 . It is preferred that the rotational axis of the forward upper rollers 102 and the rotational axis of the rearward upper rollers not be co-planar as shown at 106 and 108 to provide a plurality of non-planar upper rollers. This configuration of upper rollers is preferred when the upper mandrel component is curved and must be supported in a substantially non-planar manner. The term “non-planar” means that the rotational axes of the rollers are at least 10 degrees apart as shown at 110 . To accommodate typical spar cavity cross-sectional geometry at the spar tip, it is preferred that the tip section 65 of the roller assembly 62 include forward lower rollers and rearward lower rollers that have rotational axes that are substantially co-planar as shown at 112 in FIG. 8 .
[0043] The configuration of the rollers in the sections of the roller assembly located between the root 63 and tip 65 should be gradually changed between the two types of exemplary roller configuration shown herein in order to accommodate the gradual change in cross-sectional shape of the mandrel as it progresses from the root to the tip of the spar cavity.
[0044] FIGS. 2 and 9 show the mandrel as it is being assembled prior to application of the composite material for the spar. The various components, including the central roller assembly are preferably bound together using a suitable tape or shrink-wrap film. Films that are compression-force heat-shrinkable tape are preferred. It is preferred, but not necessary, that the film or tape be wrapped around the entire surface area of the mandrel. Root end cap 114 and tip end cap 116 are also preferably provided to lock the other mandrel components in place. The root end cap 114 is attached to holes 118 located at the root end of the rib cage using releasable fasteners 120 . In the same manner, the tip end cap 116 is attached to holes 122 located at the tip end of the rib cage using releasable fasteners (not shown).
[0045] FIG. 10 shows a partial cross-sectional view of the mandrel components located within the composite spar 14 just after compaction and/or curing of the composite material and removal of the roller assembly 62 . As shown in FIG. 9 , the roller assembly 62 is removed by pulling it longitudinally out of the mandrel as represented by arrow 126 . Once the roller assembly has been removed, the upper and lower components 50 and 56 are moved inward towards each other, as represented by arrows 74 , so that they can be removed from the spar cavity 20 in the direction of arrow 126 . The forward and rearward components 38 and 44 are also moved inward towards each other, as represented by arrows 76 , so that they also can be removed from the spar cavity 20 in the same direction as the other components.
[0046] The mandrel 10 may be removed from the spar cavity 20 , as described above, either after compaction of the uncured spar composite material around the mandrel or after the compacted composite spar has been cured. It is preferred to remove the mandrel prior to curing in order to maximize the number of times it can be re-used and to allow vacuum bagging to be inserted and replaced, if necessary. The mandrel should be able to withstand the pressures that are present during normal procedures for molding helicopter rotor blade spars. Typically, the mandrel should be able to withstand external pressures on the order of 10 to 15 inches of Hg and higher. The mandrel should also be able to withstand the temperatures at which the composite materials used to make the spar are cured. Typically, such composites are cured at temperatures in the range of 120° C. to 200° C. and even higher.
[0047] The materials that are used to make the four external components of the mandrel 10 may also be any of the metals typically used for making mandrels for molding composite materials. However, as was the case with the roller assembly, composite materials are preferred for making the external mandrel components that actually come in contact with the spar during rotor blade fabrication. The external surfaces of the mandrel or the shrink-wrap (if used) may be coated with a suitable release agent, if desired.
[0048] The composite materials that may be used to make the exterior mandrel components include those containing glass or carbon fibers. The fibers may be in the form of woven fabric, unidirectional fibers or randomly oriented fibers. Any of the various thermosetting resins that are suitable for use in relatively high temperature molding operations may be used as the matrix material. Exemplary resins include epoxies, phenolics, bismaleimides and polyester. The preferred mandrel material is the same quasi-isotropic composite material composed of randomly oriented chips of unidirectional fibers in an epoxy matrix that is preferred for making the rib cage structure. As previously mentioned, this type of mandrel material is available from Hexcel Corporation (Dublin, Calif.) under the tradename HexMC®. An alternate preferred material for use in making the mandrel components is carbon fabric/epoxy prepreg, such as HEXCEL 8552 , which is also available from Hexcel Corporation (Dublin, Calif.). Both of these materials are supplied as uncured prepregs, which can be formed into the desired mandrel component and cured according to conventional methods for fabricating and curing epoxy-based composite structures.
[0049] As an example, the mandrel of the present invention may be used to mold the spar of a helicopter rotor blade where the spar is on the order of 20 to 35 feet long or even longer for large helicopters. The distance between the leading edge and trailing edge of the spar at the blade root ranges from a few inches to two feet or more. This distance tapers down to a few inches to a foot or more at the blade tip. The thickness of the spar at the blade root ranges from an inch to a foot or more and tapers down to less than an inch or up to a few inches at the blade tip. The spar has a twist on the order 10 degrees about its longitudinal axis from the root of the spar to its tip. The various external components of the mandrel (forward component, rearward component, upper component and lower component) are made to match the internal shape of the spar. They are fabricated as four individual components that are each 20 to 35 feet long. Each component is made from a sufficient number of plies of Hexcel 8552 carbon/epoxy prepreg or HexMC® to make components that are from 0.01 inch thick to 0.5 inch thick or more depending upon the size of the mandrel. The components are cured according to conventional curing procedures.
[0050] The exemplary mandrel described herein is suitable for forming the spar in a helicopter rotor blade that is around 33 feet long. The spar cavity at the root end is about 2 feet wide and has a maximum thickness of about 7 inches. The spar cavity at the tip end is about 3 feet wide and has a maximum thickness of about 0.9 inch. The rollers at the root end of the roller assembly are approximately 1 inch in diameter and 14 inches long. The rollers at the tip end of the roller assembly are approximately ½ inch in diameter and 6 inches long.
[0051] The roller assembly is positioned inside the mandrel cavity so that the upper and lower rollers apply the proper supporting force against the upper and lower components of the mandrel over the entire length of the mandrel. The longitudinal distance between the individual rollers is chosen to provide the needed support for the upper and lower components. The longitudinal distances between the rollers may vary form the root to the tip. For example, it is preferred to configure the upper and lower rollers as pairs nearer the root of the mandrel in order to provide added support where the spar cavity has the largest cross-sectional area. Pairing of the upper rollers together and pairing of the lower rollers together, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , provides adequate support at the root end of the mandrel while at the same time allowing the space between the pairs of upper rollers and pairs of lower rollers to be maximized, which in turn helps to reduce the weight of the overall mandrel. At the tip of the mandrel, where the cross-sectional area that needs to be supported is at a minimum, it is preferred that the upper rollers and lower rollers not be paired. Instead, the rollers alternate longitudinally between individual upper and lower rollers.
[0052] Having thus described exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted by those skilled in the art that the within disclosures are exemplary only and that various other alternatives, adaptations and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited by the above-described embodiments, but is only limited by the following claims.
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Methods and apparatus are provided for making a rotor blade spar from composite material wherein a multi-component mandrel is used to form the composite spar. The mandrel is made using a number of components that are assembled and held in place using a roller assembly. The roller assembly is removed after pre-cure lay up and compaction of the composite material. Once the roller assembly is removed, the remaining mandrel components can be separated from each other and easily removed from the spar. The mandrel components, including the roller assembly, can then be re-assembled and re-used to form additional composite spars.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-128033, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a device for detecting rotation in two directions which detects rotation of a rotating body which rotates around axes whose axial directions are in two directions which intersect one another, and to a shift lever device for operating a transmission installed in a vehicle.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] A plurality of shift ranges are set in advance in an automatic transmission of a vehicle. An operating device, for selecting and operating these plural shift ranges is provided in the vehicle. A so-called shift lever device is often used as this type of operation device. There is a so-called “straight-type” shift lever device in which a shift lever rotates only around an axis whose axial direction is, for example, the substantially transverse (left-right) direction of the vehicle. In addition, there is a socalled “gate-type” shift lever device in which, for example, in addition to rotating around an axis whose axial direction is the substantially transverse direction of the vehicle, the shift lever can rotate around an axis whose axial direction is the substantially longitudinal (front-back) direction of the vehicle, so as to operate the shift lever in a zigzag form as seen in plan view.
[0006] The gate-type shift lever device has a housing. A member, such as a control shaft or the like which structures the shift lever, is rotatably supported at a pair of side walls of the housing which oppose one another in the substantially transverse direction of the vehicle. Separately from the member such as the control shaft or the like, the shift lever has a lever main body having a bracket. The bracket of the lever main body is mounted to the member such as the control shaft or the like, so as to be able to rotate around an axis whose axial direction is the substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
[0007] The distal end side of the lever main body (i.e., the side opposite the bracket), projects upward, or the like, of the housing. When an attempt is made to rotate the lever main body around the axis whose axial direction is the substantially transverse direction of the vehicle, the bracket interferes with the member such as the control shaft or the like, and rotates the member such as the control shaft or the like. In this way, the lever main body rotates around the axis whose axial direction is the substantially transverse direction of the vehicle.
[0008] When an attempt is made to rotate the lever main body around the axis whose axial direction is the substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the bracket rotates, with respect to the member such as the control shaft or the like, around the axis whose axial direction is the substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle. In this way, the lever main body rotates around the axis whose axial direction is the substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
[0009] When the shift lever is rotated in this way around the axes whose axial directions are the two directions of the substantially transverse direction of the vehicle and the substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle, a position detecting means, which is structured by a magnetic sensor or a microswitch or the like, detects the rotational position of the shift lever. The automatic transmission installed in the vehicle is operated on the basis of these results of detection.
[0010] The position detecting means, such as that described above which detects the rotational position of the shift lever, must be able to detect rotation of the shift lever wherein the axial direction is the substantially transverse direction of the vehicle, and rotation of the shift lever wherein the axial direction is the substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Therefore, a position detecting means, which is for detecting the rotation of the member such as the control shaft or the like, is generally mounted to one side wall of the pair of side walls of the housing which oppose one another in the substantially transverse direction of the vehicle, and a position detecting means, which is for detecting rotation of the lever main body including the bracket, is mounted to one side wall of the pair of side walls of the housing which oppose one another in the substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
[0011] However, there are the drawbacks that there is a large number of steps for assembling the position detecting means from the many directions, and costs are high.
[0012] Thus, in the shift lever device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 54-67684, a spherical shaft-supporting portion (a pivot) is formed at the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of a shift lever at whose distal end portion a grasping portion is mounted. This spherical shaft-supporting portion is supported by a pivot bearing. A slider is mounted at the side of the spherical shaft-supporting portion, which side is opposite the side at which the grasping portion is located. The slider slides longitudinally and laterally in accordance with the rotation operation of the shift lever. A sliding contact, which is provided at the slider, appropriately contacts a fixed contact of a fixed plate which is provided at the side of the slider opposite the side at which the shift lever is located.
[0013] In accordance with the above-described structure disclosed in JP-A No. 54-67684, it suffices to provide the fixed plate, which is the place where the position detecting means is, only beneath the shift lever. This overcomes the drawback of having to mount the position detecting means from various directions.
[0014] However, the structure disclosed in JP-A No. 54-67684 has the critical drawback that it can only be applied to structures in which the shift lever is supported by a pivot bearing. Namely, in a structure in which a member such as the control shaft or the like rotates around an axis whose axial direction is the substantially vehicle transverse direction and the bracket of the lever main body is mounted, with respect to the member such as the control shaft or the like, so as to be able to rotate around an axis whose axial direction is the substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle, even if a separate lever were to extend downward, or the like, from the control shaft, this lever would only rotate around an axis whose axial direction is the substantially vehicle transverse direction.
[0015] Similarly, even if a separate lever were to extend from the bracket of the lever main body, this lever would only rotate around an axis whose axial direction is the substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
[0016] Accordingly, the technique disclosed in JP-A No. 54-67684 cannot be utilized in such a structure.
[0017] Moreover, in the technique disclosed in JP-A No. 54-67684, the shift lever must be extended all the way to the side opposite the side at which the grasping portion is located, with the spherical shaft-supporting portion therebetween. As a result, it is difficult to make the shift lever device compact along the longitudinal direction of the shift lever. Moreover, because the slider and the like are provided within the housing of the shift lever device, there is the drawback that, when the slider is being assembled in, the housing interferes therewith and the work is difficult.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0018] In view of the aforementioned, an object of the present invention is to provide a device for detecting rotation in two directions which can detect rotation of a rotating member which rotates around axes whose axial directions are two directions which intersect one another, and which can be easily assembled into various types of devices, and to provide a shift lever device which can detect rotation of a shift lever which rotates around axes whose axial directions are two directions which are orthogonal to one another, and in which assembly of the structure which detects the rotation of the shift lever is easy, and which can be made compact on the whole.
[0019] A first aspect of the present invention is a device for detecting rotation in two directions, detecting rotation of a rotating member which rotates around a predetermined first axis direction and rotates around a predetermined second axis direction which intersects the first axis direction, the device comprising: first detecting means having a first rotating body which rotates around the first axis direction one of integrally with the rotating member and interlockingly with rotation of the rotating member around the first axis direction, and having a first detecting portion provided at one side of the rotating member along the first axis direction and one of electromagnetically and mechanically detecting rotation of the first rotating body; and second detecting means, provided at the one side of the rotating member along the first axis direction, for one of electromagnetically and mechanically detecting approach and movement away of the rotating member when the rotating member rotates in the direction around the second axis.
[0020] In accordance with the device for detecting rotation in two directions relating to the present aspect, when the rotating member rotates in the direction around the first axis, the first rotating body of the first detecting means rotates together with the rotating member. This rotation of the first rotating body is detected electromagnetically or mechanically by the first detecting portion of the first detecting means which is provided at one side of the rotating member along the first axis direction. In this way, the rotation of the rotating member in the direction around the first axis is detected.
[0021] On the other hand, when the rotating member rotates around the second axis direction which intersects the first axis direction, the rotation of the rotating member around the second axis direction is detected electromagnetically or mechanically by the second detecting portion of the second detecting means which is provided at one side of the rotating member along the first axis direction.
[0022] In this way, in the device for detecting rotation in two directions relating to the present aspect, rotation of the rotating member around the first axis direction and around the second axis direction can be detected.
[0023] Here, in the device for detecting rotation in two directions relating to the present aspect, both the first detecting portion of the first detecting means and the second detecting means are provided at one (the same) side of the rotating member along the first axis direction. Therefore, the first detecting portion of the first detecting means and the second detecting means can be made integral as a single unit, and the mounting (assembly) of the present device for detecting rotation in two directions, with respect to various types of devices which are structured to include the rotating member, can be carried out easily.
[0024] At the first detecting means, the first detecting portion detects, at one side of the rotating member along the first axis direction, the rotation of the first rotating body which is integral with or interlocked with rotation of the rotating member around the first axis direction. The second detecting means detects rotation of the rotating member at one side of the rotating member along the first axis direction. Namely, the device for detecting rotation in two directions relating to the present invention is not a structure (such as the structure disclosed in above-discussed JP-A No. 54-67684) which detects rotation of a rotating member at the side opposite the rotating member, with respect to the rotation axial center of the rotating member along both the first axis direction and the second axis direction located therebetween.
[0025] Therefore, as compared with a structure which detects the rotation of the rotating member at the side opposite the rotating member, with respect to the rotation axial center of the rotating member, it suffices to not elongate the member, which rotates together with the rotating member, as far as the side of the rotation axial center which side is opposite the rotating member, and the overall device can be made compact.
[0026] In a second aspect of the present invention, the second detecting means of the above-described first aspect has: a moving body moving in the first axis direction due to the rotating member rotating toward at least one side in the direction around the second axis; and a second detecting portion detecting, one of directly and indirectly, movement of the moving body along the first axis direction.
[0027] In accordance with the device for detecting rotation in two directions relating to the present aspect, when the rotating member rotates toward at least one side in the direction around the second axis, the moving body moves along the first axis direction due to the rotation of the rotating member. When the moving body moves in the first axis direction in this way, the movement of the moving body is detected directly or indirectly by the second detecting portion which structures the second detecting means. The rotation of the rotating member around the second axis direction is thereby detected.
[0028] In a third aspect of the present invention, the second detecting means of the above-described second aspect has a second rotating body which, interlockingly with the movement of the moving body, rotates in a direction around an axis parallel to the first axis direction, and the second detecting portion detects rotation of the second rotating body.
[0029] In accordance with the device for detecting rotation in two directions relating to the present aspect, when the rotating member rotates toward at least one side in the direction around the second axis, the moving body moves along the first axis direction due to the rotation of the rotating member. When the moving body moves in the first axis direction, the second rotating body rotates around an axis which is parallel to the first axis direction. Due to the second detecting portion detecting the rotation of the second rotating body, the rotation of the rotating member around the second axis direction is detected.
[0030] Here, both the first rotating body of the first detecting means and the second rotating body of the second detecting means rotate around axes whose axial directions are the same direction (the first axis direction and a direction parallel to the first axis direction). Namely, the first detecting portion and the second detecting portion are both structures which detect rotation. Accordingly, the first detecting portion and the second detecting portion can be made to have the same structure, and, as a result, the manufacturing costs of the first detecting portion and the second detecting portion can be effectively reduced.
[0031] In a fourth aspect of the present invention, a shift lever device comprises: a shift lever having a first lever supported so as to be able to rotate around a predetermined first axis direction, and a second lever supported at the first lever so as to be able to rotate around a second axis direction which intersects the first axis direction; first detecting means having 1) a first rotating body which is connected at a side of a rotating shaft of the first lever along the first axis direction, to the rotating shaft one of directly and indirectly, and which rotates together with the first lever, and 2) a first detecting portion for detecting rotation of the first rotating body one of electromagnetically and mechanically; and second detecting means provided at a side of the second lever at which side the first detecting means is provided along the first axis direction with respect to the shift lever, the second detecting means including a second detecting portion for detecting, one of electromagnetically and mechanically, displacement of the second lever along the first axis direction due to rotation of the second lever around the second axis direction, wherein the shift lever device controls a transmission installed in a vehicle, on the basis of results of detection of the first detecting means and the second detecting means.
[0032] In accordance with the shift lever device relating to the present aspect, the first lever which structures the shift lever is supported, directly or indirectly, so as to be able to rotate in the direction around the first axis. The first rotating body of the first detecting means is connected, directly or indirectly, to the rotating shaft of the first lever, at a side of the rotating shaft of the first lever along the first axis direction. Due to the first lever rotating, the first rotating body rotates together with the first lever.
[0033] The rotation of the first lever is detected electromagnetically or mechanically by the first detecting portion of the first detecting means. The rotation of the shift lever along the direction around the first axis is thereby detected.
[0034] On the other hand, the second lever is connected to the first lever, and the second lever can be rotated, with respect to the first lever, around the second axis direction which intersects the first axis direction. When the second lever is rotated around the second axis direction, the rotation of the second lever is detected electromagnetically or mechanically by the second detecting portion of the second detecting means. In this way, the rotation of the shift lever along the direction around the second axis is detected.
[0035] In the shift lever device relating to the present aspect, a transmission, which is installed in a vehicle, is operated in accordance with the results of detection of the first detecting portion and the second detecting portion at the time when the shift lever is rotated around the first axis direction and around the second axis direction as described above. For example, the transmission is changed to a shift range or a gear corresponding to the rotational position of the shift lever around the first axis direction and around the second axis direction.
[0036] Here, in the shift lever device relating to the present aspect, the second detecting means is provided at the side at which the first detecting means is provided along the first axis direction with respect to the shift lever. Therefore, the first detecting means and the second detecting means can be made integral as a single unit, and the assembly work and the like thereof can be carried out easily.
[0037] Further, the second detecting means detects the rotation of the second lever along the first axis direction at the time when the second lever rotates around the second axis direction. Therefore, the second detecting means does not have to be mechanically connected to the rotating shaft of the second lever, and such a connecting member or the like is not needed, and the device can be made compact overall.
[0038] In a fifth aspect of the present invention, the shift lever device based on the above-described fourth aspect further comprises a housing having a pair of side walls which are provided so as to oppose one another, and between which the shift lever is disposed, and which rotatably support the first lever, wherein, at an outer side of one side wall of the pair of side walls, the first detecting means and the second detecting means are mounted to the one side wall of the pair of side walls.
[0039] In accordance with the shift lever device relating to the present aspect, the shift lever is provided between the pair of side walls which structure the housing, and the first lever is pivotally supported at the pair of side walls.
[0040] On the other hand, in the shift lever device relating to the present aspect, the first detecting means and the second detecting means are provided at the outer side of one side wall of the pair of side walls (i.e., at the side of one side wall of the pair of side walls, which side is opposite the other side wall). The first detecting means and the second detecting means are mounted to the one side wall of the pair of side walls. Therefore, the first detecting means and the second detecting means can be made integral as a single unit. In addition, as compared with a structure which detects rotation of the shift lever by providing a sensor or the like at the inner side of the housing, the assembly and removal of the first detecting means and the second detecting means are easy, and the routing of the wiring and the like also can be made to be easy.
[0041] In a sixth aspect of the present invention, the second detecting means of the above-described fourth or fifth aspect has: a moving body passing through the one side wall of the pair of side walls and provided so as to be slidable in a direction parallel to the first axis direction, and due to an end portion of the moving body within the housing being pressed one of directly and indirectly by the second lever which rotates around the second axis direction in a direction of approaching the one side wall of the pair of side walls, the moving body slides toward an outer side of the one side wall of the pair of side walls; and a second rotating body disposed so as to oppose the other end of the moving body, and rotating around an axis, whose axial direction is a direction parallel to the first axis direction, due to pushing force from the other end of the moving body along a direction parallel to the first axis direction. Each of the first rotating body and the second rotating body is structured to have a permanent magnet at which an orientation of poles is set in a direction orthogonal to the first axis direction. Each of the first detecting portion and the second detecting portion is a magnetic detecting means for detecting changes in a magnetic field of the permanent magnet which are generated by rotation of the permanent magnet.
[0042] In the shift lever device relating to the present aspect, when the first lever rotates around the first axis direction and the first rotating body rotates, the orientation of the poles of the permanent magnet structuring the first rotating body changes. When the orientation of the poles changes due to the rotation of the permanent magnet in this way, a change arises in the magnetic field which the permanent magnet forms. This change in the magnetic field is detected by the magnetic detecting means which structures the first detecting portion.
[0043] On the other hand, when the second lever rotates around the second axis direction and the second lever approaches one side wall of the pair of side walls structuring the housing, the end portion of the moving body which passes through the one side wall is pushed directly or indirectly by the second lever and slides. When the moving body receives the pushing force from the second lever and slides, the other end of the moving body pushes the second rotating body.
[0044] When the second rotating body receives the pushing force from the moving body, the second rotating body rotates around an axis whose axial direction is a direction parallel to (the same direction as) the first axis direction. When the second rotating body rotates in this way, the orientation of the poles of the permanent magnet structuring the second rotating body changes. When the orientation of the poles changes due to the rotation of the permanent magnet in this way, a change arises in the magnetic field which the permanent magnet forms. This change in the magnetic field is detected by the magnetic detecting means which structures the second detecting portion.
[0045] Here, the present shift lever device is structured by magnetic detecting means in which both the first detecting portion and the second detecting portion have basically the same operation. In this way, by using parts of basically the same specifications for the first detecting portion and the second detecting portion, the number of types of parts can be reduced, and costs can be reduced.
[0046] As described above, the device for detecting rotation in two directions relating to the present invention can detect rotation of a rotating member which rotates around axes whose axial directions are two directions which intersect one another, and can be easily assembled into various types of devices.
[0047] Further, in the shift lever device relating to the present invention, rotation of a shift lever, which rotates around axes whose axial directions are two directions which are orthogonal to one another, can be detected, and assembly of the structure which detects rotation of the shift lever is easy, and the shift lever device can be made compact on the whole.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0048] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a main portion (a device for detecting rotation in two directions relating to a first embodiment of the present invention) of a shift lever device relating to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0049] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the overall structure of the shift lever device relating to the embodiment of the present invention.
[0050] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of a moving body and a second rotating body.
[0051] FIG. 4 is a plan view of a housing, and illustrates shift positions of a shift lever.
[0052] FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the relationship between the shift lever and the moving body.
[0053] FIG. 6 is block diagram summarily showing the relationship between an automatic transmission and first and second detecting portions.
[0054] FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a main portion (a device for detecting rotation in two directions relating to a second embodiment of the present invention) of a shift lever device relating to the second embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0000] <Structure of First Embodiment>
[0055] The structure of a shift lever device 10 relating to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown in an exploded perspective view in FIG. 2 . As shown in FIG. 2 , the present shift lever device 10 has a lower housing 14 which structures a housing 12 . The lower housing 14 is provided at, for example, a predetermined position at the front side of a vehicle between the driver's seat and the front passenger's seat. Examples of this predetermined position are beneath the front side of the console box, at the reverse surface side of the instrument panel, and the like.
[0056] The lower housing 14 is formed in the shape of a tube having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration, and includes a pair of side walls 16 , 17 which oppose one another substantially along the transverse direction of the vehicle, and a pair of side walls 18 , 19 which oppose one another substantially along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The upper side open end of the lower housing 14 in FIG. 2 is closed by an upper housing 20 . The top surface of the upper housing 20 is exposed to the interior of the vehicle passenger compartment. By closing the open end of the lower housing 14 by the upper housing 20 , the various members at the interior of the lower housing 14 are hidden, and the entry of foreign matter and the like therein is prohibited or suppressed.
[0057] A lever main body 24 which structures a shift lever 22 is provided at the inner side of the lower housing 14 . The lever main body 24 has a retainer 26 serving as a first lever. The retainer 26 is formed, in front view, in the shape of an upside-down triangle whose bottom end is the apex. A substantially tubular tube portion 28 , which passes through along the direction in which the side walls 16 , 17 oppose one another, is formed at the top end portion of the retainer 26 .
[0058] A shaft 30 (see FIG. 5 ), whose axial direction is along the direction in which the side walls 16 , 17 oppose one another, is connected substantially integrally to the tube portion 28 in a state of passing therethrough. The both axial direction end sides of the shaft 30 pass through the side walls 16 , 17 and are supported by the side walls 16 , 17 . The retainer 26 and the shaft 30 are thereby supported so as to be able to rotate around the axial center of the shaft 30 .
[0059] The lever main body 24 has a body 36 as a second lever. The body 36 has a block-shaped base portion 38 . A pair of leg plates 40 extend from the bottom end portion of the base portion 38 . The directions of thickness of the both leg plates 40 are along the direction in which the side walls 18 , 19 oppose one another, and the leg plates 40 are formed as to oppose one another along the direction in which the side walls 18 , 19 oppose one another.
[0060] The interval between the leg plates 40 is slightly larger than the thickness of the above-described retainer 26 , and the retainer 26 is disposed between these leg plates 40 . Through-holes 42 , which pass-through along the direction of thickness of the leg plates 40 , are formed in the lower end portions of the leg plates 40 . A through-hole 44 is formed in the lower end portion of the retainer 26 so as to correspond to the through-holes 42 . A shaft 46 , whose axial direction runs along the direction in which the side walls 18 , 19 oppose one another, passes through the through-holes 42 , 44 . The body 36 is supported so as to be able to rotate around the shaft 46 , relative to the retainer 26 .
[0061] A circular hole 78 having a bottom is formed in the top surface of the base portion 38 of the body 36 . The proximal end portion of a lever member 80 , which is rod-shaped and structures the shift lever 22 , is inserted in and fixed integrally to the circular hole 78 . At the longitudinal direction intermediate portion of the lever member 80 , the lever member 80 passes through a substantially “backward h” shaped shift hole 82 formed in the upper housing 20 , and extends to the outer side of the upper housing 20 . A knob 90 is mounted to the lever member 80 which extends to the outer side of the upper housing 20 .
[0062] On the other hand, a pin accommodating portion 120 which is tubular is formed in the base portion 38 of the body 36 , at the side of the lever member 80 . The pin accommodating portion 120 is open at the upper end portion thereof in FIG. 2 . A compression coil spring (not illustrated) and a pin 124 are accommodated in the pin accommodating portion 120 . A gate member (not shown), in which a return groove is formed, is disposed at the reverse side of the upper housing 20 and at the inner side of the lower housing 14 , in correspondence with the pin 124 .
[0063] The return groove is a bottomed-groove formed at the reverse side of a top floor. In plan view (as reverse surface view), the return groove is formed in a substantially “backward h” shape, in the same way as the shift hole 82 . In the state in which the pin 124 compresses the compression coil spring from above, the top end of the pin 124 is set in the return groove, and press-contacts the top side floor of the return groove due to the urging force of the compression coil spring. Moreover, the top side floor of the return groove is slanted appropriately. In the state in which the lever main body 24 is positioned at a return position S in the shift hole 82 shown in FIG. 4 , the position of the return groove, which position is the same as the return position, is where the return groove is the deepest. In the state in which the pin 124 is positioned at a position other than the return position S, the urging force of the compression coil spring attempts to return the pin 124 to the return position S.
[0064] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2 , a sensor unit 130 , which serves as a device for detecting rotation in two directions, is provided at the side of the side wall 16 , which side is opposite the side at which the side wall 17 is located. As shown in FIG. 1 , the sensor unit 130 has a base 132 . The base 132 has a shallow main body 134 which opens toward the side opposite the side wall 16 . A holder 136 , which is substantially cylindrical tube shaped, is formed at the reverse surface side of the floor portion of the main body 134 .
[0065] A rotating plate 138 , which serves as a first rotating body, is accommodated within the holder 136 , substantially coaxially with the holder 136 . A spring 140 is accommodated within the holder 136 , between the floor portion of the base 132 and the rotating plate 138 . One end of the spring 140 engages with a projection 142 formed at the inner peripheral portion of the holder 136 . Another end of the spring 140 engages with a projection 144 which projects from the rotating plate 138 . When the rotating plate 138 rotates around its own center within the holder 136 , the other end of the spring 140 rotates with respect to the one end thereof. Urging force, which attempts to return the rotating plate 138 to its original rotational position, is thereby generated.
[0066] A disc-shaped cover 146 is provided at the side of the rotating plate 138 opposite the side at which the spring 140 is located. Engaging pieces 148 are formed to project from the outer peripheral portion of the cover 146 . Due to engaging claws 150 , which are formed at the outer peripheral portion of the holder 136 , engaging with the engaging pieces 148 , the cover 146 closes the open end side of the holder 136 and prevents the rotating plate 138 from falling-out. Moreover, a ring spring 152 is interposed between the cover 146 and the rotating plate 138 . Displacement of the rotating plate 138 along the axial direction thereof is restricted by the urging force of the ring spring 152 .
[0067] A key 154 is formed to project from the center of the cover 146 side end surface of the rotating plate 138 . The key 154 passes through a through-hole 156 formed in the cover 146 , and fits in a key groove 158 formed in the side wall 16 side end surface of the shaft 30 . In the state in which the key 154 is fit in the key groove 158 , the rotating plate 138 is connected coaxially to the shaft 30 , and when the shaft 30 rotates around its own axial center, the rotating plate 138 rotates together with the shaft 30 .
[0068] On the other hand, a substantially cylindrical tube shaped holder 160 is formed at the reverse surface side of the floor portion of the main body 134 structuring the base 132 .
[0069] The holder 160 is formed above the holder 136 , in the state in which the base 132 is mounted to the side wall 16 . The holder 160 is formed in the shape of a cylindrical tube which opens in the same direction as the direction of opening of the holder 136 . A rotating plate 162 , which serves as a second rotating body and structures a second detecting means, is accommodated within the holder 160 , substantially coaxially with the holder 160 .
[0070] The spring 140 is accommodated within the holder 160 , between the floor portion of the base 132 and the rotating plate 162 . One end of the spring 140 engages with the projection 142 formed at the inner peripheral portion of the holder 160 . Another end of the spring 140 engages with the projection 144 which projects from the rotating plate 162 . When the rotating plate 162 rotates around its own center within the holder 160 , the other end of the spring 140 rotates with respect to the one end thereof. Urging force, which attempts to return the rotating plate 162 to its original rotational position, is thereby generated.
[0071] A plunger 164 , which serves as a moving body and structures the second detecting means, is provided at the side of the rotating plate 162 opposite the side where the spring 140 is located. The plunger 164 has a main body 166 . The main body 166 is a solid-cylindrical member whose axial direction is the same direction as the shaft 30 . A cam portion 168 is formed at the base 132 side end portion, along the axial direction, of the main body 166 .
[0072] As shown in FIG. 3 , the cam portion 168 is formed in the shape of a cylindrical tube which has a bottom and which opens toward the base 132 . The outer diameter of the cam portion 168 is sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of the main body 166 , and the cam portion 168 is formed integrally and coaxially with the main body 166 .
[0073] Further, as shown in FIG. 3 , the inner floor surface of the cam portion 168 is formed in the shape of a screw around the axial center of the cam portion 168 , and gradually becomes deeper one way along the direction around the axis of the cam portion 168 . An oval shaft portion 170 is formed at the substantial center of the cam portion 168 side surface of the rotating plate 162 , so as to correspond to the cam portion 168 . A pin 172 is formed to project from the end surface of the shaft portion 170 , in a state of being eccentric with respect to the center of the rotating plate 162 .
[0074] The shaft portion 170 is formed so as to be able to fit together with the inner side of the cam portion 168 and rotate around the axial center of the cam portion 168 . In the state in which the shaft portion 170 is fit-in at the inner side of the cam portion 168 , the distal end of the pin 172 abuts the inner floor surface of the cam portion 168 .
[0075] As shown in FIG. 1 , a return spring 174 is disposed between the cam portion 168 and the rotating plate 162 . As mentioned above, the shaft portion 170 can fit-together with the inner side of the cam portion 168 . The return spring 174 urges the plunger 164 in the direction of moving the cam portion 168 away from the shaft portion 170 (i.e., away from the rotating plate 162 ).
[0076] A cover 176 is provided at the side of the rotating plate 162 opposite the side at which the spring 140 is located. The cover 176 has a large diameter portion 178 which is formed in the shape of a cylindrical tube having a floor and which opens toward the base 132 . The engaging pieces 148 are formed to project outwardly in the radial direction from the rotating plate 162 side end surface of the large diameter portion 178 . Due to the engaging claws 150 , which are formed at the outer peripheral portion of the holder 160 , engaging with the engaging pieces 148 , the cover 176 closes the open end side of the holder 160 , and prevents the rotating plate 162 from falling-out.
[0077] A small diameter portion 180 , which is shaped as a cylindrical tube, is formed coaxially and integrally with the large diameter portion 178 , at the end portion of the large diameter portion 178 at the side opposite the side where the rotating plate 162 is located. The end portion of the small diameter portion 180 , which end portion is at the side opposite the large diameter portion 178 , is open. The end portion of the small diameter portion 180 , which end portion is at the large diameter portion 178 side, opens at the floor portion of the large diameter portion 178 . The inner diameter of the small diameter portion 180 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the main body 166 of the plunger 164 , and is sufficiently smaller than the outer diameter of the cam portion 168 .
[0078] As shown in FIG. 5 , the small diameter portion 180 passes through a through-hole 156 formed in the side wall 16 , and projects into the housing 12 .
[0079] As shown in FIG. 1 , the distal end side of the main body 166 of the plunger 164 which is urged by the aforementioned return spring 174 (i.e., the side opposite the cam portion 168 ) passes through the small diameter portion 180 and opposes the base portion 38 of the body 36 .
[0080] Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1 , the ring spring 152 is interposed between the rotating plate 162 and the large diameter portion 178 of the cover 176 . Displacement of the rotating plate 162 along the axial direction thereof is restricted by the urging force of the ring spring 152 .
[0081] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1 , a magnet 182 , which serves as a permanent magnet and structures a first detecting means, is fixed to the end surface of the rotating plate 138 at the side opposite the side wall 16 . The magnet 182 is formed in the shape of a rectangle whose longitudinal direction runs along the radial direction of the rotating plate 138 . One side of the magnet 182 , with respect to the center of the rotating plate 138 , is the N pole, and the other side is the S pole.
[0082] A magnet 184 , which serves as a permanent magnet and structures the second detecting means, is fixed to the end surface of the rotating plate 162 at the side opposite the side wall 16 . In the same way as the magnet 182 , the magnet 184 is formed in the shape of a rectangle whose longitudinal direction runs along the radial direction of the rotating plate 162 . One side of the magnet 184 , with respect to the center of the rotating plate 162 , is the N pole, and the other side is the S pole.
[0083] A PC board 186 is provided at the side of the base 132 opposite the side at which the holders 136 , 160 are located. Printed wiring (not shown) is formed on the PC board 186 , and electrical elements, such as resistor elements and the like, are appropriately mounted thereto.
[0084] A magnetic sensor 188 is provided at the PC board 186 so as to oppose the magnet 182 . The magnetic sensor 188 is structured by a Hall element or a magneto resistance element (including a so-called giant magneto resistance element), and detects the fluctuations in the magnetism formed by the magnet 182 (the changes in the strength of the magnetic field, or the changes in the orientation of the magnetic field, or the like).
[0085] Moreover, a magnetic sensor 190 is provided at the PC board 186 so as to oppose the magnet 184 . In the same way as the magnetic sensor 188 , the magnetic sensor 190 is structured by a Hall element or a magneto resistance element (including a so-called giant magneto resistance element), and detects the fluctuations in the magnetism formed by the magnet 184 (the changes in the strength of the magnetic field, or the changes in the orientation of the magnetic field, or the like).
[0086] As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 6 , the magnetic sensors 188 , 190 are connected to an ECU 192 which is provided on the PC board 186 . On the basis of the output signals from the magnetic sensors 188 , 190 , the ECU 192 detects the rotational position of the shift lever 22 , and outputs these results of detection to an ECU 196 of an automatic transmission 194 . The ECU 196 appropriately operates the automatic transmission 194 in accordance with the output (the results of detection) from the ECU 192 .
[0087] A cover 198 is provided at the side of the PC board 186 opposite the side at which the magnetic sensors 188 , 190 are located. The cover 198 is held at the base 132 due to fit-together portions 200 , which are formed at the outer peripheral portion of the base 132 , being fit into holes of fit-together pieces 199 , which are formed at the outer peripheral portion of the cover 198 . In the state in which the cover 198 is held at the base 132 , the side of the base 132 , at which side the PC board 186 is accommodated, is closed by the cover 198 , and the PC board 186 is thereby prevented from falling-out.
[0000] <Operation and Effects of First Embodiment>
[0088] The operation and effects of the present embodiment will be described next.
[0089] In the present shift lever device 10 , when, from the state in which the lever main body 24 passes through the shift hole 82 at the S position in FIG. 4 , the knob 90 is grasped and the shift lever 22 is pushed toward the right in FIG. 4 (in the direction of arrow R in FIG. 4 ), the body 36 rotates around the shaft 46 with respect to the retainer 26 . The lever member 80 thereby passes through the shift hole 82 at the N position of FIG. 4 .
[0090] When the body 36 rotates around the shaft 46 with respect to the retainer 26 in this way, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5 , the body 36 pushes the main body 166 of the plunger 164 . The plunger 164 , which is pushed by the body 36 , slides, against the urging force of the return spring 174 , substantially toward the right in FIG. 5 along a direction parallel to (the same direction as) the axial direction of the shaft 30 . When the plunger 164 slides in this way, the inner floor surface of the cam portion 168 pushes the pin 172 which is formed at the shaft portion 170 of the rotating plate 162 .
[0091] Because the rotating plate 162 basically cannot be displaced along the axial direction thereof, the pin 172 , which is pushed by the cam portion 168 , rotates around the axial center of the cam portion 168 so as to be displaced toward the deeper side of the inner floor surface of the cam portion 168 which is formed in a spiral. In this way, the rotating plate 162 rotates against the urging force of the spring 140 .
[0092] When the rotating plate 162 rotates, the orientation of the poles of the magnet 184 fixed to the rotating plate 162 changes, and accompanying this change, the magnetism which the magnet 184 forms fluctuates. This fluctuation in the magnetism formed by the magnet 184 is detected by the magnetic sensor 190 provided at the PC board 186 .
[0093] Next, when, from this state, the knob 90 is pushed upward in FIG. 4 (in the direction of arrow U in FIG. 4 ) and the body 36 and the retainer 26 rotate around the axial center of the shaft 30 until the lever member 80 passes through the shift hole 82 at position D of FIG. 4 , the shaft 30 rotates accompanying this. Due to the shaft 30 rotating, the rotating plate 138 rotates substantially integrally therewith, and the orientation of the poles of the magnet 182 fixed to the rotating plate 138 thereby changes. Accompanying this change, the magnetism formed by the magnet 182 fluctuates. This fluctuation in the magnetism formed by the magnet 182 is detected by the magnetic sensor 188 provided at the PC board 186 .
[0094] On the other hand, after the shift lever 22 is rotated from the S position to the N position as described above, when the knob 90 is pushed downward in FIG. 4 (in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 4 ) and the body 36 and the retainer 26 rotate around the axial center of the shaft 30 until the lever member 80 passes through the shift hole 82 at position R of FIG. 4 , the shaft 30 rotates accompanying this. Due to the shaft 30 rotating, the rotating plate 138 rotates substantially integrally therewith, and the orientation of the poles of the magnet 182 fixed to the rotating plate 138 thereby changes. Accompanying this change, the magnetism formed by the magnet 182 fluctuates. This fluctuation in the magnetism formed by the magnet 182 is detected by the magnetic sensor 188 provided at the PC board 186 .
[0095] In contrast, when, from the state in which the lever main body 24 passes through the shift hole 82 at the S position in FIG. 4 , the knob 90 is pushed upward in FIG. 4 (in the direction of arrow U in FIG. 4 ) and the body 36 and the retainer 26 rotate around the axial center of the shaft 30 until the lever member 80 passes through the shift hole 82 at position B of FIG. 4 , the shaft 30 rotates accompanying this. Due to the shaft 30 rotating, the rotating plate 138 rotates substantially integrally therewith, and the orientation of the poles of the magnet 182 fixed to the rotating plate 138 thereby changes. Accompanying this change, the magnetism formed by the magnet 182 fluctuates.
[0096] This fluctuation in the magnetism formed by the magnet 182 is detected by the magnetic sensor 188 provided at the PC board 186 . However, in this case, because the body 36 does not push the plunger 164 , the rotating plate 162 does not rotate, and accordingly, no fluctuations arise in the magnetism formed by the magnet 184 .
[0097] As described above, depending on which of the S position, the D position, the R position and the B position the lever main body 24 passes through the shift hole 82 at, the signal outputted from at least one of the magnetic sensors 188 , 190 differs. On the basis of the differences in the signals, at the ECU 192 of the PC board 186 , it is determined at which of the S position, the D position, the R position and the B position the lever member 80 (i.e., the shift lever 22 ) is positioned.
[0098] The ECU 192 outputs a signal which is based on the results of determination of the position of the lever member 80 . The signal outputted by the ECU 192 , i.e., the results of determination of the position of the lever member 80 , is inputted to the ECU 196 as a signal.
[0099] If, based on the signal from the ECU 192 , it is determined that the position of the lever member 80 is the D position, the ECU 196 changes the shift range to the drive range (D range), and the vehicle is set in a state in which it can proceed forward. If the position of the lever member 80 is the R position, the ECU 196 changes the shift range to the reverse range (R range), and the vehicle is set in a state in which it can move backward.
[0100] Further, if it is determined that the position of the lever member 80 is the B position, the ECU 196 changes the shift range to the engine brake (B range), so as to change to a shift range mainly using gears having a relatively low gear ratio. When, in a state in which the vehicle is originally traveling by using gears having a relatively high gear ratio, the shift range is changed in this way to a shift range mainly using gears of a low gear ratio, a state in which the so-called engine brake is applied arises.
[0101] In the sensor unit 130 which is applied to the present shift lever device 10 , the rotating plate 138 , the magnet 182 , and the magnetic sensor 188 , which detect the rotation of the shaft 30 , are provided at the outer side of the side wall 16 . Further, the plunger 164 , the rotating plate 162 , the magnet 184 , and the magnetic sensor 190 , which detect the rotation of the body 36 around the shaft 46 , are also provided at the outer side of the side wall 16 , in the same way as the rotating plate 138 and the like.
[0102] Therefore, as in the present embodiment, the plunger 164 , the rotating plates 138 , 162 , the magnets 182 , 184 , and the magnetic sensors 188 , 190 can be made into a unit, and assembly thereof to the housing 12 is easy.
[0103] Further, the structure for detecting the rotation of the shaft 30 (i.e., the rotating plate 138 , the magnet 182 , and the magnetic sensor 188 ), and the structure for detecting the rotation of the body 36 around the shaft 46 (i.e., the plunger 164 , the rotating plate 162 , the magnet 184 , and the magnetic sensor 190 ) are basically mounted to the side wall 16 as an integral unit. Therefore, no structure for detecting the rotation of the shift lever 22 is disposed beneath the shift lever 22 , i.e., beneath the retainer 26 . In this way, the lower housing 14 can be formed to be short, and as a result, the device can be made more compact overall.
[0104] In the present embodiment, the sliding of the plunger 164 is changed, by the cam portion 168 , into rotation of the rotating plate 162 , and the rotation of the rotating plate 162 is detected by the magnetic sensor 190 as a fluctuation in the magnetism of the magnet 184 . Therefore, although the structures of the key 154 and the shaft portion 170 may differ, the same structure of the spring 140 and the ring spring 152 can basically be applied at both the rotating plate 138 side and the rotating plate 162 side. Further, with regard to the magnets 182 , 184 and the magnetic sensors 188 , 190 as well, the same structure can be applied at both the rotating plate 138 side and the rotating plate 162 side. Because the number of common parts can be increased in this way, the costs of the parts can be reduced as a result.
[0105] Further, because the magnetic sensor 188 and the magnetic sensor 190 can be formed to have basically the same structure, the processing of the signals from the magnetic sensor 188 and the processing of the signals from the magnetic sensor 190 are the same. Therefore, the signal processing system at the ECU 192 can be simplified, and for this reason as well, costs can be reduced.
[0000] <Second Embodiment>
[0106] A second embodiment of the present invention will be described next.
[0107] In the explanation of the present embodiment, regions which are basically the same as those of the above-described first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.
[0108] The structure of a sensor unit 212 , which serves as a device for detecting rotation in two directions and which is a main portion of a shift lever device 210 relating to the present embodiment, is illustrated in an exploded perspective view corresponding to FIG. 1 which is used in describing the above first embodiment.
[0109] As shown in FIG. 7 , the sensor unit 212 does not have the ring spring 152 , the rotating plate 162 , the spring 140 , and the magnet 184 . In addition, the plunger 164 of the sensor unit 212 does not have the cam portion 168 .
[0110] Instead of the cam portion 168 , a spring anchor piece 214 is formed at the plunger 164 , coaxially and integrally with the main body 166 . The spring anchor piece 214 is disc-shaped, the axial direction dimension thereof is relatively short, and the spring anchor piece 214 has a larger diameter than that of the main body 166 . One end of the return spring 174 abuts the end surface of the spring anchor piece 214 , which end surface is at the side opposite the main body 166 .
[0111] A push rod 216 is formed at the spring anchor piece 214 . The push rod 216 is provided coaxially and integrally with the main body 166 and the spring anchor piece 214 . The push rod 216 projects from the end surface of the spring anchor piece 214 , which end surface is at the side opposite the main body 166 , and passes through the inner side of the return spring 174 , and, at the inner side of the holder 160 , passes through a through-hole 218 formed in the main body 134 of the base 132 , and projects out to the side of the main body 134 opposite the side at which the holder 160 is located.
[0112] On the other hand, instead of the magnetic sensor 190 , a microswitch 220 , which structures the second detecting portion of the second detecting means, is provided at the PC board 186 . The microswitch 220 has a swinging piece 224 whose proximal end portion is connected to a main body 222 , and whose distal end side can be displaced in directions of approaching the main body 222 and moving away from the main body 222 .
[0113] The distal end side of the swinging piece 224 opposes the distal end portion of the push rod 216 along the axial direction of the plunger 164 . When the plunger 164 is displaced toward the cover 198 side against the urging force of the return spring 174 , the push rod 216 pushes the distal end side of the swinging piece 224 , and makes the distal end side of the swinging piece 224 approach the main body 222 . When the distal end side of the swinging piece 224 approaches the main body 222 in this way, a fixed contact and a moving contact provided at the main body 222 contact one another and are made conductive.
[0114] Namely, at the sensor unit 212 of the present shift lever device 210 , when the body 36 rotates around the shaft 46 with respect to the retainer 26 and the body 36 pushes the main body 166 of the plunger 164 as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5 , the plunger 164 slides along the direction parallel to (the same direction as) the axial direction of the shaft 30 , substantially toward the right in FIG. 5 against the urging force of the return spring 174 .
[0115] When the plunger 164 slides in this way, the push rod 216 slides toward the cover 198 , and pushes the swinging piece 224 , and makes the distal end side of the swinging piece 224 approach the main body 222 . In this way, due to the moving contact within the main body 222 contacting the fixed contact and becoming conductive, the fact that the push rod 216 has moved, and accordingly, the fact that the body 36 has rotated around the shaft 46 with respect to the retainer 26 , is detected.
[0116] In this way, in the present embodiment, the principles for detecting that the body 36 has rotated around the shaft 46 with respect to the retainer 26 are different than in the above-described first embodiment. However, in the same way as in the first embodiment, the microswitch 220 , the plunger 164 , and the like are, as is the case with the magnetic sensor 188 , the magnet 182 , and the like, provided at the outer side of the side wall 16 .
[0117] Therefore, in the present embodiment as well, in the same way as in the above-described first embodiment, the plunger 164 and the microswitch 220 can be made into a unit together with the rotating plate 138 , the magnet 182 , and the magnetic sensor 188 , and assembly thereof to the housing 12 is easy. Moreover, by forming a unit in this way and installing the unit at the side wall 16 , no structure for detecting the rotation of the shift lever 22 is disposed beneath the shift lever 22 , i.e., beneath the retainer 26 . In this way, the lower housing 14 can be formed to be short, and as a result, the device can be made more compact overall.
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There is provided a device for detecting rotation in two directions which can detect rotation of a rotating member, which is rotatable around axes whose axial directions are two directions intersecting one another, and which can be easily assembled into various devices. Concretely, there is provided a shift lever device which can detect rotation of a shift lever, which is rotatable around axes whose axial directions are two directions orthogonal to one another, and in which assembly of such a shift lever rotation detecting structure is easy, and which can be made compact overall.
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REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is based on and claims the benefit of Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/572,351 filed May 19, 2004, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Technical Field
[0003] The present disclosure relates to security logs and, more specifically, to systems and methods for minimizing security logs.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] A computer system, which may include one or more workstations and/or various other types of equipment networked together, may include various types of software and/or hardware systems for protecting the integrity of the computer system. One type of system for protecting the integrity of a computer system is an intrusion detection system. An intrusion refers to a person attempting to gain unauthorized access to a computer system. The intruder may be an outsider or an insider. For example, an outsider may attempt to gain access to a network by bypassing a firewall and gaining access to individual systems on the network. An insider may have authorized access to the network but is attempting to impersonate a higher privileged user to gain access to information the intruder is not authorized to access. There may be various reasons for a person intruding on a system. These reasons may include attempting to access the system simply for the challenge, attempting to access the system to cause some type of damage to the system or website, and those attempting to gain access to the system for profit.
[0006] There are various types of intrusion attacks that can take place. These may include, for example, ping sweeps, port scans, etc. to find holes in the system. The intrusion may be an intruder taking advantage of hidden features or bugs in the system for gaining access to the system. Another popular intrusion is where the intruder attempts to crash a system by overloading network links, overloading the CPU or filling up a disk. These intrusion attempts may be referred to as denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.
[0007] An intrusion detection system (IDS) attempts to detect intrusions to a computer system. Intrusion detection systems may be host based systems or network based systems. Host based intrusion detection systems reside on a host computer, for example, and attempt to detect intrusions on the host computer. Network based intrusion detection systems may include a stand-alone system connected to a network for monitoring network traffic looking for intrusions.
[0008] Examples of types of IDS systems include anomaly detection systems and signature detection systems. Anomaly detection systems attempt to detect statistical anomalies by measuring a “baseline” of stats of the system such as CPU utilization, disk activity, file activity, user logins, etc. When there is a deviation from the baseline, an anomaly or event can be triggered. Signature recognition systems may examine traffic to look for known patterns of attack. A network IDS signature is a pattern of attack that the IDS can look for in the network traffic as an indication of a possible attack. For example, a network intrusion detection system (NIDS) may check for the source address field in an IP header to determine if there is a connection attempt from a reserved IP address. To detect a denial of service attack, a NIDS signature might keep track of how many times a command is issued and provide an alert when the number exceeds a certain threshold. To detect a DNS buffer overflow attempt, a NIDS signature might parse the DNS fields and check the length of each of them. Various other NIDS signatures can be used to detect these and other types of intrusion attempts. Other types of intrusion detection systems include protocol stack verification, application protocol verification, etc.
[0009] After an intrusion is detected, various actions can be performed. For example, the system might produce an audio and/or visual signal indicating that the system is under attack, terminate the TCP session, launch another program to handle the attack and/or send an event message to an event log. The event message may include information relating to the attack such as timestamp, intruder IP address, victim IP address/port, protocol information, description of the attach, etc.
[0010] Due to the desirability of maintaining an open system having access to the Internet and/or other systems on a network, IDS's inevitably log valid access attempts to the system as well as intrusive access attempts. That is, an IDS may log a large number of events including actual attacks and false positive events. A false positive event is when an IDS reports an attack or attempted attack when no vulnerability exists or no compromise occurs. Very active networks having a high volume of traffic may have event logs containing hundreds of events per second and a large system may generate several gigabytes of event logs daily. When the logs are examined by, for example, a system operator or user, an important event that is in the middle of a large number of false positive events may be missed. The number of events may be intentionally raised by an intruder attempting an attack on the system in order to mask the actual attack. For example, one technique for attacking a machine is to first launch a large number of ineffective attacks in order to overwhelm any IDS software that may be listening, and then launch an effective attack. Even if the IDS detects the effective attack, it will be buried within a large amount of information and may go undetected by the system administrator.
SUMMARY
[0011] A method for consolidating a computer security log comprises providing a security log including information pertaining to security events on a computer system, the log including entries specifying at least information identifying a relative time each event occurred and information identifying a type of each event, determining from the log a number of times a particular type of event occurred during a specified time period and creating a consolidated log including for each entry at least information identifying a first time that the particular type of event occurred during the specified time period, information identifying the type of the particular event and information indicating a number of times the particular type of event occurred during the specified time period.
[0012] A programmed computer for consolidating at least one computer security log comprises a system for providing a security log including information pertaining to security events on a computer system, the log including entries specifying at least information identifying a relative time each event occurred and information identifying a type of each event, a system for determining from the log a number of times a particular type of event occurred during a specified time period and a system for creating a consolidated log including for each entry at least information identifying a first time that the particular type of event occurred during the specified time period, information identifying the type of the particular event and information indicating a number of times the particular type of event occurred during the specified time period.
[0013] A computer recording medium including computer executable code for consolidating a computer security log comprises code for providing a security log including information pertaining to security events on a computer system, the log including entries specifying at least information identifying a relative time each event occurred and information identifying a type of each event, code for determining from the log a number of times a particular type of event occurred during a specified time period and code for creating a consolidated log including for each entry at least information identifying a first time that the particular type of event occurred during the specified time period, information identifying the type of the particular event and information indicating a number of times the particular type of event occurred during the specified time period.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] A more complete appreciation of the present disclosure and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0015] FIG. 1 shows an example of a computer system capable of implementing the method and system of the present disclosure;
[0016] FIG. 2 shows a plurality of networks on which various aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented.;
[0017] FIG. 3 shows an original log prior to consolidation;
[0018] FIG. 4 shows a consolidated log, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0019] FIG. 5 shows a plurality of original logs from host systems prior to consolidation; and
[0020] FIG. 6 shows a consolidated log according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] In describing preferred embodiments of the present disclosure illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology is employed for sake of clarity. However, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific element includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner.
[0022] FIG. 1 shows an example of a computer system capable of implementing the method and system of the present disclosure. The system and method of the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of a software application running on a computer system, for example, a mainframe, personal computer (PC), handheld computer, server etc. The software application may be stored on a recording media locally accessible by the computer system, for example, floppy disk, compact disk, hard disk, etc., or may be remote from the computer system and accessible via a hard wired or wireless connection to a network, for example, a local area network, or the Internet.
[0023] The computer system referred to generally as system 100 may include a central processing unit (CPU) 102 , memory 104 , for example, Random Access Memory (RAM), a printer interface 106 , a display unit 108 , a (LAN) local area network data transmission controller 110 , a LAN interface 112 , a network controller 114 , an internal bus 116 and one or more input devices 118 , for example, a keyboard, mouse etc. As shown, the system 100 may be connected to a data storage device, for example, a hard disk, 100 , via a link 122 .
[0024] FIG. 2 shows examples of the types of systems in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. A plurality of networks 10 , 12 and 14 are shown. The networks may be connected to the Internet 16 . Network 10 includes one or more client computer terminals 18 , one or more servers 20 and a gateway 22 which may include a firewall for access to the Internet 16 . Computer terminals 18 may be a desktop or laptop computer, a mainframe, etc; Computer terminal(s) 18 , server(s) 20 and gateway 22 are interconnected via any preferred type of network connection 29 . Router(s) 24 may be used to provide a high speed network link 28 between two or more of the networks. The connections may be wired and/or wireless connections as desired.
[0025] Network 12 may include one or more computer terminals 30 , one or more servers 32 , a router 34 and a gateway 36 . Similarly, network 14 may include one or more computer terminals 38 , one or more servers 40 , a router 42 and a gateway 44 . Of course, these are just examples of systems that may be on the network.
[0026] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a network intrusion detection system (NIDS) 25 may be provided on network 10 . NIDS 25 may be any type of system capable of monitoring traffic on network 10 and creating an appropriate IDS log of activity relating thereto. An IDS log is just an example of a type of log to which the present disclosure is directed.
[0027] An example of a small portion of an IDS log is shown in FIG. 3 and is referred to generally as original log 60 . Each event entry in original log 60 may include a time stamp (S). According to an embodiment, time stamp (S) is the number of seconds since the intrusion detection process started that the event occurred. Each event entry also includes a message descriptor (M) which may be an identifier such as a letter or number identifying the type of intrusion detected. For example, message descriptor M=1 might indicate that a DNS buffer overflow was detected, message descriptor M=2 might indicate a connection attempt from a reserved IP address, etc. Of course, the actual event description may be used in addition to or as an alternative to the descriptors. Event entries may also include additional information if desired. For purposes of ease of discussion, each event entry is represented herein showing only the message descriptor (M) and the time (S) in seconds.
[0028] As shown in FIG. 3 , in this example the first event occurred within the first second (S=0) of when intrusion detection started and the message descriptor is M=1. An event having a message descriptor M= 2 also occurred within the first second of intrusion detection (S=0). Between one and two seconds of the start of intrusion detection (S=1), message descriptor M=1 was again logged. At two seconds, message descriptor M=2 was logged. At five seconds, message descriptor M=1 was again logged. At 10 seconds, message descriptor M=3 was logged. At 11 seconds, message descriptor M=1 was logged. At 12 seconds, message descriptor M=2 was again logged. At 13 seconds, message descriptor M=1 was again logged, etc.
[0029] According to this embodiment of the present disclosure, the resolution of the time when messages are logged is set to 1 second. That is, events occurring within the first second are logged as occurring at zero seconds, events occurring between 1 and 2 seconds are logged as occurring at 1 second, etc. Of course, this time can be set to any value as desired. A graphical user interface (GUI) may be provided allowing the system administrator or user to set this resolution.
[0030] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when a user requests to review an event log according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the event entries from original log 60 ( FIG. 3 ) are read and consolidated into a consolidated log 62 as shown in FIG. 4 and displayed to the user. Each event entry in consolidated log 62 includes an event descriptor (M), and the number of occurrences (C) of the same message within a defined period of time. For purposes of this description, this defined period of time is 10 seconds. That is, for each 10 second interval, every message having the same message descriptor (M) is consolidated into a single log entry.
[0031] For example, the first, third and fifth log entries from original log 60 ( FIG. 3 ) are consolidated into the first entry in consolidated log 62 ( FIG. 4 ). The count (C) represents the number of times that message descriptor “1” occurred during the first 10 second interval. In this example, there were three (C=3) occurrences of message descriptor one (M=1). The value (S=0) indicates that the first occurrence of the event M=1 was within the first second of the intrusion detection starting. The second entry in consolidated log 62 indicates there were two (C=2) occurrences of message descriptor two (M=2), the first occurring within the first second (S=0). Log message descriptor “3” occurred only once during the second ten second time interval at time (S=10). Accordingly, log message descriptor “3” is not consolidated with any others and is displayed by itself in the consolidated log as (S=10 M=3 C=1). Also during the second ten second time interval, message descriptor one (M=1) occurred twice (C=2), with the first occurrence at time S=11. In addition, during the second ten second time interval, message descriptor two (M=2) occurred once (C=1) at time S=12.
[0032] There are various ways that the logs can be consolidated. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the consolidation process occurs when the log is being read from memory to be viewed by a user such as a system administrator, for example. The user is thus presented with the consolidated log ( FIG. 4 ). In this way, the system administrator can gain a better view of what occurred on the system without having to look at each individual entry. Of course, the system administrator can be given the option of viewing the original log ( FIG. 3 ) in addition to the consolidated log ( FIG. 4 ).
[0033] In an alternative embodiment, instead of storing the original log at all, the log entries can be consolidated as they are being written. In this way, only the consolidated log would be available for viewing by the user. In the alternative, the log entries can be stored in the original log and simultaneously consolidated into a consolidated log as they are being written.
[0034] Of course, other variations of the consolidation can be used. For example, according to the above described embodiment, the time displayed in the original log ( FIG. 3 ) is the number of seconds since the intrusion detection process started. However, according to other embodiments, the time could be the time relative to the start of the day, or a representation of the absolute time. In addition, according to the above described embodiment, the time displayed in the consolidated log ( FIG. 4 ) is the number of seconds since the detection process started that the first message of that type appeared in the log during that time interval. However, according to other embodiments, it could be the first second of the time slot. For example, the times S=10, S=11 and S=12 as described in the above-embodiment, would all be displayed as S=10 in the consolidated log entries.
[0035] Consolidating the event logs as described herein allows the logs to be more easily reviewed, so that any intrusions are less likely to be missed. Although the log information is being consolidated, very little (if any) important information is being lost.
[0036] The system administrator or other user may be given options for controlling the system. For example, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the consolidated log 62 can be displayed on a display screen. Using an input device such as a mouse, a cursor can be moved on the screen to one of the log entries. Double clicking on the log entry will display the complete 10 second interval of the original log 60 containing that entry (or entries), in a separate window on the screen. This allows the operator to get an even more detailed view of what occurred during that time interval. According to another embodiment, double clicking on a log entry on the consolidated log 62 will display the 10 second interval of the original log 60 corresponding to that entry as well as the ten second interval prior thereto and/or the 10 second interval following that time interval.
[0037] The user may be given the option to set the time intervals being used. For example, a graphical user interface (GUI) can be provided to prompt the user to set the time resolution when the messages are logged in the original log 60 . In addition, the user can be prompted to set the 10 second time interval used during consolidation to a more suitable time interval as desired.
[0038] The above-embodiments are described with respect to the use of a network based IDS. Of course, a similar log consolidation system could be implemented on a host based IDS in a similar manner.
[0039] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, one or more nodes on network 12 may include host based intrusion detection systems. For example, referring to FIG. 2 , client computer system 30 (Client CA) and servers 32 (Servers SA and SB) include host based intrusion detection systems. Client computer system CB includes a system for consolidating all of the event logs from the multiple host based intrusion detection systems into one location, allowing a user to have easy access to all of this information.
[0040] Each host based IDS monitors its corresponding system (CA, SA, SB) and generates a log of intrusion attempts. Periodically, the logs are forwarded to and stored on Client CB. Examples of log files that are transferred from systems CA, SA and SB to client CB are shown in FIG. 5 . According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, these event logs can be consolidated by client CB into a consolidated log as shown in FIG. 6 .
[0041] In this embodiment, the time (S) is represented in military time, according to a system clock. Although the time is represented in military time in this example it could, of course, be represented in standard time. For better accuracy, the system clocks for each of the computers, servers, etc. on network 12 can be periodically synchronized if desired. In the alternative, each node can use a single clock on the network such a system clock provided by one of servers 32 . In the consolidated log ( FIG. 6 ), the time (S) is the time at which the earliest occurrence of event (M) occurred in a five second interval. The first occurrence of event M=1 on any of the nodes occurred at time S=12:00:00. As shown, event M=1 occurred twice on client computer system CA (CA=2), twice on server SA (SA=2) and once on server SB (SB=1). Event M=2 first occurred also at time S=12:00:00, and occurred twice on computer system CA (CA=2), once on server SA (SA=1) and once on server SB (SB=1) during the first five second interval. Event M=3 first occurred at time S=12:00:01, and occurred once on server SA (SA=1), three times on server SB (SB=1) and did not occur on client computer system CA (CA=0) during the first five second time interval. During the second five second time interval, event M=1 first occurred at time S=12:00:05 and occurred once on client CA(CA=1), twice on server SA (SA=2) and three times on server SB (SB=1), etc. In this way, the original logs for a plurality of nodes on the network can be consolidated into one consolidated log, allowing an operator to more easily scan the logs to look for abnormal behavior.
[0042] The present disclosure may be conveniently implemented using one or more conventional general purpose digital computers and/or servers programmed according to the teachings of the present disclosure. Appropriate software coding can readily be prepared based on the teachings of the present disclosure. The present disclosure may also be implemented by the preparation of application specific integrated circuits or by interconnecting an appropriate network of conventional component circuits.
[0043] Numerous additional modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible in view of the above-teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the present disclosure may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.
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A method and system for consolidating a computer security log includes providing a security log including information pertaining to security events on a computer system, the log including entries specifying at least information identifying a relative time each event occurred and information identifying a type of each event, determining from the log a number of times a particular type of event occurred during a specified time period and creating a consolidated log including for each entry at least information identifying a first time that the particular type of event occurred during the specified time period, information identifying the type of the particular event and information indicating a number of times the particular type of event occurred during the specified time period.
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This Patent Application is a Continuation-In-Part of the Co-pending patent application Ser. No. 07/495,113 filed on Mar. 19, 1990 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,609.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to carrying cases which are used to carry documents such as papers, pens, pencils, note pads, and various literature such as advertising flyers and brochures which are obtained by attending meetings, conventions and similar functions. The present invention also relates to the field of cases for carrying large objects such as posters, paintings, blueprints, and similar large documents which are preferably carried in a rolled up condition so as to avoid placing one or more creases in the surface of the document.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, there are numerous devices in the prior art which are individually used as cases to carry objects and there are in particular carrying apparatus which are exclusively used to carry documents in a rolled up condition. The following prior art patents are illustrative of the known prior art:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,892 issued to Chinski et al. on Mar. 7, 1989 for "Studio Pack".
2. U.S. Pat. No. 3,446,337 issued to Blackmon on May 27, 1969 for "Artists' Supply Cases".
3. U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,725 issued to Folsom on Aug. 1, 1989 for "Carrying And Storage Case For Artist's Supplies".
4. British Pat. No. 12,758 issued in 1912 to Pentrup for "Improvements In Field Dispensaries".
5. U.S. Pat. No. 424,603 issued in 1890 to Favor for "Artist's Kit".
6. U.S. Pat. No. 632,167 issued in 1899 to Biesmeyer for "Scholar's Companion".
7. U.S. Pat. No. 2,852,132 issued to Steinberger et al. in 1958 for "Paint Brush Container".
8. U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,572 issued to Wiener, Jr. on Apr. 15, 1975 for "Convertible Storage Container/Picture Frame Assembly".
9. U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,351 issued to James on May 20, 1975 for "Drawing Case For Architects And The Like".
10. U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,504 issued to Holmer on Mar. 11, 1986 for "Storage Container".
U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,504 to Holmer discloses a storage container. The storage container is cylindrical and is designed to house drawings and other objects which can be rolled up and stored in a container. The container itself can be attached to a surface by means of brackets. This container is used to exclusively carry rolled up documents and further is not designed to be used in conjunction with a carrying case but is designed to be used only in itself and attached to a wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,351 to James discloses a conventional architect's drawing case where the drawings can be rolled up around a self-winding spring roller contained within the cylindrical case. This is a free-standing case and it is a cylindrical case incorporated by itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,892 to Chinski discloses a studio pack including a plurality of compartments. None of the compartments in this studio pack can be used for rolling up a poster but it does disclose the concept of many slots and other holding devices for holding a multiplicity of different objects.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,337 to Blackmon also discloses an artist's supply case which contains a multitude of various slots for other devices for holding paints, brushes, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,725 to Folsom is another carrying case patent which has a multiplicity of different types of slotted arrangements for retaining different types of objects for use by the artist.
British Pat. No. 12,758 to Pentrup discloses a dispensary improvement with various slots and holding features for holding various objects.
U.S. Pat. No. 424,603 to Favor discloses a cylindrical object but it is not used for the purpose of retaining cylindrical items but instead for retaining various objects such as paint brushes and paints but so the entire case can be folded in a cylindrical manner and conveniently carried.
U.S. Pat. No. 632,136 to Biesmeyer discloses a cylindrical object but once again its purpose is to carry pencils and pens and other small things and not a poster.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,852,132 to Steinberger again discloses a cylindrical object but its purpose is to carry paint brushes and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,572 to Wiener discloses a convertible storage container which can hold cylindrical objects but can be converted to hold other shapes as well.
While the prior art discloses individual cylindrical carrying cases for carrying rolled up documents, none of the prior art discloses an adaptable cylindrical carrying case which can be used in conjunction with a more conventional carrying case. There is a significant need for such an apparatus when the user desires to compactly and efficiently carry both flat documents such as brochures, accessories such as pencils, pens, measuring instruments, calculators, etc., and also larger objects such as posters, drawings or blueprints which are preferably carried in a rolled up condition. In addition, there is a significant need for a case which can be taken to trade shows and conventions where numerous literature and physical objects are given away by vendors and companies which have booths at the trade show and which objects include flat documents such as flyers, brochures, catalogues, etc. and larger objects such as posters which are preferably carried in a rolled up condition.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention comprises of a carrying case which in particular may be used by a visitor to a trade show where numerous sizes and shapes of objects are distributed for the visitor to take home, some of which are large posters or comparable objects which are preferably carried in the rolled up condition. The case includes various slots for holding disks, business cards, paper and pens, etc. A key point of novelty in the present invention is the use of an attachable cylindrical holder which essentially consists of a cylindrical body formed of semi-rigid material such as thick nylon, and having attaching snaps that enable the cylindrical member to be attached to the case. The purpose of the cylindrical member is so that large posters and other pictures which should not be folded in order to avoid a crease can be rolled up and safely placed in the cylindrical container and thereafter transported to the person's office. The overall concept of having the cylindrical case containing the posters which can be rolled up and transported in this manner and attached by snaps or comparable attaching means to the case is unique.
It has been discovered, according to the present invention, that if a carrying case is fitted with one type of mating means such as snaps or Velcro - R along at least one edge and a separable cylindrical carrying case is also fitted with comparable mating means such as a mating Velcro - R closure member or mating snaps, then the cylindrical carrying case and the regular carrying case can be joined together to form one compact carrying case in which any desired shape object can be carried.
It has further been discovered that if the mating and attaching means on the cylindrical carrying case are retained on the case by flexible strap members, then the cylindrical carrying case can be very easily and removably attached to the mating members along one side of the main carrying case.
It has also been discovered that if one end of the cylindrical carrying case is openable by means such as a zipper extending around the circumference of the case adjacent one end, then objects such as posters can be rolled up and inserted into the cylindrical case while it is still attached to the main case.
It has further been discovered that if the cylindrical carrying case and regular carrying case are nonremovably attached together so as to be of unitary construction, the costs of manufacture may be significantly reduced and the possibility of the cylindrical carrying case being accidentally detached from the regular carrying case and thereby lost is eliminated.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a combination carrying case which can be used to carry objects of any desired shape and configuration, including flat objects such as brochures, pencils, diskettes, tape, measuring instruments, and also larger objects which are preferably carried in a rolled up configuration.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a carrying case wherein the cylindrical container in which rolled up objects are placed is removably attached to the main case.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an alternative embodiment carrying case wherein the cylindrical container in which rolled up objects are placed is permanently attached to the main case.
Further novel features and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, discussion and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring particularly to the drawings for the purpose of illustration only and not limitation, there is illustrated:
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the present invention specialized case and attachment for carrying rolled up objects.
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view looking from the right side of the present invention specialized case and attachment for carrying rolled up objects.
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the attachment section of the case used to carry rolled up objects.
FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the attachment section of the case used to carry rolled up objects.
FIG. 5 is a side elevational view in partial cross-section taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention specialized case and attachment for carrying rolled up objects.
FIG. 7 is a side elevational view in partial cross-section taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a side elevational view looking from the left side of the alternative embodiment of the present invention specialized case and attachment for carrying rolled up objects.
FIG. 9 is a side elevational view looking from the right side of the alternative embodiment of the present invention specialized case and attachment for carrying rolled up objects.
FIG. 10 is a side elevational view in partial cross section illustrating an alternative embodiment of the present invention wherein the specialized case and attachment for carrying the rolled up objects are sewn together.
FIG. 11 is a side elevational view in partial cross section of another alternative embodiment of the present invention specialized case and attachment for carrying rolled up objects wherein the attachment is made of molded plastic and the main case and cylindrical case are molded as a unitary piece.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Although specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, it should be understood that such embodiments are by way of example only and merely illustrative of but a small number of the many possible specific embodiments which can represent applications of the principles of the present invention. Various changes and modifications obvious to one skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and contemplation of the present invention as further defined in the appended claims.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown at 10 the entire specialized case and attachment for carrying rolled up objects. The case comprises two major components. A main case 20 is essentially a standard case which may be formed in two sections 22 and 24 which are flexibly attached to each other along a common bottom edge 26 and are locked together by closure means such as a zipper 28. The interior of the case 10 is usually a flap surface which may contain conventional pockets into which are inserted flat objects such as brochures, advertising flyers, and comparable flat printed or photographic matter. One section of the case such as 24 may comprise a multiplicity of pocket members on the outside surface 30 which are arranged in any desired order and which are configured in any desired shape to hold different types of objects. For example, in the illustration in FIG. 1, pocket member 36 is a conventional pencil and pen holder pocket. Pocket member 38 may be used to contain computer diskettes since it is essentially flat and can be closed by means of a top flap 40. Large pocket 42 can be used to carry notebooks, pads, charts and comparable objects. Little pocket 44 can be used to carry business cards. In addition, the case may include elongated strip members 32 and 34 which are made out of material such as felt and into which can be attached pins 37 and other decorative objects obtained at conventions. The entire case is held by handle 50. It will be appreciated that the main case 20 can be of any desired configuration with any desired arrangement of pockets both on the outside of the case as illustrated and also on the inside of the case.
The major feature of uniqueness of the present invention is the addition of the second component which is a removable cylindrical case which can be used to carry objects in a rolled up configuration. Referring to FIGS. 3 through 5, the cylindrical case 60 comprises an outer wall 62 and an interior stiffening wall 64. The interior stiffening wall 64 goes around the entire interior surface of the cylindrical case 60 and the exterior wall 62 envelopes the outside of the interior stiffening wall 64. A flat bottom 66 closes the lower end of the cylindrical case 66. A top 70 is attached at one location by attaching means such as a strip of material 72 to a portion of the exterior wall 62. The top 70 can be affixed by closure means 74 which by way of example can be a zipper connecting the top 70 to the exterior wall 62. The interior wall 64 surrounds an interior chamber 76 into which objects can be placed and retained. The cylindrical configuration of the case 60 and therefore the cylindrical configuration of interior chamber 76 enables objects to be rolled up and carried in the case. By way of example, posters, works of art, blueprints, etc. may be rolled up and carried within the interior chamber 76 of case 60. Flexibly attached to the exterior wall 62 of case 60 are a multiplicity of attaching means which are preferably mating snap members. One way in which the attaching means are attached to the exterior wall 62 is by a strap attached to the exterior wall 62 and to which the attaching means is 80 is connected. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 5, straps 81, 83, 85 and 87 are spaced apart along the length of cylindrical case 60 and are attached to exterior wall 62. A male snap member 82, 84, 86 and 88 is attached to a respective one of the straps. In this way, the snap members are easily accessible.
Referring to FIG. 2, at least one side edge of main case 20 comprises a multiplicity of spaced apart mating attaching members which in this illustration are mating female snap members 92, 94 and 96. The female snap members are spaced apart by a distance equal to the spacing between the male snap members so that a respective one of the male snap members can be aligned with a respective one of the female snap members. In the embodiment illustrated, there are four male snap members on cylindrical case 60 and only three female snap members on the main case. Since the length of the cylindrical tube is usually larger than the height of the case, this snap member configuration is used to permit the user to align the larger cylindrical case 60 relative to the main case 20 such that the cylindrical case either hangs below the main case as illustrated in FIG. 1 or extends above it.
While the female mating snaps must be on at least one side of the main case 20, in the preferred embodiment they are on both sides of the case; on the left side as illustrated in FIG. 1 and on the right side as well, as illustrated in FIG. 2. In this way the user can select which side he wishes to have the cylindrical case placed. Additionally, with this configuration it is also possible to have two cylindrical cases supported on the main case on both side of the main case so that two cylindrical cases 60 are supported on the main case 20.
While the attaching means have been described as male snap members on the cylindrical case 60 and female snap members on the main case 20, it will be appreciated that it is within the spirit and scope of the present invention to have this reversed with female snap members on the cylindrical case and male snap members on the main case. Additionally, there can be both male and female snap members on both the cylindrical case and the main case so long as each male snap member is aligned with a corresponding female snap member. Other closure means such as mating Velcro -R members can also be used instead, but the snap members are preferred because they provide a tighter closure member to assure a locking closure to withstand the buffeting that the combined cases will take when being carried on an airplane, train, or other vehicle.
The interior stiffening wall 64 can be made of standard heavy cardboard or comparable material and the exterior wall 64 as well as the rest of the case can be made of any conventional case material such as plastic, nylon, vinyl or leather. The dimensions can be any size dimensions to accommodate different uses. By way of example, the length of the cylindrical case may be approximately 36 inches but this is just one of numerous optional lengths.
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the cylindrical case 160 may be permanently attached to the main case 120. This alternative embodiment can be manufactured to be distributed and used as temporary bags for trade shows and conventions or alternatively used for travel purposes exclusively. One advantage of this alternative embodiment is the reduced cost of production since the cylindrical case may be simply sewn onto the main case and the attaching means is thereby eliminated. Another advantage is that the cylindrical case cannot accidentally be detached from the main case and thereby be lost. It further reduces the possibility of theft of the cylindrical case.
Referring to FIGS. 6-9, there is shown at 11 an alternative embodiment of the present invention specialized case and attachment. The main case 120 and cylindrical case 160 are similar to those of case 10 as previously described.
Referring to FIGS. 6 through 9, as with the first embodiment, the cylindrical case 160 may comprise an outer wall 162 and an interior stiffening wall 164. The interior stiffening wall 164 goes around the entire interior surface of the cylindrical case 160 and the exterior wall 162 envelops the outside of the interior stiffening wall 164. A flat bottom 166 closes the lower end of cylindrical case 160. A top 170 is attached at one location by attaching means such as a strip of material 172 to a portion of exterior wall 162. The top 170 can be affixed by closure means 174 which by way of example can be a zipper converting top 170 to the exterior wall 162. The interior wall 164 surrounds an interior chamber 176 into which objects can be placed and retained. The cylindrical configuration of the case 160 and therefore the cylindrical configuration of interior chamber 176 enables objects to be rolled up and carried in the case, as with the first embodiment.
The main case 120 of the alternative embodiment 11 is similar to the first embodiment. The main case 120 is essentially a standard case which may be formed in two sections 122 and 124 which are flexibly attached to each other along a common bottom edge 126 and are locked together by closure means such as a zipper 128. The interior of the case 10 is usually a flat surface which may contain conventional pockets into which are inserted flat objects. One section of the case such as 124 may comprise a multiplicity of pocket members on the outside surface 130 which are arranged in any desired order and which are configured in any desired shape to hold different types of objects. Pocket member 136 is a conventional pencil and pen holder pocket. Pocket member 138 may be used to contain computer diskettes. Large pocket 142 can be used to carry notebooks, pads, etc. Little pocket 144 can be used to hold business cards. The case may include elongated strip members 132 and 134 which are made out of material such as felt and into which can be attached pins and other objects 137. The entire case is held by handle 150. As with the first embodiment, the entire main case 120 can be of any desired configuration.
The difference in the alternative embodiment case 11 is that cylindrical case 160 is now permanently attached to one side of main case 120 along a portion of its length. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, it is clear that cylindrical case 160 is attached to the left side of section 124 of main case 120 such that it will not interfere with the opening or closing of main case 120. Attaching cylindrical case 160 to section 124 is only one of several locations where the cylindrical case may be attached. Cylindrical case 160 may alternatively be attached to section 122 of main case 120. Or, if sections 122 and 124 can only be opened at the top of main case 120, cylindrical case 160 may be attached to both sections 122 and 124. When the specialized case and attachment are made of fabric, the means for permanently attaching the two cases 120 and 160 may be sewing. As illustrated in FIG. 10, there is a sewed attachment 178 connecting the two cases. Cylindrical case 120 may be sewn onto case 160 along a line of joinder. Alternatively, they can be formed from a single piece of fabric. When the major members of the specialized case and attachment are made of molded plastic, main case 120 and cylindrical case 160 may be molded as a unitary piece with a common attachment 180, as illustrated in FIG. 11. These alternative embodiments of the present invention may also include two cylindrical cases permanently attached to both sides of the main case 120 for storing extra copies of large flexible sheets in the rolled-up condition.
Defined in detail, the present invention is a specialized portable case for trade show visitors to carry large sheet objects in a rolled up condition as well as other assorted objects, comprising: (a) a first container of a generally slim, elongated cylindrical configuration having an openable end, and a circumferential side which has an exterior surface; (b) a second container of a generally rectangular configuration having a straight outer edge, an interior, and a multiplicity of exposed external pockets; and (c) attaching means for removably attaching the exterior surface of the circumferential side of said first container to the straight outer edge of said second container; (d) whereby large flexible sheet objects may be retained in said first container in a rolled up condition, small variously configured objects may be retained in the respective multiplicity of exposed external pockets of said second container for direct access, and other valuable objects may be safely retained inside said second container.
In one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention defined in detail: (a) the first container further comprises an internal stiffening layer which has an interior surface defining a cylindrical chamber; (b) the first container is made of semi-rigid thick nylon material; (c) the first container is about three inches in diameter and twenty-five inches in length; (d) the attaching means comprises a multiplicity of snap mating members at spaced apart locations along the length of the exterior surface of the circumferential side of the first container, a multiplicity of complementary snap mating members at spaced apart locations along the length of the straight outer edge of the second container, such that a respective one snap mating member on the first container corresponds to a respective one complementary snap mating member on the second container; or (e) the attaching means comprises a multiplicity of hook mating members at spaced apart locations along the length of the exterior surface of the circumferential side of the first container, a multiplicity of loop mating members at spaced apart locations along the length of the straight outer edge of the second container, such that a respective one hook mating member on the first container corresponds to a respective one loop mating member on the second container.
Also defined in detail, the present invention is a specialized portable case for trade show visitors to carry large sheet objects in a rolled up condition as well as other assorted objects, comprising: (a) a first container of a generally slim, elongated cylindrical configuration having an openable end, a circumferential side which has an exterior surface, and an internal stiffening layer which has an interior surface defining a cylindrical chamber; (b) a second container of a generally slim, elongated cylindrical configuration having an openable end, a circumferential side which has an exterior surface, and an internal stiffening layer which has an interior surface defining a cylindrical chamber; (c) a third container of a generally rectangular configuration having a first straight outer edge and an opposite second straight outer edge, an interior, and a multiplicity of exposed external pockets; (d) said first attaching means having a multiplicity of snap mating members at spaced apart locations along the length of the exterior surface of the circumferential side of said first container, a multiplicity of complementary snap mating members at spaced apart locations along the length of the first straight outer edges of said third container, such that a respective one snap mating member on said first container corresponds to a respective one complementary snap mating member on said third container, for attaching the exterior surface of the circumferential side of said first container to the first straight outer edge of said third container; and (e) second attaching means having a multiplicity of snap mating members at spaced apart locations along the length of the exterior surface of the circumferential side of said second container, a multiplicity of complementary snap mating members at spaced apart locations along the length of the second straight outer edge of said third container, such that a respective one snap mating member on said second container corresponds to a respective one complementary snap mating member on said third container, for attaching the exterior surface of the circumferential side of said second container to the second straight outer edge of said third container; (f) whereby large flexible sheet objects may be retained in the respective cylindrical chambers of said first and second containers in a rolled up condition, small variously configured objects may be retained in the respective multiplicity of exposed external pockets of said third container for direct access, and other valuable objects may be safely retained inside said third container.
Again defined in detail, the present invention is a specialized portable case for trade show visitors to carry large sheet objects in a rolled up condition as well as other assorted objects, comprising: (a) a first container of a generally slim, elongated cylindrical configuration having an openable end, a circumferential side which has an exterior surface, and an internal stiffening layer which has an interior surface defining a cylindrical chamber; (b) a second container of a generally slim, elongated cylindrical configuration having an openable end, an circumferential side which has an exterior surface, and an internal stiffening layer which has an interior surface defining a cylindrical chamber; (c) a third container of a generally rectangular configuration having a first straight outer edge and an opposite second straight outer edge, an interior and a multiplicity of exposed external pockets; (d) first attaching means having a multiplicity of hook mating members at spaced apart locations along the length of the exterior surface of the circumferential side of said first container, a multiplicity of loop mating members at spaced apart locations along the length of the first straight outer edge of said third container, such that a respective one hook mating member on said first container corresponds to a respective one loop mating member on said third container, for attaching the exterior surface of the circumferential side of said first container to the first straight outer edge of said third container; and (e) second attaching means having a multiplicity of hook mating members at spaced apart locations along the length of the exterior surface of the circumferential side of said second container, a multiplicity of loop mating members at spaced apart locations along the length of the second straight outer edge of said third container, such that a respective one hook mating member on said second container corresponds to a respective one loop mating member on said third container, for attaching the exterior surface of the circumferential side of said second container to the second straight outer edge of said third container; (f) whereby large flexible sheet objects may be retained in the respective cylindrical chambers of said first and second containers in a rolled up condition, small variously configured objects may be retained in the respective multiplicity of exposed external pockets of said third container for direct access, and other valuable objects may be safely retained inside said third container.
Alternatively defined in detail, the present invention is a specialized portable case for trade show visitors to carry large sheet objects in a rolled up condition as well as other assorted objects, comprising: (a) a first container of a generally slim, elongated cylindrical configuration having an openable end, and a circumferential side which has an exterior surface; (b) a second container of a generally rectangular configuration having a straight outer edge, an interior, and a multiplicity of exposed external pockets; and (c) means for permanently attaching the exterior surface of the circumferential side of said first container to the straight outer edge of said second container; (d) whereby large flexible sheet objects may be retained in said first container in a rolled up condition, small variously configured objects may be retained in the respective multiplicity of exposed external pockets of said second container for direct access, and other valuable objects may be safely retained inside said second container.
In one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention defined alternatively in detail, the means for permanently attaching the exterior surface of the circumferential side of said first container to the straight outer edge of said second container includes sewing.
Defined broadly, the present invention is a specialized portable case for trade show visitors to carry large sheet objects in a rolled up condition as well as other assorted objects, comprising: (a) at least one generally slim, elongated cylindrical container having at least one openable end, and a circumferential side which has an exterior surface; (b) a generally rectangular container having at least one straight outer edge, an interior and a multiplicity of exposed external pockets; and (c) at least one attaching means for removably attaching the exterior surface of the circumferential side of said at least one generally slim, elongated cylindrical container to the at least one straight outer edge of said generally rectangular container; (d) whereby large flexible sheet objects may be retained in said at least one generally slim, elongated cylindrical container in a rolled up condition, small variously configured objects may be retained in the respective multiplicity of exposed external pockets of said generally rectangular container for direct access, and other valuable objects may be safely retained inside said generally rectangular container.
Defined alternatively broadly, the present invention is a specialized portable case for trade show visitors to carry large sheet objects in a rolled up condition as well as other assorted objects, comprising: (a) at least one generally slim, elongated cylindrical container having at least one openable end, and a circumferential side which has an exterior surface; (b) a generally rectangular container having at least one straight outer edge, an interior and a multiplicity of exposed external pockets; and (c) means for permanently attaching the exterior surface of the circumferential side of said at least one generally slim, elongated cylindrical container to the at least one straight outer edge of said generally rectangular container; (d) whereby large flexible sheet objects may be retained in said at least one generally slim, elongated cylindrical container in a rolled up condition, small variously configured objects may be retained in the respective multiplicity of exposed external pockets of said generally rectangular container for direct access, and other valuable objects may be safely retained inside said generally rectangular container.
The present invention is further defined as a specialized portable case to carry large sheet objects in a rolled up condition as well as other assorted objects, comprising: (a) a first container of a generally slim, elongated cylindrical configuration having an openable end, a circumferential side which has an exterior surface, and an internal stiffening layer which has an interior surface defining a cylindrical chamber; (b) a second container of a generally slim, elongated cylindrical configuration having an openable end, a circumferential side which has an exterior surface, and an internal stiffening layer which has an interior surface defining a cylindrical chamber; (c) a third container of a generally rectangular configuration having a first straight outer edge and an opposite second straight outer edge, an interior, and a multiplicity of exposed external pockets; (d) means for permanently attaching a portion of the exterior surface of the circumferential side of said first container to the first straight outer edge of said third container; and (e) means for permanently attaching a portion of the exterior surface of the circumferential side of said second container to the second straight outer edge of said third container.
Defined broadly, the present invention is a specialized portable case to carry large sheet objects in a rolled up condition as well as other assorted objects, comprising: (a) at least one generally slim, elongated cylindrical container having at least one openable end, and a circumferential side which has an exterior surface; (b) a generally rectangular container having at least one straight outer edge and an interior; and (c) means for permanently attaching the exterior surface of the circumferential side of said at least one generally slim, elongated cylindrical container to the at least one straight outer edge of said generally rectangular container.
Defined most broadly, the present invention is a specialized portable case to carry large sheet objects in a rolled-up condition as well as other assorted objects, comprising: (a) at least one generally slim, elongated cylindrical container having at least one openable end, and a circumferential side which has an exterior surface; (b) a second container having at least one straight outer edge and an interior; and (c) said at least one generally slim, elongated cylindrical container and said second container being formed together in a single unitary construction.
Of course the present invention is not intended to be restricted to any particular form or arrangement, or any specific embodiment disclosed herein, or any specific use, since the same may be modified in various particulars or relations without departing from the spirit or scope of the claimed invention hereinabove shown and described of which the apparatus shown is intended only for illustration and for disclosure of an operative embodiment and not to show all of the various forms or modification in which the present invention might be embodied or operated.
The present invention has been described in considerable detail in order to comply with the patent laws by providing full public disclosure of at least one of its forms. However, such detailed description is not intended in any way to limit the broad features or principles of the present invention, or the scope of patent monopoly to be granted.
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A carrying case which in particular may be used by a visitor to a trade show where numerous sizes and shapes of objects are distributed for the visitor to take home, some of which are large posters or comparable objects which are preferably carried in the rolled up condition. The case includes various slots for holding disks, business cards, paper and pens, etc. A key point of novelty in the present invention is the use of an attachable cylindrical holder which essentially consists of a cylindrical body formed of semi-rigid material such as thick nylon, and having attaching snaps that enable the cylindrical member to be attached to the case. Alternatively, the entire case can be made of one piece construction wherein the cylindrical holder is permanently attached to the main case. The purpose of the cylindrical member is so that large posters and other pictures which should not be folded in order to avoid a crease can be rolled up and safely placed in the cylindrical container and thereafter transported to the person's office.
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TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a composition for modifying a physiologically active substance such as a peptide, a kit for modification, a modification product obtained using the same, and a method for modification. A physiologically active substance having an improved property and the like can be provided according to the present invention.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Oligopeptides and polypeptides have their inherent amino acid sequences, molecular weights and conformations defined by the amino acid sequences. Many of them are physiologically active substances each having inherent physiological function.
[0003] It is very difficult to isolate a substance such as a polypeptide present in a trace amount in an organism. Recombinant DNA techniques have enabled preparation of such a substance in large quantities using a microorganism or the like.
[0004] Establishment of hybridoma techniques has enabled supply of a monoclonal antibody in large quantities and provided a highly sensitive immunological assay for an antigen.
[0005] A polypeptide produced using recombinant DNA techniques often exists as a denatured insoluble substance in a host cell. Solubilization of such an insoluble polypeptide has been desired.
[0006] Also, a monoclonal antibody obtained using hybridoma techniques sometimes exhibits a water-insoluble property. Improvement of the water solubility has been desired in many cases.
[0007] Many kinds of chemically modifying agents are used for improving the property of a physiologically active substance. The function of the physiologically active substance of which the modification is required may be spoiled depending of the chemical modification reaction conditions. Provision of a more convenient method for modifying a target substance of which the modification is required (e.g., a physiologically active substance) under milder conditions has been desired.
OBJECTS OF INVENTION
[0008] The main object of the present invention is to provide a modifying composition that can be used to conveniently modify a target substance of which the modification is required (e.g., an oligopeptide or a polypeptide) under mild conditions, a kit for modification, a modification product of a target substance of which the property is improved using the same, and a method for modifying a target substance.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0009] The present invention is outlined as follows. The first aspect of the present invention relates to a composition for modifying a target substance which contains a compound represented by formula I as an active ingredient, wherein the target substance is reactive with said compound:
[0010] wherein X is OH, OSO 3 H or OCH 3 ; and R is a substituent other than OH.
[0011] The second aspect of the present invention relates to a kit for modifying a target substance which contains a compound represented by formula I, wherein the target substance is reactive with said compound.
[0012] The third aspect of the present invention relates to a modification product of a target substance, which is obtained by reacting a target substance with a compound represented by formula I, wherein the target substance is reactive with said compound.
[0013] The fourth aspect of the present invention relates to a method for modifying a target substance, the method comprising reacting a target substance with a compound represented by formula I, wherein the target substance is reactive with said compound.
[0014] The fifth aspect of the present invention relates to a mixture of a compound represented by formula I and a target substance that is reactive with said compound.
[0015] In one embodiment of the first to fifth aspect, R in formula I is a sugar. The compound represented by formula I is exemplified by a saccharide having 3,6-anhydrogalactose at the reducing end. The saccharide is exemplified by a saccharide selected from the group consisting of agarobiose, agarotetraose, agarohexaose and agarooctaose (these substances may be generically referred to as agarooligosaccharides hereinafter), as well as carrabiose, carratetraose, carrahexaose and carraoctaose (these substances may be generically referred to as carraoligosaccharides hereinafter).
[0016] In one embodiment of the first to fifth aspect, the target substance is a peptide. The peptide is exemplified by a physiologically active substance selected from an antibody, an enzyme, a hormone or a cytokine.
[0017] In one embodiment of the second aspect, the kit may contain a reducing agent.
[0018] In one embodiment of the fourth aspect, the target substance may be reacted with the, compound represented by formula I under neutral to acidic conditions, for 10 seconds to 72 hours, at 5 to 45° C.
[0019] As used herein, the term “peptide” encompasses an oligopeptide and a polypeptide. A peptide consisting of ten amino acid residues or less is defined as an oligopeptide. A peptide consisting of eleven amino acid residues or more is defined as a polypeptide. Polypeptides include proteins. According to the present invention, a sugar is, for example, a monosaccharide, an oligosaccharide or a polysaccharide. A sugar consisting of ten constituting saccharides or less is defined as an oligosaccharide. A sugar consisting of eleven constituting saccharides or more is defined as a polysaccharide.
[0020] In one embodiment of the present invention, an antibody that contains galactose and of which the water solubility is improved is provided by modifying an antibody as a target substance using a modifying composition containing an agarooligosaccharide as an active ingredient.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail.
[0022] There is no specific limitation concerning “R” in the compound used according to the present invention as long as the compound can be used to alter a property of a target substance. For example, it is a sugar, a labeled compound or a substance having a tissue-specific affinity.
[0023] The compound represented by formula I used according to the present invention is exemplified by a compound having 3,6-anhydrogalactopyranose, or a sulfated or methylated derivative thereof, at the reducing end. Examples of such compounds include agarooligosaccharides and carraoligosaccharides such as agarobiose, agarotetraose, agarohexaose, agarooctaose, carrabiose, carratetraose, carrahexaose and carraoctaose. A target substance of interest (e.g., a peptide) can be conveniently modified with galactose or the like using a compound selected from the above-mentioned compounds. A peptide can be modified with such an oligosaccharide by a reaction for 10 seconds to 72 hours at 5 to 45° C. in a buffer at neutral to acidic pH containing the oligosaccharide at a concentration of 0.1-100 mg/ml with the ratio of the oligosaccharide: the peptide=100-1:1. As a result of the reaction, the water solubility of the peptide modified with galactose or the like is remarkably improved.
[0024] There is no specific limitation concerning the reaction conditions used for the step of reacting a target substance that is reactive with a compound represented by formula I of the present invention with said compound as long as a modification product is efficiently obtained and the physiological function or the like inherent to the target substance is not spoiled.
[0025] For example, if a peptide is to be modified using a compound selected from the above-mentioned oligosaccharides, the modification product of the present invention can be obtained, preferably, by a reaction for 10 seconds to 72 hours at 5 to 45° C. in a buffer at neutral to acidic pH containing the oligosaccharide at a concentration of 0.1-100 mM with the ratio of the oligosaccharide: the target substance=100-1:1.
[0026] Thus, according to the present invention, a target substance that is reactive with a compound represented by formula I is a substance that is modified with R of the compound represented by formula I by a reaction for 10 seconds to 72 hours at 5 to 45° C. in a buffer at neutral to acidic pH containing the compound at a concentration of 0.1-100 mM with the ratio of the compound: the target substance=100-1:1. It is possible to determine whether or not the substance is modified with R by analyzing physical and chemical properties of a product obtained after the reaction according to conventional methods. For example, if a peptide is modified with galactose by reacting the peptide with agarobiose, the presence of modification can be confirmed by subjecting the modification product to electrophoresis and comparing the mobilities of the unmodified substance with the modification product. Alternatively, galactose contained in a decomposition product obtained by hydrolysis of the modification product may be analyzed. For example, if an amino acid is used as a target substance, a structure of a product obtained after a reaction with agarobiose may be analyzed.
[0027] According to the present invention, if a physiologically active substance is used as a target substance, it is preferable to determine the conditions such that a compound represented by formula I does not react at the physiologically active site. For example, if an antibody is used as a target substance, a reaction with a compound represented by formula I may be carried out after binding the antibody to its antigen. If an enzyme is used as a target substance, a reaction with a compound represented by formula I may be carried out after binding the enzyme to its substrate.
[0028] A more stable modification product can be obtained by optionally subjecting the modification product of the present invention to reduction. According to the present invention, reduction may be carried out using a conventional reduction method. Although it is not intended to limit the present invention, for example, reduction may be carried out according to a conventional method using a reagent such as dimethylamine-borane complex, pyridylamine-borane complex, trimethylamine-borane complex, sodium cyanotrihydroborate or sodium boron hydride as a reducing agent.
[0029] The modifying composition of the present invention may be formulated according to a conventional method after mixing a compound represented by formula I with a known liquid or solid carrier.
[0030] The kit for modification of the present invention contains a compound represented by formula I. It may optionally contain one or more selected from a reducing agent, a control substance, a buffer or the like.
[0031] A product modified with R can be obtained conveniently under mild conditions by reacting a target substance with a compound represented by formula I. The modification product in the reaction mixture may optionally be purified by a conventional purification method and used as a purified modification product.
[0032] For example, an antibody modified with a galactose-containing compound can be obtained by using a compound represented by formula I (e.g., an agarooligosaccharide) to conveniently modify a target substance (e.g., a peptide such as a monoclonal antibody) with a galactose-containing compound.
[0033] It is conventionally known that an antigen-binding ability of an antibody may be abolished upon modification of the antibody depending on the reaction conditions. An antibody with such modification tends to deposit during storage and be insolubilized. On the other hand, the present invention enables modification of an antibody (e.g., a monoclonal antibody) under mild conditions. The modification product obtained according to the present invention has remarkably improved properties as follows: the antigen-binding ability is not spoiled; the water-solubility is remarkably improved; and the insolubilization during storage is prevented.
[0034] A target substance can be modified in vivo with R by administering a compound represented by formula I as an active ingredient to a living body. The dosage form may be for oral administration or for injection, and may be prepared according to a conventional method using the compound represented by formula I as an active ingredient. The administration may be carried out orally, intravenously or intramuscularly. The dosage of the compound represented by formula I is generally 10 pg to 200 mg/kg although it varies depending on the target substance to be modified in vivo.
[0035] The target substance in a living body is exemplified by an antibody or an enzyme. The present invention is useful for treatment or prevention of a disease that requires in vivo modification of a target substance for the treatment or prevention (e.g., rheumatism).
[0036] No acute toxicity is observed when a compound represented by formula I such as an agarooligosaccharide is administered to a mouse at a dosage of 1 g/kg.
[0037] The present invention provides a composition for adding R to a target substance which contains a compound represented by formula I as an active ingredient. The present invention also provides a method for adding R to a target substance using a compound represented by formula I as an active ingredient.
[0038] Furthermore, the present invention provides use of a compound represented by formula I as an agent for modifying a target substance with R. In addition, the present invention provides a method for treating a disease that requires modification of a target substance with R for the treatment using a compound represented by formula I as an active ingredient.
EXAMPLES
[0039] The following Examples further illustrate the present invention in detail but are not to be construed to limit the scope thereof.
Example 1
[0040] (1) Commercially available agar (Ina agar type S-7, Ina Shokuhin Kogyo) was dissolved in deionized water at a concentration of 10% (w/v). A strong cation exchange resin (Diaion, Mitsubishi Chemical, SK-104) converted into hydrogen ion type was further added thereto at a concentration of 1% (w/v). After reacting at 90° C. for 3 hours, the reaction mixture was cooled to normal temperature and subjected to filtration to remove the resin. The filtrate was treated with active carbon at a concentration of 2% (w/v) to remove colored substances and the like, and filtrated through a filter with pore size of 1 μm. After neutralization, the filtrate was lyophilized according to a conventional method to prepare agarooligosaccharides.
[0041] The agarooligosaccharides contained water (2.3%), galactose (9.8%), agarobiose (44.1%) as well as agarotetraose, agarohexaose, agarooctaose and the like (43.4%). The pH of an aqueous solution containing the agarooligosaccharides at a concentration of 1% was 4.0.
[0042] The agarooligosaccharides were subjected to normal phase HPLC under the conditions as described below to separate agarobiose, agarotetraose, agarohexaose and agarooctaose:
[0043] Column: TSK-gel Amide-80 (21.5 mm×300 mm, Tosoh);
[0044] Solvent A: 90% acetonitrile aqueous solution;
[0045] Solvent B: 50%. acetonitrile aqueous solution;
[0046] Flow rate: 5 ml/min;
[0047] Elution: linear gradient from Solvent A to Solvent B (80 minutes), Solvent B (20 minutes); and
[0048] Detection: absorbance at 195 nm.
[0049] (2) Carraoligosaccharides were prepared according to the method as described in Example 1-(1) using commercially available κ-carrageenan (Sigma). Carrabiose, carratetraose, carrahexaose and carraoctaose were separated from the carraoligosaccharides.
Example 2
[0050] A solution containing the agarooligosaccharides as described in Example 1-(1) at a concentration of 100 mg/ml and a solution containing bovine serum albumin (Sigma, A0281) at a concentration of 11.1 mg/ml in PBS (pH 7.2) were mixed at a ratio of 1:9. The mixture was reacted at 37° C. for 24 hours to obtain a modification product of bovine serum albumin.
[0051] Similarly, a solution containing the agarooligosaccharides as described in Example 1-(1) at a concentration of 100 mg/ml and a solution containing human immunoglobulin G (Oriental Yeast, IgM-04) at a concentration of 11.1 mg/ml in PBS were mixed at a ratio of 1:9. The mixture was reacted at 37° C. for 24 hours to obtain a modification product of human immunoglobulin G.
[0052] The modification products of bovine serum albumin and human immunoglobulin G were subjected to electrophoresis on SDS-polyacrylamide gel together with unmodified counterparts. Shifts to higher molecular weights as compared with the unmodified counterparts were observed for both of the modification products. Thus, it was strongly suggested that the agarooligosaccharides were attached to bovine serum albumin and human immunoglobulin G.
[0053] In order to confirm that the agarooligosaccharides were attached to the proteins, the modification products of the proteins were dialyzed to remove free agarooligosaccharides, and only high molecular weight fractions were collected by HPLC. HPLC was carried out as follows.
[0054] Column: Shodex SB-2003 (20 mm×300 mm, Showa Denko);
[0055] Solvent: 0.1 M NaCl;
[0056] Flow rate: 3 ml/min; and
[0057] Fraction: 1.5 ml/tube.
[0058] The protein concentrations in the separated fractions were determined by measuring the absorbances at 280 nm, and fractions containing the proteins were collected. As a control, unmodified counterparts for both of the proteins were also separated under the same conditions. Next, the galactose contents in the collected protein fractions were measured. Specifically, the protein fractions were adequately dialyzed, subjected to hydrolysis in 2 N HCl at 100° C. for three hours, and then dried. The reducing ends of the resulting monosaccharides were fluorescence-labeled with 2-aminopyridine using GlycoTAG and GlycoTAG Reagent kit (both from Takara Shuzo). The sugar compositions were analyzed according to a conventional method by HPLC (Agric. Biol. Chem. 55, 283-284 (1991)) to determine the galactose contents in the respective protein fractions. Then, comparisons between the modification products and the unmodified counterparts were carried out.
[0059] As a result, it was shown that eight molecules of galactose were attached to one molecule of the modification product of bovine serum albumin, whereas three or four molecules of galactose were attached to one molecule of the modification product of human immunoglobulin G.
[0060] Furthermore, it was confirmed that galactose residues were introduced into proteins when agarobiose, agarotetraose, agaropentaose, agarooctaose, carrabiose, carratetraose, carrapentaose and carraoctaose separated in Example 1-(1) and (2) were used for similar treatments.
Example 3
[0061] The modification products of bovine serum albumin and human immunoglobulin G separated using HPLC as described in Example 2 were adequately dialyzed against water and lyophilized. The lyophilized modification products and lyophilized unmodified counterparts for both of the proteins were similarly dissolved in water or PBS. The solubility of the modification products in each solvent was superior to that of the unmodified counterparts.
Example 4
[0062] A solution of the agarooligosaccharides prepared in Example 1-(1) in saline (Otsuka Pharmaceutical) was intravenously administered to three male SD rats (Charles River, 9 weeks old) at a dosage of 60 mg/kg once a day for five successive day.
[0063] Sera were prepared from the rats five hours after the final administration. Immunoglobulin G was separated from the sera using a protein A column (Pharmacia Hitrap Protein A, Pharmacia). Immunoglobulin G was also prepared in a similar manner from mice in a group without the agarooligosaccharide administration. The contents of galactose attached to immunoglobulin G from the group with or without the administration were compared. Galactose was quantified as described in Example 2.
[0064] As a result, one extra molecule of galactose per 2.5 molecules of immunoglobulin was detected for the group with the administration as compared with the group without the administration.
Industrial Applicability
[0065] The present invention provides a modifying composition that can be used to conveniently modify a target substance under conditions milder than conventional ones. The modifying composition is useful for alteration of a physical property (e.g., improvement of water solubility) of a target substance. The present invention also provides a target substance modified using said modifying composition. Such a target substance with modification is useful as a highly functional target substance having an additional function.
[0066] Furthermore, the modifying composition of the present invention enables in vivo modification of a target substance. Thus, it is useful for a composition for treating or preventing a disease that requires in vivo modification of a target substance for the treatment or prevention.
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A modifier characterized by containing as the active ingredient a compound represented by the formula (I) (wherein X is OH, OSO 3 H, or OCH 3 and R is a substituent excluding OH). The modifier is applied to a substance having reactivity with the compound.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to novel nitrogen-containing bicyclic compounds, pharmaceutical compositions containing these compounds and methods of using these compounds to treat physiological or drug induced psychosis and as antidyskinetic agents.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
U.S. Pat. No. 3,127,413 (Gray) discloses octahydroisoindoles of the formula: ##STR1## wherein: Ar represents a radical from an aromatic ring system which is monocyclic or bicyclic;
Alk represents on alkylene chain, straight or branched, containing at least one and not more than three carbon atoms;
R is H or acyl; and
R' is lower-alkyl.
The octahydroisoindoles are useful as tranquilizing agents and for potentiating the action of barbiturates.
Processes for preparing trisubstituted perhydro isoindolines of the following formula are described by Achini et al, Helvetica Chimica Acta, 57, Fasc. 3, pp. 572-585 (1974): ##STR2## wherein: R 1 is H or COC 6 H 5 ;
R 2 is NR 4 R 5 Br, OH, phenyl, or CN;
R 3 is H or OH; and
R 4 , R 5 are H or lower alkyl.
German Patent 3721723 (Hoechst AG) describes substituted 6-Oxo-Decahydroisoquinolines of the formula: ##STR3## wherein: R 1 is benzyl, C 1 -C 4 alkoxycarbonyl or 2,2,2-Trichloro-ethoxycarbonyl; and
R 2 is C 1 -C 8 alkyl, C 2 -C 8 alkenyl, cyclohexyl-C 1 -C 4 alkyl, 9-fluorenyl, 1-Cyano-1-phenylmethyl or phenyl-C 1 -C 4 alkyl.
These compounds are useful as tranquilizing agents.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,689,492 (Schroeder et al.) discloses a compound having the formula: ##STR4## This compound is useful as an analgesic in warm-blooded animals.
U. K. Patent No. 1,141,664 (Jansen) discloses piperidine compounds having the formula: ##STR5## wherein Y is Ar or Ar 3 and Z is Ar 1 or Ar 2 , Ar being phenyl, halophenyl or lower alkoxy phenyl, Ar 1 being dihalophenyl, trihalophenyl, lower alkyl - halo- phenyl or trifluoromethy - halo - phenyl, Ar 2 being halophenyl and Ar 3 being di - halo - phenyl or lower alkyl - halo - phenyl, with the proviso that when Y is Ar then Z is Ar 1 , and when Y is Ar 2 then Z is Ar 2 .
These compounds are useful as psychotropic and neuroleptic agents.
European Patent Application No. 0 196 132 (Kennis and Vandenberk) discloses compounds having the formula: ##STR6## wherein X is O or S and Q is a radical of formula ##STR7## or a radical of formula ##STR8## These compounds are useful as antipsychotics.
Janssen et al., Journal of Med. and Pharm. Chem., vol. 1, 281-297 (1959), disclose compounds having the formula: ##STR9## wherein L=H or F and R=H, F, Cl, or CH 3 ). The authors discuss the CNS depressant properties of these compounds.
Compounds of the present invention demonstrate sigma receptor affinity. It is this sigma receptor affinity of the compounds of the present invention which makes them so advantageous over the compounds in the prior art. Traditionally, antipsychotic agents have been potent dopamine receptor antagonists. For example, phenothiazines such as chlorpromazine and most butyrophenones such as haloperidol are potent dopamine receptor antagonists. These dopamine receptor antagonists are associated with a high incidence of side effects, particularly Parkinson-like motor effects or extra-pyramidal side-effects (EPS), and dyskinesias including tardive dyskinesias at high doses. Many of these side effects are not reversible even after the dopamine receptor antagonist agent is discontinued.
The present invention is related to antipsychotic agents which are sigma receptor antagonists, not traditional dopamine receptor blockers known in the art, and therefore the compounds of the present invention have low potential for the typical movement disorder side-effects associated with the traditional dopamine antagonist antipsychotic agents while they maintain the ability to antagonize aggressive behavior and antagonize hallucinogenic-induced behavior.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Compounds of this invention are novel antagonists of sigma receptors, which may be useful for the treatment of physiological and drug-induced psychosis and dyskinesia.
The compounds of the present invention are nitrogen-containing bicyclic compounds of the formula: ##STR10## or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or pro-drug thereof, wherein:
m is 1 or 2;
n is 1 or 2;
p is 1 or 2;
q is 1 or 2;
provided that m and n cannot both be 2 or p and q cannot both be 2;
R 1 may be H, alkyl of 1 to 6 carbons, cycloalkyl of 3 to 6 carbons, cycloalkyl-alkyl of 4 to 8 carbons, alkenyl of 3 to 6 carbons, phenyl-alkyl (1 to 6 carbons) where the phenyl group is optionally substituted by R 6 and R 7 and where the alkyl group is optionally substituted by oxo, hydroxyl groups or hydrogen, heteroaryl-alkyl (1 to 6 carbons) or naphthyl-alkyl (1 to 6 carbons) and where the alkyl group is optionally substituted by oxo, hydroxyl groups or hydrogen,
R 1 may also be drawn from the following groups: ##STR11## where: r=1 or 2,
R a =H, alkyl of 1 to 6 carbons, halogen,
alkoxy of 1 to 6 carbons or OH, and ##STR12## where: s=1 or 2,
B=S, CH 2 or CH═CH,
A=(CH 2 ) 2 , (CH 2 ) 3 or CH═CH,
R b =H or alkyl of 1 to 6 carbons;
R 2 may be H, OH, alkoxy of 1 to 6 carbons or O 2 CR 2a provided that when R 2 is not H then R 3 =R 3a and provided that when R 2 is H then R 3 =OR 3a or SR 3a ;
R 2a may be alkyl of 1 to 10 carbons or phenyl;
R 3a may be alkyl of 1 to 6 carbons, phenyl optionally substituted by R 6 and R 7 , phenyl-alkyl (1 to 6 carbons) where the phenyl group is optionally substituted by R 6 and R 7 , cycloalkyl of 3 to 6 carbons, cycloalkyl-alkyl of 4 to 12 carbons, naphthyl, heteroaryl or heteroaryl-alkyl (1 to 6 carbons);
R 4 and R 5 may independently be H or alkyl of 1 to 6 carbons;
R 6 and R 7 independently are selected at each occurrence from the group consisting of H, alkyl of 1 to 6 carbons, alkenyl of 2 to 6 carbons, OH, alkoxy of 1 to 6 carbons, alkythio of 1 to 6 carbons, alkylsulfinyl of 1 of 6 carbons, alkylsulfonyl of 1 to 6 carbons, NH 2 , alkylamino of 1 to 6 carbons, dialkylamino of 2 to 12 carbons, NO 2 , alkanoylamino of 2 to 6 carbons, CN, CO 2 H, carboalkoxy of 2 to 10 carbons, CONH 2 or CONR 8 R 9 ; and
R 8 and R 9 independently are H or alkyl of 1 to 6 carbons; or R 8 and R 9 taken together may be alkylene of 3 to 6 carbons.
The compounds herein described may have asymmetric centers. All chiral, diastereomeric and racemic forms are included in the present invention. Many geometric isomers of olefins, C═N double bonds, described herein, and all such stable isomers are contemplated in the present invention.
Combinations of substituents and/or variables are permissible only if such combinations result in stable compounds.
As used herein, "alkyl" is intended to include both branched and straight-chain saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon groups having the specified number of carbon atoms; "alkoxy" represents an alkyl group of indicated number of carbon atoms attached through an oxygen bridge; "cycloalkyl" is intended to include saturated ring groups, such as cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, cycloheptyl and cyclooctyl. "Alkenyl" is intended to include 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, such as ethenyl, propenyl and the like.
As used herein, "aryl" or "aromatic residue" is intended to mean phenyl or naphthyl.
As used herein, the term heteroaryl is intended to mean a stable 5- to 7- membered monocyclic or bicyclic or 7- to 10-membered bicyclic heterocyclic ring which is either saturated or unsaturated, and which consists of carbon atoms and from 1 to 3 heteroatoms 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, pyrimidinyl, pyrazinyl, quinolinyl, isoquinolinyl, indolyl, quinazolinyl, phthalizinyl, furanyl, thienyl or napthyridinyl.
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.
As used herein the term cycloalkyl-alkyl is intended to mean a group comprising a cycloalkyl moiety as defined above and an alkyl moiety as defined above. The cycloalkyl-alkyl group may be attached to its pendant group at any carbon atom which results in a stable structure.
As used herein the term phenyl-alkyl is intended to mean a group comprising a phenyl moiety and an alkyl moiety as defined above. The phenyl-alkyl group may be attached to its pendant group at any carbon atom which results in a stable structure.
As used herein the term heteroaryl-alkyl is intended to mean a group consisting of a heteroaryl moiety as defined above and an alkyl moiety as defined above. The heteroaryl-alkyl group may be attached to its pendant group at any carbon atom which results in a stable structure.
By "stable compound" or "stable structure" is meant herein 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.
As used herein, "pharmaceutically acceptable salts and prodrugs" refer to derivatives of the
As used herein, "pharmaceutically acceptable salts and prodrugs" refer to derivatives of the disclosed compounds that are modified by making acid or base salts, or 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. Examples 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; acetate, formate and benzoate derivatives of alcohols and amines; and the like.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Preferred compounds in the present invention are those compounds of Formula (I) wherein:
R 2 is OH, and R 2 =H when R 3 =OR 3a
Specifically preferred compounds of the present invention are:
a) Cis-2-(4'-fluorophenethyl)-6-(4"-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline.
b) Cis-2-(4'-pyridylmethyl)-6-(4"-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxy decahydroisoquinoline.
c) Cis-2-(4'-pyridylmethyl)-6-(4"-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline, dihydrochloride salt.
d) Trans-2-Benzyl-6-(4'fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxy decahydroisoquinoline.
e) Trans-2-Benzyl-6-(4'-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxy decahydroisoquinoline, major hydroxy epimer.
f) Trans-2-Benzyl-4-(4'-Fluorobenzyloxy)-decahydroisoquinoline.
g) Trans-2-Benzyl-4-(4'-fluorophenoxy)-decahydroisoquinoline.
Also provided in the present invention are pharmaceutical compositions comprising an effective amount of a compound of Formula (I) and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
Further provided are methods of using the compounds of Formula (I) for the treatment of physiological or drug induced psychosis in a mammal as well as for the treatment of dyskinesia in a mammal.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Compounds of Formula (I) may be prepared according to Scheme I. A compound of Formula (II) is treated with an organometallic reagent, R 3 M, in an inert solvent to afford a compound of Formula (III) (Formula (I) where R 2 =OH). The organometallic reagent, R 3 M, may be prepared from a halide, R 3 X (where X=Cl, Br or I, preferably Br) and a metallating agent, such as alkali metals (e.g. lithium), alkaline earth metals (e.g. magnesium) or alkyl lithiums (e.g. n-butyl lithium or t-butyl lithium). Metallating agents include combinations of one of the above. ##STR13## reagents and an inorganic salt such as alkaline earth metal halides or transition metal halides, preferably CuBr, ZnCl 2 or CeCl 3 . The organometallic agents, R 5 M, may also be prepared from compounds R 3 H and a base in an inert solvent. Bases include, but are not limited to, alkali metal dialkylamides, preferably lithium di-isopropyl-amide, alkali metal bis(trialkylsilyl)amides, preferably lithium or sodium bis(trimethylsilyl)amides or alkyl lithiums, preferably n-butyl lithium or t-butyl lithium. Inert solvents include ethereal solvents, such as tetrahydrofuran or 1,2-dimethoxy-ethane, aromatic or non-aromatic hydrocarbons of 6 to 10 carbon atoms. Temperatures for the metallation and subsequent reaction range from -100° C. to 100° C., preferably -78° C. to 60° C.
Intermediates of Formula (II) may be prepared according to the following references, or by any combination of the general procedures described therein: S. Durand-Henchoz, R. C. Moreau, Bull. Soc. Chim. Francais, (1966), (11), 3416-3422; K. Murayama, S. Morimura, Y. Nakamura, G. Sunagawa, Yakugaku Zasshi, (1965), 85(2), 130-142; L. G. Rashidayan, G. T. Tatevosan, Arm. Khim. Zh., (1970) , 23 (5) , 474-6 (Chem. Abstracts, (1970), 73, 130385u); S. M. McElvain, P. H. Parker, J. Am. Chem. Soc., (1956), 78 5312; A. T. Babayan, K. Ts. Tagmazyan, L. P. Karapetyan, Dokl. Akad. Nauk. Arm. SSR (1975), 28(3), 244-9 (Chem. Abstracts (1975), 83, 79025g).
Compounds of Formula (III) (Formula I where R 2 =OH) may be converted to compounds of Formula (IV), (Formula I where R 2 =O 2 CR 2a ) using an appropriate acylating agent, (R 2a CO) 2 O or R 2a COCl. The acylation reaction may or may not employ a base. Bases which may be used for this reason include, but are not limited to, alkali metal hydrides, preferably sodium hydride, alkali metal carbonates, preferably potassium carbonate, alkali metal dialkylamides, preferably lithium di-isopropylamide, alkali bis(trialkyl-silyl)amides, preferably sodium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide, alkyl alkali metal compounds (such as n-butyl lithium), alkali metal alkoxides (such as sodium ethoxide), alkyl alkaline earth metal halides (such as methyl magnesium bromide), trialkylamines (such as triethylamine or di-isopropylethylamine) or polycyclic di-amines (such as, 1,4-diazabicyclo [2.2.2]octane or 1,8-diazabicyclo-[5.4.0]undecene). Alternatively, a dehydrating agent and a carboxylic acid of the Formula, R 2a CO 2 H, may be reacted with a compound of Formula III. Dehydrating agents include, but are not limited to, dialkyl or dicycloalkyl carbodiimides (such as dicyclohexyl-carbodiimide), an alkyl chloroformate and a trialkylamine, carbonyldiimidazole. Such dehydrating agents are known in the general literature (see J. March, Advanced Organic Chemistry (New York: J. Wiley and Sons, 1985) pp. 348-351). Acylation procedures are also known in the general literature (see T. W. Greene, Protective Groups in Organic Synthesis (New York: J. Wiley and Sons, 1981) pp 50-64. The acylation procedures may use an inert solvent, compatible with the acylating agent or dehydrating agent as specified in the above March and Greene references or references cited therein. Inert solvents may include ethers such as tetrahydrofuran, halocarbons, such as dichloromethane, alkanes of 5 to 10 carbons, dialkylformamides of 3 to 10 carbons, dialkylacetamides of 4 to 16 carbons; cyclic tertiary amides such as N-methylpyrrolidone or aromatic amines such as pyridine.
Scheme II illustrates alternate methods to prepare some of the intermediates of Formula (II). Amides of Formula (V) (where R 21 is alkyl of 1 to 5 carbons, cycloalkyl of 3 to 6 carbons, cycloalkylalkyl of 4 to 7 carbons, phenyl-alkyl (1-5 carbons where the phenyl group is optionally substituted by R 6 and R 7 , heteroaryl, naphthyl, heteroaryl-alkyl (1-5 carbons) or naphthyl-alkyl (1-5 carbons)) may be reacted with a reducing agent in the presence of an inert solvent to afford compounds of Formula (VI). Reducing agents may include, but are not limited to alkali metal aluminum hydrides, preferably lithium aluminum hydride, alkali metal trialkoxyaluminum hydrides (such as lithium tri-t-butoxyaluminum hydride), ##STR14## dialkylaluminum hydrides (such as di-isobutylaluminum hydride), borane, dialkylboranes (such as di-isoamyl boranc), alkali metal trialkyl boron hydrides (such as lithium triethyl-boron hydride. Inert solvents include ethereal solvents (such as diethyl ether or tetrahydrofuran), aromatic or non-aromatic hydrocarbons of 6 to 10 carbons. Reaction temperatures for the reduction range from about -100° C. to 200° C., preferably -80° C. to 80° C. The choice of reducing agent and solvent is known to those skilled in the art as taught in the above cited March reference (pp 1093-1110). Compounds of Formula (VI) then may be treated with an oxidizing agent in an inert solvent to generate compounds of Formula II (where R 1 =CH 2 R 21 ). Oxidizing agents may include transition metal oxides, such as CrO 3 or MnO 2 , pyridine-chromium complexes, such as CrO 3 .C 5 H 5 N, pyridinium dichromate or pyridinium chlorochromate, an oxalyl chloride-dimethyl sulfoxide-triethylamine reagent system, commonly called the Swern oxidation system (D. Swern et al., J. Organic Chem., 43, 2480-2482 (1978)) or a dimethyl sulfoxide-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide system (see H. O. House, Modern Synthetic Reactions (New York: W. A. Benjamin Inc., 1972), pp. 416-421). Such oxidations may employ an inert solvent such as those in the reduction step described above or halocarbons of 1 to 6 carbons, preferably dichloromethane or 1,2-dichloroethane.
Alternatively, compounds of Formula V may be reacted with a reducing agent in an inert solvent to produce compounds of Formula VII. Reducing agents include alkali metal borohydrides, preferable sodium or lithium borohydride and alkali metal trialkoxyaluminum hydrides (such as lithium tri-t-butoxyaluminum hydride). Inert solvents include those used in the conversion of compounds of Formula V to those of Formula (VI) as well as hydroxy-alkanes of 2 to 6 carbons. Compounds of Formula (VII) may then be converted by the reduction-oxidation sequence described above for the conversion of compounds ##STR15## of Formula (V) to those of Formula (II) via intermediates of Formula (VI).
Intermediates of Formula (V) may be prepared according to the following references or by a combination of the general procedures described therein: R. L. Augustine, J. Organic Chem. 23, 1853-1856 (1958); S. Durand-Henchoz, R. C. Moreau, Bull, Soc. Chim. Francais, (11), 3416-3422 (1966).
Some of the compounds of Formula (I) may be also be prepared according to Scheme III. Compounds of Formula (VIII) (Formula I where R 1 =CH 2 Ph) may be reacted with a reducing agent in an inert solvent to give compounds of Formula IX (Formula (I) where R 1 =H). Reducing agents may include molecular hydrogen and a noble metal catalyst, preferably palladium-on-carbon or platinum (IV) oxide, an ammonium formate-noble metal catalyst system (such as ammonium formate-palladium-on-carbon) (S. Ram, L. D. Spicer) Tetrahedron Lett., 280 (5), 515-516 (1987)) or an alkali metal and liquid ammonia (preferably sodium and liquid ammonia) (see the above Green reference, pp 272-274). Inert solvents may include but are not limited to, lower alkyl alcohols, ethereal solvents such as diethyl ether or tetrahydrofuran or aromatic or non-aromatic hydrocarbons of 6 to 10 carbons. Intermediates of Formula (IX) may then be reacted with a compound, R 1 X where X may be Cl, Br, I, alkylsulfonyloxy (preferably methanesulfonyloxy), or haloalkylsulfonyloxy groups (preferably trifluoromethylsulfonyloxy), to generate compounds of Formula (I). A base may be required to effect the transformation from (IX) to (I). Bases may include alkali metal carbonates (such as potassium carbonate, trialkylamines, alkali metal hydrides (such as sodium hydride or quarternary ammonium salts (such as Triton B). The choice of solvent must be compatible with the base employed; solvents may include lower alkyl alcohols, ethereal solvents, lower alkyl nitriles or aromatic or non-aromatic hydrocarbons of 6 to 10 carbons. For a summary of the general procedures which may be employed, see the above March reference (pp 364-381). ##STR16## Some of the compounds of Formula (I) may be prepared according to Scheme IV. Compounds of Formula (VI) may be reacted with compounds of Formula R 3a X, where X may be defined as it was for R 1 X above in the conversion of compounds of Formula (VIII) to those of Formula (I). Similarly bases and inert solvents may be employed as they were in the conversion of (IX) to (I).
Some of the compounds of Formula I may also be prepared according to Scheme V. Compounds of Formula (VII) may be reacted with a sulfonylating agent, R 20 SO 2 Cl or (R 20 SO 2 ) 2 O, (where R 2O is lower alkyl, substituted phenyl or lower haloalkyl), preferably methanesulfonylchloride, p-toluenesulfonyl chloride or trifluoro methanesulfonic anhydride, in the presence of a base, such as a trialkylamine, preferably triethylamine, an alkali metal hydride, preferably sodium hydride, an aromatic amine, preferably pyridine, or an alkali metal carbonate or alkoxide. Such a sulfonylation may be performed in an inert solvent such as a halocarbon of 1 to 6 carbons, preferably dichloromethane, ethereal solvents, such as diethyl ether or tetrahydrofuran, aromatic or non-aromatic hydrocarbons of 6 to 10 carbons or lower alkanenitriles, preferably acetonitrile. The sulfonylated intermediates of Formula (XI) are reacted with compounds of Formula R 3a YH where Y=O or S. A base and an appropriate solvent may be used and may be drawn from the lists of bases and solvents described above for the transformation of (VI) to (X) above. Finally, compounds of Formula (XII) may be reacted with a reducing agent in an inert solvent to give compounds of Formula XIII (Formula I where R 2 =H, R 1 =CH 2 R 21 R 3 =R 3a Υ, and Y=0, S. The choice of reducing agent follows that described above for the conversion of Compounds of Formula (V) to those of Formula (VI). ##STR17##
EXAMPLES
Analytical data were recorded for the compounds described below using the following general procedures. Infrared spectra were recorded on a Perkin-Elmer Model 1600 FT-IR spectrometer; absorbances are recorded in cm -1 and intensities are denoted s (strong), m (moderate) and w (weak). Proton NMR spectra were recorded on a IBM-Bruker FT-NMR spectrometer (200 MHz or 300 MHz); chemical shifts were recorded in ppm (∂) from an internal tetramethylsilane standard in deuterochloroform or deuterodimethylsulfoxide and coupling constants (J) are reported in HZ. Mass spectra (MS) or high resolution mass spectra (HRMS) were recorded on Finnegan MAT 8230 spectrometer or Hewlett Packard 5988A model spectrometer. Melting points were recorded on a Buchi Model 510 melting point apparatus and are uncorrected. Boiling points are uncorrected.
Reagents were purchased from commercial sources and, where necessary, purified prior to use according to the general procedures outlined by D. D. Perrin and W. L. F. Armarego, Purification of Laboratory Chemicals, 3rd ed., (New York: Pergamon Press, 1988). Chromatography was performed on silica gel using the solvent systems indicated below. For mixed solvent systems, the volume ratios are given. Parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise specified. Common abbreviations include: THF (tetrahydrofuran), TBDMS (t-butyl-dimethylsilyl), DMF (dimethylformamide), Hz (hertz) TLC (thin layer chromatography).
EXAMPLE 1
Trans-2-Benzyl-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline
Trans-2-Benzoyl-6-oxodecahydroisoquinoline (1.32 g, 0.51 mmol) was added portionwise to a stirred suspension of lithium aluminum hydride (0.78 g, 2.1 mmol) in amhydrous THF (20 mL). The reaction mixture was heated to reflux under a nitrogen atmosphere and stirred for 18 hr. After being cooled to ambient temperature, the reaction was quenched with excess ethyl acetate, followed by water (1 mL), a 2N NaOH solution (1 mL) and water (3 mL). The suspension was filtered through Celite; the filtrate was dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and concentrated in vacuo. Column chromatography (ethyl acetate) gave the product, a solid (560 mg): mp 90°-91° C.; NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MH z ): 7.4-7.25 (m, 5H), 3.7-3.5 (m, 1H), 3.5 (s, 2H), 3.0-2.75 (m, 2H), 2.1-0.9 (m, 14H); HRMS: Calcd: 245.1780, Found: 245.1783.
EXAMPLE 2
Cis-2-Benzyl-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline
Following the procedure of Example 1, cis-2-benzoyl-6-oxodecahydroisoquinoline (20.4 g, 79.4 mmol) and lithium aluminum hydride (22 g, 578 mmol) were reacted in anhydrous THF (1100 mL) to give the product (17.6 g), an oil:NMR(CDCl13, 300 MHz): 7.35-7.15 (m, 5H), 3.9-3.3 (m, 2H), 3.5 (s, 2H), 2.7-2.5 (m, 2H), 2.5-1.2 (m, 12H); MS=245.
EXAMPLE 3
Cis-2-Benzyl-6-oxodecahydroisoquinoline
Oxalyl chloride (12.2 g, 8.4 mL, 96 mmol) and dichloromethane (200 mL) were stirred at -78° C. under a nitrogen atmosphere in a flame-dried flask. A solution of dimethylsulfoxide (15.0 g, 13.6 mL, 192 mmol) in dichloromethane (200 mL) was added dropwise over 20 min. The reaction mixture was stirred at -78° C. for 15 min. A solution of cis-2-benzyl-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline (Example 2, 17.6 g, 71.8 mmol) in dichloromethane (300 mL) was added dropwise over 15 min. The reaction mixture was warmed to -65° C., stirred for 15 min, and cooled to -78° C. Triethylamine (26.9 g, 37 mL, 266 mol) was added in one portion and the reaction mixture was then warmed gradually to room temperature and stirred for 38.5 h. The reaction mixture was poured onto water and mixed. The layers were separated; the organic layer was washed twice with water. Drying over magnesium sulfate, filtration and removal of solvent in vacuo gave an oil. Column chromatography, (chloroform:methanol:9:1) afforded the product, an oil (10.0 g): NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz): 7.35-7.2 (m, 5H), 3.45 (dd, 2H, J=15,8), 2.8-2.65 (m, 2H), 2.55-2.05 (m, 8H), 1.85-1.75 (m, 1H), 1.65-1.45 (m, 2H); CMR (CDCl 3 , 75.4 MHz): 211.6, 138.8, 128.5, 128.1, 126.8, 62.9, 56.7, 53.0, 45.7, 40.0, 37.0, 34.8, 27.8, 26.8; MS:243.
An additional 2.4 g of impure product was obtained, which was rechromatographed to give 695 mg of pure product.
EXAMPLE 4
Trans-2-Benzyl-6-oxodecahydroisoquinoline
Following the procedure described in Example 3, trans-2-benzyl-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline (12.5 g, 51 mmol), oxalyl chloride (8.6 g, 5.9 mL, 68 mmol), dimethyl sulfoxide (10.6 g, 9.7 mL, 136 mmol) and triethylamine (19.0 g, 26.2 mL, 188 mmol) were reacted in dichloromethane (500 mL) to give the product, an oil (10.0 g): NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz): 7:35-7.25 (m, 5H), 3.55 (dd, 2H, J=10, 8), 2.9 (br d, 2H, J=8), 2.45-2.3 (m, 3H), 2.15-1.85 (m, 3H), 1.75-1.25 (m, 6H); CMR (CDCl 3 , 75.4 MHz): 210.6, 138.3, 128.9, 128.1, 126.9, 63.1, 58.9, 53.2, 47.6, 41.5, 40.9, 40.1, 33.0, 30.1; MS:243.
EXAMPLE 5
Trans-2-Benzoyl-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline
A mixture of trans-2-benzoyl-6-oxodecahydroisoquinoline (4.0 g, 29.1 mmol) and sodium borohydride (3.78 g, 100 mmol) in ethanol (200 mL) was stirred at ambient temperature for 28 h under a nitrogen atmosphere. The reaction mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was taken up in a 1N NaOH solution, mixed and extracted three times with ethyl acetate. The combined organic layers were washed once with brine, dried over magnesium sulfate and filtered. Solvent was removed in vacuo to afford a white solid (2.8 g) which was homogeneous by TLC:mp 122°-124° C.; NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz): 7.5-7.3 (m, 5H), 4.9-4.6 (m, 1H), 3.85-3.6 (m, 2H), 3.1-2.9 (m, 1H), 2.8-2.55 (m, 1H), 2.45-2.25 (m, 1H), 2.2-0.9 (m, 10M), MS:259.
EXAMPLE 6
Cis-2-Benzoyl-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline
Following the procedure described for Example 5, cis-2-benzoyl-6-oxodecahydroisoquinoline (1.7 g, 6.6 mmol) and sodium borohydride were reacted in ethanol (50 mL) to give the product (1.36 g): NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz): 7.4-7.3 (m, 5H), 4.85-4.6 (m, 1H), 3.85-3.5 (m, 2M), 3.1-2.9 (m, 1H), 2.75-2.5 (m, 1H), 2.5-2.2 (m, 1H), 2.1-0.9 (m, 10M); MS:259.
EXAMPLE 7
Cis-2-Benzyl-6-(4'-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxydecahydro isoquinoline
A solution of cis-2-benzoyl-6-(4'-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline (478 mg, 1.35 mmol) in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran (10 mL) was added dropwise to a stirred suspension of lithium aluminum hydride (95%, 0.31 g, 8.12 mmol) in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran (10 mL) under a nitrogen atmosphere. The reaction mixture was then heated to reflux temperature and stirred for 23 h. After the reaction was cooled to room temperature, an excess amount of ethyl acetate was added with stirring. Water (0.3 mL), a 2N NaOH solution (0.3 mL) and water (1 mL) were added in order. The mixture was filtered through Celite. The filtrate was dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and concentrated in vacuo.
Column chromatography (CHCl 3 :MeOH::9:1) gave the product (187 mg, 41% yield):NMR(CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): 7.45 (dd, 2H, J=8,6), 7.4-7.2 (m, 5H), 7.0 (t, 2H, J=7), 3.5 (dd, 2H, J=14,7), 2.8-2.6 (m, 2H), 2.4-1.4 (m, 13H); HRMS: Calcd: 339.1999; Found:339.1998; Anal. Calcd. for C 22 H 26 FNO.O.2H 2 O: C, 77.03, H, 7.76, N, 4.08; Found: C, 77.16, 77.18, H, 7.53, 7.62, N, 4.15, 4.21.
EXAMPLE 8
Cis-2-Benzyl-6-(4'-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxydecahydro isoquinoline
A mixture of cis-2-benzyl-6-oxo decahydroisoquinoline (1.23 g, 5.1 mmol), p-fluorophenylmagnesium bromide (1M in THF, 10 mL, 10 mmol) and anhydrous THF (25 mL) was stirred under a nitrogen atmosphere for 15 h. The reaction mixture was poured onto a saturated ammonium chloride solution, mixed, basified with a 1N NaOH solution and extracted with ethyl acetate three times. Drying of the combined organic layers over magnesium sulfate, filtration and removal of solvent in vacuo gave an oil.
Column chromatography (CHCl 3 :MeOH::9:1) gave the product (1.1 g, 64% yield) which was identical to Example 7: mp 106°-108° C.
EXAMPLE 9
Cis-2-Phenethyl-6-(4'-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxy-decahydroisoquinoline
Part A: Nitrogen gas was bubbled through methanol (25 mL). The following reagents were added in order: 10% palladium on carbon (0.5 g), the product of Example 8 (0.5 g, 1.5 mmol) and ammonium formate (1.0 g). The reaction mixture was heated to reflux temperature and stirred for 30 min. The reaction mixture was cooled to ambient temperature and filtered through Celite. The filter pad was washed with methanol and chloroform. The combined filtrates were concentrated in vacuo. The residue was treated with a 1N NaOH solution and extracted three times with ethylacetate. The combined organic layers were dried over magnesium sulfate and filtered. Solvent was removed in vacuo to give cis-6-(4'-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline: NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz): 7.45 (dd, 2H, J=8, 6), 7.0 (t, 2H, J=8), 3.15-1.4 (m, 16H); HRMS: Calcd: 249. 1529 Found: 249.1531.
Part B: The crude product from Part A was dissolved in anhydrous THF (10 mL). Phenethyl bromide (0.37 g, 2 mmol) and triethylamine (1.01 g, 1.4 mL, 10 mmol) were added. The reaction mixture was heated to reflux temperature and stirred for 13.5 h. The reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature, poured onto a 1N NaOH solution, mixed and extracted three times with ethyl acetate. The combined organic layers were dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and concentrated in vacuo.
Column chromatography (CHCl 3 :MeOH::9:1) gave two fractions: (1) the less polar isomer of the product, a white solid (R f =0.2, 278 mg): mp 166°-169° C. (dec); NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz): 7.5 (dd, 2H, J=8, 6), 7.35-7.15 (m, 5H), 7.0 (t, 2H, J=8), 2.9-1.5 (m, 17H); MS:353; Anal. Calcd for C 23 H28FNO.H 2 O:C, 74.36, H, 8.14, N, 3.77, Found: C, 74.82, 74.76, H, 7.65, 7.77, N, 3.52, 3.59; (2) the more polar isomer of the product, an oil (R f =0.15, 104 mg): NMR(CDCl 3 , 300 MHz): 7.5 (dd, H, J=8, 6), 7.35-7.15 (m, 5H), 7.05 (t, 2H, J=8), 2.9-1.4 (m, 17H); MS:353.
EXAMPLES 10 TO 16
Examples 10 to 16 were prepared according the general procedure of Example 9.
TABLE 1______________________________________ ##STR18##Example R mp (°C.)______________________________________10 2-(4'-fluorophenyl)ethyl 161-163.sup.(a)11 2-(4'-methoxyphenyl)ethyl 168-169.sup.(b)12 cyclohexylmethyl 48-49.sup.(c)13 2-naphthylmethyl 56-57.sup.(d)14 2-(3-indolyl)ethyl 204-206(dec).sup.(e)15 4-pyridylmethyl 116-118.sup.(f)16 4-nitrobenzyl 208.sup.(g)______________________________________ Footnotes to Table 1: .sup.(a) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 7.5(dd, 2H, J=8, 6), 7.25(dd, 2H, J=8 6), 7.2-7.0(m, 4H), 3.35(s, 1H), 3.35(d, 1H, J=7), 2.85-2.7(m, 2H), 2.55-1.6(m, 14H), 1.4-1.2(m, 1H); HRMS: Calcd: 371.2061, Found: 371.2054; Anal. Calcd for C.sub.23 H.sub.27 F.sub.2 NO.H.sub.2 O: C, 70.93, H, 7.51 N, 3.60, F, 9.75, Found: C, 71.14, 71.01, H, 7.17, 7.17, N, 3.65, 3.69, F 9.40, 9.30. .sup.(b) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 7.45(dd, 2H, J=8, 6), 7.15(d, 2H, J=7), 7.0(t, 2H, J=8), 6.85(d, 2H, J=7), 3.8(s, 3H), 2.9-1.4(m, 19H); MS: 383; Anal. Calcd for C.sub.24 H.sub.30 FNO.sub.2.1.2H.sub.2 O: C, 71.15, H, 8.06, N, 3.45, F, 4.68; Found: C, 71.11, 70.82, H, 7.60, 7.53, N, 3.65 3.79, F, 5.06. .sup.(c) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 7.5(dd, 2H, J=8.6), 7.05-6.95(m, 2H), 2.85-1.1(m, 26H), 1.0-0.8(m, 2H); HRMS: Calcd: 345.2468, Found: 345.2467; Anal. Calcd for C.sub.22 H.sub.32 FNO.0.75H.sub.2 O: C, 73.60, H, 9.41, N 3.90, Found: C, 73.90, 73.81, H, 9.13, 9.21, N, 3.87, 3.88. .sup.(d) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 7.9-7.7(m, 4H), 7.6-7.4(m, 5H), 7.1-6.95(m, 2H), 3.8-3.55(m, 2H), 2.9-1.4(m, 14H); HRMS: Calcd: 389.2155, Found: 389.2158; Anal. Calcd for C.sub.26 H.sub.29 FNO.0.75H.sub.2 O: C, 77.48, H, 7.37, N, 3.47, Found: C, 77.94, 77.82, H, 7.11, 7.10, N, 3.27, 3.28. .sup.(e) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 11.1-10.7(m, 1H), 7.7-6.95(m, 9H), 3.9-3.75(m, 2H), 3.4-2.8(m, 8H), HRMS: Calcd: 392.2264, Found: 392.2267; Anal. Calcd. for C.sub.25 H.sub.29 FN.sub.2 O.3H.sub.2 O: C, 67.24, H, 6.55, N, 6.27, F, 4.25; Found: C, 66.85, 66.82, H, 6.59, 6.42, N, 6.09, 6.06, F, 3.06, 3.11. .sup.(f) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 8.5(d, 2H, J=6), 7.5(dd, 2H, J=8,6), 7.3(d, 2H, J=6), 7.05(t, 2H, J=8), 3.5(d, 1H, J=12), 3.4(d, 1H, J=12), 2.8-1.4(m, 15H); HRMS: Calcd: 340.1951, Found: 340.1957; Anal. Calcd for C.sub.21 H.sub.25 FN.sub.2 O.0.6H.sub.2 O, C, 71.81, H, 7.51, H, 7.97, F, 5.41, Found: C, 71.69, 71.82, H, 7.18, 7.68, N, 7.66, 7.60, F, 5.15, 5.12 .sup.(g) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 8.15(d, 2H, J=8), 7.55-7.45(m, 4H), 7.05(t, 2H, J=8), 3.55(g, 2H J=30,15), 2.8-2.6(m, 2H), 2.5-1.7(m, 9H), 1.7-1.4(m, 4H); MS: 384; Anal. Calcd for C.sub.22 H.sub.25 FN.sub.2 O.sub.3 : C, 68.73, H, 6.55, N, 7.29, F, 4.94, Found: C, 68.33, H, 6.55, N, 7.02, F, 4.88.
EXAMPLE 17
Trans-2-Benzyl-6-(4'-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline
A solution of trans-2-benzoyl-6-(4'-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinolone (76 mg, 2.16 mmol) in anhydrous THF (20 mL) was added dropwise to a stirred suspension of lithium aluminum hydride (95%, 0.49 g, 12.9 mmol) in anhydrous THF (20 mL) under a nitrogen atmosphere. The reaction mixture was then heated to reflux temperature and stirred for 23.5 h. The reaction was cooled to ambient temperature, quenched with an excess amount of ethyl acetate, followed by water (0.5 mL), a 2N NaOH solution (0.5 mL) and water (1.5 mL). The mixture was filtered through Celite. The filtrate was dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and concentrated in vacuo. Column chromatography (ethyl acetate or CHCl 3 ::MeOH::9:1) gave the product, a solid (382 mg): mp 120°-122° C.; NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz): 7.45 (2H, dd, J=8, 6), 7.4-7.2 (m, 5H), 7.0 (br t, 2H, J=7), 3.55 (s, 2H), 2.95 (br d, 1H, J=7), 2.85 (br d, 1H, J=7), 2.05 (br t, 1H, J=7), 1.9-1.2 (m, 12H); HRMS: Calcd: 339.1999, Found: 339.2001; Anal. Calcd for C 22 H 26 FNO: C, 77.84, H, 7.72, N, 4.13, F, 5.60, Found: C, 77.41, 77.16, H, 7.74, N, 4.19 3.97, F, 5.78.
EXAMPLE 18
Trans-2-Benzyl-6(4'-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline
A solution of trans-2-benzyl-6-oxodecahydroisoquinoline (5.4 g, 22.2 mmol) and p-fluorophenylmagnesium bromide (1M in THF, 33 mL, 33 mmol) in anhydrous THF (100 mL) was stirred at room temperature under a nitrogen atmosphere for 22 h. The reaction was poured onto a saturated ammonium chloride solution, mixed, basified with a 1N NaOH solution and extracted three times with ethyl acetate. The combined organic layers were dried over MgSO 4 , filtered and concentrated in vacuo. Column chromatography (ethyl acetate) gave the product a solid (2.83 g), which was identical to the product of Example 17.
EXAMPLE 19
Trans-6-(4'-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline
Following the general procedure described in Example 9, Part A, the product of Example 18 (1.0 g, 2.9 mmol), 10% palladium on charcoal (1.0 g), and ammonium formate (2 g) were reacted in methanol (75 mL) to afford the product, a white solid (0.6 g): mp 174°-175° C.; NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz): 7.5-7.4 (m, 2H), 7.1-6.9 (m, 2H), 3.2-3.0 (m, 2H), 2.8-2.6 (m, 1H), 2.4-2.3 (m, 1H), 2.0-1.0 (m, 25H); MS:249; Anal. Calcd for C 15 H 20 FNO.3H 2 O:C, 70.73, H, 8.23, N, 5.50, F, 7.45; Found: C, 70.82, 70.89, H, 8.10, 8.04, N, 5.14, 5.20, F, 7.08, 6.92.
EXAMPLES 20 TO 22
Examples 20 to 22 were prepared according to the general procedure described for Example 9, Part B. In some cases, potassium carbonate in refluxing ethanol may be substituted for triethylamine in refluxing THF.
TABLE 2______________________________________ ##STR19##Example R mp (°C.)______________________________________20 cyclopropylmethyl 155-156 (a)21 4-t-butylbenzyl 62-63 .sup.22 allyl 150 (c)______________________________________ Footnotes for Table 2: (a) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 200 MHz): 7.5(dd, 2H, J=8, 6), 7.05(t, 2H, J=8), 3.3(br d, 1H, J=10), 3.15(br d, 1H, J=10), 2.45(d, 2H, J=7), 2.3-2.1(m, 1H), 2.0-1.7(m, 3H), 1.7-1.45(m, 7H), 1.35-1.2(m, 1H), 1.05-0.9(m, 2H), 0.65-0.5(m, 2H), 0.25-0.1(m, 2H); HRMS: Calcd: 303.1999, Found: 303.2002; Anal. Calcd for C.sub.19 H.sub.26 FNO.O.6H.sub.2 O: C, 72.63, H, 8.70, N, 4.45, F, 6.05, Found: C, 72.42, 72.50, H, 8.87, 8.79, N, 4.27, 4.33, F, 4.99, 4.95. (b) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 7.5(dd, 2H, J=8, 6), 7.3(d, 2H, J=8), 7.2(d, 2H, J=8), 7.05(t, 2H, J=8), 3.45(br s, 2H), 2.9(br d, 1H, J=8), 2.8(br d, 1H, J=8), 2.55-2.45(m, 1H), 2.45-2.3(m, 1H), 2.0-1.4(m, 9H), 1.3(s, 9H), 1.1-0.8(m, 2H), MS: 395; Anal. Calcd for C.sub.26 H.sub.34 FNO.0.75H.sub.2 O: C, 76.34, H, 8.74, N, 3.42, F, 4.64, Found, C, 76.66, 76.54, H, 8.49, 8.42, N, 3.24, 3.21, F, 3.88, 3.88. (c) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 7.45(dd, 2H, J=8, 6), 7.0(t, 2H, J=8), 6.0-5.8(m, 1H), 5.2(t, 2H, J=7), 3.1-2.8(m, 4H), 2.1-1.2(m, 14H); MS: 289 Anal. Calcd for C.sub.18 H.sub.24 FNO.0.75H.sub.2 O: C, 71.37, H, 8.41, N 4.62, F, 6.27, Found: C, 71.37, H, 8.13, N, 4.49, F, 5.93.
EXAMPLE 23
Trans-2-(4'- (4"-fluorophenyl)-4',4'-ethylenedioxy)butyl-6-(4'"-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline
A mixture of the product from Example 19 (0.55 g, 2.2 mmol), 4-chloro-1-(4'-fluorophenyl) butyrophenone ethylene glycol ketal (0.75 g, 3 mmol), potassium iodide (0.83 g, 5 mmol) and potassium carbonate (0.7 g, 5 mmol) in DMF (10 mL) was stirred at reflux temperature under a nitrogen atmosphere for 16 h. The reaction mixed was cooled to ambient temperature. The solvent was distilled in vacuo. The residue was taken up in a 1N NaOH solution, mixed and extracted with ethyl acetate three times. The combined organic layers were dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and concentrated in vacuo. Column chromatography (CHCl 3 :MeOH::9:1) gave the product, an oil (1 g): NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz): 7.45 (dd, 2H, J=8, 6), 7.35 (dd, 2H, J=8, 6), 7.1-6.9 (m, 4H), 4.1-3.9 (m, 2H), 3.8-3.6 (m, 2H), 2.9 (br d, 1H, J=10), 2.8 (d, 1H, J=10), 2.5 (dd, 1H, J=10, 2), 2.4-2.2 (m, 2H), 1.95-1.7 (m, 4H), 1.7-1.35 (m, 9H), 1.05-0.75 (m, H); MS:457.
EXAMPLE 24
Trans-2-(4'- (4"-fluorophenyl)-4'-oxobutyl)-6-(4'"-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline
The product of Example 23 (1 g), concentrated hydrochloric acid (2 mL), water (4 mL) and THF were mixed and stirred for 24 h. The reaction mixture was poured onto a 1N NaOH solution, mixed and extracted three times with ethyl acetate. The combined organic layers were dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and concentrated in vacuo. Column chromatography (CHCl 3 :MeOH::9:l) afforded the product, a solid (450 mg):mp 160° C.; NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz):8.0 (dd, 2H, J=8, 6), 7.5 (dd, 2H, J=8, 6), 7.15 (t, 2H, J=8), 7.05 (t, 2H, J=8), 3.25-2.9 (m, 4H), 2.7-2.5 (m, 2H), 2.3-1.2 (m, 15H); MS:413; Anal. Calcd for C 25 H 29 F 2 NO 2 1.5H 2 O:C, 68.16, H, 7.32, N, 3.17, F, 8.63; Found: C, 67.94, 67.92, H, 6.95, 6.93, N, 2.96, 3.11, F, 7.12, 7.09.
EXAMPLE 25
Trans-2-Benzoyl-6-(4'-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline
A solution of trans-2-benzoyl-6-oxodecahydroisoquinoline (2.0 g, 7.8 mmol) in anhydrous THF was cooled to -78° C. with stirring under a nitrogen atmosphere. A solution of p-fluorophenylmagnesium, bromide in THF (1.0M, 7.8 mL, 7.8 mmol) was added dropwise. The reaction mixture was stirred at -78° C. for 3 h, then warmed to room temperature over 16 h. The reaction mixture was poured onto a saturated ammonium chloride solution, mixed, basified with 1N NaOH solution and extracted with ethyl acetate three times. The combined organic layers were dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and concentrated in vacuo. Column chromatography (ethyl acetate) afforded: (1) the less polar hydroxyl epimer of the entitled product (R f =0.52, 934 mg): mp 107°-108° C.; NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz) 7.5-7.3(m, 7H), 7.05 (t,2H, J=7), 4.9-4.7 (m, 1H), 3.9-3.65 (m, 1H), 1.9-1.1 (m, 10H); CMR (CDCl 3 , 68 MHz): 170.2, 161.5 (d, J=245), 144.9, 136.1, 129.4, 128.3, 126.7, 126.1 (d, J=8), 114.7 (d, J=21), 72.9, 53.4, 48.4, 47.7, 45.0, 42.8, 41.9, 40.9, 38.0, 36.8, 32.9, 31.9, 25.3; HRMS:Calcd:353.1791, Found:353.1791; (2) a mixture of hydroxyl epimers of the entitled product (184 mg) and (3) the more polar hydroxyl epimer of the entitled product, an oil (R f =0.41, 302 mg): NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz): 7.55-7.3 (m, 7H), 7.05 (t, 2H, J=7), 4.9-4.6 (m, 1H), 3.9-3.6 (m, 1H), 3.1-1.0 (m, 13H); CMR (CDCl 3 , 68 MHz): 170.0, 166.8 (d, J=246), 135.8 (d, J=17), 129.4 (d, J=14), 128.3, 128.2, 128.1, 128.0, 126.7, 126.6, 115.0 (d, J=21), 72.4, 47.1, 44.8, 42.3, 41.6, 37.4; HRMS: Calcd 353.1791; Found:353.1791.
EXAMPLE 26
Cis-2-Benzoyl-6-(4'-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline
Following the general procedure described in Example 25, a solution of p-fluorophenyl magnesium bromide in THF (1.0M, 2.61 mL, 2.61 mmol) was reacted with cis-2-benzoyl-6-oxodecahydroisoquinoline (670 mg, 2.61 mmol) in anhydrous THF at -78° C. Column chromatography (ethyl acetate) afforded the product, a solid (478 mg):mp 84°-85° C.; NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): 7.5-7.35 (m, 7H), 7.0 (t, 2H, J=8), 4.65-4.35 (m, 1H), 3.8-3.6 (m, 1H), 3.3-3.1 (m, 1H), 3.1-2.8 (m, 1H), 2.65-2.35 (m, 1H), 2.1-1.4 (m, 10 H); Anal. Calcd for C 22 H 24 FNO 2 : C, 74.76, H, 6.84, N, 3.96, F, 5.38; Found: C, 74.59, H, 6.93, N, 3.79, F, 5.53.
EXAMPLE 27
Trans-2-Benzyl-6-(4'-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline (hydroxyl epimer A)
The less polar hydroxyl epimer of Example 25 (934 mg, 2.65 mmol), lithium aluminum hydride (0.63 g, 15.9 mmol) and anhydrous THF (30 mL) were stirred at reflux temperature under a nitrogen atmosphere for 17 h. The reaction mixture was cooled to ambient temperature and quenched successively with excess ethyl acetate, water (0.6 mL), a 1N NaOH solution (0.6 mL). The mixture was filtered through Celite and the filtrate was dried over magnesium sulfate and filtered. Solvent was removed in vacuo to give a solid (700 mg):NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): 7.45 (dd, 2H, J=8, 6), 7.35-7.2 (m, 5H), 7.0 (t, 2H, J=8), 3.5 (s, 2H), 2.95 (br d, 1H, J=10), 2.85 (br d, 1H, J=10), 2.05 (td, 1H, J=7, 1), 1.85-1.25 (m, 12H).
EXAMPLE 28
Trans-2-Benzyl-6-(4'- fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline (hydroxyl epimer B)
Following the procedure of Example 26, the more polar epimer of Example 25 (302 mg, 0.86 mmol) was reacted with lithium aluminum hydride (0.2 g, 5.16 mmol) in anhydrous THF (10 mL) to give the product, an oil (262 mg): NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): 7.5 (dd, 2H, J=8, 6), 7.4-7.2 (m, 5H), 7.05 (t, 2H, J=8), 3.7-3.5 (m, 1H), 3.45 (d, 1H, J=10), 3.35 (d, 1H, J=10), 2.95-2.7 (m, 2H), 2.5 (br d, 1H, J=12), 2.35 (br d, 1H, J=12), 2.05-0.8 (m, 12H).
EXAMPLE 29
Trans-2-Benzyl-6-(4'-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline (hydroxyl epimer A)
A solution of p-fluorophenylmagnesium bromide in THF (1M, 33 mL, 33 mmol) was added dropwise to a solution of trans-2-benzyl-6-oxodecahydroisoquinoline with stirring. After being stirred for 22 h, the reaction mixture was poured onto a saturated ammonium chloride solution, mixed basified with a 1N NaOH solution and extracted three times with ethyl acetate. The combined organic layers were dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and concentrated in vacuo. Column chromatography (ethyl acetate) afforded the product, a solid (2.83 g): NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz): 7.45 (dd, 2H, J=8, 6), 7.35-7.2 (m, 5H), 7.0 (t, 2H, J=8), 3.5 (s, 2H), 2.95 (br d, 1H, J=10), 2.85 (br d, 1H, J=10), 2.05 (td, 1H, J=7, 1), 1.85-1.25 (m, 12H); CMR (CDCl 3 , 75.4 MHz): 163.2, 160.0, 145.0, 138.4, 129.1, 128.1, 126.8, 126.1, 126.0, 114.9, 114.6, 73.4, 63.3, 59.6, 54.1, 45.3, 40.9, 38.4, 38.6, 32.4, 26.0; HRMS: Calcd: 339.1999, Found: 339.2015.
EXAMPLES 30 TO 42
Examples 30 to 42 were prepared following the procedure of Example 8, using the appropriate reagent and cis-2-benzyl-6-oxodecahydroisoquinoline.
TABLE 3______________________________________ ##STR20##Example R mp (°C.)______________________________________30 4-methoxyphenyl 108-109 (a)31 4-methylthiophenyl 107-109 (b)32 4-t-butylphenyl 106-107 (c)33 4-biphenyl 114-115 (d)34 t-butyl (e)35 2-naphthyl 136-138 (f)36 allyl (g)37 2-thienyl 101-104 (h)38 cyclohexyl 63-66 (i)39 CH.sub.3 (j)40 2-furyl (k)41 phenyl (l)42 benzyl (m)______________________________________ Footnotes to Table 3: (a) NMR CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 7.45(d, 2H, J=7), 7.4-7.2(m, 5H), 6.9(d, 2H J=7), 3.85(s, 3H), 2.6-2.4(m, 2H), 2.95-1.4(m, 15H); HRMS: Calcd: 351.2198, Found: 351.2200; Anal. Calcd for C.sub.23 H.sub.29 NO.sub.2.0.4H.sub.2 O: c, 77.01, H, 8.37, N, 3.91, Found: C, 76.89, 77.01 H, 8.20, 8.25, N, 3.48, 3.60. (b) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 7.45(d, 2H, J=7), 7.35-7.2(m, 7H), 3.5(dd, 2H, J=14, 7), 2.8-2.6(m, 2H), 2.5(s, 3H), 2.3-1.4(m, 13H); HRMS: Calcd: 367.1970, Found: 367.1980; Anal. Calcd for C.sub.23 H.sub.29 NOS.0.25H.sub.2 O: C, 74.25, H, 7.99, N, 3.76, Found: C, 74.40, 74.34, H, 7.86, 7.77, N, 3.55, 3.56. (c) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 7.5-7.2(m, 9H), 3.6-3.4(m, 2H), 2.8-2.6(m, 2H), 2.4-1.4(m, 13H), 1.3(s, 9H); HRMS: Calcd: 377.2719, Found: 377.2720; Anal. Calcd for C.sub.26 H.sub.35 NO0.25H.sub.2 O: C, 81.73, H, 9.36, N, 3.66; Found: C, 81.83, 81.58, H, 9.34, 9.26, N, 3.41, 3.50. (d) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 7.6-7.2(m, 14H), 3.5(dd, 2H, J=14, 10), 2.8-2.6(m, 12H) 2.5-1.4(m, 12H); HRMS: Calcd: 397.2406, Found: 397.2407; Anal. Calcd for C.sub.28 H.sub.31 NO: C, 84.59, H, 7.86, N, 3.52; Found: C, 84.44, H, 7.63, N, 3.25. (e) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 7.4-7.1(m, 5H), 3.45(dd, 2H, J=37,8), 2.95-2.8(m, 1H), 2.7(d, 1H, J=8), 2.55-1.2(m, 10H), 0.9(s, 9H), 1.05-0.8(m, 1H); MS: 301. (f) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 8.0-7.8(m, 4H), 7.6-7.2(m, 8H), 3.6-3.4(m, 2H), 2.8-1.4(m, 20H); Anal. Calcd for C.sub.26 H.sub.29 NO.0.75H.sub.2 O: C, 89.10, H, 7.98, N, 3.63; Found: C, 81.53, 81.44, H, 7.73, 7.70, N, 3.56, 3.57. (g) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 7.4-7.2(m, 5H), 6.0-5.8(m, 1H), 5.2-5.1(m, 2H), 3.8-3.4(m, 3H), 2.6-1.2(m, 16H); MS: 285. (h) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 7.4-7.2(m, 5H), 7.0-6.9(m, 3H), 3.6-3.4(m, 4H), 2.6-1.4(m, 13H); Anal. Calcd for C.sub.20 H.sub.25 NOS: 73.35, H, 7.69, N, 4.28, S, 9.79; Found: C, 72.72, 73.03, H, 7.72, 7.67, N, 4.13, 4.17, S, 9.20, 9.19. (i) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MH.sub.z): 7.4-7.2(m, 5H), 3.8-3.7(m, 1H), 3.6-3.4(m, 2H), 2.6-1.9(m, 28H); Anal. Calcd for C.sub.22 H.sub.33 NO: C, 80.68, H, 10.16, N, 4.28, Found: C, 80.17, 80.25, H, 10.06, 9.95, N, 4.19 4.22. (j) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 7.4-7.2(m, 5H), 3.8-3.7(m, 2H), 3.5(s, 3H) 2.5-1.0(m, 23H); HRMS: Calcd: 259.1936; Found: 259.1942. (k) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 7.35-7.15(m, 6H), 6.35-6.3(m, 1H), 6.25-6.2(m, 1H), 3.5(s, 2H), 3.55-3.45(m, 1H), 2.6-2.2(m, 3H), 2.15-1.4(m 10H); MS: 311. (l) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 7.5(d, 2H, J=8), 7.4-7.2(m, 8H), 3.5(dd, 2H, J=14, 9), 3.8-3.6(m, 2H), 3.5-2.4(m, 13H) ; MS: 321. (m) NMR (CDCl.sub.3, 300 MHz): 7.35-7.15(m, 10H), 3.5(dd, 2H, J=12, 10), 2.75(s, 2H), 2.65(br d, 1H, J=8), 2.45(dd, 14, J=8, 1), 1.7(m, 7H), 1.5-1.1(m, 6H); MS: 335.
EXAMPLE 43
Cis-2,6-Dibenzyl-6-hydroxy decahydroisoquinoline hydrochloride salt
Cis-2, 6-Dibenzyl-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline (Example 42, 300 mg) was dissolved in ethanol (10 mL). A saturated solution of hydrogen chloride in ether (3 mL) was added with stirring. The mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was triturated with copious amounts of diethyl ether and filtered. Drying in vacuo at 60° C. afforded a white solid (240 mg): mp 232° C.; Anal. Calcd for C 23 H 29 NO.HCl: C, 74.27, H, 8.13, N, 3.77, C 1 , 9.53, Found: C, 74.10, H, 8.22, N, 3.38, Cl, 9.40.
EXAMPLES 44 to 48
Examples 44 to 48 were prepared according to the general procedure described for Example 43, using the appropriate inert solvent and acid.
TABLE 4______________________________________ ##STR21##Example R HX mp (°C.)______________________________________44 4-t-Bu fumarate 97-98 (a)45 allyl HCl 138 (b)46 2-furyl HCl 137-138 (c)47 phenyl HCl 135-136 (d)48 benzyl HCl 232 (e)______________________________________ Footnotes to Table 4 (a) NMR (DMSOd.sub.6, 300 MHz): 7.5-7.3(m, 5H), 6.65(s, 2H), 4.0-3.25(m, 6H), 3.1-2.9(m, 1H), 2.8-2.75(m, 1H), 2.3-2.05(m, 1H), 1.85-1.3(m, 6H), 1.15-1.05(m, 1H), 0.9(s, 9H); Anal. Calcd for C.sub.20 H.sub.31 NO.C.sub. H.sub.4 O.sub.4.1.2H.sub.2 O: C, 65.64, H, 8.58, N, 3.18; Found: C, 65.43 65.39, H, 8.32, 8.26, N, 3.28, 3.29. (b) Anal. Calcd for C.sub.19 H.sub.27 NO.HCl.1.2H.sub.2 O: C, 66.44, H, 8.62, N, 4.07, Cl, 10.32; Found: C, 66.12, 66.04, H, 8.65, 8.72, N, 3.78, 3.79. (c) NMR (DMSOd.sub.6, 300 MHz): 10.6-10.4(m, 1H), 7.6-7.5(m, 3H), 7.5-7.4(m, 2H), 6.55-6.45(m, 1H), 6.45-6.3(m, 1H), 6.25-6.15(m, 0.8H), 6.0-5.95(m, 0.2H), 4.4-4.2(m, 2H), 3.8-3.6(m, 2H), 3.2-2.6(m, 4H), 2.6-1.6(m, 8H). (d) Anal. Calcd for C.sub.22 H.sub.27 NO.HCl.0.25H.sub.2 O: C, 72.91, H, 7.92, N, 3.86, Cl, 9.78, Found: C, 72.87, 72.72, H, 7.97, 7.94, N, 3.75, 3.75, Cl, 9.73, 9.80. (e) Anal. Calcd for C.sub.23 H.sub.29 NO.HCl: C, 74.27, H, 8.13, N, 3.77, Cl, 9.53; Found: C, 74.10, H, 8.22, N, 3.38, Cl, 9.40.
EXAMPLE 49
Trans-2-Benzoyl-6-hydroxy-6-(4-t-butyldimethylsilyloxy-phenyl)-decahydroisoquinoline
A mixture of 1-bromo-4-t-butyldimethylsilyloxy-benzene (1.7 g, 3.9 mmol), magnesium mesh (0.1 g, 3.9 mmol) and anhydrous THF were stirred at reflux temperature under a nitrogen atmosphere for 2 h. The reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature and transferred via syringe to a stirred semi-solution of trans-2-benzoyl-6-oxodecahydroisoquinoline (1.0 g, 3.9 mmol) in anhydrous THF at -78° C. The reaction mixture was warmed gradually to ambient temperature over 17.5 h. The reaction mixture was poured onto a saturated ammonium chloride solution, mixed, basified with a 1N NaOH solution and extracted three times with ethyl acetate. The combined organic layers were dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and concentrated in vacuo. Column chromatography (ethyl acetate) gave the product, a solid (747 mg): mp 103°-104° C.; NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz): 7.5-7.3 (m, 7H), 6.85 (dd, 2H, J=8, 6), 4.9-4.6 (m, 1H), 3.9-3.55 (m, 1H), 3.1-2.4 (m, 2H), 1.9-1.0 (m, 9H), 0.95 (s, 9H), 0.25 (s, 3H), 0.2 (s, 3H); HRMS: Calcd: 465.2700, Found: 465.2689; Anal. Calcd for C 28 H39NO3Si: C, 72.23, H, 8.44, N, 3.01; Found: C, 71.99, H, 8.61, N, 2.87.
EXAMPLE 50
Trans-2-Benzyl-6-hydroxy-6(4'-hydroxyphenyl)decahydroisoquinoline
A mixture of trans-2-benzoyl-6-hydroxy-6-(4'-t-butyldimethylsilyloxyphenyl)decahydroisoquinoline (Example 48, 740 mg, 1.61 mmol) and lithium aluminum hydride (0.31 g, 8 mmol) in anhydrous THF (20 mL) was stirred at reflux temperature under a nitrogen atmosphere for 19.5 h. The reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature and quenched with excess ethyl acetate, followed by water (0.3 mL), a 1N NaOH solution (0.3 mL) and water (1 mL). The precipitate was filtered through celite; the filtrate was dried over magnesium sulfate and filtered. Removal of solvent in vacuo gave an oil. Column chromatography (ethyl acetate) gave the product, a solid (209 mg): mp 108°-109° C., NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): 7.4-7.2 (m, 7H), 6.8 (d, 2H, J=7), 3.55 (s, 2H), 2.95 (br d, 1H, J=8), 2.85 (br d, 1H, J=8), 2.2 (s, 2H), 2.1-1.2 (m, 11H); Anal. Calcd for C 22 H 27 NO 2 .O.3H 2 O: C, 77.06, H, 8.11, N, 4.09; Found C, 76.82, 76.83, H, 7.95, 8.15, N, 3.88, 3.80.
EXAMPLE 51
Trans-2-Benzoyl-6-hydroxy-6-(4'-methoxyphenyl)decahydroisoquinoline
Following the procedure described in Example 48, 4-bromoamisole (0.73g, 0.49 mL, 3.9 mmol), magnesium mesh (0.1 g, 3.9 mmol) and trans-2-benzoyl-6-oxodecahydroisoquinoline (1.0 g, 3.9 mmol) were reacted in anhydrous THF to give the product, an oil (219 mg): NMR (CDCl 3 , 270 MHz): 7.45-7.3 (m, 7H), 6.85 (d, 2H, J=8), 4.9-4.65 (m, 1H), 3.8 (s, 3H), 3.15-3.0 (m, 1H), 2.85-2.7 (m, 1H), 2.5-2.4 (m, 1H), 1.95-1.1 (m, 10H); HRMS: Calcd: 365.1991, Found: 365.1991.
EXAMPLE 52
Trans-2-Benzyl-6-hydroxy-6-(4'-methoxyphenyl)decahydroisoquinoline
Following the general procedure described in Example 49, trans-2-benzoyl-6-hydroxy-6-(4'-methoxyphenyl)decahydroisoquinoline (219 mg, 0.6 mmol) and lithium aluminum hydride (0.14 g, 3.6 mmol) were reacted in anhydrous THF (10 mL). Column chromatography (chloroform: methanol::9:1) afforded the product, a solid (158 mg): mp 38°-40° C.; NMR (CDCl 3 , 200 MHz): 7.4 (d, 2H, J=8), 7.35-7.2 (m, 5H), 6.85 (d, 2H, J=8), 3.8 (s, 3H), 3.55 (s, 2H), 2.95 (br d, 1H, J=10), 2.85 (br d, 1H, J=10), 2.05 (br t, 1H, J=8), 1.85-1.7 (m, 4H), 1.6-1.3 (m, 7H); HRMS: Calcd: 351.2198, Found: 351.2193.
EXAMPLE 53
Trans-2-Benzoyl-6-(4'-fluorophenoxy)decahydroisoquinoline
Part A: Methanesulfonyl chloride (1.14 g, 0.77 mL, 10 mmol) was added dropwise to a mixture of trans-2-benzoyl-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline (Example 5), 1.36 g, 5 mmol), triethylamine (3.0 g, 4.2 mL, 30 mmol) and dichloromethane (20 mL) with stirring in an ice-water bath under a nitrogen atmosphere. The reaction mixture was stirred at 0°-5° C. for 30 min, transferred to a separatory funnel, and washed once with an ice-cold 1N HCl solution (20 mL), twice with a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution and once with brine. The organic solution was dried over magnesium sulfate and filtered. Removal of solvent in vacuo afforded the crude trans-2-benzoyl-6-(methanesulfonyloxy)decahydroisoquinoline.
Part B: Sodium hydride (50% in oil, 0.48 g, 10 mmol) was washed twice with hexanes and decanted twice. N,N-Dimethylformamide (20 mL) was added. 4-Fluorophenol (1.12 g, 10 mmol) was added portionwise with stirring; gas evolution occurred. The reaction mixture was stirred under a nitrogen atmosphere for 30 min. A solution of the crude mesylate from Part A in N,N-dimethyl formamide (5 mL) was added dropwise. The reaction mixture was heated to 80°-90° C. and stirred for 19 h. The reaction mixture was cooled to ambient temperature and carefully quenched with water. Solvent was distilled in vacuo. The residue was taken up in a 1N NaOH solution and extracted three times with ethyl acetate. The combined organic layers were dried over magnesium sulfate, and concentrated in vacuo. Column chromatography (ethyl acetate:hexanes::1:1) gave the product, a solid (449 mg): NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz): 7.3-7.15 (m, 5H), 6.95 (t, 2H, J=8), 6.9-6.8 (m, 2H), 4.9-4.65 (m, 1H), 4.45 (br s, 1H), 3.9-3.55 (m, 1H), 3.15-2.95 (m, 1H), 2.9-2.65 (m, 1H), 2.55-2.4 (m, 1H), 2.25-2.0 (m, 2H), 1.8-1.1 (m, 7H); HRMS: Calcd: 353.1791, Found: 353.1798.
EXAMPLES 54 TO 95
Examples 54 to 95 may be prepared by the general procedure described in Example 53, using the appropriate hydroxybenzene derivative and solvent.
TABLE 5______________________________________ ##STR22##Example R______________________________________54 4-Cl55 4-Br56 4-I57 3-F58 3-Cl59 3-Br60 3-I61 2-F62 2-Cl63 4-Et64 3-Et65 4-CH.sub.366 3-CH.sub.367 4-OCH.sub.368 3-OCH.sub.369 3-N(CH.sub.3).sub.270 4-NO.sub.271 3-NO.sub.272 4-t-C.sub.4 H.sub.973 4-COCH.sub.374 4-CN75 4-CON(CH.sub.3).sub.276 4-C.sub.6 H.sub.577 3-COCH.sub.378 3-CN79 4-SCH.sub.380 3-SCH.sub.381 3,4-F.sub.282 3,4-Cl.sub.283 3,4-(CH.sub.3 O).sub.284 2,4-Cl.sub.285 3,5-Cl.sub.286 2,4-F.sub.287 3,4-(CH.sub.3).sub.288 3-(OC.sub.2 H.sub.5)-4-OCH.sub.389 F.sub.590 Cl.sub.591 2,3,5,6-F.sub.492 2,3,5,6-Cl.sub.493 4-C.sub.6 H.sub.5 O94 4-F-C.sub.6 H.sub.495 4-CH.sub.3 OC.sub.6 H.sub.4______________________________________
EXAMPLE 96
Cis-2-benzoyl-6-(4'-fluorophenoxy)decahydroisoquinoline
Following the general procedure described in Example 52, cis-2-benzoyl-6-hydroxy-decahydroisoquinoline (1.36 g, 5.3 mmol), methanesulfonyl chloride (1.14 g, 0.77 mL, 10 mmol), triethylamine (3.0 g, 4.2 mL, 30 mmol), dichloromethane (20 mL), sodium hydride (50% in oil, 0.48 g, 10 mmol), 4-fluorophenol (1.12 g, 10 mmol) and N,N-dimethylformamide (20 mL) were used to make the product (800 mg): 7.5-7.3 (m, 7H), 7.0 (t, 1H, J=8), 6.9-6.8 (m, 1H), 5.8-5.6 (m, 1H), 4.9-4.5 (m, 2H), 3.9-3.6 (m, 2H), 3.15-3.0 (m, 1H), 2.9-2.6 (m, 1H), 2.6-2.4 (m, 1H), 2.3-1.1 (m, 11H); HRMS: Calcd: 353.1791, Found: 353.1788.
EXAMPLES 97 TO 137
Examples 97 to 137 may be prepared according to the general procedure described in Example 52, using the appropriate hydroxybenzene derivative and solvent.
TABLE 6______________________________________ ##STR23##Example R______________________________________ 97 H 98 4-Cl 99 4-Br100 4-I101 3-F102 3-Cl103 3-Br104 3-I105 2-F106 2-Cl107 4-CH.sub.3108 3-CH.sub.3109 4-OCH.sub.3110 3-OCH.sub.3111 3-N(CH.sub.3).sub.2112 4-NO.sub.2113 3-NO.sub.2114 4-t-C.sub.4 H.sub.9115 4-COCH.sub.3116 4-CN117 4-CON(CH.sub.3).sub.2118 4-C.sub.6 H.sub.5119 3-COCH.sub.3120 3-CN121 4-SCH.sub.3122 3-SCH.sub.3123 3,4-F.sub.2124 3,4,-Cl.sub.2125 3,4-(CH.sub.3 O).sub.2126 2,4-Cl.sub.2127 3,5-Cl.sub.2128 2,4-F.sub.2129 3,4-(CH.sub.3).sub.2130 3-(OC.sub.2 H.sub.5)-4-(OCH.sub.3)131 F.sub.5132 Cl.sub.5133 2,3,5,6-F.sub.4134 2,3,5,6-Cl.sub.4135 4-C.sub.6 H.sub.5 O136 4-F-C.sub.6 H.sub.4137 4-CH.sub.3 OC.sub.6 H.sub.4______________________________________
EXAMPLES 138 TO 141
Examples 138 to 141 may be prepared by the general procedure described in Example 52, using the appropriate hydroxy compound and solvent.
TABLE 7______________________________________ ##STR24##Example Ring Fusion R______________________________________138 cis 2-naphthyl139 trans 2-naphthyl140 cis 4-pyridyloxy141 trans 4-pyridyloxy______________________________________
EXAMPLE 142
Cis-2-Benzyl-6-(4'-fluorophenoxy)decahydroisoquinoline
A mixture of cis-2-benzoyl-6-(4'-fluoro-phenoxy) decahydroisoquinoline (Example 96) (832 mg, 2.36 mmol) and lithium aluminum hydride (0.38 g, 10 mmol) in anhydrous THF (10 mL) was stirred at reflux temperature under a nitrogen atmosphere for 14.5 h. The reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature and quenched with excess ethyl acetate, water (1 mL), a 1N NaOH solution (1 mL) and water (3 mL). The mixture was filtered through celite; the filtrate was dried over magnesium sulfate and filtered again. Removal of solvent in vacuo gave an oil.
Column chromatography (ethyl acetate) gave the product, a solid (166 mg) as a mixture of epimers: mp 94°-95° C.; NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz): 7.2-7.2 (m, 5H), 7.0-6.9 (m, 2H), 6.9-6.8 (m, 2H), 4.65-4.6 (m, 0.1H), 4.5 (t, 0.9 H, J=1), 3.5 (s, 2M), 2.9 (br d, 1H, J=10), 2.8 (br d, 1H, J=10), 2.1-1.95 (m, 3H), 1.75 (t, 1H, J=8), 1.6-1.2 (m, 8H); HRMS: Calcd: 339.1999, Found: 339.1998.
EXAMPLES 143 TO 228
Examples 143 to 228 may be prepared according to the general procedures described in Example 142, using the appropriate reducing agent, solvent and starting material from Examples 97 to 137.
TABLE 8______________________________________ ##STR25##Example R______________________________________143 H144 4-Cl145 4-Br146 4-I147 3-F148 3-Cl149 3-I150 2-F151 2-Cl152 4-CH.sub.3153 3-CH.sub.3154 4-OCH.sub.3155 3-OCH.sub.3156 3-N(CH.sub.3).sub.2157 4-NH.sub.2158 3-NH.sub.2159 4-t-C.sub.4 H.sub.9160 4-CH(OH)CH.sub.3161 4-CH.sub.2 NH.sub.2162 4-CH.sub.2 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2163 4-C.sub.6 H.sub.5164 3-CH(OH)CH.sub.3165 3-CH.sub.2 NH.sub.2166 4-SCH.sub.3167 3-SCH.sub.3168 3,4-F.sub.2169 3,4-Cl.sub.2170 3,4-(CH.sub.3 O).sub.2171 2,4-Cl.sub.2172 3,5-Cl.sub.2173 2,4-F.sub.2174 3,4-(CH.sub.3).sub.2175 3-(OC.sub.2 H.sub.5)-4-(OCH.sub.3)176 F.sub.5177 Cl.sub.5178 2,3,5,6-F.sub.4179 2,3,5,6-Cl.sub.4180 4-C.sub.6 H.sub.5 O181 4-F-C.sub.6 H.sub.4182 4-CH.sub.3 OC.sub.6 H.sub.4______________________________________
TABLE 9______________________________________ ##STR26##Example R mp (°C.)______________________________________183 H184 4-F 94 (a)185 4-Cl186 4-Br187 4-I188 3-F189 3-Cl190 3-Br191 3-I192 2-F193 2-Cl194 4-CH.sub.3195 3-CH.sub.3196 4-OCH.sub.3197 3-OCH.sub.3198 3-N(CH.sub.3).sub.2199 4-NH.sub.2200 3-NH.sub.2201 4-t-C.sub.4 H.sub.9202 4-CH(OH)CH.sub.3203 4-CH.sub.2 NH.sub.2204 4-CH.sub.2 N(CH.sub.3).sub.2205 4-C.sub.6 H.sub.5206 3-CH(OH)CH.sub.3207 3-CH.sub.2 NH.sub.2208 4-SCH.sub.3209 3-SCH.sub.3210 3,4-F.sub.2211 3,4-Cl.sub.2212 3,4-(CH.sub.3 O).sub.2213 2,4-Cl.sub.2214 3,5-Cl.sub.2215 2,4-F.sub.2216 3,4-(CH.sub.3).sub.2217 3-(OC.sub.2 H.sub.5)-4-(OCH.sub.3)218 F.sub.5219 Cl.sub.5220 2,3,5,6-F.sub.4221 2,3,5,6-Cl.sub.4222 4-C.sub.6 H.sub.5 O223 4-F-C.sub.6 H.sub.4224 4-CH.sub. 3 OC.sub.6 H.sub.4______________________________________ Footnotes for Table 9 (a) Anal. Calcd for C.sub.22 H.sub.26 FNO: C, 77.84, H, 7.72, N, 4.13, F, 5.60; Found: C, 77.53, H, 7.72, N, 4.05, F, 5.33.
TABLE 10______________________________________ ##STR27##Example Ring Fusion R______________________________________225 cis 2-naphthyl226 trans 2-naphthyl227 cis 4-pyridyl228 trans 4-pyridyl______________________________________
EXAMPLE 229
Cis-2-Benzyl-6-(4'-fluorobenzyloxy)-decahydroisoquinoline
A mixture of cis-2-benzyl-6-hydroxydecahydroisoquinoline (Example 2, 0.87 g, 5.3 mmol) and sodium hydride (50% in oil, 0.48 g, 10 mmol, prewashed with hexanes) in anhydrous THF (50 mL) was stirred for 30 min. 4-Fluorobenzyl bromide (1.89 g, 10 mmol) was added and the reaction mixture was stirred at reflux temperature under a nitrogen atmosphere for 16 h. The reaction mixture was cooled to ambient temperature, quenched with methanol, poured onto water and extracted three times with ethyl acetate. The combined organic layers were dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and concentrated in vacuo. Column chromatography (chloroform:methanol::9:1, then ethyl acetate: hexanes:: 1:1) afforded the product, an oil (200 mg): NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz): 7.3-7.2 (m, 7H), 7.05 (t, 2H, J=7), 4.5 (s, 2H), 3.55-3.3 (m, 2H), 2.7-1.0 (m, 25H), 1.0-0.8 (m, 5H); MS:353.
EXAMPLES 230 TO 272
Examples 230 to 272 may be prepared according to the general procedure described in Example 229, using the appropriate alcohol, halide, base and solvent.
TABLE 11______________________________________ ##STR28##Example R mp (°C.)______________________________________230 H231 3-F232 2-F233 4-Cl234 3-Cl235 2-Cl236 4-Br237 4-CH.sub.3238 4-OCH.sub.3239 4-OTBDMS (a)240 4-CH.sub.2 OTBDMS241 4-SCH.sub.3242 4-NO.sub.2243 3,4-F.sub.2244 3,4-Cl.sub.2245 3,5-(CH.sub.3 O).sub.2246 CO.sub.2 C.sub.2 H.sub.5247 H248 4-F249 3-F250 2-F251 4-Cl252 3-Cl253 2-Cl254 4-Br255 4-CH.sub.3256 4-OCH.sub.3257 4-OTBDMS258 4-CH.sub.2 OTBDMS259 4-SCH.sub.3260 4-NO.sub.2261 3,4-F.sub.2262 3,4-Cl.sub.2263 3,5-(OCH.sub.3).sub.2264 CO.sub.2 C.sub.2 H.sub.5______________________________________
TABLE 12______________________________________ ##STR29##Example Ring Fusion R______________________________________265 cis CH.sub.3266 trans CH.sub.3267 cis allyl268 trans allyl269 cis 2-naphthylmethyl270 trans 2-naphthylmethyl271 cis 4-pyridylmethyl272 trans 4-pyridylmethyl______________________________________
EXAMPLE 273
Cis-2-Benzyl-6-(4'-fluorobenzyloxy)-decahydroisoquinoline, hydrochloride salt
Cis-2-Benzyl-6-(4'-fluorobenzyloxy)-deca-hydroisoquinoline (200 mg) was dissolved in ether with stirring. A saturated solution of hydrogen chloride in ether was added with stirring. The precipitate was filtered and triturated with copious amounts of ether. Drying in vacuo at 60° C. afforded a solid (100 mg): mp 240° C.; Anal. Calcd for C 23 H 28 FNO.HCl.0.5H 2 O: C, 69.25, H, 7.32, N, 3.51, F, 4.76; Found: C, 69.39, 69.37, H, 7.43, 7.37, N, 3.38, 3.50, F, 4.88, 4.69.
TABLE 13______________________________________ ##STR30##Example Ring Fusion R______________________________________273 Cis ##STR31##274 Trans ##STR32##275 Cis ##STR33##276 Trans ##STR34##______________________________________
Utilities Section
The compounds of this invention and their pharmaceutically acceptable salts possess psychotropic properties, particularly antipsychotic activity of good duration with selective sigma receptor antagonist activities while lacking the typical movement disorder side-effects of standard dopamine receptor antagonist antipsychotic agents. These compounds may also be useful as antidotes for certain psychotomimetic agents such as phencyclidine (PCP), and as antidyskinetic agents.
In Vitro
Sigma Receptor Binding Assay
Male Hartley guinea pigs (250-300 g, Charles River) were sacrificed by decapitation. Brain membranes were prepared by the method of Tam (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 80: 6703-6707, 1983). Whole brains were homogenized (20 seconds) in 10 vol (wt/vol) of ice-cold 0.34 M sucrose with a Brinkmann Polytron (setting 8). The homogenate was centrifuged at 920×g for 10 minutes. The supernatant was centrifuged at 47,000×g for 20 minutes. The resulting membrane pellet was resuspended in 10 vol (original wt/vol) of 50 mM Tris HCl (pH 7.4) and incubated at 37° C. for 45 minutes to degrade and dissociate bound endogenous ligands. The membranes were then centrifuged at 47,000×g for 20 minutes and resuspended in 50 mM Tris HCl (50 mL per brain).
0.5 mL aliquots of the membrane preparation were incubated with unlabeled drugs, 1 nM (+)-[ 3 H]SKF 10,047 in 50 mM Tris HCl, pH 7.4, in a final volume of 1 mL. Nonspecific binding was measured in the presence of 10 μM (+)-SKF 10,047. The apparent dissociation constant (Kd) for (+)-[ 3 H]SKF 10,047 is 50 nM. After 45 minutes of incubation at room temperature, samples were filtered rapidly through Whatman GF/C glass filters under negative pressure, and washed 3 times with ice-cold Tris buffer (5 mL).
IC 50 s were calculated from log-logit plots. Apparent K i s were calculated from the equation, K i =IC 50 /[1+(L/K d )] (4), where L is the concentration of radioligand and K d is its dissociation constant. Data are shown in Table A.
Dopamine Receptor Binding
Membranes were prepared from guinea pig striatum by the method described for sigma receptor binding. The membranes were then resuspended in 50 mM Tris HCl (9 mL per brain).
0.5 mL aliquots of the membrane preparation were incubated with unlabeled drugs, and 0.15 nM [ 3 H]spiperone in a final volume of 1 mL containing 50 mM Tris HCl, 120 mM NaCl and 1 mM MgCl 2 (pH 7.7). Nonspecific binding was measured in the presence of 100 nM (+)-butaclamol. After 15 minutes of incubation at 37° C., samples were filtered rapidly through Whatman GF/C glass filters under negative pressure, and washed three times with ice-cold binding buffer (5 mL).
IC 50 s were calculated from log-logit plots. Apparent K i s were calculated from the equation K i =IC 50 [1+(L/K d )](4), where L is the concentration of radioligand and K d is its dissociation constant. Data are shown in Table A.
The examples of this invention shown in Table A indicate potent binding affinity for sigma receptors. Therefore these compounds are not expected to produce the extrapyramidal symptoms that are typical of that produced by haloperidol and other typical antipsychotics that are dopamine receptor antagonists.
TABLE A______________________________________ Receptor Binding AffinitiesExample Sigma Dopamine D-2______________________________________Haloperidol +++ +++2 ++ -3 ++ -4 ++ -7 +++ -9 +++ -10 +++ -11 ++ -12 +++ -13 ++ -14 + -15 +++ -16 +++ -18 +++ -20 ++ -21 + -22 +++ -24 +++ ++27 +++ -30 ++ -31 +++ -32 ++ -33 +++ -35 +++ -37 +++ -38 +++ -39 + -43 +++ -44 +++ -45 ++ -46 +++ -47 +++ -48 +++ -49 + -______________________________________
In Vivo
Isolation-Induced Aggression in Mice
This is a modification of the method of Yen et al. (Arch. Int. Pharmacodyn. 123: 179-185, 1959) and Jannsen et al. (J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 129: 471-475, 1960). Male Balb/c mice (Charles River) were used. After 2 weeks of isolation in plastic cages (11.5×5.75×6 in) the mice were selected for aggression by placing a normal group-housed mouse in the cage with the isolate for a maximum of 3 minutes. Isolated mice failing to consistently attack an intruder were eliminated from the colony.
Drug testing was carried out by treating the isolated mice with test drugs or standards. Fifteen minutes after dosing with test drugs by the oral route, one isolated mouse was removed from its home cage and placed in the home cage of another isolate. Scoring was a yes or no response for each pair. A maximum of 3 minutes was allowed for an attack and the pair was separated immediately upon an attack. Selection of home cage and intruder mice was randomized for each test. Mice were treated and tested twice a week with at least a 2 day washout period between treatments. Treatments are shown in Table B.
TABLE B______________________________________ Oral Anti-Isolation-inducedExample Aggression Activity in Mice______________________________________Haloperidol +++10 ++15 +++17 ++______________________________________
Induction of Catalepsy
This is a modification of the method of Costall and Naylor (Psychopharmacologia (Berl.), 43, 69-74, 1975). Male CD rats (Charles River) weighing 250-300 g were treated with test drugs and standards by the oral route and tested for the presence of catalepsy 30 minute, 60 minute, and 90 minute after treatment. To test for catalepsy, each rat is placed with its front paws over a 10 cm high horizontal bar. The intensity of catalepsy is measured by the length of time it takes the animal to move both forelegs to the table. A time of 20 seconds is considered maximal catalepsy. Results are shown in Table C.
TABLE C______________________________________Example Oral Catalepsy Activity in Rats______________________________________Haloperidol ++++15 -27 -______________________________________
Dosage Forms
Daily dosage ranges from 1 mg to 2000 mg. Dosage forms (compositions) suitable for administration ordinarily will contain 0.5-95% by weight of the active ingredient based on the total weight of the composition.
The active ingredient can be administered orally in solid dosage forms, such as capsules, tablets, and powders, or in liquid dosage forms, such as elixirs, syrups, and suspensions; it can also be administered parenterally in sterile liquid dosage forms.
Gelatin capsules contain the active ingredient and powdered carriers, such as lactose, sucrose, mannitol, starch, cellulose derivatives, magnesium stearate, stearic acid, and the like. 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 hours. Compressed tablets can be sugar coated or film coated to mask any unpleasant taste and protect the tablet from the atmosphere, or enteric-coated for selective disintegration in the gastrointestinal tract.
Liquid dosage forms for oral administration can contain coloring and flavoring to increase patient acceptance.
In general, water, a suitable oil, saline, aqueous dextrose (glucose), and related sugar solutions and glycols such as propylene glycol or polyethylene glycols are suitable carriers for parenteral solutions. Solutions for parenteral administration preferably contain a water soluble salt of the active ingredient, suitable stabilizing agents, and if necessary, buffer substances. Antioxidizing agents such as sodium bisulfite, sodium sulfite, or ascorbic acid, either alone or combined, are suitable stabilizing agents. Also used are citric acid and its salts and sodium EDTA. In addition, parenteral solutions can contain preservatives, such as benzalkonium chloride, methyl- or propyl-paraben, and chlorobutanol.
Suitable pharmaceutical carriers are described in Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, A. Osol, a standard reference text in this field.
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There are provided nitrogen-containing bicyclic compounds, pharmaceutical compositions containing these compounds and methods of using these compounds to treat physiological or drug-induced psychosis or diskinesia in a mammal.
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BACKGROUND
The invention relates to a completion valve assembly for use in a subterranean well.
In a subterranean well, a packer may be used to form a seal between the outside of a tubing (a production tubing, for example) and the inside of a well casing. This seal may be useful for testing or production purposes to ensure that well fluid below the packer travels through a central passageway of the tubing.
The packer typically includes a resilient elastomer member that surrounds the tubing. When the packer is set, compression sleeves of the packer compress the member to cause the member to radially expand between the tubing and the well casing to form the seal. For purposes of maintaining compression on the member, stingers of the packer typically extend in a radially outward direction when the packer is set to grasp the well casing to lock the positions of the compression sleeves.
To establish the force that is necessary to set the packer, two techniques are commonly used. A weight set packer uses the weight of a tubular string that is located above the packer and possibly the weight of associated weight collars to derive a force that is sufficient to compress the elastomer member to set the packer.
In contrast to the weight set packer, a hydraulically set packer uses a pressure differential that exists between the fluids of the central passageway of the tubing and the annular region outside of the tubing (called the “annulus”) to establish a force that is sufficient to set the packer. More specifically, the hydraulically set packer typically is set by pressurizing fluid that is present in the central passageway of the tubing. However, before this pressurization occurs, the tubing must be sealed, a requirement that means the central passageway of the tubing must be sealed off below the packer for purposes of forming a column of fluid inside the tubing that can be pressurized. The seal may be formed by a plug.
In addition to using the plug to set a hydraulically set packer, plugs may be used for other downhole purposes, such as pressure testing the tubing. If pressure testing is conducted, it is important to ensure that none of the downhole tools, including any hydraulically set packers, are prematurely activated by the pressure testing.
After the hydraulically set packer is set, the plug may be removed by running a tool downhole to remove the plug or by pressurizing the interior of the tubing to a level that is sufficient to dislodge the plug from the bottom of the tubing. A wireline or slickline run is risky, particularly in deep water or sea water wells. Also, the rig time is expensive when two runs are required. Thus, interventionless operation is desired.
For purposes of filling the tubing with a fluid, a fill tube may be placed in the central passageway. Another technique to fill the tubing uses a tubing fill valve. In this manner, the tubing fill valve controls fluid communication between the annulus and the central passageway of the tubing. Typically, the tubing fill valve is open when the tubing is run downhole for purposes of permitting a formation kill fluid (already present inside the casing) to fill the central passageway of the tubing in case the plug seals or valves leak. Because the hydraulically set packer is set in response to the pressure differential exceeding a predetermined differential threshold, it is possible for this threshold to be exceeded before the packer has reached the desired depth. Therefore, the packer may be unintentionally set at the wrong depth.
Thus, there is a continuing need for an arrangement that addresses one or more of the problems that are stated above.
SUMMARY
In an embodiment of the invention, an apparatus for use in a subterranean well includes a tubular member, a hydraulically set packer, a control line and a valve. The tubular member has an internal passageway, and the hydraulically set packer circumscribes the tubular member and is adapted to be set in response to a difference between a first pressure that is exerted by a first fluid in a passageway of the tubular member and a second pressure that is exerted by a second fluid in an annular region that surrounds the packer. The control line is adapted to communicate an indication of the first pressure to the packer, and the valve is adapted to selectively block the communication of the indication to prevent unintentional setting of the packer.
In another embodiment of the invention, an apparatus for use with a subterranean well includes a tubular member and a valve. The tubular member has a longitudinal passageway and at least one port for establishing communication between the passageway and an annular region that surrounds the tubular member. The valve is adapted to open and close the port and lock the valve closed after the valve closes more than a predetermined number of times.
Advantages and other features of the invention will become apparent from the following description, drawing and claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a completion valve assembly according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIGS. 2, 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 and 8 are more detailed schematic diagrams of sections of the completion valve according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a flattened portion of a mandrel of the completion valve assembly depicting a J-slot according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a tubing fill valve according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a ratchet mechanism of the tubing fill valve according to an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment 10 of a completion valve assembly in accordance with the invention include a hydraulically set packer 14 that is constructed to be run downhole as part of a tubular string. Besides the packer 14 , the completion valve assembly 10 includes a tubing fill valve 35 , a packer isolation valve 22 and a formation isolation valve 31 . As described below, due to the construction of these tools, several downhole operations may be performed without requiring physical intervention with the completion valve assembly 10 , such as a physical intervention that includes running a wireline tool downhole to change a state of the tool. For example, in some embodiments of the invention, the following operations may be performed without requiring physical intervention with the completion valve assembly 10 : the tubing fill valve 35 may be selectively opened and closed at any depth so that pressure tests may be performed when described; the packer 14 may be set with the tubing pressure without exceeding a final tubing pressure; the packer 14 may be isolated (via the packer isolation valve 22 ) from the internal tubing pressure while running the completion valve assembly 10 downhole or while pressure testing to avoid unintentionally setting the packer 14 ; and the formation isolation valve 31 may automatically open 31 (as described below) after the packer 14 is set.
More specifically, in some embodiments of the invention, the packer isolation valve 22 operates to selectively isolate a central passageway 18 (that extends along a longitudinal axis 11 of the completion valve assembly 10 ) from a control line 16 that extends to the packer 14 . In this manner, the control line 16 communicates pressure from the central passageway 18 to the packer 14 so that the packer 14 may be set when a pressure differential between the central passageway 18 and a region 9 (called the annulus) that surrounds the completion valve assembly 10 exceeds a predetermined differential pressure threshold. It may be possible in conventional tools for this predetermined differential pressure threshold to unintentionally be reached while the packer being run downhole, thereby causing the unintentional setting of the packer. For example, pressure tests of the tubing may be performed at various depths before the setting depth is reached, and these pressure tests, in turn, may unintentionally set the packer. However, unlike these conventional arrangements, the completion valve assembly 10 includes the packer isolation valve 22 that includes a cylindrical sleeve 20 to block communication between the control line 16 and the central passageway 18 until the packer 14 is ready to be set.
To accomplish this, in some embodiments of the invention, the sleeve 20 is coaxial with and circumscribes the longitudinal axis 11 of the completion valve assembly 10 . The sleeve 20 is circumscribed by a housing section 15 (of the completion valve assembly 10 ) that include ports for establishing communication between the control line 16 and the central passageway 18 . Before the packer 14 is set, the sleeve 20 is held in place in a lower position by a detent ring (not shown in FIG. 1) that resides in a corresponding annular slot (not shown in FIG. 1) that is formed in the housing section 15 . In the lower position, the sleeve 20 covers the radial port to block communication between the control line 16 and the central passageway 18 . O-rings 23 that are located in corresponding annular slots of the sleeve 20 form corresponding seals between the sleeve 20 and the housing section 15 . When the packer 14 is to be set, a mandrel 24 may be operated (as described below) to dislodge the sleeve 20 and move the sleeve 20 to an upper position to open communication between the control line 16 and the central passageway 18 . The sleeve 20 is held in place in its new upper position by the detent ring that resides in another corresponding annular slot (not shown in FIG. 1) of the housing section 15 .
In some embodiments of the invention, the mandrel 24 moves up in response to applied tubing pressure in the central passageway 18 and moves down in response to the pressure exerted by a nitrogen gas chamber 26 . The nitrogen gas chamber 26 , in other embodiments of the invention, may be replaced by a coil spring or another type of spring, as examples. This operation of the mandrel 24 is attributable to an upper annular surface 37 (of the mandrel 24 ) that is in contact with the nitrogen gas in the nitrogen gas chamber 26 and a lower annular surface 29 of the mandrel 24 that is in contact with the fluid in the central passageway 18 . Therefore, when the fluid in the central passageway 18 exerts a force (on the lower annular surface 29 ) that is sufficient to overcome the force that the gas in the chamber 26 exerts on the upper annular surface 37 , a net upward force is established on the mandrel 24 . Otherwise, a net downward force is exerted on the mandrel 24 . As described below, the mandrel 24 moves down to force a ball valve operator mandrel 33 down to open a ball valve 31 after the packer 14 is set. However, as described below, the upward and downward travel of the mandrel 24 may be limited by an index mechanism 28 that controls when the mandrel 24 opens the packer isolation valve 22 and when the mandrel 24 opens the ball valve 3 1 .
In this manner, the completion valve assembly 10 , in some embodiments of the invention, includes an index mechanism 28 that limits the upward and downward travel of the mandrel 24 . More particularly, the index mechanism 28 confines the upper and lower travel limits of the mandrel 24 until the mandrel 24 has made a predetermined number (eight or ten, as examples) of up/down cycles. In this context, an up/down cycle is defined as the mandrel 24 moving from a limited (by the index mechanism 28 ) down position to a limited (by the index mechanism 28 ) up position and then back down to the limited down position. A particular up/down cycle may be attributable to a pressure test in which the pressure in the central passageway 18 is increased and then after testing is completed, released.
After the mandrel 24 transitions through the predetermined number of up/down cycles, the index mechanism 28 no longer confines the upper travel of the mandrel 24 . Therefore, when the central passageway 18 is pressurized again to overcome the predetermined pressure threshold, the mandrel 24 moves upward beyond the travel limit that was imposed by the index mechanism 28 ; contacts the sleeve 20 of the packer isolation valve 22 ; dislodges the sleeve 20 ; and moves the sleeve 20 in an upward direction to open the packer isolation valve 22 . At this point, the central passageway 18 may be further pressurized to the appropriate level to set the packer 14 . After pressure is released below the predetermined pressure threshold, the mandrel 24 travels back down. However, on this down cycle, the index mechanism 28 does not set a limit on the lower travel of the mandrel 24 . Instead, the mandrel 24 travels down; contacts the ball valve operator mandrel 33 ; and moves the ball valve operator mandrel 33 down to open the ball valve 31 . Thus, after some predetermined pattern of movement of the mandrel 24 , the mandrel 24 may on its upstroke actuate one tool, such as the packer isolation valve 22 , and may on its downstroke actuate another tool, such as the ball valve 31 . Other tools, such as different types of valves (as examples), may be actuated by the mandrel 24 after a predetermined movement in a similar manner, and these other tools are also within the scope of the appended claims.
The tubing fill valve 35 selectively opens and closes communication between the annulus and the central passageway 18 . More particularly, the tubing fill valve 35 includes a mandrel 32 that is coaxial with and circumscribes the longitudinal axis 11 and is circumscribed by a housing section 13 . When the tubing fill valve 35 is open, radial ports 43 in the mandrel 32 align with corresponding radial ports 34 in the housing section 13 . The mandrel 32 is biased open by a compression spring 38 that resides an annular cavity that exists between the mandrel 32 and the housing section 13 . This cavity is in communication with the fluid in the annulus via radial ports 36 . The upper end of the compression spring 38 contacts an annular shoulder 41 of the housing section 13 , and the lower end of the compression spring 38 contacts an upper annular surface 47 of a piston head 49 of the mandrel 32 . A lower annular surface 45 of the piston head 49 is in contact with the fluid in the central passageway 18 .
Therefore, due to the above-described arrangement, the tubing fill valve 35 operates in the following manner. When a pressure differential between the fluids in the central passageway 18 and the annulus is below a predetermined differential pressure threshold, the compression spring 38 forces the mandrel 32 down to keep the tubing fill valve 35 open. To close the tubing fill valve 35 (to perform tubing pressure tests or to set the packer 14 , as examples), fluid is circulated at a certain flow rate through the radial ports 34 and 43 until the pressure differential between the fluids in the central passageway 18 and the annulus surpasses the predetermined differential pressure threshold. At this point, a net upward force is established to move the mandrel 32 upward to close off the radial ports 34 and thus, close the tubing fill valve 35 .
In the proceeding description, the completion valve assembly 10 is described in more detail, including discussion of the above referenced tubing fill valve 35 ; packer isolation valve 35 ; and index mechanism 28 . In this manner, sections 10 A (FIG. 2 ), 10 B (FIG. 3 ), 10 C (FIG. 4 ), 10 D (FIG. 5 ), 10 E (FIG. 7) and 10 F (FIG. 8) of the completion valve assembly 10 are described below.
Referring to FIG. 2, the uppermost section 10 A of the completion valve assembly 10 includes a cylindrical tubular section 12 that is circumscribed by the packer 14 . The tubular section 12 is coaxial with the longitudinal axis 11 , and the central passageway of the section 12 forms part of the central passageway 18 . The upper end of the section 12 may include a connector assembly (not shown) for connecting the completion valve assembly 10 to a tubular string.
The tubular section 12 is received by a bore of the tubular housing section 13 that is coaxial with the longitudinal axis 11 and also forms part of the central passageway 18 . As an example, the tubular section 12 may include a threaded section that mates with a corresponding threaded section that is formed inside the receiving bore of the housing section 13 . The end (of the tubular section 12 ) that mates with the housing section 13 rests on a protrusion 52 (of the housing section 13 ) that extends radially inward. The protrusion 52 also forms a stop to limit the upward travel of the mandrel 32 of the tubing fill valve 35 . An annular cavity 54 in the housing section 13 contains the compression spring 38 . The mandrel 32 includes annular O-rings notches above and below the radial ports 43 . These O-rings notches hold corresponding O-rings 50 .
Referring to FIG. 3, in the section 10 B of the completion valve assembly 10 , the mandrel 32 includes an exterior annular notch to hold O-rings 58 to seal off the bottom of the chamber 54 . The housing section 13 has a bore that receives a lower housing section 15 that is concentric with the longitudinal axis 11 and forms part of the central passageway 18 . The two housing sections 13 and 15 may be mated by a threaded connection, for example. Near its upper end, the housing section 15 includes an annular notch 64 on its interior surface that has a profile for purposes of mating with a detent ring 60 when the packer isolation valve 22 is open. The detent ring 60 rests in an annular notch 63 that is formed on the interior of the sleeve 20 near the sleeve's upper end. When the packer isolation valve 22 is closed, the detent ring 60 rests in the annular notch 62 that is formed in the interior surface of the housing section 15 below the annular notch 64 . When the packer isolation valve 22 is opened and the sleeve 20 moves to its upper position, the detent ring 60 leaves the annular notch 62 and is received into the annular notch 64 to lock the sleeve 20 in the opened position. O-rings seals 70 may be located in an exterior annular notch of the housing section 15 to seal the two housing sections 13 and 15 together. O-rings seals 72 may also be located in corresponding exterior annular notches in the sleeve 20 to seal off a radial port 74 (in the housing section 15 ) that is communication with the control line 16 .
Referring to FIG. 4, the section 10 C of the completion valve assembly 10 includes a generally cylindrical housing section 17 that is coaxial with the longitudinal axis 11 and includes a housing bore (see also FIG. 3) for receiving an end of the housing section 15 . O-rings 82 reside in a corresponding exterior annular notch of the housing section 17 to seal the two housing sections 15 and 17 together. O-rings 84 are also located in a corresponding interior annular notch to form a seal between the housing section 15 and the mandrel 24 to seal off the nitrogen gas chamber 26 . In this manner, the nitrogen gas chamber 26 is formed below the lower end of the housing section 15 and above an annular shoulder 80 of the housing section 17 . An O-rings 86 resides in a corresponding exterior annular notch of the mandrel 24 to seal off the nitrogen gas chamber 26 .
Referring to FIG. 5, in the section 10 D of the completion valve assembly 10 , the lower end of the housing section 17 is received into a bore of an upper end of a housing section 19 . The housing section 19 is coaxial with and circumscribes the longitudinal axis 11 . O-rings 91 reside in a corresponding exterior annular notch of the housing section 17 to seal the housing sections 17 and 19 together.
The index mechanism 28 includes an index sleeve 94 that is coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the tool assembly 10 , circumscribes the mandrel 24 and is circumscribed by the housing section 19 . The index sleeve 94 includes a generally cylindrical body 97 that is coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the tool assembly 20 and is closely circumscribed by the housing section 19 . The index sleeve 94 includes upper 98 and lower 96 protruding members that radially extend from the body 97 toward the mandrel 24 to serve as stops to limit the travel of the mandrel 24 until the mandrel 24 moves through the predetermined number of up/down cycles. The upper 98 and lower 96 protruding members are spaced apart.
More specifically, the mandrel 24 includes protruding members 102 . Each protruding member 102 extends in a radially outward direction from the mandrel 24 and is spaced apart from its adjacent protruding member 102 so that the protruding member 102 shuttles between the upper 98 and lower 96 protruding members. Before the mandrel 24 transitions through the predetermined number of up/down cycles, each protruding member 102 is confined between one of the upper 98 and one of the lower 96 protruding members of the index sleeve 94 . In this manner, the upper protruding members 98 , when aligned or partially aligned with the protruding members 102 , prevent the mandrel 24 from traveling to its farthest up position to open the packer isolation valve 20 . The lower protruding members 96 , when aligned with the protruding members 102 , prevent the mandrel 24 from traveling to its farthest down to position to open the ball valve 31 .
Each up/down cycle of the mandrel 24 rotates the index sleeve 94 about the longitudinal axis 11 by a predetermined angular displacement. After the predetermined number of up/down cycles, the protruding members 102 of the mandrel 24 are completely misaligned with the upper protruding members 98 of the index sleeve 94 . However, at this point, the protruding members 102 of the mandrel 24 are partially aligned with the lower protruding members 96 of the index sleeve 94 to prevent the mandrel 24 from opening the ball valve 31 . At this stage, the mandrel 24 moves up to open the packer isolation valve 20 . The upper travel limit of the mandrel 24 is established by a lower end, or shoulder 100 , of the housing section 17 . The mandrel 24 remains in this far up position until the packer 14 is set. In this manner, after the packer 14 is set, the pressure inside the central passageway 18 is released, an event that causes the mandrel 24 to travel down. However, at this point the protruding members 102 of the mandrel 24 are no longer aligned with the lower protruding members 96 , as the latest up/down cycle rotated the index sleeve 94 by another predetermined angular displacement. Therefore, the mandrel 24 is free to move down to open the ball valve 31 , and the downward travel of the mandrel 24 is limited only by an annular shoulder 103 of the housing section 19 .
In some embodiments of the invention, a J-slot 104 (see also FIG. 6) may be formed in the mandrel 24 to establish the indexed rotation of the index sleeve 94 . FIG. 6 depicts a flattened portion 24 A of the mandrel 24 . In this J-slot arrangement, one end of an index pin 92 (see FIG. 5) is connected to the index sleeve 94 . The index pin 92 extends in a radially inward direction from the index sleeve 94 toward the mandrel 24 so that the other end of the index pin 92 resides in the J-slot 104 . As described below, for purposes of preventing rotation of the mandrel 24 , a pin 90 radially extends from the housing section 17 into a groove (of mandrel 24 ) that confines movement of the mandrel 24 to translational movement along the longitudinal axis 11 , as described below.
As depicted in FIG. 6, the J-slot 104 includes upper grooves 108 (grooves 108 a , 108 b and 108 c , as examples) that are located above and are peripherally offset from lower grooves 106 (groove 106 a , as an example) of the J-slot 104 . All of the grooves 108 and 106 are aligned with the longitudinal axis 11 . The upper 108 and lower 106 grooves are connected by diagonal grooves 107 and 109 . Due to this arrangement, each up/down cycle of the mandrel 24 causes the index pin 92 to move from the upper end of one of the upper grooves a 108 , through the corresponding diagonal groove 107 , to the lower end of one of the lower grooves 106 and then return along the corresponding diagonal groove 109 to the upper end of another one of the upper grooves 108 . The traversal of the path by the index pin 90 causes the index sleeve 94 to rotate by a predetermined angular displacement.
The following is an example of the interaction between the index sleeve 94 and the J-slot 104 during one up/down cycle. In this manner, before the mandrel 24 transitions through any up/down cycles, the index pin 92 resides at a point 114 that is located near the upper end of the upper groove 108 a . Subsequent pressurization of the fluid in the central passageway 18 causes the mandrel 24 to move up and causes the index sleeve 94 to rotate. More specifically, the rotation of the index sleeve 94 is attributable to the translational movement of the index pin 92 with the mandrel 24 , a movement that, combined with the produced rotation of the index sleeve 94 , guides the index pin 92 (that does not rotate) through the upper groove 108 a , along one of the diagonal grooves 107 , into a lower groove 106 a , and into a lower end 115 of the lower groove 106 a when the mandrel 24 has moved to its farther upper point of travel. The downstroke of the mandrel 24 causes further rotation of the index sleeve 94 . This rotation is attributable to the downward translational movement of the mandrel 24 and the produced rotation of the index sleeve 94 that guide the index pin 92 from the lower groove 106 a , along one of the diagonal grooves 109 and into an upper end 117 of an upper groove 108 b . The rotation of the index sleeve 94 on the downstroke of the mandrel 24 completes the predefined angular displacement of the index sleeve 94 that is associated with one up/down cycle of the mandrel 24 .
At the end of the predetermined number of up/down cycles of the mandrel 24 , the index pin 92 rests near an upper end 119 of the upper groove 108 c . In this manner, on the next up cycle, the index pin 92 moves across one of the diagonal grooves 107 down into a lower groove 110 that is longer than the other lower grooves 106 . This movement of the index pin 92 causes the index sleeve 94 to rotate to cause the protruding members 102 of the mandrel 24 to become completely misaligned with the upper protruding members 98 of the index sleeve 94 . As a result, the index pin 92 travels down into the lower groove 110 near the lower end 116 of the lower groove 110 as the mandrel 24 travels in an upward direction to open the packer isolation valve 14 . When the mandrel 24 subsequently travels in a downward direction, the index pin 92 moves across one of the diagonal grooves 109 down into an upper groove 112 that is longer than the other upper grooves 106 . This movement of the index pin 90 causes the index sleeve 92 to rotate to cause the protruding members 102 of the mandrel 24 to become completely misaligned with the lower protruding members 96 of the index sleeve 94 . As a result, the index pin 92 travels up into the upper groove 112 as the mandrel 24 travels in a downward direction to open the packer isolation valve 14 .
The index pin 90 (see FIG. 5) always travels in the upper groove 112 . Because the index pin 90 is secured to the housing section 19 , this arrangement keeps the mandrel 24 from rotating during the rotation of the index sleeve 94 .
Referring to FIG. 7, in a section 10 E of the completion valve assembly 10 , the lower end of the housing section 19 is received by a bore of a lower housing section 21 that is coaxial with the longitudinal axis 11 and forms part of the central passageway 18 . O-rings are located in an exterior annular notch of the housing section 19 to seal the two housing sections 19 and 21 together. Referring to FIG. 8, the mandrel 33 operates a ball valve element 130 that is depicted in FIG. 8 in its closed position. There are numerous designs for the ball valve 31 , as can be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example, FIG. 9 depicts a tubing fill valve 300 that may be used in place of the tubing fill valve 35 . Unlike the tubing fill valve 35 , the tubing fill valve 300 locks itself permanently in the closed position after a predetermined number of open and close cycles.
More particularly, the tubing fill valve 300 includes a mandrel 321 that is coaxial with a longitudinal axis 350 of the tubing fill valve 300 and forms part of a central passageway 318 of the valve 300 . The mandrel 321 includes radial ports 342 that align with corresponding radial ports 340 of an outer tubular housing 302 when the tubing fill valve 300 is open. The mandrel 321 has a piston head 320 that has a lower annular surface 322 that is in contact with fluids inside the central passageway 318 . An upper annular surface 323 of the piston head 320 contacts a compression spring 328 . Therefore, similar to the design of the tubing fill valve 35 , when the fluid is circulated through the ports 340 , the pressure differential between the central passageway 318 and the annulus increases due to the restriction of the flow by the ports 340 . When this flow rate reaches a certain level, this pressure differential exceeds a predetermined threshold and acts against the force that is supplied by the compression spring 328 to move the mandrel 321 upwards to close communication between the annulus and the central passageway 318 .
Unlike the tubing fill valve 35 , the tubing fill valve 300 may only subsequently re-open a predetermined number of times due to a ratchet mechanism. More specifically, this ratchet mechanism includes ratchet keys 314 , ratchet lugs 312 and flat springs 310 . Each ratchet key 314 is located between the mandrel 321 and a housing section 306 and partially circumscribes the mandrel 321 about the longitudinal axis 350 . The ratchet key 314 has annular cavities, each of which houses one of the flat spring 310 . The flat springs 310 , in turn, maintain a force on the ratchet key 314 to push the ratchet key 314 in a radially outward direction toward the housing section 306 .
Each ratchet lug 312 is located between an associated ratchet key 314 and the housing section 306 . Referring also to FIG. 10 that depicts a more detailed illustration of the ratchet key 314 , lug 312 and housing section 306 , the ratchet lug 312 has interior profiled teeth 342 and exterior profiled teeth 340 . As an example, each tooth of the interior profiled teeth 342 may include a portion 343 that extends radially between the ratchet lug 312 and the ratchet key 314 and an inclined portion 345 that extends in an upward direction from the ratchet key 314 to the ratchet lug 312 . The ratchet key 314 also has profiled teeth 315 that are complementary to the teeth 342 of the ratchet lug 312 . The exterior profiled teeth 340 of the ratchet lug 312 includes a portion 360 that extends radially between the ratchet lug 312 and the housing section 306 and an inclined portion 362 that extends in an upward direction from the housing section 306 to the ratchet lug 312 . The housing 306 has profiled teeth 308 that are complementary to the teeth 340 of the ratchet lug 312 .
Due to this arrangement, the ratchet mechanism operates in the following manner. The tubing fill valve 300 is open when the completion valve assembly 10 is run downhole. Before the tubing fill valve 300 is closed for the first time, the ratchet lugs 312 are positioned near the bottom end of the mandrel 321 and near the bottom end of the teeth 308 of the housing section 306 . When the rate of circulation between the central passageway 318 and the annulus increases to the point that a net upward force moves the mandrel 321 in an upward direction, the ratchet lugs 312 move with the mandrel 321 with respect to the housing section 306 . In this manner, due to the flat springs 310 and the profile of the teeth, the ratchet lugs 312 slide up the housing section 306 .
When the tubing fill valve 300 re-opens and the mandrel 321 travels in a downward direction, the ratchet lugs 312 remain stationary with respect to the housing section 306 and slip with respect to the mandrel 321 . The next time the tubing fill valve 300 closes, the ratchet lugs 312 start from higher positions on the housing section 306 than their previous positions from the previous time. Thus, the ratchet lugs 312 effectively move up the housing section 306 due to the opening and closing of the tubing fill valve 35 .
Eventually, the ratchet lugs 312 are high enough (such as at the position 312 ′ that is shown in FIG. 9) to serve as a stop to limit the downward travel of the mandrel 321 . In this manner, after the tubing fill valve 300 has closed a predetermined number of times, the lower surface 322 of the piston head 320 contacts the ratchet lugs 312 . Thus, the mandrel 321 is prevented from traveling down to re-open the tubing fill valve 300 , even after the pressure in the central passageway 318 is released.
Among the other features of the tubing fill valve 300 , the valve 300 may be formed from a tubular housing that includes the tubular housing section 302 , a tubular housing section 304 and the tubular housing section 306 , all of which are coaxial with the longitudinal axis 350 . The housing section 304 has a housing bore at its upper end that receives the housing section 302 . The two housing sections 302 and 304 may be threadably connected together, for example. The housing section 304 may also have a housing bore at its lower end to receive the upper end of the housing section 306 . The two housing sections 304 and 306 may be threadably connected together, for example.
In the preceding description, directional terms, such as “upper,” “lower,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” etc., may have been used for reasons of convenience to describe the completion valve assembly and its associated components. However, such orientations are not needed to practice the invention, and thus, other orientations are possible in other embodiments of the invention.
While the invention has been disclosed with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having the benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom. It is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
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In an embodiment of the invention, an apparatus for use in a subterranean well includes a tubular member, a hydraulically set packer, a control line and a valve. The tubular member has an internal passageway, and the hydraulically set packer circumscribes the tubular member and is adapted to be set in response to a difference between first pressure that is exerted by a first fluid in a passageway of the tubular member and a second pressure that is exerted by a second fluid in an annular region that surrounds the packer. The control line is adapted to communicate an indication of the first pressure to the packer, and the valve is adapted to selectively block the communication of the indication to prevent unintentional setting of the packer.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a PLL (phase locked loop) circuit, and more specifically to a PLL circuit used for a clock generation and a data reproduction.
In the field of communication, a PLL circuit is widely used for extracting a clock component from a received data. In the PLL circuit used for a clock or data regeneration, when the clock component is extracted from the received data, a phase comparing circuit is used for comparing the phase where the data changes, with the phase of a clock generated in the PLL circuit, so as to detect a phase difference. This phase comparing circuit can be classified into two types based on the method for outputting a difference in phase between two input signals. Namely, a first type is a so called linear system for outputting the phase difference in an analog expression, and a second type is a binary system of expressing the phase difference by only a binary value.
In the linear system, the width of a phase difference signal is caused to change in accordance with the phase difference, so that the output of the phase comparing circuit includes the information indicative of the degree of the phase difference. In the binary system, on the other hand, only which of the two input signal is in advance is discriminated for outputting the result of the comparison, and therefore, the information indicative of the degree of the phase difference does not exits. Accordingly, in the case of making a precise comparison, the linear system is used in many case. However, the phase comparing circuit of the binary system outputs the phase difference having the degree of precision inferior to that of the phase difference obtained in the linear system, but advantageously operates in a high speed.
Recently, with an elevation in the communication speed, the data speed and the clock speed handled in the PLL circuit for extracting the clock and the data are correspondingly elevated. Accordingly, it is required to increase the operation speed of the phase comparing circuit. The reason for this is that, since the phase comparing circuit used in the PLL circuit for the regeneration of the clock and the data compares the inputted transmission data and the clock generated in the PLL circuit, the phase comparing circuit is required to operate at the speed of the inputted data. Therefore, in the clock and data regenerating PLL circuit used in the high speed communication, the phase comparing circuit of the binary system capable of operating at a high speed is required in many cases.
Furthermore, in a multiplying PLL circuit configured to generate a clock which is in synchronism with an external clock and which has a clock frequency higher than that of the external clock, the clock frequency handled correspondingly becomes high. Therefore, the phase comparing circuit used in the multiplying PLL circuit is required to be correspondingly speeded up.
Referring to FIG. 10, there is shown a block diagram of one example of the clock and data regenerating PLL circuit using the prior art phase comparing circuit of the binary system. The shown PLL circuit comprises a phase comparing circuit 11 , an up-down counter 13 , a charge pump 14 , a loop filter 15 and a VCO (voltage controlled oscillator) 16 , which are connected as shown.
In this arrangement, an input signal and an output signal of the VCO 16 are supplied to the phase comparing circuit 11 , where both the signals are phase-compared. The result of this phase comparison is outputted as a up signal 11 u or a down signal 11 d , which causes the up-down counter 13 to perform an up-count operation or a down-count operation.
The up-down counter 13 outputs a phase advancing signal S or a phase delaying signal T, which are supplied to the charge pump 14 . This charge pump 14 includes a pair of transistors (not shown) which are operated by the phase advancing signal S or the phase delaying signal T, respectively, and which are connected in series between a power supply voltage and ground, so that an output is derived from a connection node between the pair of transistors.
An output of the charge pump 14 is supplied to the loop filter 15 , so that a capacitor in the loop filter 15 is charged or discharged. The electric charge accumulated in this capacitor is supplied as a control voltage to the VCO 16 , so that the oscillation frequency of the VCO is controlled. Namely, if the capacitor in the loop filter 15 is charged by the phase advancing signal S, the control voltage is elevated so that the oscillation frequency of the VCO is elevated. On the other hand, if the capacitor in the loop filter 15 is discharged by the phase delaying signal T, the control voltage is elevated so that the oscillation frequency of the VCO is lowered.
In brief, in the shown circuit, the oscillation frequency of the VCO 16 is controlled in accordance with the phase advanced or delayed condition, so that it is possible to obtain an oscillation output signal which has the same frequency as that of the input signal and which is in the same phase as that of the input signal.
Incidentally, the PLL circuit can be constituted by replacing the phase comparing circuit, with a frequency comparing circuit of a circuit which performs a frequency comparison and a phase comparison.
However, the output of the phase comparing circuit of the binary system is the up signal 11 u or the down signal 11 d having the constant width, which merely indicates either the phase advancement or the phase delay, for example as a phase difference signal having the width corresponding to one item of data. Therefore, in the phase comparing circuit of the binary system, even after the PLL circuit has become a stable condition, the phase comparing circuit continues to output the up signal 11 u or the down signal 11 d . Therefore, after the clock signal of the PLL circuit becomes the stable condition, the clock signal of the PLL circuit alternatively becomes in advance or delayed (this will be called a “bang-bang operation” hereinafter).
In the prior art, in order to make small the amount of change of the clock frequency caused by the bang-bang operation in the PLL circuit of the binary system, the output of the phase comparing circuit 11 is not supplied directly to the charge pump 14 , but the up signal 11 u and the down signal 11 d are supplied to the up-down counter 13 to suppress the bang-bang operation. The up-down counter 13 is constituted of an adding/subtracting circuit which receives both the up signal 11 u and the down signal 11 d , so that when the total of the up signal 11 u or the down signal 11 d exceeds a certain value, the phase delaying signal T or the phase advancing signal S is outputted to the charge pump 14 .
For example, it is assumed that the up signal and the down signal supplied to the up-down counter 13 is +1 and −1, respectively and an initial value of the up-down counter 13 is “0”. For example, when the count value of the up-down counter 13 becomes +8, the phase advancing signal S is outputted to the charge pump 14 , or when the count value of the up-down counter 13 becomes −8, the phase delaying signal T is outputted to the charge pump 14 . The bang-bang operation occurring when the PLL circuit becomes the stable condition is absorbed by the up-down counter 13 , with the result that the PLL circuit has an increased degree of stability.
However, if the speed of the transmission signal becomes further high, the up-down counter formed of the adding/subtracting circuit becomes inoperable, with the result that the operation speed of the PLL circuit is limited by the up-down counter.
The reason for this is as follows: The up-down counter includes a synchronous circuit operating with the clock having the same frequency as that of the up signal or the down signal supplied to the up-down counter. In addition, when the phase comparing circuit of the binary system is used, the up signal and the down signal is outputted at a speed in accordance with the data transmission rate. For example, the data transmission rate is 1 Gb/s (b/s is bit per second), the up signal or the down signal is outputted at 1 Gb/s. Accordingly, the count operation of the up-down counter is executed at the period of 1 GHz.
The up-down counter is constituted of the adding/subtracting circuit. When this adding/subtracting circuit is constituted of a synchronous circuit operating in synchronism with the clock, the adding/subtracting circuit is constituted of a flipflop circuit and a selector. Accordingly, since the up signal and the down signal is inputted at a rate exceeding the operating speed of the adding/subtracting circuit, the up-down counter becomes inoperable. The rate of the up signal and the down signal changes in proportion to the data transmission rate.
For the reason mentioned above, if the data transmission rate becomes high, the up-down counter becomes inoperable. Accordingly, the speed-up of the operation is prevented by limiting the operation speed of the PLL circuit by the up-down counter.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a PLL circuit which has overcome the above mentioned defect of the prior art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a PLL circuit having an elevated operation speed.
The above and other objects of the present invention are achieved in accordance with the present invention by a phase locked loop circuit comprising a phase comparing means for phase-comparing an input signal with an oscillation signal, an up-down counter having a count value is counted up or down in accordance with the result of phase comparison of the phase comparing means, an oscillating means for generating the oscillation signal having the frequency controlled in accordance with the count value of the up-down counter, wherein the result of phase comparison of the phase comparing means is a serial signal, and there is provided a serial-to-parallel converting means for converting the serial signal into a parallel signal, and the count value of the up-down counter is counted up or down in accordance with the parallel signal.
Here, for example, the serial signal is a signal having a constant width indicative of the result of phase comparison.
In addition, the serial-to-parallel converting means is constituted of a {1:n } demultiplexor circuit for converting the serial signal into the parallel signal composed of “n” bits where “n” is a natural number not less than “2”, for example, a {1:2} demultiplexor circuit for converting the serial signal into the parallel signal composed of “2” bits, or a {1:4} demultiplexor circuit for converting the serial signal into the parallel signal composed of “4” bits.
Furthermore, the input signal is a NRZ signal and the phase locked loop circuit regenerates a synchronous signal based on the NRZ signal. Alternatively, the input signal is an external signal and the phase locked loop circuit operates as a multiplying PLL circuit which regenerates a synchronous signal in synchronism with the external signal. Incidentally, the serial-to-parallel converting means is provided between the phase comparing means and the up-down counter.
As seen from the above, the phase locked loop circuit in accordance with the present invention is characterized by comprising a circuit for serial-to-parallel converting the result of comparison outputted from the phase comparing circuit that phase-compares the two signals. This serial-to-parallel converting means is constituted of a {1:n} demultiplexor circuit for converting the serial signal into the parallel signal composed of “n” bits where “n” is a natural number not less than “2”. In addition, the serial-to-parallel converting means is provided between the phase comparing means and the up-down counter.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the phase locked loop circuit in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the demultiplexor circuit in the phase locked loop circuit shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the up-down counter in the phase locked loop circuit shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the phase locked loop circuit in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a timing chart illustrating an operation of the phase locked loop circuit shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a table illustrating the operation of the phase locked loop circuit shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the phase locked loop circuit in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the demultiplexor in the phase locked loop circuit shown in FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a third embodiment of the phase locked loop circuit in accordance with the present invention; and
FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the phase locked loop circuit in the prior art.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The phase locked loop circuit in accordance with the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In all the figures, equivalent portions are given the same reference numbers.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a block diagram of the phase locked loop circuit in accordance with the present invention. The shown phase locked loop circuit is a PLL circuit for regenerating a clock and data, and comprises a phase comparing circuit 11 , a serial-to-parallel converting circuit (demultiplexor circuit) 12 , an up-down counter 13 , a charge pump 14 , a loop filter 15 , and a VCO 16 , connected as shown.
An input signal supplied to the phase comparing circuit 11 is for example a well-known NRZ (no return to zero) signal, and the VCO 16 generates a signal which has the same frequency as that of the input signal and which is in the same phase as that of the input signal.
Differently from the prior art circuit (as shown in FIG. 10 ), this PLL circuit comprises the demultiplexor circuit 12 provided between the phase comparing circuit 11 and the up-down counter 13 , for lowering the speed (transmission rate) of the up signal 11 u and the down signal 11 d outputted from the phase comparing circuit 11 . As a result, a low speed up signal 12 u and a low speed down signal 12 d outputted from the demultiplexor circuit 12 are slower in data transmission speed than the up signal 11 u and the down signal 11 d outputted from the phase comparing circuit 11 . Accordingly, the operation speed required in the up-down counter 13 is relaxed in comparison with the prior art circuit having no demultiplexor circuit.
An example of the construction of the demultiplexor circuit 12 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 . As shown in FIG. 2, the demultiplexor circuit 12 includes a pair of demultiplexors 12 a and 12 b , which receive the up signal 11 u and the down signal 11 d , respectively, and which are controlled by a clock to generate the low speed up signal 12 u and the low speed down signal 12 d , respectively. Each of the demultiplexors 12 a and 12 b comprises a master-slave-master (MSM) type flipflop 121 and a D-type flipflop 122 , connected as shown. Since the demultiplexors 12 a and 12 b have the same construction, only the demultiplexor 12 a will be described.
The MSM type flipflop 121 includes three cascade-connected latches. The up signal 11 u is sequentially held in these cascade-connected latches of the MSM type flipflop 121 in such a manner that the up signal 11 u is held in a first stage latch at a rising of a first clock, and then, is held in a second stage latch at a falling of the first clock, and thereafter, is held in a third stage latch at a rising of a second clock.
On the other hand, the D-type flipflop 122 includes two cascade-connected latches. The up signal 11 u is sequentially held in these cascade-connected latches of the D-type flipflop 122 in such a manner that the up signal 11 u is held in a first stage latch at a falling of the first clock, and then, is held in a second stage latch at a rising of a second clock.
Thus, the demultiplexor 12 a outputs an output of the third stage latch in the MSM type flipflop 121 and an output of the second stage latch in the D-type flipflop 122 as the low speed up signal 12 u (which is composed of two bits in the case shown in FIG. 2 ). Similarly, the demultiplexor 12 b outputs an output of the third stage latch in the MSM type flipflop 121 and an output of the second stage latch in the D-type flipflop 122 as the low speed down signal 12 d (which is composed of two bits in the case shown in FIG. 2 ).
Next, an example of the construction of the up-down counter 13 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 3 . As shown in FIG. 3, the up-down counter 13 is constituted of “n” cascade-connected circuits, each of which is composed of a {5:1} selector (Sel) 131 a to 131 n controlled by the low speed up signal 12 u and the low speed down signal 12 d , and a flipflop (F/F) 132 a to 132 n for holding an output of the associated {5:1} selector, where “n ” is a natural number. Each selector receives an output of the flipflop of the stage before the just preceding stage, an output of the flipflop of the just preceding stage, an output of the associated flipflop, an output of the flipflop of the just succeeding stage, and an output of the flipflop of the stage after the just succeeding stage. One signal is selected from these five signals in accordance with four bits in total of the low speed up signal 12 u and the low speed down signal 12 d . An output of the flipflop 132 a of the first stage constitutes a phase delaying signal T, and an output of the flipflop 132 n of the final stage constitutes a phase advancing signal S. An operation of the up-down counter 13 will be described hereinafter.
Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a block diagram of a first embodiment of the phase locked loop circuit in accordance with the present invention. This PLL circuit comprises a phase comparing circuit 11 , a demultiplexor circuit 12 , an up-down counter 13 , a charge pump 14 , a loop filter 15 , and a VCO 16 , connected as shown.
In this embodiment, the demultiplexor circuit 12 for relaxing the transmission rate of the up signal 11 u and the down signal 11 d outputted from the phase comparing circuit 11 , is constituted of a {1:2} demultiplexor circuit. Therefore, in response to the up signal 11 u and the down signal 11 d outputted from the phase comparing circuit 11 (both of which are a serial signal), the demultiplexor circuit 12 outputs the low speed up signal constituted of two bits in parallel (a low speed up signal (1) and a low speed up signal (2) as shown in FIG. 5) and the low speed down signal constituted of two bits in parallel (a low speed down signal (1) and a low speed down signal (2) as shown in FIG. 5 ). Namely, the demultiplexor circuit 12 outputs an output signal of four bits in parallel. As a result, the output signal of the demultiplexor circuit 12 can have the transmission rate which is a half of the transmission rate of the input signals of the demultiplexor circuit 12 . These four low speed signals are supplied to the up-down counter 13 .
The up-down counter 13 changes its count value in response to the inputted four low speed signals, as shown in FIG. 6 . For example, when the two low speed up signals (1) and (2) are inputted but neither of the two low speed down signals (1) and (2) are inputted, the value of the up-down counter 13 is incremented by “+2”. On the other hand, when neither of the two low speed up signals (1) and (2) are inputted but the two low speed down signals (1) and (2) are inputted, the value of the up-down counter 13 is incremented by “−2”. When both the low speed up signals and the low speed down signals are inputted, the incremented value of the up-down counter is determined by comparing the number of the low speed up signals with the number of the low speed down signals, as shown in the table of FIG. 6 .
For example, when the two low speed up signals (1) and (2) are inputted and the two low speed down signals (1) and (2) are inputted, the incremented value of the up-down counter becomes “0”. When the two low speed up signals are inputted and one low speed down signal is inputted, the incremented value of the up-down counter becomes “+1”. When one low speed up signal is inputted and the two low speed down signals are inputted, the incremented value of the up-down counter becomes “−1”. When none of the low speed up signals and the low speed down signals is inputted, the incremented value of the up-down counter becomes “0”.
By inserting the demultiplexor circuit 12 , the structure of the up-down counter 13 becomes complicated. However, since the transmission rate of the up signal and the down signal supplied to the up-down counter 12 becomes a half, the operation speed required in the up-down counter 12 correspondingly becomes a half.
Referring to FIG. 7, there is shown a block diagram of a second embodiment of the phase locked loop circuit in accordance with the present invention. This PLL circuit comprises a phase comparing circuit 11 , a demultiplexor circuit 12 , an up-down counter 13 , a charge pump 14 , a loop filter 15 , and a VCO 16 , connected as shown. The up-down counter 13 shown in FIG. 7 are constituted by replacing the {5:1} selectors in the construction shown in FIG. 3 with {9:1} selectors.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, the demultiplexor circuit 12 for relaxing the transmission rate of the up signal 11 u and the down signal 11 d outputted from the phase comparing circuit 11 , is constituted of a {1:4} demultiplexor circuit. An structure of the {1:4} demultiplexor circuit 12 will be described with reference to FIG. 8 .
In order to derive the low speed up signal 12 u from the up signal 11 u , the up signal 11 u is supplied to a {1:2} demultiplexor circuit 81 a having an output connected to an input of each of two {1:2} demultiplexor circuits 81 b and 81 c , which generate the low speed up signal 12 u of four bits in total. In order to derive the low speed down signal 12 d from the down signal 11 d , the down signal 11 d is supplied to a {1:2} demultiplexor circuit 82 a having an output connected to an input of each of two {1:2} demultiplexor circuits 82 b and 82 c , which generate the low speed down signal 12 d of four bits in total. Each of the demultiplexor circuits 81 a to 81 c and 82 a to 82 c has the same construction as that of the demultiplexor circuits 12 a and 12 b shown in FIG. 2 . Thus, the {1:4} demultiplexor circuit 12 can be constructed.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, as mentioned above, the demultiplexor circuit 12 for relaxing the transmission rate of the up signal 11 u and the down signal 11 d outputted from the phase comparing circuit 11 , is constituted of the {1:4} demultiplexor circuit. Therefore, in response to the up signal 11 u and the down signal 11 d outputted from the phase comparing circuit 11 (both of which are a serial signal), the demultiplexor circuit 12 outputs the low speed up signal constituted of four bits in parallel and the low speed down signal constituted of four bits in parallel. Namely, the demultiplexor circuit 12 outputs an output signal of eight bits in parallel. These eight low speed signals are supplied to the up-down counter 13 . The incremented or decremented value of the up-down counter 13 is determined by comparing the number of the low speed up signals with the number of the low speed down signals.
In this second embodiment, by inserting the {1:4} demultiplexor circuit 12 , the structure of the up-down counter 13 becomes complicated. However, since the speed (transmission rate) of the up signal and the down signal supplied to the up-down counter 12 becomes one fourth, the operation speed required in the up-down counter 12 correspondingly becomes one fourth.
In the above mentioned two embodiments, the demultiplexor circuit 12 for serial-to-parallel converting the up signal 11 u and the down signal 11 d outputted from the phase comparing circuit 11 is provided between the phase comparing circuit 11 and the up-down counter 13 , the operation speed required in the up-down counter 12 can be relaxed in accordance with the serial-to-parallel conversion number of the demultiplexor circuit 12 . Namely, using a {1:n} demultiplexor circuit for converting the serial signal into the parallel signal composed of “n” bits where “n” is a natural number not less than “2”, the operation speed required in the up-down counter 12 can be relaxed to 1/n.
Referring to FIG. 9, there is shown a block diagram of a third embodiment of the phase locked loop circuit in accordance with the present invention. This PLL circuit is a multiplying PLL circuit, and comprises a phase comparing circuit 11 , a serial-to-parallel converting circuit (demultiplexor circuit) 12 , an up-down counter 13 , a charge pump 14 , a loop filter 15 , a VCO 16 and a frequency divider 17 , connected as shown.
The shown multiplying PLL circuit can generate a clock having a frequency which is “m” times the frequency of a reference signal supplied to the phase comparing circuit 11 , where “m” is a positive integer not less than 2, such as 2, 3, 4, . . . This multiplying PLL circuit operates to make the phase and the frequency of the signal obtained by frequency-dividing the output of the VCO 16 , consistent with the phase and the frequency of the reference signal, respectively. Accordingly, if the frequency dividing ratio is “2”, the oscillation frequency of the VCO 16 is two times the frequency of the reference signal. If the frequency dividing ratio is “3”, the oscillation frequency of the VCO 16 is three times the frequency of the reference signal. Namely, it is possible to obtain the frequency in proportion to the frequency dividing ratio of the frequency divider. In order to have this clock multiplying function, the frequency divider is inserted in this embodiment.
In this embodiment of the PLL circuit, tie demultiplexor circuit 12 for lowering the speed of the up signal 11 u and the down signal 11 d outputted from the phase comparing circuit 11 is provided between the phase comparing circuit 11 and the up-down counter 13 . Therefore, a low speed up signal 12 u and a low speed down signal 12 d inputted to the up-down counter 13 are slower than the up signal 11 u and the down signal 11 d outputted from the phase comparing circuit 11 . Accordingly, the operation speed required in the up-down counter 13 is relaxed in comparison with the prior art circuit having no demultiplexor circuit 12 .
Accordingly, the PLL circuit can be speeded up in accordance with the serial-to-parallel conversion number of the demultiplexor circuit 12 . For example, if the {1:2} demultiplexor circuit 12 is used, the operation speed required in the up-down counter 12 becomes a half. If the {1:4} demultiplexor circuit 12 is used, the operation speed required in the up-down counter 12 becomes one fourth.
As mentioned above, in the multiplying PLL circuit as in the third embodiment, similarly to the clock and data regenerating PLL circuit of the first and second embodiments, by inserting the demultiplexor circuit 12 for serial-to-parallel converting the up signal 11 u and the down signal 11 d outputted from the phase comparing circuit 11 , between the phase comparing circuit 11 and the up-down counter 13 , the operation speed required in the up-down counter 12 can be relaxed in accordance with the serial-to-parallel conversion number of the demultiplexor circuit 12 . Namely, using a {1:n } demultiplexor circuit for converting the serial signal into the parallel signal composed of “n” bits where “n” is a natural number not less than “2”, the operation speed required in the up-down counter 12 can be relaxed to 1/n.
In the above mentioned embodiments, it would be apparent to persons skilled in the art that the phase comparing circuit can be replaced with a frequency comparing circuit or a frequency and phase comparing circuit. In the former case, the result of frequency comparison outputted from the frequency comparing circuit is supplied to a serial-to-parallel converting circuit, and an output of the serial-to-parallel converting circuit is a parallel signal and supplied to the up-down counter. In the latter case, the result of comparison outputted from the frequency and phase comparing circuit is supplied to a serial-to-parallel converting circuit, and an output of the serial-to-parallel converting circuit is a parallel signal and supplied to the up-down counter.
As seen from the above, in the PLL circuit so configured that the oscillation frequency of the VCO is controlled in accordance with the count value of the up-down counter which is incremented and decremented on the basis of the result of the phase comparison between the input signal and the oscillation signal, there is provided the serial-to-parallel converting circuit for converting the serial signal indicative of the result of the phase comparison into the parallel signal, which is supplied to the up-down counter to change the count value of the up-down counter. Therefore, the operating speed of the up-down counter, which limits the operation speed of the PLL circuit in the prior art, can be relaxed, with the result that the operation speed of the PLL circuit can be elevated.
The invention has thus been shown and described with reference to the specific embodiments. However, it should be noted that the present invention is in no way limited to the details of the illustrated structures but changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims.
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In a phase locked loop circuit, a phase difference signal (an up signal and a down signal) is supplied from a phase comparator to a serial-to-parallel converting circuit, and an output of the serial-to-parallel converting circuit is supplied to an up-down counter having a count value is counted up or down in accordance with the phase difference detected by the phase comparator. A voltage controlled oscillator generates an oscillation signal having the frequency controlled in accordance with the count value of the up-down counter. Thus, since the phase difference signal is serial-to-parallel converted, the rate of the phase difference signal is lowered, so that the operation speed of the up-down counter can be relaxed. Therefore, the operation speed of the phase locked loop circuit can be elevated with elevating the operation speed of the up-down counter.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention provides modified nucleobase compounds, modified nucleic acid mimetic compounds and various uses thereof. More specifically, the invention provides methods for nucleobase characterisation, SNP characterisation and nucleic acid sequencing.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Although two original methods that allowed DNA sequencing were published—the chemical approach of Maxim and Gilbert (A. M. Maxim and W. Gilbert, PNAS, 1977, 74, 560-564) and the enzyme based methods of Sanger (F. Sangeret al., PNAS, 1976, 5463-5467)—the dominant method currently used is based on Sanger's approach and so-called termination or dideoxy sequencing. This fundamental methodology is based on partial termination of a growing DNA chain to produce a ladder of labelled, terminated fragments, which require size separation for sequence analysis to be carried out. Obviously various improvements have been made since its inception, thus the labels have been converted from traditional radioactive nucleotides to fluorescent dyes, and capillaries (although often polymer filled) rather than flat gel electrophoresis are commonly used in high throughput applications. As a result there has been a massive drive to parallelism, such as the simultaneous running of 96 capillaries, the use of four dyes and analysis in a single channel, while enhancements in fluorescence sensitivity and more efficient polymerases have allowed longer sequencing runs. However, the fact that this method has inherent limitations can be seen by the colossal effort that has been required to sequence the human genome. A number of newer approaches have been reported over the past few years and really fall into three categories: (i). Sequencing by repetitive single base addition, (ii) Pyrosequencing and (iii) Restriction enzyme mediated cleavage or kinase ligation with deconvolution/decoding.
[0003] (i). Sequencing by repetitive single base addition. There are a number of reports in this area (Z. M. Li et al., PNAS, 2003, 100, 414-419; T. S. Seo et. al., PNAS, 2005, 102, 5926-5931; L. R. Bi et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2006, 128, 2542). This approach replies on the enzyme mediated addition of a single base to a growing, primed DNA strand. Single base addition is controlled by some modification of the triphosphate such that multiple additions are impossible. This can be a physical block on the nucleotide or a chemical block (e.g. an ester on the 3′OH group). This approach relies on fluorogenically labelled building blocks and typically following removal of the blocking group the fluorogenic reporter will also be cleaved, allowing another cycle of reactions to be entertained. There are a number of issues with this approach, thus the need for enzymes and complex triphosphates. There are also issues with cleavage and termination chemistries which need to be essentially quantitative in order to allow reasonable read lengths.
[0004] (ii). Pyrosequencing (P. Nyren et. al., Anal. Biochem., 1996, 242, 84-89). In this approach a growing, primed DNA strand is treated with an enzyme and one of the four triphosphates. If the base is incorporated, pyrophosphate is liberated; if no incorporation then no pyrophosphate is generated. The pyrophosphate reacts with a sulfurylase which converts it in the presence of APS (adenosine-5′-phosphosulfate) to ATP. This is then treated with another enzyme (luciferase) to generate light. It is this light which is used to determine the addition or otherwise of a specific base to the growing DNA strand. If two or more bases of the same type are added at one time then more light is generated and this can be quantified. The process is then repeated with the next type of triphosphate allowing sequences to be generated. There are a number of issues, which include the fact that quantification of light emission is not always possible so longish stretches of single bases are essentially impossible to read (e.g. it is really impossible to distinguish between 14 or 15 bases of one type due to emission variations). This was the approach used in a recent paper describing sequencing from millions of beads arrayed in microwells (M. Margulies et al., Nature, 2005, 437, 376-380).
[0005] (iii). Restriction enzyme mediated cleavage or ligation with deconvolution/decoding (S. Brenner et al., Nature Biotech., 2000, 18, 630-634). In this approach, sequences are cleaved with a restriction enzyme to give an overhanging sequence. These are then decoded using a series of 16 encoded adapters. The adapters are then cleaved themselves, which exposes the next set of bases to be decoded. A similar approach is possible using ligation. There are again a number of problems: multiple steps per deconvolution; labelled probes and a variety of enzymes are still needed; incomplete cleavage or unwanted cleavage etc. . . . This was the approach used by Brenner (S. Brenner et al., Nature Biotech., 2000, 18, 630-634) as well as the approach used by Shendure and Church in their massive pareallel chip based sequencing (beads trapped in a polyacrylamide gel, J. Shendure et. al., Science, 2005, 308, 1728-1732 and R. D. Mitra et al., PNAS, 2003, 100, 5926-5931).
[0006] Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms: Another, but related area to sequencing is that of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (A-C. Syvanen et al., Nature Genetics, 2005, 37, S5-S10). Indeed SNP analysis can be viewed as sequencing a single base. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are on average found in every 300-1000 bases in humans and represent as much as 90% of all genetic variations between individuals. A SNP can constitute a genetic risk factor (or indeed advantage) to specific disease states as well as a host of physical features. SNP analysis methods are many and varied but generally consist of primer extension reactions using polymerases and fluorescently labelled triphosphates, although the methods of capture and analysis vary considerably. SNP analysis is a simple form of DNA sequencing in some respects, in that the identity of a single base is the major concern (although its context is of course crucial).
[0007] DNA Directed Ligations and Reactions. DNA and peptide nucleic acid (PNA) have been used in a number of ligation-based chemical approaches to synthesis (notably the work of D. R. Liu and O. Seitz-X. Li and D. R. Liu, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2004, 43, 4848-4870; S. Ficht et al., ChemBioChem, 2005, 6, 2098-2103). Non-enzymatic ligation has also been achieved in a DNA-DNA sense by Kool and Richert (N. Griesang et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2006, 45, 6144-6148 and ref therein (e.g. P. Hagenbuch et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2005, 44, 6588-6592))—who used classical nucleophilic addition chemistry to ligate DNA strands (3′ -phosphothioate reacting with a 5′-iodothymidine) or monomers (e.g. 3′ aminonucleotide reacting with an activated phosphate). The first approach could be used for color detection of RNA and DNA point mutations, however it requires large primers on both the nucleophile and electrophile. Richerts approach, although monomer based, required so called helper primers such that two primers spanning the single base-gap were required to direct incorporation. Liu used dynamic chemistry to make polymers of PNA using a DNA template (D. R. Liu et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 13924-13925).
[0008] PNA have been previously used as genetic probes (see review by P. Paulosova and F. Pellestor Ann. Genetique, 2004, 47, 349-358) due to their accurate recognition of complementary DNA or RNA sequences, however due to their lack of recognition by polymerases their use as tool for genetic analysis has been very limited.
[0009] Dynamic chemistry: Over the past decade there has been intense activity in the area of dynamic (combinatorial) libraries (P. T. Corbett et al. Chem. Rev., 2006, 106, 3652-3711; J. M. Lehn, Chem. Eur. J, 1999, 5, 2455-2463, O. Ramström and J. M. Lehn, Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 2002 1, 26-36). A “dynamic library” can be prepared by mixing together in solution two complementary components, such as a selection of aldehydes and an amine, or diols and boronic acids, or thiols and disulfides in the presence of a template. Due to the dynamic equilibrium set up in the system (amine/aldehyde/imine) the most strongly bound ligand will predominate and thus in essence the template “builds” and “concentrates” its own partner. Recently, Dawson et al. ( J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2006, 128, 15602-15603) showed that equilibrium kinetics of dynamic processes can also be accelerated by catalysts such as aniline.
[0010] As can be seen above, all the newer methods of DNA analysis (and the older methods) have a variety of issues and problems associated with their application, not least the use of enzymes and often expensive triphosphates.
[0011] The object of the present invention is to obviate or mitigate at least one of the aforementioned problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The invention described herein provides modified bases, modified nucleobases and DNA mimetic compounds which may be used in various nucleic acid sequencing and/or SNP characterisation methods. The invention provides clear advantages over the prior art as each of the methods described herein is chemical based and does not require the use of enzymes.
[0013] Accordingly, and in a first aspect, the present invention provides a modified base comprising a moiety capable of reversible covalent reactions and a detectable tag.
[0014] One of skill in the art will appreciate that bases (otherwise known as or referred to herein as “nucleobases”) comprise purines and pyrimidines which include, for example the specific bases adenine, guanine, thymine, cytosine and uracil. As such, and in one embodiment, the present invention relates to modified adenine, guanine, thymine, cytosine and/or uracil bases. In addition, the present invention encompasses variants such as, for example, xanthine, hypoxanthine, isoguanine and uric acid.
[0015] It is to be understood that the term “modified base” may be taken to encompass bases/nucleobases comprising an alkyl chain further comprising functional groups capable of reversible covalent reactions. Preferably, the heterocycle of the bases may be modified so as to comprise the alkyl chain and functional groups. More specifically a heteroatom or carbon atom of the heterocycle may be modified to comprise the alkyl chain and functional groups.
[0016] It is to be understood that the functional groups capable of “reversible covalent reactions” may be, for example, groups comprising aldehydes and/or ketones and in one embodiment, the reversible covalent reactions may involve reactions between the aldehyde/ketone groups of the modified base and amines, hydrazide and hydrazides (A. Dirksen, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2006, 128, 15602-15603), alkoxyamine (V. A. Polyakov et al., J. Phys. Org. Chem. 1999, 12, 357-363) or alcohols, diols and/or boronic acids (O. Abed et al. Chem. Mater., 2006, 18, 1247-1260). In one embodiment, the group capable of a reversible covalent reaction is not an alcohol.
[0017] The term “detectable tag” may be taken to encompass tags or labels which are, for example, distinguishable from one another either optically or otherwise. Many such tags or labels are known to those skilled in this field but, by way of example, tags suitable for use in the present invention may include, for example, fluorescent or mass-tag compounds. More specifically, and in one embodiment, the modified bases/nucleobases of the present invention may comprise one or more detectable tag (such as, for example a fluorophore) selected from a group of tags having optically detectable dyes ranging from, for example, the blue to the far-red spectra. Examples of tags which may be suitable include, for example, dansyl, fluorescein, rhodamine, texas red, IAEDANS, cyanine dyes (Cy3, Cy3.5, Cy5, Cy5.5, Cy7), Bodipy dyes (Invitrogen) and/or Alexa Fluor dyes (Invitrogen). In one embodiment, the detectable tag is not ferrocene.
[0018] Suitable “mass-tag” compounds may include, for example, tags which comprise bromide moieties or other compounds, molecules or moieties capable of providing a clear isotopic pattern in mass-spectrometry techniques such as, for example, MALDI-TOF.
[0019] Accordingly, one of skill in the art will appreciate that any of the modified nucleobases described herein may be detected by, for example, fluorescent microscopy or mass spectrometry techniques such as MALDI-TOF or the like.
[0020] Advantageously, the heterocycle of each of the modified bases/nucleobases described herein may comprise a detectable tag linked, for example, at any number of positions through a heteroatom or a carbon atom. In one embodiment, the heteroatom may be modified so as to further comprise suitable spacer/carbon spacer moieties such as, for example an alkyne, alkenylene or alkynylene moiety which may be independently substituted with one or more of the detectable tags noted above. By way of example, the heteroatom and/or modified heteroatom of the heterocycle may comprise one or more fluorophore(s) (T. S. Seo et al., PNAS, 2004, 101, 5488-5493; Z. Li et al., PNAS, 2003, 100, 414-419; L. Thoresen et al., Chem. Eur. J. 2003, 9, 4603-4610) and/or mass tags i.e. bromide, chloride (C. Portal et al., J. Comb. Chem., 2005, 7, 554-560). In one embodiment, the purine and/or pyrimidine heterocylces may be modified by, for example, cross coupling reactions using palladium catalysts (L. Thoresen et al., Chem. Eur. J. 2003, 9, 4603-4610; N. K. Garg et al. Chem. Commun., 2005, 4551-4553).
[0021] Advantageously, each modified base/nucleobase may comprise a different detectable tag. In this way, the detectable tag may allow, for example, a modified adenine nucleobase to be distinguished from any other modified nucleobase.
[0022] In one embodiment, the present invention provides modified bases selected from the group consisting of:
[0000]
[0023] Wherein Y may comprise a functional group capable of reversible covalent reactions. Suitable functional groups may include, for example aldehydes, ketones and/or diols.
[0024] X 1 -X 4 may be different detectable tags or spacer-tag combinations or hydrogen.
[0025] Z may be carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur.
[0026] In cases (iii) and (iv) above, X may be attached to the heterocycle either through Z, when Z is carbon, or through the carbon moiety at position 8.
[0027] In a further embodiment, the present invention provides modified bases selected from the group consisting of:
[0000]
[0028] wherein X and Y may be hydrogen or a hydrocarbon chain, n equals 1, 2 or 3 and Dye 1 -Dye 4 may be one or more of the detectable tags listed above. Preferably each of Dye 1 -Dye 4 represents a different detectable tag such that, for example, the modified nucleobase of Formula 5 may be distinguished from those shown in Formula 6-8.
[0029] Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) is similar to the naturally occurring nucleic acids—deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). While DNA and RNA possess a deoxyribose or ribose sugar backbone respectively, the backbone of PNA comprises repeating N-(2-aminoethyl)-glycine units which are linked by peptide bonds. The various pyrimidine and/or purine bases (or nucleobases) of PNA, are linked to the peptide backbone by amide bond formation. One of skill in the art will understand that a single nucleobase linked via an amide bond to a single N-(2-aminoethyl)-glycine unit may be described as a PNA monomer, but other PNA's include for example, those containing modified aminoethyl-glycine backbones, such as, for example, pyrrolidine-based (R. J. Worthington et al. Org. Biomol. Chem., 2007, 5, 249-259) and indol-based DNA mimics (Formula 9). One skilled in the art will recognise other suitable oligomers.
[0000]
[0030] In a second aspect, the present invention provides modified PNA monomers having the following general formula:
[0000]
[0031] wherein, “heterocycle” is a modified base (such as, for example, cytosine, adenine, guanine or thymine/uracil)) which may comprise a detectable tag, n equals 1, 2 or 3 and further wherein, X represents a way of linkage between the heterocycle and the backbone comprising R 1 and Y. R 1 represents a group capable of reversible covalent reactions. By way of example, R 1 may comprise groups such as an amine, a hydrazide, an alkoxymine, a boronic acid, a diol and/or a thiol.
[0032] Y, may be a functional group capable of reversible covalent reactions such as, for example, an aldehyde, a ketone, a diol, a boronic acid and a thiol.
[0033] In a further embodiment, the present invention provides modified PNA monomers having the following general formula:
[0000]
[0034] wherein, “heterocycle” is a modified base (such as, for example, cytosine, adenine, guanine or thymine/uracil) which may comprise a detectable tag as described above, n equals 1, 2 or 3 and further wherein, R 1 represents a group capable of reversible covalent reactions. By way of example, R 1 may comprise groups such as an amine, a hydrazide, an alkoxymine, a boronic acid, a diol and/or a thiol.
[0035] Y may be a functional group capable of reversible covalent reactions such as, for example, an aldehyde, a ketone, a diol, a boronic acid and a thiol.
[0036] It is to be understood that R 1 may be derivatised to comprise a protecting group or optionally a protecting group comprising (for example, covalently bound to) one or more of the detectable tags described above.
[0037] Suitable protecting groups for use in further derivatising R 1 may include, for example, protecting groups such as acetyl, N-[1-(4,4-dimethyl-2,6-dioxocyclohex-1-ylidene)ethyl] (Dde), fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc), trityl groups, disulfide (Ardec (aryldithioethyloxycarbonyl)) light cleavage protecting group (nitroveratyl based), butyloxycarbonyl (Boc), benzyloxycarbonyl (Cbz), trifluoroacetyl (Tfa), phthalimide, benzyl, allyloxycarbonyl (Alloc), toluensulfonyl (Ts), methoxymethyl ether (MOM), tetrahydropyranyl ether (THP), allyl ether, butyl ether, benzylidene acetal (Green, Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1999).
[0038] In one embodiment, the modified PNA monomers may be selected from the group consisting of:
[0000]
[0039] wherein R 1 -R 4 may comprise a group capable of reversible covalent reactions (see above) optionally protected with a protecting group (as described above). Additionally, or alternatively, R 1 -R 4 may comprise a protecting group which further comprises (for example covalently bound to) one or more of the detectable tags described herein.
[0040] X 1 -X 4 may be one or more of the detectable tags described herein and may be linked to the heterocycle at any number of positions through a heteroatom or a carbon atom. In one embodiment, the heteroatom may be modified so as to further comprise suitable spacer/carbon spacer moieties such as, for example, an alkyne, alkenylene or alkynylene moiety, which may be independently substituted with one or more of the detectable tags noted above.
[0041] X 1 -X 4 is a detectable tag linked to the heterocycles by a cleavable linker or a hydrogen. Z may be carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur and in cases (iii) and (iv) above, X may be linked to the heterocycle either through Z, when Z is carbon, or through the carbon at position 8.
[0042] Y may be a functional group capable of reversible covalent reactions such as, for example, an aldehyde, a ketone, a diol, a boronic acid and a thiol.
[0043] In a further embodiment, the present invention provides modified PNA monomers selected from the group consisting of:
[0000]
[0000] wherein R 1 may be a hydrocarbon chain, and aryl ring, X may be a hydrocarbon chain and Y may be a hydrocarbon chain or hydrogen.
[0044] In a further embodiment, the present invention provides modified bases selected from the group consisting of:
[0000]
[0045] wherein Y may be a hydrogen or a hydrocarbon chain.
[0046] One of skill in the art will appreciate that in addition to providing PNA monomers, the present invention may relate to PNA dimers or trimers. The term “PNA dimer” according to this invention should be understood as relating to two (or three in the case of a PNA “trimer”) PNA monomers which are covalently linked. In one embodiment, a PNA dimer may comprise at least one nucleobase modified to include any of the detectable tags described herein. In other embodiments, the PNA dimers may comprise at their N or C terminal ends any one of the detectable tags described herein.
[0047] In instances where the N or C-terminal end of the PNA dimer is modified to include a detectable tag, the other of the N or C terminal end may include a moiety capable of reversible covalent reactions. As such, in one embodiment, the present invention provides PNA dimers (or trimers) comprising at the N-terminal end a detectable tag and at the C-terminal end, a moiety capable of reversible covalent reactions. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, at least one of the nucleobases of the PNA monomers may further comprise a detectable tag.
[0048] Exemplary methods of producing PNA dimers (or trimers) and examples of specific forms of PNA dimer encompassed by this invention are described in more detail below.
[0049] The present invention also concerns PNA oligomers and one of skill in the art will readily understand that the term “oligomer” may be taken to refer to a molecule comprising at least two PNA monomers linked by, for example, a peptide bond. The invention also concerns other DNA mimics as noted above.
[0000]
[0050] wherein NB is a nucleobase (for example a modified nucleobase according to the present invention) and n is at least 2.
[0051] In view of the above, one of skill will appreciate that a PNA oligomer typically comprises a continuous peptide backbone with each secondary amine of the peptide backbone being further derivatised to comprise a nucleobase (such as the modified nucleobases described above). In a further embodiment, the present invention may provide a PNA oligomer in which some of the secondary amines of the continuous peptide backbone are not derivatised to comprise a nucleobase and hence are left uncoupled. These oligomers may be referred to as oligomers comprising “blank positions”. Formula 24 below provides an example of a PNA monomer comprising a blank position (i.e. secondary amine No: 3 is not derivatised to comprise a nucleobase (NB))
[0000]
[0052] In one embodiment, PNA oligomers of the invention may further comprise, at either the N or C-terminal positions, a group capable of reversible covalent reactions. For example, the N-terminal position may comprise a free amine group, aldehyde/ketone hydrazide, hydrazine, alkoxyamine, alcohols, diols and/or boronic acids and the C-terminal position may comprise a group capable of forming a reversible covalent reaction with the group at the N-terminal position. In one embodiment, either of the N-terminal and/or C-terminal positions may be derivatised so as to further comprise a protecting group (as described above).
[0053] The PNA oligomers for use in the methods described herein may be synthesised using N-2aminoethyl-glycine units protected with orthogonal protecting groups. Such units may have the following general formula:
[0000]
[0054] wherein P 1 and P 2 may be disulfide (Ardec (aryldithioethyloxycarbonyl)), light cleavage protecting group (nitroveratyl based), butyloxycarbonyl (Boc), benzyloxycarbonyl (Cbz), trifluoroacetyl (Tfa), phthalimide, benzyl, allyloxycarbonyl (Alloc) N-[1-(4,4-dimethyl-2,6-dioxocyclohex-1-ylidene)ethyl] (Dde), fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc), t-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) and trityl groups (Green, Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1999).
[0055] The PNA oligomers described above may find particular application in genetic analysis methods.
[0056] As such, in a third aspect, the present invention provides a use for one or more of the modified bases/nucleobases provided by the first aspect of the present invention and/or the PNA monomers/oligomers described herein, in genetic analysis methods. It is to be understood that “genetic analysis” may include, for example, the characterisation, identification and/or sequencing of nucleobases of nucleic acids. In one embodiment, the methods may be used to characterise single nucleotide polymorphisms and/or to sequencing nucleic acids.
[0057] One of skill in the art will be familiar with the term “single nucleotide polymorphism” or “SNP”. Briefly, a “SNP” represents a form of variation in a genome wherein a particular nucleotide of the genome varies between members of a population. By way of example, a SNP may comprise two alleles (i.e. one of two possible nucleotides at a particular locus)—and, in such cases some of the individuals within a population may carry one SNP allele at a particular locus while others may carry the other allele at the same locus.
[0058] Accordingly, the phrase “characterising a nucleobase” may be taken to encompass the act of identifying or determining a particular nucleobase of a nucleic acid sequence—in other words, identifying which nucleobase a particular nucleotide comprises. In instances where the methods are used to characterise a SNP, the term “characterise” may be taken to encompass the act of determining which particular SNP allele (or nucleobase) is present in a particular nucleic acid sequence.
[0059] Thus, in a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a method of characterising a nucleotide in a nucleic acid sequence, said method comprising the steps of:
[0060] (a) contacting a nucleic acid with a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) oligomer capable of hybridising to a portion of the nucleic acid and lacking a nucleobase complementary to a nucleobase of the nucleic acid, to form a nucleic acid/PNA duplex; and
[0061] (b) contacting the nucleic acid/PNA duplex with modified bases according to the first aspect of the invention;
[0062] wherein the modified nucleobase which integrates with the nucleic acid/PNA duplex is complementary to the nucleobase of the nucleic acid, the nucleotide being characterised by means of the detectable tag of the PNA monomer.
[0063] One of skill in the art will appreciate that the part of the PNA oligomer which lacks a base complementary to a nucleobase of the nucleic acid sequence, may present a moiety, for example a secondary amine, capable of reacting reversibly with a moiety of the modified bases described above. As such, upon contact with the nucleic acid/PNA duplex, a modified base which is complementary (or matched) to a nucleobase of the nucleic acid, may be incorporated into the nucleic acid/PNA duplex by the formation of, for example: (i) a reversible iminium species between the secondary amine of the PNA oligomer and the reacting moiety (aldehyde group) of the modified nucleobase and (ii) the formation of hydrogen bonds between the modified nucleobase and the nucleobase of the nucleic acid.
[0064] In one embodiment, the method may comprise the further step of trapping the base integrated with the nucleic acid/PNA duplex and complementary to (i.e. paired with) the nucleotide of the nucleic acid. For example, the reversible reaction between the secondary amine of the PNA oligomer and the group capable of reversible covalent reactions of the modified nucleobase may be stopped. For example, iminium species may be reduced to give rise to stable tertiary amines using reducing agents such as sodium cyanoborohydride.
[0065] It is to be understood that the phrase “capable of hybridising to a portion of the nucleic acid sequence” should be taken to mean that the PNA oligomer is complementary to, or shares a certain degree of homology with, a portion of the nucleic acid sequence.
[0066] The skilled artisan will readily understand that by means of the detectable tag present on each of the modified nucleobases contacted with the nucleic acid/PNA duplex, it may be possible to detect which modified base has been incorporated into the nucleic acid/PNA duplex. As such, characterisation of the nucleotide of the nucleic acid may easily be achieved. For example, if the modified nucleobase found to have integrated with the nucleic acid/PNA duplex comprises a tag which indicates that it comprises a thymine nucleobase, in accordance with standard complementary base pairing, the nucleotide of the nucleic acid must comprise an adenine nucleobase.
[0067] Without wishing to be bound by theory, the integration of a modified nucleobase which is complementary to a nucleobase of a nucleic acid, may represent an example of a dynamic selection process which relates to the various interaction strengths of the complementary (matched) and un-matched nucleobases, as well as the relative concentrations of the four modified nucleobases and may be controlled by changes in the buffer concentrations, pH, temperature and also uses of different catalysts. Dynamic selection processes are well known to one of skill in this field and encompass systems in which a number of complementary components are mixed together in the presence of a template (J. M. Lehn, Nat. Rev. Drug Disc., 2002 1, 26-36). Due to the dynamic equilibrium set up in such a system, the most strongly bound ligand will predominate and thus the template “builds” or selects from the various component parts added, its own “ligand” or “partner”.
[0068] Advantageously, the nucleic acid/PNA duplex is contacted with each of the modified nucleobases described above. Typically, the nucleic acid/PNA duplex will be contacted with modified nucleobases comprising nucleobases complementary to each of the nucleobases likely present in the nucleic acid sample. For example, and in one embodiment, the nucleic acid/PNA duplex may be contacted with the modified adenosine, guanine, cytosine and thymine bases described above. Furthermore, by ensuring that each type of modified bases used in the methods described herein comprises a tag which allows it to be separately distinguished from the other modified nucleobases, characterisation of a nucleotide in a nucleic acid sample may be readily achieved.
[0069] While the methods described herein may be conducted in solution, it may be advantageous to immobilise or otherwise bind the nucleic acid or PNA oligomer to some form of support substrate, preferably a solid support substrate. In one embodiment, the support substrate may comprise glass, nitrocellulose, cellulose, plastic, agarose, beads, a metal (such as for example gold) or the like. In the case of beads, sizes of approximately 1 nm to about 2 mm are preferred.
[0070] In a fifth aspect, the present invention provides an alternate method of characterising a nucleotide of a nucleic acid. As stated, the term “characterise” encompasses the act of identifying a particular nucleobase of a nucleotide. It is to be noted that all of the definitions provided above also to apply to this aspect of the invention. The method according to the fifth aspect comprises the step of:
[0071] (a) hybridising a nucleic acid sequence with a PNA oligomer complementary to a portion of the nucleic acid sequence upstream of the nucleotide to be characterised and further comprising a functional group capable of reversible covalent reactions, to form a nucleic acid/PNA duplex; and
[0072] (b) contacting the nucleic acid/PNA duplex with modified PNA monomers according to the second aspect of the invention;
[0073] wherein the modified PNA monomer which integrates with the nucleic acid/PNA duplex is complementary to the nucleobase of the nucleotide, said nucleotide being characterised by means of the detectable tag of the PNA monomer.
[0074] Preferably, the PNA oligomer hybridises with, or is complementary to, a sequence of the nucleic acid which lies immediately upstream of the nucleotide to be characterised. In other words the PNA oligomer may hybridise with or bind to a nucleic acid sequence at a position 3′ to the nucleotide of the nucleic acid such that the terminal (or N- end ) residue of the PNA oligomer, lies immediately adjacent the nucleotide to be characterised.
[0075] Advantageously, the nucleic acid/PNA duplex is contacted with modified PNA monomers (such as those provided by the second aspect of the invention) comprising nucleobases complementary to each of the nucleobases likely present in the nucleic acid sample. For example, and in one embodiment, the nucleic acid/PNA duplex may be contacted with modified PNA monomers comprising the adenosine, guanine, cytosine and thymine nucleobases described above.
[0076] One of skill in the art will understand that when the PNA monomers are contacted with the nucleic acid/PNA duplex, the PNA monomer comprising the modified nucleobases complementary to the nucleobase of the nucleic acid will, by dynamic selection (as described above), become integrated into the nucleic acid/PNA duplex.
[0077] The methods described herein and particularly the method provided by the fifth aspect of this invention may utilise the PNA dimers provided by this invention. In such cases, rather than using the PNA monomers as described in, for example, step (b) above, the method provided by the fifth aspect may utilise the PNA dimers (or trimers) described herein. Furthermore, the PNA oligomer hybridized to the nucleic acid sequence comprising the nucleotide to be characterised, may be hybridized in such a way that, while upstream of the nucleotide to be characterised, the terminal (or N- end ) residue of the PNA dimer lies adjacent a nucleotide which is itself immediately adjacent the nucleotide to be characterised. In this way, in order to correctly hybridise with the nucleic acid strand containing the nucleotide to be characterised, the PNA dimer must comprise two complementary nucleobases—one complementary to the nucleotide to be characterised and the other complementary to the nucleotide immediately upstream thereof.
[0078] One of skill will appreciate that when using PNA trimers rather than PNA monomers or dimers, the PNA oligomer may be hybrised to the nucleic acid sequence comprising the nucleotide to be characterised, such that there are two nucleotides of the nucleic acid sequences between the N-terminal end of the PNA oligomer and the nucleotide to be sequenced. In this way, a correctly integrating PNA trimer must possess three complementary nucleobases; two complementary to the nucleotides immediately upstream of the nucleotide to be characterised and one complementary to the nucleotide to be characterised.
[0079] In one embodiment, the method provided by the fifth aspect of this invention may further comprise the step of trapping the modified PNA monomer (or PNA dimer/trimer) comprising the nucleobase complementary to the nucleobase of the nucleic acid, by for example, stopping the reversible reaction. For example, imine species may be reduced in a process known as reductive amination using redacting agents such as sodium cyanoborohydride.
[0080] Advantageously, since each of the modified PNA monomers (or PNA dimers or trimers) is labelled with at least one detectable tag which is distinguishable from the detectable tags on other types of PNA monomer (dimer or trimer), detection of the specific monomer (dimer or trimer) which has integrated may be easily achieved.
[0081] One of skill will readily understand that where PNA dimers are used, there are 16 possible combinations of the four standard nucleotides (A, G, T and C) which must be taken into consideration. As such, when using PNA dimers, the methods described herein may require the addition of all 16 possible PNA dimers. Similarly, when using PNA trimers, there are 64 possible combinations of the four standard nucleotides—as such, when using PNA trimers, the methods described herein may require the addition of all 64 PNA trimers.
[0082] As stated, it is to be understood that while each of the above-described methods has been described with reference to the characterisation of a particular nucleobase/nucleotide of a nucleic acid sequence, the methods may also permit the user to characterise a SNP present in a nucleic acid sample. For example, if a SNP is known to occur at a particular locus within a gene, by designing PNA oligomers which hybridise either side of the SNP locus or immediately upstream of the SNP locus (as described above) it may be possible to characterise the SNP (i.e. identify which particular SNP allele is present at that locus). Such methods may be particularly useful in detecting mutations associated which particular genetic disorders.
[0083] In a sixth aspect, the present invention provides a method of sequencing a nucleic acid, said method comprising the steps of:
[0084] (a) hybridising a nucleic acid sequence with a PNA oligomer capable of hybridising to a portion of said nucleic acid sequence and having at its N-terminal position a functional group capable of interacting with a PNA monomer according to the second aspect of the invention, under conditions which permit the formation of a nucleic acid/PNA duplex; and
[0085] (b) contacting the nucleic acid/PNA duplex with PNA monomers according to the second aspect of the invention;
[0086] wherein the PNA monomers which integrate with the nucleic acid/PNA duplex is complementary to a nucleobase of the nucleic acid sequence which may subsequently be identified by means of the detectable tag of the PNA monomer.
[0087] Since each PNA monomer may be labelled with a detectable tag which is distinguishable from the detectable tags of PNA monomers comprising another nucleobases, by detecting the tag of the PNA monomer which has integrated into or with the nucleic acid/PNA duplex, it may be possible to sequence a nucleic acid.
[0088] In addition, and as has been described above, the method provided by the sixth aspect of this invention may, rather than using PNA monomers in step (b), use the PNA dimers and/or trimers provided by this invention.
[0089] Preferably, each of the PNA monomers (or dimers or trimers) contacted with the nucleic acid/PNA duplex may comprise, at its N-terminal position a blocking group (as described above). Such PNA monomers (or dimers or trimers) are referred to hereinafter as “blocked PNA monomers (dimers/trimers)”. Methods which use blocked PNA monomers (dimers/trimers) are particularly advantageous as only one PNA monomer can integrate with a nucleic acid/PNA duplex at a time. In order for further PNA monomers (dimers or trimers) to be subsequently integrated, the blocking group of the integrated PNA monomer (dimer or trimer) must first be removed (optionally together with any detectable tag). In this way, prior to the addition of a further PNA monomer (dimer or trimer: blocked or otherwise), the detectable tag of the integrated modified nucleobase may be identified and the corresponding nucleobase of the nucleic acid determined.
[0090] The techniques which may be used to remove the protecting group (together with any tag present) are known to one of skill in the art and may include, for example basic-based cleavage, acidic-based cleavage, disulfide reduction, metal-based catalytic reactions, light-based cleavage reactions (Green, Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1999).
[0091] Removal of the protecting group and any tag present on the integrated modified nucleobases, may expose or yield a moiety (such as a free amine; group, aldehyde/ketone, hydrazide, hydrazine, alkoxyamine, alcohols, diols and/or boronic acids capable of reacting reversibly with another PNA monomer. In addition, the method may comprise the further step of trapping the integrated PNA monomer so as to prevent further reversible reactions. For example, reduction of the imine species with sodium cyanoborohydride and further trapping of the generated secondary amine by, for example, an amidation step using acetylchloride. Since each modified nucleobase to integrate with the nucleic acid/PNA duplex binds to a complementary nucleobase of the nucleic acid, the methods described herein render it is possible to sequentially determine the sequence of a nucleic acid.
[0092] Each of the methods described herein offers many advantages over the prior art. In particular, no enzymes are needed and no labelled triphosphates are necessary—only labelled PNA monomers, dimers or trimers are used. In addition, there is no need to use current fluorophore attachment strategies as existing strategies, such as for example the use of alkynes, are only used due to enzyme requirements (Q. Meng et al., J. Org. Chem., 2006, 71, 3248-3252).
[0093] One of skill in this field will appreciate that any of the methods provided by this invention, and in particular the methods provided by the fourth, fifth and sixth aspects of this invention may require the use of microarray technology. For example, the nucleic acid comprising the nucleotide to be characterised may be immobilised on to some form of suitable substrate using, for example, a micro printing system or the like. In this way, a large number of different nucleic acids can be immobilised on to substrates in discrete areas such.
[0094] In other embodiments, the nucleic acids comprising nucleotides to be characterised may be held in solutions with the other components i.e. the PNA oligomers, modified nucleobases etc. being added in solution also.
[0095] In further embodiments, the nucleic acids comprising nucleotides to be characterised may be immobilised on to substrates such as, for example, gold surfaces suitable for mass-spectrometry analysis.
[0096] In a seventh aspect of this invention, there is provided a kit comprising the reagents and components required for the methods provided by the fourth, fifth and sixth aspects of this invention. In one embodiment, the kit may provide reagents and components useful in methods for characterising a nucleotide of a nucleic acid and/or for sequencing a nucleic acid, said kit comprising components selected from the group consisting of:
(a) a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) oligomer capable of hybridising to a portion of a nucleic acid and lacking a nucleobase complementary to that of the nucleotide to be characterised; (b) modified nucleobases according to the present invention; (c) PNA monomers, dimers, trimers and/or oligomers as described herein; and (d) a PNA oligomer complementary to a portion of the nucleic acid sequence upstream of the nucleotide to be characterised and further comprising a functional group capable of reversible covalent reactions.
[0101] One of skill in the art will appreciate that, while the present invention has been described with reference to the DNA mimetic PNA, other DNA mimics could also be used provided they allow dynamic incorporation of the nucleobases. Such alternate mimetic include those disclosed by R. J. Worthington et al., Org. Biomol. Chem., 2007, 5, 249-259. In addition, it may be possible to use modified DNA dimers, trimers and/or oligomers in the methods provided by the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh aspects of this invention. More specifically, those steps which require the use of a PNA oligomer capable of hybridising to a nucleic acid sequence to be sequenced or comprising a nucleotide to be characterised may, in alternative embodiments utilise DNA dimers, trimers and/or oligomers modified to include the requisite functional groups capable of reversible reactions and/or blank positions corresponding to nucleotides to be characterised.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0102] The present invention will now be described in detail and with reference to the following Figures which show:
[0103] FIG. 1 : Structures of PNA and DNA showing PNA-DNA hybridisation.
[0104] FIG. 2 : Dynamic-based SNP analysis. A complementary PNA sequence lacking a base opposite a SNP location, is hybridised to a nucleic acid sequence comprising a SNP, to form a nucleic acid/PNA duplex. By dynamic attachment, the base complementary to the SNP nucleotide integrates with the nucleic acid/PNA duplex. Each modified base may be labelled with a specific tag which may be a fluorophore (see FIG. 1 )
[0105] FIG. 3 : Illustration of the dynamic-based SNP analysis shown in FIG. 2 .
[0106] FIG. 4 : Alternative method for dynamic-based SNP analysis—DNA oligomers are hybridised with complementary PNA oligomers having free amino groups at the N-terminus which permit the dynamic attachment of the base complementary to the SNP nucleobase.
[0107] FIG. 5 : Illustration of the dynamic-based SNP analysis shown in FIG. 4 .
[0108] FIG. 6 : Illustration of dynamic-based DNA sequencing. (a) PNA oligomers, which may be attached to surfaces or in solution, containing a free amino group at the N-terminal position (b) DNA templates hybridise to their corresponding “PNA primers” (c) addition of the four N-protected aldehyde PNA monomers (d) dynamic attachment of the corresponding nucleobase (e) removal of both protecting groups and tags “fixing” the growing strand by may be a reduction process and (f) repeat.
[0109] FIG. 7 : Illustration of dynamic-based DNA sequencing. (a) DNA oligomers, which may be attached to surfaces or in solution (b) “PNA primers” having a free amine group at their N-terminal position hybridise to their corresponding DNA template (c) addition of the four N-protected aldehyde PNA monomers (d) dynamic attachment of the corresponding nucleobase (e) removal of both protecting groups and tags and “fixing” the growing strand by may be a reduction process and (f) repeat.
[0110] FIG. 8 : Dynamic-based DNA sequencing of FIGS. 6 and 7 .
[0111] FIG. 9 : Synthesis of aldehyde bases (i) N-alkylation of nucleobase using a bromoalkyl acetal (ii) labelling of the nucleobases via Sonogashira reaction (iii) deprotetion of the acetal protecting group.
[0112] FIG. 10 : Synthesis of protected/tagged PNA-aldehydes: (i) Protection of primary (ii) C Mmt CH 2 COOH, A Mmt CH 2 COOH or G Mmt CH 2 COOH or T-CH 2 COOH, DCC, HOBt; NB=Nucleobases.
[0113] FIG. 11 : Schematic representation of the pattern followed to print 8 DNA oligomers (Table 1) and a fluorescently-labelled marker.
[0114] FIG. 12 : FITC channel image of slide containing 8 DNA oligomers (Table 1) plus a fluorescent DNA marker hybridized with PNA 13 containing a blank position. Just the fluorescent DNA marker is detected;
[0115] FIG. 13 : Cy5 channel image of slide containing 8 DNA oligomers (Table 1) plus a fluorescent DNA marker hybridized with PNA 13 containing a blank position, only PNA-DNA antiparallel orientated duplexes were able to hybridise.
[0116] FIG. 14 : (A) Shows the pattern of amino modified oligonucleotides (Table 2) printed onto aldehyde slides using a Microdrop robot equipped with a piezo electric pipette (3×8 pattern). (B) Schematic representation of antiparallel duplexes formed by PNA 13 and DNA oligonucleotides found in Table 2. (C) Fluorescent image (Cy5 channel) showing PNA 13 hybridised with oligo 1 and 2 (Table 2). (D) FITC channel image showing the dynamic incorporation of fluorescein-labelled cytosine aldehyde 10 following incubation of arrays containing DNA-PNA 13 duplexes with aldehydes 9 and 10. Fluorescein signal was detected only where G-antipar oligo 2 (Table 2, FIGS. 14A and 14B ) was printed. (E) Further FITC channel image showing the results of an in situ approach and the dynamic incorporation of fluorescein-labelled cytosine aldehyde. Fluorescein signal was detected only where G-antipar oligo 2 (Table 2, FIGS. 14A and 14B ) was printed
[0117] FIG. 15 : (A) Synthesis of aldehyde dimers for dynamic sequencing where the second nucleobase is defined by a dye. (B) A PNA dimer in which the first nucloebase is identified by a dye.
[0118] FIG. 16 : (A) Nucleotide characterisation method using PNA dimers in which the second nucleobase of the dimer is labelled with a detectable tag. (B) Alternative method of nucleotide characterisation utilising PNA dimers in which the first nucleobase is labelled with a detectable tag.
[0119] FIG. 17 : schematic diagram showing a method for mass-spectrometry based SNP analysis.
[0120] FIG. 18 : Shows the general structure of the modified nucleobases for use in mass-spectrometry based SNP analysis.
[0121] FIG. 19 : Shows the general structures of modified nucleobases which may be useful in mass-spectrometry based nucleic acid sequencing methods.
METHODS
[0122] Synthesis of the Labelled Bases, Building Blocks and Primers.
[0123] (i). PNA-aldehyde monomers and aldehyde bases. These were prepared as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 . This method is applicable to many protecting groups groups and this includes the Dde group, the Fmoc group, thiol cleaved protecting group (Ardec (aryldithioethyloxycarbonyl) light cleavable protecting groups (nitroveratyl based) as well as fluorophores.
[0124] The above detailed methods may be adapted to give fluorescent labelled materials via classical Sonogashira coupling of the bromo and iodo-pyrimidine and purine derivatives to propargylamines followed by fluorescent labelling with the various fluorophores (see Scheme 3). This approach may also be applied to the synthesis of the fluorescently labelled “aldehyde bases” ( FIG. 6 ). The fluorophore choice will be dictated by the need to allow individual detection of bases.
[0125] Synthesis of protected and tagged PNA-aldehydes: PNA-aldehydes 2 were prepared from PNA carboxylic acids, PNA esters or PNA alcohols following standard chemistries (Scheme 1). 1 was prepared according to a published methods (L. Bialy et al. Tetrahedron 2005, 61, 8295-8305).
[0000]
[0126] As an example 3 was converted into a Weinreb amide 4 (Scheme 2), then reduced to afford the target aldehyde 2. To prevent over-reduction of 4, the milder reducing agent lithium tri-tert-butoxyaluminium hydride (LiAlH(O-t-Bu) 3 ) was employed in place of LiAlH 4 (M. Paris et al. Tetrahedron Lett. 1998, 39, 1341-1344).
[0000]
[0000] Aldehydes were purified using a catch-and-release strategy on a threonyl resin (D. R. Liu et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 13924-13925).
[0127] (a) Preparation of resin: Aminomethyl NovaGel HL was swollen with DMF over approximately 10 min. Meanwhile, DIPEA was added to a solution of Fmoc-Thr(t-Bu)-OH and TBTU in DMF and the reaction mixture was shaken for 5 min. The swollen resin was then filtered and the solution of activated protected threonine was added. The resulting suspension was shaken at room temperature for 2 h. The resin was then filtered from the reaction mixture and washed with DMF (5×), THF (5×) and DCM (5×), then dried in vacuo at 40° C. overnight. The resin was then swollen in DMF for approximately 10 min and filtered, then shaken with 20% v/v piperidine in DMF ×2. The resin was then shaken with 80% v/v TFA (trifluoroacetic acid) in DCM, filtered, washed with DCM (1×) and again shaken with 80% v/v TFA in DCM. The resin was filtered, washed with DCM (5×) and dried in vacua at 40° C.
[0128] (b) Purification of Aldehyde by Catch and Release:
[0129] Capture: To the deprotected threonyl scavenging resin was added a solution of crude aldehyde. The mixture was shaken at room temperature for 1 h, then the resin was filtered and washed. Release: The resin was shaken and washed with a mixture of AcOH/H 2 O/DCM/MeOH (10/5/5/80, 2 mL×5) for 20 min and the washings concentrated in vacuo to give the aldehyde.
[0000]
[0130] 1. An alternative route to aldehyde 2 is via the S-benzyl thioester 5 as shown in Scheme 4 (P. T. Ho, et al. J. Org. Chem. 1993, 58, 2313-2316).
[0000]
[0131] Alternative routes include the reduction of the methyl ester to the corresponding primary alcohol and subsequent oxidation or direct synthesis of the PNA alcohol and oxidation.
Synthesis of Tagged Nucleobases-Aldehydes for SNP Analysis (Method 1):
[0132] Nucleobases-aldehydes 6 were prepared from commercial available halo-nucleobases by alkylation with 2-(bromomethyl)-1,3-dioxolane (Scheme 5) under microwave irradiation followed by Sonogashira reaction with Tfa protected propargylamine, deprotection of the Tfa protecting group and coupling with a carboxylic acid derivatised dye.
[0000]
[0000] As an example thymine and cytosine derivative were synthesised as described in Scheme 6 and 7.
[0000]
[0000]
[0000] Alkylation of Nucleobases with Acetals
[0133] This process was optimised using microwave irradiation at 100° C. for 30 min in THF. The use of 1.2 equiv. of 2-(bromomethyl)-1,3-dioxolane with NEt 3 gave rise to the mono-alkylated product in a 4:1 ratio.
[0134] The labelling of the nucleobases were achieved via Sonogashira cross coupling reaction using aminomethylacetylene.
(a) Sonogashira reaction with Tfa protected aminomethylacetylene before deprotecing the Tfa group with ammonia. PyBOP as coupling agent. (b) The second explored pathway was to carry out the Sonogashira reaction with the acetylene group already bearing the dye. That reaction was done by reacting aminomethyl acethylene with supported activated dyes using a hydroxynitrobenzoic resin (Scheme 8).
[0000]
[0000] Finally, acetals were deprotected using 2N HCl in H 2 O to give products 7 and 8.
[0137] Synthesis of Fluorescently-Labelled Aldehyde Bases for “Clamp” SNP Analysis
[0138] The alkylation of the nucleobases was achieved using a modified procedure described by L. Christensen et al., Nucl. Acids Res., 1998, 26, 2735-2739. One equivalent of halogenated nucleobase was dissovled in DMF with NaH (1.2 equivalent) and then stirred for 30 min at room temperature. Then, 1.12 equivalent of bromoacetaldehyde diethylacetal was added and the solution stirred under microwave irradiation for 30 min at 130° C.
[0139] Alkylated halobases were subjected to Sonoghasira cross-coupling following a procedure described in N. K. Garg et al. Chem. Commun., 2005, 4551-4553 and using Tfa protected aminomethylacetylene. Deprotecing the Tfa group with ammonia in MeOH, gave rise to a free primary amine which was used to couple dyes containing carboxylic groups. The amide coupling was achieved using HOBt/EDCI HCl coupling agents.
[0140] Acetal deprotection was achieved by treatment with 75% TFA/12.5% H 2 O/12.5% CH 3 CN during 24 hours at room temperature. Alternatively, by heating at 60° C. under microwave irradiation for 2 hours. Acetals were purified by RP-HPLC. RP-HPLC was performed on a HP1100 system equipped with a Phenomenex Prodigy C18 reverse-phase column (250 mm×10 mm×5 mm) with a flow rate of 2.5 mL/min and eluting with (A) 0.1% TFA in H 2 O and (B) 0.042% TFA in acetonitrile, with an initial isocratic period of 4 min at 0% (B) followed by a gradient of 0-50%. (B) over 25 min and 50-100% (B) over 10 min, holding at 100% (B) for 5 min. ESI-/MS analyses were carried out on an Agilent Technologies LC/MSD Series 1100 quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) in a electrospray ionization (ESI) mode. Final aldehydes were identified by NMR and LC-MS (ESI).
[0141] As examples, rhodamine-labelled thymine aldehyde (Scheme 9) and fluorescein-labelled cytosine aldehyde (Scheme 10) were produced as described above. Nucleobases modified in this way may be used in any of the methods described herein and in particular, in methods for SNP characterisations and/or analysis.
[0000]
[0000]
[0142] One of skill in this field will appreciate that adenine and guanine derivatives using BODIPY dyes will prepare in a similar manner. In such cases the halonucleobases are the following:
[0000]
Synthesis of N-2(Dde-amino)ethyl-N-boc-glycine 11
[0143]
[0144] To a solution of methyl N-2(Dde-amino)ethyl-glycine ester (1_mmol) (L. Bialy et al., Tetrahedron, 2005, 61, 8295-8305) in dry THF (10 mL, 0.1 M) was added Boc 2 O (1.1 mmol) and triethylamine (1.1 mmol) and the reaction was stirred for 5 hours being monitored by TLC. After removal of the solvent the crude was dissolved in DCM and washed with NaHCO 3 , KHSO 4 and brine. The organic phase was dried over NaSO 4 anh. and concentrated to give rise to a yellow solid. Without any further purification the crude was dissolved in MeOH and a 2 M solution of Cs 2 CO 3 in water was added. After 1.5 h the reaction was acidified to pH 3 with KHSO 4 . The acid precipitated, filtered off and dried to give rise acid 11 as a white solid.
Synthesis of PNA Oligomers 12 and 13
[0145] PNA oligomer 12 (H 2 N-TACTACATC_CTTCC-CONH 2 ) and 13 (Cy5COHN-TACTACATC_CTTCC-CONH 2 )_=boc-deprotected blank monomer 9 were synthesised using Dde protected monomers (Bradley et al., Tetrahedron, 2005, 61, 8295-8305) on solid phase (J. J. Diaz-Mochon et al., Org. Lett. 2004, 6, 1127-1129). In order to insert the blank monomer N-2(Dde-amino)ethyl-N-boc-glycine 11 was used.
HPLC and MALDI-TOF PNA 12 (MALDI-TOF; calculated mass: 3780, found mass: 3781 (M+1). PNA 13 (MALDI-TOF; calculated mass: 4244, found mass: 4246 (M+1).
Array Based Screening.
[0149] 8-amino modified oligonucleotides (Table 1) were contact printed onto Code-link (Amersahm) slides for SNP analysis. These oligos were designed to have either a parallel orientation (PNA C-terminal facing DNA 3′-end) when hybridised with PNA 13 or antiparallel (PNA N-terminal facing DNA 3′-end).
[0000]
TABLE 1
DNA oligomers for dynamic-based SNP (method 1)
A
A-antipar
TTT TTT GGA AG GAT GTA GTA
B
G-antipar
TTT TIT GGA AG GAT GTA GTA
C
C-antipar
TTT TTT GGA AG GAT GTA GTA
D
T-antipar
TTT TTT GGA AG GAT GTA GTA
E
A-par
TTT TTT ATG ATG TAG GA AGG
F
C-par
TTT TTT ATG ATG TAG GA AGG
G
G-par
TTT TTT ATG ATG TAG GA AGG
H
T-par
TTT TTT ATG ATG TAG GA AGG
[0150] Slides were printed using a Genetix Qmini Arrayer and solid pins. A FITC-labelled DNA oligo was used as marker and the following pattern as shown in FIG. 11 was used.
[0151] A 2 μM solution of PNA 13 in HybGen buffer (Genetix) was hybridised on the slides using Hyb4 hybridization station (from 65° C. to 40° C. over 6 h and then at 40° C. for 2 hours). After washing the slide was scanned using a Lavision Biotech Scanner a FITC and Cy5 filter sets ( FIGS. 12 and 13 ). FIG. 12 shows the FITC channel and just the marker is detected; in FIG. 13 (Cy5 channel), only the oligos with antiparallel orientation were able to hybridised modified PNA 13
SNP Analysis
[0152] Amino modified oligonucleotides (Table 2) were inkjet printed onto aldehyde slides (Genetix) for SNP analysis. These oligos were designed to hybridise following an antiparallel (PNA N-terminal facing DNA 3′-end) orientation when hybridised with PNA 13
[0000]
TABLE 2
DNA oligomers for dynamic-based SNP
A
A-antipar Oligo 1
TTT TTT GGA AG GAT GTA GTA
B
G-antipar Oligo 2
TTT TTT GGA AG GAT GTA GTA
[0153] Slides were printed using a Microdrop robot and a piezo electric pipette. FIG. 14A shows the pattern used.
[0154] A 2 μM solution of PNA 13 in HybGen buffer (Genetix) was hybridised on the slides using Hyb4 hybridization station from 55° C. to 30° C. over 12 h. After washing, the slide was scanned using a Lavision Biotech Scanner. FIG. 14B shows the duplex formed. FIG. 14C (Cy5 channel) show the oligos with antiparallel orientation were able to hybridised modified PNA 13.
[0155] Once the arrays were hybridised, aldehyde bases 9 and 10 were incubated with the arrays. Dynamic incorporation was observed when arrays were incubated with 5 μM of each aldehyde together with 1 mM of NaBCNH 3 at room temperature for 16 h (see FIG. 14D ) at both pH 6 (0.1M NH 4 OAc) and pH 8.5 (0.2M NaHCO 3 ; 0.3M NaCl). Images obtained using the fluorescein channel (FITC channel) detect DNA oligo 2 (G antiparallel) ( FIG. 14D ). This signal comes from the base-aldehyde bearing a fluorescein dye, in this case cytosine aldehyde 10, corresponding with the perfect match for G
[0156] A second approach was also used: To a 2 μM solution of PNA 13 in HybGen buffer (Genetix) aldehydes 9 and 10 at 2 μM concentration were added together with 1 mM NaBCNH 3 . This solution was used to hybridise a slide containing DNA oligos showed in Table 2. Hybridization occurred from 55° C. to 30° C. over 12 h. Under these conditions, images obtained using the fluorescein channel (FITC channel) detect DNA oligo 2 (G antiparallel: see FIG. 14E ). This signal comes from the base-aldehyde bearing a fluorescein dye, in this case cytosine aldehyde 10, corresponding with the perfect match for G.
Solution Based Screening.
Synthesis of PNA Oligomers 12.
[0157] PNA oligomer 14 (NH 2 -CATTCTTCCTCT-CONH 2 ) was synthesised using Dde protected monomers (L. Bialy et al., Tetrahedron, 2005, 61, 8295-8305) on solid phase (J. J. Diaz-Mochon et al., Org. Lett. 2004, 6, 1127-1129).
[0158] PNA 14 (MALDI-TOF; calculated mass: 3345, found mass: 3348 (M+1) 2 amino modified oligonucleotides complementary to PNA 14 were used for DNA analysis in solution using mass-spec analysis and solid phase analysis.
[0000]
TABLE 3
DNA oligomers for dynamic-based
sequencing and SNP (method 2)
I
C-extension
TTTTTTAGAGGAAGAATGGGTAA
J
T-extension
TTTTTTAGAGGAAGAATGAAGTT
[0159] To a 1 μM solution of PNA 14 in HybGen buffer was added a 1.2 μM solution of DNA oligomer I in TE buffer (Table 3). The mixture was heated up to 65° C. and then cool it down slowly to 40° C. At this stage different pH modifications were made before adding PNA monomer aldehyde 2. Extension reaction was followed by HPLC and mass-spectroscopy using reverse phase column and ammonia buffers.
[0160] Synthesis of Fluorescently-Labelled PNA Aldehyde Monomers for Dynamic Extension.
[0161] These compounds were synthesied following modified protocols developed by L. Bialy et al. Tetrahedron, 2006, 61, 8295-8305 for the synthesis of PNA monomers. The main difference is the initial alkylation of ethylendiamine with bromoacetalldehyde diethyl acetal using microwave irradiation (see Scheme 11).
[0162] Dde deprotection in solution was achieved using hydrazine and water at room temperature for 16 h. Dye coupling was done using EDCI and HOBt. Final deprotection was achieved using TFA in acetonitrile for 30 min. Purification and analyses were performed as mentioned above.
[0000]
[0163] As examples, fluorescein-labelled PNA-aldehyde thymine and rhodamine-labelled PNA-aldehyde cytosine were prepared—see scheme 12.
[0000]
[0164] One of skill will appreciate that adenine and guanine derivatives using BODIPY dyes will prepare in a similar manner.
Use of Dimers for Sequencing
[0165] Aldehydes are prepared by attachment to an additional PNA building block. This necessitates the preparation of a mixture of 16 compounds accomplished by solid phase methods using and split and mix strategy. In this case the 4 N-protected aldehydes (A, T, C and G) are immobilised onto either a hydrazine linker (see A. Lee et. al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1999, 121, 9907-9914) or threonyl scavenging resin (D. M. Rosenbaum and D. R. Liu, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2003 125, 13924-13925). The protecting groups are then cleaved and the four resins mixed and split into four pools to couple standard protected PNA monomers. Following deprotection and labelling using activated disulfide (Scheme 13) containing a specific dye according to the last nucleobase, a global mixing of the resin and cleavage gives 16 PNA dimers ( FIG. 15A ).
[0000]
[0166] FIG. 16 (A and B) details methods of characterising SNPs/nucleotides and/or of sequencing which utilise the PNA dimers/trimers provide by this invention.
[0167] Four DNA oligomers attached to the slide varying only in one position (for simplicity only 6 bases are shown). A single complementary PNA sequence is hybridised to the array (again note the PNA will be 12 bases long—only 2 are shown to aid clarity). All 16 PNA-dimer aldehydes are added allowing dynamic attachment of the corresponding dimer. In this case the second base of the dimer will be identified by way of a detectable tag.
[0168] In an alternative embodiment, the dimers are created such that the first nucleobase is identified by means of a detactable tag and the second is random. In this cases the first nucloebase has a dye in the ring while the protecting group does not bear any dye. FIG. 15B shows an example of this form of dimer.
Scheme for Mass Spec Based Detection on Gold-Arrays
[0169] Gold surfaces with DNA oligos attached through gold-thiol self-assembly monolayers (SAM) may be used for analysis of genetic material. For example, following the formation of SAM on gold surfaces using thiol-modified DNA oligos and the hybridisation of PNA oligomers, dynamic incroporation using aldehyde-modified nucleobases may be used to characterise SNPs/nucleotides and/or to sequence nuclec acids. As described above, the incorporated base on the PNA strand may be detected by MALDI-TOF (for the use of gold surfaces and detection of PNA-DNA hybridization see Brandt et al/ Nucleic Acid Research, 2003, 31, e119).
[0170] When conducting SNP analysis, the nucelobases may either be those modified nucleobases substantially described above i.e. having a dye attached to them, unmodified nucleobases or nucleobases modified to include a mass-tag, such as a bromide tag, to give a clear isotopic pattern ( FIG. 17 ).
[0171] The general structure of the modified nucleobases for use in mass-based SNP analysis (such as that involving techniques such as MALDI-TOF) are given in FIG. 18 .
[0172] One of skill will appreciate that a similar “mass-based” analysis approach may be used for sequencing and modified nucleobases which may be useful in such methods are detailed in FIG. 19 .
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The present invention provides modified nucleobase compounds, modified nucleic acid mimetic compounds and various uses thereof. In addition, the invention provides methods for nucleobase characterisation, SNP characterisation and nucleic acid sequencing.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to the field of window hardware, particularly window hardware for double hung windows.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Double hung windows are a common type of window used in many homes and remodeling. There is a frame with a pair of tracks on each side of the frame. There is a top sash and a bottom sash. The top sash typically rides in the outer tracks, i.e. the tracks in the frame closest to the outside of a building. The lower sash rides in the inner track, i.e. that track that is closest to the interior of a house. The sash has a pair of vertical stiles that are joined to upper and lower horizontal styles. One or more panes of glass are retained in the sash. There can be an inner pane and an outer pane that extends from one vertical stile to the other and from one horizontal stile style to the other. There can be a third pane of glass positioned similarly with a gap between the first and second panes. The gap is usually filled with an inert gas such as argon. This structure provides a window with insulating qualities. One or more muntin bars can be present to provide a look of individual grids in the window of the type that are found in older construction.
In many double hung windows there is an issue of security. There is usually an outer screen that permits cooler air to ventilate into the house during the warmer months. In order to take advantage of the screen however, the bottom pane typically must be in a raised position. Double hung windows are usually provided with a sash lock that locks the lower and upper sash in position so that they cannot be opened from the outside. While this provides some security during the cooler months, the return of warn weather may make it difficult to use the sash lock in many instances. The sash lock has two positions, a locked position and an unlocked position. Thus the resident has a choice to either keep the window in a closed locked position or have the window sash unlocked and thus open to intruders.
In order to provide a means of ventilating a room yet provide some security, there have been a number of night latches and vent stops that have become available in the market. One such sash stop is U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,174 owned by Ashland Products. Another type of sash stop U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,230, owned by Ro Mai. These night latches or vent stops act in a similar fashion. The night latch or vent stop is placed in the face of the upper sash. Depending on the desired amount of ventilation, the night latch can be placed at any position on the face. Once the night latch is secured in the face of the window, the tumbler can be pressed in an inward and upward fashion activating a spring mechanism that will force the tumbler to an exposed position, thus creating the impeding force required to restrict movement of the lower window sash. Other prior art vent stops are U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,553,903 and 5,806,900 both of which are owned by Ashland.
As mentioned previously, the typical prior art vent stop prevented the opening of the lower sash in similar fashions. In the typical prior art the tumbler was held in a locked position via a catch portion located in the housing of the night latch. Thus, if inwardly and upwardly forces were applied perpendicularly to the face of the tumbler, these forces would release the tumbler from its locked, inactivated position, to its unlocked, activated position.
While the tumblers in the prior art night latches are capable of preventing the sliding member from moving passed a certain predetermined position, these tumblers have an unfavorable characteristic. That is in the prior art vent stop, in order for the user to free the tumbler from its inactivated position to its activated position or vice versa. The user must apply a multitude of forces in a variety of different angles.
Although the night latch and/or vent stops are capable of preventing the lower sash from moving passed a certain desired position, their utility is unfortunately outweighed by their inherent clumsy composition. The night latch in the present invention improves on the prior art shortcomings by implementing a unique method of activating and inactivating the tumbler from the housing, without taking away from its utility and its aesthetic quality.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a night latch that operates more easily than the prior art night latches.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a night latch that is more wind tight than the prior art night latches.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a night latch that is simpler and more compact in its housing than the prior art night latches.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a night latch that is compatible with more frames with different configuration.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved night latch that is more reliable in its strength and operation than the prior night latches.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a night latch that allows the user to more readily reposition the tumbler back in an inactivated position.
It is still another object of the invention to allow the user the ability of activating the tumbler without the use of multiple forces to release the tumbler.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide for a more durable night latch, so as to allow for a longer period of operability.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an improved night latch or sash controlling mechanism. The improved night latch can be used with a variety of windows and doors, including but not limited to, single hung windows, double hung windows, sliding windows and doors, etc. The windows can be of the type that moves vertically or horizontally. If the windows are to move in a vertical fashion then the window will have upper and lower sashes situated in the frame of the window. If the windows are to move horizontally, then the windows will have right and left sashes situated in the window frame. A night latch for a sliding door can be installed and operated in the same manner as the sliding window, except the doors will sit in the doorframe rather than a window frame. More specifically, this invention is directed to be an integral part of a sliding window or door that is simple, inexpensive, and ergonomically superior to the prior art.
In the present invention the night latch has three primary components a tumbler, button, and a housing that will accommodate the tumbler and the button. The housing is placed in a groove or recess on the face of the upper window sash. The housing is constructed so as to make for a tight, smooth, and finished appearance when inserted into the groove of the window sash. This fit will make for an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Furthermore, the housing is designed for more compatibility of different configuration sash frames.
As in the prior art, a tumbler is generally used as the stopping mechanism in the night latch. In general, the tumblers are activated by applying an outside force in a multitude of ways directly to the tumbler, making for a rather difficult and sometimes impossible task. One example of this is when the spring inside the tumbler is new and rather tight. In the present invention the tumbler is activated via an active twofold spring, which is partially located in the cavity of the tumbler, of the night latch, and with the end in the inner bottom surface of the housing of the night latch. This allows the user to activate the tumbler with relative ease. The force applied can be in a downward motion, as in the present invention, or the force applied can be in an inward motion. The direction of the force applied depends on how the button is configured.
In addition to the relative ease of operation of the improved night latch, the improved night latch has a stronger and more wind tight housing that is relatively sealed and can accommodate all parts inside. In the prior art the housing is open, thus exposing the inside parts, such as the tumbler and spring, to the outside weathering elements, such as moisture in the air, which could cause malfunction of the night latch, i.e. rusty spring. In present invention the closed housing acts as a barrier, so as to impede the destructive nature of weathering and moisture in the air.
Furthermore, the night latch has a unique twofold spring in the housing that can be deactivated with even less effort than the prior art. If the user wished to close the night latch in the prior art, the user would have to exert an inward and downward force to deactivate the night latch. This is because the tumbler in the prior art is kept depressed via the face of the tumbler and the top plate of the housing. As mentioned previously application of these forces can prove to be rather burdensome when the night latch was fairly new. In the present improved night latch, the only force needed is a downward force, or inward force, this is because of the co-action between the rounded bottom portion of the spring and the nesting area of the bottom surface of the housing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view of the tumbler and spring, with spring inside of cavity of tumbler, with tumbler exposed of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side view of the tumbler of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a side view of the tumbler and the stopping member of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the tumbler and spring of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a side view of the vent stop, with the tumbler not exposed, of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of tumbler of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a side view of night latch of the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the night latch secured in the stopping member, of the present invention;
FIG. 9 is an exploded view of night latch and stopping member, of the present invention;
FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the night latch, stopping member, and oval opening on stopping member, of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a left side view of the night stop of the present invention, with tumbler exposed;
FIG. 12 is an angled view of the night stop of the present invention, with tumbler exposed;
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the night latch of the present invention, with tumbler exposed.
FIG. 14 is a side view of the night stop of the present invention, with a different flexible clip, with the tumbler exposed.
FIG. 15 is a side cross sectional view of the night stop of the present invention, with different forces being applied to the tumbler.
FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view of the night stop of the present invention, with the tumbler in a deactivated position.
FIG. 17 is a cross sectional view of the night stop of the present invention, with the tumbler in an activated position.
FIG. 18 is a side view of the night stop, of FIG. 14 , set inside a different style of window frame.
FIG. 19 is a side view of the night stop, of FIG. 14 , set inside a yet another style of window frame.
FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the night stop, of FIG. 14 , being inserted into a window frame.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure.
In FIG. 1 the night latch of the present invention is shown generally at 10 . The night latch 10 is shown positioned over slot 11 in sliding member 12 as seen in FIGS. 9 and 10 . The slot 11 is shown as having an oval shape, but any other suitable shape and size slots including but not limited to a square, rectangle, oval, etc. can be used depending on the shape of the latch. Preferably, however, the night latch 10 of the present invention will have a portion similarly shaped to the slot 11 as to present a clean appearance when placed in the stopping member 12 , as seen in FIG. 8 . In the present embodiment an oval shape for illustration purposes was used. The stopping member can be a sash, doorframe, or any other member that has another piece sliding over it, where restriction of the sliding member is desired. The tumbler 80 can be either in a raised or lowered position. When raised it prevents movement of the door or sash, as seen in FIG. 1 .
A housing 13 is generally defined by a first sidewall 14 , and a second sidewall 15 , not shown, and a front wall 16 , and a rear wall 17 , not shown, and a bottom wall 18 , as shown in FIG. 7 . Bottom wall 18 can also serve as a cover. In the present embodiment however bottom wall 18 is sealed, and no cover is present. It is noted that the terms “front” and “rear” are used only for descriptive purposes and do not read on orientation of the device. Sidewalls 14 , as seen in FIG. 1 and 15 , not shown, are preferably the same length, as are front and rear walls 16 and 17 , respectively, providing for a generally rectangular shape to housing 13 . Preferably, when in place within slot 11 , sidewalls 14 and 15 contact the edges of slot 11 to provide for a tight fit, and prevent a lateral movement of the night latch 10 within slot 11 . Front wall 16 can have a front flexible clip 19 and rear wall 17 can have a rear flexible clip. In the present embodiment there is only one flexible clip, front flexible clip 19 , as seen in FIG. 1 . Rather then use a rear clip; one can use a rear notch 20 to produce the same fastening effect as a rear clip, as seen in FIG. 1 . The rear notch 20 is of non flexible nature, it is located at the end of the housing 13 ; it is created between a surface 26 , which runs parallel to lip 23 , and the bottom surface 24 of the top plate 25 . Front flexible clip 19 can extend generally in an upward fashion, originating at or near the bottom surface 21 of housing 13 and ending typically just below top plate 25 , as seen in FIG. 1 . In addition, flexible clip 19 may be solid or hollow. In the present embodiment flexible clip 19 is comprised of two generally rectangular protrusions, so as to resemble two teeth, tooth one 140 and tooth two 141 , as seen in FIG. 6 , located on sidewalls 14 and 15 . Tooth one 140 has inner and outer surfaces 27 , as seen in FIGS. 6 and 28 , as seen in FIG. 7 , located adjacent to sidewall 14 . Tooth two 141 has inner and outer surfaces 29 , as seen in FIGS. 7 , and 30 , as seen in FIG. 6 , located adjacent to sidewall 15 . Flexible clip 19 may be affixed to front wall 16 or flexible clip 19 may be an integral part of housing 13 , in the present embodiment flexible clip 19 is an integral 19 part of housing 13 . In addition, flexible clip 19 has top surfaces 142 and 143 , located on teeth 140 and 141 respectively.
In another embodiment one can use a rear clip 19 a with more flexibility than the front clip as seen in FIG. 14 . It may be located at the end of the housing 13 . In this embodiment the night latch of the present invention can be more compatible with different style doorframes as seen in FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 . For more ease of installation, there is a raised member 19 b protruding from side surface 17 of housing 13 as seen in FIG. 14 , which ensures enough space between the clip and the housing 13 . When the night latch 10 is depressed into slot 11 on a stopping member 12 , the rear flexible clip 19 a should be inserted sideling into slot 11 as seen in FIG. 20 . Flexible clips 19 and 19 a can engage a portion of the stopping member 12 , as seen in FIGS. 8 and 9 . This engagement can prevent vertical (front and back) movement of the night latch 10 within the stopping member 12 , as well as preventing the night latch 10 from being easily dislodged from slot 11 .
First sidewall 14 has an inner surface 30 , not shown, and outer surface 31 , as seen in FIG. 1 . Second sidewall 15 has inner surface 32 , not shown, and outer surface 33 , not shown. On sidewalls 14 and 15 there can be four apertures, apertures 34 and 35 on sidewall 14 , as seen in FIG. 1 , and apertures 36 and 37 on sidewall 15 , as seen in FIG. 11 . Apertures 34 and 36 of sidewalls 14 and 15 , respectively, are aligned along the same central axis and are positioned towards rear wall 17 , and are used to prevent tumbler 80 from rotating passed a predetermined area and to support a substantial upward force associated with the lifting of the lower sash against the stopping surface of the latch. Apertures 35 and 37 of sidewalls 14 and 15 , respectively, are also aligned along the same central axis; these apertures are designed so as to allow tumbler 80 to rotate in an outwardly fashion. In another embodiment one could implement bored cavities, aligned in a similar fashion, instead of apertures.
In yet another embodiment, sidewalls 14 or 15 may have at least one rotation member extending there from. In this type of embodiment tumbler 80 would have apertures or bored cavities aligned along the same central axis so as to allow tumbler 80 to rotate in an outwardly fashion.
The lip 23 attached to top plate 25 is preferably at least the same size or larger and the same general shape as slot 11 . Thus, when night latch 10 is placed into slot 11 , lip 23 will contact at least the edges of slot 11 or over spread the upper surface of the stopping member 12 . These dimensional attributes will allow for a tight fit that will exhibit a finished smooth exterior, which can be aesthetically pleasing. Although top plate 25 is referred to as a “plate”, it is understood that housing 13 , clip 19 , lip 23 and top plate 25 can be integral pieces, without any need for adhesives or assemblage.
In another embodiment rear clip 19 a , attached to the rear of the housing, is preferably almost as high as the lower portion of the housing under the slot 11 . Thus, when night latch 10 is placed into slot 11 , clip 19 a will contact at least the edges of slot 11 or over spread the upper surface of the stopping member 12 . These dimensional attributes will allow for a tight fit that will exhibit a finished smooth exterior, which can be aesthetically pleasing. Although top plate 25 is referred to as a “plate”, it is understood that housing 13 , clip 19 , clip 20 and top plate 25 can be integral pieces, without any need for adhesives or assemblage.
A tumbler 80 is preferably designed to fit within cavity 130 of housing 13 , as seen in FIG. 2 . Tumbler 80 may have an upper surface 38 , which is preferably smooth and/or flat on the front portion, as seen in FIG. 2 . A flat surface 38 will exhibit a more finished look for the night latch 10 when it is placed in stopping member 12 . Tumbler 80 may have an indent 81 located toward the rear top surface. In addition tumbler 80 may have a grooved top portion 82 located right above indent 81 , as in the present invention, which may act as a button 95 , so as to allow the user to activate tumbler 80 . The rear edge 83 of tumbler 80 slopes downward and comes to a point 84 , where rear edge 83 meets arcuate bottom portion 85 . Tumbler 80 can have a front end 86 and a rear end 87 , along with side surfaces 88 and 89 . Tumbler 80 can have rotation members 70 and 71 , which can fit in apertures 35 and 37 , of sidewalls 14 and 15 respectively, of housing 13 . The rotation members 70 and 71 can be located on side surfaces 88 and 89 , respectively, close to rear end 87 . Preferably, rotation members 70 and 71 are cylindrical pegs, which protrude from side surfaces 88 and 89 of tumbler 80 , respectively. The rotation members 70 and 71 can allow tumbler 80 to extend outwardly, thus exposing front end face 90 of tumbler 80 , which would prevent movement of sliding member 12 . The tumbler 80 will be allowed to rotate until surface 85 of tumbler 80 comes into contact with outer surface 50 of stopping member 51 , as seen in FIG. 3 . The stopping member may be constructed of any type of material known in the art, but not limited to plastic, metal, wood, etc., capable of withstanding the downward force of tumbler. The stopping member may be of any shape known in the art, but not limited to a cylindrical peg, a rectangular block, or a square peg. In the present embodiment a plastic cylindrical peg was implemented. In addition, stopping member, cylindrical peg 51 , may be separate or an integral part of tumbler 80 , in the present embodiment cylindrical peg 51 is a separate member.
Tumbler 80 has a cavity 100 that houses the plate spring 60 , as seen in FIGS. 2 and 4 . However, this is not the only possible method of attaching a spring to tumbler 80 . For example, tumbler 80 can have a protruding peg on either of the side surfaces 88 or 89 that could hold the plate spring 60 in place. If this type of spring configuration is implemented, then housing 13 would have to be of such dimensions so as to allow for the additional needed space. Tumbler cavity 100 has a top and bottom surface, 47 and 48 , respectively, equal in width to plate spring 60 it houses. Plate spring 60 also has a rounded bottom portion that contacts the left arcuate nest 111 and the right recession 112 in the inner bottom surface 110 of the housing 13 such that the tumbler is forced to a retracted position in the housing or an extended position out of the housing, as seen in FIGS. 16 and 17 . In another embodiment rounded bottom portion 61 may be replaced by any angled shaped portion known in the art, which is capable of sliding. Inner bottom surface 110 of housing 13 has an arcuate nest 111 for cradling rounded bottom portion 61 of plate spring 60 , as seen in FIG. 5 . A divide point 113 , where the left arcuate nest 111 meets the right recession 112 , confines the bottom rounded portion 61 of plate spring 60 to be forced in different directions when the vent stop is activated or deactivated, as seen in FIG. 15 . In normal operation when the user wishes to activate tumbler 80 , the user will apply a downward, or inward force to button 95 , this will cause rounded bottom portion 61 of plate spring 60 to move out of arcuate nest 111 and pass the divide point 113 and move into the right recession 112 of bottom surface 110 of housing 13 . One must point out that arcuate nesting portion 111 , divide point 113 , right recession 112 of the bottom surface 110 and bottom rounded portion 61 of the plate spring 60 are of great consequence in the operation of this invention.
In addition to the tumbler cavity 100 of tumbler 80 , there exists an arcuate surface 85 that interacts with an arcuate surface 50 of cylindrical peg 51 . Arcuate surface 85 is preferably located on the rear bottom portion of tumbler 80 . Tumbler 80 may have a protruding portion 120 located at the bottom front end wall of tumbler 80 , as seen in FIG. 3 . The protruding portion 120 has a top surface 121 that extends perpendicularly from the front end face 90 of the tumbler 80 . The protruding portion 120 also has two sides 122 , as seen in FIG. 3 , and 123 , not shown, a front face 124 , and a bottom 125 . Bottom 125 of the protruding portion 120 extends outwardly in the same direction as top surface 121 so as to meet with the outside edge of front end face 124 and is parallel to the upper surface 38 so as to come into contact with the bottom surface of back wall 110 of the housing 13 and limit further rotation of the tumbler 80 in the housing 13 when the tumbler 80 is in the retracted position, as seen in FIG. 15 . The protruding portion 120 may be designed as to allow a meshing between the protruding portion 120 and the bottom surface of top plate 25 , which would cause tumbler 80 from further rotating outwardly; thus if needed, protrusion 120 could be used as a limiting device.
The release of the tumbler 80 from housing 13 can be controlled by an interaction between button 95 and plate spring 60 in tumbler 80 and bottom surface 110 of the housing 13 . Button 95 , as mentioned previously, is located on the rear end portion of tumbler 80 , can have a grooved top surface 82 , which can be in the same plane as the upper surface 38 of the tumbler 80 , where the user can engage button 95 easily with any suitable instrument known in the art, including but not limited to a finger, fingernail, pen, pencil etc., as seen in FIGS. 2 , 3 , and 4 . When the user engages grooves 82 , it will move rounded bottom portion 61 of plate spring 60 from a cradled position to a freed position within cavity 130 of housing 13 . In the present embodiment the user applies a downward or inward force to groove 82 of tumbler 80 .
When the user wishes to activate tumbler 80 , so as to prevent movement of a sliding window member, the user will exert a downward, or upward force, greater than the force being exerted by the rounded bottom portion 61 of plate spring 60 against the top surface of the arcuate nesting area 111 of the bottom portion 110 of housing 13 , on groove 82 , of button 95 . This force will cause plate spring 60 to move in a direction opposite that of the force applied by the user. When the force applied by the user has reached the critical point, it will cause the rounded bottom portion 61 of plate spring 60 to move out of equilibrium with nesting area 111 of bottom surface 110 of housing 13 and slide across divide point 113 of bottom surface 110 of housing 13 and comes in the next equilibrium with right recession 112 of bottom surface 110 of housing 13 , as seen in FIGS. 15 , 16 and 17 . The critical point is reached when the force applied by the user overcomes the static frictional force, at which time bottom round portion 61 of plate spring 60 will begin to slide and the frictional force will drop back to a nearly constant value equal to that of the kinetic frictional force. When tumbler 80 is free to pivot on rotation members 70 and 71 , the upward force of spring 60 will cause tumbler 80 to rotate in an outwardly direction until the rounded bottom portion 61 of plate spring 60 comes into contact with right recession 112 of bottom surface 110 of housing 13 . In the same instance arcuate surface 85 of tumbler 80 will come in contact with arcuate surface 50 of cylindrical peg 51 . In addition, a protruding portion 120 can also be implemented, so as to further limit movement of tumbler 80 by coming into contact with bottom surface of top plate 25 . Once rounded bottom portion 61 of plate spring 60 has stopped sliding tumbler 80 will be exposed, thus preventing sliding window member from opening any further.
As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
The operation of the night latch according to the present invention will be obvious from the above description thereof.
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The present invention relates to a night stop that includes a housing, tumbler, spring, and a right arcuate nest, located on the inside bottom surface of the housing, used for maintaining the bottom rounded portion of the spring. The tumbler of the present invention has a top rear surface that is used as a button for activating the tumbler. In addition, the tumbler of the present invention has a concave rear bottom portion that contacts a stopping member when the tumbler is in an activated position. The spring of the present invention is partially housed inside of a bored cavity located on the tumbler. The bottom rounded portion of the spring is maintained in an arcuate nesting area when the tumbler is deactivated. When the tumbler is activated the bottom rounded spring portion traverses over and across a divide point into a right recession area.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to surface processing of a component subjected to direct handling by people, mainly relating to a special coating applied on a surface of a metal chassis used in mobile electronic devices, whereby the temperature of the chassis sensed by touching the chassis is reduced.
In the specification, examples of the surface processing of a component (hereinafter surface coated substrate), particularly a metal chassis used in electronic devices are described. However, the surface coated substrate according to the invention has wide-ranging applications, such as in ranges, metallic protection of cooking utensils, materials used for walls and ceilings in buildings, and other general purposes requiring a surface coated substrate with reduced temperature sensed by touching. The surface coated substrate does nothavetobemetallic. A material according to the invention is equally effective as surface coated substrate if its thermal conductivity is large. Further, the material is effective in substrates subjected to high-temperature and also for low-temperature.
2. Background Arts
Examples using electronic devices are explained in the related arts.
Methods of dealing with heat and high temperature at the surface of a chassis has become an important topic in view of a recent move towards light-weight (thinner) and densely-coated chassis in mobile devices such as mobile personal computers, mobile telephones, mobile video cameras, electronic notebooks, and the cooling of semiconductor element as well.
Conventionally, a chassis made of a resinous material, such as ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene styrene copolymer) is used in mobile devices. However, increasingly, metal chassis are being used in an attempt to strengthen the ever thinner chassis and to improve shock resistance. However, a metal chassis cannot handle a surface temperature above 50° C., because that temperature can cause an unpleasant feeling if held in the hand for a prolonged period of time. Therefore, mobile devices require heat control. The reason for the problem is that, when touched, a material with low thermal conductivity, such as conventional ABS (thermal conductivity λ=0.1 W/mK), due to a loss of heat upon contact to the side of lower temperature, the material is cooler than the hand. Therefore, people will not sense a temperature to be hot. On the other hand, using a material with high thermal conductivity, such as aluminum (thermal conductivity λ=220 W/mK), causes a continuous heat flow from the material to the hand that this leads to an uncomfortable sensation, sometimes even to unpleasant feeling. A conventional method which has dealt with the problem is described below.
For example, in the related art 1 shown in FIG. 10, a metal chassis 1 that became hot due to the heat generated from a heating element, such as heating device 3 mounted on a base 2 has attached to it a cloth, like a felt 4 , that has a low thermal conductivity to reduce direct heat flow to a hand. As a general example of such product, see Japanese unexamined patent application hei6-296655. There are high temperature areas in sauna interior and the periphery of thermal head in a printer which also use measures to prevent unpleasant feeling.
Besides using a cloth, an insulating material can similarly be attached, and, according to Japanese patent application hei6-26659, the insulating material made of rubber may be used as a handle of grill door, and Japanese patent application hei4-210012 shows an example of attaching a protection sheet made of rubber to a power-supplied heating plate.
For a door handle used in building, Japanese unexamined patent application hei8-74450, provides an example of attaching a mesh material in an attempt to reduce the touching warmth when opening and closing the door in regions of extreme cold and intense heat.
Other than the given examples, for the related art 2 shown in FIG. 11, adhering a transplanting pile 5 to a high-temperature surface of a metal chassis 1 is done generally, and as an applied example of such a product, an iron and heating device are disclosed in the Japanese unexamined patent application hei6-7599.
The related art 3 of FIG. 12 shows a general use of a paint 6 applied to a surface of the metal chassis 1 that can become high in temperature at the surface.
The related art 4 discloses a technique to deal with the high temperature by using a paint with mixed micro-capsules that are thermally expandable. The thermally expandable micro-capsules are foamed by heating them.
For example, Japanese unexamined patent application hei6-99133 discloses a method of forming a film with a grain-like touch. In this method, a thermosetting paint contains 5˜30 weight % of the thermally expandable micro-capsules in a paint having 70% of solid ingredient and painted to get the grain-like texture. The shell of the thermally expandable micro-capsules soften at a temperature lower than a hardening temperature of a thermosetting resin. A coating step using thermosetting paint is done in a manner to get the grain-like texture, and this is dried by baking. During baking, the micro-capsules become ruptured from expansion. Accordingly, the film painted will harden to achieve the grain-like texture.
Further, Japanese unexamined patent application sho62-39674 discloses a method of forming an insulating film with pattern. Paint compositions such as a pigment, a filler and a solvent are contained in a thermal plastic resinous vehicle. 10˜80 weight % of the micro-capsules are contained in 100 weight % of the thermal plastic resinous vehicle. This paint is applied to surfaces of wall, ceiling and floor. Then the heating apparatus is used to heat the applied surfaces for drying to gain an expansion of the painted film. Accordingly, the insulating film with heated pattern is formed.
Furthermore, according to Japanese unexamined patent application hei2-303573, a method of forming the film having a rough pattern is disclosed. The thermally expandable micro-capsules are dispersed in the paint. The paint becomes hardened at a temperature lower than a foaming temperature of the thermally expandable micro-capsules. The paint may be applied all over or part of the surfaces, then hardened by heat. Then a final paint is applied on top of this layer, then hardened. The rough pattern is achieved by heating the micro-capsules beyond the foaming temperature.
In recent years, particularly for mobile electronic devices represented in the mobile computing, a technique to implement a product with small-size, high-performance and light-weight are the key points. From such background, in mobile computing, a use of metallic substrate formed by die-casting is on an increase, from its excellence in terms of strength against weight. Comparing the metallic substrate with the conventional resinous substrate, the thermal conductivity is 100˜1000 times greater than that of the metallic substrate. Therefore, the metallic substrate is advantageous for spreading heat.
However, when a person touches the surface of a metallic substrate, the person perceives it to be hotter than the resinous substrate at the same temperature, due to a heat collection effect of the metallic substrate. Especially for mobile computers these days, a way to deal with high temperature of the substrate surface is important, especially a way to deal with locally increased temperature such as the surface close to the CPU (Central Processing Unit) is important.
As described previously, as the method to soften the touching warmth, adhering transplanting piles 5 to a high-temperature surface of a metal chassis 1 is done generally, and as applied examples of such products are the heating device and the thermal head chassis of printer. However, there is a problem with the design/appearance when applying the method of transplanting piles to the electronic device chassis. Likewise, other means to deal with the high temperature is a pasting of resinous sheet, however, this method has even more problems with surface applicability, productivity and design/appearance.
Previously described conventional methods in the related arts 1 and 2 are effective as far as the touching warmth is concerned. However, problem with the method of attaching a rubber or a mesh material to electronic devices that have complex curvatures at the chassis surfaces is its difficulty in fitting them into the given shapes. Likewise, there is a problem with the transplanting method where a difficulty arises in uniformly adhering the fibers to a structurally complex portion of the device. There is also a concern about the limitation on the allowed size and shape of the chassis. Even if this fitting is done satisfactorily, a concern for abrasion or staining remains so that there is no ideal method for the product. The same can be said from the viewpoint of productivity because the manufacturing cost will increase.
In comparing the previously described means with a general coating method for a surface of metal chassis as shown in the related art 3 of FIG. 12, the coating method is reasonable in terms of productivity, design, and cost. However, with the normal coating, the thickness of applied paint (film) is normally about 40 μm that the touching warmth from metallic substrate is not softened. The reduction of touching warmth cannot be expected from the normal coating method.
The related art 4 describes a technique of forming the grain-like touch or the rough pattern that are formed by using the paint containing the thermally expandable micro-capsules and a technique of forming a pattern having a thermal insulating property. Neither of the techniques are aiming for a way to deal with the touching warmth, nor to soften the touching warmth from the metallic substrate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To solve the problems as described previously, the present invention attempts to implement a method to deal with the touching warmth, by devising the surface processing method based on the coating method, maintaining advantages such as designs, surface applicability, productivity and low manufacturing cost.
Particularly, the present invention aims to soften the touching warmth at the surface of metallic mobile electronic devices, improve design/appearance of the product, and supply coating that is resistant to abrasions.
The concepts of “insulating heat” and “softening the touching warmth” according to the present invention are two different concepts. What is meant by “insulating heat” is to isolate the heat and the heat is not transmitted. For example, consider a case when the heat is generated inside the mobile electronic device. In this regard, the meaning of “insulating heat” is to shut the heat being generated in the mobile electronic device and this will result in a damage of the device. On the other hand, the meaning of “softening the touching warmth” is to reduce the heat flow to hand. When the heat being generated from inside the device spreads to outside of the substrate surface, an amount of heat flow to hand has to be reduced. That is, the technique of “softening the touching warmth” for the present invention must satisfy the following two contradicting requirements, namely: spreading the heat generated inside the mobile electronic device through the substrate surface; and removing an unpleasant sensation perceived by the human body from the spreading heat. Thus, the present invention aims to provide a coating technique to ease the heat influence on the human body as well as maintaining the heat spreading property.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a surface coated substrate comprises a metallic substrate having a surface and a film including a layer for reducing a touching warmth, wherein the film is coated on the surface.
According to an another aspect of the present invention, the film comprises a foamed layer made of a paint material which includes a foaming material.
According to an another aspect of the present invention, the film is further comprising a top coating layer on top of the foamed layer, wherein the top coating layer is having a high degree of hardness than the foamed layer.
According to an another aspect of the present invention, the top coating layer is made of a bead-containing paint.
According to an another aspect of the present invention, the paint material is a paint or a resinous coating material.
According to an another aspect of the present invention, the metallic substrate is made of one of an aluminum, a magnesium and an aluminum alloy and a magnesium alloy.
According to an another aspect of the present invention, the foamed layer is 50˜1000 μm thick.
According to an another aspect of the present invention, the metallic substrate is formed using a die-casting. The layer for reducing the touching warmth is used in concealing and filling a dent and a wrinkle formed during the die-casting of the metallic substrate.
According to an another aspect of the present invention, the layer for reducing the touching warmth includes an insulating filler material.
According to an another aspect of the present invention, the layer for reducing the touching warmth includes a granulated insulating material.
According to an another aspect of the present invention, the film has a rough surface.
According to an another aspect of the present invention, a method for reducing the touching warmth by coating a surface of the metallic substrate is comprising steps of: painting the surface of metallic substrate using the paint material including the foaming material; and forming the foamed layer by drying the paint material with heat for foaming the foaming material.
According to an another aspect of the present invention, the method is further comprising a step of forming the top coating layer, which has a high degree of hardness than the foamed layer, on top of the foamed layer.
According to an another aspect of the invention, the step of forming the top coating layer includes a step of painting the top coating layer using the bead-containing paint.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus do not limit the present invention, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a side view of embodiment 1 of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of embodiment 1 of the invention;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of embodiment 2 of the invention;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of embodiment 3 of the invention;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of embodiment 4 of the invention;
FIG. 6 is a graph showing a relationship of the thickness of the film layer and touching warmth according to the embodiment 4 of the invention;
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of embodiment 5 of the invention;
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of embodiment 6 of the invention;
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of embodiment 7 of the invention;
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of related art 1 ;
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of related art 2 ;
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of related art 3 ;
FIG. 13 illustrates apparatus for an experimental study of the invention;
FIG. 14 illustrates a result of the experimental study of the invention;
FIG. 15 illustrates experimental samples of the invention;
FIG. 16 illustrates the result of experimental study of the invention; and
FIG. 17 outlines a heat flow upon contact with a finger.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals indicate like elements throughout the several views.
Improvement in the paint is desirable as the way to deal with the design/appearance, the productivity and the low manufacturing cost required for the electronic device chassis. Trial tests are done for the coating method, using trial guides 1 to 3 described below.
1. Improving the Insulation of Film Coating
When the two half infinite solids with different temperatures come into contact with one another, it is known that an intermediate temperature at the point of contact, T m , is calculated using the equation (1). That is, when a hand is considered to be one of the half infinite solids, then when the hand touches a material with a small value of β 2 , the temperature T m will not be affected by the temperature of an another one of the half infinite solids. Using this principle, “improving a physical property of the film coating (i.e. improvement in the insulation property)” is examined as the trial guide 1.
The “improvement in the insulation property” does not have the same meaning as “insulating heat”. What is meant by the “improvement in the insulating property” herein is to decrease the amount of heat flow from the film coating to the hand.
T m =(β 1 T 1 +β 2 T 2 )/(β 1 +β 2 ) (1)
β 1 =λ 1 /{square root over (α 1 +L )}
β 2 =λ 2 /{square root over (α 2 +L )} (2)
whereas
α 1 : thermal diffusivity of human body (m 2 /S)
β 1 : thermal penetration rate of human body (W({square root over (S)})/(m 2 K))
α 2 : thermal diffusivity of touching object (m 2 /S)
β 2 : thermal penetration rate of touching object (W({square root over (S)})/(M 2 K))
λ 1 : thermal conductivity of human body (W/(mK))
λ 2 : thermal conductivity of touching object (W/(mK))
T 1 : temperature of human body (K)
T 2 : temperature of touching object (K)
2. Increasing Thickness of the Film Coating
An overall heat transfer rate of the film is calculated using the equation (3). Besides the improvement in the physical property mentioned in the trial guide 1, the heat flux to the hand is controlled by increasing the thickness of the film. The effect of thickening the film is examined as the trial guide 2.
U=λ/d (3)
U: overall heat transfer rate in film (W/m 2 K)
d: thickness of film (m)
3. Increasing Roughness at a Surface of the Film Coating
A method of making the rough surface is examined as the trial guide 3, for reducing a contact area of a surface with a finger. By doing so, thermal resistance is increased at the film surface, therefore, it is expected that an amount of heat transmission to a hand is reduced.
Following embodiments describe a variety of coating examples based on the trial guides 1 to 3 mentioned above.
Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment including the surface coated substrate prepared by the surface processing method of the present invention in dealing with the touching warmth.
Note that a part indicated by the elliptical outline in FIG. 1 on the surface coated substrate is subjected to a high-temperature from a heating device 3 situated immediately below the outline.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the surface coated substrate showing cross-section cut through 2 — 2 of FIG. 1 .
As a metal chassis 1 , for example, pure magnesium or a magnesium alloy is used. Or, pure aluminum or an aluminum alloy may also be used. Alternatively, other light metals with a density less than 4.0 g/cm 3 or 5.0 g/cm 3 may be used.
Generally, it is difficult to apply a thick coating, therefore, a resinous coating material 7 is applied first to form a base to increase a thickness of thermally insulating coating, so as to increase a thickness of the surface processed layers, and this will reduce the touching warmth at the surface. For use as the base material, vinyl chloride resin is suitable, where a thickness greater than 100 microns has proved to be effective as the base material. In the present embodiment, different types of paint materials (paint 6 and resinous coating material 7 ) are arranged to form a multi-layered films to increase the thickness of surface processed layers, thereby improving the touching warmth property. The following macromolecular compounds (polymers) are examples that can be applied other than vinyl chloride resin: acrylic resin, fluorocarbon polymers, vinyl resin, phenol resin, polyester, epoxy resin, polyethylene, rubber, urea resin, meramine resin, polyurethane, silicone resin, and polyamide. These polymers can either be used alone or in combination.
Embodiment 2
FIG. 3 is the cross-section for a case of incorporating the thermally insulating layer, prepared by applying a paint made from mixing a fibrous insulating filler material 8 with the paint 6 . The touching warmth is reduced by using the paint made from the mixing of insulating filler material 8 with the paint 6 because it lowers the thermal conductivity of the film layer.
Specific examples of the insulating filler materials 8 are materials with a low value of thermal conductivity and effective insulation, such as mica or pearlite. Other than mica or pearlite, inorganic particles such as diatomaceous earth (SiO 2 +H 2 O), alumina powder (Al 2 O 3 +nH 2 O), calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ), and titanium oxide (TiO 3 ) can be used. Fibrous materials of cattle leather and mixed leathers can also be used. The insulating filler material 8 also acts as a weight increaser, thereby increasing the thickness of film layer. The paint can also be made from mixing the insulating filler material 8 with the resinous coating material 7 .
Embodiment 3
FIG. 4 is the cross-section of an embodiment of the surface coated substrate that incorporates a plurality of granulated insulating materials 9 in the film layer.
The specific examples of the granulated insulating materials 9 are materials with a low value of thermal conductivity and effective insulation, such as cork powder or hollow beads to make gaseous entrapments, for example, air entrapments and hydrocarbon entrapments, inside the film. The thermal conductivity of the film layer will be effectively lowered to reduce the touching warmth. The granulated insulating materials can also become a weight increaser, therefore, it is possible to increase the thickness of film layer. The granulated insulating material 9 can also be mixed with the resinous coating material 7 . Other than the hollow beads, following can be used: carbon balloon, acrylic and styrene, silicate mineral, silica-alumina fiber, and glass. The hollow beads and other materials such as carbon balloons can either be used alone or in combination.
Embodiment 4
FIG. 5 is the cross-section of a surface processed substrate that includes gaseous entrapments by pre-mixing a foaming material 10 with the paint, followed by foaming the mixed material at a high temperature.
A specific example of the foaming material 10 , the thermally expandable micro-capsules such as hydrocarbons having a low boiling point are mixed in a normal paint. By heating and foaming the mixed materials, a porous structure is formed in the painted film, thereby reducing the thermal conductivity of the film layer and reducing the touching warmth. The foaming material can also increase the weight and thickness of the film layer. The foaming material 10 can also be mixed with the resinous coating material 7 .
Here are some examples of the foaming material 10 : foaming glass, foaming concrete, foaming urethane, foaming styrene, foaming polypropylene, and foaming PET (polyethylene terephthalate) can either be used alone or in combination.
Instead of the foaming material 10 the following materials may be included in the paint 6 or resinous coating material 7 : alumina powder (Al 2 O 3 +nH 2 O), calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ), and titanium oxide (TiO 3 ), silicate mineral, glass, acrylic and styrene beads. These materials will become a spacer to form gaseous entrapments. When painting the paint 6 and resinous coating material 7 , the gaseous entrapments can be formed at the sides of the spacer. In addition, as foaming material 10 , monomers having a vapor pressure different from the paint 6 or the resinous coating material 7 can either be used alone or in combination. The gaseous entrapments are formed by volatization of the monomers at the time of painting.
An example that shows relationship between the thickness of the foamed film layer and touching warmth, T s , which controls the sensations perceived by people who have touched a particular high-temperature metallic surface, is shown in FIG. 6 . If the film layer is thicker than 50 μm, the touching warmth shows a prominent reduction, and, for the thickness of more than 300 μm or more than 1000 μm, the touching warmth is constant regardless of film layer thickness. Thus, in practice, the thickness ranging from 50 to 1000 μm is found to be most effective.
An effect of the present invention is calculated for evaluation using the heat transfer rate U as an index.
As described previously, the meaning of “softening the touching warmth” is to reduce the amount of heat flow from the mobile electronic device to hand and fingers in contact.
A model illustration of FIG. 17 shows a state of heat flow when human hand touches the metal chassis.
Whereas in FIG. 17,
λ p : thermal conductivity of film (W/(mK))
λ Al : thermal conductivity of aluminum (W/(mK))
λ a : thermal conductivity of air (W/(mK))
α p : thermal diffusivity of film (m 2 /S)
α Al : thermal diffusivity of aluminum (m 2 /S)
α a : thermal diffusivity of air (m 2 /S)
T p : temperature of film (surface processed layer)(K)
T Al : temperature of aluminum chassis (K)
T a : temperature of air (K)
d p : thickness of film
d Al : thickness of aluminum chassis
q s : amount of heat flux
The temperature will decrease at portion of the aluminum chassis where the hand has touched, so a heat is supplied broadly from the surrounding in a horizontal direction. However, the thermal conductivity for the paint is lower than the thermal conductivity for the aluminum chassis by about {fraction (1/1000)} of the thermal conductivity of the aluminum chassis. Therefore, the amount of heat supply of the paint from the horizontal direction is small. Thus, an effect of heat flow in a perpendicular direction shown in FIG. 17 using thick arrows is considered to be dominant paths taken by the heat flowing to the hand. An evaluation for the amount of heat flow to the hand in one dimensional perpendicular direction is calculated using the heat transfer rate U as the index.
U=λ p /d p (4)
Based on this assumption, the heat transfer rate (a parameter indicating a readiness of heat flow) perpendicular to the surface processed substrate in the one dimensional model is calculated as below.
First of all, for a purpose of comparison, the heat transfer rate for a case of normal coating process without using the foaming material 10 is calculated. The thermal conductivity λ p1 for the paint used in the normal coating is considered to have the same thermal conductivity as epoxy and acrylic resins, which is 0.15(W/mK). Provided that the thickness of film d p1 is 40 μm, the heat transfer rate will be 3750(W/m 2 K) as shown in the equation of below. U 1 = λ p1 / d p1 = 0.15 / 40 × 10 - 6 = 3750 W / m 2 K
Next, the heat transfer rate for a case of coating using the foaming material 10 is calculated.
An effective thermal conductivity λ p2 for the foamed layer is assumed to be a mixed presence of two coefficients of conductivity of the paint (λ p1 =0.15 W/mK) and the gas (λ a =0.025 W/mK) by 50% each. The combined thermal conductivity is assumed, by inversely calculating from a parallel heat resistance, to be 0.088 W/mK. The thickness of film d p2 is assumed to be 200 μm. The heat transfer rate is 440W/m 2 K which is obtained from the calculation result of the equation below. U 2 = λ p2 / d p2 = 0.088 / 200 × 10 - 6 = 440 W / m 2 K
The results are indicating the following effects. As the first, the combined thermal conductivity is decreased by a presence of numerous number of small gaseous entrapments that will be contained in the normal coating. As the second, thickness of film is increased by a presence of the foamed layer. Compared to the thermal conductivity for the case of normal coating, the thermal conductivity of the layer for the case of using the foaming material is lower by about {fraction (1/10)} of the normal coating. This effect of decreasing the amount of heat flow from the aluminum chassis to the hand appears as a difference in characteristics for both cases of the normal coating and the coating using the foaming material. Looking from a side of the hand, the heat transfer rate between the finger and the aluminum surface is the dominant heat transmitting parameter. However, with the presence of the foamed layer, the amount of heat flow to the hand is eased by controlling the heat transfer rate by the foaming layer.
Embodiment 5
FIG. 7 shows an embodiment with repeatedly applied layers of bead-containing paint 11 , increasing the layer thickness, and incorporated a porous structure with a large amount of gas incorporated in the film layers. This structure has the same effect as in embodiment 4 . Instead of the bead-containing paint 11 , a bead-containing resinous coating material and multiple-layered glass are similarly used.
Embodiment 6
FIG. 8 is the example that combines embodiment 4 and embodiment 5.
In this embodiment, a decline in the restoring strength of the foaming material 10 is supplemented by the top coating with the bead-containing paint 11 because this can increase a hardness at the film surface. Foamed layer is prone to damage due to formations of porous structure and gas layers inside. Such surface of the foamed layer is top coated using a paint with high degree of hardness so that the strength of the film is intensified.
A large difference between the conventional paint and the bead-containing paint is the way in which a pigment component is blended in the paint.
The pigment is dispersed inside the conventional paint as it is. On the other hand, a large amount of “pigment enclosed using special resin to form minute bead-containing paint” or in other words, “pigmented beads” are contained in the bead-containing paint. These beads can give various colors to the paint.
The scope of application is large for a well-balanced combination of the pigmented beads having varied radius. For instance, a suede-like film needs raised nap and knobby feeling. In addition to a velvet or back skin and melange-like film that need a minor knobby feel, there is also a paint containing grounded natural collagen fibers with a flat painted surface.
Such processing methods in previously described embodiments are individually effective as well as in combinations, in accordance with various objectives.
Following are examples of combinations, in order, from top to bottom layers.
(1) paint 6 of type number one
paint 6 of type number two (same or different from paint type number one)
metal chassis plate 1
(2) resinous coating material 7 of type number one
resinous coating material 7 of type number two (same or different from resinous coating material of type number one)
metal chassis plate 1
(3) paint 6 (or paint 6 mixed with insulating filler material 8 , granulated insulating material 9 , or foaming material 10 )
resinous coating material 7 (or resinous coating material 7 that is mixed with heat insulating filler material 8 , powdery insulating material 9 or foaming material 10 )
paint 6 (or paint 6 that is mixed with insulating filler material 8 or granulated insulating material 9 or foaming material 10 )
metal chassis plate 1
(4) resinous coating material 7 (or resinous coating material 7 that is mixed with insulating filler material 8 or granulated insulating material 9 or foaming material 10 )
paint 6 (or paint 6 that is mixed with insulating filler material 8 or granulated insulating material 9 or foaming material 10 )
resinous coating material 7 (or resinous coating material 7 that is mixed with insulating filler material 8 or granulated insulating material 9 or foaming material 10 )
metal chassis plate 1
(5) bead-containing paint 11
resinous coating material 7 that is mixed with insulating filler material 8 , granulated insulating material 9 , or foaming material 10 )
paint 6
metal chassis plate 1
(6) resinous coating material 7 that is mixed with insulating filler material 8 , granulated insulating material 9 or foaming material 10 )
bead-containing paint 11
paint 6
bead-containing paint 11
metal chassis plate 1
(7) paint 6
bead-containing paint 11
metal chassis plate 1
(8) resinous coating material 7
bead-containing paint 11
metal chassis plate 1
Various other combinations are also possible.
Using any of the processing methods mentioned previously, the hand contact area will be reduced by intentionally incorporating the rough surface, and reducing the thermal conductivity to the hand, so that excessive rise in touching warmth is prevented.
Embodiment 7
FIG. 9 shows an embodiment that appropriately combines the surface processing methods mentioned from embodiments 1 to 6, as well as aiming to fill a dent, wrinkle or scar at a surface formed during molding in die-casting. In the die-casting of metal chassis made of magnesium or aluminum, small dents or wrinkles 12 occur on its surface at an ejection stage, and repairs are generally made by puttying. A dent on the surface is a detriment that occurs during casting. A surface wrinkle is formed during casting when molten metal flows into a void casting frame. In practice, the thick layer coating as shown in the embodiments 1 to 6 has a filling effect and conceals dents or wrinkles 12 . Thus, for those small detriments, there is no requirement to repairs with puttying, thereby reducing costs, decreasing the number of processing steps, and improving quality.
Generally, for electronic devices, the metal chassis plate 1 becomes hot due to a heat generated from the heating device 3 . By applying paint and resinous coating material in multiple layers, or by applying paint and/or resinous coating material that are mixed with a high proportion of insulating material, the insulating layer structure is incorporated in the film layer. Also, the mixing of insulating material is effective in reducing the amount of heat flow to a hand. Also, mixing of the foaming material to form a foamed structure can create a rough structure at the surface of film which can reduce the touching warmth and be effective in reducing the amount of heat flow to a hand. Also for a metal chassis that became too hot, painting the paint or resinous coating material including the insulating material and gaseous entrapments can lower the thermal conductivity, so, the touching warmth reduction is improved significantly. Also, by intentionally forming a rough surface on a substrate, the contact area upon handling is reduced, effectively lowering the thermal conductivity to a hand. That is, the amount of heat flow to a hand is reduced by reducing the heat flow from the moment of handling the metal as well as afterward, reducing the touching warmth.
The surface processing is done on various portions: throughout the external cover; to a part subjected to a change in temperature (e.g., the elliptical region of FIG. 1 ); and to a part where there is a possibility of handling.
Result of experiment for the foamed paint coating illustrated in FIG. 8 is described below.
Experimental Study 1 (Evaluation for Property of Increasing Temperature)
The property of increasing temperature is measured by touching with a rubber block as dummy hand is shown in FIG. 13 . The temperature sensor is placed in a depth of 0.5 mm inside the rubber hand. The sample A is an aluminum plate sized 105×150×0.3 mm as a base with the normal epoxy coating. The sample B is the aluminum plate sized 105×150×0.3 mm as the base with the foamed paint coating illustrated in FIG. 8 of the present invention. The samples are heated using heaters located 4 mm below, with a fixed surface temperature of 50° C.
The result of experiment is shown in FIG. 14, and it is recognized that a profile of increase in the touching warmth for the foamed paint coating is lower compared to a profile for the normal epoxy coating.
Experimental Study 2 (Vote Test of Touching Warmth Level)
Touching warmth upon touching the samples are evaluated based on votes by 9 human testers.
As FIG. 15 shows, a sample C is further added for comparison besides samples A and B. The sample C is the ABS resinous plate with normal coating. The samples are heated using the same heating device as in the experimental study 1, and maintained the surface temperature of 46° C., in the room temperature of 25° C.
The count up result of the response of testers touching the three samples are obtained, and is shown in FIG. 16 . The testers reported the order and level of touching warmth of the samples. Clearly, all testers have answered the sample A to be the hottest of all three samples (A>>B, A>>C). The touching warmth for the sample B was recognized to be substantially lower than the sample A, and the temperature of sample B was sensed to be close to the temperature of sample C. The touching warmth for the sample B and the sample C were difficult to distinguish, and reported order of touching warmth varied (B>C, C>B, B=C).
The effects of the invention are listed below.
Comparing to the conventional method of dealing with increased heat at surface such as pasting of the insulating material and the pile transplanting, the processing for the present invention is easy and can be implemented on top of the existing conventional methods. For these reasons, the productivity increases and the cost is reduced.
By adopting the present processing method, the problem with the touching warmth, which is the one of the problems upon using a metal chassis, is eased, and possible applications for the metal chassis increases. Accompanying with this, mobile electronic devices having small-sized, light-weight and strong chassis structure is implemented.
In addition, when the rough surface is implemented, a smooth touch of coated surface which is a characteristic of a metallic surface is removed. The rough surface has a merit upon designing and appearance.
Further, the thick layer coating has the filling effect and conceals dents or wrinkles, thus there is no requirement to repair such detriments of small extent with putty, reducing costs, decreasing the number of production steps, and improving quality.
Furthermore, the formation of a porous film on the surface of a chassis can increase the strength against vibration and shock. Also, noise prevention can be achieved from the effects of absorbing noise and sound insulation.
The application of invention is not limited to a metal chassis, but can also be applied to other materials with high thermal conductivity.
The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.
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An electrical apparatus includes an electrical device generating heat in operation; a metal case conducting the heat generated by the electrical device, having an external surface, and containing the electrical device; and a film on the external surface including a foamed layer providing thermal insulation from the electrical device.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] Pursuant to 35 USC § 119 ( e ) and as set forth in the Application Data Sheet, this utility application claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. U.S. 61/044,273, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not Applicable.
REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX
[0003] Not Applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Electrode arrays of varying scale, size and shape are used for electrical, chemical and biological sensing (and combinations of the three), for the electrophoretic manipulation of charged particles, for the dielectrophoretic manipulation of objects, cells and organisms, and for stimulating biological cells and tissues. Methods of manufacturing electrode arrays comprising metal or conductive alloy micro- and nano-wires, etched silicon, conductive polymers, carbon nanotubes (“CNT”), integrated circuit micro-electrode arrays, nano-electrode arrays, and others are known to those of skill in the art.
[0005] For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,730 discloses a planar, conductive electrode array where each element of the array is individually wired and where time varying currents may be asserted onto each of these individually wired elements. U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,577 discloses a planar complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (“CMOS”) electrode array for sensing and stimulating cells, wherein the individual electrodes of the microchip must be connected directly and continuously to external voltage sources in order to control the potentials on these electrodes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,143 discloses a sharp, adjustable electrode array with preamplifiers whose inputs are connected to the electrodes and whose outputs are connected to external amplifiers whose gain is digitally programmable.
[0006] In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,452 discloses an integrated planar electrode array for carrying out and monitoring biological reactions, wherein each electrode has a driving amplifier element with an input storage capacitor for setting the output value of the driving element. The background section of that patent suggests that external erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) circuits may be used as an analog memory, but by comparison, no description is provided as to how such EEPROM cells might be connected to or integrated with the electrodes of the array, nor is there any disclosure as to how the EEPROM cells of such an array might be addressed or programmed in the context of such an array. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,258,606 and 6,682,936, which are related applications, the claims were amended to specify that the local memory element associated with the driving amplifier may be an EEPROM, but again by comparison there is no additional description made in support of either of these claims. This is also true for U.S. Pat. No. 7,101,717, another related patent, which does not claim local EEPROM memory, but does claim a separate memory associated with each electrode of the array for driving the electrode, the driven electrodes being driven at one of a plurality of stimulus levels by a source of electrical current or voltage external to the array.
[0007] With respect to the manipulation of charged particles, U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,957 discloses an integrated planar electrode array for computer controlled electrophoresis; individual electrodes are separately addressed by a software controlled data acquisition system for manipulating charged biological particles. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,051,380, 6,068,818, 6,099,803, 6,540,961, 7,241,419, and 7,425,308 are related, and disclose similar systems.
[0008] Likewise, sharp electrode arrays (“sharps”) such as the Utah array described in C. T. Nordhausen, E. M. Maynard, and R. A. Normann, “Single unit recording capabilities of a 100-microelectrode array,” Brain Res ., vol. 726, pp. 129-140, 1996, and Harrison, R. R., Watkins, P. T., Kier, R. J., Lovejoy, R. O., Black, D. J., Greger, B., Solzbacher, F., “A Low-Power Integrated Circuit for a Wireless 100-Electrode Neural Recording System,” IEEE Journal of Solid - State Circuits , vol. 42, January 2007, pp. 123-133, are often used for neural recording. U.S. Pat. No. 6,993,392 discloses a high-density multi-channel microwire electrode array for implementing a brain machine interface. U.S. Pat. No. 7,187,968 discloses an electrode array and associated circuitry for neural spike detection. U.S. Pat. No. 7,209,788 discloses a brain machine interface including an implantable electrode array.
[0009] In U.S. Pat. No. 7,019,305 an integrated electrode array for biosensing is disclosed wherein each electrode is coupled to the gate of a measuring transistor with associated calibration circuitry to at least partially compensate for offsets in threshold voltage of the measuring transistor. By comparison, the calibration circuitry does not include a memory. A publication by U. Frey, C. D. Sanchez-Bustamante, T. Ugniwenko, F. Heer, J. Sedivy, S. Hafizovic, B. Roscic, M. Fussenegger, A. Blau, U. Egert, and A. Hierlemann, “Cell Recordings with a CMOS High-density Microelectrode Array,” Proceedings of the 29 th Annual International Conference of the IEEE EMBS , Lyon, France, August 2007, pp. 167-170, discloses an integrated planar microelectrode array for recording action potentials from dissociated neurons cultured on the surface of the post-processed chip, having 11,016 metal electrodes and 126 readout channels with digitally programmable gain stages that are external to the array.
[0010] Nanoscale memory systems, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,330,369 and 7,489,537 can be integrated with nano, micro or other sized electrodes. Although one of skill in the art would appreciate that electrode arrays fabricated using mature commercial integrated CMOS processes, or conventional microscale fabrication techniques like those used to create the Utah array, typically provide higher functional yield and better matched elements than first generation nano-electrode processes, one of skill in the art would also appreciate that nanoscale memory systems potentially offer an advantage of denser integrability, so long as it is possible to compensate for relatively low nano-device yield, and relatively high mismatch and process variability.
[0011] Conductive polymer electrodes are disclosed in, e.g., Urdaneta, M., Delille, R. and Smela, E., “Stretchable Electrodes with High Conductivity and Photo-Patternability,” Adv. Mater. 2007, vol. 19, pp. 2629-2633, and R. Delille, M. Urdaneta, K. Hsieh, and E. Smela, “Compliant electrodes based on platinum salt reduction in a urethane matrix,” Smart Mater. Struct., 2007, vol. 16 (2), pp. 272-279. Other conductive polymer electrode coatings are also reported—for example, in a publication by A. Widge, Malika Jeffries-EI, C. Lagenaur, V. Weedn and Yoky Matsuoka, “Conductive Polymer ‘Molecular Wires’ F or Neuro-Robotic Interfaces,” Proceedings of the 2004 IEEE International Conference on Robotics & Automation , New Orleans, La., 2004, pp. 5058-5063.
[0012] In addition, several research studies have shown that biological cells will grow directionally with applied electric fields—this phenomenon is known as galvanotropism and is described further in the documents comprising U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. U.S. 61/044,273, that has been incorporated herein by reference. It has been shown that the axons of growing nerve cells exhibit directional growth in electric fields, and thus it would be advantageous to have a means of controlling this growth for such applications as regeneration of damaged or diseased tissue, neural network formation, biosensing, and clinical research, among others.
[0013] Published U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 20070092958, (“the '958 application”) discloses an integrated array of capacitors for stimulating neurons cultured on the surface, with a microcontroller that is electrically connected to the array of capacitors and configured to apply a time-varying electrical voltage onto one or more of these capacitors. The apparatus disclosed in the '958 application for implementing the time-varying electrical voltages, called a “lexel”, is described further in J. R. Keilman, G. A. Jullien, and K.V.I.S. Kalerf's paper, “A Programmable AC Electrokinetic Micro-particle Analysis System,” 2004 IEEE International Workshop on Biomedical Circuits and Systems. The lexel accomplishes dielectrophoresis by generating time-varying alternating current (“AC”) fields across elements of an electrode array using an external microcontroller. In addition to circuits for performing dielectrophoresis, the '958 application discloses the use of “growth permissive substances” to enable rapid and directed growth of axons/dendrites from cultured neurons on the surface of the capacitor arrays. The '958 application also identifies a number of problems associated with existing neural culture and growth.
[0014] There thus exists a need for compact, densely integrated (The phrase “densely integrated” is defined broadly in this application to mean densely spatially integrated, as for example an integrated circuit or other micro- or nano-array may be densely integrated. The phrase “densely integrated” is specifically not intended to be construed as limited to integrated circuits—it also describes other micro- or nano-electrode arrays, polymer electrode arrays, CNT arrays, etc.) programmable electrode arrays capable of generating arbitrary, dynamically reconfigurable electric fields between and around the electrodes of the array for manipulating the growth of biological cells and effectuating the movement of substances in contact with or proximity to the electrodes of the array at the micro- and nano-scale.
[0015] There exists a further need for compact, densely integrated programmable electrode arrays for sensing biological, chemical and other substances at the micro- and nano-scale, where the electrodes of the array have circuits, memories and/or other associated elements to compensate for electrode fabrication mismatch, process and other variations, as well as local inhomogeneities in the sensed environment.
[0016] There is also a general need to reduce the size, power consumption and design complexity of the aforementioned programmable electrode arrays to the extent possible in order to increase the density and resolution of the electrode arrays; to permit operation in environments where excessive heat dissipation or other EM radiation from, e.g., rapid circuit switching operations, is unacceptable, for example in neural implants; to extend battery-powered electrode sensor array lifetimes; to reduce overall costs; and for other reasons understood by those of skill in the art.
[0017] In addition, there is a particular need for programmable electrode arrays that can meet the aforementioned needs without consuming the excess power, time, and size overhead required by systems which need to repeatedly and rapidly update their driving voltage or calibration charge onto small integrated capacitors, and/or which require additional circuitry, including microcontrollers or other systems, external to the electrode array to maintain the driving voltage or calibration charge.
[0018] There is also a need for a method for manipulating and/or directing the movement and growth of biological cells, including the neurite outgrowth of nerve cells, without the requirement of neurotrophic factors, or external computers, microcontrollers or systems in order to sustain an electric field pattern on and around the electrodes of a programmable electrode array. A densely integrated programmable electrode array capable of directing the growth of neural tissue without the addition of neurotrophic factors could aid not only in clinical research studies, but also in the regeneration of damaged or diseased neural tissue.
[0019] The text by J. Baker, “CMOS Circuit Design, Layout and Simulation,” 2 nd Edition, Copyright 2005, Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (“IEEE”), and published by the IEEE and Wiley-Interscience (“the Baker text”) discloses fundamentals of integrated CMOS circuit design at the level of an undergraduate university course. In addition, the text “Floating Gate Devices: Operation and Compact Modeling” by P. Pavan, L. Larcher, and A. Marmiroli, Copyright 2004, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Inc., (“the FG text”) discloses information about the physics and general operation of floating gate devices. As one clarification, in this specification, we define “non-volatile analog memories” broadly to include floating gate devices, but also according to the plain and ordinary meaning of the words to include other analog memory devices that exhibit non-volatile storage, for example memristors, chalcogenides, organic and inorganic polymers, and CNTs.
[0020] The discussion of the background of the invention herein is included to explain the context of the invention. Although each of the patents and publications cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference, neither the discussion of the background nor the incorporation by reference is to be taken as an admission that any of the material referred to was published, known, or part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of any of the claims.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0021] The invention disclosed herein comprises compact, densely integrated programmable electrode arrays for sensing and manipulating biological cells and substances. By programming the non-volatile analog memory elements that are associated with one or more electrodes of the array, it is possible to generate arbitrary, dynamically reconfigurable electric field patterns on and around the electrodes at magnitudes which have been shown to induce neurite outgrowth and enhance cellular regeneration of damaged tissue. It is also possible to use the programmable electrode arrays to sense signals coupled to or in close proximity with the electrodes of the array, and to program arbitrary gain, calibration and offsets onto the individual electrodes of the array and/or their associated circuit elements.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
[0022] FIG. 1 is a top-down schematic view of a planar integrated programmable electrode array in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an element of a programmable electrode array in accordance with the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of an element of a programmable electrode array in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0025] We disclose herein a programmable electrode array comprising a plurality of electrodes and one or more memory elements that are physically and/or electrically connected to one or more of the electrodes of the array. We further disclose methods of using the array to manipulate and sense cells and substances. In one embodiment of the array, a plurality of planar, passivated (covered with an insulating layer, such as silicon dioxide or silicon nitride) electrodes are formed in a commercially fabricated CMOS chip from one or more conductive regions which may be metal, polysilicon or other electrically conductive material; each electrode may also be physically and/or electrically connected to other circuits, components or physical layers of the chip.
[0026] In another embodiment of the array, a plurality of exposed electrodes are formed by selectively removing, or cutting, regions of the passivation layer of a commercially fabricated CMOS chip to expose one or more conductive regions of said chip which may themselves be metal, polysilicon or other electrically conductive material; each electrode may also be physically and/or electrically connected to other circuits, components or physical layers of the chip. With respect to this embodiment, if the electrodes were formed from the top metal layer on the CMOS chip, the exposed portions would form a substantially planar electrode. The electrodes of this embodiment may be exposed to the environment directly, or may be post processed with a conducting and/or corrosion resistant material, such as gold or platinum black. These materials can be deposited, or plated in a controlled fashion onto the exposed portion of one or more of the electrodes so that the electrode could be extended to the surface or above the surface of the chip, and also be made corrosion resistant and bio-compatible.
[0027] Using techniques known to those of skill in the art, it is possible to functionalize one or more of the exposed electrode surfaces with some other organic or inorganic material, such as linker molecules, DNA oligomers, antibodies, and many other substances known to those of skill in the art. Likewise, the insulation layer above one or more of the passivated electrodes may be functionalized for capacitively coupled sensing.
[0028] Other embodiments of the programmable electrode array include, but are not limited to, three-dimensional electrode arrays such as the Utah array comprising silicon spikes, metal or metal alloy micro- or nano-wire electrode arrays, substantially planar micro- or nano-electrode arrays, conductive polymer electrode arrays, and CNT electrode arrays which are associated with programmable memories according to the instant invention.
[0029] The programmable memory elements may be analog or digital, volatile or non-volatile, and may be reconfigurable, or reprogrammed only a limited number of times, or zero times. In one configuration, the memory elements are analog floating gates onto which arbitrary voltages (within a range set by the size and geometry of the memory element, the physical limits imposed by the process in which it was fabricated, and the operating voltages of any other electrical circuits which may be integrated with the memory element) which can be computed by one of skill in the art may be stored. Many other memory elements are known and may be incorporated into embodiments of this invention, including but not limited to: digital flip-flops and latches, integrated or discrete capacitors and MOScaps, magnetic, optical, organic, or biological storage media. More specific examples of technologies and devices that may comprise non-volatile analog memories known to those of skill in the art are memristors, chalcogenides, carbon nanotubes, and organic or inorganic polymers. As disclosed in several of the cited references, it is also possible to integrate planar CMOS electrode arrays with microwire or Utah array structures; similarly, it is possible to integrate programmable memory elements with micro- and nano-wire electrodes and polymer electrodes. Interfacing with carbon nanotube sensing elements is somewhat more difficult, but also understood by those of skill in the art.
[0030] In the case of analog floating gate memories, programming may be accomplished by some combination of electron injection, tunneling, and/or exposure to UV light. In the case of memristors, programming may be accomplished by passing electric currents through the memristor. Chalcogenide analog memories may be programmed using applied electric potentials, or voltages, across the memory element. CNT and polymer memories may be programmed in ways known to those of skill in the art.
[0031] In any case the individual electrodes may be physically and/or electrically connected to circuits such as amplifiers, and the memory elements may be used to program arbitrary offsets and gain of these amplifiers. Any combination of the elements of the above systems is also included within the scope of this invention, and in any of the disclosed inventions, circuits may be connected to the electrodes for sensing. Further, the electrodes and memory elements may be integrated with additional processing or sensing elements including, but not limited to CMOS or BiCMOS amplifiers, comparators or other circuits, discrete components such as capacitors, discrete sensors such as thermocouples or pH probes or potentiostats or other optical, electrical or chemical sensors, digital computers, microcontrollers, programmable integrated circuits (“PIC”), field-programmable-gate-arrays (“FPGA's”), organic circuits such as carbon nanotube networks, DNA or bacterial networks, or other circuits.
[0032] In one specific embodiment disclosed in the provisional and claimed below, the programmable electrode array is passivated and programming is used to store arbitrary voltages on the individual electrodes of the array to generate desired electric field patterns on and around the electrodes of the array. In one example of this embodiment, non-volatile analog memories are electrically connected to each electrode of the array; such memories may be floating gates or any of the other non-volatile analog memories disclosed.
[0033] The summary of attached research on galvanotropism suggests that it is possible to direct the movement, growth and regeneration of biological cells coupled onto or near the array surface in the presence of electric field patterns. Thus a method of this invention comprises directing the growth of cells, including the neurite outgrowth of nerve cells, by plating biological cells such as developing neurons (e.g. from mouse nasal explants, dissociated hippocampal neurons, etc. . . . ) onto the surface of a packaged planar passivated programmable electrode array and programming arbitrary electric field patterns onto the electrodes of the array to manipulate and direct the growth of such cells. Over time, it may be desired to reprogram or dynamically reconfigure the electric field pattern by adjusting the programmed voltage or potential (charge) on or more electrodes of the array. It should be noted that two- and three-dimensional versions of this array may also be used to generate arbitrary electric field patterns, for such applications as an implantable electrode array to facilitate the regeneration of damaged or diseased neural tissue.
[0034] In addition, the passivated (or functionalized) embodiments of the programmable electrode array may also be used to manipulate charged particles, chemicals or other substances on the surface of a planar version of the array. Arbitrary electric field patterns may be programmed onto the array by storing charge or voltage on the electrodes of the array, and electrophoretic forces will move charged particles along the electric field gradients. Non-planar, three-dimensional versions of the array may also be used to manipulate charged particles in substantially the same manner.
[0035] As another specific example, disclosed both in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/044,273 and a publication by A. Haas, entitled “Programmable High Density CMOS Microelectrode Array,” IEEE Sensors Conference, 2008, pp. 890-893, the individual electrodes of the array are electrically connected to integrated amplifiers, and the memory element may be used to program arbitrary offsets and gain of these amplifiers. As a result, it is possible to compensate for device mismatch, process variation and environmental inhomogeneity that can confound comparison of signals recorded from different sites on conventional electrode arrays. One advantage of this particular embodiment is that it maintains resolution rivaling the densest integrated electrode arrays—for the specific configuration disclosed in the provisional and the Haas publication, a 128×128 integrated programmable electrode array was fabricated in a commercial 0.5 μm CMOS process with electrodes spaced at 14 μm pitch, the same scale as biological cells. Characterization of this particular embodiment of the programmable array is disclosed in the provisional from this application claims priority, and also from the publication cited.
[0036] Although it is not believed that drawings are necessary for the understanding of the subject matter sought to be patented, for illustrative purposes we have included three figures related to specific embodiments of the disclosed invention. FIG. 1 is a top down view of a planar integrated programmable electrode array in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the small labeled squares ( 1 ) represent a view of the exposed electrodes of this embodiment, whereas the large surrounding square ( 2 ) represents the passivated surface of electrode array of this embodiment. In FIG. 1 , the black dots are ellipses intended to indicate that additional electrodes exist in the spaces traversed by the ellipses. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an element of a programmable electrode array in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, where ( 3 ) represents a generic electrode; ( 4 ) represents a generic memory element that is electrically connected to ( 3 ); and ( 5 ) represents the electrical connections to other circuitry for programming. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an element of a programmable electrode array in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, where ( 6 ) represents a generic electrode electrically connected by ( 7 ) to amplifier ( 8 ) which has programmable gain and offset, wherein programming is effectuated by means of signals on control bus (wires) ( 9 ), and ( 10 ) is the amplifier output.
[0037] Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity and understanding, it will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the teachings of this invention that certain changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and purview of this application or scope of the appended claims. All publications, patents, and patent applications cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
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This invention pertains to densely integrated programmable electrode arrays for sensing and manipulating biological cells and substances. Using the programmable electrode arrays according to a method of the invention, it is possible to generate arbitrary, dynamically reconfigurable electric field patterns on and around the electrodes at magnitudes which have been shown to induce neurite outgrowth and enhance cellular regeneration of damaged tissue. It is also possible to use the programmable electrode arrays to sense signals coupled to or in close proximity with the electrodes of the array, and to program arbitrary gain, calibration and offsets onto the individual electrodes of the array and/or their associated circuit elements.
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This application claims priority to U.S. Ser. No. 60/279,169, filed Mar. 27, 2001, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides cyclohexylamine derivatives as N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) antagonists, pharmacological compositions comprising the derivatives, and methods of treating diseases and disorders responsive to antagonism of NMDA receptors using the derivatives.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many of the physiological and pathophysiological effects of the endogenous excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate are mediated via actions at N-Methyl-D-Asparate (NMDA) receptors. Over-excitation of the NMDA receptors on postsynaptic cells—mediated by excessive release of glutamate from nerve endings or glial cells—results in a massive calcium ion influx through a calcium ion channel into neuronal cells, leading to neuronal cell death. These events occur under ischemic or hypoxic conditions such as, for example, stroke, hypoglycemia, cardiac arrest, or acute physical trauma.
NMDA receptors in vivo form an NMDA receptor channel complex in cell walls comprising at least three binding domains, including a glutamic acid (or NMDA) recognition site, a channel blocking binding site, and a strychnine-insensitive glycine binding site. Physiologically, a blockade of at least one of these sites terminates the channel opening of the NMDA receptor, thereby preventing calcium ion influx into cells. Accordingly, an NMDA receptor antagonist is therapeutically useful because it minimizes damage to the central nervous system induced by calcium ion influx under ischemic or hypoxic conditions.
A functional NMDA receptor is comprised of the combination of at least one subunit termed “NR1,” which has 8 splice variants including NR1A, and one (or more) subunit termed “NR2A,” “NR2B,” “NR2C,” and “NR2D.” The combinations are designated NR1/2A, NR1/2B, NR1/2C and NR1/2D, respectively. The different NR2 subunits have distinct developmental and anatomical distributions. This suggests that agents that selectively antagonize one NR1/NR2 combination would have therapeutic actions without the psychotomimetic or dysphoric side effects associated with antagonists which block multiple NR1/NR2 combinations.
A subtype-selective NMDA receptor antagonist may be identified by methods well-known in the pharmaceutical arts, such as, for example, screening compounds in an electrophysiology assay. In one such electrophysiology assay, different subunit combinations of recombinant NR1 and NR2 receptors are expressed in Xenopus oocytes, and a potential agent is administered at different concentrations. NMDA-based electrical currents are activated by co-administration of fixed concentrations of an excitatory amino acid such as, for example, glutamic acid or glycine. The ability of an agent to antagonize the activation of the electrical current by an excitatory amino acid is measured by recording the change in the current versus the change in the concentration of the agent.
Screening of compounds in recent years have identified a number of NMDA receptor antagonists that have been used in animal and clinical human studies to demonstrate proof of concept for use of such an antagonist in the treatment of a variety of disorders. Disorders known to be responsive to blockade of NMDA receptors include acute cerebral ischemia (stroke or cerebral trauma, for example), muscular spasm, convulsive disorders, pain, including chronic and neuropathic pain, anxiety, and chronic neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease. NMDA receptor antagonists may also be used to prevent tolerance to opiate analgesia or to help control symptoms of withdrawal from addictive drugs. In fact, excessive excitation by neurotransmitters may be responsible for the loss of neurons in a wide variety of conditions. Additional conditions include cerebral vascular disorders such as cerebral ischemia or cerebral infarction resulting in a range of conditions such as thromboembolic or hemorrhagic stroke, cerebral vasospasm, hypoglycemia, cardiac arrest, status epilepticus, perinatal, asphyxia anoxia, such as from near drowning, pulmonary surgery and cerebral trauma, as well as lathyrism, Alzheimer's disease, and Huntington's disease. Other conditions amendable to treatment with an subtype-selective NMDA receptor antagonist include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), epilepsy, and schizophrenia.
For example, studies have demonstrated that compounds that act as antagonists at NMDA receptors have beneficial pharmacological effects on patients suffering from Parkinson's disease. In Parkinson's disease, there is a loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra. Secondary to this dopamine loss is a hyperactivity of specific brain glutamatergic pathways. This glutamatergic hyperactivity is thought to mediate some of the pathophysiological aspects of Parkinson's disease, as well as some of the side effects associated with the long-term treatment of the disease by dopamine agonists, such as L-DOPA, pergolide, ropinirole, or pramipexole. Clinical studies in humans have demonstrated that antagonists at NMDA receptors have beneficial effects in Parkinson's disease or in treating the side effects associated with the treatment of Parkinson's disease with dopamine agonists.
Pain is another example of a condition shown to be responsive to NMDA receptor antagonism. For example in previous studies, stimulation of NMDA receptors by afferent nerves transmitting painful stimuli has been demonstrated to be involved in hyperalgesic and neuropathic pain states. Animal studies have demonstrated that compounds that act as antagonists at NMDA receptors have beneficial effects in treating hyperalgesic and neuropathic pain states.
However, while NMDA antagonists have been successfully used to demonstrate the proof of concept mentioned above, very few, if any, of these antagonists have shown a suitable drug profile in clinical studies. This is so even though numerous NMDA receptor antagonists have been synthesized and tested.
The difficulty referenced above with demonstrating clinical utility of NMDA receptor antagonists has been the antagonists' lack of NMDA receptor subtype selectivity and/or biological activity when dosed orally. Before the present invention, many of the drugs of the NMDA receptor antagonist class were nonselective antagonists of NMDA receptor subtypes that were administered intravenously (IV), which accounts for their undesired side effects and the present need for selective, orally efficacious agents, respectively. Given that the need for medicinal agents that treat diseases responsive to antagonism of NMDA receptors remains unmet, the search for NMDA receptor antagonists that are subtype-selective and orally efficacious continues.
We have discovered a series of novel cyclohexylamines that are subtype-selective NMDA receptor antagonists and are efficacious in vivo when dosed orally. All that is needed to practice the invention is to administer from 1 to 6 times daily to a patient in need thereof, a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of the invention. As is discussed below, determination of dosage forms and amounts of the invention compounds, routes of administration, and identification of patients in need of treatment, is within the average skill in the pharmaceutical and medical arts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One embodiment of the present invention is a compound of Formula I
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein:
* means cis or trans or mixtures thereof;
G and H are
but are never the same;
R is hydrogen, alkyl, substituted alkyl, alkenyl, substituted alkenyl, C(O)R 2 , C(O)OR 2 , C(O)NHR 2 , aralkyl, hydroxyalkyl, aminoalkyl, amino (hydroxy) alkyl, alkylaminoalkyl, carboxyalkyl, or OR 2 wherein R 2 is alkyl alkenyl or aralkyl;
R 1 is independently selected from alkyl, substituted alkyl, alkenyl, substituted alkenyl, alkoxy, substituted alkoxy, alkylaminoalkyl, hydroxyalkyl, (aminocarbonyl)-alkyl, (alkylthio)-alkyl, carboxyalkyl, haloalkyl, and halogen;
g is an integer of from 0 to 3;
V is (CH 2 ) n or (CH 2 ) m —C═O, wherein n is an integer of from 1 to 4, and m is an integer of from 0 to 4;
X 1 is alkyl, substituted alkyl, alkenyl, substituted alkenyl, alkoxy, substituted alkoxy, aralkyl, substituted aralkyl, halogen, haloalkyl, cyano, nitro, amino, aminoalkyl, alkylaminoalkyl, hydroxyalkyl, carboxyalkyl, (aminocarbonyl)-alkyl, (alkylthio)-alkyl, or C(O)-alkyl;
d is an integer of from 0 to 2;
E is hydrogen; and
Y is OH; or
E and Y may be taken together with the phenylene to which they are attached to form a fused 9- or 10-membered bicyclic ring, containing from 0 to 3 heteroatoms in E—Y selected from N, O, and S, wherein E is a linker group containing 2 or 3 atoms of the bicyclic ring, and Y is a hydrogen bond donor group containing 1 atom of the bicyclic ring; and
B is a 4-, 5-, or 6-membered, carbon-linked heterocyclene, containing from 1 to 3 heteroatoms, which are N, O, or S, selected from the group consisting of:
(i) 1-aza-2-cyclobutanon-3,4-diyl of formula
(ii) a 5-membered aromatic, nonaromatic dihydro, or nonaromatic tetrahydro diradical heterocyclic ring having carbon atoms and from 1 to 3 heteroatoms selected from N, O, and S;
(iii) a 5-membered oxo-substituted, nonaromatic tetrahydro, diradical heterocyclic ring having carbon atoms and 1 or 2 heteroatoms selected from N, O, and S;
(iv) a 6-membered aromatic, nonaromatic tetrahydro, or nonaromatic hexahydro diradical heterocyclic ring having carbon atoms and 1 or 2 heteroatoms, which heteroatoms are nitrogen, and
(v) a 6-membered nonaromatic oxo-substituted hexahydro diradical heterocyclic ring having carbon atoms and 1 or 2 heteroatoms which are nitrogen and 0 or 1 heteroatom which is oxygen
wherein the atoms of the heterocyclene ring that are bonded to the group V and the phenyl bearing the group (X 1 ) d are carbon atoms, and further wherein when B is a nonaromatic heterocycle containing sulfur, said sulfur may further comprise
Preferred are compounds of Formula II
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof wherein *, R 1 , g, R, X 1 , and d are as defined above for Formula I;
B is a heterocyclene selected from the group consisting of:
wherein X is O, S, or N—R 3 wherein R 3 is hydrogen or alkyl;
E and Y are taken together with the phenylene to which they are attached to form a fused 9- or 10-membered bicyclic ring, containing from 0 to 3 heteroatoms in E—Y selected from N, O, and S, wherein E is a linker group containing 2 or 3 atoms of the bicyclic ring, and Y is a hydrogen bond donor group containing 1 atom of the bicyclic ring;
V is CH 2 ; and
one X 1 is ortho to B and para to E.
More preferred are compounds of Formula II and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof wherein
Y is selected from —N(H)—, —CH(OH)—, and —N(OH)—, and
E is selected from —CH═CH—, —CH 2 —CH 2 —, —CH═N—, —C(O)—CH 2 —, —CH 2 —C(O)—, —CH 2 —S(O)—, —CH 2 —S(O) 2 —, —N═C(H)—, —N(H)—C(O)—, —O—C(O)—, —S—C(O)—, —N═N—, —CH═CH—C(H)—, —CH 2 —CH 2 —CH 2 —, —CH 2 —CH 2 —C(O)—, —CH 2 —CH 2 —S(O)—, —CH 2 —CH 2 —S(O) 2 —, —CH═CH—C(O)—, —N═CH—C(O)—, —O—CH 2 —C(O)—, —S—CH 2 —C(O)—, and —N(H)—C(O)—C(O)—; or
Y is selected from ═C(OH)—; and
E is selected from —CH═CH—C(H)═, —C(O)—C(H)═, —C(O)—N═, —O—N═, —S—N═, —C(O)—N(H)—N═, —CH═N—N═, —CH═N(O)—N═, and —N(H)—C(O)—N═.
Still more preferred are compounds of Formula II and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof wherein
—E—Y— is selected from the group consisting of
—CH═CH—N(H)—,
—(CH 2 ) 2 —N(H)—,
—CH═N—N(H)—,
—C(O)—CH 2 —N(H)—,
—CH 2 —C(O)—N(H)—,
—CH 2 —S(O)—N(H)—,
—CH 2 —S(O) 2 —N(H)—,
—CH═CH—CH(OH)—,
—(CH 2 ) 2 —CH(OH)—,
—C(O)—C(H)═C(OH)—,
—C(O)—N═C(OH)—,
—N═CH—N(H)—,
—N(H)—C(O)—N(H)—,
—O—C(O)—NH—,
—S—C(O)—NH—,
—O—N═CH(OH)—,
—S—N═CH(OH)—,
—N═N—N(H)—,
—N═N—N(OH)—,
—CH═CH—CH═C(OH)—,
—(CH 2 ) 3 —CH(OH)—,
—(CH 2 ) 2 —C(O)—N(H)—,
—(CH 2 ) 2 —S(O)—N(H)—,
—(CH 2 ) 2 —S(O) 2 —N(H)—,
—CH═CH—C(O)—N(H)—,
—C(O)—NH—N═C(OH)—,
—CH═N—N═C(OH)—,
—CH═N(O)—N═C(OH)—,
—N(H)—C(O)—N═C(OH)—,
—N═CH—C(O)—NH—,
—O—CH 2 —C(O)—NH—,
—S—CH 2 —C(O)—NH—, and
—N(H)—C(O)—C(O)—N(H)—.
Also preferred are compounds of Formula III
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein *, R 1 , g, R, X 1 , d, and V are as defined above for Formula I, and X is O, S, or N—R 3 wherein R 3 is hydrogen or alkyl.
More preferred is a compound of Formula III and a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, which is trans-6-(5-{[methyl-4-phenyl-cyclohexyl)-amino]-methyl-4,5-dihydro-isoxazol-3-yl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one.
Also preferred are compounds of Formula IV
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein *, R 1 , g, R, X 1 , d, and V are as defined above for Formula I, and X is O, S, or N—R 3 wherein R 3 is hydrogen or alkyl.
More preferred is a compound of Formula IV and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, selected from the group consisting of:
trans-6-{5-[4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-cyclohexylamino]methyl-2-oxo-oxazolidin-3-yl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
trans-6-{5-[4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-cyclohexylamino]methyl-2-oxo-oxazolidin-3-yl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one hydrochloride;
trans-6-(5-{[4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-cyclohexyll-methyl-amino}methyl-2-oxo-oxazolidin-3-yl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one; and
trans-6-(5-{[4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-cyclohexyll-methyl-amino}methyl-2-oxo-oxazolidin-3-yl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one hydrochloride.
Also preferred are compounds of Formula V
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein *, R 1 , g, R, V, B, X 1 , and d are as defined above for Formula I.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a compound of Formulae VI and VIa
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein
* means cis or trans or mixtures thereof;
R is hydrogen, alkyl, substituted alkyl, alkenyl, substituted alkenyl, C(O)R 2 , C(O)OR 2 , C(O)NHR 2 , aralkyl, hydroxyalkyl, aminoalkyl, amino (hydroxy) alkyl, alkylaminoalkyl, carboxyalkyl, or OR 2 wherein R 2 is alkyl, alkenyl or aralkyl;
R 1 is independently selected from alkyl, substituted alkyl, alkenyl, substituted alkenyl, alkoxy, substituted alkoxy, alkylaminoalkyl, hydroxyalkyl, (aminocarbonyl)-alkyl, (alkylthio)-alkyl, carboxyalkyl, haloalkyl, and halogen;
g is an integer of from 0 to 3;
V is (CH 2 ) n or (CH 2 ) m —C═O, wherein n is an integer of from 1 to 4, and m is an integer of from 0 to 4;
X 1 is alkyl, substituted alkyl, alkenyl, substituted alkenyl, alkoxy, substituted alkoxy, aralkyl, substituted aralkyl, halogen, haloalkyl, cyano, nitro, amino, aminoalkyl, alkylaminoalkyl, hydroxyalkyl, carboxyalkyl, (aminocarbonyl)-alkyl, (alkylthio)-alkyl, or C(O)-alkyl;
d is an integer of from 0 to 2;
E is hydrogen; and
Y is OH; or
E and Y may be taken together with the phenylene to which they are attached to form a fused 9- or 10-membered bicyclic ring, containing from 0 to 3 heteroatoms in E—Y selected from N, O, and S, wherein E is a linker group containing 2 or 3 atoms of the bicyclic ring, and Y is a hydrogen bond donor group containing 1 atom of the bicyclic ring; and
B is a 4-, 5-, or 6-membered, carbon-linked heterocyclene, containing from 1 to 3 heteroatoms, which are N, O, or S, selected from the group consisting of:
(i) 1-aza-2-cyclobutanon-3,4-diyl of formula
(ii) a 5-membered aromatic, nonaromatic dihydro, or nonaromatic tetrahydro diradical heterocyclic ring having carbon atoms and from 1 to 3 heteroatoms selected from N, O, and S;
(iii) a 5-membered oxo-substituted, nonaromatic tetrahydro, diradical heterocyclic ring having carbon atoms and 1 or 2 heteroatoms selected from N, O, and S;
(iv) a 6-membered aromatic, nonaromatic tetrahydro, or nonaromatic hexahydro diradical heterocyclic ring having carbon atoms and 1 or 2 heteroatoms, which heteroatoms are nitrogen, and
(v) a 6-membered nonaromatic oxo-substituted hexahydro diradical heterocyclic ring having carbon atoms and 1 or 2 heteroatoms which are nitrogen and 0 or 1 heteroatom which is oxygen
wherein the atoms of the heterocyclene ring that are bonded to the group V and the phenyl bearing the group (X 1 ) d are carbon atoms, and further wherein when B is a nonaromatic heterocycle containing sulfur, said sulfur may further comprise
Preferred are compounds of Formula VII
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein
*, R 1 , g, R, X 1 , and d are as defined above for Formula VI;
B is a heterocyclene selected from the group consisting of:
X is O, S, or N—R 3 wherein R 3 is hydrogen or alkyl;
V is CH 2 ;
E and Y are taken together with the phenylene to which they are attached to form a fused 9- or 10-membered bicyclic ring, containing from 0 to 3 heteroatoms in E—Y selected from N, O, and S, wherein E is a linker group containing 2 or 3 atoms of the bicyclic ring, and Y is a hydrogen bond donor group containing 1 atom of the bicyclic ring; and
one X 1 is ortho to B and para to E.
More preferred are compounds of Formula VII and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof wherein
Y is selected from —N(H)—, —CH(OH)—, and —N(OH)—, and
E is selected from —CH═CH—, —CH 2 —CH 2 —, —CH═N—, —C(O)—CH 2 —, —CH 2 —C(O)—, —CH 2 —S(O)—, —CH 2 —S(O) 2 —, —N═C(H)—, —N(H)—C(O)—, —O—C(O)—, —S—C(O)—, —N═N—, —CH═CH—C(H)—, —CH 2 —CH 2 —CH 2 —, —CH 2 —CH 2 —C(O)—, —CH 2 —CH 2 —S(O)—, —CH 2 —CH 2 —S(O) 2 —, —CH═CH—C(O)—, —N═CH—C(O)—, —O—CH 2 —C(O)—, —S—CH 2 —C(O)—, and —N(H)—C(O)—C(O)—; or
Y is selected from ═C(OH)—; and
E is selected from —CH═CH—C(H)═, —C(O)—C(H)═, —C(O)—N═, —O—N═, —S—N═, —C(O)—N(H)—N═, —CH═N—N═, —CH═N(O)—N═, and —N(H)—C(O)—N═.
Still more preferred are compounds of Formula VII and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof wherein
—E—Y— is selected from the group consisting of
—CH═CH—N(H)—,
—(CH 2 ) 2 —N(H)—,
—CH═N—N(H)—,
—C(O)—CH 2 —N(H)—,
—CH 2 —C(O)—N(H)—,
—CH 2 —S(O)—N(H)—,
—CH 2 —S(O) 2 —N(H)—,
—CH═CH—CH(OH)—,
—(CH 2 ) 2 —CH(OH)—,
—C(O)—C(H)═C(OH)—,
—C(O)—N═C(OH)—,
—N═CH—N(H)—,
—N(H)—C(O)—N(H)—,
—O—C(O)—NH—,
—S—C(O)—NH—,
—O—N═CH(OH)—,
—S—N═CH(OH)—,
—N═N—N(H)—,
—N═N—N(OH)—,
—CH═CH—CH═C(OH)—,
—(CH 2 ) 3 —CH(OH)—,
—(CH 2 ) 2 —C(O)—N(H)—,
—(CH 2 ) 2 —S(O)—N(H)—,
—(CH 2 ) 2 —S(O) 2 —N(H)—,
—CH═CH—C(O)—N(H)—,
—C(O)—NH—N═C(OH)—,
—CH═N—N═C(OH)—,
—CH═N(O)—N═C(OH)—,
—N(H)—C(O)—N═C(OH)—,
—N═CH—C(O)—NH—,
—O—CH 2 —C(O)—NH—,
—S—CH 2 —C(O)—NH—, and
—N(H)—C(O)—C(O)—N(H)—.
Also preferred are compounds of Formula VIII
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein X 1 , d, *, R, V, R 1 , and g are as defined above for Formula VI, and X is O, S, or N—R 3 wherein R 3 is hydrogen or alkyl.
More preferred is a compound of Formula VIII and a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof which is trans-6-{4-[methyl-(2-methyl-5-phenyl-furan-3-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one.
Also preferred are compounds of Formula IX
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein X 1 , d, *, R, V, R 1 , and g are as defined above for Formula VI, and X is O, S, or N—R 3 wherein R 3 is hydrogen or alkyl.
More preferred is a compound of Formula IX and a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, selected from the group consisting of:
trans-(R)-6-{4-[(2-oxo-3-phenyl-oxazolidin-5-ylmethyl)amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
trans-(R)-6-{4-[methyl-(2-oxo-3-phenyl-oxazolidin-5-ylmethyl)amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one.
Also preferred are compounds of Formula X
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein X 1 , d, R, V, R 1 , and g are as defined above for Formula VI, and X is O, S, or N—R 3 wherein R 3 is hydrogen or alkyl.
More preferred is a compound of Formula X and a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, selected from the group consisting of:
trans-6-{4-[(5-methyl-2-phenyl-thiazol-4-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one; and
trans-6-{4-(methyl-(5-methyl-2-phenyl-thiazol-4-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one.
Also preferred are compounds of Formula XI
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein X 1 , d, *, R, V, R 1 , and g are as defined above for Formula VI, and X is O, S, or N—R 3 wherein R 3 is hydrogen or alkyl.
More preferred is a compound of Formula XI and a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, selected from the group consisting of:
trans-6-(4-{[3-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-4,5-dihydro-isoxazol-5-ylmethyl]-amino}-cyclohexyl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one; and
trans-6-(4-{[3-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-4,5-dihydro-isoxazol-5-ylmethyl]-methyl-amino}-cyclohexyl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one.
Also preferred are compounds of Formula XII
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein X 1 , d, R, *, R 1 , g, V, and B are as defined above for Formula VI.
The invention also provides a pharmaceutical composition, comprising a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of Formula I, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, together with a pharmaceutically acceptable diluent, carrier, or excipient.
In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides a pharmaceutical composition, comprising a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of Formula I, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, selected from the group consisting of:
trans-6-(5-{[methyl-(4-phenyl-cyclohexyl)-amino]-methyl}-4,5-dihydro-isoxazol-3-yl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
trans-6-{5-[4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-cyclohexylamino]-methyl-2-oxo-oxazolidin-3-yl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one; and
trans-6-(5-[{4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-cyclohexyl]-methyl-amino}-methyl-2-oxo-oxazolidin-3-yl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
together with a pharmaceutically acceptable diluent, carrier, or excipient.
The invention also provides a pharmaceutical composition, comprising a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of Formula VI, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, together with a pharmaceutically acceptable diluent, carrier, or excipient.
In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides a pharmaceutical composition, comprising a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of Formula VI, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, selected from the group consisting of:
trans-6-{4-[methyl-(2-methyl-5-phenyl-furan-3-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
trans-(R)-6-{4-[2-oxo-3-phenyl-oxazolidin-5-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
trans-(R)-6-{4-[methyl-(2-oxo-3-phenyl-oxazolidin-5-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
trans-6-{4-[(5-methyl-2-phenyl-thiazol-4-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
trans-6-{4-[methyl-(5-methyl-2-phenyl-thiazol-4-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
trans-6-(4-{[3-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-4,5-dihydro-isoxazol-5-ylmethyl]-amino}-cyclohexyl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one; and
trans-6-(4-{[3-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-4,5-dihydro-isoxazol-5-ylmethyl]-methyl-amino}-cyclohexyl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
together with a pharmaceutically acceptable diluent, carrier, or excipient.
The invention also provides a method of treating disorders responsive to the selective blockade of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subtypes in a mammal, including a human, suffering therefrom, which comprises administering a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of Formula I, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides a method of treating disorders responsive to the selective blockade of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subtypes in a mammal, including a human, suffering therefrom, comprising administering a compound of Formula I, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein the disorder being treated is selected from stroke, cerebral ischemia, depression, trauma, hypoglycemia, anxiety, migraine headache, convulsions, aminoglycoside antibiotics-induced hearing loss, psychosis, glaucoma, CMV retinitis, opioid tolerance or withdrawal, pain, including chronic pain, neuropathic pain, or surgical pain, and urinary incontinence.
In a more preferred embodiment, the invention provides a method of treating disorders responsive to the selective blockade of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subtypes in a mammal, including a human, suffering therefrom comprising administering a compound of Formula I, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein the disorder being treated is pain.
In another more preferred embodiment, the invention provides a method of treating disorders responsive to the selective blockade of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subtypes in a mammal, including a human, suffering therefrom comprising administering a compound of Formula I or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein the disorder being treated is Parkinson's disease.
In a still more preferred embodiment, the invention provides a method of treating disorders responsive to the selective blockade of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subtypes in a mammal, including a human, suffering therefrom comprising administering a compound of Formula I or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, selected from the group consisting of:
trans-6-(5-{[methyl-(4-phenyl-cyclohexyl)-amino]-methyl}-4,5-dihydro-isoxazol-3-yl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
trans-6-{5-[4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-cyclohexylamino]-methyl-2-oxo-oxazolidin-3-yl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one; and
trans-6-(5-{[4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-cyclohexyl]-methyl-amino}-methyl-2-oxo-oxazolidin-3-yl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
together with a pharmaceutically acceptable diluent, carrier, or excipient.
In another more preferred embodiment, the invention provides a method of treating disorders responsive to the selective blockade of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subtypes in a mammal, including a human, suffering therefrom comprising administering a compound of Formula I or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, further comprising administering a dopamine agonist.
In another more preferred embodiment, the invention provides a method of treating disorders responsive to the selective blockade of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subtypes in a mammal, including a human, suffering therefrom comprising administering a compound of Formula I or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, further comprising administering a dopamine agonist wherein said dopamine agonist is L-DOPA.
In another preferred embodiment, the invention provides a method of treating disorders comprising administering a compound of Formula I or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof in unit dosage form.
The invention also provides a method of treating disorders responsive to the selective blockade of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subtypes in a mammal, including a human, suffering therefrom which comprises administering a compound of Formula VI or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides a method of treating disorders responsive to the selective blockade of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subtypes in a mammal, including a human, suffering therefrom comprising administering a compound of Formula VI or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein the disorder being treated is selected from stroke, cerebral ischemia, depression, trauma, hypoglycemia, anxiety, migraine headache, convulsions, aminoglycoside antibiotics-induced hearing loss, psychosis, glaucoma, CMV retinitis, opioid tolerance or withdrawal, pain, including chronic pain, neuropathic pain, or surgical pain, and urinary incontinence.
In a more preferred embodiment, the invention provides a method of treating disorders responsive to the selective blockade of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subtypes in a mammal, including a human, suffering therefrom comprising administering a compound of Formula VI or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein the disorder being treated is pain.
In another more preferred embodiment, the invention provides a method of treating disorders responsive to the selective blockade of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subtypes in a mammal, including a human, suffering therefrom comprising administering a compound of Formula VI or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein the disorder being treated is Parkinson's disease.
In a still more preferred embodiment, the invention provides a method of treating disorders responsive to the selective blockade of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subtypes in a mammal, including a human, suffering therefrom comprising administering a compound of Formula VI or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, selected from the group consisting of:
trans-6-{4-[methyl-(2-methyl-5-phenyl-furan-3-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
trans-(R)-6-{4-[2-oxo-3-phenyl-oxazolidin-5-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
trans-(R)-6-{4-[methyl-(2-oxo-3-phenyl-oxazolidin-5-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
trans-6-{4-[(5-methyl-2-phenyl-thiazol-4-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
trans-6-{4-[methyl-(5-methyl-2-phenyl-thiazol-4-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
trans-6-(4-{[3-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-4,5-dihydro-isoxazol-5-ylmethyl]-amino}-cyclohexyl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one; and
trans-6-(4-{[3-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-4,5-dihydro-isoxazol-5-ylmethyl]-methyl-amino}-cyclohexyl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
together with a pharmaceutically acceptable diluent, carrier, or excipient.
In another more preferred embodiment, the invention provides a method of treating disorders responsive to the selective blockade of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subtypes in a mammal, including a human, suffering therefrom comprising administering a compound of Formula VI or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, further comprising administering a dopamine agonist.
In another more preferred embodiment, the invention provides a method of treating disorders responsive to the selective blockade of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subtypes in a mammal, including a human, suffering therefrom comprising administering a compound of Formula VI or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, further comprising administering a dopamine agonist wherein said dopamine agonist is L-DOPA.
In another preferred embodiment, the invention provides a method of treating disorders comprising administering a compound of Formula VI or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof in unit dosage form.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a compound selected from the group consisting of:
6-(cyclohexanone-4-yl)benzoxazolin-2-one;
3-(3-benzyloxy-4-nitro-phenyl)-5-[methyl-(4-phenyl-cyclohexyl)-amino]methyl-4,5-dihydro-isoxazole;
3-(4-amino-3-hydroxy-phenyl)-5-[methyl-(4-phenyl-cyclohexyl)-amino]methyl-4,5-dihydro-isoxazole;
3-(methylamino)methyl-2-methyl-5-phenyl-furan;
5-(aminomethyl)-3-phenyl-2-oxo-oxazolidine;
6-[5-(aminomethyl)-2-oxo-oxazolidin-3-yl]-3H-benzoxazol-2-one;
4-(aminomethyl)-5-methyl-2-phenyl-thiazole; and
5-(aminomethyl)-3-(4-fluorophenyl)-4,5-dihydro-isoxazole.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a method of preparing compounds of Formula I
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein V is (CH 2 ) n wherein n is an integer of from 1 to 4 and R 1 , g, *, R, B, X 1 , d, E, and Y are as defined above for Formula I, comprising reductively aminating a ketone of Formula XIII
wherein R 1 and g are as defined above, with an amine of Formula XIV
wherein R, V, B, X 1 , d, E, and Y are as defined above.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a method of preparing a compound of Formula VI
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof wherein V is (CH 2 ) n wherein n is an integer of from 1 to 4 and Y, E, X 1 , d, R, B, *, R 1 , and g are as defined above for Formula VI, comprising reductively aminating a ketone of Formula XV
wherein Y, E, X 1 , and d are as defined above, with an amine of Formula XVI
wherein R, V, B, R 1 , and g are as defined above.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As described above, one aspect of the present invention are compounds of Formula I
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein R 1 , g, *, R, V, B, E, Y, X 1 , and d are as defined above for Formula I.
All of the references cited herein, including patents, are incorporated herein by reference.
The following definitions apply to terms used in this specification and claims.
The term “subject” means a mammal, including a human.
Preferred subjects are humans, cats, dogs, cows, horses, pigs, and sheep.
The term “IC 50 ” means the concentration of test compound required to inhibit activity of a receptor or enzyme by 50%.
The term “L-DOPA” means 3-hydroxy-L-tyrosine.
The term “(X 1 ) d ” wherein d is an integer of from 0 to 2 means the group X 1 is present 0 to 2 times on the phenylene to which it is attached. The groups X 1 are independently the same or different. Illustrative examples of substituted phenylenes are drawn below.
Likewise the term “(R 1 ) g ” wherein g is an integer of from 0 to 3 means the group R 1 is present 0 to 3 times on the phenyl to which it is attached. The groups R 1 are independently the same or different. Illustrative examples of substituted phenyls are drawn below.
The term “comprising,” which is synonymous with the terms “including,” “containing,” or “characterized by,” is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps from the scope of the invention that follows.
The phrase “consisting of” is closed-ended and excludes any element, step, or ingredient not specified in the description of the invention that follows.
The phrase “consisting essentially of” limits the scope of the invention that follows to the specified elements or steps and those further elements or steps that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristics of the invention.
The phrase “filter aid” means a filter medium comprising small particulates. Illustrative examples of filter aids include kieselguhr and CELITE (Celite Corporation, Lompoc, Calif.), a diatomaceous earth filter aid.
The term “alkyl” means a straight or branched, unsubstituted or substituted, hydrocarbon group having from 1 to 12 carbon atoms. Preferred alkyl groups are C 1 -C 6 alkyl. Typical examples of unsubstituted alkyl groups include methyl (i.e., CH 3 —), ethyl, 1-propyl, and 2-propyl, 1-butyl, 2-butyl, 2-methyl-1-propyl, 1,1-dimethylethyl, 1-pentyl, 2-pentyl, 3-pentyl, 2,2-dimethylpropyl, 1-hexyl, 2-hexyl, 3-hexyl, 4-methyl-1-pentyl, 1-heptyl, 2-heptyl, 3-heptyl, 4-heptyl, 5-methyl-1-hexyl, 1-octyl, 2-octyl, 3-octyl, 4-octyl, 6-methyl-1-heptyl, 5,5-dimethylhexyl, 1-nonyl, 2-nonyl, 1-decyl, 2-decyl, 1-undecyl, 2-undecyl, 1-dodecyl, and 5-dodecyl. Substituted alkyl groups are described below.
The term “alkenyl” means a straight or branched, unsubstituted or substituted, hydrocarbon group having from 2 to 12 carbon atoms and 1 or 2 sites of unsaturation. Preferred groups are C 2 -C 6 alkenyl. Illustrative examples of unsubstituted alkenyl groups include ethenyl [i.e., CH 2 ═C(H)—], 1-propenyl, 2-propenyl, 1-buten-1-yl, 2-buten-1-yl, 1-penten-1-yl, 2-penten-1-yl, 1-penten-3-yl, 1-penten-5-yl, 1-hexen-1-yl, 1-hexen-4-yl, 2-hexen-1-yl, 3-hexen-1-yl, 2-octen-3-yl, 5-nonen-2-yl, 4-undecen-4-yl, and 5-dodecen-2-yl. Substituted alkenyl groups are defined below.
The term “alkoxy” means a straight or branched, substituted or unsubstituted, alkyl group of from 1 to 12 carbon atoms linked through an oxygen atom. Preferred is C 1 -C 6 alkoxy. Illustrative examples of unsubstituted alkoxy groups include methoxy (i.e., CH 3 —O—), ethoxy, isopropoxy, tert-butoxy, isopentoxy, octyloxy, and 7,7-dimethyloctyloxy. Substituted alkoxy groups are defined below.
The term “aryl” means an unsubstituted or substituted aromatic carbocyclic ring having 6 or 10 carbon atoms. Illustrative examples of unsubstituted aryl groups include phenyl (i.e., C 6 H 5 —), 1-naphthyl, and 2-naphthyl. Substituted aryl groups are defined below.
The term “aralkyl” means an unsubstituted or substituted aromatic carbocyclic ring having 6 or 10 carbon atoms (i.e., an aryl group) linked through an alkylene group, wherein alkylene is as defined below. Illustrative examples of unsubstituted aralkyl groups include benzyl, 2-phenylethyl, 3-phenylpropyl, 4-phenylbutyl, 3-methyl-3-phenylpropyl, 1-naphthylmethyl, 1-naphthylethyl, 3-(1-naphthyl)-propyl, 4-(1-naphthyl)-butyl, 4-(2-naphthyl)-butyl, 4-phenylheptyl, and 12-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-dodec-3-yl. Substituted aralkyl groups are defined below.
The term “alkylene” means a straight or branched hydrocarbon chain diradical of from 1 to 12 carbon atoms. Preferred groups are C 1 -C 6 alkylene. Illustrative examples of alkylene groups include methylene (i.e., —CH 2 —), 1,2-ethylene, 1,2-propylene, 1,3-propylene, 2,2-dimethyl-hexane-1,6-diyl, and dodecan-1,12-diyl.
The term “cycloalkyl” means an unsubstituted or substituted, saturated carbocyclic ring having from 3 to 7 carbon atoms. Illustrative examples of unsubstituted cycloalkyl groups include cyclopentyl, cyclopropyl, cyclohexyl or cycloheptyl. Substituted cycloalkyl is defined below.
As discussed above, the groups alkyl, alkenyl, alkoxy, aryl, aralkyl, and cycloalkyl may be substituted. These substituted groups are respectively termed:
“substituted alkyl”,
“substituted alkenyl”,
“substituted alkoxy”,
“substituted aryl”,
“substituted aralkyl”, and
“substituted cycloalkyl”.
These are groups substituted with from 1 to 3 substituents independently selected from halogen, OH, O—(C 1 -C 6 alkyl), OC(O)—(C 1 -C 6 alkyl), —(C 1 -C 6 alkylene)—OH, —(C 1 -C 6 alkylene)—O—(C 1 -C 6 alkyl), NH 2 , N(H)—(C 1 -C 6 alkyl), N—(C 1 -C 6 alkyl) 2 , NHC(O)—(C 1 -C 6 alkyl), —(C 1 -C 6 alkylene)—NH 2 , —(C 1 -C 6 alkylene)—N(H)—(C 1 -C 6 alkyl), —(C 1 -C 6 alkylene)—N—(C 1 -C 6 alkyl) 2 , SH, S—(C 1 -C 6 alkyl), S—C(O)—(C 1 -C 6 alkyl), —(C 1 -C 6 alkylene)—SH, —(C 1 -C 6 alkylene)—S—(C 1 -C 6 alkyl), unsubstituted cycloalkyl, C(O)—(C 1 -C 6 alkyl), CO 2 H, CO 2 —(C 1 -C 6 alkyl), C(O)NH 2 , C(O)NH—(C 1 -C 6 alkyl), and C(O)N—(C 1 -C 6 alkyl) 2 , wherein (C 1 -C 6 alkyl) means a straight or branched hydrocarbon radical having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms, (C 1 -C 6 alkylene) means a straight or branched hydrocarbon chain diradical of from 1 to 6 carbon atoms, and unsubstituted cycloalkyl is as defined above. Further, one of the three substituents in substituted alkyl, substituted alkenyl (on saturated carbons only), substituted alkoxy, substituted aralkyl (on saturated carbon atoms only) and substituted cycloalkyl may be oxo. Examples of these substituted groups are provided below.
Illustrative examples of substituted alkyl groups include HOCH 2 , CF 3 ,
(CH 2 ) 4 SCH 3 , (CH 2 ) 8 NH 2 , C(CH 3 ) 2 CH[CO 2 C(CH 3 ) 3 ]CH 3 , CF 2 OH, and CH(CO 2 H)CH 2 CH 2 C(O)NMe 2 .
Illustrative examples of substituted alkenyl groups include 2-fluoro-ethen-1-yl [i.e., CH(F)═C(H)—], methyl propenoate-2-yl,
and 5-iso-butoxy-1-penten-5-yl.
Illustrative examples of substituted alkoxy groups include fluoromethoxy (i.e., FCH 2 —O—), 2-ethoxycarbonyl-ethoxy, 4-aminocarbonyl-oxybutyl,
and 8-thio-nonyloxy [i.e., CH 3 CH(SH)—(CH 2 ) 7 —O—].
Illustrative examples of substituted aryl groups include 2-fluorophenyl, 2,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl, 4-chloro-2-methylphenyl, 5,6-dichloro-naphth-1-yl, and 8-(dimethylaminomethyl)-naphth-2-yl.
Illustrative examples of substituted aralkyl groups include 4-fluorophenylmethyl, 2-(2,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl)-ethyl, 3-(2-carboxyphenyl)-propyl, 4-phenyl-4-hydroxy-butyl, 4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-naphth-1-yl)-butyl, benzoyl, and 12-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-dodec-3-yl.
Illustrative examples of substituted cycloalkyl groups include 3-methyl-cyclopentyl, cyclohexanon-4-yl, 4-hydroxy-cyclohexyl, and 1-methoxy-cycloheptyl.
The term “heteroatom” includes nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur. When the heteroatom is incorporated in a nonaromatic ring, the heteroatom further includes
The term “oxo” means ═O.
The term “oxo-substituted” means any group which contains a carbon atom that is substituted with an oxo group. A carbon atom substituted with an oxo group forms a carbonyl group, which is a group of formula C═O.
The phrase “fused 9- or 10-membered bicyclic ring containing from 0 to 3 heteroatoms” means a group wherein two ring systems share two and only two atoms. Illustrative examples of a fused bicyclic group containing 0 heteroatoms
The term “halogen” means bromine, chlorine, fluorine or iodine.
The term “aminoalkyl” means a H 2 N group linked through an alkylene group, wherein alkylene has the meaning as defined above. Illustrative examples of aminoalkyl groups include aminomethyl (i.e., H 2 N—CH 2 —), 3-aminopropyl, and 1-amino-1,1-dimethylethyl.
The term “alkylaminoalkyl” means an alkyl group, linked through an N(H) group, which in turn is linked through an alkylene group, wherein alkyl and alkylene are as defined above. Ilustrative examples of alkylaminoalkyl groups include methylaminomethyl (i.e., CH 3 NHCH 2 —), 3-(tert-butylamino)-propyl, and 6-(hexylamino)-hexyl.
The term “hydroxyalkyl” means an OH group linked through an alkylene group, wherein alkylene has the meaning defined above. Illustrative examples of hydroxyalkyl groups include hydroxymethyl, 2-hydroxyethyl, and 2-hydroxy-1,1-dimethylethyl.
The term “(aminocarbonyl)-alkyl” means an H 2 NC(O) group linked through an alkylene group, wherein alkylene has the meaning defined above. Illustrative examples of (aminocarbonyl)-alkyl groups include H 2 NC(O)—CH 2 — and H 2 NC(O)—C(CH 3 ) 3 .
The term “(alkylthio)-alkyl-” means an alkyl group linked through a sulfur atom, which in turn is linked through an alkylene group, wherein alkyl and alkylene have the meanings defined above. Illustrative examples of (alkylthio)-alkyl groups include CH 3 —S—CH 2 —, CH 3 CH 2 —S—(CH 2 ) 2 —, and CH 3 CH(CH 3 )CH 2 C(CH 3 ) 2 —S—C(CH 3 ) 2 CH 2 —.
The term “carboxyalkyl” means a CO 2 H group linked through an alkylene group, wherein alkylene has the meaning defined above. Illustrative examples of carboxyalkyl groups include carboxymethyl, 2-carboxyethyl, and 2-carboxy-1,1-dimethylethyl.
The term “amino” means the —NH 2 group.
The term “haloalkyl” means a halogen linked through an alkylene group, wherein halogen and alkylene are as defined above. Illustrative examples of haloalkyl include trifluoromethyl, difluoromethyl, fluoromethyl, and 2,2,2-trichloroethyl.
The term “C(O)-alkyl” means an alkyl group as defined above linked through a carbonyl carbon atom. Illustrative examples of C(O)-alkyl groups include acetyl (i.e., C(O)CH 3 ), 2,2-dimethylpropionyl, and dodecanoyl.
The term “heterocyclene” means a 4-, 5-, or 6-membered, heterocyclic diradical, containing from 1 to 3 heteroatoms which are N, O, or S, and wherein the radical atoms are carbon atoms, selected from the group consisting of:
(i) 1-aza-2-cyclobutanon-3,4-diyl of formula
(ii) a 5-membered aromatic, nonaromatic dihydro, or nonaromatic tetrahydro ring diradical having carbon atoms and from 1 to 3 heteroatoms selected from N, O, and S;
(iii) a 5-membered oxo-substituted nonaromatic tetrahydro ring diradical having carbon atoms and 1 or 2 heteroatoms selected from N, O, and S;
(iv) a 6-membered aromatic, nonaromatic tetrahydro, or nonaromatic hexahydro ring diradical having carbon atoms and 1 or 2 heteroatoms, which heteroatoms are nitrogen, and
(v) a 6-membered nonaromatic oxo-substituted hexahydro ring diradical having carbon atoms and 1 or 2 heteroatoms which are nitrogen and 0 or 1 heteroatom which is oxygen;
wherein when B is a nonaromatic heterocyclene containing sulfur, said sulfur may further comprise
Illustrative examples of 5- and 6-membered heterocyclenes include:
1) A 5-membered heterocyclic ring diradical having one heteroatom which is N, O, or S such as, for example, the following rings:
wherein X is O, S, or N—R wherein R is H or alkyl.
2) A 5-membered heterocyclic ring diradical having 2 heteroatoms independently selected from N, O, and S such as, for example, the following rings:
wherein X and R are as defined above in 1).
3) A 5-membered heterocyclic ring diradical having 3 heteroatoms independently selected from N, O, and S such as, for example, the following rings:
wherein X and R are as defined above in 1).
4) A 6-membered aromatic heterocyclic ring diradical having from 1 to 3 nitrogen atoms such as, for example, the following rings:
5) A 6-membered nonaromatic tetrahydro heterocyclic ring diradical having 1 or 2 nitrogen atoms such as, for example, the following rings:
wherein R is independently hydrogen or alkyl;
6) A 6-membered nonaromatic hexahydro heterocyclic ring diradical having 1 or 2 nitrogen atoms such as, for example, the following rings:
wherein R is independently hydrogen or alkyl;
7) A 5-membered oxo-substituted heterocyclic nonaromatic tetrahydro ring diradical having 1 or 2 heteroatoms independently selected from N, O, and S such as, for example, the following rings:
wherein X and R are as defined above in 1).
8) A 6-membered oxo-substituted hexahydro nonaromatic heterocyclic ring diradical having 1 or 2 nitrogen atoms, and 0 or 1 heteroatoms selected from O and S, such as, for example, the following rings:
wherein R and X are as defined above in 1).
It is to be appreciated that the above rings in 1) to 8) are for illustration only and do not represent all possible isomers or rings that are described above by the term “heterocyclene.” Rather, one of ordinary skill in the art of organic chemistry would know what is meant by the term heterocyclene in view of the above.
It is also to be appreciated that the compounds of Formula I, Formula VI, and Formula VIa may have chiral centers, in which case all stereoisomers thereof, both separately and as racemic and/or diastereoisomeric mixtures, are included.
Some of the compounds of Formula I, Formula VI, and Formula VIa are capable of further forming nontoxic pharmaceutically acceptable acid-addition and/or base salts. All of these forms are within the scope of the present invention.
For example, pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts of the compounds of Formula I, Formula VI, and Formula VIa include salts derived from inorganic acids such as hydrochloric, nitric, phosphoric, sulfuric, hydrobromic, hydriodic, hydrofluoric, phosphorous, and the like, as well as the salts derived from organic acids, such as aliphatic mono- and dicarboxylic acids, phenyl-substituted alkanoic acids, hydroxy alkanoic acids, alkanedioic acids, aromatic acids, aliphatic and aromatic sulfonic acids, etc. Such salts thus include sulfate, pyrosulfate, bisulfate, sulfite, bisulfite, nitrate, phosphate, monohydrogenphosphate, dihyrogenphosphate, metaphosphate, pyrophosphate, chloride, bromide, iodide, acetate, trifluoroacetate, propionate, caprylate, isobutyrate, oxalate, malonate, succinates suberate, sebacate, fumarate, maleate, mandelate, benzoate, chlorobenzoate, methylbenzoate, dinitrobenzoate, phthalate, benzenesulfonate, toluenesulfonate, phenylacetate, citrate, lactate, malate, tartrate, methanesulfonate, and the like. Also contemplated are salts of amino acids such as arginate and the like and gluconate, galacturonate (see, for example, Berge S. M., et al., “Pharmaceutical Salts,” Journal of Pharmaceutical Science, 1977;66:1-19).
The acid addition salts of basic invention compounds are prepared by contacting the free base forms of the invention compounds with a sufficient amount, usually 1 mole equivalent, of the desired acid to produce the salt in the conventional manner.
Pharmaceutically acceptable base salts are formed with metal cations, such as alkali and alkaline earth metal cations or amines, including organic amines. Examples of metals used as cations are sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and the like. Examples of suitable amines are N,N-dibenzylethylenediamine, chloroprocaine, choline, diethanolamine, dicyclohexylamine, ethylenediamine, N-methylglucamine, and procaine (see, for example, Berge, supra., 1977).
Base salts of acidic invention compounds are prepared by contacting the free acid form of the invention compounds with a sufficient amount, usually 1 mole equivalent, of the desired base to produce a salt in the conventional manner.
Certain of the compounds of the present invention can exist in unsolvated forms as well as solvated forms, including hydrated forms. In general, the solvated forms, including hydrated forms, are equivalent to unsolvated forms and are intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present invention.
The compounds of the invention may be prepared by a number of methods well-known to a person of average skill in the arts of organic and medicinal chemistries.
It should be appreciated that the organic and medicinal chemistry arts provide the skilled artisan with electronically searchable literature, reaction, and reagent databases and a wide variety of commercially available starting materials. For example, see the databases of the Chemical Abstracts service (Columbus, Ohio); Katritzky, Alan R., Handbook of Heterocyclic Chemistry , Pergamon Press, Ltd., 1985, Volumes 4 and 5; and The Aldrich Catalog (Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, St. Louis, Mo.).
For examples of the preparation of optically pure Δ 2 —isoxazolines (i.e., chiral Δ 2 —isoxazolines that consist of only one enantiomer, or substantially one enantiomer), see Yang, K-S, et al. Tetrahedron Letters, 2000;41:1453-1456 or Shimizu, M. et al. Chemistry Letters, 1996:455-456.
As described above, some of the invention compounds possess chiral centers. It should be appreciated that a person skilled in the medicinal and organic chemistry arts is able to prepare chiral invention compounds by classical resolution techniques and/or asymmetric synthesis.
It should also be appreciated for purposes of synthesizing the compounds of the present invention that reactive functional groups present in starting materials, reaction intermediates, or reaction products may be protected during chemical reactions using protecting groups which render the reactive functional groups substantially inert to the reaction conditions. After the chemical reaction requiring a protecting group for the starting material, reaction intermediate, or reaction product is completed, the protecting group may be removed. (See for example, Protective Groups in Organic Synthesis, 2nd ed., T. W. Green and P. G. Wuts, John Wiley & Sons, New York, N.Y. 1991). Thus, for example, protecting groups such as the following may be utilized to protect suitable amino, hydroxyl, and other groups of related reactivity: carboxylic acyl groups, such as formyl, acetyl, trifluoroacetyl; alkoxycarbonyl groups, such as ethoxycarbonyl, t-butoxycarbonyl (BOC), β,β,β-trichloroethoxycarbonyl (TCEC), β-iodoethoxycarbonyl; aryloxycarbonyl groups, such as benzyloxycarbonyl (CBZ), p-methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl, phenoxycarbonyl; trialkyl silyl groups, such as trimethylsilyl and t-butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS); and groups such as trityl, tetrahydropyranyl, vinyloxycarbonyl, o-nitrophenylsulfenyl, diphenylphosphinyl, p-toluenesulfonyl, and benzyl may all be utilized. The protecting group may be removed, after completion of the synthetic reaction of interest, by procedures known to those skilled in the art. For example, a BOC group may be removed by acidolysis, a trityl group by hydrogenolysis, TBDMS by treatment with fluoride ions, and TCEC by treatment with zinc. Use of protecting groups in organic synthesis is well within the skill of the average artisan.
It should be appreciated that reagents, solvents, and starting materials necessary for the preparation of the compounds of the invention may be purchased from a number of commercial sources or may be readily prepared by a number of methods well known to one of average skill in the art of organic chemistry. Further, reactions used to prepare the invention compounds can be carried out under a wide variety of conditions comprising solvents, reagents, catalysts, temperatures, time, atmosphere, and pressure.
Many different methods may be used to prepare the invention compounds. However for purposes of practicing the invention, which comprises compounds, pharmaceutical compositions, and methods of treating certain disorders and diseases, it does not matter how the compounds are made. Nevertheless, novel methods of preparing the invention compounds are valuable as they may afford improvements in ease of synthesis or purification, cost of preparation, or process time. As discussed above, the invention provides novel methods of making the invention compounds.
The compounds of the present invention can be prepared according to the various synthetic schemes that follow. Protecting groups may be used when appropriate throughout many of the schemes. Although specifically noted in certain schemes, the appropriate use and choice of protecting groups is well known by one skilled in the art, and is not limited to the specific examples below. It is also understood that such groups not only serve to protect chemically reactive sites, but also to enhance solubility or otherwise change physical properties. A good general reference for protecting group preparation and deprotection is “Protective Groups in Organic Synthesis” by Theodora Green, supra. A number of general reactions such as oxidations and reductions are not shown in detail but can be done by methods understood by one skilled in the art. General transformations are well reviewed in “Comprehensive Organic Transformation” by Richard Larock, and the series “Compendium of Organic Synthetic Methods” (1989) published by Wiley-Interscience. In general, the starting materials were obtained from commercial sources unless otherwise indicated.
For example, one method of preparing a compound of Formula VIa is described below in Scheme 1.
wherein R 1 , g, *, R, V, B, E, Y, X 1 , and d are as defined above for Formula VIa.
In Scheme 1, a compound of Formula A, wherein R 1 and g are as defined above, is allowed to react with a compound of Formula B, wherein R, V, B, E, Y, X 1 , and d are as defined above, under reductive amination conditions to provide a compound of Formula VIa. In a preferred procedure, a compound of Formula A and a compound of Formula B (as its free base or an acid addition salt such as, for example, an HCl salt or a salt with acetic acid) in a molar ratio of about 1:1 are dissolved or suspended in a solvent such as, for example, THF, 2-propanol, 1,2-dichloroethane, dichloromethane, dioxane, and the like, optionally about 1 molar equivalent of a tertiary amine base such as, for example, triethylamine, diisopropylethylamine, N-methylmorpholine, and the like is added, and the mixture is stirred. Then an excess of a suitable hydride reducing agent is added such as, for example, sodium borohydride, sodium triacetoxyborohydride, and the like, and the mixture is stirred to provide a compound of Formula VIa. Preparation of Example 4a is representative of the chemistry described in Scheme 1.
Another method of preparing a compound of Formula VIa is described below in Scheme 2.
wherein R 1 , g, *, R, V, B, X 1 , d, E, and Y are as defined above for Formula VIa and L is a leaving group such that when V is (CH 2 ) n or (CH 2 ) m —C═O, wherein m is not 0, L is, for example, halogen, CH 3 CO 2 —, CF 3 CO 2 —, CF 3 SO 3 —, p-toluyl-SO 3 —, and the like; and when V is C═O, L is, for example, halogen, hydroxy, which can form intermediates activated for displacement by a compound of Formula C by reaction with coupling agents such as, for example, carbonyldiimidazole (CDI), N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC), and the like, benzotriazol-1-yl, imidazol-1-yl, CH 3 CO 2 —, and the like.
In Scheme 2, a compound of Formula C, wherein R 1 , g, and R are as defined above, is allowed to react with a compound of Formula D, wherein L is a leaving group which is displaced by a compound of Formula C, to provide a compound of Formula VIa. In a preferred procedure, a compound of Formula C is dissolved or suspended in an aprotic, polar solvent such as, for example, N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), ethyl acetate, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), acetonitrile, nitromethane, acetone, and the like, and optionally a 1 to 2 molar equivalents of a non-nucleophilic base such as, for example, triethylamine, diisopropylethylamine, sodium hydride, and the like is added, followed by addition of a compound of Formula D as a neat material (i.e., only the material itself in solid or liquid form) or in a solution of an aprotic, polar solvent such as, for example, the aprotic, polar solvents recited above, at an addition rate that maintains a desired reaction temperature, and the mixture is stirred in air or under an inert atmosphere such as, for example, nitrogen or argon, to give a compound of Formula VIa. In another preferred procedure, a compound of Formula C is dissolved or suspended in an aprotic, nonpolar solvent such as, for example, tetrahydrofuran (THF), diethylether, hexanes, and the like, and about 1 molar equivalent of a strong base such as, for example, n-butyl lithium, sec-butyl lithium, tert-butyl lithium, potassium hexamethyldisilazide (KHMDS), and the like is added, followed by addition of a compound of Formula D as a neat material or in a solution of a nonpolar, aprotic solvent such as, for example, the nonpolar, aprotic solvents recited above, at an addition rate that maintains a desired reaction temperature, and the mixture is stirred to give a compound of Formula VIa. In still another preferred procedure, a compound of Formula D, wherein L-V— is HO—C(O)—, is dissolved or suspended in an aprotic solvent such as, for example, THF, DMF, ethyl acetate, and the like, and about 1 molar equivalent of a coupling agent such as, for example, CDI, DCC, bis(2-oxo-3-oxazolidinyl)phosphinic chloride (BOP-Cl), and the like, followed by addition of a compound of Formula C as a neat material or in a solution of an aprotic solvent such as, for example, the aprotic solvents recited above, at an addition rate that maintains a desired reaction temperature, and the mixture is stirred to give a compound of Formula VIa wherein V is (CH 2 ) m —C═O, wherein m is 0. Optionally, the compound of Formula VIa wherein V is (CH 2 ) m —C═O, wherein m is 0 can be reduced using hydride-type reducing agents such as, for example, diisobutylaluminum hydride (DIBAL-H) in nonpolar, aprotic solvents such as, for example, THF, ethyl ether, toluene, and the like, to give a compound of Formula VIa wherein V is (CH 2 ) n wherein n is 1. In Scheme 2, the preferred molar ratio of a compound of Formula C to a compound of Formula D is about 1:1.
Another method of preparing a compound of Formula VIa is described below in Scheme 3.
wherein R 1 , g, *, R, V, B, X 1 , d, E, and Y are as defined above for Formula VIa, and PG 1 and PG 2 are protecting groups which may be deprotected to provide the groups E and Y, respectively, of compounds of Formula VIa. Illustrative examples of PG 1 are hydrogen (when E is H), —O-benzyl, —S-benzyl, —NH-benzyl, —NH-(4-methoxybenzyl), —NH—BOC, —NH—CBZ, —O-TBDMS, —CH 2 -halo, C(O)—CH 2 -halo, —CO 2 Me, C(O—CH 2 ) 2 , CH 2 CH 2 CO 2 Me, and the like. Illustrative examples of PG 2 are —NH-benzyl, —NH-(4-methoxybenzyl), —NH—BOC, —NH—CBZ, CO 2 Me, —O-benzyl, —O-TBDMS, and the like.
In Scheme 3, a compound of Formula E is deprotected to give a compound of Formula VIa. In a preferred procedure, a compound of Formula E, wherein PG 1 and/or PG 2 is —O-benzyl, —S-benzyl, —NH-benzyl, —NH—CBZ, and the like, is dissolved or suspended in a suitable solvent such as, for example, acetic acid, ethanol, THF, dichloromethane, and the like, and allowed to react with a deprotecting reagent such as, for example, a mixture of hydrogen gas and a suitable hydrogenation catalyst such as, for example, palladium on carbon, palladium on barium sulfate, platinum on carbon, sponge nickel, and the like, under pressure, phosphorous tribromide, hydrochloric acid, titanium tetrachloride, and the like, at an addition rate that maintains a desired reaction temperature, to give a compound of Formula VIa. Preparation of Example 1 is representative of the chemistry described in Scheme 3.
Another method of preparing a compound of Formula VIa is described below in Scheme 4.
wherein R 1 , g, *, R, V, B, X 1 , d, E, and Y are as defined above for Formula VIa, and U is —C(H)═C(H)— or —C≡C—.
In Scheme 4, a compound of Formula F is allowed to react with a 2-membered, 3-membered, or 4-membered cyclization reagent to give a compound of Formula VIa, wherein B is a 4-membered, 5-membered, or 6-membered heterocyclene, respectively. In a preferred procedure, a compound of Formula F is dissolved or suspended in an aprotic solvent such as, for example, THF, dichloromethane, acetone, DMF, and the like, and allowed to react with a 3-membered cyclizing reagent such as, for example, an alkylazide, alkyldiazomethane, acetonitrile oxide, prepared by reaction of an aldoxime such as, for example, acetaldoxime [i.e., CH 3 C(H)═N—OH] with a radical generating agent such as, N-bromosuccinimide (NBS), N-chlorosuccinimide (NCS), and the like, or a 4-membered cyclizing reagent such as, for example, H 2 C═C(H)—C(H)═N-EDG, wherein EDG is an electron donating group such as, for example, —N(CH 3 ) 2 , —OMe, and the like, to give a compound of Formula VIa.
Another method of preparing a compound of Formula VIa is described below in Scheme 5.
wherein R 1 , g, *, R, V, X 1 , d, E, and Y are as defined above for Formula VIa, B is oxazole, dihydrooxazole, thiazole, or dihydrothiazole, and T is C═O or C(H)OH.
In Scheme 5, a compound of Formula G is allowed to react with a reagent and/or catalyst under cyclizing conditions to provide a compound of Formula VIa. In a preferred procedure, a compound of Formula G is dissolved in an aprotic solvent such as, for example, THF, ethyl acetate, DMF, DMSO, and the like, and a dehydrating reagent such as, for example, anhydrous magnesium sulfate, anhydrous calcium chloride, activated three angstrom molecular sieves, trimethoxymethane, oxalyl chloride, PCl 5 , phosphorous pentoxide and the like, is added and optionally an acid catalyst such as, for example, trifluoroacetic acid, para-toluenesulfonic acid, and the like, is added, and the mixture is stirred to provide a compound of Formula VIa, wherein B is oxazole or dihydrooxazole. In another preferred procedure, a compound of Formula G is dissolved in an aprotic solvent such as, for example, THF, ethyl acetate, DMF, DMSO, and the like, and a sulfurating reagent (i.e., a reagent that introduces a sulfur atom) such as, for example, P 2 S 5 , [2,4-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-1,3-dithian-2,4-diphosphetane-2,4-disulfide] (i.e., Lawesson's reagent), and the like, is added, and the mixture is stirred to provide a compound of Formula VIa, wherein B is thiazole or dihydrothiazole.
Another method of preparing a compound of Formula VIa is described below in Scheme 6.
wherein R 1 , g, *, R, V, X 1 , d, E, and Y are as defined above for Formula VIa, B is oxazole, dihydrooxazole, thiazole, or dihydrothiazole, and T is C═O or C(H)OH.
In Scheme 6, a compound of Formula H is allowed to react with a reagent and/or catalyst under cyclizing conditions to provide a compound of Formula VIa. Preferred procedures are as described above in Scheme 5.
Another method of preparing a compound of Formula VIa is described below in Scheme 7.
wherein R 1 , g, *, R, V, B, X 1 , d, E, and Y are as defined above for Formula VIa.
In Scheme 7, a compound of Formula VIa is allowed to react with a reagent to provide a different compound of Formula VIa. In a preferred procedure, a compound of Formula VIa wherein V is (CH 2 ) m C═O is dissolved or suspended in a suitable aprotic, nonpolar solvent such as, for example, THF, methyltertbutylether (MTBE), hexanes, and the like, and a reducing agent such as, for example, lithium aluminum hydride, sodium borohydride, sodium triacetoxyborohydride, diisobutylaluminum hydride (DIBAL), and the like, is added at an addition rate that maintains a desired reaction temperature, and the mixture is stirred to give a compound of Formula VIa wherein V is (CH 2 ) n .
In another preferred procedure, a compound of Formula VIa wherein R is hydrogen is dissolved or suspended in a suitable aprotic, nonpolar solvent such as, for example, THF, MTBE, hexanes, and the like, and an alkylating agent of Formula L 1 -R wherein L is halogen, o-tosyl, O-mesyl, and the like, and R is alkyl or wherein L 1 -R is a dialkyl sulfate, is added, and the mixture is stirred to give a compound of Formula VIa wherein R is alkyl. Preparation of Example 4b is representative of the chemistry described in Scheme 7.
Another method of preparing a compound of Formula VIa is described below in Scheme 8.
wherein R 1 , g, *, R, V, X 1 , d, E, and Y are as defined above for Formula VIa, B is isoxazole or dihydroisoxazole (i.e., isoxazoline), J is C(H)═CH 2 or C≡C—H, and K is C(Cl)═N—OH.
In Scheme 8, a compound of Formula J is allowed to react with a compound of Formula K under [3+2] cyclization conditions to provide a compound of Formula VIa. In a preferred procedure, a compound of Formula J and a compound of Formula K are dissolved or suspended in a solvent such as, for example, methanol, ethanol, THF, ethyl acetate, toluene, dichloromethane, and the like, and optionally a non-nucleophilic base such as, for example, triethylamine, diisopropylethylamine, sodium hydride, and the like is added, and the mixture is stirred to provide a compound of Formula VIa.
Further, one method of preparing a compound of Formula VI is described below in Scheme 9.
wherein R 1 , g, *, R, V, B, E, Y, X 1 , and d are as defined above for Formula VI.
In Scheme 9, a compound of Formula L, wherein Y, E, X 1 , and d are as defined above, is allowed to react with a compound of Formula M, wherein R, V, B, R 1 , and g are as defined above, under reductive amination conditions to provide a compound of Formula VI. In a preferred procedure, a compound of Formula L and a compound of Formula M (as its free base or an acid addition salt such as, for example, an HCl salt or a salt with acetic acid) in a molar ratio of about 1:1 are dissolved or suspended in a solvent such as, for example, THF, 2-propanol, 1,2-dichloroethane, dichloromethane, dioxane, and the like, optionally about 1 molar equivalent of a tertiary amine base such as, for example, triethylamine, diisopropylethylamine, N-methylmorpholine, and the like is added, and the mixture is stirred. Then an excess of a suitable hydride reducing agent such as, for example, sodium borohydride, sodium triacetoxyborohydride, and the like is added, and the mixture is stirred to provide a compound of Formula VI. Preparation of Examples 2, 3a, 5a, and 6a are representative of the chemistry described in Scheme 9.
Another method of preparing a compound of Formula VI is described below in Scheme 10.
wherein Y, E, X 1 , d, R, *, V, B, R 1 , and g are as defined above for Formula VI and L is a leaving group such that when V is (CH 2 ) n or (CH 2 ) m —C═O, wherein m is not 0, L is, for example, halogen, CH 3 CO 2 —, CF 3 CO 2 —, CF 3 SO 3 —, p-toluyl-SO 3 —, and the like; and when V is C═O, L is, for example, halogen, hydroxy, which can form intermediates activated for displacement by a compound of Formula C by reaction with coupling agents such as, for example, carbonyldiimidazole (CDI), N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC), and the like, benzotriazol-1-yl, imidazol-1-yl, CH 3 CO 2 —, and the like.
In Scheme 10, a compound of Formula N, wherein Y, E, X 1 , d, *, and R are as defined above, is allowed to react with a compound of Formula O, wherein L is a leaving group which is displaced by a compound of Formula N, to provide a compound of Formula VI. In a preferred procedure, a compound of Formula N is dissolved or suspended in an aprotic, polar solvent such as, for example, N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), ethyl acetate, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), acetonitrile, nitromethane, acetone, and the like, and optionally a 1 to 2 molar equivalents of a non-nucleophilic base such as, for example, triethylamine, diisopropylethylamine, sodium hydride, and the like is added, followed by addition of a compound of Formula O as a neat material (i.e., only the material itself in solid or liquid form) or in a solution of an aprotic, polar solvent such as, for example, the aprotic, polar solvents recited above, at an addition rate that maintains a desired reaction temperature, and the mixture is stirred in air or under an inert atmosphere such as, for example, nitrogen or argon, to give a compound of Formula VI. In another preferred procedure, a compound of Formula N is dissolved or suspended in an aprotic, nonpolar solvent such as, for example, tetrahydrofuran (THF), diethylether, hexanes, and the like, and about 1 molar equivalent of a strong base such as, for example, n-butyl lithium, sec-butyl lithium, tert-butyl lithium, potassium hexamethyldisilazide (KHMDS), and the like is added, followed by addition of a compound of Formula O as a neat material or in a solution of a nonpolar, aprotic solvent such as, for example, the nonpolar, aprotic solvents recited above, at an addition rate that maintains a desired reaction temperature, and the mixture is stirred to give a compound of Formula VI. In still another preferred procedure, a compound of Formula O, wherein L-V— is HO—C(O)—, is dissolved or suspended in an aprotic solvent such as, for example, THF, DMF, ethyl acetate, and the like, and about 1 molar equivalent of a coupling agent such as, for example, CDI, DCC, bis(2-oxo-3-oxazolidinyl)phosphinic chloride (BOP—Cl), and the like, followed by addition of a compound of Formula N as a neat material or in a solution of an aprotic solvent such as, for example, the aprotic solvents recited above, at an addition rate that maintains a desired reaction temperature, and the mixture is stirred to give a compound of Formula VI. In Scheme 10, the preferred molar ratio of a compound of Formula N to a compound of Formula O is about 1:1.
Another method of preparing a compound of Formula VI is described below in Schemel 11.
wherein R 1 , g, *, R, V, B, X 1 , d, E, and Y are as defined above for Formula VI, and PG 1 and PG 2 are protecting groups which may be deprotected to provide the groups E and Y, respectively, of compounds of Formula VI. Illustrative examples of PG 1 are hydrogen (when E is H), —O-benzyl, —S-benzyl, —NH-benzyl, —NH-(4-methoxybenzyl), —NH—BOC, —NH—CBZ, —O-TBDMS, —CH 2 -halo, C(O)—CH 2 -halo, —CO 2 Me, C(O—CH 2 ) 2 , CH 2 CH 2 CO 2 Me, and the like. Illustrative examples of PG 2 are —NH-benzyl, —NH-(4-methoxybenzyl), —NH—BOC, —NH—CBZ, CO 2 Me, —O-benzyl, —O-TBDMS, and the like.
In Scheme 11, a compound of Formula P is deprotected to give a compound of Formula VI. In a preferred procedure, a compound of Formula P, wherein PG 1 and/or PG 2 is —O-benzyl, —S-benzyl, —NH-benzyl, —NH—CBZ, and the like, is dissolved or suspended in a suitable solvent such as, for example, acetic acid, ethanol, THF, dichloromethane, and the like, and allowed to react with a deprotecting reagent such as, for example, a mixture of hydrogen gas and a suitable hydrogenation catalyst such as, for example, palladium on carbon, palladium on barium sulfate, platinum on carbon, sponge nickel, and the like, under pressure, phosphorous tribromide, hydrochloric acid, titanium tetrachloride, and the like, at an addition rate that maintains a desired reaction temperature, to give a compound of Formula VI.
Another method of preparing a compound of Formula VI is described below in Scheme 12.
wherein R 1 , g, *, R, V, B, X 1 , d, E, and Y are as defined above for Formula I, and U is —C(H)═C(H)— or —C≡C—.
In Scheme 12, a compound of Formula Q is allowed to react with a 2-membered, 3-membered, or 4-membered cyclization reagent to give a compound of Formula VI, wherein B is a 4-membered, 5-membered, or 6-membered heterocyclene, respectively. In a preferred procedure, a compound of Formula Q is dissolved or suspended in an aprotic solvent such as, for example, THF, dichloromethane, acetone, DMF, and the like, and allowed to react with a 3-membered cyclizing reagent such as, for example, an alkylazide, alkyldiazomethane, acetonitrile oxide, prepared by reaction of an aldoxime such as, for example, acetaldoxime [i.e., CH 3 C(H)═N—OH] with a radical generating agent such as, N-bromosuccinimide (NBS), N-chlorosuccinimide (NCS), and the like, or a 4-membered cyclizing reagent such as, for example, H 2 C═C(H)—C(H)═N-EDG, wherein EDG is an electron donating group such as, for example, —N(CH 3 ) 2 , —OMe, and the like, to give a compound of Formula VI.
Another method of preparing a compound of Formula VI is described below in Scheme 13.
wherein R 1 , g, *, R, V, X 1 , d, E, and Y are as defined above for Formula VI, B is oxazole, dihydrooxazole, thiazole, or dihydrothiazole, and T is C═O or C(H)OH.
In Scheme 13, a compound of Formula R is allowed to react with a reagent and/or catalyst under cyclizing conditions to provide a compound of Formula VI. In a preferred procedure, a compound of Formula R is dissolved in an aprotic solvent such as, for example, THF, ethyl acetate, DMF, DMSO, and the like, and a dehyrdating reagent such as, for example, anhydrous magnesium sulfate, anhydrous calcium chloride, activated three angstrom molecular sieves, trimethoxymethane, oxalyl chloride, PCl 5 , phosphorous pentoxide and the like, is added and optionally an acid catalyst such as, for example, trifluoroacetic acid, para-toluenesulfonic acid, and the like, is added, and the mixture is stirred to provide a compound of Formula VI, wherein B is oxazole or dihydrooxazole. In another preferred procedure, a compound of Formula R is dissolved in an aprotic solvent such as, for example, THF, ethyl acetate, DMF, DMSO, and the like, and a sulfurating reagent (i.e., a reagent that introduces a sulfur atom) such as, for example, P 2 S 5 , [2,4-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-1,3-dithian-2,4-diphosphetane-2,4-disulfide] (i.e., Lawesson's reagent), and the like, is added, and the mixture is stirred to provide a compound of Formula VI, wherein B is thiazole or dihydrothiazole.
Another method of preparing a compound of Formula VI is described below in Scheme 14.
wherein R 1 , g, *, R, V, X 1 , d, E, and Y are as defined above for Formula VI, B is oxazole, dihydrooxazole, thiazole, or dihydrothiazole, and T is C═O or C(H)OH.
In Scheme 14, a compound of Formula S is allowed to react with a reagent and/or catalyst under cyclizing conditions to provide a compound of Formula VI. Preferred procedures are as described above in Scheme 13.
Another method of preparing a compound of Formula VI is described below in Scheme 15.
wherein R 1 , g, *, R, V, B, X 1 , d, E, and Y are as defined above for Formula VI.
In Scheme 15, a compound of Formula VI is allowed to react with a reagent to provide a different compound of Formula VI. In a preferred procedure, a compound of Formula VI wherein V is (CH 2 ) m C═O is dissolved or suspended in a suitable aprotic, nonpolar solvent such as, for example, THF, methyltertbutylether (MTBE), hexanes, and the like, and a reducing agent such as, for example, lithium aluminum hydride, sodium borohydride, sodium triacetoxyborohydride, diisobutylaluminum hydride (DIBAL), and the like, is added at an addition rate that maintains a desired reaction temperature, and the mixture is stirred to give a compound of Formula VI wherein V is (CH 2 ) n .
In another preferred procedure, a compound of Formula VI wherein R is hydrogen is dissolved or suspended in a suitable aprotic, nonpolar solvent.such as, for example, THF, MTBE, hexanes, and the like, and an alkylating agent of Formula L 1 —R wherein L is halogen, o-tosyl, o-mesyl, and the like, and R is alkyl or wherein L 1 —R is a dialkyl sulfate, is added, and the mixture is stirred to give a compound of Formula VI wherein R is alkyl. The preparations of Examples 3b, 5b, and 6b are representative of the chemistry described in Scheme 15.
Another method of preparing a compound of Formula VI is described below in Scheme 16.
wherein R 1 , g, *, R, V, X 1 , d, E, and Y are as defined above for Formula VI, B is isoxazole or dihydroisoxazole (i.e., isoxazoline), J is C(H)═CH 2 or C≡C—H, and K is C(Cl)═N—OH.
In Scheme 16, a compound of Formula T is allowed to react with a compound of Formula U under [3+2] cyclization conditions to provide a compound of Formula VI. In a preferred procedure, a compound of Formula T and a compound of Formula U are dissolved or suspended in a solvent such as, for example, methanol, ethanol, THF, ethyl acetate, toluene, dichloromethane, and the like, and optionally a non-nucleophilic base such as, for example, triethylamine, diisopropylethylamine, sodium hydride, and the like is added, and the mixture is stirred to provide a compound of Formula VI.
Preparation of certain compounds of the present invention use the general methods described immediately below.
General Methods
HCl salts were prepared by treatment of a MeOH solution of the amine with excess HCl in Et 2 O (1 M). The salts were isolated either by filtration if they precipitated directly from the etherial solution, or by first removal of the solvent under reduced pressure, and then crystallization (Et 2 O:MeOH).
Purity was determined by reversed phase HPLC by the following methods:
Method A: column: YMC J'SPHERE (YMC Company, Limited, Kyoto, Japan) C18, ODS-M80, 150×4.6 mm, 4 μm; solvent A: 0.1% H 3 PO 4 in 95:5 H 2 O:CH 3 CN; solvent B: 0.1% H 3 PO 4 in 95:5 CH 3 CN:H 2 O; gradient: 10-100% B over 15 minutes; flow: 1 mL minute −1 ; detection: 210 nm.
Method B: column: YMC J'SPHERE C18, ODS-M80, 150×4.6 mm, 4μ; solvent A: 0.1% H 3 PO 4 in 0.1% H 3 PO 4 in 95:5 H 2 O:CH 3 CN; solvent B: 0.1% H 3 PO 4 in 95:5 CH 3 CN:H 2 O; gradient: 10-100% B over 15 minutes; flow: 1 mL minute −1 ; detection: 210 nm.
Method C: column: DYNAMAX C-18, 250×21.4 mm, 300 Å; solvent A: 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid in 95:5 H 2 O:CH 3 CN; solvent B: 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid in 95:5 CH 3 CN:H 2 O; gradient: 10-100% B over 30 minutes; flow: 10 mL minute −1 ; detection: 210 nm.
Further, the examples use certain common intermediates. These intermediates may be prepared by the procedures described below in Preparations 1 to 4.
PREPARATION 1
A preparation of 6-(4-cyclohexanonyl)benzoxazolin-2-one (5) is shown in Scheme 17.
Step 1: N-Bromosuccinimide (NBS, 26.6 g, 0.15 mol) was added to a stirred solution of 2-benzoxazolinone (20.0 g, 0.15 mol) in glacial acetic acid (220 mL) and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 3 days. The reaction mixture was poured into H 2 O (1.2 L), and the white solid that formed was filtered off. Recrystallization of the white solid from hot EtOH (300 mL) gave the bromide of formula 1 (22.1 g, 70%), as an off-white solid: melting point (mp) 190-195° C.; IR (KBr): 3278, 1779, 1736, 1623 cm −1 ; 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CD 3 OD) δ 7.41 (d, J=2 Hz, 1H), 7.32 (dd, J=5, 2 Hz, 1H), 6.99 (d, J=5 Hz, 1H); CI MS (methane) (m/z): 215 [M+H] + .
Step 2: The bromide of formula 1 (12.8 g, 59.6 mmol) was dissolved in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran (THF) (220 mL), and the solution was cooled to −78° C. Solutions of MeMgBr (21.9 mL of a 3.0 M solution in Et 2 O, 65.6 mmol), sec-BuLi (50.4 mL of a 1.3 M solution in cyclohexane, 65.6 mmol), and 1,4-cyclohexanedione mono-ethylene ketal (11.2 g, 71.5 mmol) in anhydrous THF (10 mL) were added sequentially at 30-minute intervals. After the final addition, the reaction mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature. The reaction was quenched by the addition of 1N HCl (25 mL). The reaction mixture was diluted with EtOAc (500 mL), washed with saturated (satd) NaCl (250 mL), dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure to provide a mixture of ketal of formula 2 and ketone of formula 3, as a brown oil.
Step 3: The crude mixture of ketal of formula 2 and ketone of formula 3 from Step 2 was stirred in trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) (20 mL) at room temperature for 20 minutes. The red solution was poured into CHCl 3 (500 mL), and the organic layer was washed with H 2 O (2×100 mL), saturated NaHCO 3 , and saturated NaCl, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by filtration through silica gel (eluent 9:1 CHCl 3 /MeOH) gave a yellow oil. Crystallization from hexanes/EtOAc (3:1) gave cyclohexenone of formula 4 (8.1 g, 59%): 1 H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ 7.40 (d, J=1 Hz, 1H), 7.30 (dd, J=8, 1 Hz, 1H), 7.06 (d, J=8 Hz, 1H), 6.11 (t, J=4 Hz, 1H), 3.01 J=2 Hz, 2H), 2.83 (t, J=7 Hz, 2H), 2.53 (m, 2H); CI MS (methane) (m/z): 230 [M+H] + .
Step 4: A mixture of the cyclohexenone of formula 4 (3.5 g, 15.3 mmol) in a 3: 2 mixture of EtOAc/EtOH (100 mL) and 10% Pd/C (0.5 g) was shaken under an H 2 atmosphere at 50 pounds per square inch (psi) for 4 hours. The solution was filtered through CELITE and concentrated under reduced pressure. Crystallization from hexanes/EtOAc (3:1) gave 6-(4-cyclohexanonyl)benzoxazolin-2-one of formula 5 (3.45 g, 98%) as a white solid: mp 202-211° C.; IR (KBr): 3339, 1777, 1713, 1618 cm −1 ; 1 H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ 7.26 (s, 1H), 7.08 (d, J=8 Hz, 1H), 7.01 (d, J=8 Hz, 1H), 3.08 (tt, J=14, 4 Hz, 1H), 2.63-2.51 (m, 2H), 2.24 (br d, J=14 Hz, 2H), 2.07-2.02 (m, 2H), 1.95-1.85 (dddd, J=14, 14, 14, 4 Hz, 2H).
PREPARATION 2
Preparation of 6-(4-substituted amino-cyclohexyl)-benzoxazolin-2-ones is shown below in Scheme 18.
In general, these compounds can be prepared by a reductive amination reaction between an amine of formula (A) and 6-(4-cyclohexanonyl)benzoxazolin-2-one of formula (5) to give the trans and cis cyclohexylamines of formulas (trans-B) and (cis-B), respectively.
For example, a mixture of 1 mol equivalent of methylbenzylamine, 1 mol equivalent of ketone of formula 5, 1:1 2-propanol:1 ,2-dichloroethane, (and optionally 1 mol equivalent of triethylamine if methylbenzylamine as its hydrochloride or acetic acid salt is used instead of the free base), and 3 Å molecular sieves is stirred for 1 hour at room temperature. Excess sodium borohydride or sodium triacetoxyborohydride is added, and the mixture is stirred overnight to give 6-[(4-benzyl-methyl-amino)-cyclohexyl]-3H-benzoxazolin-2-one after purification by flash chromatography on silica gel. 6-[(4-Benzyl-methyl-amino)-cyclohexyl]-3H-benzoxazol-2-one is then combined with a catalytic amount of 10% Pd/C in THF-MeOH, and shaken under H 2 atmosphere at 50 psi to give 6-(4-methylamino)cyclohexyl-3H-benzoxazolin-2-one of formula 15 after purification by flash chromatography. See Example 1 below for experimental details.
PREPARATION 3
The preparation of 4-(4-Fluoro-phenyl)-cyclohexanone of formula 34 is described below in Scheme 19.
Step 1: 1,4-Cyclohexanedione mono-ethylene ketal (10.1 g, 64.7 mmol) was dissolved in anhydrous THF (100 mL), and the solution was cooled to −78° C. 4-Fluorophenylmagnesium bromide (78 mL of a 1.0 M solution in THF, 78 mmol) was added slowly over 10 minutes. After 20 minutes, saturated NH 4 Cl (10 mL) was added and the mixture allowed to warm to room temperature. The mixture was partitioned between CHCl 3 and saturated NH 4 Cl. The organic layer was dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered through CELITE, and concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 1:9 to 3:7 EtOAc: hexanes, loaded in a minimum of CH 2 Cl 2 ) gave 4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-4-hydroxy-cyclohexanone ethylene ketal (10.9 g, 67%); 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.5 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 2H), 7.05 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 2H), 4.00-3.91 (m, 5H), 2.25-2.08 (m, 4H), 1.85 (d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 1.65 (d, J=8 Hz, 2H).
Step 2: Compound 4-(4-Fluoro-phenyl)-4-hydroxy-cyclohexanone ethylene ketal (8.23 g, 32.6 mmol) from Step 1 was stirred in TFA (25 mL) for 15 minutes. The reaction mixture was poured into H 2 O (100 mL) and then extracted with CHCl 3 (2×75 mL). The organic solution was washed with saturated bicarbonate, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure to afford crude 1-(4-fluorophenyl)-cyclohexen-4-one (6.44 g): 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.35 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 2H), 7.04 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 2H), 6.05 (m, 1H), 3.05 (m, 2H), 2.87 (m, 2H), 2.65 (dd, J=7, 7 Hz, 2H).
Step 3: A solution of the crude 1-(4-fluorophenyl)-cyclohexen-4-one (6.44 g) from Step 2, 10% Pd/C (0.20 g) in EtOAc (100 mL) was shaken under an H 2 atmosphere at 50 psi for 1 hour. The solution was filtered through CELITE, and the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica, 1:9 EtOAc: hexanes) gave the ketone of formula 34 (5.49 g, 88%) as a pale yellow solid: mp 35-39° C.; IR (KBr): 2935, 1713, 1510 cm −1 ; 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.22-7.15 (m, 2H), 7.04-6.96 (m, 2H), 3.02 (dt, J=7, 3 Hz, 1H), 2.55-2.44 (m, 4H), 2.23-2.21 (m, 2H), 1.95-1.86 (m, 2H); CI-MS (methane) (m/z): 193 [M+H] + ; HPLC: method A, 11.59 min (96.7%). Certain amines containing aryl groups are known:
2-(4-Fluorophenoxy)ethylamine: Beilstein Registry Number: 1941572; Chemical Abstracts Service Registration Number (CAS Reg. No.): 6096-89-5; Shtacher G., Taub W., J. Med. Chem. 1966;9: 197-203.
3-(4-Fluorophenyl)propylamine: Beilstein Registry Number: 7757402; Fujimura K., Matsumoto J., Niwa M., Kobayshi T., Kawashima Y. et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem. 1997;55: 1675-1684.
3-Phenylsulfanylpropylamine: Beilstein Registry Number: 3695289; CAS : 34946-13-9; References to use of: Uher M.; Jendrichovsky, J. Collect. Czech Chem. Commun. 1973;38: 620-624; Tucker H., Coope J. F., J. Med. Chem. 1978;21: 769-773.
3-p-Tolylpropylamine: Beilstein Reference Number: 3235743; CAS: 54930-39-1; v.Braun; Wirz, Chem. Ber. 1927;60:107.
Certain compounds of the present invention have been prepared as described in the Examples below.
EXAMPLE 1
trans-6-(5-{[Methyl-(4-phenyl-cyclohexyl)-amino]-methyl}-4,5-dihydro-isoxazol-3-yl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one (17)
Step 1: A solution of aldehyde of formula 9 (10.4 g, 62.1 mmol), benzyl bromide (7.4 mL, 62.1 mmol), and K 2 CO 3 (9.4 g, 68.3 mmol) in CH 3 CN (200 mL) was stirred overnight at 40° C. After cooling to room temperature, the mixture was filtered, and the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure. The residue was dissolved in CH 2 Cl 2 and treated with activated charcoal. Concentration under reduced pressure gave aldehyde of formula 10 as an orange oil that solidified over time while drying under high vacuum. The crude product was used without further purification: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 10.06 (s, 1H), 7.97 (d, J=8 Hz, 1H), 7.69 (d, J=1 Hz, 1H), 7.58 (dd, J=8, 1 Hz, 1H), 7.51 (d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 7.44 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 2H), 7.40-7.30 (m, 1H), 5.35 (s, 2H).
Step 2: A solution of aldehyde of formula 10 (62.1 mmol) from Step 1, NH 2 OH.HCl (4.32 g, 62.1 mmol), and Na 2 CO 3 (13.2 g, 124 mmol) in 2-PrOH (60 mL) was stirred for 1 hour at 40° C. The mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure and the residue partitioned between EtOAc and H 2 O. The organic layer was dried (Na 2 SO 4 ) and concentrated under reduced pressure to give oxime of formula 11 (16.17 g, 96%) as a yellow solid. The crude product was used without further purification: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 8.09 (s, 1H), 7.86 (d, J=8 Hz, 1H), 7.72 (br s, 1H), 7.47-7.33 (m, 6H), 7.18 (d, J=9 Hz, 1H), 5.25 (s, 2H).
Step 3: A solution of oxime of formula 11 (7.76 g, 28.5 mmol) from Step 2 and freshly crystallized (from benzene) N-chlorosuccinimide (NCS, 3.80 g, 28.5 mmol) in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) (30 mL) was stirred at room temperature for 1 hour. The reaction was partitioned between EtOAc and H 2 O. The organic layer was washed with saturated NaCl, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), and concentrated under reduced pressure. The residue was dissolved in 1:1 THF: H 2 O (30 mL). Sodium bicarbonate (7.20 g, 86.5 mmol) and methyl acrylate (2.3 mL, 37.0 mmol) were added, and the reaction mixture was stirred overnight. Note: After 30 minutes, a mild exotherm occurred. The reaction was diluted with EtOAc, and the organic layer was washed with saturated NaCl, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), and concentrated under reduced pressure to give ester of formula 12 (4.56 g, 45%) as a yellow oil: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.87 (d, J=9 Hz, 1H), 7.58 (d, J=2 Hz, 1H), 7.48 (d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 7.39 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 2H), 7.35-7.31 (m, 1H), 7.19 (dd, J=9, 2 Hz, 1H), 5.26 (s, 2H), 5.24 (dd, J=12, 7 Hz, 1H), 3.83 (s, 3H), 3.61 (ddd, J=17, 12, 7 Hz, 2H).
Step 4: Ester of formula 12 (1.00 g, 2.80 mmol) from Step 3 was dissolved in hot THF (25 mL) and the solution cooled in an ice bath. Diisobutyl aluminum hydride (DIBAL) (5.60 mL of a 1.0 M solution in cyclohexane, 5.60 mmol) was added, and the reaction was stirred for 45 minutes. The reaction was diluted with MeOH (2 mL) and a saturated aqueous solution of Rochelle's salt (25 mL) was added. After stirring briefly, EtOAc was added and the solution continued to stir for several hours. The organic layer was dried (Na 2 SO 4 ) and concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by chromatography (silica gel, 5:95 to 1:9 MeOH: CH 2 Cl 2 ) gave alcohol of formula 13 (721 mg, 79%) as a yellow solid: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.82 (d, J=8 Hz, 1H), 7.51 (d, J=2 Hz, 1H), 7.43 (d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 7.36 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 2H), 7.31-7.29 (m, 1H), 7.15 (dd, J=8, 2 Hz, 1H), 5.20 (s, 2H), 4.87 (dddd, J=10, 8, 5, 4 Hz, 1H), 3.88 (dd, J=12, 4 Hz, 1H), 3.68 (dd, J=12, 5 Hz, 1H), 3.27 (ddd, J=16, 10, 8 Hz, 2H), 2.50 (br s, 1H).
Step 5: Triphenyl phosphine (6.00g, 22.8 mmol) and N-bromosuccinimide (4.0 g, 22.8 mmol) were added to an ice-cold solution of alcohol of formula 13 (5.72 g, 18.3 mmol) from Step 4 in THF (50 mL), and the solution was stirred for 1 hour. The mixture was partitioned between EtOAc and satd NaHCO 3 . The organic layer was washed with satd NaCl, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), and concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by chromatography (silica gel, 1:4 to 1:1 EtOAc: hexanes) gave bromide of formula 14 (4.37 g, 65%) as a yellow solid: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.87 (d, J=8 Hz, 1H), 7.56 (d, J=2 Hz, 1H), 7.45 (d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 7.39 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 2H), 7.34-7.31 (m, 1H), 7.19 (dd, J=8, 2 Hz, 1H), 5.25 (s, 2H), 4.97 (dddd, J=10, 7, 6, 4 Hz, 1H), 3.59 (dd, J=10, 4 Hz, 1H), 3.44 (ddd, J=17, 10, 6 Hz, 1H), 3.29 (dd, J=17, 7 Hz, 2H).
Step 6: A mixture of bromide of formula 14 (400 mg, 1.02 mmol) from Step 5, amine of formula 15, prepared as described in Preparation 2 (215 mg, 0.930 mmol), and K 2 CO 3 (465 mg, 3.37 mmol) in acetonitrile (15 mL) was heated under reflux overnight. After cooling to room temperature, the reaction mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure and then partitioned between EtOAc and water. The organic layer was dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered, and concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 5:1 EtOAc: hexanes) gave amine of formula 16 (210 mg, 40%), as a pale yellow solid: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ 7.97 (d, J=9 Hz, 1H), 7.61 (s, 1H), 7.48-7.35 (m, 10H), 7.21 (d, J=9 Hz, 1H), 5.28 (s, 2H), 5.25 (m, 1H), 3.64-3.32 (m, 4H), 3.28 (m, 1H), 2.82 (s, 3H), 2.64 (m, 1H), 2.21 (br d, J=9 Hz, 2H), 2.11 (br d, J=9 Hz, 2H), 1.75 (dddd, J=9, 9, 9, 2 Hz, 2H), 1.45 (dddd, J=9, 9, 9, 2 Hz, 2H).
Step 7: A mixture of amine of formula 16 (210 mg, 0.421 mmol) from Step 6 and 10% Pd/C (50 mg) in 1:1 THF:MeOH (20 mL) was shaken under an atmosphere of H 2 (g) at 50 psi for 32 hours. The reaction mixture was filtered through CELITE and concentrated under reduced pressure to give an unstable solid. While maintaining an atmosphere of N 2 , the solid was quickly taken up in THF (5 mL), 1,1′-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) (103 mg, 0.632 mmol) was added, and the resultant mixture heated under reflux for 2 hours. After cooling to room temperature, the mixture was diluted with EtOAc and washed with water. The organic layer was dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered, and concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 4:1 CH 2 Cl 2 :MeOH) and conversion to the HCl salt according to the above general method gave trans-6-(5-{[methyl-(4-phenyl-cyclohexyl)-amino]-methyl}-4,5-dihydro-isoxazol-3-yl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one hydrochloride as a tan solid (70 mg, 37%): mp 270-274° C.; IR (KBr): 3433, 3095, 1772 cm − ; 1 H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ 9.08 (s, 1H), 7.72 (s, 1H), 7.32 (d, J=8 Hz, 1H), 7.29-7.08 (m, 6H), 5.24 (m, 2H), 3.97 (m, 1H), 3.39-3.14 (m, 4H), 2.85 (s, 3H), 2.12 (m, 2H), 1.94 (m, 2H), 1.57 (m, 2H), 1.51 (m, 2H); CI-MS (methane) (m/z): 406 [M+H] + ; HRMS-API (m/z): [M+H] + calcd for C 24 H 27 N 3 O 3 , 406.2130; found, 406.2136; HPLC: method A, 6.05 minutes (96.5%); method B, 10.96 minutes (95.6%).
EXAMPLE 2
trans-6-{4-[Methyl-(2-methyl-5-phenyl-furan-3-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one (21)
Step 1: To an ice-cold, stirred solution of oxalyl chloride (1.25 g, 9.89 mmol) in CH 2 Cl 2 (15 mL) was added DMF (100 mg, 1.37 mmol). After stirring for 10 minutes, a solution of 2-methyl-5-phenylfuranoic acid (18) (1.0 g, 4.95 mmol) in CH 2 Cl 2 (20 mL) was added, and stirring was continued for 2 hours. The reaction mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure and then taken up in THF (15 mL). After cooling to 0° C., methylamine (5.44 mL, 10.87 mmol) was added, and the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes, and then poured into water. The aqueous solution was extracted with EtOAc. The organic layer was dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered, and concentrated under reduced pressure to give amide of formula 19 (1.0 g, 94%), as a white solid: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.61 (d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 7.38 (t, J=8 Hz, 2H), 7.27 (m, 1H), 6.62 (s, 1H), 5.81 (br s, 1H), 2.90 (d, J=5 Hz, 3H), 2.66 (s, 3H).
Step 2: To an ice-cold, stirred solution of amide of formula 19 (1.0 g, 4.65 mmol) from Step 1 in THF (20 mL) was added borone-dimethylsulfide (BH 3 -DMS) (2.56 mL of a 2.0 M solution in THF, 5.12 mmol). The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight, and then at 40° C. for 3 hours. After cooling to room temperature, MeOH was added, and the resultant mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure. The crude product was diluted with MeOH (10 mL) and treated with excess HCl (1N in Et 2 O). Concentration under reduced pressure, followed by purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 9:1:0.1 CH 2 Cl 2 :MeOH:NH 4 OH) gave amine of formula 20 (458 mg, 49%) as a clear oil: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.60 (d, J=9Hz, 2H), 7.34 (t, J=9 Hz, 2H), 7.20 (m, 1H), 6.59 (s, 1H), 3.69 (br s, 1H), 3.54 (s, 2H), 2.45 (s, 3H), 2.33 (s, 3H).
Step 3: A mixture of amine of formula 20 (458 mg, 2.28 mmol) from Step 2, ketone of formula 5, prepared above in Preparation 1, (526 mg, 2.28 mmol), and 3A molecular sieves in 2-PrOH (20 mL) was stirred for 4 hours. NaBH 4 (121 mg, 3.19 mmol) was added, and stirring was continued overnight. Concentration under reduced pressure, followed by purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 97:3:1 CH 2 Cl 2 :MeOH:NH 4 OH), and conversion to the HCl salt following the general procedure described above, gave trans-6-{4-[methyl-(2-methyl-5-phenyl-furan-3-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one hydrochloride (21) (405 mg, 43%), as a white solid: mp 176-183° C.; IR (KBr): 2934, 1771 cm −1 ; 1 H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ 7.64 (d, J=7 Hz, 2H), 7.44 (t, J=7 Hz, 2H), 7.20 (m, 1H), 7.01 (s, 1H), 6.99 (m, 3H), 4.25 (m, 1H), 4.10 (m, 1H), 3.28 (m, 1H), 3.21 (m, 1H), 2.69 (s, 3H), 2.58 (s, 3H), 1.89 (m, 2H), 1.80 (m, 2H), 1.45 (m, 2H), 1.25 (m, 2H); CI-MS (methane) (m/z): 417 [M+H] + ; HRMS-API (m/z): [M+H] + calcd for C 26 H 28 N 2 O 3 , 417.2178; found, 417.2166; HPLC: method A, 5.42 minutes (>99%); method B, 10.4 minutes (>99%); Analysis Calcd for C 26 H 28 N 2 O 3 .HCl.H 2 O: C, 66.30; H, 6.63; N, 5.95. Found: C, 66.12; H, 6.63; N, 5.72.
EXAMPLES 3a AND 3b
3a trans-(R)-6-{4-[2-Oxo-3-phenyl-oxazolidin-5-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one (27) and
3b trans-(R)-6-{4-[Methyl-(2-oxo-3-phenyl-oxazolidin-5-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one (28)
Step 1: Anhydrous CoCl 2 (100 mg, 0.770 mmol) was added to a solution of 2S-(+)-glycidyl tosylate of formula 23 (2.02 g, 8.85 mmol) and aniline of formula 22 (810 μL, 8.85 mmol) in CH 3 CN (25 mL). The mixture was stirred for 24 hours. The reaction solvent was removed under reduced pressure, and the residue was dissolved in EtOAc. The solution was washed with saturated NaHCO 3 , saturated NaCl, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 1:4 to 1:2 EtOAc: hexanes) gave alcohol of formula 24 (1.84 g, 65%): 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.77 (d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 7.32 (d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 7.14 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 2H), 6.71 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 1H), 6.57 (d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 4.10-4.00 (m, 3H), 3.23 (dd, J=13, 4 Hz, 2H), 3.11 (dd, J=13, 6Hz, 2H), 2.42 (s, 3H).
Step 2: Carbonyl diimidazole (1.16 g, 7.17 mmol) was added to an ice cold solution of alcohol of formula 24 (1.84 g, 5.74 mmol) from Step 1 and Et 3 N (2.0 mL, 14.3 mmol) in THF (25 mL). The reaction solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure, and the residue was dissolved in EtOAc. The solution was washed with saturated NaHCO 3 , saturated NaCl, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered, and concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 3:7 to 2:3 EtOAc: hexanes) gave oxazolidinone of formula 25 (1.69 g, 85%) as a white solid: 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.78 (d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 7.47 (d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 7.39-7.33 (m, 4H), 7.15 (dd, J=8 Hz, 1H), 5.29-4.79 (m, 1H), 4.26-4.23 (m, 2H), 4.07 (dd, J=9, 9 Hz, 1H), 3.89 (dd, J=9, 6 Hz, 1H), 2.44 (s, 3H).
Step 3: Oxazolidinone of formula 25 (1.69 g, 4.87 mmol) and NaN 3 (633 mg, 9.74 mmol) were stirred at 80° C. in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) (5 mL) for 8 hours. The reaction mixture was partitioned between EtOAc and water. The organic layer was washed with saturated NaCl, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered, and concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 2:5 EtOAc: hexanes) gave the corresponding azide (1.04 g, 98%): 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.55 (d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 7.39 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 2H), 7.16 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 1H), 4.82-4.74 (dddd, J=9, 9, 6, 5 Hz, 1H), 4.10 (dd, J=9, 9 Hz, 1H), 3.87 (dd, J=9, 6 Hz, 1H), 3.69 (dd, J=13, 5 Hz, 1H), 3.59 (dd, J=13, 5 Hz, 1H).
Step 4: A mixture of the azide from Step 3 (1.04 g, 4.77 mmol), acetic acid (350 μL, 5.96 mmol), CH 2 Cl 2 (10 mL), MeOH (3 mL), and 20% Pd(OH) 2 /C (100 mg) was shaken under a H 2 atmosphere at 50 psi overnight. The mixture was filtered, and the solvent was removed under reduced pressure. Purification by chromatography (silica gel, 1:9 to 1:5 MeOH: CH 2 Cl 2 ) gave the amine of formula 26 (996 mg, 83%) as the acetic acid salt. 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CD 3 OD) δ 7.54 (d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 7.36 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 2H), 7.14 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 1H), 4.92-4.82 (m, 1H), 4.18 (dd, J=9, 9 Hz, 1H), 3.85 (dd, J=9, 6 Hz, 1H), 3.32-3.13 (m, 2H), 1.92 (s, 3H).
Step 5: A mixture of amine of formula 26 as the acetic acid salt (502 mg, 1.99 mmol), ketone of formula 5 (460 mg, 1.99 mmol), Et 3 N (275 μL, 1.99 mmol), and 3 Å molecular sieves in a 1:1 solution of 2-PrOH:1,2-dichloroethane (10 mL) was stirred for 1 hour. NaBH 4 (121 mg, 3.19 mmol) was added, and stirring was continued overnight. Concentration under reduced pressure, followed by purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 5:95 CH 2 Cl 2 :MeOH) and (silica gel, 1:5:2 MeOH:EtOAc:hexanes) gave trans-(R)-6-{4-[2-oxo-3-phenyl-oxazolidin-5-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one (27) (450 mg, 55%): 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CD 3 OD) δ 7.56 (d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 7.38 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 2H), 7.15 (dd, J=7, 7 Hz, 1H), 7.09 (s, 1H), 7.04 (d, J=8 Hz, 1H), 6.97 (d, J=8 Hz, 1H), 4.84-4.77 (m, 1H), 4.19 (dd, J=9, 9 Hz, 1H), 3.86 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 1H), 3.02 (d, J=6 Hz, 2H), 2.63 (dt, J=11, 6 Hz, 1H), 2.57 (dt, J=12, 6 Hz, 1H), 2.11 (d, J=11 Hz, 2H), 1.94 (d, J=12 Hz, 2H), 1.59-1.51 (m, 2H), 1.34-1.26 (m, 2H); CI-MS (m/z): 408 [M+H] + .
Step 6: A mixture of trans-(R)-6-{4-[2-oxo-3-phenyl-oxazolidin-5-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one of formula 27 (429 mg, 1.03 mmol) from Step 5, p-formaldehyde (300 mg, 10.0 mmol), CH 2 Cl 2 (10 mL), MeOH (5 mL), water (5 mL), and 10% Pd/C (100 mg) was stirred under a balloon of H 2 for 2 days. The mixture was filtered, and the solvent was removed under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 89:10:1 CH 2 Cl 2 , MeOH, NH 4 OH) followed by preparatory HPLC (method C) and conversion to the HCl salt according to the general procedure described above gave trans-6-{4-[methyl-((R)-2-oxo-3-phenyl-oxazolidin-5-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one hydrochloride (28) (218 mg, 47%): mp 211-223° C.; IR (KBr): 3415, 2942, 2657, 1762 cm −1 ; 1 H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ 11.50 (s, 1H), 11.00 (br s, 0.5H), 10.35 (br s, 0.5H), 7.56 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 2H), 7.42 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 2H), 7.17 (s, 1H), 7.16 (dd, J=7, 7 Hz, 1H), 7.00 (s, 2H), 5.33-5.27 (m, 1H), 4.30-4.26 (m, 1H), 3.85-3.77 (m, 1H), 3.66-3.63 (m, 1H), 3.50-3.31 (m, 2H), 2.82 (s, 3H), 2.63-2.53 (m, 1H), 2.23-2.17 (m, 2H), 1.94 (d, J=10 Hz, 2H), 1.66-1.55 (m, 4H); CI-MS (m/z): 422 [M+H] + ; HPLC: method A, 5.32 minutes (97.8%), method B, 9.89 minutes (>99%); Anal. Calcd for C 24 H 27 N 3 O 4 .HCl.0.25H 2 O: C, 62.33; H, 6.21; N, 9.09. Found: C, 62.41; H, 6.16; N, 9.15.
EXAMPLES 4a AND 4b
4a trans-6-{5-[4-(4-Fluoro-phenyl)-cyclohexylamino]-methyl-2-oxo-oxazolindin-3-yl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one (35)
4b trans-6-(5-{[4-(4-Fluoro-phenyl)-cyclohexyl]-methyl-amino}-methyl-2-oxo-oxazolindin-3-yl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one (36)
Step 1: A solution of fluoride of formula 29 (7.07 g, 28.6 mmol) and 1,3-diamino-2-propanol of formula 30 (2.58 g, 28.6 mmol) in CH 3 CN (50 mL) was stirred at reflux overnight. After cooling to room temperature, NaHCO 3 (2.40 g, 28.6 mmol), water (10 mL), and (Boc) 2 O were added and the mixture stirred for 2 hours. The reaction was diluted with EtOAc, and the organic layer was washed with satd NaCl, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered, and concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 1:2 to 3:2 EtOAc: hexanes then 1:9 MeOH:CH 2 Cl 2 ) gave alcohol of formula 31 (5.43 g, 46%): 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.97 (d, J=9 Hz, 1H), 7.50 (d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 7.39 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 2H), 7.31 (dd, J=8 Hz, 1H), 6.19-6.16 (m, 2H), 5.19 (s, 2H), 4.97 (br s, 1H), 4.89 (br s, 1H), 3.90-3.87 (m, 1H), 3.27-3.15 (m, 4H), 3.00 (br s, 1H), 1.46 (s, 9H).
Step 2: To a solution of alcohol of formula 31 (5.43 g, 13.0 mmol) from Step 1,4-(N,N-dimethylamino)pyridine (0.08 g, 0.65 mmol), Et 3 N (3.62 mL, 26.0 mmol) in THF (50 mL) was added CDI (2.32 g, 14.3 mmol), and the solution was heated to reflux for 2 hours. The reaction solvent was removed under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 2:4 to 3:2 EtOAc: hexanes) and (silica gel, 1:99 to 5:95 acetone: hexanes) gave oxazolidinone of formula 32 (4.61 g, 80%) as a pale yellow solid: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.93 (d, J=9 Hz, 1H), 7.82 (br s, 1H), 7.49 (d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 7.38 (dd, J=8, 8 Hz, 2H), 7.30 (d, J=8 Hz, 1H), 6.79 (d, J=7 Hz, 1H), 5.23 (s, 2H), 5.00 (br s, 1H), 4.76-4.71 (m, 1H), 4.01 (dd, J=9 Hz, 1H), 3.84-3.80 (m, 1H), 3.50 (dd, J=5 Hz, 2H), 1.39 (s, 9H).
Step 3: A mixture of oxazolidinone of formula 32 (1.00 g, 2.25 mmol) and 10% Pd/C (150 mg) in THF (50 mL) was shaken under an atmosphere of H 2 at 50 psi for 3 hours. The reaction vessel was flushed with N 2 , then Et 3 N (1.25 mL) and COCl 2 (1.20 mL of a 20% solution in toluene, 2.25 mmol) were added and the reaction stirred for 2 hours. The reaction was quenched with saturated NaHCO 3 , filtered, and the THF removed under reduced pressure. The aqueous solution was extracted with EtOAc. The organic layer was dried (Na 2 SO 4 ) and the solvent removed under reduced pressure. Purification by chromatography (silica gel 1:2 to 4:5 EtOAc: hexanes) gave a benzoxazolidinone intermediate (510 mg, 65%): 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CD 3 OD+CDCl 3 ) δ 7.59 (br s, 1H), 7.22 (d, J=8 Hz, 1H), 7.06 (d, J=8 Hz, 1H), 4.76-4.70 (m, 2H), 4.16-4.07 (m, 1H), 3.88-3.84 (m, 1H), 3.44 (br s, 2H), 1.41 (s, 9H); CI-MS (m/z): 350 [M+H] + .
Step 4: Benzoxazolidinone intermediate of Step 3 (500 mg, 1.43 mmol) was stirred with anhydrous HCl (15 mL of a 4 M solution in dioxane, 60 mmol) for 1.5 hours. Concentration of the reaction solvent under reduced pressure followed by concentration from toluene (2×25 mL) gave amine of formula 33 (405 mg, 100%) as the HCl salt: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ 11.65 (br s, 1H), 8.43 (br s, 3H), 7.58 (d, J=2 Hz, 1H), 7.23 (dd, J=8, 2 Hz, 1H), 7.12 (d J=8 Hz, 1H), 4.98-4.93 (m, 1H), 4.18 (dd, J=9, 9 Hz, 1 H), 3.89 (dd, J=7 Hz, 1H), 3.24-3.20 (m, 2H).
Step 5: A mixture of amine of formula 33 as the HCl salt (420 mg, 1.47 mmol) from Step 4, ketone of formula 34 (425 mg, 2.21 mmol), 3 Å molecular sieves (200 mg), N-methylmorpholine (170 μL, 1.54 mmol), DMSO (10 mL), and 2-propanol were stirred for 2 hours. Sodium borohydride (56 mg, 1.47 mmol) was added, and the reaction was stirred overnight. The reaction was quenched with MeOH, filtered, and the reaction solvent removed under reduced pressure. The residue was partioned between EtOAc and water. A white solid formed and was collected by filtration. A suspension of the white solid in MeOH was treated with excess 1N HCl: Et 2 O, and the resulting solution was concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 5:95 to 1:9 MeOH:CH 2 Cl 2 ) gave a solid. The solid was dissolved in hot MeOH and then precipitated by the addition of Et 2 O. The precipitated solid was collected by filtration to afford trans-6-{5-[4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-cyclohexylamino]-methyl-2-oxo-oxazolidin-3-yl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one (336 mg, 50%): mp 283-292° C.; IR (KBr): 2942, 1768, 1509 cm −1 ; 1 H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ 11.67 (s, 1H), 9.55 (br s, 1H), 9.12 (br s, 1H), 7.60 (d, J=2 Hz, 1H), 7.30-7.24 (m, 3H), 7.13-7.08 (m, 3H), 5.12 (br s, 1H), 4.23 (dd, J=9, 9 Hz, 1H), 3.91-3.88 (m, 1H), 3.46-3.41 (m, 2H), 3.16 (m, 1H), 2.58-2.49 (m, 1H), 2.22 (d, J=11 Hz, 2H), 1.89 (d, J=11 Hz, 2H), 1.64-1.46 (m, 4H); API-MS (m/z): 426 [M+H] + ; HPLC: method A, 5.75 minutes (96.6%), method B, 13.21 minutes (>99%); Anal. Calcd for C 23 H 24 FN 3 O 4 .HCl.0.5H 2 O: C, 58.66; H, 5.56; N, 8.92. Found: C, 58.88; H, 5.68; N, 8.91.
Step 6: To a stirred solution of trans-6-{5-[4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-cyclohexylamino]-methyl-2-oxo-oxazolidin-3-yl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one of formula 35 (235 mg, 0.509 mmol) from Step 5 in MeOH (7 mL), water (1 mL), and CH 2 Cl 2 (3 mL) was added NaOH (510 μL of a 1N aqueous solution, 0.509 mmol) and p-formaldehyde (60 mg, 2.03 mmol). After 15 minutes, NaBH(OAc) 3 was added and stirring continued for 1 hour. Solid NaOH was added to give a clear solution which was then concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 5: 95 to 1:9 MeOH:CH 2 Cl 2 ) gave the free amine. Conversion to the HCl salt by the general method described above gave trans-6-(5-{[4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-cyclohexyl]-methyl-amino}-methyl-2-oxo-oxazolidin-3-yl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one hydrochloride (36) (200 mg, 82%): mp 294-306° C.; IR (KBr): 3426, 2937, 2624, 1767, 1508 cm −1 ; 1 H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ 11.71 (s, 2H), 10.69 (br s, 1H), 10.11 (br s, 1H), 7.60-7.58 (m, 2H), 7.28-7.23 (m, 6H), 7.14-7.09 (m, 6H), 5.30-5.23 (m, 2H), 4.28-4.23 (m, 2H), 3.83-3.75 (m, 3H), 3.63-3.61 (m, 2H), 3.45-3.36 (m, 3H), 2.85 (s, 3H), 2.84 (s, 3H), 2.58-2.52 (m, 2H), 2.20-2.11 (m, 4H), 1.94 (m, 4H), 1.70-1.51 (m, 8 H); API-MS (m/z): 440 [M+H] + ; HPLC: method A, 5.90 minutes (97.3%); Anal. Calcd for C 24 H 26 FN 3 O 4 .HCl: C, 60.57; H, 5.72; N, 8.83. Found: C, 60.50; H, 5.65; N, 8.72.
EXAMPLES 5a AND 5b
5a trans-6-{4-[(5-Methyl-2-phenyl-thiazol-4-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one (42) and
5b trans-6-{4-[Methyl-(5-methyl-2-phenyl-thiazol-4-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one (43)
Step 1: To an ice-cold, stirred solution of ester of formula 37 (1.51 g, 6.11 mmol) in THF (40 mL) was added lithium aluminum hydride (LAH) (6.72 mL of a 1.0 M solution in Et 2 O, 6.72 mmol), and the mixture was stirred for 1 hour. The reaction was quenched by the addition of water, 2N NaOH, and saturated NaCl. The organic layer was dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered, and concentrated under reduced pressure to give alcohol of formula 38 (1.22 g, 96%), as a white solid: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.91 (m, 2H), 7.48 (m, 3H), 5.13 (s, 2H), 3.29 (s, 3H).
Step 2: To an ice cold, stirred solution of alcohol of formula 38 (1.2 g, 5.9 mmol) from Step 1 in CH 2 Cl 2 (15 mL), was added Et 3 N (888 mg, 8.78 mmol) and mesyl chloride (MsCl) (872 mg, 7.61 mmol). The reaction mixture was stirred for 1 hour, then washed with 2N HCl and saturated NaCl. The organic layer was dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered, and concentrated under reduced pressure to give mesylate of formula 39 (1.43 g, 86%), as a yellow solid: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.93 (m, 2H), 7.46 (m, 3H), 5.36 (s, 2H), 2.59 (s, 3H), 2.51 (s, 3H).
Step 3: A mixture of mesylate of formula 39 (1.43 g, 5.05 mmol) from Step 2, sodium azide (657 mg, 10.1 mmol) and tetra(n-butyl)ammonium hydrogen sulfate (171 mg, 0.505 mmol) in DMSO (15 mL) was heated to 40° C. overnight. The reaction mixture was poured into ice water and extracted with EtOAc. The organic layer was dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered, and concentrated under reduced pressure to give azide of formula 40 (600 mg, 52%), as a clear oil: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.91 (m, 2H), 7.42 (m, 3H), 4.74 (s, 2H), 2.56 (s, 3H).
Step 4: A mixture of azide of formula 40 (600 mg, 2.61 mmol) and 10% Pd/C (50 mg) and HCl (1 mL) in EtOH (20 mL) was shaken under an atmosphere of H 2 (g) at 50 psi for 3 hours. The reaction mixture was filtered through CELITE and concentrated under reduced pressure to give amine of formula 41 (532 mg, 96%) (HCl salt), as a white solid: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.87 (m, 2H), 7.45 (m, 3H), 3.88 (s, 2H), 2.51 (s, 3H).
Step 5: A mixture of amine of formula 41 (410 mg, 2.00 mmol) from Step 4, ketone of formula 5 (464 mg, 2.00 mmol), and 3 Å molecular sieves in 2-PrOH (20 mL) was stirred for 3 hours, NaBH 4 (105 mg, 2.80 mmol) was added, and the mixture was stirred overnight. The reaction mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 95:5:1 CH 2 Cl 2 :MeOH:NH 4 OH) gave trans-6-{4-[(5-methyl-2-phenyl-thiazol-4-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one (42) (510 mg, 56%), as a white solid: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ 9.18 (br s, 1H), 8.25 (br s, 1H), 7.97 (m, 1H), 7.46 (m, 5H), 7.19 (m, 1H), 7.04 (m, 1H), 4.43 (m, 1H), 4.21 (m, 1H), 3.10 (m, 1H), 2.58 (m, 1H), 2.46 (s, 3H), 2.23 (m, 2H), 1.94 (m, 2H), 1.49 (m, 4H).
Step 6: A mixture of trans-6-{4-[(5-methyl-2-phenyl-thiazol-4-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one of formula 42 (510 mg, 1.12 mmol), 2N NaOH (1 mL), and p-formaldehyde (168 mg, 5.60 mmol) in MeOH (10 mL) was stirred for 3 hours, NaBH(OAc) 3 (332 mg, 1,56 mmol) was added, and the mixture was stirred overnight. The reaction was quenched by addition of MeOH. Concentration under reduced pressure followed by purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 95:5:1 CH 2 Cl 2 :MeOH:NH 4 OH) gave trans-6-{4-[methyl-(5-methyl-2-phenyl-thiazol-4-ylmethyl)-amino]-cyclohexyl}-3H-benzoxazol-2-one (43) (345 mg, 71%), as a white solid: mp 246-248° C.; IR (KBr): 2927, 1773 cm −1 : 1 H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ 7.88 (dd, J=8, 2 Hz, 1H), 7.44 (m, 5H), 7.15 (s, 1H), 6.98 (m, 1H), 3.75 (s, 2H), 2.53 (m, 1H), 2.48 (m, 1H), 2.48 (s, 3H), 2.24 (s, 3H), 1.86 (m, 4H), 1.47 (m, 4H); CI-MS (methane) (m/z): 434 [M+H] + ; HRMS-API (m/z): [M+H] + calcd for C 25 H 27 N 3 O 2 S, 434.1902; found, 434.1903; HPLC: method A, 12.46 minutes (99.0%); method B, 14.05 minutes (98.7%); Anal. Calcd for C 25 H 27 N 3 O 2 S.0.25H 2 O: C, 68.54; H, 6.33; N, 9.59. Found: C, 68.21; H, 6.07; N, 9.59.
EXAMPLES 6a AND 6b
6a trans-6-(4-{[3-(4-Fluoro-phenyl)-4,5-dihydro-isoxazol-5-ylmethyl]-amino}-cyclohexyl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one (51) and
6b trans-6-(4-{[3-(4-Fluoro-phenyl)-4,5-dihydro-isoxazol-5-ylmethyl]-methyl-amino}-cyclohexyl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one (52)
Step 1: A mixture of aldehyde of formula 44 (5.00 g, 40.3 mmol), hydroxylamine hydrochloride (3.36 g, 48.3 mmol), and sodium carbonate (9.40 g, 88.6 mmol) in 2-PrOH (80 mL) was heated to 40° C. overnight. After cooling to room temperature, the mixture was partitioned between EtOAc and water. The organic layer was dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered, and concentrated under reduced pressure to give oxime of formula 45 (5.03 g, 90%), as a white foam: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ 11.19 (s, 1H), 8.13 (s, 1H), 7.64 (dd, J=6, 3 Hz, 2H), 7.24 (t, J=3 Hz, 2H).
Step 2: A mixture of oxime of formula 45 (5.03 g, 36.45 mmol) from Step 1 and NCS (4.87 g, 36.45 mmol) in DMF (70 mL) was stirred for 4 hours, then poured into EtOAc and water. The organic layer was washed with water (3×), dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered, and concentrated under reduced pressure to give a yellow oil. A mixture of the oil, methyl acrylate (4.08 g, 47.4 mmol) and NaHCO 3 (9.19 g, 109.4 mmol) in 1:1 THF:water (20 mL) was stirred overnight. The reaction mixture was diluted with EtOAc and washed with water. The organic layer was dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered, and concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 4:1 hexanes:EtOAc) gave ester of formula 46 (5.86 g, 73%), as a white solid: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 7.67 (dd, J=6,3 Hz, 2H), 7.10 (t, J=3 Hz, 2H), 5.17 (m, 1H), 3.81 (s, 3H), 3.62 (m, 2H).
Step 3: To an ice-cold, stirred solution of ester of formula 46 (5.78 g, 25.9 mmol) from Step 2 in THF (60 mL), was added DIBAL (23.6 mL of a 1.0 M solution in hexanes, 23.6 mmol). The reaction was stirred for 1.5 hours. An additional 2 equivalents of DIBAL were added, and stirring was continued overnight. The reaction was quenched with EtOAc and saturated Rochelle's salt, and the mixture was stirred until a clear solution formed. The organic layer was dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered, and concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 1:1 hexanes:EtOAc) gave alcohol of formula 47 (3.66 g, 72%), as a white solid: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ 7.72 (dd, J=6, 3 Hz, 2H), 7.29 (t, J=3 Hz, 2H), 4.94 (t, J=5 Hz, 1H), 4.71 (m, 1H), 3.52 (m, 2H), 3.40 (m, 1H), 3.27 (m, 1H); CI-MS (methane) (m/z): 196 [M+H] + .
Step 4: To an ice-cold, stirred solution of alcohol of formula 47 (3.0 g, 15.4 mmol) from Step 3 in CH 2 Cl 2 (45 mL) was added Et 3 N (2.57 mL, 18.47 mmol), and MsCl (1.79 mL, 23.09 mmol), and the mixture was stirred for 25 minutes. The organic layer was washed with 1N HCl, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered, and concentrated under reduced pressure to give mesylate of formula 48 as an oil, which was used immediately.
Step 5: A mixture of mesylate of formula 48 (4.20 g, 15.4 mmol) from Step 4, NaN 3 (2.00 g, 30.8 mmol), and tetra(n-butyl)ammonium hydrogen sulfate (523 mg, 1.54 mmol) in DMSO (15 mL) was heated to 40° C. overnight. After cooling to room temperature, the mixture was poured into water and extracted with EtOAc. The organic layer was dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), filtered, and concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 2:1 hexanes:EtOAc) gave azide of formula 49 (2.23 g, 66%), as a yellow oil: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CD 3 OD) δ 7.75 (dd, J=6, 3 Hz, 2H), 7.11 (t, J=3 Hz, 2H), 4.82 (m, 1H), 3.61-3.15 (m, 4H).
Step 6: A mixture of azide of formula 49 (2.20 g, 10.0 mmol) from Step 5, 10% Pd/C (100 mg), and concentrated. HCl (0.83 mL) in EtOH (30 mL) was shaken under an atmosphere of H 2 (g) at 50 psi for 3 hours. The reaction mixture was filtered through CELITE and treated with activated charcoal. The resulting mixture was filtered through CELITE, concentrated and converted to the HCl salt according to the general procedure describe above to give amine of formula 50 as the HCl salt (324 mg, 14%) as a white solid: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ 8.41 (br s, 3H), 7.73(dd, J=6, 3 Hz, 2H), 7.34 (t, J=3 Hz, 2H), 5.02 (m, 1H), 3.61-3.15 (m, 4H).
Step 7: A mixture of amine of formula 50 as the HCL salt (327 mg, 1.42 mmol) from Step 6, ketone of formula 5 (336 mg, 1.42 mmol) in 2-PrOH (30 mL) was stirred for 3 hours, NaBH 4 (75 mg, 1.99 mmol) was added, and the reaction mixture was stirred overnight. MeOH was added to quench the reaction, and the resulting mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 95:5:1 CH 2 Cl 2 :MeOH:NH 4 OH) gave trans-6-(4-{[3-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-4,5-dihydro-isoxazol-5-ylmethyl]-amino}-cyclohexyl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one (51) (190 mg, 33%), as a white solid: 1 H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ 7.73 (dd, J=6, 3 Hz, 2H), 7.34 (t, J=3 Hz, 2H), 7.17 (s, 1H), 6.98 (m, 3H), 4.84 (m, 1H), 3.38 (m, 2H), 3.19 (m, 2H), 2.84 (m, 2H), 1.88 (br d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 1.80 (br d, J=8 Hz, 2H), 1.36 (dddd, J=8, 8, 8, 2 Hz, 2H), 1.18 (dddd, J=8, 8, 8, 2 Hz, 2H).
Step 8: A mixture of trans-6-(4-{[3-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-4,5-dihydro-isoxazol-5-ylmethyl]-amino}-cyclohexyl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one (51) (190 mg, 0.464 mmol) from Step 7, p-formaldehyde (70 mg, 2.32 mmol), and 2N NaOH (1 mL) in MeOH (15 mL) was stirred for 3 hours, NaBH(OAc) 3 (138 mg, 0.650 mmol) was added, and the reaction mixture was stirred overnight. Solid NaOH was added until the solution turned clear. The reaction mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 95:5:1 CH 2 Cl 2 :MeOH:NH 4 OH) gave trans-6-(4-{[3-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-4,5-dihydro-isoxazol-5-ylmethyl]-methyl-amino}-cyclohexyl)-3H-benzoxazol-2-one (52) (60 mg, 31%), as a white foam: mp 109-114° C.; IR (KBr): 3430, 2927, 1772 cm −1 ; 1 H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ 7.74 (dd, J=6, 3 Hz, 2H), 7.27 (m, 2H), 7.13 (s, 1H), 6.97 (m, 2H), 4.55 (m, 1H), 3.33 (m, 2H), 3.18 (m, 2H), 2.56 (m, 1H), 2.44 (m, 1H), 2.28 (s, 3H), 1.87 (m, 4H), 1.38 (m, 2H), 1.26 (m, 2H); API-MS (m/z): 424 [M+H] + ; HRMS-API (m/z): [M+H] + calcd for C 24 H 26 FN 3 O 3 , 424.2036; found, 424.2036; HPLC: method A, 5.39 minutes (98.1%); method B, 10.86 minutes (>99%).
As noted above, the invention compounds are subtype selective NMDA receptor antagonists. The compounds have been evaluated in standard assays commonly used to measure activity. Typical assays were carried out as follows.
BIOLOGICAL METHODS
(I) Electrophysiological Assays at NMDA Receptor Subunits (in Vitro)
(a) The NR1A/NR2B Assay
(i) Preparation of Subunit RNA's:
cDNA clones encoding the NR1A, NR2A, NR2B, and NR2C rat NMDA receptor subtypes are used (see, Moriyoshi et al., Nature (Lond.) 1991;354:31-37; Kutsuwada et al., Nature (Lond.) 1992;358: 36-41; Monyer et al., Science (Washington, D.C.) 1992;256: 1217-1221; Ikeda et al., FEBS Lett. 1992;313: 34-38; Ishii et al., J. Biol. Chem. 1993;268:2836-2843 for details of these clones or their mouse homologs). The clones are transformed into appropriate host bacteria and plasmid preparations are made with conventional DNA purification techniques. A sample of each clone is linearized by restriction; enzyme digestion of cRNA is synthesized with T3 RNA polymerase. The cRNA is diluted to 400 ng/μL and stored in 1 μL aliquots at −80° C. until injection.
(ii) The Xenopus Oocyte Expression System:
Mature female Xenopus laevis are anaesthetized (20-40 min) using 0.15% 3-aminobenzoic acid ethyl ester (MS-222) and from 2 to 4 ovarian lobes are surgically removed. Oocytes at developmental stages IV-VI (Dumont J. N., J. Morphol., 1972;136: 153-180) are dissected from the ovary still surrounded by enveloping ovarian tissues. Follicle-enclosed oocytes are micro-injected with 1:1 mixtures of NR1A:NR2A, 2B or 2C; injecting from 1 to 10 ng of RNA encoding each receptor subunit. NR1A encoding RNA is injected alone at ˜20 ng. Oocytes are stored in Barth's medium containing (in mM): NaCl, 88; KC1, 1; CaCl 2 , 0.41; Ca (NO 3 ) 2 , 0.33; MgSO 4 , 0.82 NaHCO 3 , 2.4; HEPES 5, pH 7.4, with 0.11 mg/mL gentamicin sulphate. While oocytes are still surrounded by enveloping ovarian tissues, the Barth's medium is supplemented with 0.1% bovine serum. Oocytes are defolliculated from 1 to 2 days following injections by treatment with collagenase (0.5 mg/mL Sigma Type I for 0.5-1 hour)—(Miledi and Woodward, J. Phsyiol . (Lond.) 1989;416:601-621) and subsequently stored in serum-free medium.
(iii) Electrical Recordings:
Electrical recordings are made using a conventional two-electrode voltage clamp (Dagan TEV-200) over periods ranging from 3 to 21 days following injection (Woodward et al., Mol. Pharmacol., 1992;41: 89-103). Oocytes are placed in a 0.1 mL recording chamber continuously perfused (5-15 mL min −1 ) with frog Ringer's solution containing (in mM): NaCl, 115; KCL, 2; BaCl 2 , 1.8; HEPES, 5; pH 7.4. Drugs are applied by bath perfusion. Using oocytes expressing different subunit combinations of NMDA receptor, NMDA currents are activated by co-application of glutamate (100 μM) and glycine (1-100 μM) as agonists. Inhibitory potency of the novel antagonists of this invention is assessed on responses elicited by fixed concentrations of glutamate and glycine agonists, by measuring reductions in current induced by progressively increasing concentrations of invention compounds.
(iv) Concentration-inhibition Curves:
Concentration-inhibition curves were fitted with equation 1
I/I control =1/(1+([antagonist]/10- pIC50 ) n ) Eq. 1
in which I control is the current evoked by the agonists alone, pIC 50 =−log IC 50 , IC 50 is the concentration of invention compound that produces half maximal inhibition of the electrical current, and n is the slope factor (see De Lean et al., Am. J. Physiol., 1978;235:E97-102). For incomplete curves, analysis by fitting is unreliable, and IC 50 values are calculated by simple regression over linear portions of the curves using an ORIGIN software (Microcal Software, Boston, Mass.), a computer program for collection, analysis, and presentation of scientific data. The results of this assay may be reported as an IC 50 in micromolar (μM) concentration of invention compound.
(b) [ 3 H]Ifenprodil Binding Assay (IFPNR) Protocol:
(i) Materials:
Ifenprodil, [phenyl- 3 H]-(specific activity, 66.2 Ci/mmol) was purchased from Dupont NEN Research Products (Boston, Mass.). Ifenprodil tartrate was purchased from Research Biochemicals International (Natick, Mass.). HEPES, glutamate, and glycine were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, Mo.).
(ii) Preparations:
All buffers and reagents used in assay incubations or to dissolve drugs were prepared using water purified through a Milli-Q reverse osmosis system (Millipore Corp., Bedford, Mass.) and treated with UV emissions. Prior to use in the assays buffers were further filtered through a sterile Corning filtration unit (Corning Glass Works, Corning, N.Y.) containing a 0.2 micron filter. Buffer used to rinse the membranes on the assay filters was prepared with purified water, but was not refiltered and was stored no longer than 5 days. Stock solutions of the drugs (usually 10 mM) were dissolved in 20 mM HEPES-KOH buffer pH 7.4 (assay buffer) with the addition of from 1 to 5 μL of glacial AcOH, if needed to keep them in solution. Eliprodil was used as the reference NMDA antagonist. A stock solution of eliprodil was prepared and was buffered with the addition of 10% DMSO. All subsequent dilutions from the stock solution were made in buffer.
An extensively washed buffy coat membrane fraction was prepared from frozen adult rat forebrains (Zivic-Miller Laboratories, Inc., Zelienople, Pa.) as described by Coughenour L. L., Cordon J. J., J. Phannacol. Exp. Ther., 1997;280:584-592, and stored at −80° C. On the day of the assay, pellets of the frozen membrane fractions were resuspended in 35 mL of assay buffer at pH 7.4 using a POLYTRON (Kinematica A.G. Company, Littau, Switzerland) mixer at setting 6. After incubation at 37° C. for 30 minutes in a shaking water bath, the homogenate was centrifuged 40,000×g for 10 minutes at 4° C. The pellets were resuspended in fresh buffer and centrifuged 3 more times before final suspension for use in the assay.
(iii) [ 3 H]Ifenprodil Binding Protocol:
Triplicate incubations were carried out in a volume of 0.5 mL in 1.3 mL polypropylene tubes (Marsh Biomedical Products Inc., Rochester, N.Y.) for 2 hours at room temperature. Incubations contained invention compounds, membranes (100-200 μg protein) and 4 nM [ 3 H]-ifenprodil in 20 mM HEPES-KOH buffer, pH 7.4 (assay buffer). Assays were started by addition of the membranes. Bound radioligand was separated by filtration under reduced pressure using a TOMTEC Mach II, 96 well cell harvester (Tomtec Inc, Orange, Conn.). Filtration was through Whatman GF/B glass fiber filters (Whatman Ltd., Maidstone, England), which had been soaked for at least 15 minutes in 0.3% polyethylenimine and allowed to air dry. The filters were rinsed with 3 mL of ice cold assay buffer within 6 seconds. Air was allowed to pass through the filters for an additional 10 seconds to remove residual moisture. The filter mat was supported on a cold (−20° C.) TEFLON (E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del.) coated support, and filters from individual wells were separated and placed in Mini Poly-Q vials (Beckman Instruments Inc., Fullerton, Calif.) and filled with 4 mL of scintillation cocktail (Beckman Ready Protein + ). Radioactivity retained on the filter was determined by liquid scintillation spectrophotometry. Nonspecific binding was defined as the binding in the presence of 1 mM ifenprodil. 90% of the total binding of ifenprodil was specific binding at the NR1A/NR2B NMDA receptor subtype active site (as opposed to binding at a remote site).
(iv) Data Analysis:
Binding curves were statistically analyzed for a best one- or two-site competition fit using GRAPHPAD PRISM software (GraphPad Software Inc., San Diego, Calif.), a computer program used to analyze and graph scientific data. The normalized data was fitted by nonweighted nonlinear regression to either y = Bottom + ( Top - Bottom ) 1 + 10 x - LogEC 50 or y = Bottom + ( Top - Bottom ) Fraction - 1 1 + 10 x - LogEC 50 - 1 + 1 - Fraction - 1 1 + 10 x - LogEC 50 - 2
Control data was entered as 100%, and no parameters were constrained. Inhibition curves were compared by Anova with post-test comparisons of the logIC 50 with Dunnett's multiple comparisons post-test or Student's nonpaired, two-tailed t-test using GraphPad INSTAT (Harvey Motulsky, San Diego, Calif.) software.
The results of the IFPNR binding assay are reported in Table 1 in the column labeled “IFPNR” below as IC 50 's in micromolar (μM) concentrations.
TABLE 1
IFPNR
Example
IC 50 (μM)
1
5.905
2
6.67
3a
N/A
3b
0.394
4a
>1
4b
>1
5a
N/A
5b
0.848
6a
N/A
6b
0.391
N/A means datum not available
As shown by the data in Table 1, the compounds of the invention are potent antagonists at the NMDA receptor.
In addition, certain animal models known to persons of ordinary skill in the pharmacology arts may be used to further characterize the compounds of the present invention. Examples of certain animal models useful in the present invention are described below.
(II) Animal Models:
(a) The Formalin Footpad Test (FT):
The FT model is used to test invention compounds for pain alleviating properties. The model produces a biphasic response in a test animal that results from a change in pain intensity over time. The FT model utilizes an injection of dilute formalin into the hindpaw of a rodent, which produces high intensity acute pain behaviors which are measured for the first 10 minutes post formalin injection (early phase responding). High intensity acute pain behaviors include rapid licking or biting of the injected hindpaw. The second phase is a prolonged period of lower intensity pain behaviors (late phase responding) which are measured from 11 to 45 minutes post formalin injection.
(i) Test Animals:
Male Wistar albino rats (Harlan Sprague-Dawley Labs) weighing approximately 100 g at the time of testing are used. Animals are group-housed and acclimated to the housing facility for 1 week prior to testing. Animals are maintained on a 12 hour/12 hour light/dark cycle and fed block rodent chow. From 4 to 8 animals are randomly assigned to either a vehicle only dose group or a vehicle plus invention compound treatment group on the day of testing.
(ii) Test Apparatus:
The testing apparatus is a 16 in.×8 in. box divided into two 8 in.×8 in. testing chambers. Each testing chamber comprises a floor and 3 walls made of clear plastic mirrors, and a fourth wall which is clear plastic that allowed observation of animal behavior. The top of each chamber is covered with a metal screen during testing to prevent animals from climbing out of the chamber. Two animals are tested simultaneously in the adjoining boxes, but animals are unable to observe one another.
(iii) Procedure:
Animals are weighed, and placed into holding cages (two animals per cage) in the testing room prior to dosing. Following approximately 30 minutes of acclimation to the testing room, to each pair of animals is administered orally (po) by gavage a mixture of invention compound plus vehicle or vehicle alone. The treated animals are then placed in individual test chambers, and allowed to acclimate to the chambers for at least 20 minutes. Then 50 μL of a 2.5% solution of formalin in vehicle is injected SC in the plantar surface of the left hindpaw from 30 to 120 minutes after administration of the invention compound. A session timer is started following the formalin injection, and the amount of time the animal spends licking or biting the injected paw is clocked with a hand-held stopwatch. The cumulative time spent engaging in a pain response is manually recorded at 5-minute intervals for 45 minutes post formalin injection. Early phase responding includes minutes 0 to 10, and late phase responding includes minutes 11 to 45. At the end of the testing period, animals are sacrificed using carbon dioxide.
(iv) Data Analysis:
As recited above, responding is divided into early phase (total time spent licking during minutes 0 to 10 following the formalin injection) behaviors and late phase (total time spent licking during minutes 11 to 45 post formalin injection) behaviors. Time values are obtained for the vehicle only dose group (the control group) and each treatment group. For the purpose of measuring the activity of the invention compounds, the late phase time values of a given treatment group are compared statistically to the late phase time values obtained for the control group using either Student's t-test or One-way Analysis of Variants (ANOVA).
The results are reported as the dose tested in milligrams of invention compound per kilogram of test animal (mg/kg). A compound is characterized as active if it produced a statistically-significant decrease in the time animals administered invention compound plus vehicle spent engaging in pain-related behaviors compared to the time spent by animals receiving vehicle alone. Invention compounds are typically administered at 10 mg/kg and/or 30 mg/kg, and the activities are reported as either being greater than (>) or less than (<) these doses.
(b) The 6-OHDA Lesioned Rat Assay (6-OHDA):
The 6-OHDA model is used to test compounds of the invention for anti-Parkinsonism activity.
(i) 6-OHDA Lesioned Rat Assay Protocol:
6-Hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats are used (see Ungerstedt U., Arbuthnott G. W., Quantitative recording of rotational behavior in rats after 6-hydroxy-dopamine lesions of the nigrostraiatal dopamine system. Brain Res. 1971;24(3):485-493). Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats are anesthetized with chloral hydrate and unilateral lesions of the nigrostriatal dopamine system are accomplished by infusion of 8 μg of 6-hydroxydopamine HBr (6-OHDA) into the right medial forebrain bundle. Rats are pretreated 30 minutes before surgery with desipramine HCl25 mg/kg intraperitoneally (IP) to protect noradrenergic neurons, and pargyline 25 mg/kg IP to potentiate the effects of 6-OHDA. A minimum of 3 weeks after surgery, the rotational behavior induced by apomorphine HCL 50 μg/kg administered subcutaneously (SC) is assessed. Only rats demonstrating more than 100 contraversive turns/hour to apomorphine are used for the present experiments.
(ii) Measurement of Animal Behavior:
Rotational behavior is measured using an automatic rotometer system (Rotorat Rotational Activity System, MED Associates, Georgia, Vt.). Anti-Parkinsonian activity is assessed as the ability of the invention compounds to potentiate the contraversive rotation induced by L-DOPA methyl ester, dosed at 10 mg/kg SC, over a 6-hour period. Experiments are conducted using a crossover paradigm where each rat received either vehicle plus L-DOPA, or an invention compound plus L-DOPA, in randomized order. Rats are tested at 7-day intervals. In experiments in which the invention compounds are tested orally (po), rats are food deprived for 16 hours.
(iii) Data Analysis:
Statistical analysis between treatment groups is performed using a paired t-test. The results are reported as the minimum effective dose (MED) in milligrams of invention compound per kilogram of test animal (mg/kg) required to produce a statistically-significant increase in total contraversive rotations in rats administered invention compound compared to rats receiving L-DOPA alone. Invention compounds are typically administered atlo mg/kg and/or 30 mg/kg, and the MED's are reported as either being greater than (>) or less than (<) these doses.
The compounds of the present invention can be prepared and administered in a wide variety of oral and parenteral dosage forms. Thus, the compounds of the present invention can be administered by injection, that is, intravenously, intramuscularly, intracutaneously, subcutaneously, intraduodenally, or intraperitoneally. Also, the compounds of the present invention can be administered by inhalation, for example, intranasally. Additionally, the compounds of the present invention can be administered transdermally. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the following dosage forms may comprise as the active component, either a compound of Formula I or a corresponding pharmaceutically acceptable salt of a compound of Formula I, or a compound of Formula VI or a corresponding pharmaceutically acceptable salt of a compound of Formula VI.
For preparing pharmaceutical compositions from the compounds of the present invention, pharmaceutically acceptable carriers can be either solid or liquid. Solid form preparations include powders, tablets, pills, capsules, cachets, suppositories, and dispersible granules. A solid carrier can be one or more substances, which may also act as diluents, flavoring agents, binders, preservatives, tablet disintegrating agents, or an encapsulating material.
In powders, the carrier is a finely divided solid, which is in a mixture with the finely divided active component.
In tablets, the active component is mixed with the carrier having the necessary binding properties in suitable proportions and compacted in the shape and size desired.
The powders and tablets preferably contain from five or ten to about seventy percent of the active compound. Suitable carriers are magnesium carbonate, magnesium stearate, talc, sugar, lactose, pectin, dextrin, starch, gelatin, tragacanth, methylcellulose, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, a low melting wax, cocoa butter, and the like. The term “preparation” is intended to include the formulation of the active compound with encapsulating material as a carrier providing a capsule in which the active component with or without other carriers, is surrounded by a carrier, which is thus in association with it. Similarly, cachets and lozenges are included. Tablets, powders, capsules, pills, cachets, and lozenges can be used as solid dosage forms suitable for oral administration.
For preparing suppositories, a low melting wax, such as a mixture of fatty acid glycerides or cocoa butter, is first melted, and the active component is dispersed homogeneously therein, as by stirring. The molten homogenous mixture is then poured into convenient sized molds, allowed to cool, and thereby to solidify.
Liquid form preparations include solutions, suspensions, and emulsions, for example, water or water propylene glycol solutions. For parenteral injection, liquid preparations can be formulated in solution in aqueous polyethylene glycol solution.
Aqueous solutions suitable for oral use can be prepared by dissolving the active component in water and adding suitable colorants, flavors, stabilizing and thickening agents as desired.
Aqueous suspensions suitable for oral use can be made by dispersing the finely divided active component in water with viscous material, such as natural or, synthetic gums, resins, methylcellulose, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, and other well-known suspending agents.
Also included are solid form preparations, which are intended to be converted, shortly before use, to liquid form preparations for oral administration. Such liquid forms include solutions, suspensions, and emulsions. These preparations may contain, in addition to the active component, colorants, flavors, stabilizers, buffers, artificial and natural sweeteners, dispersants, thickeners, solubilizing agents, and the like.
The pharmaceutical preparation is preferably in unit dosage form. In such form the preparation is divided into unit doses containing appropriate quantities of the active component. The unit dosage form can be a packaged preparation, the package containing discrete quantities of preparation, such as packeted tablets, capsules, and powders in vials or ampoules. Also, the unit dosage form can be a capsule, tablet, cachet, or lozenge itself, or it can be the appropriate number of any of these in packaged form.
The quantity of active component in a unit dose preparation may be varied or adjusted from 0.1 mg to 100 mg preferably 0.5 mg to 100 mg according to the particular application and the potency of the active component. The composition can, if desired, also contain other compatible therapeutic agents.
In therapeutic use as antagonists or as agents for the treatment of diseases, the compounds utilized in the pharmaceutical method of this invention are administered at the initial dosage of about 0.01 mg to about 100 mg/kg daily. A daily dose range of about 0.01 mg to about 10 mg/kg is preferred. The dosages, however, may be varied depending upon the requirements of the patient, the severity of the condition being treated, the compound being employed. Determination of the proper dosage for a particular situation is within the skill of the art. Generally, treatment is initiated with smaller dosages, which are less than the optimum dose of the compound. Thereafter, the dosage is increased by small increments until the optimum effect under the circumstances is reached. For convenience, the total daily dosage may be divided and administered in portions during the day, if desired.
EXAMPLE 7
Tablet Formulation:
Ingredient
Amount (mg)
The compound of Example 1
25
Lactose
50
Cornstarch (for mix)
10
Cornstarch (paste)
10
Magnesium stearate (1%)
5
Total
100
The compound of Example 1, lactose, and cornstarch (for mix) are blended to uniformity. The cornstarch (for paste) is suspended in 200 mL of water and heated with stirring to form a paste. The paste is used to granulate the mixed powders. The wet granules are passed through a No. 8 hand screen and dried at 80° C. The dry granules are lubricated with the 1% magnesium stearate and pressed into a tablet. Such tablets can be administered to a human from one to four times a day for treatment of disease caused by over excitation of NMDA receptor channel complexes.
EXAMPLE 8
Coated Tablets:
The tablets of Example 7 are coated in a customary manner with a coating of sucrose, potato starch, talc, tragacanth, and colorant.
EXAMPLE 9
Injection Vials:
The pH of a solution of 500 g of the compound of Example 4b and 5 g of disodium hydrogen phosphate is adjusted to pH 6.5 in 3 L of double-distilled water using 2 M hydrochloric acid. The solution is sterile filtered, and the filtrate is filled into injection vials, lyophilized under sterile conditions, and aseptically sealed. Each injection vial contains 25 mg of the compound of Example 4b.
EXAMPLE 10
Suppositories:
A mixture of 25 g of the compound of Example 6b, 100 g of soya lecithin, and 1400 g of cocoa butter is fused, poured into molds, and allowed to cool. Each suppository contains 25 mg of the compound of Example 6b.
EXAMPLE 11
Solution:
A solution is prepared from 1 g of the compound of Example 5a, 9.38 g of NaH 2 PO 4 .12H 2 O, 28.48 g of Na 2 HPO 4 .12H 2 O, and 0.1 g benzalkonium chloride in 940 mL of double-distilled water. The pH of the solution is adjusted to pH 6.8 using 2 M hydrochloric acid. The solution is diluted to 1.0 L with double-distilled water, and sterilized by irradiation. A 25 mL volume of the solution contains 25 mg of the compound of Example 5a.
EXAMPLE 12
Ointment:
500 mg of the compound of Example 2 is mixed with 99.5 g of petroleum jelly under aseptic conditions. A 5 g portion of the ointment contains 25 mg of the compound of Example 2.
EXAMPLE 13
Capsules:
2 kg of the compound of Example 3a are filled into hard gelatin capsules in a customary manner such that each capsule contains 25 mg of the invention compound.
EXAMPLE 14
Ampoules:
A solution of 2.5 kg of the compound of Example 3b is dissolved in 60 L of double-distilled water. The solution is sterile filtered, and the filtrate is filled into ampoules. The ampoules are lyophilized under sterile conditions and aseptically sealed. Each ampoule contains 25 mg of the compound of Example 3b.
While the forms of the invention exemplified herein such as, for example, the named species of Formulas I or VI and the recitation of treatment of Parkinson's constitute or pain presently preferred embodiments, many others are possible. It is not intended that said recited species of Formulas I or VI and preferred methods of use should, in any manner, limit or restrict the invention from the full scope as claimed herein.
Having described the present invention above, certain embodiments of the present invention are claimed as follows.
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Described are cyclohexylamine derivatives of Formula I
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein R 1 , g, *, R, V, B, E, Y, G, H, X 1 , and d are as defined in the description. The compounds of Formulas I, VI, and VIa are antagonists of NMDA receptor channel complexes useful for treating cerebral vascular disorders such as, for example, stroke, cerebral ischemia, trauma, hypoglycemia, anxiety, migraine headache, convulsions, Parkinson's disease, aminoglycoside antibiotics-induced hearing loss, psychosis, glaucoma, CMV retinitis, opioid tolerance or withdrawal, chronic pain, or urinary incontinence.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to clad aluminum material, such as brazing alloy sheets of the type comprising a core of structural material and having on at least one side a cladding of a brazing alloy, and more particularly to a method by which slots are formed in sheets whereby the cladding remains on the sidewalls of the slot.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Brazing alloy sheets typically comprise an aluminum-based core with at least one side having a cladding of a cladding material. The cladding material is typically an aluminum-based brazing alloy containing silicon as the main alloying ingredient. The brazing alloy has a lower fusing point than the core material, and is used to facilitate brazing of a finished assembly made using the sheets. For example, the aluminum core may be 3000 series aluminum composition metal having a thickness of about 0.3 mm to 0.35 mm and a fusing point of about 350° C., while the brazing alloy may be a 4000 series aluminum composition metal having a fusing point of about 300° C.
Brazing sheets of this sort are commonly used in the manufacture of heat exchangers. In the typical construction of such heat exchangers, the heat exchanger has two generally parallel manifolds with a plurality of cooling tubes connected between them, and plurality of cooling fins attached to the tubes. The tubes are through the tubes to the other manifold. Heat exchangers of this type are used in automotive vehicles for several purposes, such as a radiator for cooling the engine and as charge air coolers.
The manifolds may be made of a molded plastic tank having an aluminum header plate or cover in which the plurality of spaced slots is formed for connection to the cooling tubes. Alternatively, each of the manifolds may be formed completely from aluminum and have a plurality of spaced slots along one side. The manifolds are also provided with connections for the introduction of the cooling medium. The header plates are usually made from a brazing sheet. The cooling tubes may also be made from abrazing sheet, or more commonly, are made from a nonclad aluminum sheet which is rolled into a tube and welded along the longitudinal seam. After assembly of the aluminum components of the heat exchanger, the assembly is brazed in an oven or furnace to hold the elements together as assembled and provide a sealed vessel for the cooling medium.
For purposes of making heat exchangers, the brazing sheets must exhibit a number of important properties, including corrosion resistance, formability, post-braze strength, and brazability. The brazabilty of the material is especially important since the finished heat exchangers rely upon the brazing operation in order to assure a fluid tight connection between the components, especially between the slots and the tubes. If a leak occurs, the cooling medium can quickly leak out of the heat exchanger creating a potentially dangerous condition.
The slots for the tubes have been commonly formed in the manifold or header plate in a piercing operation in which piercing members strike a blank formed from the brazing sheet and punch out the material to form the slots. The piercing operation removes the cladding material, along with the removed material, so that thereafter when a brazing operation is performed, the brazing material may not readily flow into the slot around the tube, and the connection can be inherently weak and may be one of the most likely portions of a heat exchanger to develop a leak.
The brazing of the completed assembly helps to prevent leaks, but the effectiveness of the brazing operation is dependent upon the cladding layer on the aluminum brazing sheet. When the slot is simply punched out, there is no cladding material on the side walls of the slot, and the brazing operation will not necessarily create a fluid tight connection between the slot and the tube. This is particularly likely where the tubes are formed from a nonclad aluminum sheet.
Various attempts have been made to improve the connection between the tubes and the headers. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,380 issued to Warner, a coating of polytetrafluoroethylene (PFTE) is placed on the material sheet. A heated tool having a forward rounded nose is then used to make holes in the PTFE layer and push the material through the holes in the material sheet so that the PTFE lines the hole. This patent, however, does not recognize any need to deal with the brazing layer of a brazing sheet. Furthermore, the technique used for the PTFE layer would not be suitable for manipulating the brazing layer of a brazing sheet since the brazing layer is fixedly clad on the base layer of the sheet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,556, issued to Melnyk, discloses a method for forming ferrules around the openings in the header used to mount the tubes. The method is a relatively complicated three step process which involves forming a pair of small holes at each end of the desired opening, and splitting the bottom wall of a depression along the length of the opening to form the ferrules. The method disclosed in this patent makes no effort to deal with clad surfaces, and there is nothing to indicate that the cladding would be present along the inside of the ferrules or would be present on the inside of slots if the ferrules were not formed by this method.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,512, issued to Bretl, discloses another method for forming slots in the header in which, first, initial apertures are first formed in the header which are smaller than the desired finished slots, and then the header is punched to enlarge the apertures into the desired slots and form flanges around the slot. This method relies upon the remaining material around the preliminary apertures to supply the material for the flanges. It has limitations regarding the thickness of the material that can be used, and due to the forming process it can result in fatigue problems and cracking at the ends of the slots.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an improved method for forming slots in clad aluminum materials, such as brazing sheets, in which the cladding is maintained on the side walls of the slot, so that when the brazing operation is performed, a fluid tight seal is formed between the slots and the tubes inserted therein, even if the tubes are made from nonclad material.
When the ends of the cooling tubes are assembled in the slots, the cladding on the side walls of each slot comes into contact with the cladding on the exterior of the tube. During the subsequent brazing operation, the brazing material layers on the tube exterior and the slot interior together facilitate the brazing of the tubes in the slots, increasing the likelihood of a fluid-tight connection between the tubes and the slots.
In accordance with the present invention, the slots are formed in a progressive die operation, which comprises a pre-extrusion station in which the brazing sheet is pre-formed or extruded into a plurality of depressions having dimensions greater than that of the desired slots, forming clad sidewalls, and a piercing station in which the entire bottom of the depression is removed and a slot is formed while the clad sidewalls are maintained. This two-step forming operation provides a method by which the brazing sheet is deformed in order to provide the cladding layer around the inside of the finished slots. With the presence of the cladding layer on the inside sidewalls of the slot, the effectiveness of the brazing operation is increased.
The method of the present invention has been found to be useful in forming slots in relative thick aluminum sheets. The method avoids the fatigue problems of the prior art, and reduces the cracking which may ordinarily appear at the ends of the slots.
The slot forming method of the present invention can be achieved with a minimal increase in expense. If a progressive die operation has been previously used to form the headers, the method of the present invention can be incorporated into the progressive die operation by adding two additional stations, replacing the single step piercing operation used to form the tube slots in the header with a two-step pre-extrusion and piercing operation. The resulting forming operation will provide slots on the brazing sheet with the cladding layer of brazing material present on the inside walls of the slot, so that the subsequent brazing operation used to fix the tubes in the slots will be stronger and more fluid tight.
These and other advantages are provided by the present invention of a method of forming slots in a sheet of material having a cladding layer on at least one surface, comprising the steps of pre-forming the material by forming depressions in the sheet, each of the depressions having a bottom wall having the approximate dimensions of a desired slot, each of the depressions also having sidewalls with the cladding thereon, the sidewalls extending from the bottom wall to the sheet which has not been pre-formed; and then removing the entire bottom wall of the depressions in a piercing operation, forming a slot in the sheet where the bottom wall was, and leaving the slot with substantially clad sidewalls.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a header plate made according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the header plate of FIG. 1 shown from underneath the eader plate.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the pre-extrusion station of the die forming operation according the present invention, shown prior to the first forming operation.
FIG. 4 is another side sectional view of the pre-extrusion station of FIG. 3, shown as the pre-extrusion operation is being completed.
FIG. 5 is an end sectional view of the pre-extrusion station, shown at the same point in the pre-extrusion operation as that shown in FIG. 4 .
FIG. 6 is a side sectional view similar to FIGS. 3 and 4 of the next station in the forming operation, shown prior to the forming operation.
FIG. 7 is another side sectional view of the piercing station of FIG. 6 shown as the piercing operation is being completed.
FIG. 8 is an end sectional view of the piercing station, shown at the same point in the piercing operation as that shown in FIG. 7 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring more particularly to the drawings and initially to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a header plate 10 made according to the method of the present invention. The header 10 is used in a radiator or heat exchanger and is attached to a tank to form one side of the manifold to which a plurality of cooling tubes is attached. The header 10 includes a rim 11 having a plurality of tabs 12 which are deformed for attaching the header plate to the manifold tank. Within the rim is a generally planar header wall 13 in which a plurality of slots 14 is formed. The slots 14 are used for mounting a plurality of cooling tubes in the finished heat exchanger.
In accordance with the prior art, the tube slots in the header were traditionally formed by a simple piercing operation, either in a progressive die operation or in another comparable operation. While such a piercing operation provided satisfactory slots, the cladding material on the surface of the material was removed during the slot forming process, and, as a result, there was no cladding material on the sidewalls of the slot which did not assure a fluid tight connection after the final assembly is brazed, especially if the cooling tubes were not made of brazing sheet having cladding material.
The present invention provides an improved method for forming the tube slots 14 which provides for cladding material on the sidewalls of the slots and minimizes the possibility of leakage between the slots and the header. The method of the present invention is performed in a progressive die operation in which the header plate is formed.
The header 10 is made from a brazing sheet 18 of clad aluminum (FIG. 3 ). The brazing sheet 18 consists of a base layer 19 of a core material and an outer layer 20 on one side of cladding material. The cladding material may be a suitable aluminum-based brazing alloy containing an alloying ingredient. Such materials are well known in the fabrication of heat exchangers, and need not be discussed in further detail. The brazing sheet may be about 0.050 to 0.080 inches (1.3 to 2.0 mm) thick, with a cladding layer of about 5% to 12% of the brazing sheet thickness.
The brazing sheet 18 is fed into a series of stations in a progressive die forming operation. Many of the stations are used to form the rim and tabs of the header and other portions, and these stations need not be described here in detail as they form no part of this invention.
The pre-extrusion station is shown in FIG. 3 . In this station, the brazing sheet 18 is feed into a die assembly and positioned between a stripper guide 24 and a die 25 . The stripper guide 24 and the die 25 each have a plurality of elongated stripper openings 26 and 27 corresponding in location to the tube slots 14 to be formed in the sheet 18 . The stripper openings 26 and 27 are, however, considerably wider than the desired width of the slots 14 in the finished part. For example, for slots 14 which are 0.071 inch (1.8 mm) in width, the stripper openings 26 in the stripper guide 24 could be 0.16 inch (4.1 mm). Each of the openings 27 in the die 25 has a rounded edge, and these openings 27 are generally narrower than the openings 26 in the stripper guide 24 . For example, for the stripper guide having stripper openings 26 which are 0.16 inch (4.1 mm) wide, the openings 27 in the die 25 could be 0.13 inch (3.3 mm) wide.
Within the stripper openings 26 in the stripper guide 24 is a plurality of movable extruding members or forming punches 28 , which are slidably mounted to move vertically within the stripper openings 26 in the pre-forming operation. Each of the forming punches 28 has a rounded, blunt, tapered, forward end. The forward end of each forming punch includes a portion 29 which is narrower in width than the remainder of the forming punch 28 and has a blunt forward end surface. The narrow portion 29 tapers outwardly to the width of the remainder of the forming punch.
Within the openings 27 in the die 25 is a plurality of corresponding movable coining inserts 30 , which move vertically in opposition to the forming punches 28 to engage the brazing sheet 18 in the pre-forming operation. Each of the coining inserts 30 has a pointed end 31 forming a ridge running longitudinally along the insert. When the coining insert 30 moves vertically upwardly during the forming operation, the ridge 31 engages the sheet 18 and assists in stabilizing the sheet as it is simultaneously engaged by the forming punches 28 .
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the stripper guide 24 , the die 25 , the forming punches 28 and the coining inserts 30 operate together to form a plurality of depressions 32 in the brazing sheet 18 . FIG. 4 shows a side view of these depressions, and FIG. 5 shows an end view. Each of these depressions has a sidewall 33 extending around all sides of the depression, and a bottom wall 34 . The bottom wall 34 has the approximate dimensions of the desired finished slot. As the sheet 18 is fed between the stripper guide 24 and the die 25 , the forming punches 28 and the coining inserts 30 move vertically toward each other to deform the sheet. The forming punches 28 move downwardly to form elongated clad depressions 32 in the sheet as the forward portions 29 push or extrude the brazing sheet material into the openings 27 in the die 25 . Simultaneously, the coining inserts 30 retract within the openings 27 to provide the outer form for the depressions 32 . Since each of the forward portions 29 is considerably narrower than the width of the corresponding opening 27 , the depression is formed with a side wall 33 being formed between the forward portion 29 and the walls of the opening 27 in the die 25 . Each depression 32 thus has a sidewall 33 with the cladding layer 20 preserved on the inside of the depression sidewall.
Following the pre-extrusion station, the pre-formed sheet 18 ′ moves to the piercing station shown in FIGS. 6-8. This station contains a die assembly comprising an stripper guide 38 and a die 39 , each having openings 40 and 41 corresponding to the position of the elongated tube slots being formed. A plurality of piercing members or punches 42 is slidably mounted to move vertically within the stripper openings 40 in the stripper guide 38 . Each of the piercing punches 42 has a width equal to the desired width of the finished tube slot. The lower openings 41 have a narrow piercing portion 43 which is slightly wider than the piercing punches. Below the piercing portion 43 is a wider clearance portion 44 .
In the piercing operation, the pre-formed sheet 18 ′ is fed from the pre-extrusion station to the piercing station and positioned between the stripper guide 38 and the die 39 such that the pre-formed depressions are adjacent to the lower openings 41 . The piercing punches 42 then slide vertically downwardly within the openings 40 to engage the depressions and pierce through the bottom of the depressions, in engagement with the piercing portion 43 of the lower openings 41 to remove the material and form the slots. The removed material 45 is pushed by the piercing punches through the lower openings and into the clearance portion. As can be seen in FIGS. 7 and 8 the sidewalls of the resulting slot are not completely clad with the layer 20 , since no cladding material is present where the bottom of the depressions have been removed. However, the sidewalls of the slot are substantially clad, so that the benefits of the present invention are realized.
The resulting header 10 can be seen with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown particularly in FIG. 2, each of the slots 14 is defined by a slight collar 46 extending uniformly around the slot from the header wall 13 . The collar is formed on the bottom side of the header plate 10 and thus does not interfere with the positioning of the cooling tubes. The collars 46 are a result of each of the slots 14 having a formed sidewall with the cladding layer present in each of the sidewalls.
In the manufacture of heat exchangers using the method oft his invention, the header is formed in a progressive die forming operation or other operation with the pre-extrusion and piercing steps described above forming a part of this operation. The other components of the heat exchanger are formed by conventional methods, and the heat exchanger is assembled from the headers, and the other components, including the tank, tubes and fins. The ends of the tubes are inserted into the slots in the header which have been formed by the pre-extrusion and piercing steps described above. The tubes are also made, usually from a sheet of nonclad aluminum material, and the resulting assembly has the tubes inserted into the slots with the inside walls of the slots retaining the clad layer. The assembly is brazed in an oven or furnace to strengthen the resulting assembly and provide a fluid tight vessel for the cooling medium. The fluid tight connection between the header and the tubes is provided by brazing these two components together, and the efficiency of the brazing operation is facilitated by the brazing layers which are clad on the material used to make the components. Since the slots in the header have the brazing layer on the inside, the opportunity for achieving a fluid tight connection between the tubes and the header is increased in the brazing operation.
While the invention has been described with reference to a progressive die forming operation, it should be understood that other forming operations known in the art can be used to make the header in accordance with the present invention. For example, transfer tooling or hand-fed line tooling can be used. The present inveniton is not limited in its applicability to progressive die operations.
Other variations and modifications of the specific embodiments herein shown and described will be apparent to those skilled in the art, all within the intended spirit and scope of the invention. While the invention has been shown and described with respect to particular embodiments thereof, these are for the purpose of illustration rather than limitation. Accordingly, the patent is not to be limited in scope and effect to the specific embodiments herein shown and described nor in any other way that is inconsistent with the extent to which the progress in the art has been advanced by the invention.
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A method of forming slots in a sheet of material having a cladding layer on at least one surface is disclosed. The method includes the step of pre-forming the material by forming depressions in the sheet. Each of the depressions has a bottom wall having the approximate dimensions of a desired slot. Each of the depressions also has sidewalls with the cladding thereon. The sidewalls extend from the bottom wall to the sheet which has not be pre-formed. The method also includes the step of removing the entire bottom wall of the depressions in a piercing operation, forming a slot in the sheet where the bottom wall was, and leaving the slot with substantially clad sidewalls.
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CROSS-REFERENCED TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a divisional of, and claims the benefit of priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/019,097, filed on Feb. 1, 2011, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to apparatus for monitoring and controlling valves and more particularly to switchboxes with limit switches for controlling and monitoring manually operated, quarter-turn valves.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Valves, such as ball valves and butterfly valves are ubiquitous for controlling fluid flow through piping and conduits in many environments. For example, in the industrial environment, valves control the flow of fluids and gasses through pipelines for material supply, venting, cooling/heating, hydraulic actuation and many other applications. While in the past, control valves were typically operated by hand, automated valve operation is becoming more common since it permits computerized and remote operation/control, e.g., from a control room, eliminating manual operation and its attendant labor and risks. In many instances, it is important to keep a valve opened or closed, within a predetermined range of operation, or at a specific degree of openness. These constrictions on valve position can be monitored and/or implemented by limit switches, which sense on valve position and either send a signal representative of position or enable/disable-open/close a circuit which can be used to control process equipment, e.g., a pump which pumps fluid through a pipeline controlled by the valve on which a limit switch is installed. It is known to utilize limit switches on electrically, pneumatically and hydraulically actuated valves to provide a mechanism for controlling valve position (to keep the valve within a predetermined range of motion), as well as to provide signal data indicative of valve position. While automated valves have become common, manual valves continue to be used, e.g., for backup purposes, such as for valves that may be actuated when the automatic valve or its supporting system (e.g., electrical power) fails or is purposely shut down. Manual valves are used as override valves for maintenance purposes and in emergencies, e.g., to assure that a pipeline is shut off. Further, a manual valve may, at times, be utilized for establishing a static degree of openness, e.g., for establishing a constant, reduced flow rate through a system. While limit switch use on manually-actuated valves is known, there is a need for limit switches and switchboxes having improved features and functionality, e.g., pertaining to retro-fitability and compatibility to existing valve assemblies, lockout capabilities, corrosion resistance and capability to maintain a given valve setting.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The present disclosure relates to apparatus to aid in controlling a valve having a body, a passageway through the body and an articulable member mounted to a valve stem and positioned within the passageway, the position of the articulable member determining the degree of openness of the passageway. The apparatus has a housing removably attachable to the valve body, a shaft extending through the housing, with one end of the shaft couplable to the valve stem such that movement of the shaft moves the valve stem. A shaft position sensor interacts with a position sensor actuator coupled to the shaft, with the position sensor actuator capable of inducing the shaft position sensor to acquire a state having an associated electrical property indicative of shaft position. The apparatus has a motion limiter coupled to the shaft for limiting the range of motion of the shaft and rotating conjointly there with. A first lock member is coupled to the shaft and rotates conjointly therewith. A second lock member is coupled to the body, the first and second lock members selectively cooperative to allow the shaft to be locked in a first position. In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, the motion limiter and the first lock member may be monolithic.
[0005] In accordance with a method of the present disclosure for controlling a manually operated valve having a body, a passageway through the body, an articulable member mounted to a valve stem and positioned within the passageway, the position of the articulable member determining the degree of openness of the passageway and an original handle attachable to the valve stem to facilitate turning the valve stem, the following steps may be conducted. Removing the original handle, then installing a switchbox on the valve, the switchbox having a housing removably attachable to the valve body, a shaft extending through the housing, one end of the shaft couplable to the valve stem such that movement of the shaft moves the valve stem, a shaft position sensor, a position sensor actuator coupled to the shaft, the position sensor actuator capable of interacting with the shaft position sensor to induce the shaft position sensor to acquire a state having an associated electrical property indicative of shaft position, a motion limiter coupled to the shaft for limiting the range of motion of the shaft and rotating conjointly there with, a first lock member coupled to the shaft and rotatable conjointly therewith, a second lock member coupled to the body, the first and second lock members selectively cooperative to allow the shaft to be locked in a first position. Installing one of the original handle or another handle. Selectively monitoring electrical signals from the position sensor representative of a position of the shaft; and selectively locking the valve in a selected position.
[0006] Additional features, functions and benefits of the disclosed apparatus, systems and methods will be apparent from the description and claims which follow, particularly when read in conjunction with the appended figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] To assist those of ordinary skill in the art in making and using the disclosed apparatus, reference is made to the appended figures, wherein:
[0008] FIG. 1 is perspective view of a switchbox mounted on a valve in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a top view of the assembly of FIG. 1 .
[0010] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a handle pawl and detent of the assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2 taken along section line 3 - 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows.
[0011] FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the switchbox of FIGS. 1 and 2 separated from the valve, with the handle removed and seen from the top.
[0012] FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the switchbox of FIG. 4 seen from the bottom.
[0013] FIG. 6 is front view of the switchbox of FIG. 4 in elevation.
[0014] FIG. 7 is right side view of the switchbox of FIG. 4 in elevation.
[0015] FIG. 8 is rear view of the switchbox of FIG. 4 in elevation.
[0016] FIG. 9 is left side view of the switchbox of FIG. 4 in elevation.
[0017] FIG. 10 is top view of the switchbox of FIG. 4 .
[0018] FIG. 11 is bottom view of the switchbox of FIG. 4 .
[0019] FIG. 12 is a exploded view of the switchbox of FIG. 4 .
[0020] FIG. 13 is an enlarged perspective view of the interior of the switchbox of FIG. 4 with the cover and lock plate removed.
[0021] FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the switchbox of FIG. 4 taken along lines 14 - 14 and looking in the direction of the arrows.
[0022] FIG. 15 is perspective view a switchbox in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention mounted on a ball valve.
[0023] FIG. 16 is a top perspective view of a switchbox with a valve mounting adapter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 17 is a bottom perspective view of the device shown in FIG. 16 .
[0025] FIG. 18 is a bottom view of the device of FIG. 16 .
[0026] FIG. 19 is an exploded view of a switchbox in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention and having a adapter sleeve on the input shaft.
[0027] FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the interior of a switchbox in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, with the cover removed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0028] FIGS. 1 and 2 show a valve switchbox 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention attached to the mounting plate 12 of a butterfly valve 14 . This attachment may be accomplished by a plurality of screws or bolts extending up through the mounting plate 12 into threaded apertures in the switchbox 10 , drawing the switchbox 10 into close mechanical engagement with the mounting plate 12 . Alternatively, the mounting plate 12 could utilize a plurality of threaded studs or the switchbox 10 could have a plurality of apertures therein to allow bolts to secure the switchbox 10 to threaded apertures in the mounting plate 12 . The valve 14 has a body 16 in which a shaft-mounted disc 18 articulates to open and close a throat 20 through which a fluid may pass (when open). In this disclosure, “fluid” would include liquids, gases and flowable solid particulates, etc. A handle 22 on the switchbox 10 is used to control the position of the disc 18 in the valve throat 20 . Typically, a valve, such as valve 14 , would be provided with a handle that would be attached directly to the shaft supporting the disc 18 . As shown in FIG. 1 , the valve switchbox 10 of the present disclosure can be positioned to intermediate between the handle 22 and the valve 14 . An optional aspect of the present disclosure is that the handle of an existing valve 14 can be utilized with the switchbox 10 in instances when the switchbox 10 is retrofitted to the valve 14 . In this manner, the handle will likely be properly sized for the given application, e.g., long enough to provide sufficient leverage to allow operation, as well as properly marked and colored, e.g., with indicia and colors symbolic of valve function, for identifying the composition of the fluid that is controlled by the valve 14 , as well as open and close directions, warnings, etc. Alternatively, a new handle can be utilized with the switchbox 10 , which has attributes more appropriate for the task it must perform. As shown in FIGS. 1 , 2 and 3 , the handle 22 may be provided with a position lock release 24 , e.g., having a trigger lever that releases a positioning tooth 40 from an associated detent 36 to allow the valve 14 to be selectively locked in position and unlocked to allow re-positioning.
[0029] The switchbox 10 features a lock plate 26 that turns in unison with the handle 22 and is positionable in alignment with lock tabs 28 or 30 such that when the aperture 26 a of the lock plate 26 is aligned with either aperture 28 a or 30 a, a pin, padlock, cable or other lock may be inserted there through to hold valve 14 in a specific position. These features may be utilized as safety features, e.g., to retain a valve 14 in the closed position while maintenance is conducted down-line of the valve 14 (to prevent someone from opening the valve inadvertently). Alternatively, the valve may need to be locked open to provide essential supply of material or cooling fluid down-line. The lock plate 26 may also have a configuration that allows it to function as a motion limiter. More particularly, the lock plate 26 shown may be limited to a range of motion between stop surface 34 (valve closed position) and stop surface 32 (valve open position). Alternatively, the switchbox 10 may be configured to allow full rotation of the valve 14 or embody different limits on the range of motion of the valve 14 by varying the position of the stop surfaces 32 , 34 , the shape and dimensions of the stop plate 26 , or by utilizing moveable stop surfaces 32 , 34 on adjustable (moveable) stops. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , detents 36 may be provided on the switchbox 10 to enable the handle 22 (and disc 18 ) to be movably positioned to a selected position (representing an associated degree of openness of the valve 14 ). The detents 36 permit the valve 14 to be positioned at a selected intermediate position between the opened and closed positions and to retain that selected position notwithstanding the force of fluid flow through the valve (until purposely repositioned by an operator). A spring or other resilient member (not shown) may be used to bias the tooth 40 into engagement with a detent 36 . The various positions of the valve, instructions for use and other information may be expressed by indicia 38 a - d that may be embossed or otherwise placed on the switchbox 10 .
[0030] FIGS. 4-11 show that the switchbox 10 has a cover 42 and a base 44 , which may be attached by bolts or other fasteners 46 distributed around the periphery of the switchbox 10 . Alternatively, the cover 42 may be glued or fused to the base 44 , which would prevent access to the interior of the switchbox, which may or may not be preferred, depending upon the application, e.g., considering the non-adjustability and reliability of internal components, cost and other factors. A shaft 48 extends through the cover 42 for fitting to a handle or other turning apparatus, such as a motor driven member. The shaft 48 may be provided with a threaded aperture 50 for receiving a bolt or screw to hold the handle 22 on the shaft 48 . Alternatively, the shaft 48 may retain the handle 22 by means of an interference fit, a set screw or other conventional means. The opposing mating surfaces 52 , 54 , respectively of the cover 42 and the base 44 have a generally complementary castellated shape, which prevents relative shearing motion and allows the fasteners 46 (disposed proximate the corners of the switchbox 10 ) to be recessed below the upper surface 56 of the cover 42 without substantially thinning the cover thickness. Recessing the fasteners below the surface permits the lock plate 26 to pass there over, as well as facilitating handle operation (without hitting knuckles or the handle 22 ) on upstanding fasteners 46 and also resists contaminant infiltration at the fastener openings 42 b, 44 b in the cover 42 and base 44 , respectively (see FIG. 12 ). The upper surface of the cover 56 features a recessed area 58 defining the area through which the lock plate 26 can be articulated and delimited by the stop surfaces 32 and 34 . The lock plate 26 shown is generally triangular in shape, but could be other shapes, depending upon the shape of the recessed area 58 . When rotated to abut stop surface 34 (illustrated to be the closed position for the valve 14 ) the aperture 26 a aligns with aperture 28 a (see FIGS. 4 and 5 ) in lock tab 28 , allowing a lock (not shown) to be slipped through the aligned apertures 26 a, 28 a, preventing the lock plate 26 , shaft 48 , handle 22 and valve 14 from being turned from the closed position. As shown in phantom view, the lock plate 26 can be rotated counter-clockwise to a position abuting stop surface 32 to the open position and locked there via lock tab 30 . Detents 36 communicate with a relief groove 60 that communicates with the recessed area 58 of the cover 42 and optionally may extend across the recessed area (see FIG. 12 ). The relief groove 60 permits materials, e.g., fluids, which spill or condense on the cover in the area of the detents 36 to flow out of the detents 36 , onto the recessed area 58 and off the cover 42 . The recessed area 58 may also incorporate a groove or gutter (not shown) to channel fluids off the cover 42 . In this manner, the likelihood of fluid intrusion into switchbox 10 or damage of the switchbox 10 by solvents is reduced and any fluids which could otherwise fill and obstruct the detents 36 , e.g., after drying and hardening, is drained before drying. As shown in FIG. 4 , the lock plate 26 may incorporate reliefs 26 b and 26 c to accommodate portions of the handle 22 in a retrofit application. The lock plate 26 has a shaft aperture 26 d which mates with the shaft 48 to assure conjoint rotation. As shown more clearly in FIG. 13 , the shaft 48 has a bead 48 d accommodated in a mating recess in the shaft aperture 26 d which assures a specific shaft-to-lock plate assembly orientation. FIG. 5 shows that the bottom surface 62 of the switchbox 10 may have a plurality of mounting apertures, 64 , e.g., for accommodating studs or screws (not shown). In the instance where the switchbox 10 is attached to a valve mounting plate 12 via bolts, the apertures 64 may be threaded. A plurality of apertures 64 may be provided to match a variety of bolt/fastener patterns and permit the switchbox 10 to be mounted to a variety of valves (mounting plates or adapters). An output socket 66 extending from or coupled to the shaft 48 has a central aperture 68 adapted to matingly accommodate a valve shaft in order to transfer rotational motion to the valve shaft. Alternatively, the central aperture 68 can be fitted with an adapter bushing 70 (see FIG. 14 ) for intermediating between the shape of the central aperture 68 and the shape of a given existing valve shaft. An adapter bushing 74 (see FIG. 19 ) may also be utilized to adapt a given shaft 48 to a given handle 22 .
[0031] FIG. 7 shows that the base 44 may be provided with an opening 72 to accommodate electrical wiring and may be adapted to receive and cooperate with electrical conduit to protect electrical wires entering the switchbox 10 and prevent intrusion of contaminants into the switchbox 10 . Alternatively, quick-disconnect electrical connectors, such as Hirschmann connectors, pin connectors or the like may be used to connect external wiring to electrical components, e.g., switches 76 , 78 (see FIG. 12 ) inside switchbox 10 .
[0032] FIG. 11 shows that the fastener 46 may be a bolt that interacts with a nut captured in base 44 .
[0033] FIG. 12 shows the interior contents of the switchbox 10 , i.e., within the interior hollow 10 a thereof. The shaft 48 has an upper portion 48 a adapted to couple to a handle 22 and a lower portion 48 b, the outer exterior surface of which functions as a cam. A bottom portion 48 c extends through a bore 44 a in the base 44 to couple to a valve shaft (not shown) directly, or via an adapter 70 . While a one-piece shaft 48 is depicted, the cam shape of the lower portion 48 b could be executed as a separate element which could be glued, welded, keyed or otherwise retained on shaft 48 so as to turn in unison with the shaft 48 . In the instance of a removable, separate cam element, a variety of cam shapes could be fitted to the shaft 48 in order to accommodate a variety of different switchbox applications. The lower portion 48 b turns relative to switches 76 , 78 , which are mounted on corresponding mounting plates 80 , 82 , respectively, which feature recesses 80 a, 82 a, respectively for matingly receiving and holding the switches 76 , 78 in a stable position. The switches 76 , 78 may be retained in the recesses 80 a, 82 a by screws, rivets, glue or any conventional means. The mounting plates 80 , 82 are retained by screws that thread into the base 44 . Slotted holes 84 in the mounting plates 80 , 82 permit adjustment along the range limited by the slotted holes 84 , such that the switches can be positioned to actuate at a particular angular position of the cam. During installation, the valve 14 can be placed in a selected position, then the position of the switches 76 , 78 adjusted. Proper operation can be verified based on switch 76 , 78 output. Terminal blocks 86 , 88 are retained in retainers 90 extending from the interior of the base 44 to retain wires (not shown) entering the switchbox 10 through opening 72 . Alternatively, the terminal blocks 86 , 88 could be retained in the switchbox 10 by screws, rivets, glue or any other conventional means, or the wiring could be connected directly to the switches 76 , 78 without connecting to terminal blocks 86 , 88 . Seals 92 a, 92 b and 92 c seal the cover 42 and the base 44 to the shaft 48 and the cover 42 to the base 44 , respectively, preventing intrusion of contaminants into the switchbox 10 .
[0034] FIGS. 13 and 14 show the switches 76 , 78 mounted to the mounting plates 80 , 82 , which are attached to the base 44 . The terminal blocks 86 , 88 are retained by retainers 90 . (No wires are shown running between the exterior and the terminal blocks 86 , 88 or between the switches 76 , 78 and the terminal blocks 86 , 88 for simplicity of illustration.) The shaft 48 has a lock plate mounting area 48 c featuring a bead 48 d that mates with a corresponding relief in the lock plate aperture 26 d to establish a specific assembly orientation of the lock plate 26 relative to the shaft 48 and the lower portion 48 b (cam). The switches 76 , 78 may be used to signal the position of the shaft 48 by the cam shape of lower portion 48 b, i.e., by being turned ON/OFF due to cam action on the switches, moving a switch actuator lever or button. Alternatively, switch operation may be a signal to turn an associated device, e.g., a pump, ON/OFF. For example, a pump which pushes fluid through the valve 14 may be disabled by a switch 76 or 78 when the shaft 48 is turned to a position representing a closed position of the valve 14 , preventing the pump from exercising the fruitless function of attempting to urge a fluid through a closed valve. Using the same example, the OPEN position of the valve 14 may cause a switch 76 , 78 to enable running of the pump. The switches 76 , 78 may also be used to inform an operator or computer controller that the valve has achieved a specific position, corresponding to a degree of openness. For example, a closed valve 14 may cause a switch 76 , 78 to signal to a controller that the valve is in a closed condition, such that the controller (human or automatic) will terminate pump operation. Further, if a signal is given to move the valve to the open condition, a switch 76 , 78 may inform a controller that the valve 14 has achieved the desired state of openness. The switchbox 10 can accommodate more or fewer switches, each switch potentially performing indicating functions and/or enabling/disabling functions at selected positions of the valve 14 . The switchbox 10 may be used for data collection (pertaining to valve position over time) and for process tracking.
[0035] FIG. 15 shows the switchbox 10 used in conjunction with a ball valve 94 with a T-handle 96 , which, as shown, does not incorporate a detent engagement apparatus. Alternatively, the T-handle could incorporate a mechanism to engage detents 36 .
[0036] FIGS. 16-18 show the switchbox 10 coupled to a mounting plate adapter 98 having a primary mounting plate 98 a which would be coupled to a valve, like valve 14 or 94 , a secondary mounting plate 98 b which couples to the switchbox 10 , and an intermediate portion 98 c connecting the primary and secondary mounting plates 98 a and 98 b. The coupling of the mounting plate adapter 98 to the valve 14 , 96 may be by screws, nuts and bolts, studs or bolts threadedly received in apertures 64 , 98 d, clamps or other conventional means.
[0037] FIG. 19 shows a switchbox 10 which utilizes an adapter bushing 74 on the upper portion of the shaft 48 a to receive a mating handle, such as handle 22 (see FIG. 1 ). The adapter bushings 70 (see FIG. 12) and 74 , mounting plate adapter 98 (see FIG. 16 ) and the provision of a plurality of mounting aperture 64 patterns, promote the universal use of the switchbox 10 to a variety of valve applications with either the original valve handle or a replacement handle 22 . In the instance that the original handle incorporates lockout features that are incompatible with the switchbox 10 , the switchbox 10 provides any necessary lockout feature, i.e., via the interaction of a lock with the lock plate 26 and lock tabs 28 , 30 (through alignment of the aperture 26 a, with aperture 28 a or 30 a and insertion of the lock through the aligned apertures). It is understood that a manual valve may have lockout features whereas an automated valve may not, in that, a locked-out condition of a manually operated valve will be observable to the operator of the valve and no effort would be expended in futilely attempting to turn the valve. In the instance of an automated valve, the automated valve actuator may not have a means to sense that the valve is locked and the actuator may futilely attempt turning resulting in damage to the valve or the actuator.
[0038] FIG. 20 shows a switchbox 110 wherein one of the switches is replaced with a potentiometer 111 . The potentiometer 111 can signal a variable resistance based upon rotational displacement, such that a potentiometer gear 113 which is rotated by a shaft-mounted gear 115 can be utilized to ascertain the rotational position/displacement of the shaft 148 (and an associated valve (like valve 14 or 94 ) via electronic interpretation of the potentiometer output, such as by an analog-to-digital converter. In this manner, the position of the shaft and associated valve can be determined at any position and is not restricted to discrete positions associated with cam-induced switch signaling. The potentiometer 111 and potentiometer gear 113 can be retrofitted to a shaft 148 having a configuration like that of shaft 48 shown in FIG. 12 and can optionally be used in conjunction with one or more cam-driven switches 176 . Because a potentiometer output may be stored or interpreted as zero at any given angular position of turn, there is no need to adjust the angular mounting position of the potentiometer 111 within the switchbox 110 , e.g., by way of an adjustable mounting plate, such as 80 , 82 (see FIG. 12 ). A mounting plate, 80 , 82 of an appropriate thickness could be utilized to establish the alignment of potentiometer gear 113 and shaft-mounted gear 115 by setting the height of the potentiometer 111 .
[0039] The switchbox 10 , 110 may be made from metal or plastic and such material may be selected to be corrosion-resistant and compatible with a given piping system, e.g., plastic construction for a plastic piping system. Plastics which may be used include PVC, CPVC and GFPP. Plastic composition is often lighter and may be preferred in applications requiring lighter weight. These comments as to material of composition apply to the cover 42 , base 44 , mounting plates 80 , 82 , as well as the shaft 48 , 148 . The shaft 48 , 148 may also be made from 300 or 400 Series stainless steel or aluminum depending upon the application.
[0040] The switchbox 10 provides electronic indication/control based upon valve position. These features can be conferred on a mechanically operated valve and the switchbox is retrofittable to a manual valve which originally did not have such indication and control capability. It should be appreciated that a manually-operated valve 14 may be driven by automated apparatus or vice versa, by subsequent connection/disconnection from automated apparatus, such as a motor. For example, an automated valve may have the automatic rotating equipment disconnected and a handle installed either temporarily or permanently, in its place. In either case, the switchbox may be incorporated on the valve intermediate either the manual handle or the automated turning apparatus, either permanently or temporarily.
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A switchbox for monitoring the position of a manual quarter-turn valve has a housing mountable to the valve to be monitored/controlled. A handle-driven shaft extends through the housing, with one end of the shaft couplable to the valve stem such that movement of the shaft moves the valve stem. One or more shaft position sensor switches interact with a cam on the shaft to signal shaft position and/or provide control signals. A plate coupled to the shaft articulates within a recess on the surface of the switchbox to limit motion of the valve to an operable range, such as between full ON and full OFF. The switchbox has a pair of lock tabs with lock apertures. A lock aperture in the plate is alignable with the lock tab apertures to receive a pin or padlock for locking the valve in a selected position. A potentiometer can be utilized in place of a switch as a shaft position sensor. The switchbox may be used with an original or new handle and may feature detents to allow a range of valve settings.
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BACKGROUND
A play yard forms an enclosed space in which young children and/or animals can be placed for security and safety. A typical play yard is made up of several panels and is self-supporting. To enter and exit the play yard, it can be necessary to step over the play yard panels or unhook two of the panels to form a space. Both such actions can be difficult, particularly when carrying a larger child or animal into or out of the play yard.
SUMMARY
In one aspect, a play yard includes: a plurality of side panels coupled to one another; a gate panel coupled to two of the plurality of side panels to create an enclosed space, the gate panel including: a panel frame defining an opening; a gate mounted to the panel frame in the opening to swing from a closed position to an open position; a first locking mechanism on the gate to hold the gate in the closed position; and a second locking mechanism on the gate frame to hold the gate in the closed position.
In another aspect, a play yard includes: a plurality of side panels coupled to one another; a gate panel coupled to two of the plurality of side panels to create an enclosed space, the gate panel including: a panel frame including a panel base member and side members that define an opening; a gate mounted to the panel frame in the opening to swing from a closed position to an open position; a first locking mechanism on the gate to hold the gate in the closed position, the first locking mechanism including a hook member sized to engage an opening defined by the panel frame; and a second locking mechanism on the gate to hold the gate in the closed position, the second locking mechanism including a switch configured to move between locked and unlocked positions; wherein the gate is configured to be opened by allowing the second locking mechanism to be moved to the unlocked position, and the gate being thereupon moveable upwardly away from the panel base member to allow the hook member to disengage the opening of the panel frame.
In yet another aspect, a method for using a play yard includes: assembling a plurality of side panels and a gate panel including a gate to form an enclosed space; moving a first locking mechanism from a locked position to an unlocked position; lifting the gate in the gate panel to clear a second locking mechanism; and swinging the gate from a closed position to an open position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an example play yard.
FIG. 2 is a back perspective view of the play yard of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of an example gate panel of the play yard of FIG. 1 with the gate in the closed position.
FIG. 4 is a back perspective view of the gate panel of FIG. 3 .
FIG. 5 is a front view of the gate panel of FIG. 3 .
FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the gate panel of FIG. 3 .
FIG. 7 is a side view of the gate panel of FIG. 3 .
FIG. 8 is a back view of the gate panel of FIG. 3 .
FIG. 9 is a front perspective view of an example gate of the gate panel of FIG. 3 .
FIG. 10 is a back perspective view of the gate of FIG. 9 .
FIG. 11 is a front view of the gate of FIG. 9 .
FIG. 12 is a back view of the gate of FIG. 9 .
FIG. 13 is a first side view of the gate of FIG. 9 .
FIG. 14 is a top view of the gate of FIG. 9 .
FIG. 15 is a bottom view of the gate of FIG. 9 .
FIG. 16 is a second side view of the gate of FIG. 9 .
FIG. 17 is a front perspective view of the gate panel of FIG. 3 with the gate in the open position.
FIG. 18 is a front view of the gate panel of FIG. 3 with the gate removed.
FIG. 19 is a back view of the gate panel of FIG. 18 .
FIG. 20 is a front view of the gate panel of FIG. 3 with a locking mechanism in a closed position.
FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 21 - 21 of the gate panel of FIG. 20 .
FIG. 22 is another front view of the gate panel of FIG. 3 with the locking mechanism in the open position.
FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 23 - 23 of the gate panel of FIG. 22 .
FIG. 24 is a front view of the gate panel of FIG. 3 with a portion of the gate removed to show the locking mechanism.
FIG. 25 is an enlarged portion of the gate panel shown in FIG. 8 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present disclosure is directed towards a gate for a play yard. Examples are provided herein. However, the disclosure is not limited to the examples.
Referring now to FIGS. 1-2 , an example play yard 100 is shown. In this example, the play yard 100 includes a plurality of panels.
All but one of the panels in this example are identical and are referred to herein as side panels 110 . There are five side panels 110 in the play yard 100 . The side panels 110 are connected by hinges 116 and rods 118 to form five of the six sides of the play yard 100 .
The other panel is similar to the side panels 110 , except the panel includes a gate 114 and is referred to herein as a gate panel 112 . The gate panel 112 connects to the other side panels 110 in a similar fashion. The gate 114 of the gate panel 112 pivots between a closed position (as shown in FIGS. 1-2 ) and an open position (as shown in FIG. 17 ).
The panels 110 , 112 together form an enclosed space into which a child and/or animal can be placed for security and safety. In this example, the enclosed space is generally hexagonal in shape. In other examples, other numbers of panels and sizes/shapes of the enclosed space can be used.
The gate panel 112 can be used to access the enclosed space by opening the gate 114 to gain access into and out of the enclosed space formed by the panels 110 , 112 .
In examples, the play yard 100 is made of a plastic material, although other materials, such as wood or metal, can also be used.
Referring now to FIGS. 3-8 , the gate panel 112 includes a base member 124 and side members 122 , 126 that form an opening for the gate 114 . The gate 114 is mounted to pivot members 130 , 132 on the side member 122 so that the gate 114 can pivot between the closed and open positions.
Referring now to FIGS. 9-16 , the gate 114 includes pivot members 142 , 144 that engage the pivot members 130 , 132 on the gate panel 112 to pivotally connect the gate 114 to the gate panel 112 .
The gate 114 also includes a base member 152 defining a space 153 that engages the base member 124 when in the closed position, as described further below.
The gate 114 includes a first locking mechanism 154 including a hook member 155 sized to engage a window opening 410 on the gate panel 112 when in the closed position. The gate 114 includes a second locking mechanism 156 that moves between locked and unlocked positions to lock and unlock the gate 114 from the gate panel 112 . Finally, a switch 158 moves between locked and unlocked positions to lock the second locking mechanism 156 so that the second locking mechanism 156 cannot be actuated when the switch 158 is in the locked position. Additional details on the first and second locking mechanisms 154 , 156 and the switch 158 are shown in FIGS. 17-25 , which are described further below.
The gate 114 includes a lattice structure 160 with a plurality of openings that allow the user to see through the lattice structure 160 into and out of the play yard 100 .
Referring now to FIGS. 17-25 , additional details on the first and second locking mechanisms 154 , 156 are provided.
In FIG. 17 , the gate 114 of the gate panel 112 has been pivoted from the closed position (see, e.g., FIGS. 1-8 ) to the open position in a direction 302 . In order to move the gate 114 into this position, the switch 158 must be in the unlocked position, and the first and second locking mechanisms 154 , 156 must be actuated.
The switch 158 is shown in more detail in FIG. 24 . In this example, the switch 158 moves in directions 452 , 454 . In the direction 452 , the switch 158 is unlocked. In the direction 454 , the switch 158 is locked, as shown in FIG. 24 .
In the locked position, the switch 158 limits the travel of the second locking mechanism 156 in a direction 474 so that the second locking mechanism 156 remains locked with respect to the side member 126 of the gate panel 112 .
Specifically, the second locking mechanism 156 includes a member 460 that extends from a handle portion 468 to a pin member 464 that engages a window 304 in the side member 126 (see FIGS. 17, 21, 23 ) to lock pivoting of the gate 114 relative to the gate panel 112 in the direction 302 . An end 462 of the member 460 is stopped from moving in the direction 474 by the switch 158 when in the locked position (i.e., in direction 454 ) so that the pin member 464 cannot clear the window 304 on the side member 126 , thereby retaining the gate 114 in the closed position. See FIGS. 20-21 .
When the switch 158 is moved in the direction 452 , the end 462 can thereupon clear the switch 158 to allow the second locking mechanism 156 to be moved in the direction 474 until the pin member 464 is completely removed from the window 304 in the side member 126 , thereby unlocking the second locking mechanism 156 . See FIGS. 22-23 .
The second locking mechanism 156 is biased in the direction 472 into the locked position so that force must be applied to the handle portion 468 to move the second locking mechanism 156 in the direction 474 to unlock the second locking mechanism 156 to allow the gate 114 to be moved to the open position.
In addition, the hook member 155 of the first locking mechanism 154 engages the window opening 410 on the gate panel 112 to secure the gate 114 in the locked position. See FIG. 25 . In this position, an end 157 of the hook member 155 extends below the window opening 410 so that the gate 114 cannot be moved in the direction 302 to open the gate 114 .
In addition, the hook member 155 , when positioned in the window opening 410 , minimizes any tendency of the side member 126 to move or bow in a direction 702 away from the gate 114 , which could result in the inadvertent disengagement of the pin member 464 of the second locking mechanism 156 from the window 304 in the side member 126 . In this manner, the hook member 155 functions to maintain the gate 114 in the closed position should external forces be applied to the side member 126 .
To open the gate 114 , the gate 114 , including the hook member 155 , is lifted in a direction 602 until the end 157 of the hook member 155 clears the window opening 410 , thereby allowing the hook member 155 to fit through the window opening 410 and the gate 114 to pivot in the direction 302 . When the gate 114 is closed, the gate 114 is moved in a direction 604 by gravity to engage the hook member 155 with the window opening 410 . The amount of force necessary to move the gate 114 in the direction 602 can be modified so that small children and animals cannot provide the necessary force, while adults can easily move the gate 114 in the necessary direction to unlock the gate 114 .
Finally, in the closed position, the base member 152 of the gate 114 engages an edge 125 of the base member 124 of the gate panel 112 to resist movement of the gate 114 in the direction 302 . Specifically, when closed, the space 153 formed by the base member 152 of the gate 114 engages the edge 125 of the base member 124 so that the bottom of the gate 114 resists movement in the direction 302 . This can be important, for example, if small children or animals exert a force at the bottom of the gate 114 .
Only when the gate 114 is lifted in the direction 602 does a back edge 171 of the base member 152 (see FIGS. 13 and 16 ) clear the base member 124 so that the gate 114 can be pivoted in the direction 302 . In the closed position, gravity moves the gate 114 in the direction 604 so that the space 153 formed by the base member 152 of the gate 114 engages the base member 124 . Again, the force needed to lift the gate in the direction 602 can be manipulated so that small children and animals cannot provide the needed force.
The steps necessary to open the gate 114 are as follows. Initially, switch 158 is moved in the direction 452 into the unlocked position, and the second locking mechanism 156 is moved in the direction 474 so that the pin member 464 clears the window 304 in the side member 126 .
Next, the gate 114 is lifted in the direction 602 so that: (i) the hook member 155 clears the window opening 410 , thereby allowing the hook member 155 to fit through the window opening 410 ; and (ii) the back edge 171 of the base member 152 clears the base member 124 . In this configuration, the gate 114 can be pivoted in the direction 302 to the open position.
To again lock the gate 114 , the second locking mechanism 156 is moved in the direction 474 , and the gate 114 is pivoted until the hook member 115 is positioned through the window opening 410 and the space 153 formed by the base member 152 is positioned above the base member 124 . In this configuration, the gate 114 is released, allowing the gate to move in the direction 604 so that the hook member 115 engages the window opening 410 and the base member 152 engages the base member 124 of the gate panel 112 . In addition, the second locking mechanism 156 is biased back in the direction 472 so that the pin member 464 engages the window 304 . Finally, the switch 158 can be moved in the direction 454 to resist inadvertent unlocking of the second locking mechanism 156 .
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.
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A play yard can include a plurality of side panels that are connected to one another and a gate panel connected to two of the side panels to create an enclosed space. The gate panel can include a panel frame that defines an opening and a gate that can be mounted to the panel frame in the opening to swing from a closed position to an open position. The gate panel can include a first locking mechanism on the gate to hold the gate in the closed position and a second locking mechanism on the gate to hold the gate in the closed position.
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CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 714,941, filed Aug. 16, 1976, by Stanley O. Hutchison for "Packer Cup Assembly" which application is now abandoned.
This application is also related to application Ser. No. 706,862, filed July 19, 1976 for "New Heat Conductive Frangible Centralizers". The contents of such applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to packer cups which are used on tubing positioned in a well to pack off the annular space between the tubing and a well casing or well lines to provide vertical isolation of a portion of such annular space to permit selective placement or removal of fluids into or out of formations penetrated by the well. More specifically the present invention relates to a packer cup which is particularly useful on tubing at high temperatures and which includes a special sealing element having a frangible back up portion to provide an adequate pack off for steam operations in a well and to facilitate removal of the tubing from the well should the tubing and packer cup be sanded in during such an operation in the well.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Temperature and radioactive surveys while injecting steam to heat up viscous oil reservoirs have indicated that the steam tends to go into those zones previously treated. Cyclic steam stimulation becomes uneconomic when this occurs repeatedly. Also, the placement of steam in a steam drive in a thick productive section requires some sort of vertical zonal segregation to make the available thermal energy sufficiently concentrated to be effective. The use of packer cup assemblies is one way to achieve vertical zonal segregation. However, field evidence indicates that commercially available packer cup assemblies are not holding up under actual well conditions. Tests were made on many commercially available packer cup assemblies. Sealing elements of available packer cup assemblies were found to be not satisfactory. Further, available packer cup assemblies are not designed to permit easy washover as opposed to milling up if the assemblies become stuck in the hole.
Initially, it was thought that only a few psi pressure differential would be required to inject steam into a particular zone but this assumption was proven to be in error. A packer cup assembly was wanted which could be easily washed over or could be broken up and left in the bottom of the well. Most commercially available packer cups have a metal backup thimble which generally has an outside diameter 3/16 inch to 1/2 inch less than the inside diameter of the casing. Operators are reluctant to run multiple packer cup assemblies in a well where there is a history of sand production because the cups are often stuck by sand. The packer cup assemblies generally have to be cut and recovered singly or milled up because there is not wash-over clearance with the tight fitting metal backup thimbles. Therefore, there was need for a packer cup assembly which does not require metal backup thimbles or plates. If backup material is required it has to be made out of something that is frangible. Further, there is need for a packer cup assembly which will withstand reasonable pressure differential encountered at elevated temperatures and yet have the tubing string strong compared to the packer cup assembly so the tubing can be pulled from the well and the packer cup assembly dropped to the bottom of the well. Alternatively, it is desirable to be able to wash over the packer cup assembly with currently available wash pipe.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a packer cup assembly for use on a tubing string located in a well to seal off the annular space between the outside of the tubing string and the inside of a well liner or casing string. The packer cup assembly includes a mandrel section which is connectable into a tubing string by suitable means such as conventional couplings. A sealing element which has a central opening is snugly fitted over the mandrel section. The sealing element has a base portion and a face portion including an annularly extending inner lip engaged against the mandrel section and an annularly extending outer lip engageable against the casing string or well liner. The inner lip and the outer lip are separated by an annularly extending groove portion. A frangible annularly extending backup ring is slidably engaged over the mandrel section. The backup ring has a face portion engaged against the base portion of the sealing element and a relatively flat base portion. The backup ring has a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the sealing element. Stop means on the mandrel section abuts against the flat base portion of the frangible backup ring to maintain the backup ring in a predetermined position on the mandrel section. The stop means have maximum radial dimension of substantially less than the outer diameter of the backup ring to permit washing over. In preferred form the frangible backup ring is formed of furfuryl alcohol filled cordierite which has a compressive strength of about 14,000 to 18,000 psi. The backup ring should have an outer diameter of between 1/4 to 3/4 of an inch less than the outer diameter of the sealing element. The stop means is preferably a metal ring having an outer diameter of at least one inch less than the outer diameter of the frangible backup ring and be formed of a material having a compressive strength of at least 50,000 psi.
PRINCIPAL OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The principal object of the present invention is to provide a packer cup assembly for use in sealing off the annular space between a tubing string and a well liner or casing which assembly will withstand a hot high pressure environment and which is also easily removed should it and the tubing string become sanded up in the well. Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a detailed reading of the specification and the drawings which are incorporated herein and made a part of this specification.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic elevation view partially in section and illustrates apparatus assembled in accordance with the present invention position in a well adjacent a well liner.
FIG. 2 is an elevation view with portions broken away for clarity of presentation and illustrates the preferred form of apparatus assembled in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken at line 3--3 of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is an elevation view with portions broken away for clarity of presentation and illustrates the preferred form of apparatus position in a well and includes a wash pipe being moved into position to wash over the packer cup assembly.
FIG. 5 is a partial elevation view and illustrates an alternative embodiment of apparatus assembled in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 6 to FIG. 13 inclusive are schematic sectional views illustrating various forms of sealing elements and backup rings which were unsuccessful.
FIG. 14 is a schematic sectional view illustrating the sealing element and backup ring of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 is an elevation view partially in section and illustrates packer cup assemblies generally indicated by the numerals 20 and 21 connected on a tubing string 23 located in a well in accordance with the present invention. The packer cup assemblies 20, 21 are positioned adjacent a portion of the slots in well liner 25. The upper packer cup assembly is looking down to prevent fluids in the tubing 23 -- liner 25 annulus 27 from going up the well while the lower packer cup assembly 21 is looking up to prevent fluids in the annulus 27 from going further down the well. Thus, for example, in a steam injection operation where it is desired to inject steam into a particular interval the packer cup assemblies 20, 21 are spaced apart on the tubing string 23 to bridge the interval and the steam is injected down the tubing string 23 and out port 28 into annulus 27 and then forced out into the formation through the slots located in the liner 25 between the packer cup assembles 20, 21. The packer cup assemblies of the present invention are particularly useful in steam injection operations. However, they also find utility in many other conventional oilfield injection or production operations.
FIG. 2 is an elevation view with portions broken away for clarity of presentation and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken at line 3--3 of FIG. 2. These figures illustrate the preferred packer cup assembly of the present invention. The packer cup assembly 21 includes a mandrel section 30. The mandrel section 30 is connected into the tubing string 23 by suitable means such as coupling 32 and coupling 34. A sealing element 36 having a central opening fits in snug engagement over the mandrel section 30. The sealing element has a flat base portion 37 and a face portion including an annularly extending inner lip 39 engaged against the mandrel section 30 and an annularly extending outer lip 40 engaged against the liner or casing string. The inner lip 39 and the outer lip 40 are separated by an annularly extending groove portion in the sealing element 36. The lip portions are important to prevent fluid bypass of the sealing element.
A frangible annularly extending backup ring 42 is positioned behind the sealing element 36. The backup ring has a diameter slightly smaller than the sealing element to support the sealing element during high pressure operations. Preferably, the outer diameter of the backup ring is between 1/4 to 3/4 of an inch less than the outer diameter of the sealing element. The central opening of the backup ring slidably engages over the mandrel section 30. The backup ring has a face portion engaged against the base portion of the sealing element and has a relatively flat base portion. The material forming said frangible backup ring should have a compressive strength of more than 5,000 psi and less than 20,000 psi. The preferred material for forming the frangible backup ring is furfuryl alcohol filled cordierite. Stop means are provided on the mandrel section abutting against the flat base portion of the frangible backup ring to maintain the backup ring in a predetermined position on the mandrel section. The stop means should have a maximum radial dimension small enough to permit washover should the assembly become stuck in the well. Such a suitable dimension is usually at least about one inch less than the outer diameter of the backup ring. The stop means is preferably formed of a material having a tensile strength in excess of 50,000 psi. Thus, a metal ring 44 abuts against the flat base portion of the frangible backup ring 42. A jam nut collar 46 is threadably engaged on the mandrel section 30 and follows the metal ring 44 to maintain the sealing element 36 and the frangible backup ring 42 in a predetermined position on the mandrel section.
FIG. 4 is an elevation view with portions broken away for clarity of presentation and illustrates the preferred packer cup assembly positioned in a well and includes a wash pipe 50 being moved into position to wash over the packer cup assembly if, for example, the tubing string should become stuck in the hole due to sanding up the packer cup assembly. Thus, washover pipe 50 is forced down over the sealing element 36 and breaks the frangible backup ring 42. The wash pipe 50 is of sufficient inside diameter to clear the metallic ring 44 and jam nut collar 46. Fluid such as foam is circulated down the washover pipe 50 and up the wash pipe 50 -- liner 25 annulus to remove sand from the well to free the tubing string.
FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative embodiment of apparatus assembled in accordance with the present invention. In some instances it has been found desirable to eliminate the possibility of the sealing element 36 from slipping up over connector 53 as the tubing string is being run into the well. This is accomplished by means of a hold down clamp 51 which is fixedly secured to the tubing string and engages into the annularly extending groove in the sealing member between the inner lip 39 and the outer lip 40.
A number of sealing element and backup ring configurations were tested under various conditions of pressure and temperature in a test facility. FIGS. 6-13 schematically illustrate arrangements which were found not satisfactory. Thus, the configuration of FIG. 6 leaked at the casing with 1 psi pressure in the tubing-casing annulus. The FIG. 7 configuration, without an inner lip, held no pressure and leaked out the tubing. The FIG. 8 configuration where the rubber sealing element was 65-70 shore hardness slipped over the backup ring at 200 psi. The FIG. 9 arrangement where an upper rubber sealing element having a 65-70 shore hardness was backed up by a rubber element of 95 shore hardness slipped over the backup ring at 475 psi. The configuration of FIG. 10 leaked at the casing at 200 psi when a 65-70 shore hardness sealing element was used. A 95 shore hardness element leaked at the casing at 245 psi. The FIG. 11 arrangement with an element having a shore hardness of 95 leaked at the casing at 250 psi. The FIG. 12 arrangement held 800 psi in the lab test, however, failed at 175 psi in a field test. It is believed that the aluminum backup ring failed. The FIG. 13 embodiment leaked at the casing at 50 psi.
The FIG. 14 embodiment in accordance with the present invention operated successfully during a six-day test at 800 psi and 520° F. Thus the physical configuration of the sealing element and the frangible backup ring of FIG. 14 showed superior results. A number of demonstrations were conducted with different sealing elements made from different material to select a suitable material for high temperature operations. A small pressure vessel was installed on a steam injection well, where material samples could be placed and steam flowed over them under actual well conditions. The following rubber materials were tested at 345 to 500 psi pressure and 440° to 475° F. temperature:
Viton
Polyacrylic
Ethylene propylene (EPDM)
Butyl
Neoprene
Nitrile
Hycar rubber
Styrene Butadiene rubber (SBR)
Buna S
Ethylene propylene was the only rubber material to hold its resiliency under over an 18 month test period after which the test was terminated. All other materials failed in a steam environment within 48 hours.
Three samples of Hycar rubber, neoprene and ethylene propylene were tested in hot and cold crude oil and in hot and cold solvent. The samples placed in ambient temperature crude oil showed no apparent change. After 50 hours of hot (165° F.) and 64 hours of ambient temperature (114 hours total), the ethylene propylene showed 10% swelling with good stretch return. The Neoprene showed slight swelling and softening but excellent stretch return. The Hycar rubber showed no effects whatsoever. However, after 72 hours (8 hours hot [165° F.] and 64 hours ambient temperature), in the solvent the ethylene propylene sample showed 25% swelling with complete loss in stretch return. The Neoprene sample also showed 25% swelling but did not lose as much stretch return or strength. The Hycar rubber sample was only slightly softened with no swelling or serious loss of strength.
The demonstrations and physical configurations test indicated that ethylene propylene is the only rubber material tested that does not get hard and brittle in a steam environment. Its performance in cold crude oil is acceptable. It should probably not be based in hot crude oil and definitely not in high aromatic solvents. It will not bond to metal. Hycar rubber and Neoprene have good to excellent resistance to hydrocarbons but perform very poorly in steam. These materials easily bond to metal. The rubber sealing element in a packer cup assembly tends to "cold-flow" when its backup plate outside diameter is 1/2 inch smaller than the inside diameter of the casing. The sealing element of a packer cup assembly that is unsupported tends to fail on its internal seal or bond. All commercially available packer cup assemblies failed to hold pressure at elevated temperatures. The sealing element of packer cup of the present invention held pressure at elevated temperatures. The large mass of rubber in the present sealing element allows a certain amount of cold and hot flow with sufficient rubber material left to still form a seal. The packer cup assembly of the present invention with the frangible backup ring is the only packer assembly that is effective in steam service and can be "washed over".
Various materials were tested in a search to discover a suitable material for use as the frangible backup ring of the present invention. A small pressure vessel was installed on a steam injection well, where material samples were placed and steam flowed over them under actual well conditions.
The following materials were tested at 450° F. to 475° F. temperature and 575 to 650 psi pressure:
Cordierite
Pyrex
Furfuryl alcohol
Various fiberglass compounds
Various polylite compounds
Various polyester compounds
Polyethylene molding material
Casting resins
Styrene and asbestos mixtures
Cordierite, pyrex and furfuryl alcohol resins were the only materials that were competent after being in this environment for seven days. The cordierite surface tended to soften up when in wet steam which resulted in poor wear characteristics. However, when the cordierite was filled with polymerized furfuryl alcohol, the wear characteristics and compressive strength were improved. Subsequent tests with pyrex indicated that it fractured easily and was very expensive to get in specialty sizes. It has not been possible to cast pure furfuryl alcohol resins without gas bubbles which lowered the compressive strength to an unacceptable level.
A typical chemical analysis of cordierite after being fired is:
______________________________________ SiO.sub.2 51.4% Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 13.1 MgO 34.0 Others 1.5 100.0%______________________________________
The following are the strength and thermal properties of cordierite and other materials:
Compressive Strength
Unfilled cordierite -- 2,575 to 7,830 psi
Furfuryl filled cordierite -- 14,000 to 18,300 psi
Concrete -- 2,500 psi
Structural steel -- 60,000 psi
Thermal Conductivity
(BTU-in/hour, ft/° F.)
Unfilled cordierite -- 6.4
Furfuryl filled cordierite -- 6.0
Air -- 0.163
Cork board -- 0.3
Steel -- 300.0
Copper, pure -- 2,616.0
The frangible backup rings are formed from polymerized furfuryl alcohol impregnated cordierite. Cordierite is a mixture of dry clays mixed to a dough-like consistency with 20% to 30% by volume water, extruded or molded to the proper shape, room dried to remove excessive water and fired in a kiln at 2400° F. for 24 hours. The lugs are then put into a pan containing furfuryl alcohol containing a suitable catalyst in vacuum to remove air from the lugs to insure complete impregnation of the furfuryl into the lug. The lugs are removed from the pan to drain excess furfuryl. The lugs are put into an oven and the temperature is maintained at 160° F. to polymerize the furfuryl alcohol in about 40 minutes. A suitable furfuryl alcohol-catalyst system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,249, issued Nov. 26, 1974, to Patrick H. Hess and assigned to Chevron Research Company, San Francisco, Calif.
Although certain specific embodiments have been described in detail herein, the invention is not limited only to those embodiments but rather by the scope of the appended claims.
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A packer cup assembly useful on tubing at high temperatures and includes a special sealing element having a frangible back up portion to provide pack off in a well.
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BACKGROUND OF THE PRIOR ART
This invention relates generally to towing devices and in particular to multiple ball and socket towing hitches.
The multiple ball and socket towing hitches of the prior art utilize, in a number of cases, turret-like configurations in which the various sized towing balls were disposed about a common support or turret member that is rotated to bring the appropriate size ball to a vertical position.
In some devices the support or turret member rotates about a horizontal axis in line with the direction of travel of the vehicle.
In other devices, the common support or turret member rotates about a horizontal axis normal or perpendicular to the direction of travel of the vehicle.
In still other devices, the common support or turret member rotates about a vertical axis.
In all cases, the devices of the prior art are mechanically complicated and required numerous parts in their manufacture thus increasing the cost and effort of production.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The device of the present invention is a much simpler configuration which eliminates the use of a turret and other unnecessary parts but provides a dual ball advantage in that it comprises, basically, a first ball member having a spheroid portion connected to a base support portion, a second ball member also having a spheroid portion, but of smaller diameter, connected to a second base support portion. Each ball member further comprises a hole therein adapted to receive a torque wrench and a counter-torque bar, respectively. A threaded hole in the base support portion of one ball member is adapted to receive a threaded stud connected to the base support portion of the other ball member. The threaded stud is also adapted to be received through a hole on the towbar whereby the ball members are attached to each other and the towbar in a rigid configuration. A torque wrench, having an "L" shaped fixed member overlapping the handle end of a main resilient tension member, is adapted to engage a hole in one of the ball members. A counter-torque bar is adapted to engage the other hole in the other ball member whereby the ball members can be rotated about the stud and a torque applied to produce a predetermined torsional friction against the towbar. The base support portions also have faces or facets about the periphery thereof to receive a spanner or open end wrench.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a dual ball towing hitch for a vehicle.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a dual ball towing hitch having few parts.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a dual ball towing hitch for a vehicle that can be tightened to a predetermined torsional friction.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a dual ball towing hitch for a vehicle which includes in its combination a torque wrench.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a dual ball towing hitch for a vehicle including a torque wrench having a main body member and an "L" shaped fixed member overlapping the handle portion thereof for connection thereto calibrated for a predetermined torque applied to said dual ball hitch.
These and other objects of the present invention will be manifest upon careful study of the following detailed description when taken with the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the assembled dual ball towing hitch of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an elevational exploded view of the dual ball towing hitch of the present invention utilizing a stud attached to one ball member.
FIG. 3 is an elevational exploded view of the dual ball towing hitch of the present invention utilizing a separate double end threaded stud for connecting the ball members together.
FIG. 4 is a top view of the torque wrench used in conjunction with the dual ball towing hitch of the present invention.
FIG. 4A is a top view of the torque wrench of FIG. 4 showing the wrench in the zero torque position.
FIG. 4B is a top view of the torque wrench of FIG. 4 showing the wrench at its maximum predetermined torque position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With reference to FIG. 1 there is illustrated the assembled dual ball towing hitch of the present invention which comprises, basically, a first ball member 10 comprising a first spheriod portion 12 having a vertical axis of rotation 14 and attached to which is first base support portion 16. A first hole 18 is located in first ball member 10 shown in FIG. 1 as passing through first spheroid portion 12. The axis of rotation 20 of first hole 18 is arranged to be generally perpendicular to axis of rotation 14 of spheroid portion 12.
A first square hole 22 is located in first spheroid portion 12 at its top and having its center coincident with vertical axis of rotation 14 of spheroid portion 12.
A second hole 24 is located in first base support portion 16 with its axis of rotation coincident with the vertical axis of rotation of spheroid portion 12.
The lower surface of base support portion 16 is adapted to rest on and frictionally engage towbar 24 which is attached to a vehicle (not shown). Disposed about the lower outer periphery of base support portion 14 are flat faces or facets 17 adapted to engage a spanner or open end wrench.
A second ball member 30 is located under towbar 24 and comprises a second spheroid portion 32 having a vertical axis of rotation 34 which is also coincident with the vertical axis of rotation 14 of first spheroid portion 12. Connected to second spheroid portion 32 is a second base support portion 36. A first hole 38 having an axis of rotation 40 is disposed in second ball member 30 passing through, as shown in FIG. 1, spheroid portion 32 with its axis of rotation generally perpendicular to the vertical axis of rotation 34 of spheroid portion 32.
The bottom portion of base support portion 36 is also adapted to rest against towbar 24 and frictionally engage it. Disposed about the lower outer periphery of base support portion 36 are flat faces or facets 37 adapted to engage a spanner or open end wrench.
As shown in FIG. 1 a stud or bolt 50 is attached to second ball member 30 and projects up through hole 52 in towbar 24 to engage first ball member 10.
A square hole 42 (FIGS. 2 and 3) is also located in second spheroid portion 32 distal base support portion 34 and having its center coincident with the vertical axis of rotation 34 of spheroid portion 32.
With reference to FIG. 2 there is illustrated an elevational exploded view of one version of the dual ball towing hitch of the present invention in which a single threaded end stud is used to connect first ball member 10 to second ball member 30.
In FIG. 2, first base support portion 16 is provided with a hole 24, described above, having its axis of rotation coincident with the vertical axis of rotation 14 of spheroid portion 12. Inside hole 24 are threads 28 which are adapted to engage threads 54 of stud 50. Stud 50 is attached at one end to second base support portion 36 of second ball member 30, and indeed can be fabricated out of the same material as second ball member 30, such that the axis of rotation of stud 54 is coincident with the vertical axis of rotation 34 of second ball member 30.
Vertical axis of rotation 34 of second ball member 30 is also seen to be coincident with the vertical axis of rotation 14 of first ball member 10.
As can be seen in FIG. 2, stud 50 is adapted to pass through hole 52 in towbar 26, such that when all the members are fastened together they form a tight rigid unit, one tow ball being on the top portion of towbar 26 and the other tow ball being on the underside of towbar 26.
With reference to FIG. 3 there is illustrated a further embodiment of the dual ball towing hitch of the present invention in which a separate double threaded stud is used to connect the first and second ball members together. The dual tow ball towing hitch embodiment of FIG. 3 comprises, basically, the same elements as shown in FIG. 1 including first ball member 10 having a first spheroid portion 12 connected to a first base support portion 16. A hole 24 is located passing through first base support portion 16 and having an axis of rotation that is coincident with the vertical axis 14 of spheroid portion 12. Ball member 30, in addition to the elements shown in FIG. 2, further comprises a hole 56 whose axis of rotation is coincident with the vertical axis of rotation 34 of second spheroid portion 32 and base support portion 36.
Inside of hole 24 are disposed threads 28 which are adapted to engage threads 52 of stud member 60. In a like manner threads 58 disposed in hole 56 are adapted to engage threads 64 at the other end of stud member 60. Stud member 60 is also adapted to pass through hole 52 of towbar 26.
It will be noted that the vertical axis of rotation 14 of first ball member 10 and the vertical axis of rotation 34 of second ball member 30 along with the vertical axis of rotation of stud member 60 are all coincident with each other. When all are engaged, they become a rigid unit attached to towbar 26.
To use the dual ball towing hitch of the present invention, first ball member 10 having one size spheroid portion 12 is placed to receive stud 54 (or 60) on one side of towbar 26 while second ball member 30 having a spheroid portion 30 of a different diameter, is placed on the underside of towbar 26 and the entire unit screwed together utilizing the various threaded portions until the base support portion of each ball member is firmly engaged against towbar 26.
In that configuration, it is necessary that sufficient torque be applied to the two ball members to assure that the ball members will not slip and become loose, thus creating a dangerous towing condition.
To accomplish this, a torque wrench is provided to engage either hole 18 in spheroid portion 12 or hole 38 in spheroid portion 32 along with a counter-torque bar member to provide leverage when tightening the two balls about towbar 26.
With reference to FIG. 4 a torque wrench 70 is used along with a counter-torque bar 72 to assure the proper frictional torque is achieved against towbar 26.
Torque wrench 70 comprise, basically, a resilient tension bar member 74 having a connector end 76 and a handle end 78. An "L" shaped fixed member 80 is disposed along resilient tension member 74 having one end attached, as by welding or the like, at end 82 to resilient tension member 74 proximate connector end 76 and with the other end of fixed member 80 bent 90 degrees to define a short leg "L" 84 on which is marked indicia 86 and 88 corresponding to maximum and zero torque units which are adapted to align with indicia 90 at the handle end 78 of resilient tension bar member 74.
With reference to FIG. 4A torque wrench 70 is shown in the zero torque condition wherein indicia 86 is aligned with indica 90 at the handle end of resilient tension member 74.
As show in FIG. 4B, torque wrench 70 is shown in its maximum torque position whereby resilient tension member 74 is bend resiliently such the indicia 88 becomes aligned with indicia 90 indicating that the predetermined torsional force applied to tow ball members 10 and 30 has been reached.
In practice, resilient tension member 74 is fabricated out of a spring steel or the like such as a vanadium steel to permit flexure under a torsional force and return to its original shape without exceeding the elastic limit of the material.
From FIGS. 4A and 4B it can be seen that by virture of its point of attachment proximate the connector end 76 of resilient tension member 74, "L" shaped member 80 remains relatively fixed or immobile allowing resilient tension member 74 to bend or flex between indicia 86 and indicia 88.
Thus by placing connector end 76 of tension member 74 in hole 18 of first spheroid portion 12 and counter-torque bar 72 in hole 38 of second spheroid portion 32, a torque can be applied to ball members 10 and 30 whereby they can be tightened to a predetermined torque.
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A dual ball towing hitch utilizes a first ball member having a first base support portion and a second ball member having a second base support portion which are connected to each other and a vehicle towbar by a common stud engaging each ball member through its support portion. The stud passes through a hole in the towbar whereby the base support portion of each ball member frictionally engages the towbar on opposite sides thereof. A hole in each ball member is adapted to receive a torque wrench and a counter-torque bar, respectively, to tighten the ball members to a predetermined frictional torque.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to an apparatus for compressing video data to transmit moving picture data in real time through a transmission medium with a limited band width, and more particularly to an improved motion vector extractor which is capable of rapidly extracting motion vectors from the moving picture data to be transmitted and simplifying its circuit construction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, digital video transmission systems have utilized a data compression method to transmit moving picture data in real time through a transmission channel with a limited band width to digital video reception systems such as a digital video phone, a digital video conversation system, a digital television and a high definition television. The data compression method is adapted to compress the moving picture data by removing time and spatial redundancies of the moving picture data. The time redundancy removing methods include motion vector estimation and compensation methods for transmitting only motion vectors regarding a moving object or a part of the moving object to have the actual video data transmission effect. This results from the moving picture data having a series of frames corresponding to the moving object. The motion vector estimation method is generally classified into a recursive method and a matching method. In the matching method, there is widely used a block matching algorithm for matching the moving picture data in the unit of block to estimate the motion vectors from the moving picture data.
The ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG11 recommendation proposed by the moving picture expert group (MPEG) specifies a block matching algorithm which finds the motion vectors in the unit of macro block including 16×16 pixels. This recommendation also suggests that the motion vectors be estimated in the unit of 1/2 pixel to enhance the accuracy thereof.
On the basis of the above recommendation, the digital video transmission systems comprise a motion vector extractor for extracting a motion vector in a pixel unit smaller than an integer, such as 1/4 pixel or 1/2 pixel, to secure the accuracy of the video data to be transmitted. Such a conventional motion vector extractor produces interpolation pixel data using desired integer pixel data and integer pixel data adjacent up, down, to the left and to the right of the desired integer pixel data. The conventional motion vector extractor calculates a mean absolute difference (referred to hereinafter as "MAD") between the desired integer pixel data and each of the produced interpolation pixel data. Then, the conventional motion vector extractor compares the calculated MADs with one another and calculates the motion vector in accordance with the compared result. In the case of estimating the motion vector in the unit of 1/4 pixel, the conventional motion vector extractor must calculate 16 of 49 interpolation pixel data, adjacent to one side of the desired integer pixel data, and the corresponding MADs. In the case of estimating the motion vector in the unit of 1/2 pixel, the conventional motion vector extractor must calculate 4 of 9 interpolation pixel data, adjacent to one side of the desired integer pixel data, and the corresponding MADs.
However, the above-mentioned conventional motion vector extractor has a disadvantage in that it sequentially calculates one by one the interpolation pixel data related to the desired integer pixel data, resulting in much time being required in calculating the motion vector. Further, the above-mentioned conventional motion vector extractor has another disadvantage in that it must have a complex circuit construction to enhance the motion vector calculating time. The problem with the above-mentioned conventional motion vector extractor will hereinafter be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a block diagram of the conventional motion vector extractor for extracting the motion vector in the unit of 1/4 pixel. As shown in this drawing, the conventional motion vector extractor comprises a first interpolation circuit 10 for inputting pixel data b(i,j) of the previous frame (referred to hereinafter as "present pixel data") and pixel data b(i+1,j) of the subsequent block line of the pixel data b(i,j) (referred to hereinafter as "subsequent line pixel data") from first and second input lines 11 and 13, respectively. Here, "i" and "j" designate vertical and horizontal coordinates of the pixel data, respectively. The first interpolation circuit 10 obtains four vertical interpolation pixel data b 0 0 (i,j), b 0 1 (i,j), b 0 2 (i,j) and b 0 3 (i,j) with respect to the pixel data b(i,j) of the previous frame using the pixel data b(i,j) of the previous frame and the subsequent line pixel data b(i+1,j). Then, the first interpolation circuit 10 sequentially supplies the obtained vertical interpolation pixel data b 0 0 (i,j), b 0 1 (i,j), b 0 2 (i,j) and b 0 3 (i,j) to a first register 12. The first register 12 sequentially supplies the vertical interpolation pixel data b 0 0 (i,j), b 0 1 (i,j), b 0 2 (i,j) and b 0 3 (i,j) from the first interpolation circuit 10 to a second interpolation circuit 22 and a second register 14. The second to fifth registers 14, 16, 18 and 20 are connected in series to the first register 12 to delay the vertical interpolation pixel data b 0 0 (i,j), b 0 1 (i,j), b 0 2 (i,j) and b 0 3 (i,j) from the first register 12 by a one pixel interval, respectively. As a result, the fifth register 20 sequentially supplies the vertical interpolation pixel data b 0 0 (i,j), b 0 1 (i,j), b 0 2 (i,j) and b 0 3 (i,j) regarding the present pixel data to the second interpolation circuit 22, whereas the first register 12 sequentially supplies vertical interpolation pixel data b 0 0 (i,j+1), b 0 1 (i,j+1), b 0 2 (i,j+1) and b 0 3 (i,j+1) regarding the subsequent pixel data to the second interpolation circuit 22. The second interpolation circuit 22 combines the vertical interpolation pixel data b 0 0 (i,j), b 0 1 (i,j), b 0 2 (i,j) and b 0 3 (i,j) regarding the present pixel data, supplied from the fifth register 20, and the vertical interpolation pixel data b 0 0 (i,j+1), b 0 1 (i,j+1), b 0 2 (i,j+1) and b 0 3 (i,j+1) regarding the subsequent pixel data, supplied from the first register 12. As a result of the combination, the second interpolation circuit 22 obtains four horizontal interpolation pixel data b 0 k (i,j), b 1 k (i,j), b 2 k (i,j) and b 3 k (i,j) with respect to each of the vertical interpolation pixel data b 0 0 (i,j), b 0 1 (i,j), b 0 2 (i,j) and b 0 3 (i,j).
The conventional motion vector extractor further comprises first to fourth MAD detectors 24, 26, 28 and 30 for inputting pixel data a (i,j) of the present frame from a third input line 15. The first MAD detector 24 sequentially obtains four MADs in the vertical direction on the basis of the pixel data a (i,j) of the present frame from the third input line 15 and the horizontal interpolation pixel data b 0 k (i,j) from the second interpolation circuit 22. Then, the first MAD detector 24 sequentially supplies the obtained four MADs to a comparator 32. Similarly, each of the second to fourth MAD detectors 26, 28 and 30 obtains four MADs in the vertical direction on the basis of the pixel data a (i,j) of the present frame from the third input line 15 and a corresponding one of the horizontal interpolation pixel data b 1 k (i,j), b 2 k (i,j) and b 3 k (i,j) from the second interpolation circuit 22 and then supplies the obtained four MADs to the comparator 32. The comparator 32 compares the MADs from the first to fourth MAD detectors 24, 26, 28 and 30 with one another and detects the motion vector in accordance with the compared result. The second interpolation circuit 22, the first to fourth MAD detectors 24, 26, 28 and 30 and the comparator 32 are operated four times to extract the motion vector regarding one pixel at output line 17.
The first and second interpolation circuits 10 and 22 are operated four times to produce 16 interpolation pixel data on the basis of the following equation (1):
b.sub.1.sup.k (i,j)=(4-l)/4{(4-k)b(i,j)/4+kb(i+1,j)/4}+l/4{(4-k)b(i,j+1)/4+kb(i+1,j+1)/4}(1)
Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a detailed block diagram of the first interpolation circuit 10 in FIG. 1. As shown in this drawing, the first interpolation circuit 10 includes a first attenuator 34 for inputting the pixel data b(i,j) of the previous frame from the first input line 11, and a second attenuator 36 for inputting the subsequent line pixel data b(i+1,j) from the second input line 13. The second attenuator 36 attenuates the subsequent line pixel data b(i+1,j) from the second input line 13 in such a manner that it can have a 1/4 amplitude. Then, the second attenuator 36 supplies the attenuated subsequent line pixel data b(i+1,j)/4 to a first adder 38. The first adder 38 adds pixel data from a first subtracter 44 to the attenuated subsequent line pixel data b(i+1,j)/4 from the second attenuator 36. As a result of the addition, the first adder 38 obtains the vertical interpolation pixel data b 0 k (i,j). The first adder 38 then supplies the obtained vertical interpolation pixel data b 0 k (i,j) to a multiplexer 40. The multiplexer 40 selectively transfers the vertical interpolation pixel data b 0 k (i,j) from the first adder 38 and the pixel data b(i,j) of the previous frame from the first input line 11 through an output line 35 to the first register 12 in FIG. 1. Namely, at the initial state, the multiplexer 40 transfers the pixel data b(i,j) of the previous frame from the first input line 11 as the vertical interpolation pixel data b 0 k (i,j) through the output line 35 to the first register 12. At the normal state, the multiplexer 40 transfers the vertical interpolation pixel data b 0 k (i,j) from the first adder 38 through the output line 35 to the first register 12.
The first interpolation circuit 10 further includes a sixth register 42 for inputting the vertical interpolation pixel data b O k (i,j) selected by the multiplexer 40 through the output line 35. The sixth register 42 delays the vertical interpolation pixel data b O k (i,j) from the multiplexer 40 for a predetermined time period and supplies the delayed vertical interpolation pixel data b O k (i,j) to the first subtracter 44. The first attenuator 34 attenuates the pixel data b(i,j) of the previous frame from the first input line 11 in such a manner that it can have a 1/4 amplitude. Then, the first attenuator 34 supplies the attenuated pixel data b(i,j)/4 of the previous frame to the first subtracter 44. The first subtracter 44 subtracts the attenuated pixel data b(i,j)/4 of the previous frame from the first attenuator 34 from the delayed vertical interpolation pixel data b O k (i,j) from the sixth register 42 and supplies the resultant pixel data to the first adder 38.
In result, the first interpolation circuit 10 produces the four vertical interpolation pixel data on the basis of the following equation (2):
b.sub.O.sup.k (i,j)=b.sub.O.sup.k-1 (i,j)-b.sub.O (i,j)/4+b.sub.O (i,j+1)/4(2)
Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a detailed block diagram of the second interpolation circuit 22 in FIG. 1. As shown in this drawing, the second interpolation circuit 22 includes a third attenuator 46 for inputting the vertical interpolation pixel data b O k (i,j+1) of the subsequent pixel data from the first register 12 in FIG. 1 through a first input line 47, and a fourth attenuator 48 for inputting the vertical interpolation pixel data b O k (i,j) of the present pixel data from the fifth register 20 in FIG. 1 through a second input line 49. The third attenuator 46 attenuates the vertical interpolation pixel data b O k (i,j+1) of the subsequent pixel data from the first register 12 in such a manner that it can have a 1/2 amplitude. Then, the third attenuator 46 supplies the attenuated vertical interpolation pixel data b O k (i,j+1)/2 of the subsequent pixel data to second and fourth adders 50 and 56. The fourth attenuator 48 attenuates the vertical interpolation pixel data b O k (i,j) of the present pixel data from the fifth register 20 in such a manner that it can have a 1/2 amplitude. Then, the fourth attenuator 48 supplies the attenuated vertical interpolation pixel data b O k (i,j)/2 of the present pixel data to the second adder 50 and a third adder 54. The second adder 50 adds the attenuated vertical interpolation pixel data b O k (i,j+1)/2 and b O k (i,j)/2 from the third and fourth attenuators 46 and 48. As a result of the addition, the second adder 50 produces the horizontal interpolation pixel data b 2 k (i,j).
The second interpolation circuit 22 further includes a fifth attenuator 52 for attenuating the horizontal interpolation pixel data {[b O k (i,j+1)+b O k (i,j)]/2=b 2 k (i,j)} from the second adder 50 in such a manner that it can have a 1/2 amplitude. The fifth attenuator 52 supplies the attenuated horizontal interpolation pixel data [b O k (i,j+1)+b O k (i,j)]/4 to the third and fourth adders 54 and 56. The third adder 54 adds the attenuated vertical interpolation pixel data b O k (i,j)/2 from the fourth attenuator 48 and the attenuated horizontal interpolation pixel data [b O k (i,j+1) +b O k (i,j)]/4 from the fifth attenuator 52. As a result of the addition, the third adder 54 produces the horizontal interpolation pixel data b 1 k (i,j). The fourth adder 56 adds the attenuated vertical interpolation pixel data b O k (i,j+1)/2 from the third attenuator 46 and the attenuated horizontal interpolation pixel data [b O k (i,j+1)+b O k (i,j)]/4 from the fifth attenuator 52. As a result of the addition, the fourth adder 56 produces the horizontal interpolation pixel data {b 3 k (i,j)=[3b O k (i,j+1)+b O k (i,j)]/4.
The second interpolation circuit 22 further includes first to third output lines 51, 53 and 55 connected respectively to the third, second and fourth adders 54, 50 and 56. The second input line 49 transfers the vertical interpolation pixel data b O k (i,j) of the present pixel data from the fifth register 20 as the horizontal interpolation pixel data to the first MAD detector 24 in FIG. 1. The first to third output lines 51, 53 and 55 transfer the horizontal interpolation pixel data b 1 k (i,j), b 2 k (i,j) and b 3 k (i,j) from the third, second and fourth adders 54, 50 and 56 to the second to fourth MAD detectors 26, 28 and 30 in FIG. 1, respectively.
Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a detailed block diagram of each of the first to fourth MAD detectors 24, 26, 28 and 30 in FIG. 1. As shown in this drawing, the MAD detector includes a second subtracter 58 for inputting the pixel data a(i,j) of the present frame and the horizontal interpolation pixel data b 1 k (i,j) regarding the present pixel data through first and second input lines 15 and 59, respectively. The second subtracter 58 subtracts the horizontal interpolation pixel data b 1 k (i,j) regarding the present pixel data from the pixel data a(i,j) of the present frame. As a result of the subtraction, the second subtracter 58 detects a difference between the pixel data a(i,j) of the present frame and the horizontal interpolation pixel data b 1 k (i,j) regarding the present pixel data. Then, the second subtracter 58 supplies the detected difference to a seventh register 60. The first input line 15 is the same as the third input line 15 in FIG. 1. The second input line 59 is connected to the second input line 49, the first output line 51, the second output line 53 or the third output line 55 of the second interpolation circuit 22 in FIG. 1 to input the corresponding horizontal interpolation pixel data b O k (i,j), b 1 k (i,j), b 2 k (i,j) or b 3 k (i,j) therefrom. The seventh register 60 temporarily stores the inter-pixel difference from the second subtracter 58 and supplies the temporarily stored inter-pixel difference to an absolute value calculator 62. In result, the seventh register 60 acts to safely transfer the inter-pixel difference from the second subtracter 58 to the absolute value calculator 62. The absolute value calculator 62 obtains an absolute value of the inter-pixel difference from the seventh register 60 and supplies the obtained absolute value to an eighth register 64.
The MAD detector further includes an accumulator 66 for inputting the absolute value of the inter-pixel difference from the eighth register 64. The accumulator 66 adds the absolute value of the inter-pixel difference from the eighth register 64 to an MAD from an output line 61 and transfers the resultant MAD to a ninth register 68. The ninth register 68 transfers the MAD from the accumulator 66 to the output line 61 through tenth to twelfth registers 70, 72 and 74. The ninth to twelfth registers 68, 70, 72 and 74 are connected between the accumulator 66 and the output line 61 to store the four MADs produced between the four vertical interpolation pixel data and the pixel data of the present frame, respectively.
FIG. 5 is a table illustrating the interpolation pixel data from the first and second interpolation circuits 10 and 22 and the MADs from the first to fourth MAD detectors 24, 26, 28 and 30 with respect to the pixel data from the second input line 13 in FIG. 1.
As mentioned above, the conventional motion vector extractor must perform the same operation four times to extract the motion vector with respect to one pixel, resulting in a significant reduction in the motion vector calculating speed. In order to enhance the motion vector calculating speed, the conventional motion vector extractor may perform the interpolation pixel data and MAD detections in a parallel manner. In this case, the circuit becomes very complex in construction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved motion vector extractor which is capable of rapidly obtaining motion vectors and simplifying its circuit construction.
In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by providing an improved motion vector extractor comprising first pixel delay means for delaying pixel data of the previous frame by a one pixel interval; second pixel delay means for delaying the pixel data of the previous frame by a horizontal line interval of a seek block; third pixel delay means for delaying the pixel data of the previous frame by a seek block horizontal line and one pixel interval; pixel interpolation means for combining the pixel data of the previous frame and the delayed pixel data of the previous frame from the first to third pixel delay means and producing at least one interpolation pixel data positioned between adjacent ones thereof, in accordance with the combined result; fourth pixel delay means for delaying pixel data of the present frame to produce rectangularly arranged pixel data of the present frame; a plurality of mean absolute difference detection means, each of the plurality of mean absolute difference detection means subtracting a corresponding one of the interpolation pixel data from the pixel interpolation means from a corresponding one of the rectangularly arranged pixel data of the present frame from the fourth pixel delay means to produce a mean absolute difference with respect to the corresponding pixel data of the present frame; and comparison means for comparing the mean absolute differences from the plurality of mean absolute difference detection means with one another and extracting a motion vector of a picture in accordance with the compared result.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional motion vector extractor;
FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of a first interpolation circuit in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of a second interpolation circuit in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a detailed block diagram of each of the first to fourth MAD detectors in FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a table illustrating output data from components in FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an improved motion vector extractor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a detailed block diagram of an interpolation circuit in FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a detailed block diagram of each of the first to ninth MAD detectors in FIG. 6; and
FIG. 9 is a table illustrating output data from components in FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown a block diagram of an improved motion vector extractor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this drawing, the improved motion vector extractor comprises first to fifth pixel delay elements 80, 82, 84, 86 and 88 connected in series to a first input line 81. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the improved motion vector extractor is constructed to extract a motion vector in the unit of 1/2 pixel. It is assumed here that the improved motion vector extractor processes the previous frame data of a seek block with 5×5 pixels with respect to the present frame data of a reference block with 3 ×3 pixels.
The first pixel delay element 80 supplies pixel data b(i,j) of the previous frame from the first input line 81 to the second pixel delay element 82 and a first input line 83 of an interpolation circuit 90. The second pixel delay element 82 delays the pixel data b(i,j) of the previous frame from the first pixel delay element 80 by a one pixel interval and supplies the delayed pixel data b(i,j-1) of the previous frame to the third pixel delay element 84 and a second input line 85 of the interpolation circuit 90.
The fourth pixel delay element 86 produces pixel data b(i-1,j) of the previous frame delayed by a horizontal line interval (i.e., five-pixel interval) of the seek block from the pixel data b(i,j) of the previous frame. Then, the fourth pixel delay element 86 supplies the produced pixel data b(i-1,j) of the previous frame to the fifth pixel delay element 88 and a third input line 87 of the interpolation circuit 90. The fifth pixel delay element 88 produces pixel data b(i-1,j-1) of the previous frame delayed by a seek block horizontal line and one pixel interval (i.e., six-pixel interval) from the pixel data b(i,j) of the previous frame. Then, the fifth pixel delay element 88 supplies the produced pixel data b(i-1,j-1) of the previous frame to a fourth input line 89 of the interpolation circuit 90. The third pixel delay element 84 acts to delay the delayed pixel data b(i,j-1) of the previous frame from the second pixel delay element 82 by a three-pixel interval and supply the delayed pixel data of the previous frame to the fourth pixel delay element 86. The interpolation circuit 90 inputs the pixel data b(i,j) of the previous frame from the first pixel delay element 80 and the delayed pixel data b(i,j-1), b(i-1,j) and b(i-1,j-1) of the previous frame from the second, fourth and fifth pixel delay elements 82, 86 and 88 through its first to fourth input lines 83, 85, 87 and 89, respectively. Then, the interpolation circuit 90 combines the inputted pixel data b(i,j), b(i,j-1), b(i-1,j) and b(i-1,j-1) of the previous frame. As a result of the combination, the interpolation circuit 90 produces four interpolation pixel data b 0 0 (i,j), b -1 0 (i,j), b 0 -1 (i,j) and b -1 -1 (i,j). The four interpolation pixel data b 0 0 (i,j), b -1 0 (i,j), b 0 -1 (i,j) and b -1 -1 (i,j) are produced on the basis of the following equations (3) to (6):
b.sub.0.sup.0 (i,j)=b(i,j) (3)
b.sub.-1.sup.0 (i,j)=[b(i,j)+b(i-1,j)]/2 (4)
b.sub.0.sup.-1 (i,j)=[b(i,j)+b(i,j-1)]/2 (5)
b.sub.-1.sup.-1 (i,j)=[b(i,j)+b(i-1,j)+b(i,j-1)+b(i-1,j-1)]/4(6)
The improved motion vector extractor further comprises first to ninth MAD detectors 100, 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114 and 116, each of which inputs a corresponding one of the four interpolation pixel data b 0 0 (i,j), b -1 0 (i,j), b 0 -1 (i,j) and b -1 -1 (i,j) from the interpolation circuit 90, and a sixth pixel delay element 92 for inputting pixel data a(i,j) of the present frame from a second input line 91. The sixth pixel delay element 92 delays the pixel data a(i,j) of the present frame from the second input line 91 by the one pixel interval and supplies the delayed pixel data a(i,j-1) of the present frame to a seventh pixel delay element 94 and the fifth and sixth MAD detectors 108 and 110. The seventh pixel delay element 94 delays the delayed pixel data a(i,j-1) of the present frame from the sixth pixel delay element 92 again by the one pixel interval and thus produces pixel data a(i,j-2) of the present frame delayed by a two-pixel interval from the pixel data a(i,j) of the present frame. Then, the seventh pixel delay element 94 supplies the produced pixel data a(i,j-2) of the present frame to an eighth pixel delay element 96. The eighth pixel delay element 96 delays the delayed pixel data a(i,j-2) of the present frame from the seventh pixel delay element 94 again by the one pixel interval and thus produces pixel data a(i-1,j) of the present frame delayed by a horizontal line interval (i.e., three-pixel interval) of the reference block from the pixel data b(i,j) of the present frame. Then, the eighth pixel delay element 96 supplies the produced pixel data a(i,-1,j) of the present frame to the seventh and eighth MAD detectors 112 and 114 and a ninth pixel delay element 98. The ninth pixel delay element 98 delays the delayed pixel data a(i-1,j) of the present frame from the eighth pixel delay element 96 again by the one pixel interval and thus produces pixel data a(i-1,j-1) of the present frame delayed by a reference block horizontal line and one pixel interval (i.e., four-pixel interval) from the pixel data b(i,j) of the present frame. Then, the ninth pixel delay element 98 supplies the produced pixel data a(i-1,j-1) of the present frame to the ninth MAD detector 116.
The first MAD detector 100 detects an MAD between the pixel data a(i,j) of the present frame from the second input line 91 and the interpolation pixel data b 0 0 (i,j) from a first output line 93 of the interpolation circuit 90. Then, the first MAD detector 100 supplies the detected MAD to a comparator 118. The second to fourth MAD detectors 102, 104 and 106 are connected respectively to second to fourth output lines 95, 97 and 99 of the interpolation circuit 90 to operate in a similar manner to the first MAD detector 100. Namely, each of the second to fourth MAD detectors 102, 104 and 106 detects an MAD between a corresponding one of the interpolation pixel data b -1 0 (i,j), b 0 -1 (i,j) and b -1 -1 (i,j) from the interpolation circuit 90 and the pixel data a(i,j) of the present frame from the second input line 91. Then, the second to fourth MAD detectors 102, 104 and 106 supply the detected MADs to the comparator 118, respectively.
The fifth to ninth MAD detectors 108, 110, 112, 114 and 116 are operated in a similar manner to the first to fourth MAD detectors 100, 102, 104 and 106 to detect respective MADs. Namely, the fifth MAD detector 108 detects an MAD between the pixel data a(i,j-1) of the present frame delayed by the one pixel interval, interval, supplied from the sixth pixel delay element 92, and the interpolation pixel data b -1 0 (i,j) supplied from the second output line 95 of the interpolation circuit 90. The sixth MAD detector 110 detects an MAD between the pixel data a(i,j-1) of the present frame delayed by the one pixel interval, supplied from the sixth pixel delay element 92, and the interpolation pixel data b -1 -1 (i,j) supplied from the fourth output line 99 of the interpolation circuit 90. The seventh MAD detector 112 detects an MAD between the pixel data a(i-1,j) of the present frame delayed by the horizontal line interval of the reference block, supplied from the eighth pixel delay element 96, and the interpolation pixel data b 0 -1 (i,j) supplied from the third output line 97 of the interpolation circuit 90. The eighth MAD detector 114 detects an MAD between the pixel data a(i-1,j) of the present frame delayed by the horizontal line interval of the reference block, supplied from the eighth pixel delay element 96, and the interpolation pixel data b -1 -1 (i,j) supplied from the fourth output line 99 of the interpolation circuit 90. Finally, the ninth MAD detector 116 detects an MAD between the pixel data a(i-1,j-1) of the present frame delayed by the reference block horizontal line and one pixel interval, supplied from the ninth pixel delay element 98, and the interpolation pixel data b -1 -1 (i,j) supplied from the fourth output line 99 of the interpolation circuit 90.
The comparator 118 compares the nine MADs from the first to ninth MAD detectors 100, 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114 and 116 with one another. As a result of the comparison, the comparator 118 selects a minimum one of the nine MADs and outputs the selected MAD as a motion vector through an output line 101.
Referring to FIG. 7, there is shown a detailed block diagram of the interpolation circuit 90 in FIG. 6. As shown in this drawing, the interpolation circuit 90 includes a first adder 120 for inputting the pixel data b(i,j) of the previous frame supplied through the first input line 83 from the first pixel delay element 80 in FIG. 6 and the pixel data b(i,j-1) of the previous frame delayed by the one pixel interval, supplied through the second input line 85 from the second pixel delay element 82 in FIG. 6. The first adder 120 adds the inputted two pixel data b(i,j) and b(i,j-1) and supplies the resultant pixel data [b(i,j)+b(i,j-1)] to a first attenuator 128. The first attenuator 128 attenuates the pixel data [b(i,j)+b(i,j-1)] from the first adder 120 in such a manner that it can have a 1/2 amplitude. Then, the first attenuator 128 supplies the attenuated pixel data [b(i,j)+b(i,j-1)]/2 as the interpolation pixel data b -1 0 (i,j) to the second and fifth MAD detectors 102 and 108 in FIG. 6 through the second output line 95.
The interpolation circuit 90 further includes a second adder 122 for inputting the pixel data b(i,j) of the previous frame supplied through the first input line 83 from the first pixel delay element 80 in FIG. 6 and the pixel data b(i-1,j) of the previous frame delayed by the one horizontal line interval (i.e., three-pixel interval), supplied through the third input line 87 from the fourth pixel delay element 86 in FIG. 6. The second adder 122 adds the inputted two pixel data b(i,j) and b(i-1,j) and supplies the resultant pixel data [b(i,j)+b(i-1,j)] to a second attenuator 130. The second attenuator 130 attenuates the pixel data [b(i,j)+b(i-1,j)] from the second adder 122 in such a manner that it can have a 1/2 amplitude. Then, the second attenuator 130 supplies the attenuated pixel data [b(i,j)+b(i-1,j)]/2 as the interpolation pixel data b 0 -1 (i,j) to the third and seventh MAD detectors 104 and 112 in FIG. 6 through the third output line 97.
The interpolation circuit 90 further includes a third adder 124 for inputting the pixel data b(i-1,j) of the previous frame delayed by the one block horizontal line interval, supplied through the third input line 87 from the fourth pixel delay element 86 in FIG. 6, and the pixel data b(i-1,j-1) of the previous frame delayed by the one block horizontal line and one pixel interval (i.e., four-pixel interval), supplied through the fourth input line 89 from the fifth pixel delay element 88 in FIG. 6. The third adder 124 adds the inputted two pixel data b(i-1,j) and b(i-1,j-1) and supplies the resultant pixel data [b(i-1,j)+b(i-1,j-1)] to a fourth adder 126 which also inputs the pixel data [b(i,j)+b(i,j-1)] from the first adder 120. The fourth adder 126 adds the pixel data [b(i,j)+b(i,j-1)] from the first adder 120 to the pixel data [b(i-1,j)+b(i-1,j-1)] from the third adder 124 and supplies the resultant pixel data [b(i-1,j)+b(i-1,j-1)+b(i,j)+b(i,j-1)] to a third attenuator 132. The third attenuator 132 attenuates the pixel data [b(i-1,j)+b(i-1,j-1)+b(i,j)+b(i,j-1)] from the fourth adder 126 in such a manner that it can have a 1/2 amplitude. Then, the third attenuator 132 supplies the attenuated pixel data [b(i-1,j)+b(i-1,j-1)+b(i,j)+b(i,j-1)]/2 as the interpolation pixel data b -1 -1 (i,j) to the fourth, sixth, eighth and ninth MAD detectors 106, 110, 114 and 116 in FIG. 6 through the fourth output line 99.
Referring to FIG. 8, there is shown a detailed block diagram of each of the first to ninth MAD detectors 100, 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114 and 116 in FIG. 6. As shown in this drawing, the MAD detector includes a subtracter 134 for inputting the interpolation pixel data b l k (i,j) from a first input line 135 and the pixel data a(i,j) of the present frame from a second input line 137. The first input line 135 is connected to the first, second, third or fourth output line 93, 95, 97 or 99 of the interpolation circuit 90 in FIGS. 6 and 7 to input the corresponding interpolation pixel data b l k (i,j) (i.e., b 0 0 (i,j), b -1 0 (i,j), b 0 -1 (i,j) or b -1 -1 (i,j)) therefrom. The second input line 137 is connected to the second input line 91, an output line of the sixth pixel delay element 92, an output line of the eighth pixel delay element 96 or an output line of the ninth pixel delay element 98 in FIG. 6 to input therefrom the pixel data a(i,j) of the present frame, the pixel data a(i,j-1) of the present frame delayed by the one pixel interval, the pixel data a(i-1,j) of the present frame delayed by the reference block horizontal line interval (i.e., three-pixel interval) or the pixel data a(i-1,j-1) of the present frame delayed by the reference block horizontal line and one pixel interval (i.e., four-pixel interval). For the convenience of the description, it is here assumed that the second input line 137 inputs the pixel data a(i,j) of the present frame from the second input line 91 in FIG. 6, not delayed.
The subtracter 134 subtracts the interpolation pixel data b 1 k (i,j) from the pixel data a(i,j) of the present frame. As a result of the subtraction, the subtracter 134 detects a difference between the pixel data a(i,j) of the present frame and the interpolation pixel data b 1 k (i,j). Then, the subtracter 134 supplies the detected difference to a first register 136. The first register 136 temporarily stores the inter-pixel difference from the subtracter 134 and supplies the temporarily stored inter-pixel difference to an absolute value calculator 138. In result, the first register 136 acts to safely transfer the inter-pixel difference from the subtracter 134 to the absolute value calculator 138. The absolute value calculator 138 obtains an absolute value of the inter-pixel difference from the first register 136 and supplies the obtained absolute value to a second register 140.
The MAD detector further includes an accumulator 142 for inputting the absolute value of the inter-pixel difference from the second register 140. The accumulator 142 adds the absolute value of the inter-pixel difference from the second register 140 to the present MAD fed back from its output line and transfers the resultant MAD to a third register 144. The third register 144 transfers the MAD from the accumulator 142 to the comparator 118 in FIG. 6 through an output line 139.
FIG. 9 is a table illustrating the output data from the interpolation circuit 90 and the MADs from the first to ninth MAD detectors 100, 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114 and 116 with respect to the 5×5 pixel data from the first input line 81 in FIG. 6. As seen from this drawing, the improved motion vector extractor performs the calculating operation once to extract the motion vector.
As apparent from the above description, the improved motion vector extractor of the present invention has the effect of shortening the motion vector extracting time. Also, the improved motion vector extractor of the present invention can produce the interpolation pixel data without resorting to parallel MAD processing as discussed in the Description of the Prior Art. Therefore, the circuit can be simplified in construction.
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.
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An improved motion vector extractor comprising a first pixel delay element for delaying pixel data of the previous frame by a one pixel interval, a second pixel delay element for delaying the pixel data of the previous frame by a horizontal line interval of a seek block, a third pixel delay element for delaying the pixel data of the previous frame by a seek block horizontal line and one pixel interval, an interpolation circuit for combining the pixel data of the previous frame and the delayed pixel data of the previous frame from the first to third pixel delay elements to produce at least one interpolation pixel data positioned between adjacent ones thereof, a fourth pixel delay element for delaying pixel data of the present frame to produce rectangularly arranged pixel data of the present frame, a plurality of MAD detectors, each of the plurality of MAD detectors subtracting a corresponding one of the interpolation pixel data from the interpolation circuit from a corresponding one of the rectangularly arranged pixel data of the present frame from the fourth pixel delay element to produce an MAD with respect to the corresponding pixel data of the present frame, and a comparator for comparing the MADs from the plurality of MAD detectors with one another and extracting a motion vector in accordance with the compared result.
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BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to a detachable holder for storing tools or accessories on an appliance and, more particularly to a holder storing accessories on a wet/dry vacuum and being securably attachable to and readily detachable from the vacuum.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Vacuums may include holders for storing accessories, such as brushes, crevice tools, extension wands, end fitting, etc. In some examples, the holders are permanently secured to the vacuum and cannot be readily removed. In other examples, the holders are portable and detachable members that are independent of the vacuum. Detachable holders are especially desirable, for example, when an operator empties debris from a drum of a wet/dry vacuum.
[0005] Unfortunately, existing detachable holders for accessories on wet/dry vacuums have some disadvantages. Some existing detachable holders slip fit onto the vacuum and do not positively latch or attach to a feature on the vacuum. With such a slip fit, the detachable holder can work loose and possibly fall off during use or movement of the vacuum. In addition, some existing detachable holders hang on posts or tabs attached to the vacuum. These detachable holders are not fully supported by the posts or tabs and may spill the accessories or catch on stairs when the vacuum is hauled or moved.
[0006] For example, a detachable holder 30 for accessories as exemplified in the prior art is illustrated in FIG. 1. The holder 30 is shown in relation to a wet/dry vacuum 10 . The vacuum 10 has a drum 12 and a handle 14 . A bracket 20 mounts to the back of the vacuum 10 adjacent the handle 14 . Two tabs 22 a and 22 b having a T-shape are located on the handle bracket 20 . Two slots 34 a and 34 b are positioned on the holder 30 . The holder 30 is placed adjacent the bracket 20 . To attach the holder 30 to the bracket 20 , the tabs 22 a and 22 b position through the slots 34 a and 34 b , and the holder 30 hangs from the tabs 22 a and 22 b . The holder 30 is designed for easy removal. Unfortunately, being held only with the tabs 22 a and 22 b , the holder 30 may tip when the vacuum is moved. Furthermore, the holder 30 may catch on stairs when the vacuum is tilted and moved on a staircase. To permanently attach the holder 30 to the vacuum 10 , an operator may strap the bottom of the holder 30 to the vacuum 10 , which does not allow for easy detachment.
[0007] The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] In one embodiment, among others, the present invention provides a holder for storing accessories on a wet/dry vacuum. The holder securely attaches to the vacuum and readily detaches therefrom. The accessory holder detachably couples to a pivot location on the vacuum and secures to the vacuum. The secure attachment prevents the holder from falling off or tipping on the vacuum. To attach the holder to the vacuum, grooves on the holder are pivotably coupled to an axle of the vacuum. The holder is then pivoted about the axle. Tabs on the holder engage slots on a bracket attached to the vacuum. A flexible latch on the holder aligns with a step on the bracket. To remove the holder, the operator presses on the latch to disengage it from the step, and the operator lifts the holder from the bracket and the vacuum.
[0009] The foregoing summary is not intended to summarize each potential embodiment or every aspect of the invention disclosed herein, but merely to summarize some aspects of the present invention, among other aspects.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0010] The foregoing summary, a preferred embodiment, and other aspects of the present invention will be best understood with reference to a detailed description of specific embodiments of the invention, which follows, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0011] [0011]FIG. 1 illustrates an accessory holder according to the prior art in relation to a wet/dry vacuum.
[0012] FIGS. 2 A-B illustrates a side view and a back view of a detachable accessory holder and an appliance in accordance with the present invention;
[0013] FIGS. 3 A-B illustrate a frontal view and a side view of an embodiment of a detachable accessory holder in accordance with the present invention.
[0014] [0014]FIG. 4A illustrates a top view of the detachable accessory holder in a stage of attachment to the bracket and vacuum.
[0015] [0015]FIG. 4B illustrates a cross-sectional view of FIG. 4A.
[0016] [0016]FIG. 4C illustrates another embodiment of a pivot point on the accessory holder and a pivot location on the vacuum for FIG. 4B.
[0017] FIGS. 5 A-B illustrate a top view and frontal view of an embodiment of a bracket in accordance with the present invention.
[0018] [0018]FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the detachable accessory holder in another stage of attachment to the bracket and vacuum.
[0019] [0019]FIG. 7 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the detachable accessory holder in yet another stage of attachment to the bracket and vacuum.
[0020] [0020]FIG. 8 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the detachable accessory holder completely attached to the bracket and vacuum.
[0021] While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives failing within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers″ specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
[0023] Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, an embodiment of an accessory holder 50 for holding accessories is illustrated attached to an appliance 100 in accordance with the present invention. In FIG. 2A, the accessory holder 50 and appliance 100 are illustrated in a side view. In FIG. 2B, the accessory holder 50 and appliance 100 are illustrated in a back view.
[0024] In the present embodiment of the invention, the appliance 100 for use with the accessory holder 50 is a wet/dry vacuum. The vacuum includes a drum 112 , a handle 114 , wheels 116 a and 116 b , and an axle 118 . For convenience, the motor portion of the vacuum 100 is not shown. Although the present embodiment of the accessory holder 50 is illustrated for use with the wet/dry vacuum 100 , it is understood that the present invention is applicable to, but not limited to, standard vacuums, carpet cleaning machines, or other appliances having accessories. Having a detachable accessory holder 50 for such appliances may be beneficial when they require movement, maintenance, cleaning, or storage.
[0025] The accessory holder 50 stores accessories or tools (not shown) for use with the vacuum 100 . The holder 50 may be composed of a lightweight and sturdy material, such as polypropylene. The accessory holder 50 includes a compartment 52 for storing accessories (not shown). The holder 50 securely attaches to the appliance 100 and easily detaches therefrom.
[0026] To attach the holder 50 to the vacuum 100 , a pivot portion 57 situated at a lower end of the holder 50 removably and rotatably couples to a pivot portion 107 on the vacuum 100 . In the present embodiment, the pivot location 107 is the axle 118 of the vacuum 100 . It is understood, however, that the pivot location 107 can include any fixed location on the vacuum 100 allowing for the holder 50 to pivot thereon. In one example, the pivot location 107 can be one or more pegs (not shown) extending from the drum 112 of the vacuum 100 .
[0027] Once coupled to the axle 118 , the holder 50 is rotated on the axle 118 towards the vacuum 100 . A connection portion 53 situated at an upper end of the holder 50 is positioned adjacent the vacuum 100 and is positively coupled to a connection portion 103 of the vacuum 100 . The positive coupling of the holder 50 at least restricts the holder 50 from being pivoted away from the vacuum 100 . The holder 50 is held onto the vacuum 100 by the coupling of the pivot portion 57 with the axle 118 and the coupling of the connection portion 53 with the connection portion 103 of the vacuum 100 . In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the holder 50 is restricted from being moved away from the vacuum 100 in at least two directions. Preferably, the holder 50 is restricted from being pivoted or rotated away from the vacuum 100 in a first or rotational direction P and from being lifted off the vacuum 100 in a second or radial direction L.
[0028] Referring to FIGS. 3 A-B, an embodiment of the accessory holder 50 is illustrated in front and side views. The accessory holder 50 includes a sidewall 51 , which defines a compartment 52 for holding or storing the accessories. Although the present embodiment of the holder 50 includes the compartment 52 for storing the accessories, it is understood that other arrangements for holding accessories known in the art are also applicable to the present invention. For example, the holder 50 can include a system of racks (not shown) to which the accessories mount.
[0029] For the pivot portion 57 situated at the lower end of the holder 50 , the holder 50 includes one or more pivot points or grooves 58 a and 58 b . In the present embodiment, the compartment 52 does not fully extend along the entire backside of the vacuum 100 so that the holder 50 includes extensions or legs 56 a and 56 b . Each leg 56 a and 56 b includes one of the pivot points or grooves 58 a and 58 b on its distal end. The pivot points or grooves 58 a and 58 b detachably couple with the pivot location or axle of the vacuum, as best shown and described below with reference to FIGS. 4 - 8 . Preferably, the holder 50 includes two pivot points or grooves 58 a and 58 b distanced to extreme sides of the compartment 52 for better stability when the holder 50 is coupled to the axle and pivoted thereabout as described below.
[0030] For the connection portion 53 situated at the upper end of the holder 50 , the holder 50 includes one or more first or male members 54 a and 54 b projecting from the side of the holder 50 . The first members 54 a and 54 b include tabs 55 a and 55 b having ends facing towards the pivot points or grooves 58 a and 58 b . The first or male members 54 a and 54 b positively couple to the vacuum 100 , as described below. When positively coupled, the first members 54 a and 54 b restrict the holder 50 from being detached from the vacuum in at least one direction, i.e., pivoted away from the vacuum. Preferably, the holder includes two members 54 a and 54 b distanced to extreme sides of the compartment 52 for better stability when the holder 50 is attached to the vacuum 100 as described below.
[0031] The accessory holder 50 also includes a movable or retractable member 60 disposed on the holder 50 . The movable or retractable member 60 is a latch flexibly attached to the side of holder 50 . The latch 60 is preferably positioned between the members 54 a and 54 b . In this way, the latch 60 is accessible by an operator from the upper end 53 of the holder 50 .
[0032] The latch 60 includes the first positive stopping surface or shoulder 62 , an operator surface 64 , and a flexible portion 66 . The first positive stopping surface or shoulder 62 faces away from the pivot or grooves 58 a and 58 b and engages another stopping surface on the vacuum, as described below. Once engaged with the vacuum, the latch 60 selectively permits or restricts detachment of the holder 50 from the vacuum in the second or radial direction away from the pivot location or axle, as described below. The operator surface 64 may be corrugated, permitting easy recognition and use of the latch 60 by the operator. The flexible portion 66 enables the latch 60 to be selectively engaged or disengaged as described below.
[0033] The secure attachment and easy detachment of the preferred embodiment of the accessory holder 50 will now be discussed with reference to FIGS. 4 - 8 . Referring to FIGS. 4 A-B, the accessory holder 50 is shown in a first stage of attachment to the vacuum 100 . In FIG. 4A, the accessory holder 50 and the vacuum 100 are illustrated in a top view. In FIG. 4B, the accessory holder 50 and the vacuum 100 are illustrated in cross-section. For convenience, the accessory holder 50 in FIG. 4B is illustrated in an uneven cross-section A-A shown in FIG. 3. The uneven cross-section A-A permits a view of tab 54 a and latch 60 , which are not axially aligned on the holder 50 .
[0034] The accessory holder 50 mounts to the vacuum 100 by first positioning or detachably connecting the grooves, such as the groove 58 a shown, on the pivot location or axle 118 of the vacuum 100 . The holder 50 is rotatable relative to the vacuum 100 in a first or rotational direction P about the axle 118 . In an alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 4C, the pivot portion 57 at the lower end of the holder 50 , such as the leg 56 a shown, can include a rounded protrusion or knuckle 59 a . In this instance, the pivot portion or pivot location on the vacuum 100 is a rounded indentation or notch 117 attached to the drum 112 . This reversed pivot configuration works similarly to the groove and axle configuration discussed herein. Accordingly, a number of detachably coupling and rotatable configurations known in the art are applicable to the present invention. For example, the configuration can include a ball and socket or other configuration allowing for a detachable and rotatable coupling or joint.
[0035] In one embodiment of the present invention, the vacuum 100 includes a bracket 80 for the connection portion of the appliance. The bracket 80 is attached to an upper portion of the appliance 100 for positively coupling with the connection portion 53 at the upper end of the accessory holder 50 . As best shown in FIG. 4A, the bracket 80 is attached to the back of the vacuum 100 adjacent the handle 114 . For convenience, the bracket 80 in FIG. 4B is illustrated in an uneven cross-section B-B shown in FIG. 5B. The uneven cross-section B-B permits a view of components, which are not axially aligned on the bracket 80 .
[0036] Although the embodiment disclosed herein includes the bracket 80 attached to the vacuum 100 , it will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that having the bracket 80 as a separately attached component to the vacuum 100 facilitates manufacture of the vacuum 100 . Therefore, it is understood that elements and features of the bracket 80 may be integral to the vacuum 100 in other embodiments of the present invention.
[0037] Referring to FIGS. 5 A-B, the bracket 80 is illustrated in an isolated top view and a frontal view. The bracket 80 may be composed of a lightweight and sturdy material, such as polypropylene. In an upper surface 81 , the bracket 80 defines openings 82 a and 82 b for the handle. The bracket 80 includes one or more second or female members 84 a and 84 b , which are slots in the present embodiment. The slots 84 a and 84 b are defined in the upper surface 81 at opposite ends of the bracket 80 . The slots 84 a and 84 b are distanced equivalent to the first members 54 a and 54 b on the holder 50 to which they positively couple (See FIG. 4A).
[0038] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the bracket 80 also includes inclined structures or ramps 86 a and 86 b facilitating the attachment of the holder to the bracket 80 . The ramps 86 a and 86 b are disposed adjacent the slots 84 a and 84 b . As best shown in FIG. 5B, the ramps 86 a and 86 b extend from an edge 83 of the bracket 80 and incline towards the slots 84 a and 84 b.
[0039] As will be discussed in more detail below, the ramps 86 a and 86 b engage or interact with the first members 54 a and 54 b of the holder 50 when attaching to the bracket 80 . Advantageously, the ramps 86 a and 86 b allow the operator to attach or secure the holder 50 to the bracket 80 in a single pivoting motion. In addition, the ramps 86 a and 86 b may further include guides 87 to direct the first members 54 a and 54 b to the slots 84 a and 84 b.
[0040] The bracket 80 also includes a second positive stopping surface or retaining step 90 . The second positive stopping surface 90 is intended to engage or align with the first positive stopping surface 62 of the latch 60 , as best shown and described below. The first and second positive stopping surfaces 62 and 90 at least restricts the holder 50 from being lifted off the vacuum.
[0041] Referring now to FIG. 6, the accessory holder 50 is illustrated in a further stage of attachment to the vacuum 100 . The accessory holder 50 is further rotated about the axle 118 towards the vacuum 100 in the first or rotational direction P. The two first members 54 a and 54 b of the accessory holder 50 engage the ramps 86 a and 86 b of the bracket 80 . The first members 54 a and 54 b are moved towards the adjacent slots 84 a and 84 b defined in the bracket 80 .
[0042] As the first members 54 a and 54 b ride on the ramps 86 a and 86 b , the accessory holder 50 is raised upward or displaced in a second or radial direction L away from the axle 118 . The displacement of the holder 50 eventually allows the first members 54 a and 54 b to insert into the slots 84 a and 84 b , as detailed below. The grooves 58 a and 58 b slightly separate from or rise off the axle 118 , as the holder 50 is moved in the second or radial direction L. Therefore, the grooves 58 a and 58 b are preferably deep enough to remain coupled to the axle 118 .
[0043] Referring now to FIG. 7, the accessory holder 50 is illustrated in yet a further stage of attachment to the vacuum 100 . As pivoting of the holder 50 is continued in the first or rotational direction P, the first members 54 a and 54 b position to a point of nearly inserting or dropping into the slots 84 a and 84 b . The latch 60 of the holder 50 contacts the retaining step 90 of the bracket 80 and flexes at the flexible portion 66 .
[0044] Referring to FIG. 8, the accessory holder 50 is shown in a completed stage of attachment to the vacuum 100 . With the continued pivot of the holder 50 in the first or rotational direction P from that illustrated in FIG. 7, the first members 54 a and 54 b position over the slots 84 a and 84 b . The slots 84 a and 84 b receive the first members 54 a and 54 b therein, as the holder 50 moves in the second or radial direction L towards the axle 118 . With the tabs 55 a and 55 b disposed in the slots 84 a and 84 b , detachment of the holder 50 is restricted from the bracket 80 in the first direction P.
[0045] As the holder 50 drops or moves towards the axle 118 , the shoulder 62 of the latch 60 surpasses or moves past the retaining step 90 of the bracket 80 . The latch 60 flexes back to its equilibrium position, and the shoulder 62 and step 90 align or engage with one another, as illustrated in FIG. 8. The alignment or engagement of the shoulder 62 with the step 90 restricts detachment of the holder 50 from the bracket 80 in the second or radial direction L away from the axle 118 . Thus, the shoulder 62 and step 90 prevent the holder 50 from inadvertently being lifted up and off its mounted or attached position.
[0046] Continuous engagement or contact between the shoulder 62 and the step 90 is not necessary to prevent detachment or removal of the holder 50 . In general, the holder 50 is constrained from moving in the second direction L by the force of gravity. Accordingly, the shoulder 62 and step 90 need only be aligned for potential engagement with one another if the vacuum 100 is tilted or moved. Overall, the holder 50 is constrained by the engagement or coupling of the grooves 58 a and 58 b with the axle 118 , by the engagement or coupling of the first members 54 a and 54 b with the slots 84 a and 84 b , and by the alignment or engagement of the shoulder 62 with the step 90 .
[0047] To remove the accessory holder 50 , the shoulder 62 of the latch 60 can be selectively disengaged from or unaligned with the step 90 on the bracket 80 . The latch 60 is simply pressed or flexed back by the operator until the shoulder 62 clears the step 90 . The accessory holder 50 is then unrestricted and is permitted to move in the second or radial direction L. The holder 50 can be lifted, removing the first members 54 a and 54 b from the slots 84 a and 84 b and uncoupling the grooves 58 a and 58 b from the axle 118 . The holder 50 is then free of the bracket 80 and the vacuum 100 .
[0048] As evidenced above in the preferred embodiment, the first members 54 a and 54 b and the slots 84 a and 84 b act together to restrict detachment of the holder 50 from the bracket 80 in the first or rotational direction P. It is considered an equivalent structure if the connection portion of the holder 50 includes female members, such as slots defined in the holder 50 , and if the connection portion of the appliance 100 includes male members, such as tabs disposed on the bracket 80 or upper end of the appliance 100 . For example, such tabs may project from the bracket 80 and may have ends pointing upwards. The slots defined in the holder 50 may face down and lift over and onto the up-turned tabs during the pivoting action.
[0049] Furthermore, ramps on the connection portion of the holder 50 may be disposed adjacent slots defined in the holder 50 . These ramps may have an inverted inclination so that they lift the holder 50 or move the holder 50 away from axle 118 when engaging the up-turned tabs on the bracket 80 . This opposite tab/slot arrangement performs the same functions as other embodiments described herein. For brevity, this alternative embodiment of the present invention is not illustrated, as one of ordinary skilled in the art may readily make and use the opposite tab/slot arrangement with the benefit of the present disclosure.
[0050] The first members 54 a and 54 b and slots 84 a and 84 b in the embodiment illustrated in the FIGS. 5 - 8 offer one structure to restrict movement of the holder 50 in the first or rotational direction P. Other equivalent structures for restricting movement of the holder 50 in the first or rotational direction P can include, but are not limited to, other suitable male and female members, such as hooks and slots, T-shaped structures and respective apertures, or catches and nooks. The design and implementation of such equivalent structures for restricting movement of the holder 50 in the first or rotational direction P fall within the ordinary skill of one in the art with the benefit of the present disclosure.
[0051] As also evidenced above in the preferred embodiment, the shoulder 62 and the step 90 act together to restrict detachment of the holder 50 from the bracket 80 in the second or radial direction L away from the axle 118 . It is considered an equivalent structure if a latch having a shoulder is flexibly attached on the bracket 80 and a retaining step disposed on the holder 50 . The shoulder on the latch may face downward or towards the pivot location 118 , and the step on the holder 50 may face upwards or away from the pivot points 58 a and 58 b on the holder 50 . This reversed shoulder/step arrangement performs the same functions as other embodiments described herein. For brevity, this alternative embodiment of the present invention is not illustrated, as one of ordinary skilled in the art may readily make and use this reversed shoulder/step arrangement with the benefit of the present disclosure.
[0052] As evidenced above in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the ramps 86 a and 86 b advantageously allow the operator to attach or secure the holder 50 to the bracket 80 in a single pivoting motion. Although not preferred, the bracket 80 may not include these ramps 86 a and 86 b , thereby requiring the operator to slightly lift the holder 50 to insert the first members 54 a and 54 b into the slots 84 a and 84 b . Alternatively, the first members 54 a and 54 b on the holder 50 can themselves include an inclined structure on the end to contact the edge 83 of the bracket 80 and displace the holder 50 in the second or radial direction L.
[0053] Moreover, to displace the holder 50 in the second direction L during pivoting in the first direction P, an inclined structure or ramp can be disposed on the holder 50 or bracket 80 independently located from the tabs 55 a , 55 b and slots 84 a , 84 b . Such an independent structure can be used to displace the holder 50 and mate the tabs 55 a and 55 b and slots 84 a and 84 b in the second or radial direction L. Such alternative inclined structures for displacing the holder 50 in the second or radial direction L fall within the ordinary skill of one in the art with the benefit of the present disclosure.
[0054] While the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, obvious modifications and alterations are possible by those skilled in the related art. Therefore, it is intended that the invention include all such modifications and alterations to the full extent that they come within the scope of the following claims or the equivalents thereof.
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The present invention provides a holder for storing accessories on a wet/dry vacuum. The holder securely attaches to the vacuum and readily detaches therefrom. The detachable holder may be detached with the accessories. While an operator dumps debris out of the drum of the vacuum, detaching the holder prevents the accessories from being inadvertently spilled out of or discarded from the holder. The detachable accessory holder fully secures to a bracket attached to the vacuum. The secure attachment prevents the holder from falling off or tipping on the vacuum. To attach the holder to the bracket and vacuum, grooves on the holder are set on to an axle of the vacuum. As the holder is pivoted about the axle, tabs and a latch on the holder engage slots and a step on the bracket. To remove the holder, the operator presses on the latch and lifts the holder from the bracket and the appliance.
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This application is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 07/520,325, filed May 7, 1990 now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to baling machines which load packages of goods into bale bags and to a high speed baling machine which is easily adjustable to put different sizes of packages into a corresponding one of a range of sizes of bale bags. More particularly the invention provides a chute and a bale bag supply apparatus both of which can be adjusted to accept the packages and bale bags.
The invention will be explained with reference to baling packages of potatoes but it is also suitable for baling other types of bagged products, such as ice and more particularly fruits and vegetables.
Many types of packaged products are sold in relatively small packages, such as for example potatoes which are commonly sold in packages of 5 or 10 pounds and ice which is commonly sold in 10 pound packages. Handling and shipping products in units of such a small size increases costs and so it is common to package or bale a number of smaller packages of product into a bale bag which contains between 40 and 60 pounds of product in order to minimize handling costs.
Baling can be done by hand but automated baling machines or balers are quite often used to decrease labour costs and increase baling speeds Typically such balers elevate the packages lengthwise on a conveyor belt before unloading them sequentially sideways into a vertical chute until a group of a predetermined number are stacked side-by-side on trap doors at the bottom of the chute. The doors are then opened and the group of packages in the chute drop into an open bale bag suspended below the chute. One improvement to such a baler is to include a moveable platform below the chute, arranged such that the platform moves to absorb the impact as the packages drop into the bale bag thereby minimizing possible damage to the products in the packages. Next the full bale bag is pushed onto a conveyor and the upper end of the bag is straightened by a bag conditioner and closed by an automatic tying machine as the bag exits the baler.
Empty and closed bale bags are suspended from a bag supply apparatus which is fixed to accept one size of bale bag top although the apparatus may be adjusted to accept bale bags of different lengths.
Adjustment of the chute in this baler is possible in a limited fashion to accommodate different lengths of packages as they fall sideways. The chute is made up of two flat side portions and two curved end portions which are bolted to the baler's frame. The chute can be adjusted to accommodate a range of package lengths by varying the distance between the end portions. Such an adjustable chute is provided to suit a small range of similar packages which vary somewhat in length rather than in width. In practice, however, the limitations of such a machine result in compromises to extend the range of sizes of packages which can be baled. For instance, it is possible to arrange smaller packages in an average bale bag by dropping the packages so that every other one touches one end portion and the adjacent ones touch the other end portion. The result is an interweaving of the packages to make as much use as possible of a bale bag and chute shaped for larger packages. Clearly the inherent limitations of such prior art balers restricts the application of the balers to those packages for which the baler is designed. It would therefore be advantageous if a baler could be adjusted to receive a wide variety of packages and to place them in bale bags designed specifically for those packages. The resulting full bale bag would be better for handling and there would be a minimum of wastage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a high speed baling machine which can be quickly adjusted to accept bale bags with different sizes of mouth to match different sizes of packages of product.
Accordingly, in one aspect the invention provides a high speed baling machine having a multi part chute which can be adjusted horizontally in both width and depth to accommodate packages of various lengths with the packages falling sideways in the chute.
In another aspect, the invention provides a bale bag supply apparatus for use with the chute to present bale bags of a suitable size for each of the sizes of packages.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a preferred embodiment of a baling machine according to the invention, and shown in operation baling packages of potatoes which enter by a conveyor into an entrance side of the machine, fall into a chute, and leave at the bottom on the exit side of the machine in a bale bag;
FIG. 2 is an isometric view of an upper part of the machine (drawn to a larger scale) and showing details of a stop plate used to locate the packages and trap doors used to receive the packages and drop them sequentially;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along line 3--3 of FIG. 1 (drawn to a larger scale) and showing only the chute opened to its largest size in solid outline and with the smallest size in ghost outline;
FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the chute;
FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view also on line 3--3 of FIG. 1 and showing the chute in one position together with details of the chute mounting and adjusting mechanism;
FIG. 6 is a partial end view of the machine and illustrating parts of the chute and bale bag supply apparatus;
FIG. 7 is a cutaway perspective view of the machine and showing further details of the chute adjusting mechanism;
FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of the driven elements of the adjusting mechanism;
FIG. 9 (drawn adjacent to FIG. 3) is a perspective view of the embodiment of a portion of the machine and showing details of the construction of a lower trap door and a bale bag location shoe;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the machine looking from the front and showing details of a moving platform, pusher plate, exit conveyor and bag conditioner and;
FIG. 11 is a flow chart describing the operation of the baling machine.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Construction and operation of the invention will now be explained with reference to a preferred embodiment of the invention as it would be typically used to bale five pound packages of potatoes into bale bags measuring 20 ins. by 35 ins. when folded flat.
FIG. 1 illustrates a baling machine designated generally by the numeral 20. Packages of potatoes 22 enter the baling machine 20 lengthwise on an elevating conveyor 24. Upon reaching the top, a package is accelerated by an intermediate conveyor 32 and projected across a connecting plate 26 into a loading station 27 where the package rests on a pair of upper trap doors 28, 30 (visible in FIG. 2). The packages come to rest against an adjustable stop plate 34 before being dropped sequentially and sideways into a chute 36 by opening the upper trap doors. When the selected number of packages 22 have accumulated as a group in the chute 36 supported on a pair of lower trap doors 38, 40 (not visible in FIG. 1 but shown in later views), the lower trap doors are opened and the packages drop in unison into an open bale bag 42 held beneath the chute. The free fall of the packages is checked by engagement with a platform 44 located beneath the bale bag and driven to move downwards with the packages and to then decelerate the packages and thereby minimize impacts as the packages reach their destinations in the bale bag, and come to rest in a bag loading station 45. Next a pusher plate 46 forming part of a transport mechanism 47 moves the loaded bale bag 42 horizontally onto an exit conveyor 48, which also forms part of the mechanism 47. On the journey along the exit conveyor the top of the bag is driven upwards by a bag conditioner 50 and secured closed by a conventional bag tying machine 51.
Support for the elements of the baling machine is provided by a rigid frame 52 having vertical uprights connected one to another by horizontal cross members.
Reference is now made to FIGS. 1 and 2. As packages 22 reach the end of the elevating conveyor 24, the packages pass one at a time onto the intermediate conveyor 32 which projects them over the connecting plate 26 and onto the closed upper trap doors 28, 30, stopping in engagement with the vertical stop plate 34. A sensor 54 (visible in FIG. 2) which is located to one side of the stop plate 34 senses the presence of a package when it takes up position at the stop plate and initiates opening of the upper trap doors 28, 30 to drop the package into the chute 36 located below the doors. The spacing between packages on the conveyor 24 is such that the trap doors 28, 30 can return to the closed position after dropping a package and before the next package arrives.
In FIG. 2 it can be seen that the upper trap doors pivot on upper door pivots 56, 58 which run parallel to sides of the chute. (For convenience this spacing will be referred to as the depth of the chute since it extends rearwardly from the front of the machine. The measurement at right angles to the depth is the width of the chute.) The doors are actuated by an electric motor gear combination located inside a housing 60 which sits behind the stop plate 34 and guide fences 62, 64 are located on either side of the trap doors 28 and 30 to locate the packages over the doors.
The stop plate 34 is positioned across the rear end of the upper trap doors and is movably attached to a pair of stop plate guide rods 66, 68 extending above and to either side of the chute 36, by a support 70 extending between the guide rods and attached to the top of the stop plate 34. The support 70 is fixed at its ends to bearing assemblies 72, 74 on the guide rods 66, 68 respectively. The bag sensor 54 is secured below the rear bearing support 74 by a bracket 76 so that it moves with the stop plate.
The assembly consisting of the stop plate 34, support 70, bearing assemblies 72, 74 and bag sensor 54 can be moved linearly along the stop plate guide rods 66, 68 into a position defined by two adjustable bearing stops 78, 79 located on the entrance side of the assembly, one on each of the stop plate guide rods. A third bearing stop 80 is located on the guide rod 66 to define a range of motion of the stop plate assembly. However this range is used only as a secondary feature as will be described. In the preferred form of use, the stops 78, 79 are set to correspond to the sizes of the packages so that when a package is located by the stop plate, the package is centered over the chute. This will become more apparent as the description evolves. The assembly is moved into position and held there by a pneumatically operated actuator 82 which is anchored on the near side of the housing 60 and is attached at its other end to the bracket 76 to move the stop plate assembly between a first position in engagement with the stops 78 and a second position in engagement with the stop 80.
As mentioned previously, the packages fall downwards into the chute 36. In FIG. 1 it can be seen that the chute 36 comprises a tapered upper portion 84 which converges downwardly to funnel packages dropped by the upper trap doors 28, 30 into a tubular lower portion 86 where product bags accumulate in a side-by-side stack or group before being dropped into the bale bag 42
The tubular chute is generally rectangular in horizontal cross-section with rounded corners as best seen in FIG. 3. It is constructed from four similar overlapping sheet metal corner sections 88, 90, 92, 94. Each section includes part of both the tapered upper portion 84 and the tubular lower portion 86 as can be seen in the isometric view, FIG. 4 as well as generally coplaner flanges 96, 98, 100, 102 forming parts of the respective corner sections.
In FIG. 3 the chute is shown collapsed to its smallest size in ghost outline and expanded as large as it will go in solid outline. The width (i.e. the height of FIG. 3) is adjustable from 6 ins. to 101/2 ins. and depth from 10 ins. to 15 ins. measured inside the tubular portion. Depth and width adjustments can be made separately and the chute expands about a fixed central point so that it remains in alignment with other parts of the machine to ensure that the packages always travel along the same path. The lower edge of the chute is shaped on the front and back to form cut-outs 104 (one of which is seen in FIG. 4) thereby providing clearance for the lower trap doors as seen in FIG. 9.
As seen in FIG. 4, the chute has generally coplaner flanges 96, 98, 100, 102 on the respective corner sections and as seen in FIG. 5, the corner sections are attached to respective lower brackets 106, 108, 110, 112. Similar upper brackets are also attached but are not seen in the drawings. However the location of the upper brackets will become evident when the method of adjustment is explained. Each of the eight corner support brackets is in turn fixed to a threaded block. Four lower threaded blocks 114, 116, 118, 120 are visible beneath the lower corner support brackets in FIG. 5.
Four horizontal adjustment rods 122, 124, 126, 128 (see FIG. 8) are provided with threaded portions upon which the threaded blocks are mounted to adjust the width of the chute. All four rods are similar therefore construction of only the lower rear adjustment rod 126 will be explained in detail. The rod 126 is made up of a plain round bar to which two threaded sleeves 130, 132 of opposite hand are attached at collars 134, 135. The sleeves are threaded to match the respective lower rear threaded blocks 114, 116 into which they are threaded. Turning the rod 126 in a first direction slides the lower portions of the chute corner sections 88 and 90 equal distances in opposite directions to open up the chute, and turning the rod in the other direction closes the chute. Referring briefly to FIG. 8, it will be seen that upper rear adjustment rods 126 and 128 are provided for moving the upper portions of the rear chute corner sections, and rods 122 and 124 for moving the front chute corner sections. In practice the four adjustment rods are rotated in unison by a chain drive as will be explained in more detail later with further reference to FIG. 8.
Referring again to FIG. 5, the pairs of front and rear adjustment rods 122, 126 are supported for independent movement on front and rear moveable frames 136, 138 which allow the rods to move towards and away from one another. Because the sliding frames are similar, construction and mounting of only the front sliding frame will be described with reference to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7. The sub-frame 136 is made up of uprights joined by a number of horizonal members. The upper and lower front adjustment rods are rotatably secured adjacent their ends to the sub-frame 136 in respective pairs of bearing blocks 140, 142.
Support for the moveable frame 136 is provided b respective entrance and exit side frame supports 144, 146 bolted in place to the entrance and exit sides of the rigid frame 52 between respective upper and middle horizontal members. Each of the frame supports includes a rectangular portion having a pair of vertical projections at its upper and lower ends to locate the rectangular portion in position in the frame 52. The outer parallel uprights of the sliding frame are slidably supported between horizontal portions of the frame supports.
As seen in FIG. 8, depth adjustment of the chute is controlled by four adjustment rods 166, 168, 170, 172. Because all four rods are similar, construction of only the lower exit side adjustment rod 172 will be explained in detail. Referring to FIG. 5 the rod 172 is constructed from a plain round bar with two threaded sleeves 176, 178 of opposite hand attached to the rod at collars 180, 182. The depth adjustment rods run horizontally between adjacent corners of the front and rear moveable frames 136, 138 and are secured to the frames by threaded brackets, exemplary brackets 184, 186 being seen in FIG. 5 holding rod 172. The threaded brackets also keep the moveable frames 136, 138 centered in the sliding frame supports 144, 146 as can be seen in FIG. 7. The depth adjustment rod 172 extends rearwardly from the rear sliding frame 138 and is rotatably secured with an attachment bracket 188 (visible in FIG. 5) to frame support 146 to control movement of the rod. As with the width adjustment rods, there is a chain drive, (seen in FIG. 8) which can be used to rotate these width adjustment rods in unison to adjust the chute depth. (i.e. front and back measurement).
Reference is now made to FIG. 8 to describe the moving parts of the chute adjustment mechanism. The front adjustment rods 122, 124 are located in fixed relation to one another on the front moveable frame and the rear adjustment rods 126, 128 are located in a similar manner on the rear moveable frame. Consequently the distance between the front and rear frames changes with changes in the distance between the front and rear length adjustment rods as the chute is adjusted. This causes a difficulty in that the horizontal spacing between the parallel rods varies and a single drive system is needed for adjustment To solve this, a drive system with eight sprockets and a continuous chain is used. Four drive sprockets 190, 192, 194, 196 are mounted at the respective entrance ends of the width adjustment rods with all of the drive sprockets positioned to rotate in a common first plane. There are also four idler sprockets mounted in a second plane parallel to the first and offset towards the exit end of the baler sufficient to prevent interferences between overlapping chain runs. One pair of idler sprockets 198, 200 is located at the same height as the upper drive sprockets 190, 192 between the upper adjustment rods 124, 128 and the remaining sprockets 202, 204 are located between the lower length adjustment rods level with the lower drive sprockets 194, 196. All four idler sprockets are mounted on the rigid frame 52.
A resulting drive chain 206 is in the form of a continuous loop and traces a path from the front of the lower front drive sprocket 196 over the top of the upper front drive sprocket 190 then down underneath both lower idler sprockets 202, 204, proceeding from front to back. Next the chain loops over the upper rear drive sprocket 192 and then down to the lower rear drive sprocket 194. From there it loops over the upper idle sprockets 200, 198 from back to front and ends back at the lower front drive sprocket 196. Consequently, the sprockets move in unison to drive the rods 122, 124, 126 and 128 in directions which cause width adjustment of the chute. To this end a simple hand crank 208 is added to the end of rod 122.
Each width adjustment rod can be moved sideways over a 4.5 inch range and this is permitted because the chain runs are not affected significantly by the movement. Consequently no matter what movement takes place, the chain remains in driving contact with the sprockets.
Moving now to the depth adjustment chain drive, it should be noted the width adjustment rods used for this have a spacing which remains constant thereby allowing a much simpler drive to be used. Once again each of the rods is provided with a respective one of four drive sprockets 210, 212, 214, and 216 and two idler sprockets 218, 220 are also provided, one rotating on each of the upper depth adjustment rods. A continuous chain 222 is wrapped clockwise (as seen in FIG. 8) from the lower exit side drive sprocket 216 over the upper drive sprockets 214, 210 and then down to the lower entrance drive sprocket 212 before returning in a counter-clockwise direction over the idler sprockets 218, 220 to the lower exit side drive sprocket 216. A crank handle 224 is attached to the lower entrance side depth adjustment rod 168 to turn all four of the rods in unison to adjust the chute depth.
As a result of this structure the chute can be adjusted for width and depth evenly about a fixed vertical central axis.
The construction of the lower trap door will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 6, 7 and 9. It will be noted that the lower trap doors 38, 40 sit in the cut-outs 104 in the chute 36 when in an engaged position to hold packages in the chute. To provide the correct placement, the front and rear lower trap doors are hinged about pivot rods connected to the front and rear sliding frames respectively so that the trap doors move with these panels. This allows the pivot points to move as the chute width is adjusted. Because the trap doors are similar, construction of only the front trap door will be described. A front pivot rod 226 is rotatably secured at its ends to uprights on pillow bearings 227, 228 on the rear sides of the uprights. The rear pivot rod is secured to the front of the rear moveable frame in a similar fashion.
The front lower trap door 38 is fixed to a pair of door support levers 230, 232 which are mounted to the front pivot rod 226. The trap door is bolted to the levers and can be replaced by appropriately sized doors whenever the chute size is varied.
Actuation of the doors is accomplished by a pair of double acting pneumatic actuators 234, 236 as seen in FIG. 6. Discussing the front actuator 236, it is anchored at its upper end to the front sliding frame above pivot rod 226 by an actuator support 238 and at its lower end to an actuator lever 240 which pivots with the pivot rod. The rear actuator 234 is mounted to control the rear lower trap door in similar fashion.
Construction of the bale bag supply apparatus located beneath the chute will now be discussed. The apparatus consists of two parts: firstly, there is a bag blowing system which uses jets of air to blow bale bags open beneath the chute one at a time; and secondly there is a bag holding system which consists of four bag location shoes which engage with the inside of a bale bag to hold it in place beneath the chute once it has been opened by the air flow. These doors also act to funnel falling packages into the open bale bag.
The bag blowing system will be explained first. At the entry side of the baler there are provided two bag support brackets 242, 244 (visible in FIGS. 6 and 7) which are bolted to a lower horizontal frame member 246 which runs between the front inner sliding frame uprights. The brackets 242, 244 project downwardly to the rear ending in a downwardly projecting vertical portion 248 adjacent the front edge of the chute. The brackets are provided with one of a pair of support pins 250 (one of which is seen) fixed to the vertical portions of the brackets and inclined outwardly and upwardly.
Bale bags 252 are supplied flat with the upper edge of one side cut below the other and crimped so that the bag is easily opened. The cut side is exposed in front of the uncut side which is provided with two holes to receive the support pins 250. As the bags closest to the chute are used up, the remaining bags slide down the inclined pins into place adjacent the chute. The bag support bracket spacing can be adjusted on the lower horizontal frame member 246 to accommodate bale bags having different hole spacings.
A pair of air supply tubes 254 (one of which is seen in FIG. 9) end at the rear of the support brackets 242, 244 to initiate opening of the next bale bag hanging on the brackets. Once partially opened, a further three air supply tubes 256 (one of which is seen in FIG. 6 located behind the chute on the rear sliding frame) complete opening of the bag.
Once a bag has been opened, it must be located in place ready to receive packages from the chute. This is done by a bag location mechanism (not numbered) and including the four bag location shoes 258, 260, 262, 264 (FIG. 5). Each of the shoes is shaped to fit into the bag and create a corner in the mouth of the bale bag. The shoes are moveable from an upper or disengaged position where the shoes are above the entry plane of a new bag, and a lower or engaged position where the shoes are aligned downwardly with the bag to hold the mouth of the bag open. An exemplary shoe 258 is seen in this position in FIG. 9. Once a bale bag has been filled the shoes are pivotted upwards back into their disengaged positions.
The shoes are suspended from respective uprights and move in unison with the associated one of the chute corner sections when chute size is adjusted. As a result the shoes are always in position to engage the bale bag. The four uprights are fixed one to each set of chute corner support brackets and project down below the lower edge of the chute. The front pair of shoes 258, 260 pivot about horizontal axes running rearwardly from front uprights and act to pull the trailing part of a bale bag mouth into place. The rear shoes 262, 264 are pivoted about horizontal axes which are rotated outwardly approximately 30 degrees from the front axes along with the door uprights as seen in FIG. 5. This angle allows the rear bag holding shoes to pivot inwards and forwards when disengaged so that as they move into the engagement positions, these shoes tend to catch a rear part of the mouth of an open bale bag even though it may not have been fully opened by the air supply tubes.
In FIG. 5 rear bag holding shoe 262 is shown disengaged, in chain dotted outline thereby demonstrating how the angle of the axis of rotation allows the door to pivot from this position outwardly and rearwardly to catch the mouth of the bale bag. Construction of the bale bag holding system in this manner allows it to be adjusted automatically as the chute is adjusted.
The bag holding shoes are operated by individual double acting pneumatic actuators 266 one of which is seen in FIG. 9. The actuator 266 is attached at its upper end to a support 268 fixed to an upright and operates a crank 270 fixed to the shoe pivot for rotating the shoe between engaged and disengaged positions.
Once the bale bag is in position it is ready to catch a falling stack of packages on the platform 44. The pusher plate 46, which can be seen from the front in FIG. 1, and in perspective in FIG. 10 is then used to push the full bag onto the exit conveyor 48.
As seen in FIG. 10, the moving platform, pusher plate and their operating mechanisms are mounted on a sub-frame 272 which is supported on lower support frame cross members 271, 273 by four adjustable pillars 274 (three of which can be seen in FIG. 10). The sub-frame 272, pusher plate 46 and moving platform 44 can be removed from the baling machine as a unit for replacement with other types of bag off-loading equipment or possibly for use on another type of baling machine.
The moving platform 44 moves in a vertical direction and is designed to engage with falling packages as they drop from the chute, and to gradually bring them to a halt to minimize impacts and thereby limit bruising. In its lowered position the platform is between two end frames 275, 276 and front and rear platform guide rods extend vertically in parallel and are fastened between cross members of the sub-frame 272. Platform guide bearings 278, 280 run on the guide rods as the platform moves vertically between the lowered position shown in FIG. 10 and a raised position ready to move downwardly with the falling packages.
The platform is moved by operation of a pneumatic actuator 282 which is secured to the rigid frame 52 and to the platform 44. As the bag leaves the platform 44, it engages the exit conveyor 48 which is preferably tilted by a small angle towards a bag support fence 284 provided to support the full bale bag as the bag is transported horizontally. The tilting is achieved by moving the entire sub-frame 272 using the adjustable pillars 274.
As also seen in FIG. 10, pusher plate 46 is carried by a frame 286 forming part of a pusher plate support structure 287 located behind the bag support fence 284. This structure includes two horizontal guide rods 288 and 290 which slide in bearings provided in a support 292. The support 292 is secured to verticals in the frame 52 and the frame 286 which supports the pusher plate 46 is attached to the guide rods 288, 290. An actuator 294 is attached to the support 292 and coupled to the frame for moving the pusher plate 46 between a withdrawn position ready to move the bale bag and an extended position where the pusher plate has moved the bag onto the conveyor 48. In FIG. 10 the plate 46 is in an intermediate position.
As seen in FIG. 1, once they are filled, the bale bags leave the bagging machine on exit conveyor 48 and reach the bag conditioner 50 at its entrance side and the bag tying machine 51 at its exit side.
The bag conditioner 50 comprises two pairs of driven vaned wheels 296, 298. Each of the wheels consists of a solid hub to which is fixed a plurality of flat flexible vanes which inspire air flow to deflect the bag upwardly ready for the bag tying machine 51.
The baler is controlled by a control system shown schematically as 300 in FIG. 1. This system operates the baler in accordance with the flow chart shown in FIG. 11. As stated previously the preferred embodiment is designed to be adjusted to packages of a selected size into a corresponding sized bale bag. Of course smaller packages can always be placed in larger bale bags. If this is necessary, a system is provided to maximize the use of the bale bags by staggering ot interleaving the packages in the bale bag as will be described.
In a preferred mode packages are collected in bale bags with a mouth size equivalent to the side profile of the package. The process for this type of baling begins at 322 of FIG. 11. At 324 a fan is turned on to blow air into a bale bag 42 which is to open beneath the chute 36 in the manner already described. Next conveyor belts 24, 32 and 48 are turned on at 326 in preparation for receiving product bags. Once these actions have been executed, the baler loops continuously through the flow chart performing the functions 328 to 366 except for 344 which is not executed for this type of baling.
Proceeding to 328 in FIG. 10, the baler lowers the bag holding shoes to grip the mouth of the bale bag 42. Next at 330 the moving platform 44 is raised ready to receive a falling stack of packages. A determination is then made at 332, as to whether a package is in place on the upper trap doors 28 and 30, (FIG. 2) the answer being provided by bag sensor 54. When there is no package present at the upper trap doors, the control system will cycle repetitively through 332 until a bag is sensed whereupon the count of bags in the chute 36 will be incremented at 334. Next there will be a small time delay as shown at 336 to ensure that the sensed package has hit the stop plate 34 and come to rest before the upper trap doors 28 and 30 are opened at 338 followed by a short time delay at 340 to ensure that the package which has been dropped into the chute 36 is clear of the upper trap doors before they are closed at 342.
Action 344 is in ghost outline to indicate that this action is not executed when baling into bale bags with a mouth size which is equivalent to the side profile of the package. In this case the stop plate is positioned over the exit side of the chute and does not need to move after each product bag is dropped into the chute At 346 the bag count is checked to determine if the chute contains enough packages to fill a bale bag. If not, the system will loop back to 332 to accumulate an additional package otherwise it will proceed to 348.
There is a time delay at 348 to allow the last bag dropped by the upper trap doors 28 and 30 to come to a rest in the bale bag before the lower trap doors 38 and 40 are opened at 350 and the stack of accumulated product bags allowed to drop into the open bale bag 42.
After a short time delay the moving platform 44 is set in motion as indicated at 354. Timing of the platform drop is important because it must be moving downwards as the stack of product bags hits it to minimize product damage.
There is another short time delay at 356 to allow the stack of product bags to clear the chute 36 before the lower trap doors 38 and 40 are closed at 358. At 360 the bag location shoes 258, 260 are pivoted up to clear the now full bale bag 42. At 362 the pusher plate 46 is extended to slide the bale bag 42 onto the exit conveyor 48 and at 364 the pusher plate is retracted. Finally, the bag counter is reset at 366 because the chute 36 is now empty. After 366 the control system loops back to the 328 to begin accumulating product bags in the chute once again.
As mentioned previously, smaller packages can be baled into larger bale bags and arranged in a staggered stack to better fill the bale bag. In this mode the baler also operates in accordance with the flowchart shown in FIG. 11 except that action 344 is included At this point in the cycle, the stop plate is moved so that smaller packages end up stacked in the bale bag 42 with only a partial overlap. In other words a first bag may stop at the plate in a first position against bearing stops 78 and the next bag would hit the plate with the plate located at bearing stop 79. This cycle is repeated so that the packages end up in the chute (and hence in the bale bag) with the packages in a staggered stack.
The bag conditioner 50 operates continuously when the baler is running.
After running the machine to bale a particular size of package, it may be necessary to reset the machine for a different package size and for a different bale bag size Firstly a bale bag size is chosen having a mouth size large enough to accept the package as it falls sideways Once this is done, the bale bag support brackets 242, 244 (FIG. 7) are adjusted with reference to the centre line of the chute to accommodate the selected bale bags.
Next the width and depth of the chute must be adjusted to receive packages in sliding engagement and so that the bag holding shoes are spaced correctly to meet the bale bag and fix the portion of the mouth of the bag. It should be noted that the chute width and depth can be adjusted independently.
After this is done, the bearing stops 78, 79 must be set so that the stop plate will halt the package in the required position above the chute and the control system must be taught how many packages are to be contained in each of the bale bags. The machine is then ready to commence baling.
The embodiments described in this specification are exemplary and descriptive of other embodiments encompassed by the scope of the claims.
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The invention provides a high speed baling machine having a multi part chute which can be adjusted horizontally in both width and depth to accommodate packages of various lengths and widths with the packages falling sidways in the chute.
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CROSS REFERENCE TO FOREIGN PRIORITY APPLICATION
The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(b) of German Application No. 20 2012 010 237.0, filed Oct. 26, 2012, entitled “Height-Adjustable Feeding Trough.”
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to the field of concepts for the keeping of livestock, in particular, a height-adjustable feeding trough for pig farming.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In present-day concepts for the keeping of livestock, animals are reared and kept from a young age (e.g. as piglets) until they are fully-grown adults (e.g. as sows or boars), in such a way that the animals are kept in the appropriate environment for their respective age and size. This is advantageous for species-appropriate keeping of the animals in the respective age and for healthy livestock, is prescribed by statutory regulations in some countries and is conducive to the growth of the animals. The environmental conditions which are striven for or required in this regard are manifold and depend, inter alia, on the species concerned, on the climate, the country and on husbandry practices.
Critical parameters for the rearing of livestock may include, for example, the characteristics of the floor on which the animals are kept, the type and number of the supply devices, such as feed and liquid uptake devices inside the pen, the ratio of ranging areas on natural ground to the area inside the pen, the design of particular areas such as rest zones, play zones and the like for the animals, as well as broader parameters such as air conditioning parameters, for example temperature, air flow, air changes, or, for example, the size of groups in which animals are collectively kept.
One important factor in concepts for the keeping of growing animals is that of the floor area aimed at for each animal in a pen, in order to ensure a healthy way of keeping the animals, or which must be maintained due to statutory stipulations. For many livestock species, this floor area is made dependent on the size and/or the age and/or the weight of the animals and is typically classified according to certain limit values. One aim in pig rearing, for example, is that the animals have a floor area of 0.15 square meters per animal in the pen when they are in piglet age and weigh between 5 and 10 kg, and that this area is increased according to weight in a series of steps, so that, for example, a floor area of 0.75 square meters per animal is required when they weigh between 50 and 110 kg, with a further increase to 1 square meter per animal being striven for when they exceed 110 kg in weight. Many countries have respective regulations for livestock farming that prescribe these or other limit values that must be complied with by every livestock farmer.
Moving the livestock animals from a first pen section to a second pen section in order to comply with target conditions is known from the prior art. This concept for keeping or rearing livestock allows the first pen area to be designed for young animals, for example by equipping it with appropriate supply devices, play zones and the like, and designing the second, larger pen area accordingly for larger or fully-grown animals.
In this prior art approach to livestock rearing, it is common practice to adapt the first and second pen areas to the size of the animals or to the area that the animals need. In the first pen area, a smaller area per animal than in the second pen area is generally provided, due to the animals being smaller in size and lower in weight. This can help achieve a basically efficient way of using the entire pen area.
In present-day livestock farming, one aim in the case of animals that live in groups is that groups originally formed when the animals are young be recomposed as little as possible in the course of rearing, in order to prevent new hierarchies being formed as a result, and thus to prevent the associated stress to which the animals are exposed. In such cases, one disadvantage of the prior art concept for keeping livestock during rearing, with two or three pen areas for the different size or weight categories of the animals, is that pen areas specifically adapted to the respective group must be kept available in order to adapt to the spatial requirements of the group in the respective growth phase. While it is possible with pens that are subdivided in this way to achieve efficient use of all the pen areas at every moment of the rearing process by systematic pen management in large fattening farms, when animals are continuously reared and kept in the respective age groups, it has been found, however, that this prior art concept for keeping animals often fails to achieve efficient use of the entire pen area, particularly when the aim is to avoid splitting existing groups of animals, and precisely in the case of smaller numbers of animals, and that when larger numbers of animals are involved, such efficient use is not possible in some cases or can only be achieved with substantial planning and repenning effort.
The object of the invention is to allow more efficient use of pen areas in association with present-day concepts for keeping and rearing livestock. According to the invention, this object is achieved by a novel feeding trough apparatus for the animals, said feeding trough apparatus comprising a feeding trough having a trough interior which is accessible to the livestock and which is defined at the bottom and laterally by a bottom wall and side walls, respectively, wherein one of the side walk demarcates the trough interior for an access side from which the animals can take up feed from the trough interior through a trough opening, said side wall on the access side having an upper side wall edge over which an animal's head must reach at least partly so that the animal can take up feed from the trough interior, and a trough frame to which the feeding trough is fixed, said feeding trough apparatus being characterised by an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the height of the side wall edge on the access side relative to the trough frame.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, a feeding trough apparatus is provided which allows a more flexible and cost-efficient concept for keeping livestock in livestock pens. The invention allows keeping a group of livestock animals in a pen and dispensing with the need to repen the entire group or to split the group into subgroups, and hence with the associated stress on the livestock and the additional effort involved for the keeper of livestock. Instead, it is possible with the invention to enlarge the pen area in which the animals are kept as the animals increase in weight or size, for example by removing or repositioning partition walls or the like. This is achieved by allowing the feeding device in the pen area to be used not only for young animals but also for adults, as a result of which it is no longer necessary, according to the invention, to provide different feeding devices for young animals and adult animals. The invention is based on the realisation that an efficient concept for keeping growing livestock in pens can be implemented for a group of animals with little stress when the animals can be kept for as long a period as possible in one and the same pen area and that cost-efficient use of the pen area can be simplified logistically by this option of having a given pen area occupied permanently by one group of livestock animals.
According to the invention, a feeding trough apparatus comprising a feeding trough and a trough frame is provided. The trough frame may typically be a frame to be anchored on the pen floor and which can receive the feeding trough at two opposite ends, for example. Alternatively, however, the invention may also include other concepts for the trough frame, for example trough frames which extend downwards from a ceiling or from a holding structure arranged above the feeding trough, or a central trough frame from which one, two or more feeding troughs extend laterally. The trough frame may basically be provided by two or more separate frame members, or by a single contiguous frame member.
The feeding trough according to the invention has a trough interior which is bounded at the bottom and laterally by a bottom wall and side walls, respectively, such that the feed can be received therein and taken up by the animals. It should be understood in this regard that the geometrical configurations of the side walls and the floor of the feeding trough are not an essential property for the invention, and that dome-shaped walls and floors as well as planar wall and floor surfaces that are folded together, welded together or otherwise joined to each other are covered by the invention. A bottom wall is understood in this sense to be any wall surface that substantially demarcates the bottom of the trough interior, and a side wall is understood to be any wall surface that substantially demarcates the trough interior laterally. It is also possible, according to the invention and as described below, that a wall surface can also perform the function of a bottom wall in one position and the function of a side wall in a different position, depending on adjustment of the feeding trough.
The feeding trough according to the invention has a side wall edge on the access side. The feeding trough according to the invention may basically be used by the animals from one, two or more sides, use being understood in this regard to mean that it is possible for the animals to take up feed from the trough interior from the respective access side. The side wall edge on the respective access side of the feeding trough is the upper demarcation of the side wall, over which the animals must stretch their heads at least partially in order to reach the feed from the trough interior. The invention is based on the realisation that the latter side wall edge is a characteristic feature for adjusting a feeding device to the size of the animal. The height of the side wall edge is to be understood in this regard as the distance between the side wall edge and the floor area on which the livestock animals stand on the access side, i.e. typically the pen floor area.
Side wall edge heights adapted to adult animals cannot generally be reached or overcome by young animals, so feeding devices that are designed for adult animals are not suitable for feeding young animals as well. In contrast, feeding devices which have a low side wall edge and which can therefore be used by young animals cannot generally be filled with feed to a sufficiently high level inside the trough interior to allow adult animals to take up feed in accordance with their age. In such a case, the adult animals generally have to bend down too far in order to reach the feed. Furthermore, when the feeding trough edges are low and such feeding troughs are used by adult animals, the feeding trough interior becomes increasingly contaminated due to dirt entering from the outside, and feed is lost due to feed being carried out of the feeding trough to the outside in the course of feeding, which has disadvantageous effects on hygiene and cost efficiency.
According to the invention, the side wall edge of the inventive feeding trough apparatus can be adjusted in its height relative to the trough frame by means of an adjustment mechanism. The height of the side wall edge relative to the pen floor in the access area can be changed in this way, and more particularly it can be lowered for use by young animals and raised for use by adult animals.
This height adjustment can be achieved by adjusting the height of the entire feeding trough, i.e. raising or lowering all the edges of the feeding trough and also of the floor and the side walls. Alternatively to, or in combination with the latter, however, it is also possible to adjust only the side wall itself or only one side wall section in order to realise the feeding trough according to the invention, and it is also possible, alternatively or additionally, to adjust the feeding trough in its position relative to the trough frame in such a way that the adjustment mechanism causes a movement of the feeding trough in the form of a pivoting movement, a movement along a curved or straight path of motion, or a combination thereof, in connection with which the height of the side wall edge on the access side is adjusted.
It is possible with the invention to adjust the feeding trough apparatus to the size and/or the weight of the animals, thus allowing livestock in a group to be kept from the beginning of rearing until they reach an adult age in one and the same pen area in which the feeding trough apparatus is placed, and to feed themselves throughout the entire rearing period from the feeding trough apparatus according to the invention. This allows modern forms of livestock farming to be implemented in pens without the group having to be repenned from such a feed supply area provided with a feeding device to some other feeding area. Instead, with the feeding trough apparatus according to the invention, it is possible to realise a concept for keeping livestock, in which, proceeding from a feed supply area provided with the feeding trough apparatus according to the invention, only enlargements in area are made in order to adjust the floor area of the pen to the size of the animals in the livestock group, but without necessitating complete repenning of the livestock animals or the replacement of the feeding devices.
According to a first preferred embodiment, the feeding trough has a longitudinally extended form and is shaped in such a way that the animals can preferably reach the trough interior only over a longitudinal side wall, in particular in that horizontal or vertical partition members are arranged in the region of the other side walls.
By providing the feeding trough in an elongated form extending in the horizontal direction, a plurality of animals can take up feed simultaneously and conveniently from the feeding trough. This can be done over two longitudinal side walls, but feeding is preferably done over one longitudinal side wall only of the feeding trough, for example by blocking the other longitudinal side wall with suitable blocking means such that the animals are prevented by the latter from reaching the trough interior, for example by a horizontally extending surface beside the trough interior in the region of said side wall edge, or such one-sided access can also be achieved, alternatively, by placing the feeding trough apparatus adjacent to a pen wall or by attaching the feeding trough by means of the trough frame to a side wall of the pen. A robust adjustment mechanism is made possible by providing access over two side wall edges, but in particular by providing access over a single side wall edge only, and when access is specifically designed to be over one side wall edge only, the height of the side wall edge can be adjusted by pivoting the feeding trough about an axis which is spaced apart from and parallel to the side wall edge or by means of a suitable movement of the feeding trough along a curved path.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the feeding trough is pivotably mounted on the trough frame about a pivot axis which is spaced apart from the side wall edge on the access side, and in that the adjustment mechanism is adapted to pivot the feeding trough about the pivot axis from a first position into a second position. Adjusting the height of the side wall edge on the access side by pivoting the feeding trough allows a robust design that simultaneously avoids the risk of the livestock being injured by such movement, and by means of which other functions can be realised as a result of the pivoting movement. The pivot axis may be provided as a mechanical component in the form of an axle or shaft, about the central longitudinal axis of which the rotational movement occurs. The pivot axis may likewise be designed as an imaginary axis, in that a mounting is realised by means of one or more guide members forming such an imaginary pivot axis. According to the invention, the pivot axis may be fixed in relation to the trough frame and the feeding trough, or the pivot axis may be mobile in relation to the trough frame and/or the feeding trough and changes its orientation or position accordingly when adjusting the height of the side wall edge.
According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the trough frame has a floor mounting bracket comprising a floor contact area for installing or anchoring the feeding trough apparatus on a pen floor area and in that the adjustment mechanism is adapted to adjust the height of the side wall edge relative to the floor contact area of the floor mounting bracket. Such an embodiment of the trough frame allows the inventive feeding trough apparatus to be installed and anchored in a manner that can be applied in most pen designs, in that the feeding trough is installed and anchored on the pen floor by means of the trough frame. In this regard, the trough frame may be formed by a single frame member or by two or more such frame members, which are attached to the feeding trough spaced apart from each other. The floor contact area is formed by those points of contact where the trough frame rests on the pen floor. The pen floor is to be understood in this context as a suitable floor-supporting structure to which the trough frame can be suitably attached and which could also receive other floor covering elements, such as slatted tiles or the like, on which the livestock stand.
It is further preferred that the feeding trough can be moved from a first position, in which young animals, in particular piglets, can reach the trough interior, to a second position, in which parent animals, in particular sows, but not young animals, in particular piglets, can reach the trough interior. The entire livestock rearing period is covered by the embodiment in which two such defined positions can be set for the feeding trough. After a predetermined period following the birth of a young of a young animal, in which the young animals are fed mother's milk, the young animals are separated from the mother, and separate rearing of the young animals begins. From that time onwards, which may be a few weeks after birth, the young animals take their feed from a suitable feeding device such as the feeding trough according to the invention and continue to grow until they reach the end of their growth. The size and weight of the animals increase in the process. The feeding trough apparatus according to the invention allows the livestock animals to be fed from the feeding trough in a species-appropriate manner from a young age until they are adults and with a reduced risk of the feeding trough being contaminated, due to dirt entering from the outside or due to feed being lost by being carried out of the feeding trough. It should be understood in this regard that the feeding trough can be adjusted directly from the defined first position to the defined second position, but also that this adjustment may be over several defined intermediate stages, or infinitely variably, for example in that the feeding trough is vertically raised or lowered by means of an actuator that can be actuated in steps or continuously via the adjustment mechanism, or the feeding trough is suitable pivoted in such a way that the height of the side wall edge is changed in steps or continuously. In the first position, the height of the feeding trough is one that allows young animals such as piglets to take up feed from the trough interior. In the second position, in which the side wall edge is adjusted higher than in the first position, young animals such as piglets would no longer be able to take up feed from the feeding trough because they can no longer reach the trough interior due to the side wall edge being higher. The larger animals, on the other hand, and in particular the adult animals, can comfortably reach the trough interior in this second position and take up feed from it.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the Invention, a further supply device for livestock is provided, which is in signal or mechanical communication with the adjustment mechanism to adjust the height of said supply device to the size of the animals, in particular a drinking trough comprising a liquid receiving area which is in signal or mechanical communication with the adjustment mechanism to adjust the height of said liquid receiving area to the size of the animals. In the case of such a drinking trough as well, it is advantageous for age-appropriate drinking access when the height of the liquid receiving area, for example the drinking bowl, the drinking nipple, a liquid discharge opening or the like, is adjusted to the size of the animal. In the case of a direct mechanical coupling, the liquid receiving area can be in mechanical communication with the adjustment mechanism for the feeding trough apparatus according to the invention and be adjusted in height by said adjustment mechanism. Alternatively, however, the coupling may also take the form of signal communication, for example in that a control signal is emitted by a control unit to drive the adjustment mechanism of the feeding trough apparatus according to the invention, or is likewise used to adjust the height of the additional supply device, or in that the height of the side wall edge of the feeding trough apparatus according to the invention is detected by a sensor unit, for example by scanning the adjustment mechanism, and the signal from said sensor being used to adjust the height of the additional supply device.
The further supply device may preferably be coupled to the adjustment mechanism in such a way that the adjustment path of the further supply device differs from the adjustment path of the side wall edge of the feeding trough by a factor that is smaller than one or by a factor that is greater than one. This embodiment provides step-up or step-down leverage either by control technology or mechanically, by means of which leverage the additional supply device can be adjusted with a smaller adjustment path or a larger adjustment path than the side wall edge of the feeding trough. This is advantageous for adjusting the height of a drinking device to the growth of the livestock animals, for example, as the outlet opening of the drinking trough must be adjustable in height, from a starting position, by a greater difference than the side wall edge of the feeding trough. If the livestock animal is to be permitted to use the drinking trough and the feeding trough in accordance with its size. The different adjustment paths may preferably be provided by a mechanical lever coupling with a transmission ratio for movement of the side wall edge of the feeding trough.
The feeding trough apparatus according to the invention may be further developed by a blocking mechanism which guards the trough interior to prevent young animals, in particular piglets, from getting into the trough interior, the blocking mechanism preferably comprising a plurality of blocking members, for example stay rods, which extend spaced apart from each other above the floor of the trough interior. It is a known problem in this regard that young animals like piglets try to climb into the feeding trough in the first days or weeks in which they feed themselves from troughs, due to their play instincts and their lack of familiarity with the new kind of feeding, and that in some cases they end up with their entire body in the trough interior. This is a problem for hygiene, on the one hand, because the young animals contaminate the feed in doing so, but it can also endanger the lives of the young animals, particularly when they are being fed with liquid feed, since they can drown in the feeding trough. As a precaution against this risk, the invention provides a blocking mechanism that prevent young animals from getting into the trough interior. Such prevention of access is to be understood in this regard as meaning that the young animals cannot succeed in reaching the trough interior completely with their entire bodies and end up standing on the floor of the feeding trough. The blocking mechanism may be formed, by a tile provided with holes, for example, or by a plurality of blocking members extending in a plane of an opening through which the livestock take the feed from the trough interior, or running underneath such an opening. The blocking mechanism may also perform such a function, basically, that although the young animals can get into the trough interior, they are kept by the blocking mechanism at a particular height inside the trough interior so that they get as far as the floor of the feeding trough and do not get exposed as a result to the risk of drowning in liquid feed.
In the two preferred embodiments described in the foregoing, with a blocking mechanism and with adjustment of the feeding trough from a first into a second position, it is particularly preferred that the blocking mechanism is coupled to the adjustment mechanism and in the first position blocks access to the trough interior by the young animals and in the second position does not. More particularly, the blocking mechanism is generally needed and preferred when the feeding trough according to the invention is in the first position, that is to say in the position with a lowered side wall edge for feeding young animals. When feeding adult animals, in contrast, which do not try to climb into the feeding trough, it is less desirable for blocking members to extend or be present above the floor of the feeding trough in the area where the animals take up their feed, since these blocking members pose a risk of injury to the head or mouth of the animals when taking up their feed and because they make it more difficult to clean the feeding trough, especially the floor area thereof. It is therefore preferred that the blocking mechanism be functionally arranged above the floor of the feeding trough in the first position but not in the second position, in order to reduce or prevent the risk of injury and/or the problem for cleaning. It should be understood in this regard that the blocking mechanism can be coupled to the adjustment mechanism in such a way, in particular, that the blocking mechanism is fixed inside the feeding trough interior and can be moved jointly with the feeding trough, due to the feeding trough being coupled to the adjustment mechanism, thus resulting in the blocking mechanism being moved out of the region above the floor where it poses a risk of injury to the adult animals. This can be achieved, for example, by pivoting the feeding trough out of the first and into the second position. According to the invention, however, there are also ways of coupling the blocking mechanism which are more complex in design, in which the blocking mechanism is coupled separately and directly to the adjustment mechanism so that it is moved out of the region above the floor by the adjustment mechanism when performing adjustment, and this can be done in such a way, in particular, that the blocking mechanism is removed from the region above the floor or is lowered to the level of the floor when adjusting the height of the side wall edge by a particular height relative to the lowest position, such that there are no longer any blocking members at the level where they pose a more relevant risk of injury to the adult animals. It should be understood as a basic principle in this regard that it is not necessary to remove the blocking members completely from the trough interior in order to achieve the advantage according to the invention. The risk of injury to the adult animals is already reduced, in contrast, when the blocking members are moved from a raised position relative to the feeding trough into a lowered position closer to the feeding trough, or when the blocking members are moved out of the floor region of the feeding trough, in which the livestock animals take up what is mainly the remainder of the feed. There need not necessarily be any relative movement between the side walls and the floor of the feeding trough, for the one part, and the blocking members, for the other part, but it is also possible instead that, due to movement of the feeding trough, a region of the side walls/floor may arrive at the lowest position that was not previously in the lowermost position and which is not guarded by respective blocking members lying above it.
It is further preferred, in particular when the side wall edge is vertically adjusted by pivoting the feeding trough about a pivot axis, that the blocking mechanism is fixedly connected to the feeding trough and that the blocking mechanism includes mechanical blocking members which run approximately horizontally in the first position and at an incline to the horizontal in the second position. In this embodiment, the floor of the feeding trough is formed in the first position by a first wall section and in the second position by a second wall section different from the first wall section, wherein only the first wall section is guarded by blocking members spaced apart therefrom against young animals falling through as far as these wall sections and drowning in the feeding trough. The second side wall section, which in the first position is typically a side wall, does not have any such blocking members, in contrast, and when it becomes the floor surface by pivoting the feeding trough, it allows adult animals to take up feed from the feeding trough without any risk of injury. In this embodiment, the blocking members are typically pivoted in the second position in such a way that they run in the region of a side wall that was previously the floor surface in the first position.
It is further preferred that the feeding trough has a first floor surface which is horizontally oriented in the first position and runs approximately parallel above the preferably one blocking mechanism for preventing young animals, in particular piglets, from getting into the trough interior, and has a second floor surface which is horizontally oriented in the second position and runs at an incline to the blocking mechanism. In this embodiment, the feeding trough has wall sections that are functionally separate, but which can be varied in their function by adjusting the side wall edge, to function as a floor surface in the one position, and to function as a side wall surface in another position. As described in the foregoing, the surfaces can be formed by planar wall sections or by wall sections that are dome-shaped, curved or have some other kind of irregular shape. This embodiment makes it possible to provide two functionally different floor surfaces which represent the respective floor surface in the different positions of the feeding trough and which each represent a respective side wall surface of the feeding trough in a different position, and which for their part may each have or may not have a respective blocking mechanism, in order to adapt the feeding trough to the needs of young animals and adult animals, respectively. It should be understood in this regard that, although the feeding trough may be provided with such different surfaces, the blocking mechanism function that is actually provided in a particular intermediate position may be only partially performed or may be cancelled by the infinitely variable adjustment of the feeding trough.
It is still further preferred that the feeding trough is pivotably mounted about a pivot mounting having a hollow axle and is further characterised by a feed supply line which is connected to the hollow axle to supply feed through the hollow axle into the trough interior. By supplying the feed in such a manner through the hollow axle, which simultaneously defines the pivot axis of the feeding trough, the feeding trough can advantageously be filled with feed whatever the position of the side wall edge. This design also allows a construction that is robust on the whole and easy to clean, since it dispenses with a separate mounting and a separate feed supply line by providing these as integral components. Feed can be supplied on one side only by a single hollow axle, or alternatively can also be supplied, particularly in the case of larger feeding troughs, through two hollow axles which open into the trough interior at two spaced-apart points.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the feeding trough is mounted pivotably about a pivot axis and can be pivoted by means of an adjustment mechanism comprising a drive shaft which is arranged opposite the access side wall edge on the access side and which is coupled to the feeding trough in order to transfer a torque, in particular by means of a gear wheel which is attached to said drive shaft and which engages with a gear wheel segment connected to the feeding trough. In this embodiment, the adjustment mechanism is located robustly, and safely for the animals, in a region that cannot be reached by the animals and which can preferably be used constructionally for a robust adjustment mechanism. Due to interaction between a gear wheel and a gear wheel segment, it is possible to provide a step-down transmission ratio that is advantageous for actuation, as a result of which even large feeding troughs filled with animal feed can be efficaciously adjusted. More particularly, it is possible with this adjustment mechanism to pivot the feeding trough about the pivot axis with a high torque. The adjustment can basically be performed by disposing a gear wheel segment on one side, immediately adjacent to the trough frame, in particular. Alternatively, however, there are also other embodiments or other design variants that are included in the invention, for example an arrangement of the gear wheel segment in the middle between two lateral trough frames, or two gear wheel segments arranged on either side.
Adjustment of the height of the side wall edge using the adjustment mechanism may basically be performed by the livestock owner by hand, that is to say by manually operating the adjustment mechanism, for example by operating a lever or turning a crank, with a respectively embodied adjustment mechanism converting this movement into vertical adjustment of the side wall or the side wall edge. More particularly, however, it is preferred that the feeding trough apparatus according to the invention has an electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic drive unit for driving the adjustment mechanism. This way of driving the adjustment mechanism allows it to be operated comfortably and automatically, if necessary, and preferably can be realised by an electric motor whose rotational movement is converted by the adjustment mechanism into vertical adjustment of the side wall edge.
The feeding trough apparatus according to the invention may be further developed in this regard by providing a control unit which actuates the drive unit for driving the adjustment mechanism, depending on a timing sequence, a weight measurement or a measurement of animal size, in order to adjust the side wall edge by an at least single-step, preferably multi-step or infinitely variable adjusting movement from a first position for young animals to a second position for adult animals. This functionally programmed control unit allows a livestock owner to activate the control unit in such a way, when placing the animals into the pen in which the feeding trough apparatus according to the invention is located, that it makes a once-only adjustment of the side wall edge to a greater height once a predefined period has elapsed or when a predefined individual weight or average weight of the livestock animals is exceeded, or alternatively to define several discrete time intervals or weights, according to which a respective stepped adjustment is made by the drive unit until a final position of the side wall edge for fully-grown animals is reached, in order to adjust the height of the side wall edge continuously to the growth of the livestock animals.
It is still further preferred that the feeding trough can be pivoted, in particular by means of the adjustment mechanism, into a cleaning position in which the trough opening faces downwards. In this cleaning position, which differs from the first and second positions, it is possible for the trough interior and the trough walls to be cleaned effectively and for the water used for cleaning to run off well. The feeding trough can be decoupled for cleaning purposes from the adjustment mechanism by means of suitably detachable coupling members. Alternatively, the adjustment mechanism may also be designed to move the feeding trough out of the first or second position or an intermediate position into the cleaning position.
The feeding trough according to the invention may be developed, finally, by providing a filling level measuring device for detecting a filling level in the trough interior, said filling level measuring device preferably being in signal communication with a feed control unit for filling the trough interior with feed, and said feed control unit being adapted to start, stop and/or reduce the supply of feed into the trough interior according to the signal from the filling level measuring device. Such a filling level measuring device may be provided in the form of an electrode unit placed at a particular height above the floor of the feeding trough in order to detect a single specific filling level, for example, or in the form of a measuring device for detecting a plurality of defined filling levels. In particular, the filling level measuring device may be coupled to a feed control unit which controls how the feeding trough is filled with feed, in order to thus control any replenishment of feed when the filling level drops below a particular level, or to prevent any further filling when a particular filling level is exceeded.
Another aspect of the invention is a livestock pen comprising a feeding trough apparatus of the kind described above, the animal rearing pen being characterised in that the feeding trough apparatus is arranged in a pen area which is demarcated by barrier walls, the floor area of which can be enlarged or reduced by repositioning partition walls or by removing or adding partition walls. Such a livestock pen advantageously implements the functions that are provided by the feeding trough apparatus according to the invention, in that a floor area of a pen, containing a group of livestock animals that can take up feed from the feeding trough apparatus, can be enlarged according to the increasing space requirements of these growing animals, without having to repen the livestock or provide a different feeding trough apparatus.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the invention shall now be described with reference to the attached Figures, in which:
FIG. 1 is a front side perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the feeding trough apparatus according to the invention, in a first position for young animals;
FIG. 2 is the perspective view as in FIG. 1 , in a second position for adult animals;
FIG. 3 is another front side perspective view of the feeding trough apparatus in the position shown in FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 4 is another front side perspective view of the feeding trough apparatus in the position shown in FIG. 2 ;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view, from below and behind, in the position shown in FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view, from below and behind, in the position shown in FIG. 2 ;
FIG. 7 is a perspective, cross-sectional cutaway view, at an angle from the side and from above, of the lateral trough frame and the cutaway part of the feeding trough in the first position as shown in FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 8 is a view as in FIG. 7 , in the second position as shown in FIG. 2 ;
FIG. 9 is another cutaway view, as in FIG. 7 , with different sectional planes;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a cutaway trough frame as shown in the views shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 ;
FIG. 11 is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view at an angle from below of the feeding trough apparatus according to the invention, in the first position as shown in FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 12 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the feeding trough apparatus according to the invention;
FIG. 13 is a perspective view, seen at an angle from the front, of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 12 , in the position for young animals;
FIG. 14 is a view as in FIG. 13 , in the position for adult animals;
FIG. 15 is a cutaway perspective view along line A-A in FIG. 12 of the apparatus shown in FIG. 12 , in the position for young animals; and
FIG. 16 is a view as in FIG. 15 , in the position for adult animals.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,” “left,” “rear,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in FIG. 1 . However, it is to be understood that the invention may assume various alternative orientations and step sequences, except where expressly specified to the contrary. It is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the following specification, are simply exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts defined in the appended claims. Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting, unless the claims expressly state otherwise.
Referring first to FIG. 1 , the feeding trough apparatus according to the invention comprises a feeding trough 10 extending longitudinally between two trough frame members 31 , 32 that form a trough frame, and to which the feeding trough is attached. The left trough frame 31 is connected to a feed supply line 41 and to a channel 42 for supplying electrical energy and control signals, said feed supply line and channel extending vertically and parallel to each other.
The feeding trough has a side wall 11 on the access side, with an upper side wall edge 12 , and a side wall 13 opposite said side wall. Side walls 11 , 13 and side wall edge 12 on the access side extend in the longitudinal direction of the feeding trough. As can be seen better from FIG. 7 , three wall surfaces likewise extending in the longitudinal direction of the feeding trough are disposed at the lower end of side walls 11 , 13 and connect side walls 11 , 13 to each other and perform the function of bottom walls or side walls, depending on the position of the feeding trough.
At the top end of side wall edge 13 , a horizontal wall member 17 is arranged which has such a width transverse to the longitudinal extension of the feeding trough that livestock cannot comfortably reach the trough interior 19 over the side opposite the access side.
Side wall surfaces 11 , 13 and wall surfaces 14 , 15 and 16 and horizontal wall section 17 are integrally produced from a single sheet of metal by folding. The shaped body formed in this manner, with a hollow space defined by side walls 11 , 13 and wall surfaces 14 - 16 , is bounded on either side, in cross-section, by side wall members 18 a, b . A trough interior 19 , in which feed for livestock animals is disposed and from which said feed can be taken by the livestock animals, is defined by side wall surfaces 11 , 13 , wall surfaces 14 - 16 and side wall members 18 a, b.
In FIG. 1 , the feeding trough is shown in a first position in which side wall edge 12 has been lowered so far, by pivoting the feeding trough about a pivot axis relative to trough frame members 31 , 32 that it has a height H1 relative to floor contact areas 31 a , 32 a of trough frame members 31 , 32 . In this first position, which is a piglet position, trough interior 19 is reachable for young animals or piglets, and young animals are able to take up feed from trough interior 19 .
As can be seen from FIG. 1 , there is also a blocking mechanism formed by a total of five barrier rods 20 a - e extending above wall surface 13 transversely to the longitudinal direction of extension in trough interior 19 . Barrier rods 20 a - e run parallel to wall surface 14 , which in the first position forms the bottom surface of the feeding trough, and are arranged approximately at the height of side wall edge 12 . Barrier rods 20 a - e are arranged at such a distance from each other that a young animal cannot fall through the barrier rods into the trough interior and lie in such a way on wall surface 14 that it can drown in the feed in trough interior 19 .
FIG. 2 shows the feeding trough apparatus according to the invention in a second position for adult animals. In this second position, which is a fattening pig position, feeding trough 10 has been pivoted about a pivot axis such that side wall edge 12 on the access side is raised relative to the first position shown in FIG. 1 . In this second position, side wall edge 12 on the access side is at a height H2 that no longer allows young animals such as piglets to reach the trough interior, whereas adult animals such as feeding pigs can comfortably take up feed from the trough interior. Due to this pivoting of the feeding trough, wall surface 14 has been pivoted out of its horizontal position and in functional terms partly forms a side wall now. As can be seen better from FIG. 8 , the bottom surface in this second position is provided by wall surface 15 , whereas wall surfaces 14 and 16 are slanting wall surfaces that partly perform a side wall function and partly a bottom wall function.
It can be seen from FIGS. 3 and 4 that both the left trough frame member 31 and also the right trough frame member 32 can be bolted to a pen floor using a plurality of elongate holes 33 , 34 , so that the feeding trough apparatus according to the invention stands securely. Elongate holes 33 , 34 are arranged in horizontally oriented base plate sections which define floor contact areas 31 a , 2 a of the feeding trough apparatus.
It can also be seen that there is a hollow axle 50 which opens into trough interior 19 and through which the animal feed flowing through feed supply line 41 can be filled into the trough interior.
In the rear view shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 , the adjustment mechanism of the feeding trough apparatus according to the invention can be seen in greater detail. In the rear area of trough frame members 31 , 32 , adjacent to the feeding trough and below the horizontal wall surfaces 17 , a drive shaft 50 extends from trough frame member 31 to trough frame member 32 and is rotatably mounted on either side inside said trough frame members. Immediately adjacent to the two trough frame members 31 , 32 , two gear wheels 51 , 52 are fixed torque-resistantly to said shaft. Gear wheels 51 , 52 engage with gear wheel segments 53 , 54 , which for their part are fixed torque-resistantly to feeding trough 10 . Gear wheel segments 53 , 54 are embodied as an outer ring and form a circular gear segment of approximately 45°, as can be seen in greater detail in FIG. 9 .
By rotating shaft 50 , the feeding trough can be pivoted infinitely variably from the first position shown in FIG. 1 to the second position shown in FIG. 2 and, if necessary, even further to a position in which the side wall edge on the access side is even higher than shown in FIG. 2 .
FIG. 7 shows a partial transverse cutaway view, in which the feeding trough is in the first position for young animals. As can be seen, barrier rods 20 a - e extend approximately horizontally in this first position and they run parallel to wall surface 14 which in this position forms the bottom surface of the feeding trough. The side wall edge 12 on the access side in is at a lower height H1 above the floor contact area 31 a , thus allowing young animals to take up feed from the trough interior 19 . In this first position, the trough interior allows itself to be filled to a low filling height above bottom surface 14 , but that is sufficient, given the length of the feeding trough, for young animals to take up their feed. FIG. 8 shows a view as in FIG. 7 , but with the feeding trough in the second position. In this second position, the bottom surface is formed by wall surface 15 , and side wall edge 12 on the access side has been raised relative to the first position shown in FIG. 5 and has a greater height H2 relative to floor contact area 31 a . In this second position, the feeding trough can be filled with more feed in total than in the first position, as the distance between side wall edge 12 and the bottom surface, formed here by wall surface 15 , is greater than the distance of side wall edge 12 from the bottom surface in the first position, which is formed there by wall surface 14 .
As can also be seen in the Figures, barrier rods 20 a are arranged slantingly relative to the horizontal in the second position and no longer block the trough interior with a horizontal arrangement in the upper region of the trough. When the feed is filled to a substantial height inside the trough interior, barrier rods 20 a - e no longer disturb the animals when eating and their slanting orientation reduces the risk of injury for the animals even when they are eating the remainder of feed that is close to the floor of the trough.
FIG. 9 shows gear wheel segment 53 , which is fixed by a total of six screws 55 a - f arranged at a radius around the inner space of hollow axle 60 . The central longitudinal axis of hollow axle 60 forms the pivot axis of the feeding trough.
The constructional design of the left trough frame member 31 can be seen from FIGS. 10 and 11 . As can be seen from the latter, the feed line 41 is bent twice in the region below where it enters into a trough frame member housing 34 and runs horizontally after the second bend. The horizontal section 60 of the feed line forms the hollow axle on which the feeding trough is pivotably mounted on the left-hand side by means of a bearing ring 61 .
Also disposed inside trough frame housing 34 is an electrical drive motor 56 , which drives the pivot shaft 50 by means of a mitre gear 57 . Pivot shaft 50 is rotatably mounted in trough frame member 31 by means of a bearing unit 58 and extends out of trough frame member 31 and across in a longitudinal direction as far as the second trough frame member 32 . In the preferred embodiment shown here, animal feed is fed to the trough interior on one side via trough frame member 31 and feed line 41 , 60 running therein. On this feed supply side, the feeding trough is pivotably mounted in a corresponding manner on the feed line embodied as hollow axle 60 . On the opposite side, only a bearing for drive shaft 50 and a mounting for the feeding trough about a pivot axis are disposed in trough frame member 32 .
The feeding trough apparatus according to the invention is operated in such a way that, when the young animals are placed in their pen, the feeding trough is pivoted into the position shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 , and the young animals are then fed by supplying animal feed one or more times into the trough interior. After five weeks, a control unit (not shown) activates drive motor 55 for the first time to rotate pivot shaft 50 and as a result to adjust the feeding trough by a specific angle such that the side wall edge 12 on the access side is raised a little. This prevents the young animals, which have grown in the meantime, from climbing into the trough interior and also adjusts the amount of feed to be received in the trough interior as well as the access height to the amount that the young animals have grown by in the meantime. As growth continues, drive motor 55 is actuated by the control unit at two-day intervals to pivot the feeding trough in a plurality of steps such that the side wall edge on the access side is raised further, until the second position for adult animals has been reached with several adjustments over a period of four weeks. The feeding trough remains in the latter position until the animals are taken out of the pen and new young animals are placed in the pen. The feeding trough is then pivoted in the opposite direction back to the first position in a single adjustment by the control unit and can then be decoupled from engagement with the gear wheels and gear wheel segments by drive shaft 50 being driven further. After decoupling, the feeding trough can be pivoted manually by about another 150 degrees and locked in that position, so that wall surfaces 14 , 15 are pivoted to the top and the opening of the feeding trough faces downwards. In this position, the feeding trough can be conveniently cleaned by means of a pressure cleaner. After cleaning, the feeding trough is pivoted back into position, and the coupling is restored by means of the gear wheels and the gear wheel segments. The feeding trough is now in the piglet position and ready for a new rearing cycle.
In the course of these adjustments, the pen area in which the feeding trough apparatus is located is typically enlarged in two or if necessary more operations in order to meet the greater space requirements of the growing animals. For this purpose, pen areas previously put to other uses are made available to the animals by removing partition walls. No feeding devices are present or required in these other pen areas, as the animals are fed throughout their rearing from the feeding trough apparatus according to the invention.
Referring now to FIGS. 12-14 as well, a second embodiment of a feeding trough apparatus according to the invention comprises at least two feeding troughs 110 , 210 , which are basically identical in construction to the feeding trough 10 described in the foregoing. Feeding troughs 110 , 210 are arranged parallel to each other in such a way that the respective side wall edges 112 , 212 on the access side face outwards, and that the longitudinal side walls of the feeding trough opposite the access sides face towards each other.
Feeding troughs 110 , 210 are supplied via feed lines 141 , 241 , which run on one side of the feeding troughs in basically the same manner as the feed line 41 described above.
Feeding troughs 110 , 210 are separated from each other by two vertical wall members 310 , 320 extending parallel to the side wall edges 112 , 212 on the access side. At each end, transverse walls 330 , 340 are attached to said partition walls 310 , 320 by means of L-shaped profiles.
Outwardly facing drinking devices 311 a, b , 321 a, b are arranged at these transverse walls 330 , 340 . Each drinking device comprises a vertically extending water supply pipe 312 a, b , 322 a, b and a slantingly angled dispensing pipe 313 a, b , 323 a, b disposed at the bottom end of said water supply pipe. A different form of dispensing may also be provided, for example a drinking bowl or the like.
Above the dispensing pipe, the water supply pipes are mounted by means of a vertical movable holding device 314 , 324 such that they can be vertically adjusted over an adjustment path s. The height of the opening of the dispensing pipe can be adjusted in relation to the floor contact area of the feeding trough apparatus. As can be seen in greater detail from FIGS. 15 and 16 , holding device 314 , 324 is coupled mechanically to feeding trough 110 by means of a lifting device 350 , 360 . For that purpose, a lever 351 which projects through a slot in partition wall 310 into the space between between partition walls 310 , 320 is fixed to the substantially horizontal wall surface 117 of feeding trough 110 . As a result of the pivoting movement of feeding trough 110 , lever 351 moves vertically upwards and downwards, as can be seen from FIGS. 13 and 14 . In the position for young animals, as shown in FIG. 13 , lever 351 is in its upper position, whereas when the feeding trough is in the position for adult animals, as shown in FIG. 14 , lever 351 is in its lower position.
The movement performed by the end of lever 351 that points inwards into the space between partition walls 310 , 320 is transmitted by means of a horizontal axle 352 , on which vertically extending levers 353 , 363 are mounted, to two articulated levers 354 , 364 via said articulated levers 354 , 364 by means of a movable mounting point. Articulated levers 354 , 364 extend parallel to partition walls 310 , 320 in the direction of transverse walls 330 , 340 and are pivotably mounted on partition wall 310 by means of respective mounting points 355 , 365 . At their outer end, pivoting levers 354 , 364 are hingedly coupled by means of another connecting lever 356 , 366 to the respective holding device 314 , 324 . The pivot axis of mounting points 355 , 365 is arranged closer to the vertically moving lever 351 than to holding device 314 , 324 , thus resulting in step-up leverage by pivoting levers 354 , 364 .
As can be seen from FIGS. 13, 15 , in comparison with FIGS. 14, 16 , when the feeding trough is pivoted out of the position for young animals, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 15 , in which the side wall edge 112 , 212 on the access side and dispensing pipes 313 a, b 323 a, b are in a lowered position, into the position for adult animals, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 16 , this leverage results in the side wall edge 112 , 212 of the feeding trough being raised synchronously with the raising of dispensing pipes 313 a, b 323 a, b . Dispensing pipes 312 a, b , 323 a,b are raised by a distance s, which is about six times as much as the height differential H of the side wall edge.
It is to be understood that variations and modifications can be made on the aforementioned structure and method without departing from the concepts of the present invention, and further it is to be understood that such concepts are intended to be covered by the following claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.
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A feeding trough which is accessible to livestock animals is disclosed, and is defined at the bottom and laterally by a bottom wall and side walls, respectively, wherein one of the side walls demarcates the trough interior for an access side from which the animals take up feed from the trough interior. The side wall on the access side has an upper side wall edge over which an animal's head must reach at least partly so that the animal can take up feed from the trough interior and a trough frame to which the feeding trough is fixed. An adjustment mechanism is provided for adjusting the height of the side wall edge on the access side relative to the trough frame.
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[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/937,519, filed Jun. 28, 2007.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention generally relates to method of fabricating integrally insulated concrete walls or wall components. This invention is an improvement of existing methods of fabricating the integrally insulated concrete wall or wall components.
[0003] Integrally insulated concrete walls (also known as sandwich walls) are well known in the art and offer a number of advantages to the residential, commercial, institutional and agricultural industry building construction. These walls are typically cast at a manufacturing plant or on-site. The walls can be cast horizontally or vertically and when cast vertically; the concrete is placed from top of the forms.
[0004] Integrally insulated concrete walls contain two outer layers or wythes of concrete sandwiching rigid insulation board. Connectors are used to tie the outer layer concrete with the inner layer concrete through the insulation. The connectors can be metallic or non-metallic. Typically, the rigid insulation board is a type of extruded polystyrene, expanded polystyrene, or polyisocyanurate or other rigid board insulation. Many types of connectors, both metallic and non-metallic, are available in the market.
[0005] One of the current fabrication techniques for plant cast wall panels is casting the panels horizontally in a casting bed. This method requires a large floor area in the plant and requires a secondary finishing operation to the top surface of the concrete. In the other method of plant cast panels, wall panels are cast vertically but the concrete is placed from the top of the form. In this method concrete is dropped from the top and requires substantial vibration to achieve a smooth finish to exterior surfaces of the concrete wythes. The disadvantage of dropping concrete from the top is that concrete tends to segregate and hence the drop height is often limited to eight feet which limits the wall height that can be poured. Dropping concrete also leads to an increase in entrained air. Additionally, placement of concrete can be difficult if not impossible when the exterior wythe thickness is less than three inches, a limitation which limits the minimum thickness of walls that can be formed. With increased thickness of the wythes, the weight of the wall component is more, this limiting the size of the wall component that can be transported to a remote location and increasing the cost of such shipping.
[0006] In the horizontal site cast application, also known as tilt-up, the panels are cast horizontally on the floor slab of the building. Typically in this method, the fascia wythe is placed first and then the insulation and connectors are placed on top of the fascia wythe while the concrete is still plastic. The structural wythe reinforcing is then placed on top of the insulation after about 24 hours or after the fascia concrete has hardened sufficiently. Finally, the structural wythe concrete is placed and finished.
[0007] In the vertical site cast application, the walls are formed in place with insulation and reinforcing and then the concrete is placed from the top of the form into the form with or without a tremie. When the concrete is dropped from the top of the form, the components of the concrete tend to segregate and also the concrete tends to entrain air. The concrete must be vibrated to consolidate the concrete and for concrete to flow into the large pockets typically left due to the restriction to concrete flow between the formwork due to the presence of reinforcing and door and window openings. However, this vibration process will cause the entrained air to travel towards the formwork and cause for surface blemishes.
[0008] In the present invention, the method of fabrication is improved by setting up the vertical forms in a manufacturing plant or on-site and introducing the concrete from the base or near the base in both wythes simultaneously.
[0009] The primary objective of the present invention is an improved method of fabrication of integrally insulated concrete wall that results in wall components that may have different surface finishes on the two outwardly facing surfaces.
[0010] Another objective of the present invention is the ability of setting up the formwork anywhere with little site preparation since the formwork can be self contained with adjustable sides, base and adjustable bulkhead.
[0011] Yet another objective of the present invention is to pump concrete from the bottom or near the base. This method eliminates the need for vibrating concrete.
[0012] Another objective of the present invention is to be able to construct vertical cast sandwich walls with thinner interior and/or exterior wythes.
[0013] A further objective of this invention is its ability to use different colored concrete or concrete with different properties in the fascia wythe and the structural wythe simultaneously.
[0014] Yet another objective is to construct taller single pour walls without segregation of concrete.
[0015] Yet another objective is to eliminate or limit insulation displacement during concrete placement.
[0016] Still another objective is to use a vacuum and/or pressurized air, fluid or both to assist in placing the concrete in the form.
[0017] These and other objectives become apparent from the following description of the invention.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0018] In the present invention of fabricating integrally insulated concrete wall, the wall panels are fabricated by casting the walls or wall components vertically and pumping the concrete from the bottom of the form or from sides near the base. Walls and wall components fabricated thus can be used in commercial, industrial, residential, and agricultural buildings. These panels can be cast on-site or in a manufacturing plant. The formwork for the panels contains a fixed vertical form and a moveable base form. The bulkheads are adjustable to accommodate various thickness of wall and various lengths of the wall. Once the height and length of the wall component is set, the reinforcing, insulation and the connectors are placed in the form. The end form is then placed to close the form. A ball valve, gate valve, plunger valve, or other similar valve system is used on or near the bottom of the form to introduce concrete in both wythes simultaneously. The wall panel can be one single panel or it can be multiple panels poured parallel to each other or it can be a multiple sided module.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the formwork and panel with preferred non-metallic connectors connecting the two wythes of concrete.
[0020] FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention wherein the formwork is provided with airtight seals and placement of the concrete in the form is assisted by a vacuum that communicates with the top of the form.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention wherein a concrete hopper is charged with a pressurized air, fluid or both to force the plastic concrete into the form without the need for a concrete pump.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] Illustrated in FIG. 1 , generally at 2 is the preferred embodiment of metal fixed vertical form for forming concrete sandwich wall components, including concrete sandwich walls. This form can also be made of other materials. Movable base 3 is an adjustable base so that different height and thickness walls can be constructed. This base 3 preferably includes a leveling mechanism to keep the base 3 level even if the ground is not level on-site. The base 3 contains one or more openings 4 with ball valve, a gate valve or a plunger valve or similar valve (not shown) to pump concrete from the bottom. Adjustable bulkheads 5 are set on top of the movable base 3 with help of magnets or other means to keep it in place. With adjustable and interchangeable bulkheads 5 , the length and thickness of the wall can be adjusted. After the bulkheads 5 are setup for the correct wall length and thickness, the reinforcing 9 for the wythe adjacent to the fixed form is placed. Then insulation 6 and the connectors 7 are placed in the form 2 . In the preferred embodiment, the insulation 6 is extruded polystyrene board insulation with fiber composite connectors 7 . After placing the insulation 6 , the reinforcing 9 for the other wythe is placed and the movable form 10 is placed at the correct location. In the preferred embodiment, another set of one or more openings 4 with a ball valve, a gate valve or a plunger valve or similar valve are located in the base closer to the movable form 10 . The whole assembly may be braced with braces 11 on both sides of the form 2 .
[0023] Concrete is then pumped from the bottom through opening 4 either with one pump or more pumps. When different colored or different properties concretes are used for two wythes, each type of concrete is pumped with different pump. The rate of pumping concrete is adjusted such that the concrete in both wythes fills up to substantially the same height simultaneously. In the alternate method of pumping, the concrete can be pumped from the sides near the base through the openings 12 on either or both sides or from the end of the form 2 . The pumping is continued until the concrete raises to the top of the form 2 or to the required height of the wall. If needed, lifting devices (not shown) are placed near the top of the forms using magnets or tied to the reinforcing 9 . When the concrete has hardened sufficiently, the forms are removed after the lifting lines are attached to the lifting hardware which is placed in the concrete during the fabrication process.
[0024] The multiple openings 4 allow plastic concrete to enter the form from both sides of the insulation 6 . If desired, concrete can be provided from different sources to the different wythes on opposite sides of the insulation 6 . Accordingly, different types of concrete can be used for the different wythes simultaneously. For example, one of the wythes may be formed of a concrete that is a different color that the concrete that forms the other wythe. In another example, concrete of different physical properties can be used to form the different wythes as may be advantageous if one of the wythes is an outside wall exposed to the elements and the other is a protected inside wall.
[0025] Haring openings 4 and 12 are particularly applicable if the form 2 is divided into regions that are not common at the bottom of the form 2 , as is the case if a door opening was being formed. Without multiple openings 4 and 12 , the plastic concrete would need to fill up the form on one side of the door opening until it exceeded the height of the door opening and then would pour down the height of the door opening into the other chamber of the form 2 .
[0026] Some of the alternate embodiments are to cast another wall on the other side of fixed form, which becomes the common form for both walls or wall components, to add another section of wall, perpendicular or at an angle to one or both ends of the wall. Another embodiment is to fabricate more than two walls or wall components side by side.
[0027] An advantage of the present invention is that introducing plastic concrete into the bottom of the form 2 , rather than pouring it in from the top as is done in the prior art, assists in forcing air out of the plastic concrete in the form 2 , thus reducing the need for vibration or other methods for removing air and reducing the occurrence of voids in the formed concrete due to air pockets. Introducing the plastic concrete into the bottom of the form 2 is also advantageous in that it reduces the hydraulic pressure that is imposed on the form 2 and insulation 6 by the plastic concrete compared to the conventional method wherein the plastic concrete is poured into the top of the form. Filling of the two sides of the form at the same time reduces the differential in pressure on the integrally located insulation and reduces the need for reinforcement of the insulation with the result that a greater variety of connectors can be used.
[0028] In an alternative embodiment, a form 16 is constructed so that it is air tight, including, for example, a top cover 18 ( FIG. 2 ). The interior of the form 16 is placed in communication with a vacuum chamber 20 or other source of a vacuum. Plastic concrete is provided in a hopper 22 that is connected to a pair of openings 24 and 26 on either side of the form 16 . Valves 28 and 30 control the flow of plastic concrete 36 into the form 16 . In operation, once the form 16 has been constructed and sealed, concrete is placed in the form 16 by opening of the valves 28 and 30 and connecting the vacuum source. The vacuum assists on drawing the concrete from the concrete hopper 22 into the form 16 and also assists in the removal of air from the form 16 .
[0029] In another alternative embodiment, an alternative concrete hopper 32 , 38 is provided with a bladder 40 or similar system for applying a positive pressure to the concrete to assist in forcing the plastic concrete 36 from the hopper 32 into the form 44 ( FIG. 3 ). Pressurized fluid 34 , such as air, another gas, or a liquid, is introduced above the bladder 40 through a supply line 42 . In this way, pressurized concrete is provided without the need for expensive and high maintenance concrete pumps. It is of course possible to combine the systems of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 wherein both a vacuum is created on the top of the form and pressurized fluid assists in introducing the plastic concrete into the form. If the plastic concrete has sufficiently low viscosity, such as some so called self consolidating concretes, gravity alone would be sufficient to force the plastic concrete into the form.
[0030] The foregoing description and drawings comprise illustrative embodiments of the present inventions. The foregoing embodiments and the methods described herein may vary based on the ability, experience, and preference of those skilled in the art. Merely listing the steps of the method in a certain order does not constitute any limitation on the order of the steps of the method. The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention, and the invention is not limited thereto, except insofar as the claims are so limited. Those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.
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A method for forming integrally insulated concrete sandwich walls or wall components is disclosed. The walls are fabricated by casting the walls vertically and pumping the concrete from the bottom of the form or from sides near the base. Walls fabricated thus can be used in commercial, industrial, residential, and agricultural buildings. These walls can be cast on-site or in a manufacturing plant.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/313,554, filed Dec. 6, 2002, which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for providing access to items to be dispensed, and relates more particularly to the automatic dispensing of medical supplies. The invention further relates to an apparatus and method for reducing the amount of power consumed by an automatic dispensing system.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] In typical medical facilities (for example, hospitals, clinics, rest homes, etc), medical supplies are maintained in centralized storage locations and delivered to remote locations (for example, an emergency room, patient ward, etc.) as needed. Once delivered, the medical supplies are then dispensed to a patient. “Medical supply” is intended to include, among others, any item that is administered to or dispensed for a patient or used by a medical caregiver to treat a patient (for example, pharmaceuticals, syringes, sterilized bandages, scalpels, etc.). The invention has been described herein with reference to the dispensing of medical supplies, but it should be recognized that the invention is applicable to fields other than the medical field.
[0006] A variety of systems are used for transferring (i.e., from the storage location to the remote locations) and for dispensing (i.e., from the remote locations to the patient) the medical supplies. A system may use, for example, mobile dispensing carts which are stocked at the centralized storage area and then wheeled to the remote location. The medical supplies may then be dispensed directly from the mobile dispensing cart for administering to the patient. Alternatively, a dispensing system may use a stationary dispensing cabinet located at the remote location. Medical supplies are dispensed from the dispensing cabinet for later administering to the patient. A restocking cart, loaded with replacement medical supplies from the centralized storage location, is used to replenish the stationary dispensing cabinet.
[0007] Of particular interest to the present invention are dispensing systems which dispense items which require close monitoring and control. A variety of schemes have been proposed for providing secured access to items that are held within such dispensing systems, including locking the items within the carts or allowing access to only one item at a time (commonly referred to as “single dose” or “unit dose” dispensing). In addition to providing secure access, the schemes direct the user to the location within the dispensing system of the item to be dispensed.
[0008] One such system is described in related U.S. Pat. No. 5,745,366 entitled “Pharmaceutical Dispensing Device and Methods” and U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,653 entitled “Methods and Devices for Dispensing Pharmaceutical and Medical Supply Items.” The system controls access to items to be dispensed and maintains an inventory of the items. The system includes a dispensing unit having a plurality of storage locations distributed within an enclosure. The storage locations may include a multiplicity of lockable receptacles disposed within at least some of the storage locations. The storage locations and the individual lockable receptacles may have sensors and indicator lights associated therewith.
[0009] A processor is operable to receive user input and, in response to the input, is operable to activate an indicator light corresponding to the storage location associated with the item to be dispensed. The processor activates locks to prevent access to non-selected storage locations. The processor unlocks the individual receptacle (within the selected storage location) containing the item to be dispensed and activates the indicator light corresponding to the unlocked receptacle. The processor is also connected to receive feedback signals from the receptacle-associated sensors, such that when the unlocked receptacle is opened by a user, a feedback signal is sent to the processor indicating that the item has been dispensed.
[0010] Another such system is described in related U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,109,774 entitled “Drawer Operating System” and U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,819 entitled “Jerk-Resistant Drawer Operation System.” The patents disclose a drawer operating system for controlling a plurality of elongated drawers having a plurality of bins consecutive with one another along a sliding direction for holding various dispensable items. The drawers are housed in an array in a cabinet, each drawer arranged to move independently between a closed position and graduated, progressively opened positions to allow access to one or more bins and the contents stored therein. The system controls access to the bins by only allowing the drawer to travel the distance necessary to expose the next bin containing the item. For example, if a drawer has five bins each containing the desired item, the system will only allow the drawer to move to a position in which the first bin is exposed. After the first bin is emptied, the system will only allow the drawer to move to a position in which the second bin is exposed. The process may be repeated until all five bins are emptied. The system includes a keyboard for inputting coded information concerning the particular item needed and information as to the party entering the information.
[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 6,011,999 entitled “Apparatus for Controlled Dispensing of Pharmaceutical and Medical Supplies” discloses a system for controlled dispensing of pharmaceutical and medical supplies. The system includes a cabinet having a plurality of drawers, each having a plurality of receptacles. Each receptacle is sized to hold one item and has an identifier associated therewith. Locks are provided for securing the lid. The locks include an electrically responsive actuator wire, which in response to an electrical current supplied to the electrically responsive actuator wire, causes the lock to engage and disengage the lid. A processor is in communication with the locks and is configured to send a signal to the electrically responsive actuator wire to actuate the lid. The lid is spring biased and includes a colored indicator on an inner portion of the lid, such that when unlocked, the lid pops open and the indicator is exposed.
[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,461 entitled “Method and Apparatus for the Dispensing of Drugs” discloses another dispensing system. The system includes modular receptacles which are filled and transported to remote automatic dispensing machines for later retrieval and distribution. The system includes the loading, refilling, and replacement of the modular receptacles at various stages in the process of the invention. The system includes a receptacle having a lockable lid. When required an electronic circuit causes a latch to be actuated, thus opening the lockable lid. The lid has a spring in the hinge assembly which pushes the lid open when the latch is freed, thus indicating to the user the correct receptacle.
[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,450 discloses a supply station with an internal computer. The supply station is comprised of a cabinet having a plurality of lockable doors. Information is provided to the computer which unlocks the doors and simultaneously and automatically updates a patient's record, billing information and hospital inventory. Relevant data may be displayed on a display or printed on a sheet of paper by a printer connected to the computer.
[0014] U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,297 discloses an auxiliary storage and dispensing unit for use with a computer-controlled supply and medication dispenser station. The dispensing unit includes a cabinet having a plurality of lockable doors, a device for interconnecting one or more of the doors to allow access to the cabinet and a door unlocking device interconnected to the computer-controlled station for selectively unlocking one or more of the doors as a function of information inputted to the station.
[0015] Computer controlled dispensing systems, such as those discussed above, have been developed in response to a number of problems existing in medical facilities. Computer controlled dispensing systems, for example, address problems such as the removal of medications by unauthorized personnel, dispensing the wrong medication for a patient, inaccurate record keeping, etc.
[0016] The AcuDose-Rx dispensing cabinet available from McKesson Automation Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pa. is an example of a computer controlled cabinet programmed to address the aforementioned problems. A user is required to logon to the computer (thereby identifying who is removing medications). After identifying a patient, the user is presented with a list of medications that have been approved for administering to the identified patient (thereby addressing the problem of incorrect dispensing). Records are kept for each dispensing event thereby creating an audit trail.
[0017] As discussed above, a variety of different storage options are available for dispensing cabinets to ensure the safe and accurate dispensing and administration of medications. These include, but are not limited to, drawers with individual locking pockets which provide access to only one medication in a drawer at any given time; unit-dose dispensing drawers, which provide access to one “unit-of-use” of a medication at any given time, and open matrix drawers, which consist of a plurality of open pockets and which provide access to multiple medications at any given time.
[0018] While such systems provide for access controlled dispensing, most require large amounts of power to keep the compartments locked. Furthermore, systems using lighted indicators require additional power, control circuitry, and wiring. In contrast, systems using non-lighted indicators rely on the drawer or lid to “spring” open. If an item is caught on the drawer or lid, an increased risk is encountered that the item will become airborne when the drawer or lid is opened. The airborne item may become lost or may strike a user.
[0019] Thus, a need exists for a secure unit dose dispensing cabinet that requires less power to operate and provides a mechanical indicator means for notifying the user of correct location of the item to be dispensed without “springing” open a drawer or lid. Additionally, there exists a need for a safer, less error-prone dispensing and replenishment system.
SUMMARY
[0020] One aspect of the present invention relates to an assembly comprising a plurality of bins, a plurality of lids each associated with one of the plurality of bins, wherein each of the bins has a notched tab and a touch latch. The notched tab and the touch latch are in one of an engaged state and a disengaged state when said lid is in a closed position. The assembly includes a lock assembly including a catch operable to prevent the notched tab and the touch latch from changing state and a mechanical indicator responsive to the catch.
[0021] Another aspect of the present invention relates to an automated dispensing cabinet, comprising a plurality of drawers, wherein at least one of the drawers includes a plurality of row assemblies, each of the row assemblies having a plurality of bins. Each of the plurality of bins includes a lid having a tab attached thereto, a touch latch operable to one of engage and disengage the tab when the lid is in a closed position, a lock assembly including a catch operable to prevent the notched tab and the touch latch from one of engaging and disengaging, and a mechanical indicator responsive to the lock assembly and viewable when the lid is in a closed position. The automated dispensing cabinet also includes a control computer operable to lock and unlock the plurality of drawers and to control the position of the catch of each of the bins.
[0022] Additionally, an aspect of the present invention relates to a method for dispensing an item contained in remote dispensing system. The method comprises granting a user access to the remote dispensing system having a plurality of lockable drawers with a plurality of lockable bins, accepting dispensing information from the user, unlocking at least one of the plurality of drawers, wherein the unlocked drawer contains an item to be dispensed, unlocking at least one of the plurality of bins located within the unlocked drawer while changing the state of a mechanical indicator associated with a bin that has been unlocked, verifying that the user has closed the unlocked bin, and locking the at least one of the plurality of bins and the at least one of the plurality of drawers.
[0023] Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method for restocking items contained in a remote dispensing system including a cabinet having with a plurality of drawers, at least one of the plurality of drawers having a plurality of bin row assemblies. The method comprises selecting a bin row assembly, opening the drawer containing the bin row assembly, identifying the selected bin row assembly, removing the selected bin row assembly from the drawer, inserting a restocked bin row assembly in place of the removed selected bin row assembly.
[0024] Yet another aspect of the present invention relates to an assembly comprising a plurality of bins, a plurality of lids, each lid being associated with one of the plurality of bins, each of the bins having a notched tab, a lock assembly including a catch operable to one of engage or disengage the notched tab when the lid is in a closed position, and a mechanical indicator responsive to the catch.
[0025] Those advantages and benefits, and others, will be apparent from the Detailed Description below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] To enable the present invention to be easily understood and readily practiced, the present invention will now be described for purposes of illustration and not limitation, in connection with the following figures wherein:
[0027] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dispensing system located at a decentralized location according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0028] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a lockable drawer for the dispensing system shown in FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0029] FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a bin row assembly for the lockable drawer shown in FIG. 2 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0030] FIG. 3B is a front view of a the bin row assembly of FIG. 3A according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0031] FIGS. 3C and 3D are left and right side views, respectively, of the bin row assembly of FIG. 3A according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0032] FIG. 3E is a top view of the bin row assembly of FIG. 3A according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0033] FIG. 3F is an exploded view of the bin row assembly of FIG. 3A according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0034] FIGS. 3G and 3H illustrate a touch latch in the unhooked and hooked positions, respectively according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0035] FIG. 4A illustrates a power control circuit board for the bin row assembly of FIG. 3A according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0036] FIG. 4B is a detailed view of a portion of the power control board for the bin row assembly illustrated in FIG. 4A according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0037] FIG. 4C is an exploded view of a portion of the power control board for the bin row assembly of FIG. 3A according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0038] FIG. 4D is a sectional view taken along the lines A-A of the portion of the power control board for the bin row assembly illustrated in FIG. 4B .
[0039] FIG. 5 illustrates an operational process for dispensing items from the remote dispensing system shown in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0040] FIG. 6 illustrates an operational process for restocking dispensed items from the remote dispensing system shown in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0041] FIGS. 7A-7C are an electrical schematic of an input/output interface circuit and a manually activated override interface circuit for the remote dispensing system illustrated in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0042] FIGS. 8A and 8B are an electrical schematic of a relay select circuit for the remote dispensing system illustrated in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0043] FIGS. 9A and 9B are an electrical schematic of a manual override sequence control circuit for the remote dispensing system illustrated in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0044] FIG. 10 is an electrical schemata of feedback circuits for the remote dispensing system illustrated in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0045] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a remote dispensing system 10 located at a decentralized location according to one embodiment of the present invention. The system 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 may be comprised of, for example, an AcuDose-Rx™ cabinet 12 (available from McKesson Automation inc., 700 Waterfront Drive, Pittsburgh, Pa.) having a control computer 14 , and an AcuDose-Rx™ auxiliary cabinet 16 . A supply tower 18 is also illustrated. The control computer 14 controls the operation of the cabinet 12 , auxiliary cabinet 16 , and supply tower 18 .
[0046] The control computer 14 may include a memory device (not shown, such as a disk drive, tape drive, CD-ROM drive, etc.) having a local database. The local database may contain inventory, user, and patient information (among others). Alternatively, the control computer 14 may be in communication with another computer (for example, located at the centralized storage location) having a central database which contains the inventory, user, and patient information (among others).
[0047] The control computer 14 accepts entry of inventory, user, patient, and other information via a keyboard 20 , scanning device 22 , and datalink (not shown), among others. The control computer 14 , in programmed interaction with the entered information, provides output information to a display 24 , printer (not shown), etc. and provides output control signals to the cabinet 12 , auxiliary cabinet 16 , and supply tower 18 , etc.
[0048] The control computer 14 may be programmed to regulate access to the system's cabinets 12 , 16 and supply tower 18 and to generate records related to access, inventory, etc. The records may be stored in the local database, displayed on the display 24 , printed by a printer unit, or transmitted to a central database (among others). The control computer 14 may be preprogrammed with appropriate information regarding the medication types associated with, and their exact location within, each cabinet 12 , auxiliary cabinet 16 and supply tower 18 . The programming may, for example, be entered directly into the control computer 14 or downloaded from the central database.
[0049] As will be discussed in greater detail in conjunction with FIGS. 5 and 6 , a user logs onto the control computer 14 to perform a dispensing operation. After log-on, patient information and information regarding items to be dispensed are entered. Based on the entered information, the appropriate drawers 26 in the cabinet 12 and the auxiliary cabinet 16 , and various doors 28 on the supply tower 18 are unlocked. The user then accesses the unlocked drawers 26 and doors 28 and removes the appropriate item. After the item to be dispensed has been removed, its removal is recorded at the control computer 14 . The record may be entered manually by the user or automatically by a feedback signal. The user may continue to dispense items for the identified patient, enter patient information for another patient, or logoff.
[0050] Entry of information, including log-in, can be performed in a variety of ways with a variety of input devices, for example, using the keyboard 20 and barcode scanning 22 . Additional input devices or input means, for example, a touch screen, selecting items from a pick list, RF ID), flash memory, magnetic strips, OCR (none of which are shown), etc., may also be used. The reader will understand that the hardware illustrated in FIG. 1 is exemplary and is illustrated for purposes of demonstrating one type of hardware which may be located at the decentralized location.
[0051] The hardware illustrated in FIG. 1 limits access to the items to be dispensed to those individuals who have properly logged on. Thus, the hardware illustrated in FIG. 1 is referred to as a closed system for performing dispensing operations because a dispensing operation cannot be performed unless the user is identified to, and recognized by, the control computer 14 .
[0052] It should be noted that in the current embodiment, a limited access manual override system is also provided. Access is limited to individuals having keys to the rear of the AcuDose-Rx cabinet 12 , AcuDose-Rx auxiliary cabinet 16 , and AcuDose-Rx supply tower 18 .
[0053] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one type of a lockable drawer 26 for use with the dispensing system 10 shown in FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. For example, the lockable drawer 26 may be one of the drawers 26 from the AcuDose-RxTM cabinet 12 or from the auxiliary cabinet 16 . Lockable drawer 26 is comprised of a housing 30 , a frame 31 , and a pair of slides 32 (one of which is seen in FIG. 2 ) which enable the frame 31 to move relative to the housing 30 . As illustrated in FIG. 2 , five (5) bin row assemblies 34 , each having five (5) bins 36 are secured to the frame 31 . The frame 31 and bin row assemblies 34 are slidably moveable between a closed position within the housing 30 and an open position outside of the housing 30 . It should be noted that the housing 30 may have a single frame 31 (with a plurality of bin row assemblies 34 secured thereto, for example, as shown in FIG. 2 ) or with a number of frames 31 (each having a single bin row assembly 34 secured thereto, for example) each mounted on corresponding slides 31 .
[0054] For simplicity, in the current embodiment the bins 36 are numbered from left-to-right and from back-to-front, relative to the lockable drawer 26 . Thus as illustrated, the first bin row assembly 34 is comprised of bins 1 - 5 , the second bin row assembly 34 is comprised of bins 6 - 10 , the third bin row assembly 34 is comprised of bins 11 - 15 , etc. It should be noted that the number of bin row assemblies 34 per drawer 26 , the number of bins 36 per bin row assembly 34 , and the scheme used to number the bin row assemblies 34 and bins 36 may be altered while remaining within the scope of the present invention.
[0055] The bin row assemblies 34 , to facilitate restocking procedures or changing of inventory, are separable from the open drawer 26 . For example if the bins 6 - 10 need to be restocked, the second bin row assembly may be removed from the open drawer 26 , taken to the central storage location, restocked, and then returned to the open drawer 26 , or swapped out with another bin row assembly, i.e., the second bin row assembly may be removed from the open drawer 26 and a previously stocked replacement bin row assembly 34 may be substituted in place of the second bin row assembly.
[0056] FIGS. 3A-3F are perspective, front, left side, right side, top, and exploded views, respectively, of a bin row assembly 34 for the dispensing system 10 shown in FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As best seen in FIG. 3E , the bin row assembly 34 is comprised of a base 38 , front wall 40 , back wall 42 , side wall 44 , and interior partitions 46 . As illustrated, the bin row assembly 34 in the current embodiment contains five (5) bins 36 . The front wall 40 includes a lip 48 and one or more spacers 50 configured to receive a power control circuit board 52 . The power control circuit board 52 is positioned under the lip 48 , abutting the spacers 50 , and attached to the front wall 40 (for example, with screws). The lip 48 includes a slotted indicator window 54 and a latching mechanism aperture 56 for each bin 36 .
[0057] A lid 58 is attached to the back wall 42 of each bin 36 via a hinge mechanism 60 . When the lid 58 is in the closed position, a notched tab 62 on the lid 58 enters the aperture 56 in the lip 48 and engages with a touch latch 63 that is mounted to the bin 36 (for example, on the lip 48 under the aperture 56 , among others). The touch latch 63 , as is known in the art, operates by pushing the notched tab 62 on the lid 58 into the touch latch 63 . The notched tab 62 “hooks” with the touch latch 63 . Referring briefly to FIG. 3H , a touch latch is illustrated in the hooked position. Thus, the lid 58 is closed it by pushing it down until the touch latch 63 latches and holds it closed. The lid 58 is opened by pushing down on the lid 58 again which causes the touch latch 63 to release (i.e., “unhook”) the lid 58 . Referring briefly to FIG. 3G , a touch latch is illustrated in the unhooked position.
[0058] When closed, the lid 58 may be locked in place by a lock assembly 66 (shown in FIGS. 4A-4C ) contained on the power control circuit board 52 . In the current embodiment, each bin 36 has a lid 58 associated therewith. Additionally, each lid 58 may be constructed of a transparent material so that both the contents of the bin 36 and the slotted indicator window 54 can be viewed when the lid 58 is in the closed position.
[0059] When a lid 58 is in the closed position (i.e., engaged by the touch latch 63 ) and locked by the lock assembly 66 , the slotted indicator window 54 displays a first color (for example, red) indicating to the user that the lid 58 cannot be opened. When the lid 58 is unlocked by the lock assembly 66 , the slotted indicator window 54 displays another color (for example, green) indicating to the user that the lid 58 can be opened. It should be noted that in the current embodiment, the indicator can be viewed even when the lid 58 remains closed. It should further be noted that other types of mechanical indicators may be used that permit the indicator to be viewed when the lid 58 is closed while remaining within the scope of the present invention.
[0060] It should be noted that an assembly having an alternative latching/locking means may be used while remaining within the scope of the present invention. For example, a lid 58 may have a notched tab 62 that is engaged by the lock assembly 66 without using a touch latch 63 . In one instance, the lock assembly's catch 74 may engage the notched tab 62 when the lid is in a closed position.
[0061] It should further be noted that, although the bin row assembly 34 of the current embodiment has five (5) bins, the number of bins 36 may be varied while remaining with the scope of the present invention. Additionally, certain bins 36 may not have a lid 58 associated therewith, for example, a bin 36 containing non-regulated supplies may not have a lid 58 .
[0062] FIG. 4A illustrates a power control circuit board 52 for the bin row assembly 34 of FIG. 3A according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 4B-4D are detailed, exploded, and sectional views of a portion of the power control circuit board 52 for the bin row assembly 34 illustrated in FIG. 4A according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0063] Referring to FIG. 4A , power control circuit board 52 is comprised of a backing plate 64 with five (5) latch assemblies 66 (i.e., one associated with each bin 36 ) and a connector 68 attached thereto. The connector 68 is used to connect signal and power conductors for each lock assembly 66 to the system 10 . For example, the connector 68 couples with a complimentary connector (not shown) that is in electrical communication with the control computer 14 . The complimentary connector in the present embodiment is located on the drawer 26 .
[0064] As best seen in FIG. 4C , in the current embodiment each locking assembly 66 includes a solenoid 70 , pivot arm 72 , catch 74 . The catch 74 , in the current embodiment, includes the mechanical indicator for notifying the user whether the bin 36 is locked or unlocked. The lock assembly 66 may also include a relay 82 , Hall-effect sensor 84 , as well as associated hardware, for example, flat washers 76 , fastener standoff 78 , and screws 80 , among others.
[0065] In the current embodiment, latching solenoids 70 are used. A latching solenoid 70 refers to a solenoid 70 that does not have a default mechanical state and must receive an electrical pulse to change states. For, example in the current embodiment, the catch 74 slides from side to side to lock and unlock the lid 58 . When the catch 74 is engaged (i.e., the lid 58 is locked), the notched tab 62 of the lid 58 is prevented from being pushed down far enough to change the state of (i.e., engage or disengage) the touch latch. If power is removed from the latching solenoid 70 , the catch 74 remains engaged. The catch 74 remains engaged until a control pulse is applied to the latching solenoid 70 . Likewise, when a bin 36 is unlocked, the catch 74 is disengaged. If power is removed from the latching solenoid 70 , the catch 74 remains disengaged. The catch 74 remains disengaged until a control pulse is applied to the latching solenoid 70 . Thus, the use of latching solenoids 70 reduces the amount of power needed to operate the dispensing system 10 . It should be noted that other means for moving the catch 74 (for example, a non-latching solenoid, a motor, a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder, an actuator, an electromagnet, etc.) may be used while remaining within the scope of the present invention.
[0066] Referring now to FIG. 4B , the lock assembly 66 is shown in the locked (i.e., engaged) position. For simplicity, the notched tab 62 and touch latch 63 are not shown in FIG. 4B . When an electrical pulse is applied via the relay 82 to the solenoid 70 , the solenoid plunger 71 extends (moves to the left as shown), causing the pivot arm 72 to rotate clockwise about its pivot point. The pivot arm 72 , in turn, causes the catch 74 to unlock (i.e., move to the right as shown) the lid 58 . When the lock assembly 66 is in the disengaged position and an electrical pulse with opposite polarity is applied to the solenoid 70 via the relay 82 , the solenoid plunger 71 retracts (moves to the right as shown), causing the pivot arm 72 to rotate counterclockwise about its pivot point. The pivot arm 72 , in turn, causes the catch 74 to unlock (i.e., move to the left as shown) the lid 58 . The Hall-effect sensor 84 produces a feedback signal (that is sent to the control computer 14 ) indicative of whether the lid 58 is closed or open.
[0067] As discussed above, when the lock assembly 66 is engaged, the notched tab 62 of the lid 58 is prevented from being pushed down far enough to change the state of (i.e., engage or disengage) the touch latch 63 . Thus, it should be apparent to one skilled in the art that the direction of travel of the catch 74 to lock and unlock the lid may be changed while remaining within the scope of the present invention.
[0068] In the current embodiment, the locking/unlocking and the mechanical indication of the bin's status (i.e., locked or unlocked) are combined in a unitary function, i.e., as the bin is locked or unlocked, the mechanical indicator changes state. The catch 74 , for example, may have an indicia (such as colors, words, symbols, marks, etc.) representative of whether the catch is engaged (i.e., the bin 36 is locked) or disengaged (i.e., the bin 36 is unlocked). For example as discussed in conjunction with FIGS. 3A-3F , catch 74 may have red colored portions and green colored portions which show through the indicator window 54 when the bin in locked and unlocked, respectively. It should be noted, however, that other mechanical indicia, such as raising a flag or pin, rotating a cylinder having “locked” on one portion and “unlocked” on another portion, turning a dial, etc. may be used while remaining within the scope of the present invention. Also, the function need not be unitary, that is, the bin may be locked or unlocked followed by the mechanical indicator changing state. It should be apparent to one skilled in the art that any mechanical indicator that is responsive to the lock assembly 66 may be used while remaining within the scope of the present invention.
[0069] FIG. 5 illustrates an operational process 500 for dispensing items at a remote dispensing system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Operation 500 is initialized by a user logging onto the remote dispensing system's control computer 14 at operation 501 . In the current embodiment, the remote dispensing system 10 includes a control computer 14 , AcuDose-Rx cabinet 12 , AcuDose-Rx auxiliary cabinet 16 , and a supply tower 16 as discussed in conjunction with FIG. 1 .
[0070] After logging onto the control computer 14 , the user is granted access to the remote dispensing system 10 in operation 502 . In the current embodiment, the access may be either restricted or unrestricted. Restricted access allows the user to access fewer than all of the drawers 26 and bins 36 located at the remote dispensing station 10 and prevents the user from removing some or all of the bin row assemblies 34 from a drawer 26 . On the contrary, unrestricted access allows the user access to all of the drawers 26 and bins 34 located at the remote dispensing station 10 and allows the user to removing all of the bin row assemblies 34 from a drawer 26 .
[0071] The control computer 14 then accepts dispensing information from said user in operation 503 . In the current embodiment, dispensing information may include inventory, user, patient, and prescription information, among others. The dispensing information may be entered via a keyboard 20 , scanning device 22 , and datalink (not shown), among others.
[0072] After accepting the dispensing information, the drawers 26 containing the items to be dispensed are unlocked in operation 504 . In the current embodiment, the control computer 14 , in programmed interaction with the entered information, provides the output control signals for unlocking the drawers 26 of the cabinet 12 , auxiliary cabinet 16 , and supply tower 18 .
[0073] The bins 36 within the unlocked drawers 26 , which contain the items to be dispensed, are unlocked in operation 505 . In the current embodiment, the bins 36 contain a mechanism that not only locks/unlocks the bin 36 , but also simultaneously indicates to the user whether the bin 36 is locked or unlocked. In the current embodiment, a mechanical indicator is used which can be viewed when the bin's lid 58 is closed. It should be noted that even when unlocked, the bin's lid 58 remains closed until lifted by the user, or the lid can be spring loaded so the pushing down on an unlocked lid causes the lid to spring up.
[0074] Once the bin(s) 36 have been unlocked, the user can remove the desired item and close the bin lid 58 . Typically, the user then enters information into computer 14 to create a dispensing record. In the current embodiment, feedback signals are sent from the bins 36 to the control computer. The feedback signals may be used, among others, to verify whether a drawer 26 , bin 36 , etc. is locked or unlocked, and whether a bin's lid 58 is opened or closed.
[0075] After the remote dispensing station 10 verifies that the user has closed the unlocked bin(s) 36 and closed the drawer 26 in operation 506 , the closed bins 36 and closed drawer 26 are locked in operation 507 . As discussed above, the mechanism used not only locks/unlocks the bin 36 , but also simultaneously indicates to the user whether the bin 36 is locked or unlocked. A mechanical indicator is used which can be viewed when the bin's lid 58 is closed.
[0076] After the opened bins 36 and drawers 26 are locked in operation 507 , the user indicates whether another dispense is desired in operation 508 . If another dispense is desired, operational process 600 returns to operation 603 and the user enters new dispensing information. If another dispensing operation is not desired, the user is logged off of the control computer 14 in operation 509 .
[0077] FIG. 6 illustrates an operational process 600 for restocking dispensed items with the remote dispensing system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Operation 600 is initiated by operation 601 when the remote dispensing system 10 detects that a bin row assembly 34 within the remote system 10 is depleted or below par (i.e., below an acceptable inventory level). In the current embodiment, the control computer 14 may be manually notified by a user, notified by a centralized computer, or the control computer 14 may automatically detect, that a bin row assembly 34 has been selected (i.e., it is depleted or below par).
[0078] The remote dispensing system 10 then unlocks the drawer 26 containing the selected bin row assembly 34 in operation 602 . In the current embodiment, the user is notified of which drawer 26 has been unlocked on the control computer display 14 . Alternatively, an indicator located on the cabinet or auxiliary cabinet may also be used to notify the user.
[0079] The selected bin row assembly 34 , within the unlocked drawer 26 , is then identified in operation 603 . In the current embodiment, the selected bin row assembly 34 is identified on the control computer display 24 . Alternatively, an indicator located on the drawer, cabinet, or auxiliary cabinet may also be used to identify the selected bin row assembly 34 .
[0080] After the selected bin row assembly 34 has been identified, the user removes the selected bin row assembly 34 from the drawer 26 in operation 604 . In one embodiment, the bin row assembly 34 can be secured within the drawer 26 such that a user having restricted access (as discussed in conjunction with FIG. 5 ) can only remove the selected bin row assembly 34 from the drawer 26 that has been unsecured by the control computer 14 . The user having restricted access is unable to remove the bin row assemblies that remain secured.
[0081] A restocked bin row assembly 34 is then inserted into the drawer 26 in operation 605 . In the current embodiment, the restocked bin row assembly 34 is filled at a centralized storage location. Each bin in the restocked bin row assembly 34 is locked at the centralized storage location, prior to transporting the restocked bin row assembly 34 to the remote dispensing system 10 . After the restocked bin row assembly 34 is inserted into the unlocked drawer 26 and the drawer 26 is closed, the control computer 14 locks the drawer 26 in operation 606 . Operational process 600 is then terminated in operation 607 .
[0082] FIGS. 7A-7C are an electrical schematic of an input/output interface circuit 86 and a manual override interface circuit 94 for the remote dispensing system 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The input/output interface circuit includes filters 87 , flip-flops 88 , inverters 89 , and buffers 90 , among others. Column select and row select input bits on pins 91 , sent from control computer 14 , are received by the input output interface circuit 86 , inverted, buffered and output to a relay select circuit 92 (discussed in conjunction with FIG. 8 ) via row select and column select pins 93 . FIG. 7 also illustrates a manual override interface circuit 94 , which in conjunction with a flip-flop 88 A, may be used to disable the row and column select inputs 91 should a manual override be instituted. FIG. 7 also illustrates a start transaction bit carried on line 102 which is input to a power drive 104 through a one-shot 106 . Finally, a flip-flop 88 is used to generate signals for determining the direction needed to drive the solenoids 70 . It should be noted that alternative input/output interface and manual override interface circuits may be used while remaining within the scope of the present invention.
[0083] FIG. 8 is an electrical schematic of a relay select circuit 92 for the remote dispensing system 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the current embodiment, the relay select circuit 92 has a row select circuit 108 and a column select circuit 110 that receive signals from the row select and column select pins 93 of the input/output interface circuit 86 . The row select circuit 108 and column select circuit 110 each fire one of a plurality of output lines that feed a grid or matrix of relay circuits 95 . In the current embodiment, each bin 36 in the remote dispensing station 10 has a corresponding relay circuit 95 . If a given relay circuit 95 receives both a row select signal (e.g., “X”) and a column select signal (e.g., “Y”), the relay for that “X-Y” coordinate is selected. The output of the relay circuit 95 is used to pulse the latching mechanism's 66 latching solenoid 70 for the desired bin 36 , thus locking or unlocking the bin 36 . It should be noted that an alternative relay select circuits or other circuits may be used to actuate the latching mechanism 66 for locking and unlocking the bins 36 while remaining within the scope of the present invention.
[0084] FIG. 9 is an electrical schematic of a manual override sequence control circuit 96 for the remote dispensing system 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The circuit of FIG. 9 is comprised of a pair of counters that enable each bin 36 of a selected drawer 26 to be separately and sequentially addressed and unlocked, before proceeding to the next drawer and separately and sequentially addressing and unlocking all of the bins 36 in that drawer 26 . In this manner, the power requirements are maintained at an acceptable level. A similar scheme could be implemented with the control computer 14 if it is still functioning and an override is needed for some reasons other than a control computer 14 malfunction. It should be noted that the actual sequence employed, as well as the auto-sequence circuit used for the manual override (among others) may be varied while remaining within the scope of the present invention.
[0085] FIG. 10 is an electrical schematic of a portion of a feedback circuit for the remote dispensing system 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As discussed, the latching mechanism 66 for each bin 36 produces one or more feedback signals. For example, a feedback signal may indicate that the lid 58 is opened or closed (e.g., designated as 0/C in FIG. 10 ). In the current embodiment, the feedback signal for the bins 36 in each column (i.e., within a drawer 26 ) are sent to a feedback selector 114 . It should be noted that only one feedback selector 114 is shown in FIG. 10 for simplicity. Although not shown in FIG. 10 , the feedback circuit includes a number of feedback selectors 114 to receive feedback from each bin 36 . The output of the feedback selectors 114 are then sent to the control computer 14 (e.g., via pin PORT 3 BIT 0 ). It should be noted that other feedback circuits may be used while remaining within the scope of the present invention.
[0086] It should be recognized that the above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to be illustrative only. Numerous alternative embodiments may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the following claims.
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One aspect of the invention relates to an assembly comprising a plurality of bins with a plurality of lids associated therewith. Each of the bins has a lock assembly that includes a catch operable to lock the lid in its closed position and a mechanical indicator responsive to the catch. Another aspect of the invention relates to an automated dispensing cabinet that includes a control computer and a plurality of row assemblies therein. Each row assembly has bins that include a tabbed lid, a lock assembly with a catch operable to engage and disengage the tab, and an indicator responsive to the lock assembly. Methods for dispensing from and restocking the remote dispensing systems are also given, as well as a method for indicating which item is to be dispensed from one of a plurality of bins.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a window treatment having covering material extending from a headrail to a bottom bar, and more specifically, to a window treatment mechanisms allowing for easy leveling of the bottom bar without the use or tools or disassembling the window treatment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Window treatments typically include a flexible fabric or other means for covering a window in order to block or limit the daylight entering a space and to provide privacy. The window treatments for some covering materials, such as, cellular shades, Roman shades, and Venentian blinds, include two parallel lift cords extending from a bottom bar to spools on a drive shift around which the lift cords are adapted to wrap. The drive shaft may be rotated in a first rotational direction to wrap the lift cords around the spools and thus raise the bottom bar. The covering material collects on top of the bar as the bottom bar is raised, thus exposing the window and allowing daylight to enter the space. The drive shaft may be rotated in a second rotational direction to unwrap the lift cords from around the spools and thus lower the bottom bar.
If the amounts of the lift cords that extend from the bottom bar to the respective spools on the drive shaft are different from one another, the bottom bar may appear unlevel to an observer when viewed from the inside or the outside of the window. Accordingly, it is desirable to adjust the amount of the lift cords that extend between the spools on the drive shaft and the bottom bar to be able to level the bottom bar. However, prior art methods of leveling the bottom bar involved difficult and/or inaccurate procedures and sometimes required the bottom bar to be unassembled, which often required the use of tools. Therefore, there is a need for a simple method of leveling the bottom bar of a window treatment having two parallel lift cords.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a window treatment having mechanisms allowing for easy leveling of a bottom bar of the window treatment without the use of tools and without requiring any portion of the window treatment to be disassembled. The mechanisms allow for incremental adjustment of the amounts of each of two lift cords that extend from the bottom bar to a headrail of the motorized window treatment to thus provide fine-tuning adjustment of the levelness of the bottom bar. The mechanisms are hidden from view on the sides of the bottom bar, such that the mechanisms do not detract from the attractive, aesthetically pleasing appearance of the window treatment.
As described herein, an example window treatment may include: (1) a covering material having a top end and a bottom end; (2) a bottom bar coupled to the covering material at the bottom end; (3) a drive shaft located adjacent the top end of the covering material, the drive shaft operable to raise and lower the covering material; (4) a lift cord rotatably received around the drive shaft and extending to the bottom bar, such that rotation of the drive shaft in a first direction raises the covering material, and rotation of the drive shaft in a second direction lowers the covering material; and (5) a lift cord adjustment mechanism coupled to the bottom bar, the lift cord adjustment mechanism comprising a pulley having a circumferential groove. The pulley may be rotatably coupled with respect to the bottom bar, such that a portion of the pulley protrudes relative to an exterior surface of the bottom bar. The lift cord may be secured relative to the groove, such that rotation of the pulley causes the lift cord to wrap around the pulley within the groove, thereby adjusting an amount of the lift cord that extends from the drive shaft to the lift cord adjustment mechanism.
An example lift cord adjustment mechanism for a window treatment is also described herein. The window treatment may include a covering material and a lift cord that is rotatably received around a drive shaft and extends to a bottom bar of the window treatment, such that rotations of the drive shaft in first and second directions respectively raise and lower the covering material. The lift cord adjustment mechanism may include a compartment having a bump arranged on a surface of the compartment, and a pulley rotatably received in the compartment. The pulley may define a circumferential groove surrounded by two flanges, and may be arranged in the compartment such that the periphery of the flanges may be actuated by a user to rotate the pulley. At least one of the flanges may define teeth lining the circumference of the flange, and the bump may be adapted to be received between two adjacent teeth of the one of the flanges. The lift cord may be adapted to be received in the groove and wrap around the pulley, such that an amount of the lift cord that extends from the drive shaft to the lift cord adjustment mechanism may be adjusted in response to rotations of the pulley of the lift cord adjustment mechanism.
As further described herein, an example window treatment may include: (1) a covering material extending longitudinally from a top end to a bottom end; (2) a bottom bar coupled to the bottom end of the covering material, the bottom bar extending laterally across the bottom end of the covering material between two opposite bar ends; (3) a drive shaft positioned adjacent the top end of the covering material; the drive shaft operable to raise and lower the covering material; (4) a lift cord rotatably received around the drive shaft and extending to the bottom bar, such that rotation of the drive shaft in a first direction raises the covering material, and rotation of the drive shaft in a second direction lowers the covering material; and (5) a lift cord adjustment mechanism that is configured to rotate about a longitudinally extending axis, the lift cord adjustment mechanism located at one of the bar ends of the bottom bar and directly accessible through the bar end, the lift cord extending from the drive shaft to the lift cord adjustment mechanism. Manual rotation of the lift cord adjustment mechanism may adjust an amount of the lift cord that extends from the drive shaft to the lift cord adjustment mechanism.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention that refers to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described in greater detail in the following detailed description with reference to the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a battery-powered motorized window treatment according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a front view of the motorized window treatment of FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of one end of a bottom bar of the motorized window treatment of FIG. 1 showing a lift cord adjustment mechanism;
FIG. 4 is a top cross-sectional view of the bottom bar of the motorized window treatment of FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of the lift cord adjustment mechanism of FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the lift cord adjustment mechanism of FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 7 is a front view of the lift cord adjustment mechanism of FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 8 is a top cross-sectional view of the lift cord adjustment mechanism of FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 9 is a bottom cross-sectional view of the lift cord adjustment mechanism of FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 10 is a left side cross-sectional view of the lift cord adjustment mechanism of FIG. 3 ; and
FIG. 11 is a rear cross-sectional view of the lift cord adjustment mechanism of FIG. 3 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purposes of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings an embodiment that is presently preferred, in which like numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the specific methods and instrumentalities disclosed.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a battery-powered motorized window treatment 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The battery-powered motorized window treatment 110 comprises a covering material (e.g., a cellular shade fabric 112 ) that is adapted to hang (i.e., extend longitudinally) in front of a window and may be adjusted between a fully-open position P FULLY-OPEN and a fully-closed position P FULLY-CLOSED to control the amount of daylight entering a room or space. The cellular shade fabric 112 has a top end connected to a headrail 114 and a bottom end connected to a bottom bar 116 (e.g., a weighting element), which extends laterally across the bottom end of the cellular shade fabric. The motorized window treatment 110 has mounting brackets 115 for mounting the headrail 114 to a wall or a ceiling. The motorized window treatment 110 comprises a motor drive unit 120 for raising and lowering the weighting element 116 and the cellular shade fabric 112 between the fully-open position P FULLY-OPEN and the fully-closed position P FULLY-CLOSED . By controlling the amount of the window covered by the cellular shade fabric 112 , the motorized window treatment 110 is able to control the amount of daylight entering the room. In addition, the battery-powered motorized window treatment 110 could alternatively comprise other types of covering materials, such as, for example, a plurality of horizontally-extending slats (i.e., a Venetian or Persian blind system), pleated blinds, a roller shade fabric, or a Roman shade fabric.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the battery-powered motorized window treatment 110 with a front portion of the headrail 114 removed to show the motor drive unit 120 , which is located in the center of the headrail. The motorized window treatment 110 comprises lift cords 130 that each comprise a first end 130 A and a second end 130 B opposite the first end. The lift cords 130 extend from the headrail 114 to the bottom bar 116 for allowing the motor drive unit 120 to raise and lower the bottom bar. The motor drive unit 120 includes an internal motor (not shown) coupled to drive shafts 132 that extend from the motor on each side of the motor and are each coupled to a respective lift cord spool 134 . The first ends 130 A of each lift cords 130 are operatively coupled to the respective drive shafts 132 , such that the lift cords 130 are windingly received around the lift cord spools 134 as the drive shafts are rotated to raise the covering material 112 . The second ends 130 B of the lift cords 130 are fixedly attached to the weighting element 116 , and the motor drive unit 120 is operable to rotate the drive shafts 132 to raise and lower the weighting element. The motorized window treatment 110 further comprises two constant-force spring assist assemblies 135 , which are each coupled to the drive shafts 132 adjacent to one of the two lift cord spools 134 . Each of the lift cord spools 134 and the adjacent constant-force spring assist assembly 135 are housed in a respective lift cord spool enclosure 136 as shown in FIG. 2 . Alternatively, the motorized window treatment 110 could comprise a single drive shaft, which extends along the length of the headrail 114 and is coupled to both of the lift cord spools 134 , and the motor drive unit 120 could be located at either end of the headrail.
The battery-powered motorized window treatment 110 also comprises a plurality of batteries 138 (e.g., four D-cell batteries), which are electrically coupled in series. The series-combination of the batteries 138 is coupled to the motor drive unit 120 for powering the motor drive unit. The batteries 138 are housed inside the headrail 114 and thus out of view of a user of the motorized window treatment 110 . Specifically, the batteries 138 are mounted in two battery holders 139 located inside the headrail 114 , such that there are two batteries in each battery holder as shown in FIG. 2 . Since the motor drive unit 120 is located in the center of the headrail 114 and the drive shafts 132 extend out of both sides of the motor drive unit to the lift cord spools 134 , there is plenty of the room for the batteries 138 to be located adjacent the opposite sides of the headrail. The batteries 138 provide the motorized window treatment 110 with a practical lifetime (e.g., approximately three years), and are typical “off-the-shelf” batteries that are easy and not expensive to replace. Alternatively, the motor drive unit 120 could comprise more batteries (e.g., six or eight) coupled in series or batteries of a different kind (e.g., AA batteries) coupled in series.
The motorized window treatment 110 further comprises lift cord adjustment mechanisms 140 located in the ends of the bottom bar 116 . The lift cords 130 extend from the respective lift cord spools 134 to the respective lift cord adjustment mechanisms 140 as shown in FIG. 2 . The lift cord adjustment mechanisms 140 allow for adjustment of the amount of the lift cords 130 that extend from the respective lift cord spools 134 to the respective lift cord adjustment mechanisms to thus allow for adjustment of the levelness of the bottom bar 116 (when the shade fabric 112 and the bottom bar are stationary).
FIG. 3 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of one end of the bottom bar 116 showing one of the lift cord adjustment mechanisms 140 in greater detail. FIG. 4 is a top cross-sectional view of the bottom bar 116 showing the lift cords 130 and the lift cord adjustment mechanisms 140 . FIGS. 5 and 6 are front and rear perspective views, respectively, of the lift cord adjustment mechanisms 140 . The lift cord adjustment mechanisms 140 each comprise a pulley 142 (i.e., a drum) having two toothed flanges 144 (i.e., ratchet portions) surrounding a circumferential groove 146 . The pulley 142 is received in a compartment 148 of an endcap 150 and comprises cylindrical axle portions 152 about which the pulley is able to rotate. The axle potions 152 are received in slots 154 in the compartment, such that the pulley is rotatably coupled to the endcap 150 . The pulley 142 has teeth lining the circumference of the flanges 144 .
The endcap 150 is received into the end of the bottom bar 116 , which includes a lift cord channel 158 for receiving the portion of the lift cord 130 that extends to the respective lift cord spool 134 . The lift cord 130 extends through openings 156 in the compartment 148 of the endcap 150 , and is received in the groove 146 in the pulley 142 . The lift cord 130 wraps halfway around the pulley 142 once, such that the second end 130 B of the lift cord extends into the lift cord channel 158 of the bottom bar 116 . The second end 130 B of the lift cord may be tied in a knot to prevent the second end of the lift cord from coming free of the groove 146 if the pulley 142 is rotated too much in one direction. Alternatively, the second end 130 B of each lift cord 130 could be attached to the pulley 142 , such that the lift cord is operable to wrap around the pulley in the groove as the pulley is rotated. A user is able to rotate the pulley 142 to adjust the amount of the respective lift cord 130 that extends from the pulley to the respective lift cord spool 134 . The endcap 150 comprises a recess 159 surrounding a portion of the periphery of the flanges 144 , such that the flanges may be easily actuated by the user to rotate the rotate the pulley 142 .
FIG. 7 is a front view, FIG. 8 is a top cross-sectional view, FIG. 9 is a bottom cross-sectional view, FIG. 10 is a left side cross-sectional view, and FIG. 11 is a rear cross-sectional view of one of the lift cord mechanisms 140 . The pulley 142 comprises a central cylindrical portion 160 ( FIG. 9 ) located between the two flanges 144 . The lift cord 130 extends through the openings 158 and around the cylindrical portion 160 of the pulley 142 . The endcap 150 comprises a bump 162 that is located on a rear surface 164 of the compartment 148 and is received between two adjacent teeth of one of the flanges 144 of the pulley 142 as shown in FIG. 8 . The endcap 150 also comprises wedges 166 that extend into the groove 148 of the pulley 142 when the pulley is installed in the compartment 148 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 11 .
When the pulley 142 is rotated by the user, the teeth of the lower flange 144 contact the bump 162 , such that the pulley 142 is forced away from the rear surface 164 of the compartment 148 . The axle portions 152 of the pulley 142 are able to move through the slots 154 to allow the pulley to move away from the rear surface 164 of the compartment 148 , such that the teeth of the flange 144 are decoupled from the bump 162 . After one of the teeth (i.e., a tooth) moves across the bump 162 as the pulley 142 is rotated, the pulley can then come to rest with the bump located between the next two teeth of the flange 144 . Accordingly, the lift cord adjustment mechanisms 140 allow for incremental adjustment of the amount of the lift cords 130 that extend from the respective lift cord spools 134 to the lift cord adjustment mechanism to thus provide fine-tuning adjustment of the levelness of the bottom bar 116 .
When the motor drive unit 120 rotates the drive shafts 132 to adjust the position of the bottom bar 116 , the lift cord 130 contacts the cylindrical portion 160 of the pulley 142 to pull the pulley towards the rear surface 164 of the compartment 148 . Since the bump 162 is located between two of the adjacent teeth of the flanges 144 , the pulley 142 does not rotate as the bottom bar 116 is raised and lowered. In addition, the lift cord 130 is pinched between the wedges 166 and the cylindrical portion 160 in the groove 146 , such that the lift cord 130 is held in place and does not slip through the groove. When the pulley 142 is rotated causing the pulley to move away from the rear surface 164 of the compartment 148 , the lift cord 130 is no longer pinched between the cylindrical portion 160 of the pulley and the wedges 166 in the groove 146 , such that the lift cord 130 may move with the pulley as the pulley is rotated.
Rather than being located in the ends of the bottom bar 116 , the lift cord mechanisms 140 could alternatively be located on the bottom of the bottom bar, for example, below the location where the lift cords 130 extend down to the bottom bar from the lift cord spools 136 . In addition, the motorized window treatment 100 could comprise a single lift cord mechanism 140 .
While the present invention has been described with reference to the battery-powered motorized window treatment 110 having the motor drive unit 120 powered by the batteries 138 , the concepts of the present invention could be applied to window treatments having manual drive systems or having motor drive units powered by external power sources, such as a direct-current (DC) power source or an alternating-current (AC) power source.
Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.
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A window treatment may include one or more lift cord adjustment mechanisms for leveling of a bottom bar of the window treatment. The mechanisms may allow for fine-tuning adjustment of the levelness of the bottom bar. The mechanisms may be disposed at respective ends of the botom bar. The mechanisms may be directly accessible through the ends of the bottom bar. Each mechanism may include a pulley having a circumferential groove to receive a corresponding lift cord. A portion of the pulley may protrude relative to an exterior surface of the bottom bar. The mechanisms may be hidden from view on the sides of the bottom bar, such that the mechanisms do not detract from the appearance of the window treatment. Manual operation of a mechanism may adjust an amount of a corresponding lift cord that extends from the drive shaft to the pulley of the mechanism.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a method for the positioning of rollers on a calender having at least one intermediate roller between an uppermost and an lowermost roller, the intermediate roller having bearings which are supported in sliding members which are vertically movable with respect to a support for and can be fixed with respect to the support and thereby to determine essentially the position of the respective roller.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The calenders known for a suitable use are usually so constructed that a plurality of rollers are arranged vertically above each other, the rollers being rotatably mounted about their axes. In this manner is defined a stack of rollers above one another such that working slots are defined between the successive rollers for the web to be calendered. During the operation of the calender the intermediate rollers have generally the possibility to adjust within a given range in the pressure direction, as they are in force transmitting contact over their roller surface with the adjacent rollers. Furthermore it is occasionally necessary to modify the spatial position of the rollers. This can be for instance the case when the mutual gaps between the rollers must be modified for operating reasons, for example to open the slot. It is further occasionally necessary to adjust the position of the rollers when rollers having a different diameter are to be installed. For these reasons a calender is so constructed that a displacement of at least a part of the rollers in the vertical direction is possible.
It is often advantageous to select a type which permits a coarse positioning and a fine positioning of the axes of the rollers. The reason therefor is that under certain conditions, which are always to be taken into account when operating a calender, a fast opening of the roller slot can be necessary. The high speed of the opening step is then absolutely essential, short opening displacements being in this case sufficient. The situation is different for the coarse positioning of the rollers, which either has to take into account the modified roller diameters or must achieve the necessary access between the rollers. In this adjustment step it is of first importance to ensure an adjustment range greater with respect to the first one, in order to be able to carry out this adjustment step simply and securely.
Solutions are known in which the parts which carry the bearings for the rollers are vertically slidably mounted on the frame of the calender. The adjustment and the fixation of these parts is ensured in these known solutions by means of quite expensive and complicated adjustment systems, which in addition are not clearly constructed and are therefore not easily operable. Furthermore they necessitate a great number of moving machine parts with all their drawbacks.
It is an object of the present invention to achieve a method with which the positioning of the calender rollers can be ensured in the simplest and most secure manner, and in order to simplify the calender the expense of additional necessary parts must be maintained as low as possible.
This object is totally met according to the invention in a method described at the beginning wherein the vertical adjustment of the guide members is effected in such a manner that a raising or lowering movement of the roller associated to the guide member is carried out jointly with the rollers disposed below this roller and in mutual contact at least in the vicinity of the position desired for the considered roller and wherein the sliding member is driven by the raising or lowering movement of the associated roller, and in the desired position the fixation of the sliding member to be adjusted in height is effected by means of a separate fixation device supported on the support.
Further advantageous developments of the method and devices for carrying out the method will appear in the ensuing description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be hereafter described with reference to the drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a calender according to the invention before the beginning of the lowering displacement or after the end of the raising displacement;
FIG. 2 is a side view similar to that of FIG. 1 after the lowering displacement;
FIG. 3 is a side view similar to that of FIG. 1 after the raising displacement; and
FIG. 4 is a detailed partial side view of the calender according to the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates those parts of a calender which are important for carrying out the method, notably the roller 2 to be positioned with the associated sliding member 3, which is supported on the calender frame or support 4 by means of a fixation device 6. In the illustrated embodiment the fixation devices 6 are formed as hydraulic piston and cylinder systems with two end fittings, which can be supplied with a pressurized fluid from a fluid supply 10 such as a pressurized oil supply. The fluid supply 10 can be provided with means 12 for blocking the displacement of the piston in cylinder units by the closure of pressurized fluid in inlets and/or outlets. Below the roller 2 to be adjusted are disposed in the present example three rollers 2'. The lowermost of these rollers 2' can be displaced in vertical direction by means of a device 7 which ensures the raising and lowering movement. The rollers which are guided on the support by the sliding members 3 are mounted on the sliding member 3 by means of levers 5 and journals 9. Other possibilities can however also be envisaged for carrying out the method. The device can, for example, be formed by adjustable supporting members of a deflection compensating roller.
In order to ensure a substantially uniform vertical displacement of the sliding members 3 associated to the rollers when the latter are displaced, there are provided blocking devices 8 which are intended to maintain a constant angle between the lever 5 and the sliding member 3 during the raising or the lowering displacement. These blocking devices are in this case in the form of hydraulic piston and cylinder systems with two end fittings which can be supplied by a pressurized fluid. Advantageously they can also be used during operation of the calender for the compensation of overhanging loads or so-called nip relieving.
FIG. 1 shows the operating condition, thus the situation before the opening of the calender, whereas according to FIG. 2 the opening is already achieved. In FIG. 2 the roller 2 can be accessed from above and from below, the supporting device 8 resting on one of the end abutments. In the event that the rollers must be again set in their desired position, a raising displacement is effected by means of the device 7, whereby the rollers come again in mutual contact and the supporting device 8 comes into engagement with the other end abutment. Each of the fixation devices 6 is again unlocked at the latest when the roller slot below the respective roller is closed. In a particularly advantageous embodiment the hydraulic piston and cylinder system of the fixation device 6 is so constructed or controlled as to allow a raising displacement of the respective sliding member 3 but to prevent the lowering displacement of the latter. This signifies that the pressurized fluid can be sucked into the cylinder as a result of the displacement of the piston.
As a variant it can also be envisaged to develop the method in such a manner that the fixation device 6 is supplied with pressurized fluid during the raising or the lowering such that these devices 6 can also take a part of the weight forces.
A particularly important use of the method according to the invention is for instance the process of replacement of a roller. In this case the succession of steps to be effected is essentially as follows:
determination of the roller to be replaced when the calender is closed;
releasing of all fixation devices which are associated to the rollers disposed below the roller to be replaced;
lowering the roller to be replaced and all rollers which are disposed therebelow, in this case the respective supporting devices move until the lower abutment, the corresponding sliding members are lowered and simultaneously the shape of the fixation devices is modified;
after a predetermined lowering displacement of the roller stack the fixation device associated with the roller to be replaced is blocked;
the rollers disposed below the roller to be replaced are further lowered;
the roller to be replaced is freed and can be replaced;
once the replacement of the roller has been effected all fixing devices associated to the rollers disposed below the replaced roller are set in such a manner that a raising movement of the sliding members is possible;
the calender is slowly closed by raising the lower roller; in this case the support devices come into engagement against the upper abutment;
when the displaced rollers reach the vicinity of the desired position the respective fixing devices are blocked;
the rollers are brought in the desired position by further lowering of the lower roller without modifying the position of the sliding members.
In the event that the uppermost roller of the calender is not or only slightly movable in the pressing direction, a pressure supply of the fixation devices 6 associated with the rollers disposed therebelow can ensure, as long as the roller stack is still closed after the raising displacement, that the support device 8 is brought to a position for this purpose between the end abutments. The same purpose can also be achieved by the pressurization of the correspondingly designed support devices 8 themselves.
It can also be advantageous to adjust or to maintain the support devices 8 by a corresponding pressurization during the positioning in a position between their end abutments. It would be thereby possible to bring the roller to be adjusted in the desired position already during the raising displacement.
It is obvious that with the method according to the invention the position of several rollers of the calender can also be adjusted.
FIG. 4 shows a portion of a calender structure according to the invention, having a freely accessible roller 2 as well as the superposed rollers 2', the blocking device 8 embodied in this case as a hydraulic positioning motor, the sliding member 3 and the lever 5 as well as the fixation devices 6. In the fixation devices 6 is integrated an additional blocking unit 11 which would remain autonomously in operation also in case of failure of the energy supply connected thereto. Blocking units of this type are known per se in other technical fields. They comprise for example a spring system which comprises a clamping seat for blocking the piston rod, the spring system being suitable for blocking the clamping seat. In the vicinity of the spring system can be introduced a pressurized fluid, which creates a pressure force, which in turn acts again the spring system whereby the blocking of the clamping seat can be released. Such systems are available on the market under the name of safety clamping unit.
It is immediately apparent that further structural parts not mentioned here can also be used in order to carry out the method. For example electrical positioning motors can be envisaged in lieu of the hydraulic positioning motors.
In a calender which is equipped for the normal operation with an adjustment system, the control for carrying out the method of the invention can also be integrated in this adjustment system. It is particularly advantageous in this case to perform the successive method steps in an automatic running program in the adjustment system.
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In a calender (1) one or several rollers (2) can be positioned by being raised or lowered jointly with the roller stack disposed therebelow; and vertically displaceable sliding members (3) connected with the roller journals are jointly driven, and are blocked when the roller to be positioned (2) is adjacent the desired working position by way of a separate fixation device (6) supported on the frame (4). In a development of the method the rollers are brought in a desired working position after blocking of the fixation device.
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CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority from United Kingdom Patent Application No. GB 0609050.0, filed May 8, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0002] This invention concerns the creation and compression of video data and is particularly relevant to MPEG and similar methods of video compression.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] A typical video compression encoder (for example an MPEG-2 encoder according to the ISO/IEC 13818-2 standard) makes an analysis of its input video in order to make decisions on how the video will be coded. These decisions include whether a particular frame will be described as the difference from a prediction, and if so, which other frames will be used to form the prediction, and how the transmitted data will be quantised. Motion compensated predictions require the encoder to analyse motion and create motion vectors. The quality of the decoded video (i.e. the transparency of the coding process) is dependent on the quality of the coding decisions and motion measurement.
[0004] European Patent EP 0 913 058 describes how coding decisions and related information can be retained in a compression decoder and carried with the decoded video for use in a subsequent compression process, and European Patent EP 1 051 851 describes how video that has not been previously encoded can be analysed and the results carried with the video for use in a compression encoder.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The inventor has appreciated that there are some situations in which coding parameters can be created as part of the video origination process enabling higher quality compression to be achieved without the need for high-quality video analysis in the compression encoder. In particular, much video content is created without the use of cameras. For example: captions and subtitles are synthesised from text and formatting data; channel identification logos and clocks are synthesised from stored data; and, animated or stationary graphics may be created on a computer workstation.
[0006] The invention consists in one aspect of video origination apparatus wherein the video output is created or modified in response to the actions of an operator, or received control data; the said apparatus having an uncompressed video output and an output of compression coding parameters; characterised in that at least one of the said compression coding parameters is derived from the said operator action or received control data.
[0007] In another aspect the invention consists of video modification apparatus wherein an uncompressed first video input signal is combined with at least a second uncompressed video signal created or modified in response to the actions of an operator, or received control data; the said apparatus having an uncompressed video output comprising the combination of the said first and second video signals and an output of compression coding parameters; characterised in that at least one of the said compression coding parameters is derived from the said operator action or received control data.
[0008] The compression coding parameters may include MPEG picture type information. The compression coding parameters may include at least one motion vector. The compression coding parameters may include prediction modes to be applied to defined frames or parts of frames. The compression coding parameters may include a quantisation parameter.
[0009] In a further aspect the invention consists in a video compression method in which the uncompressed output of video origination apparatus is compressed wherein the output of the said video origination apparatus is created or modified in response to the actions of an operator, or received control data; characterised in that the said uncompressed output is compressed according to at least one compression coding parameter derived from the said operator action or received control data.
[0010] In a yet further aspect the invention consists in a video compression method in which the uncompressed output of video modification apparatus is compressed, wherein an uncompressed first video input signal is combined with at least a second uncompressed video signal created or modified in response to the actions of an operator, or received control data; characterised in that the said uncompressed output is compressed according to at least one compression coding parameter derived from the said operator action or received control data.
[0011] Suitably the said uncompressed first video input is accompanied by related compression coding parameters and the said uncompressed output is compressed according to at least one compression coding parameter taken from the said compression parameters related to the said uncompressed first video input.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The invention will now be described by way of examples with reference to the drawings in which:
[0013] FIG. 1 shows compression of the output of a video origination device according to a first exemplary embodiment;
[0014] FIG. 2 shows compression of the output of a Logo/Caption Generator and inserter according to a second exemplary embodiment; and
[0015] FIG. 3 shows compression of the output of a video mix/effects processor fed from a video origination device according to a third exemplary embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0016] A first exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 1 . A video origination device ( 1 ) produces a video signal ( 2 ) and an information stream ( 3 ). The device ( 1 ) may be a caption or logo generator or a graphics work station, and its video output may be moving or stationary. The video signal ( 2 ) may be a serial digital component data stream or any other uncompressed video format.
[0017] The information stream ( 3 ) comprises information to assist the compression of the video ( 2 ). This could include at least any of the following elements:
[0018] Prediction methods to be applied to spatial or temporal segments of the video.
[0019] Quantisation parameters to be applied to data derived from spatial or temporal segments of the video.
[0020] Motion vectors applicable to all or part of the video. These vectors may be absolute, i.e. describing motion speed and direction, or relative, i.e. describing motion between two defined frames.
[0021] Whether the video is interlaced or progressively scanned.
[0022] Information about the temporal sampling of the video such as “field dominance” or 3:2 pulldown sequence information.
[0023] This information is generated from the same data as is used to create the caption or logo; and, the origination device ( 1 ) will usually have prior knowledge of such data. For example, if a scrolling caption is generated, the speed and direction of motion requested by an operator can be used to create motion vectors for the pixels of the caption. This information will be more accurate and easier to obtain than equivalent information derived by analysis of the video ( 2 ). Similarly, decisions about prediction modes and quantisation can be derived from accurate and unambiguous knowledge of the caption or logo.
[0024] The stream ( 3 ) may also include information relating to compression which is not related to the nature of the video content; for example, a desired MPEG group-of pictures (GoP) sequence.
[0025] The information stream ( 3 ) could take the form of the “re-encoding data set” defined in SMPTE standard 327M. It could be carried in the same signal as the video ( 2 ), perhaps replacing the least-significant chrominance bit; alternatively, it could be a separate signal associated with the video ( 2 ). It will be apparent that the association or coding must enable the information in the stream to be related to the appropriate spatial and temporal elements of the video, for example: frames, coding-blocks or pixels.
[0026] A compression encoder ( 4 ) compresses the video ( 2 ) to give a compressed output ( 5 ). This output may be streaming data, for example an MPEG data stream; or, a file in an associated storage device.
[0027] If the encoder ( 4 ) takes all its coding decisions, motion vectors and video format information from the information stream ( 3 ), the encoder can be of simple design (i.e. it can be a “dumb” encoder). It is also possible for only some parameters to be taken from the information stream, perhaps only motion vectors. The information stream may not contain all the parameters necessary to define the video coding and some parameters may be taken from the stream while others are determined in the encoder. Another possibility is that the information ( 3 ) may require some processing before it can be used by the encoder ( 4 ); for example, it may be necessary to convert absolute motion vectors into motion vectors between defined frames. The optimum arrangement will depend on system considerations, in particular whether it is practicable for all the relevant information to be available to the generator ( 1 ).
[0028] A second exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 2 .
[0029] It is often the case that the output of a caption or logo generator is not required to occupy the whole image area. It is very common for captions or logos to be “keyed into” a video signal so that an area of the picture defined by the caption or logo generator is replaced by its output. The shape and size of the area which is replaced may vary in dependence upon movement of the inserted caption or logo.
[0030] In FIG. 2 , a video source ( 20 ), which may, for example, be a video camera, feeds a caption or logo generator and inserter ( 21 ). The caption or logo generator or inserter ( 21 ) inserts a caption or logo into the video received from the video source ( 20 ). As well as the combined caption and video ( 22 ), the generator and inserter ( 21 ) outputs an information stream ( 23 ) which contains information to assist the compression coding of the caption or logo elements of the combined video ( 22 ). The stream ( 23 ) refers only to the caption or logo because the generator and inserter ( 21 ) has no information about the other parts of the picture and does not analyse its video input.
[0031] A compression encoder ( 24 ) compresses the video ( 22 ) to create a compressed video stream or file output ( 25 ). This encoder must analyse those parts of the video ( 22 ) which do not contain material generated and inserted by the block ( 21 ), but can use the information stream ( 23 ) to determine how the caption or logo should be coded.
[0032] A third exemplary embodiment is shown in FIG. 3 .
[0033] A compressed video input ( 30 ) is decompressed in a decoder ( 31 ) which provides both decoded video ( 32 ) and an information stream ( 33 ), containing information about the parameters used in the compression of the video ( 30 ). A mix/effects process ( 34 ) combines the video ( 32 ) with a second video signal ( 35 ) from a video origination device ( 36 ). This combination may be any of the well-known video combination techniques such as: inlay, wipes, other keying techniques, mixing, non-additive mixing etc. If keying is involved, the video ( 35 ) may include a key signal, or a key signal may be associated with it and input to the mix/effects process ( 34 ).
[0034] The origination device ( 36 ) provides an information stream ( 37 ) containing parameters to assist the coding of the video ( 35 ). These are obtained directly from the video origination process, and are not obtained by analysing the video ( 35 ).
[0035] The mix/effects process ( 34 ) provides a combined video output ( 38 ) and an information stream ( 39 ). This information stream ( 39 ) contains parameters to assist compression of the video ( 38 ) in a compression encoder ( 40 ). The information stream ( 39 ) may contain all the information from the information streams ( 33 ) and ( 37 ) or may only contain those parts of these information streams which relate to the video ( 38 ). In any event it will be necessary for the elements of the information stream ( 39 ) to be associated with relevant spatial and temporal segments of the video ( 38 ). This is achieved automatically if the information stream ( 39 ) is encoded into the video ( 38 ) (for example in a low-significance bit). Another option would be to combine the streams ( 33 ) and ( 37 ) with a key signal and output the combined streams and the key as the stream ( 39 ).
[0036] The compression encoder ( 40 ) compresses the video ( 38 ), making use of the information stream ( 39 ) to avoid or reduce the need for analysis of the video ( 38 ); and, to avoid cumulative compression impairments by ensuring that the previously compressed parts of the video ( 38 ) (i.e. the parts of the video ( 32 ) contributing to the video ( 38 )) are compressed in the same way that they were compressed in the compressed video ( 30 ).
[0037] In all of the above-described embodiments of the invention there is more than one source of coding parameters for the compression encoder:
[0038] Video analysis by, and control input to, the compression encoder itself;
[0039] Information embedded in, or associated with, the encoder's video input; and,
[0040] In the case of the system shown in FIG. 3 there may be two separate sets of information embedded in, or associated with, the video input.
[0041] It will be preferable for the system to prioritise these sources of information to achieve the optimum coded video output; usually by giving “primacy” to one of these sources of coding parameters. Alternatively, the compression encoder may evaluate all sources of coding parameters available to it and decide the most appropriate on the basis of a quality measure relating to the coded output.
[0042] In the foregoing description, reference has been made to various functional blocks or entities. It will be recognised that the function of each block may be performed by dedicated hardware, by hardware containing some dedicated and some programmable elements or by software capable of running on video or general data processing apparatus. In particular but not exhaustive examples, the present invention may be implemented in software running on a microprocessor or other programmable element provided within a logo or caption generator; as code forming part of logo or caption generation software; as software within a digital special effects generator or as software within a computer generated film or video environment.
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This invention concerns the creation and compression of video data and is particularly relevant to MPEG and similar methods of video compression. In accordance with the invention, uncompressed video data including synthetic video data, for example representing a caption or logo, is accompanied by compression coding parameters derived from operator action, or control data, used during creation or modification of the video data. At least one of these accompanying compression coding parameters is used in a compression of the uncompressed video data.
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FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to a rotating unit for rotating a first component of a wind turbine in relation to a second component of the wind turbine, and to a method of displacing a drive of a rotating unit according to the invention and to a wind turbine having a rotating unit according to the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
[0002] Rotating units of the type mentioned in the introduction are used on wind turbines in order to rotate, for example, a rotor blade, which is mounted in a rotatable manner on a rotor hub, in relation to the rotor hub. Such rotating units also serve to rotate the nacelle, or a machinery carrier with a nacelle, in relation to the turbine tower. The rotation of a rotor blade is known as pitch adjustment and the rotation of the turbine nacelle in relation to the tower is known as azimuth adjustment.
[0003] Wind turbines are used preferably in areas which are particularly exposed to wind, for example offshore. The rotor blades and the turbine nacelle here are usually exposed to strong winds and have to withstand strong gusts of wind. The forces which are necessary in order to rotate the rotor blades or the turbine nacelles increase along with the wind speeds.
[0004] The wind turbines often make use of rotating-unit drives which, on the one hand, generate high torques and, at the same time, are not adversely affected by force-induced impacts brought about by gusts of wind and high wind speeds. Such impacts act, via the rotating unit, on the components of the drive and result in high material loading. In order to keep the loading to which the drive components are subjected as low as possible, it is imperative for a toothing formation of a drive pinion to engage in an accurately fitting manner in a toothing formation of a gear rim of the rotating unit.
[0005] In order for the tooth-flank clearance to be adjusted, the drive pinion can usually be displaced in relation to the gear rim. The adjustment of the tooth-flank clearance is necessary, on the one hand, in order to compensate for inaccuracies in the production of the components of the wind turbine and, on the other hand, in order to compensate for wear which becomes established during use of the wind turbine. The loading, and so also the wear, to which the tooth flanks are subjected increases along with the torque emitted by the drive motor in order to rotate the components in relation to one another. It is also the case that gusts of wind which act on the rotating unit result in the drive components being subjected to increased loading and also in wear between the rotary wheels of the rotating unit. The less precise the tooth-flank clearance is set, the higher the degree of wear. Regular readjustment is therefore advised.
[0006] The prior art discloses two possible ways of adjusting the tooth-flank clearance between the drive pinion and the gear rim. In the case of both known variants, the housing of the rotary drive is plugged in an accurately fitting manner into a recess of a holder, that is to say into an accommodating hole or into an accommodating bore, and fixed. Forces which act on the drive pinion are transferred to the holder via the housing of the drive and dissipated to the wind-turbine component which carries the drive.
[0007] In order for the tooth-flank clearance to be adjusted, it is known, first of all, for the drive shaft of the rotary drive with the drive pinion to be executed eccentrically in relation to the housing of the drive. In order for the pinion of the rotary drive to be displaced in relation to the gear rim, the drive housing is rotated in the accurately fitting recess of the drive holder. The drive shaft with the drive pinion, the former moving on a circular track here, is thus guided relatively closely up to the gear rim. For rotation of the drive, firstly all the fastening bolts connecting the housing of the rotary drive to the drive holder have to be released, removed completely from the flange bores provided for this purpose and, following rotation of the drive, fastened again. The drive holder is also referred to as a drive bracket or drive platform. This first variant is portrayed in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the present application.
[0008] A second known variant for adjusting the tooth-flank clearance will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 of the present application. In the second variant, the rotary drive is plugged in an accurately fitting manner into an eccentric mount of a cylindrical eccentric cup. The eccentric cup, finally, is inserted in an accurately fitting manner into a recess of the drive holder. The eccentric cup is typically fastened on the drive holder via a collar-like flange using fastening bolts. The drive is also fastened on the eccentric cup in the same way.
[0009] In order for the tooth-flank clearance to be adjusted, in this second variant, the fastening bolts connecting the eccentric cup to the drive holder are all released and removed, and the eccentric cup is rotated in the recess of the drive holder and then fastened on the drive holder again using the fastening bolts. In this variant, the drive is not released from the eccentric cup. The drive is arranged eccentrically in the eccentric cup and, upon rotation of the eccentric cup, describes, together with the drive pinion, a circular-track-form movement, and therefore the distance between the pinion and the gear rim can be adjusted via the rotation of the eccentric cup.
[0010] Both known variants provide for stepwise adjustment of the distance between the drive pinion and the gear rim. The steps are determined by the distribution of the bores provided for the fastening bolts along the fastening collar of the drive or of the eccentric cup.
[0011] The disadvantage with the known rotating units is that it is necessary to rotate the drive alone or the drive with an eccentric cup. The necessary rotation means that the supply lines connected to the rotary drive, for example lines for hydraulic fluids, electrical energy, cooling fluids and signal-transmission lines, have to be arranged in a particularly flexible manner on the drive or in the wind turbine. As an alternative, it is necessary for the supply lines to be separated from the drive in the first instance and to be repositioned following rotation of the drive. Upon rotation of the drive as a whole, it is also not ensured that oil drains, terminal boxes and, in particular, angle drives are oriented correctly following the rotation.
[0012] A further disadvantage of the known apparatuses is that the rotation of the drive housing or of the eccentric cup in the drive holder requires a high level of force to be applied on account of the accurately fitting seating in the recess. As a result, a large diameter of the drive housing or of the eccentric cup means large frictional surfaces and high frictional forces have to be overcome during rotation. In addition, it is only with difficulty that those areas where there are tight fits against the accommodating recesses can be protected against corrosion. The task of removing and rotating the drive or the eccentric cup is very time-consuming and labor-intensive if recesses are corroded.
[0013] Taking this as a departure point, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved rotating unit, and also a method and a wind turbine, in which a tooth-flank clearance can be adjusted straightforwardly, and with low levels of force being applied, while, at the same time, the drive housing is subject to only small amounts of rotation.
[0014] This object is achieved by the rotating unit according to the invention, by the method according to the invention and by the wind turbine according to the invention. Preferred configurations of the invention are also disclosed and claimed.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0015] The invention provides a rotating unit for rotating a first component of a wind turbine in relation to a second component of the wind turbine, the first component being mounted in a rotatable manner on the second component, comprising a gearwheel element, which is arranged on the first component, a drive, which is arranged on the second component by means of a drive holder and has a drive housing and a drive pinion for actuating the gearwheel element, a connecting element, which is arranged on the drive housing and is configured for forming a releasable connection between the drive housing and the drive holder, fastening means, which interact with the connecting element and can be actuated between a clamping position and a disengagement position, the fastening means connecting the drive housing, in the clamping position, in a force-fitting manner to the drive holder, and it being possible for the drive housing, in the disengagement position, to be displaced on the drive holder in particular in a stepless manner in an adjustment direction such that, by virtue of the displacement, it is possible to adjust a tooth-flank clearance between the drive pinion and the gearwheel element, wherein the drive housing, in the disengagement position, can be displaced by virtue of the rotation of at least one eccentric bolt, which is or can be coupled to the connecting element, in relation to the gearwheel element. It goes without saying that the components can be mounted rotatably in relation to one another while directly against one another or while spaced apart by spacers.
[0016] The drive is fastened on a component of a wind turbine in particular via a drive holder or a drive bracket or a drive platform. In a straightforward configuration, the drive holder is L-shaped, a first limb being fastened on the component of the wind turbine and the second limb carrying the drive. The drive holder may be fastened in a fixed or releasable manner on the wind-turbine component which carries the drive. In particular, the drive holder may be formed in one piece with the component of the wind turbine.
[0017] It has surprisingly been found in the case of the present invention that, for the purpose of fastening the rotating-unit drive on a component of the wind turbine, it is possible to dispense with accurately fitting seating of the drive housing in a recess of a drive holder. All that is required, instead, in order for the drive to be retained reliably is for the drive to be fastened in a force-fitting manner on the drive holder by means of a fastening flange. This has the advantage firstly that there is no need to provide any precise recesses or cutouts in the drive holder and also that positioning of the drive in relation to a gear rim, for example for adjusting the tooth-flank clearance, can be carried out very straightforwardly.
[0018] In the case of the invention, provision may be made for the drive housing with the drive to be fastened entirely on one side of a for example plate-like limb of a drive holder. It is also conceivable to use a recess, in which the drive housing can be moved freely at least in certain regions. As seen in the plane of the drive holder in the region of the accommodating recess for the drive, the largest diameter of the drive housing, for this purpose, is preferably smaller than the smallest diameter of the recess opening. In both variants, the drive can be displaced quickly, and with little force being applied, on the drive holder with the aid of displacement mechanisms which can be produced in a constructionally straightforward manner. This, in turn, has the advantage that a tooth-flank clearance between a drive pinion of the drive and a gearwheel element of the rotating unit according to the invention can be adjusted straightforwardly and quickly.
[0019] Tooth-flank clearance is understood to be, in particular, the clearance which occurs between the toothing formation of the drive pinion and the toothing formation of the gearwheel element and has to be overcome upon reversal of the direction of rotation. A reduction in the tooth-flank clearance is achieved by an increase in the depth to which a toothing formation of the drive pinion engages in the toothing formation of the gearwheel element.
[0020] Since the invention does not require any recess for guiding the drive, parts of the drive can advantageously be provided with a coating and protected to good effect against corrosion.
[0021] The absence of an accurately fitting recess does away with the otherwise necessary precise adaptation of the recess opening to the dimensions of the drive housing. In addition, doing away with an accurately fitting recess means that it is readily possible to use a drive housing of irregular housing shape or of angular circumferential shape.
[0022] In contrast to the prior art as described in the introduction, there is no need for the fastening means, which are designed preferably in the form of fastening screws, to be removed completely from the drive housing in order for the drive to be displaced on the drive holder. Rather, it is sufficient for the fastening bolts, or nuts screwed onto the bolts, to be released only to the extent where the prestressing in the fastening means, which is necessary for the force-fitting connection between the drive housing and the drive holder, is eliminated.
[0023] Stepless displacement without removal of the fastening bolts is made possible, for example, in that the stem of the bolts is configured to be narrower than the diameter of the through-bores provided for the bolts in the connecting element of the drive housing. It is preferable for the fastening bolts, in order to fasten the drive housing, to be screwed into threaded bores of the drive holder. In accordance with this configuration, it is also conceivable for the fastening bolts to be plugged through through-bores on the drive holder and screwed into threaded bores of the connecting element of the drive housing.
[0024] As an alternative, provision may be made for mutually aligned through-bores to be provided on the connecting element of the drive housing and on the drive holder, fastening bolts being plugged through said bores, and screw-connected to nuts at their ends, in order to fasten the drive on the drive holder. In the last-mentioned embodiment, provision may also be made for at least some through-bores either on the connecting element of the drive housing or on the drive holder to be made in an accurately fitting manner in relation to the bolt stem. The aforementioned screw-connection methods and in particular the practice of establishing a force-fitting connection are common knowledge.
[0025] The connecting element according to the invention on the drive housing may be, for example, a collar-like flange profile which runs round the circumference of the drive housing. Connecting elements of other profiles are, of course, also conceivable. For example, the connecting element could be formed from one or more angled profiles, a first limb of the profile being fastened on the drive housing and the other limb of the profile being fastened on the drive holder.
[0026] The gearwheel element is understood to be both a closed gear rim and a segment of a gear rim. Upon rotation of two components of a wind turbine, it may be the case, for example, that the intention is for rotation to be carried out only over a certain angle, in which case it is only this angle range which has to be covered by a gear-rim segment. This makes it possible to cut back on weight and materials. Gear-rim segments have the further advantage that they are considerably more straightforward to handle, to install and to change over.
[0027] Straightforward and quick displacement of the drive on the drive holder is achieved by using an eccentric bolt according to the invention. For this purpose, the eccentric bolt is coupled to the drive holder and the connecting element of the drive housing such that rotation of the eccentric bolt gives rise to displacement of the drive element in relation to the drive holder. The stem of the eccentric bolt is mounted in a preferably accurately fitting manner in a bore of the connecting element. A rotary bearing, which is arranged on the eccentric bolt in an eccentric and axis-parallel manner in relation to the stem axis, serves to provide support on the drive holder. The eccentric bolt is preferably plugged into a bore provided for a fastening bolt. The rotary bearing on the eccentric bolt may be, for example, a pin which has been pressed in or screwed in or a stub which has been formed eccentrically.
[0028] The eccentric bolt can be fixed to the connecting element and/or the drive holder. As an alternative, the eccentric bolt can be connected, in the manner of a tool, in a releasable manner to the connecting element and/or the drive holder. If configured in the form of a tool, the eccentric bolt is inserted, if required, for example into a bore provided specifically for this purpose or is changed over at least temporarily for a fastening bolt.
[0029] A significant advantage of the invention is that the eccentric bolt has a very small diameter in relation to the drive housing and thus generates only a low level of friction and is easy to rotate. Moreover, the orientation of oil drains, terminal boxes and angle drives is simplified by more or less rectilinear displacement of the drive, and there is therefore no need, for example, for renewed orientation following the adjustment of the tooth-flank clearance.
[0030] In a preferred configuration, the first component is a rotor hub and the second component is a rotor blade. As an alternative, the first component is a tower and the second component is a machinery carrier with a nacelle. It is also conceivable for the second component to be a rotor hub and the first component to be a rotor blade, or for the second component to be a tower and the first component to be a machinery carrier with a nacelle. The nacelle is a structural component of the wind turbine and serves, inter alia, to accommodate the transmission and the generator of the wind turbine. The nacelle is also referred to as a machinery housing and is usually installed on a machinery carrier, which also retains the transmission and the generator of the wind turbine.
[0031] Different variants of the rotating unit according to the invention may be arranged on the wind turbine. As mentioned, the gearwheel element may be designed in the form of a closed gear rim or in the form of a gearwheel segment. The gearwheel element preferably has an inner toothing formation in the manner of a hollow wheel, the drive pinion being positioned in relation to the gearwheel element such that the toothing formation of the drive pinion engages in the toothing formation of the gear rim. It is also conceivable, of course, for the gearwheel element to be configured with an outer toothing formation.
[0032] It is usually the case that the gearwheel element is arranged directly, or via a holder, on a first component and the drive is arranged directly, or via a holder, on a second component of the wind turbine. If the wind-turbine components which are to be rotated are spaced apart from one another by a spacer sleeve or the like, provision may also be made for the gearwheel element or the drive to be fastened on the spacer sleeve. In the case of some wind turbines, for example the rotor blade is mounted on the rotor hub by means of a spacer sleeve.
[0033] It is possible, for example, for the gearwheel element to be arranged on a tower of the wind turbine and for the drive to be fastened on a region of the nacelle, or of the machinery carrier carrying the nacelle, which is mounted in a rotatable manner on the tower. The drive here rotates as the drive pinion rotates in relation to the gearwheel element. Conversely, the gearwheel element rotates in a relation to the drive. Corresponding provisions can be made for the arrangement between the rotor hub and rotor blade.
[0034] The drive housing can further preferably be displaced in a number of adjustment directions spanning an adjustment plane, at least some of the fastening means, in the disengagement position, limiting displacement of the drive housing in a direction perpendicular to the adjustment plane. Limitation of the displacement of the drive housing in a direction perpendicular to the adjustment plane is advantageous, in particular, if the drive is installed in a suspended manner. When the tooth-flank clearance is adjusted, it is not additionally necessary for the drive to be secured against falling. The safeguarding can at least be assisted by the fastening means.
[0035] In a further configuration of the invention, the eccentric bolt can be articulated in a rotatable manner on the second component. In particular, it is intended to provide, at one end of the eccentric bolt, an eccentrically arranged stub, which is supported in a rotatable manner in a bore on the second component or on the drive holder. As an alternative, it is possible to provide a pin which can be coupled in a rotatable manner to the eccentric bolt. The pin may be, for example, a bolt or the like which is supported in a bore on the second component or on the drive holder. The pin can be press-connected or screw-connected, in particular, to the second component or the drive holder or formed thereon. In order for the eccentric bolt to be used, the latter is plugged onto the pin.
[0036] In one configuration, the eccentric bolt has an actuating element, by means of which the eccentric bolt can be rotated about its axis of rotation in particular utilizing a lever effect. In a straightforward variant, it is possible, for example, for a lever to be connected in one piece to the eccentric bolt, and therefore, upon actuation of the lever, the eccentric bolt is made to rotate and thus ensures displacement of the drive housing. It is also intended as an alternative, or in addition, that the eccentric bolt has a head or the like, by means of which the eccentric bolt can be rotated using a tool. Instead of a head, a profiled depression, for example a hexagon-socket bore, on the eccentric bolt is also readily conceivable.
[0037] In a preferred configuration, the drive housing, during displacement on the drive holder, is guided positively by at least one guide element. It is intended, for example, that a guide element in the form of a guide bolt or of a guide nipple is fastened on the drive holder and engages in a guide track on the connecting element. The guide track is designed preferably in the form of a slot or longitudinal groove. The guide element is formed preferably in one piece on the drive holder. The guide element may be welded to the holder or screwed or pressed into the same. It is readily conceivable for the guide element to be arranged on the connecting element and for the guide track to be arranged on the drive holder in the manner described. The eccentric bolt is preferably a guide element. In particular, it is intended that the drive housing is guided positively by the eccentric bolt and by at least one further guide element.
[0038] In a preferred configuration, the axis of rotation of the eccentric bolt and at least one guide element are positioned along a straight line which intersects the axis of rotation of the gearwheel element. This arrangement has the advantage that a rotary movement of the eccentric bolt is converted very efficiently into displacement of the drive pinion. It is preferably the case, therefore, that the axis of rotation of the eccentric bolt and a guide element are arranged in alignment with the axis of rotation of the gearwheel element.
[0039] The drive housing is preferably guided such that a rotary movement of the eccentric bolt is converted, at least in certain regions, into an approximately rectilinear movement of the drive housing. It is particularly preferably the case, for this purpose, that the eccentric bolt and at least one guide element are positioned along a straight line which intersects the axis of rotation of the gearwheel element, the drive housing of the drive likewise being positioned on this straight line. Further preferably, the drive housing is positioned between the eccentric bolt and the guide element. It has been found that, in the case of a particularly practical variant, the guide element is arranged on that side of the drive which is directed towards the gearwheel element and the eccentric bolt is arranged on that side of the drive which is directed away from the gearwheel.
[0040] The invention also provides a method of displacing a drive of a rotating unit according to the invention, having the following steps: actuating the fastening means into the disengagement position in order to release the force-fitting connection between the drive housing and the drive holder, rotating the eccentric bolt in order to displace the drive housing on the drive holder, actuating the fastening means into the clamping position in order to establish a force-fitting connection between the drive housing and the drive holder. It is intended to implement the method using a rotating unit having the physical features as disclosed herein. The details relating to the advantageous configurations of the rotating unit yield preferred variants of the method according to the invention.
[0041] In one configuration of the method according to the invention, it is intended that the method comprises a selection of the following steps: coupling the eccentric bolt to the connecting element such that rotation of the eccentric bolt gives rise to displacement of the drive housing in relation to the gearwheel element; uncoupling the eccentric bolt from the connecting element. Provision is preferably made for the eccentric bolt to be coupled prior to fastening means being actuated into the disengagement position. It is likewise preferred for the eccentric bolt to be uncoupled once the fastening means have been actuated into the clamping position.
[0042] In the case of a rotating unit having an eccentric bolt which is coupled permanently to the connecting element, the step of coupling the eccentric bolt to the connecting element such that rotation of the eccentric bolt gives rise to displacement of the drive housing in relation to the gearwheel element and the step of uncoupling the eccentric bolt are done away with. In the case of permanent coupling, provision is made for the eccentric bolt to be arranged in sustained fashion on the connecting element. Provision may also be made for the eccentric bolt to be arranged permanently on the drive holder. The coupling of the eccentric bolt is established here when the drive with the connecting element is arranged in its operating position on the drive holder. The connecting means can be actuated, and/or the eccentric bolt can be rotated, using a tool, in particular using a wrench, a motor-driven screwdriver or the like.
[0043] The invention may also provide a rotating unit in which the drive housing can be displaced by virtue of at least one adjustment element being actuated in relation to the gearwheel element, the drive housing, during the displacement, executing an exclusively translatory movement in relation to the gearwheel element. With the exception of the use of an eccentric bolt, the technical details relating to the first-mentioned rotating unit can be applied correspondingly to this rotating unit.
[0044] The advantage of this rotating unit is that the entire drive can be displaced rectilinearly in relation to the gearwheel element. The exclusively rectilinear displacement has the advantage that connection lines and/or supply lines for the drive need not be particularly flexible. In contrast to what is usually the case in the prior art, there is no rotation whatever of the drive housing, and this renders constructionally simplified guidance of supply and/or control lines possible.
[0045] Provision may be made for the adjustment element to comprise a threaded bar with an external thread, the external thread, for displacement of the drive housing, engaging in an internal thread arranged at a fixed location of the second component.
[0046] The invention also provides a wind turbine having a rotating unit according to the invention. The advantages of the wind turbine according to the invention can be gathered from the merits of the rotating unit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0047] Exemplary embodiments of the invention are specified in the following figures, in which:
[0048] FIG. 1 shows a schematic depiction of a wind turbine from the side;
[0049] FIG. 2 shows a basic diagram of a gearwheel and of a drive pinion;
[0050] FIG. 3 shows a schematic depiction of a plan view of a known rotating-unit drive on a drive holder;
[0051] FIG. 4 shows a sectional illustration of the known drive from FIG. 3 ;
[0052] FIG. 5 shows a schematic depiction of a plan view of a known rotating-unit drive on a drive holder;
[0053] FIG. 6 shows a sectional illustration of the drive from FIG. 5 ;
[0054] FIG. 7 shows a schematic illustration of a plan view of a rotating-unit drive according to the invention on a drive holder;
[0055] FIG. 8 shows a sectional illustration of the drive according to the invention from FIG. 7 ;
[0056] FIG. 9 shows a sectional illustration of an eccentric bolt according to the invention inserted into a fastening flange;
[0057] FIG. 10 shows the arrangement of the eccentric bolt according to the invention from FIG. 9 in plan view;
[0058] FIG. 11 shows a schematic illustration of a fastening flange of a rotary drive in an embodiment according to the invention; and
[0059] FIG. 12 shows a schematic illustration of a further variant of a rotary drive on a drive holder.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0060] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a wind turbine. A rotating unit according to the invention is used, for example, for rotating a rotor blade 16 in relation to a rotor hub 18 . During this relative movement, it is possible to alter the pitch adjustment of the rotor blade 16 . A rotating unit according to the invention can likewise be used for the rotation of a turbine nacelle 14 in relation to the turbine tower 12 . The azimuth adjustment of the wind turbine 10 is altered as the nacelle 14 rotates.
[0061] FIG. 2 shows a basic diagram of a gear rim 20 and a drive pinion 24 interacting with the gear rim 20 . In order for a tooth-flank clearance between the gear rim 20 and the pinion 24 to be adjusted, the pinion 24 is displaced, in relation to the gear rim, in one of the directions identified by A.
[0062] FIGS. 3 and 4 show the basic construction of a known rotating-unit drive 22 . FIG. 3 is a plan view of a rotating-unit drive 22 as seen in the axial direction of the latter. Taken from the perspective of FIG. 3 , the drive pinion 24 , which is illustrated by dashed lines, is concealed by the housing of the drive 22 . The rotating-unit drive 22 is inserted in an accurately fitting manner in a recess 34 of a drive holder 32 . As is also the case in FIGS. 5-8 , the drive 22 is plugged into the recess 34 , 40 usually with the drive pinion 24 in front. The drive pinion 24 and fastening flange are thus positioned on different sides of the drive holder 32 . The housing 26 of the drive 22 is fastened on the drive holder 32 by means of a fastening flange 28 . Threaded bolts 30 serve for fastening purposes. As can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the drive pinion 24 is arranged on the drive 22 eccentrically in relation to the drive housing 26 . In order to clarify matters, the eccentricities are illustrated in a highly exaggerated state in this illustration and the following ones.
[0063] In order for the tooth-flank clearance between the gear rim 20 , which is illustrated in FIG. 2 , and the drive pinion 24 to be adjusted, first of all the fastening bolts 30 are released and removed from the fastening flange 28 , this making it possible to rotate the drive housing 26 in the recess 34 of the drive holder 32 . Upon rotation of the drive 22 in one of the directions B, the distance between the drive pinion 24 and the gear rim 20 alters (cf. FIG. 2 ). The relative movement of the drive pinion 24 is indicated at A in FIG. 4 . Displacement in one of the directions A is achieved in that the drive pinion 24 , upon rotation of the drive 22 in one of the directions B, is moved on a circular track about the longitudinal axis of the drive 22 . The distance of the drive pinion 24 in relation to the gear rim 20 decreases or increases as the drive pinion passes over this circular track (cf. FIG. 2 ).
[0064] As can be seen, in particular, in FIG. 4 , in the case of this known variant, the drive housing 26 is inserted in an accurately fitting manner into the recess 34 of the drive holder 32 . The forces which arise upon interaction of the drive pinion 24 and gear rim 20 , and are absorbed by the drive pinion 24 , are absorbed, and compensated for by the accurately fitting seating of the drive housing 26 in the recess 34 through the drive holder 32 .
[0065] FIGS. 5 and 6 show a second variant of a known arrangement for a rotating-unit drive 22 in a drive holder 32 . FIG. 5 is a plan view of the rotating-unit drive 22 as seen in the axial direction of the latter. Taken from the perspective of FIG. 5 , the drive pinion 24 , which is illustrated by dashed lines, is concealed by the housing of the drive 22 . In contrast to the variant from FIGS. 3 and 4 , the drive 22 , rather than being retained directly in a recess 34 of the drive holder 32 , is located in an accurately fitting manner in a recess 40 of an eccentric cup 36 . The eccentric cup 36 , for its part, is inserted in an accurately fitting manner in the recess 34 of the drive holder 32 . First fastening bolts 30 are used to fasten the drive 22 , by way of a fastening flange 28 of the drive housing 26 , in the recess 40 of the eccentric cup 36 . The eccentric cup 36 , for its part, has a fastening flange 38 , by means of which the eccentric cup 36 is fastened on the drive holder 32 by way of two fastening bolts 30 . The recess 40 is arranged eccentrically in the eccentric cup 36 . This variant has the advantage, over the variant from FIGS. 3 and 4 , that use can be made of a drive which has a centrally arranged drive shaft and/or a centrally arranged drive pinion 24 . Drives with the drive shaft arranged centrally are easier to produce and more cost-effective. In order to achieve displacement of the drive pinion 24 , the fastening bolts 30 , which fasten the eccentric cup 36 on the drive holder 32 , are released and removed from the fastening flange 38 . The eccentric cup 36 can then be rotated in one of the directions B in the recess 34 of the drive holder 32 . Upon movement of the eccentric cup 36 in one of the directions B, the drive pinion 24 of the drive 22 describes a circular track about the centerpoint of the eccentric cup 36 . Upon rotation of the eccentric cup 36 , the drive pinion 24 is displaced in one of the directions A in relation to the gear rim 20 (cf. FIG. 2 ). With the necessary amounts of eccentricity in reality being very small, instead of the first and second fastening bolts 30 , it is often the case that just one set of fastening bolts is provided for the screw-connection of the drive 22 , eccentric cup 36 and drive holder 32 in one connection.
[0066] FIGS. 7 and 8 show a schematic illustration of a plan view of a rotating-unit drive 22 according to the invention and a sectional illustration of the same. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the rotating-unit drive 22 as seen in the axial direction of the latter. Taken from the perspective of FIG. 7 , the drive pinion 24 , which is illustrated by dashed lines, is concealed by the housing of the drive 22 . According to the invention, an eccentric bolt 46 is arranged on the drive 22 . The eccentric bolt 46 is plugged into one of the bores 44 arranged on the fastening flange 28 . Indicated as being located opposite the eccentric bolt 46 on the fastening flange 28 is a guide element 54 , which is designed in the form of a round bar and serves, inter alia, for guiding the drive housing 26 during displacement along the drive holder 32 . The guide element 54 is preferably screwed or plugged into the drive holder 32 . When the drive 22 is seated on the drive holder 32 , the guide element 54 projects through a bore 44 and thus limits the movement path of the drive 22 . It is preferably also possible for the bore 44 in the region of the guide element 54 to be configured in the form of a slot (not illustrated).
[0067] The guide elements 54 are preferably designed in the form of threaded bolts. Guide elements 54 designed in the form of threaded bolts can perform a double function. On the one hand, they can be used for guiding the drive 22 and, on the other hand, they can establish a force-fitting connection between the fastening flange 28 or the drive housing 26 and the drive holder 32 . The guide elements 54 can correspond to the fastening bolts 30 shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 .
[0068] As can be seen in FIGS. 7 and 8 , the diameter of the guide element 54 is smaller than the diameter of the bores 44 . This allows displacement of the drive 22 along a surface of, or relatively to, the drive holder 32 without the elements 54 being removed from the drive holder 32 or from the fastening flange 28 .
[0069] The displacement of the drive 22 , and thus of the drive pinion 24 , is achieved by the rotation of the eccentric bolt 46 in one of the directions B. Upon rotation of the eccentric bolt 46 , the drive housing 26 is displaced, with positive guidance, on the drive holder 32 . In the exemplary embodiment illustrated, the drive housing 26 is plugged into a recess 34 of the drive holder 32 . A gap 42 is located between the opening periphery of the recess 34 and the drive housing 26 . The gap 42 and the clearance of the guide element 54 in the bore 44 allows displacement of the drive housing 26 as a whole in the recess of the drive holder 32 .
[0070] In order for the eccentric bolt 46 to be actuated, a head 50 is arranged at its end which retains the drive 22 . The head 50 can be actuated, for example, using a wrench or the like and utilizing a lever effect.
[0071] As portrayed in FIG. 8 , the eccentricity 48 of the eccentric bolt 46 is seated in an accurately fitting manner in a bore of the fastening flange 28 . This bore may be, for example, a through-bore 44 provided for fastening means.
[0072] Upon rotation of the eccentric bolt 46 , the eccentricity 48 is rotated about an eccentric pin 52 . The pin may be a bar which has been screwed or plugged/pressed into the drive holder 32 . The eccentric pin 52 may preferably also be a shaft which is configured in a rotationally fixed manner with the eccentric bolt 46 and is guided in a bore in the drive holder 32 .
[0073] FIGS. 9 and 10 show a sectional illustration and a plan view, both in detail form, of the eccentric bolt 46 according to the invention. FIG. 9 shows, in particular, accurately fitting seating of the eccentric bolt 46 in the fastening flange 28 and the engagement of the eccentric pin 52 in a through-bore of the drive holder 32 . Upon rotation of the eccentric bolt 46 , the fastening flange 28 moves in one of the directions A in relation to the drive holder 32 .
[0074] FIG. 11 shows a schematic illustration of a preferred variant of the fastening flange 28 . In contrast to FIG. 7 , a slot 56 is formed in the fastening flange 28 . The slot 56 is located opposite to the eccentric bolt 46 . A guide element 54 , which is fastened on the drive holder 32 (not illustrated), is plugged into the slot 56 . Upon displacement of the drive 22 and the drive holder 32 , the drive 22 is guided positively in the slot 56 by the guide element 54 . This means that rotary movement of the eccentric bolt 46 on a first side of the fastening flange 28 can be converted into an approximately rectilinear movement of the drive housing 26 on the opposite side of the fastening flange 28 . It is also conceivable for the slot 56 to be arranged on the drive holder 32 , and for a guide element 54 arranged on the fastening flange 28 to engage in the slot 56 (not illustrated). As mentioned in relation to FIG. 7 , the guide element 54 may be designed in a form of a fastening bolt.
[0075] Fastening bolts 30 are shown in the bores 44 in FIG. 11 . The fastening bolts 30 are depicted without a head or nut, so that the clearance of the bolts within the bores 44 is evident.
[0076] The eccentric pin 52 , about which the eccentric bolt 46 can be rotated, is illustrated purely schematically on the head 50 of the eccentric bolt 46 . Preferably, and irrespective of the present exemplary embodiment, the rotary pin 52 of the eccentric bolt 46 and a guide element 54 are arranged on the fastening flange 28 in alignment with the axis of rotation of the gearwheel element 20 (not illustrated). Further preferably, the eccentric bolt 46 is arranged on that side of the drive 22 which is directed away from the gearwheel element 20 . Correspondingly, it is possible for the eccentric bolt 46 with its rotary pin 52 and a guide element 54 —arranged on the drive holder 32 , opposite the eccentric bolt 46 , and/or on the drive housing 26 or on the fastening flange 28 —to be positioned on a line which intersects the axis of rotation of the gearwheel element 20 . This results in particularly efficient conversion of the rotary movement of the eccentric bolt 46 into a displacement movement of the drive 22 in the direction of the gearwheel element 20 . The drive housing 26 is preferably arranged in a line between the eccentric bolt 46 and the guide element 54 .
[0077] FIG. 12 shows another exemplary embodiment of a rotary drive according to the invention. Instead of the eccentric bolt 46 , use is made here of an adjustment element 58 for displacing the drive 22 and the drive holder 32 . Design elements such as the bores 44 , the guide elements 54 , the flange 28 , the drive pinion 24 or the drive holder 32 are identical to, or along the same lines as, the embodiments of the preceding figures. In contrast to FIGS. 3-8 , the drive housing 26 is not plugged into a recess of the drive holder 32 . Here, the drive 22 , with the drive housing 26 , is arranged entirely on one side of the drive holder 32 . This arrangement is readily also conceivable for the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8 .
[0078] According to this exemplary embodiment, the adjustment element 58 serves for displacing the drive 22 . For this purpose, the adjustment element 58 has an elongate region with an external thread, which engages in an internal thread (not illustrated) arranged at a fixed location in relation to the drive holder 32 . The adjustment element 58 may be, for example, a threaded bolt.
[0079] At the end which is directed away from the drive 22 , the adjustment element 58 has a head or the like, which can be actuated using a tool, e.g. a wrench, for rotating the adjustment element 58 . That end of the adjustment element 58 which is located opposite the head has arranged on it a coupling element 60 , by means of which the adjustment element 58 is connected to the drive housing 26 . The coupling element 60 can transmit a compressive or tensile force from the adjustment element 58 to the drive housing 26 . The coupling element 60 is preferably fixed to the drive housing 26 .
[0080] As an alternative, or in addition, it is possible—as described in relation to FIGS. 7 to 11 —to introduce into one of the bores 44 an eccentric bolt 46 which serves for displacing the drive 22 or assists the displacement. An adjustment element 58 can be used to assist displacement or to assist the task of fixing the drive 22 on the drive holder 32 .
[0000]
List of designations:
10
Wind turbine
12
Tower
14
Turbine nacelle
16
Rotor blade
18
Rotor hub
20
Gear rim
22
Rotating-unit drive
24
Drive pinion
26
Drive housing
28
Fastening flange of the drive
30
Fastening bolt
32
Drive holder
34
Recess in the drive holder
36
Eccentric cup
38
Fastening flange of the eccentric cup
40
Recess in the eccentric cup
42
Gap
44
Flange bores
46
Eccentric bolt
48
Eccentricity
50
Head
52
Rotary pin of the eccentric bolt
54
Guide element
56
Slot
58
Adjustment element
60
Coupling element
A
Displacement direction
B
Direction of rotation
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A rotating unit for rotating a first component of a wind turbine rotatably mounted on a second component, which includes a gearwheel element arranged on the first component, a drive arranged on the second component by a drive holder including a drive housing and a drive pinion for actuating the gearwheel element, a connecting element arranged on the drive housing and configured to form a releasable connection between the drive housing and the drive holder, and fastening means, which interact with the connecting element and can be actuated between a clamping position and a disengagement position. The fastening means connect the drive housing, in the clamping position, in a force-fitting manner to the drive holder. In the disengagement position, the drive housing is displaceable on the drive holder in an adjustment direction such that it is possible to adjust a tooth-flank clearance between the drive pinion and the gearwheel element.
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This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/010,601, filed Dec. 6, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,289,494, entitled: SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION OVER A WIDE BANDWIDTH CHANNEL USING A PLURALITY OF SUB-CHANNELS.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to communications, and more particularly to systems and methods for high data rate communications.
2. Background
Wireless communication systems are proliferating at the Wide Area Network (WAN), Local Area Network (LAN), and Personal Area Network (PAN) levels. These wireless communication systems use a variety of techniques to allow simultaneous access to multiple users. The most common of these techniques are Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), which assigns specific frequencies to each user, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), which assigns particular time slots to each user, and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), which assigns specific codes to each user. But these wireless communication systems and various modulation techniques are afflicted by a host of problems that limit the capacity and the quality of service provided to the users. The following paragraphs briefly describe a few of these problems for the purpose of illustration.
One problem that can exist in a wireless communication system is multipath interference. Multipath interference, or multipath, occurs because some of the energy in a transmitted wireless signal bounces off of obstacles, such as buildings or mountains, as it travels from source to destination. The obstacles in effect create reflections of the transmitted signal and the more obstacles there are, the more reflections they generate. The reflections then travel along their own transmission paths to the destination (or receiver). The reflections will contain the same information as the original signal; however, because of the differing transmission path lengths, the reflected signals will be out of phase with the original signal. As a result, they will often combine destructively with the original signal in the receiver. This is referred to as fading. To combat fading, current systems typically try to estimate the multipath effects and then compensate for them in the receiver using an equalizer. In practice, however, it is very difficult to achieve effective multipath compensation.
A second problem that can affect the operation of wireless communication systems is interference from adjacent communication cells within the system. In FDMA/TDMA systems, this type of interference is prevent through a frequency reuse plan. Under a frequency reuse plan, available communication frequencies are allocated to communication cells within the communication system such that the same frequency will not be used in adjacent cells. Essentially, the available frequencies are split into groups. The number of groups is termed the reuse factor. Then the communication cells are grouped into clusters, each cluster containing the same number of cells as there are frequency groups. Each frequency group is then assigned to a cell in each cluster. Thus, if a frequency reuse factor of 7 is used, for example, then a particular communication frequency will be used only once in every seven communication cells. Thus, in any group of seven communication cells, each cell can only use 1/7 th of the available frequencies, i.e., each cell is only able to use 1/7 th of the available bandwidth.
In a CDMA communication system, each cell uses the same wideband communication channel. In order to avoid interference with adjacent cells, each communication cell uses a particular set of spread spectrum codes to differentiate communications within the cell from those originating outside of the cell. Thus, CDMA systems preserve the bandwidth in the sense that they avoid reuse planning. But as will be discussed, there are other issues that limit the bandwidth in CDMA systems as well.
Thus, in overcoming interference, system bandwidth is often sacrificed. Bandwidth is becoming a very valuable commodity as wireless communication systems continue to expand by adding more and more users. Therefore, trading off bandwidth for system performance is a costly, albeit necessary, proposition that is inherent in all wireless communication systems.
The foregoing are just two examples of the types of problems that can affect conventional wireless communication systems. The examples also illustrate that there are many aspects of wireless communication system performance that can be improved through systems and methods that, for example, reduce interference, increase bandwidth, or both.
Not only are conventional wireless communication systems effected by problems, such as those described in the preceding paragraphs, but also different types of systems are effected in different ways and to different degrees. Wireless communication systems can be split into three types: 1) line-of-sight systems, which can include point-to-point or point-to-multipoint systems; 2) indoor non-line of sight systems; and 3) outdoor systems such as wireless WANs. Line-of-sight systems are least affected by the problems described above, while indoor systems are more affected, due for example to signals bouncing off of building walls. Outdoor systems are by far the most affected of the three systems. Because these types of problems are limiting factors in the design of wireless transmitters and receivers, such designs must be tailored to the specific types of system in which it will operate. In practice, each type of system implements unique communication standards that address the issues unique to the particular type of system. Even if an indoor system used the same communication protocols and modulation techniques as an outdoor system, for example, the receiver designs would still be different because multipath and other problems are unique to a given type of system and must be addressed with unique solutions. This would not necessarily be the case if cost efficient and effective methodologies can be developed to combat such problems as described above that build in programmability so that a device can be reconfigured for different types of systems and still maintain superior performance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to combat the above problems, a high data rate transmitter and receiver are provided. In one embodiment, a transmitter comprises a baseband processor structured to receive data and to convert the data into a multiplicity of high and low signal values, with each high and low signal value having a first timing interval. A local oscillator generates a clock signal at a second timing interval and a digital circuit combines the high and low signal values with the clock signal to produce a transmission signal directly at a transmission frequency.
The radio frequency used for transmission may range up to 11 Giga-Hertz, and production of the transmission signal directly at the transmission frequency is possible by use of a high-speed oscillator.
A receiver is structured to receive the communication signal, which in one embodiment, may have a fractional bandwidth that may range between approximately 20 percent and approximately 200 percent. The receiver includes a high-speed analog to digital converter configured to directly convert the radio frequency signal into a data signal.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated from review of the following Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments, along with the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals are used to describe the same, similar or corresponding parts in the several views of the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the present inventions taught herein are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a wideband channel divided into a plurality of sub-channels in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating the effects of multipath in a wireless communication system;
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating another example embodiment of a wideband communication channel divided into a plurality of sub-channels in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the application of a roll-off factor to the sub-channels of FIGS. 1 and 2 ;
FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating the assignment of sub-channels for a wideband communication channel in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating the assignment of time slots for a wideband communication channel in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a wireless communication in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the use of synchronization codes in the wireless communication system of FIG. 5 in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a correlator that can be used to correlate synchronization codes in the wireless communication system of FIG. 5 ;
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating synchronization code correlation in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the cross-correlation properties of synchronization codes configured in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example embodiment of a wireless communication system in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating how sub-channels of a wideband communication channel according to the present invention can be grouped in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating the assignment of the groups of sub-channels of FIG. 11A in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the group assignments of FIG. 11B in the time domain;
FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating the assignment of sub-channels based on SIR measurements in the wireless communication system of FIG. 10 in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 14 is a logical block diagram of an example embodiment of transmitter configured in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 15 is a logical block diagram of an example embodiment of a modulator configured in accordance with the present invention for use in the transmitter of FIG. 14 ;
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a rate controller configured in accordance with the invention for use in the modulator of FIG. 15 ;
FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating another example embodiment of a rate controller configured in accordance with the invention for use in the modulator of FIG. 15 ;
FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a frequency encoder configured in accordance with the invention for use in the modulator of FIG. 15 ;
FIG. 19 is a logical block diagram of an example embodiment of a TDM/FDM block configured in accordance with the invention for use in the modulator of FIG. 15 ;
FIG. 20 is a logical block diagram of another example embodiment of a TDM/FDM block configured in accordance with the invention for use in the modulator of FIG. 15 ;
FIG. 21 is a logical block diagram of an example embodiment of a frequency shifter configured in accordance with the invention for use in the modulator of FIG. 15 ;
FIG. 22 is a logical block diagram of a receiver configured in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 23 is a logical block diagram of an example embodiment of a demodulator configured in accordance with the invention for use in the receiver of FIG. 22 ;
FIG. 24 is a logical block diagram of an example embodiment of an equalizer configured in accordance with the present invention for use in the demodulator of FIG. 23 ;
FIG. 25 is a logical block diagram of an example embodiment of a wireless communication device configured in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 26 is an illustration of different communication methods;
FIG. 27 is an illustration of two ultra-wideband pulses;
FIG. 28 is a chart of ultra-wideband emission limits as established by the Federal Communications Commission on Apr. 22, 2002;
FIG. 29 illustrates a transmitter consistent with one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 30 illustrates a timing diagram of various signals;
FIG. 31 illustrates a frame consistent with one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 32 a illustrates one embodiment of a digital circuit employed in the transmitter of FIG. 29 ;
FIG. 32 b illustrates a second embodiment of a digital circuit employed in the transmitter of FIG. 29 ;
FIG. 32 c illustrates a third embodiment of a digital circuit employed in the transmitter of FIG. 29 ;
FIG. 33 illustrates a data stream consistent with one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 34 illustrates a receiver consistent with one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 35 illustrates a schematic of a first portion of a baseband processor employed in the transmitter of FIG. 29 ;
FIG. 36 illustrates a schematic of a second portion of a baseband processor employed in the receiver of FIG. 34 ;
FIG. 37 illustrates one embodiment of a poly-phase filter employed in the baseband processor of FIG. 36 ;
FIG. 38 illustrates another embodiment of a poly-phase filter employed in the baseband processor of FIG. 36 ;
FIG. 39 illustrates another timing diagram of signals consistent with the present invention.
FIG. 40 illustrates one embodiment of an equalizer consistent with the present invention;
FIG. 41 illustrates an exemplary FEC encoder and exemplary FEC decoder;
FIG. 42 illustrates an example FEC encoder configured in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 43 illustrates a FEC encoder configured to generate a code word from input data in accordance with one embodiment;
FIG. 44 illustrates the encoder of FIG. 42 in more detail;
FIG. 45 illustrates further detail for the encoder of FIG. 42 ;
FIG. 46 illustrates an example parity node processor that can be included in a decoder in accordance with one embodiment;
FIG. 47 illustrates one node of the parity node processor of FIG. 45 ;
FIG. 48 illustrates the parity node processor of FIG. 45 in more detail; and
FIG. 49 illustrates a parity node processor configured in accordance with one embodiment.
It will be recognized that some or all of the Figures are schematic representations for purposes of illustration and do not necessarily depict the actual relative sizes or locations of the elements shown. The Figures are provided for the purpose of illustrating one or more embodiments of the invention with the explicit understanding that they will not be used to limit the scope or the meaning of the claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
1. Introduction
In the following paragraphs, the present invention will be described in detail by way of example with reference to the attached drawings. While this invention is capable of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail specific embodiments, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an example of the principles of the invention and not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments shown and described. That is, throughout this description, the embodiments and examples shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than as limitations on the present invention. As used herein, the “present invention” refers to any one of the embodiments of the invention described herein, and any equivalents. Furthermore, reference to various feature(s) of the “present invention” throughout this document does not mean that all claimed embodiments or methods must include the referenced feature(s).
In order to improve wireless communication system performance and allow a single device to move from one type of system to another, while still maintaining superior performance, the systems and methods described herein provide various communication methodologies that enhance performance of transmitters and receivers with regard to various common problems that afflict such systems and that allow the transmitters and/or receivers to be reconfigured for optimal performance in a variety of systems. Accordingly, the systems and methods described herein define a channel access protocol that uses a common wideband communication channel for all communication cells. The wideband channel, however, is then divided into a plurality of sub-channels. Different sub-channels are then assigned to one or more users within each cell. But the base station, or service access point, within each cell transmits one message that occupies the entire bandwidth of the wideband channel. Each user's communication device receives the entire message, but only decodes those portions of the message that reside in sub-channels assigned to the user. For a point-to-point system, for example, a single user may be assigned all sub-channels and, therefore, has the full wide band channel available to them. In a wireless WAN, on the other hand, the sub-channels may be divided among a plurality of users.
In the descriptions of example embodiments that follow, implementation differences, or unique concerns, relating to different types of systems will be pointed out to the extent possible. But it should be understood that the systems and methods described herein are applicable to any type of communication systems. In addition, terms such as communication cell, base station, service access point, etc. are used interchangeably to refer to the common aspects of networks at these different levels.
To begin illustrating the advantages of the systems and methods described herein, one can start by looking at the multipath effects for a single wideband communication channel 100 of bandwidth B as shown in FIG. 1A . Communications sent over channel 100 in a traditional wireless communication system will comprise digital data bits, or symbols, that are encoded and modulated onto a RF carrier that is centered at frequency f c and occupies bandwidth B. Generally, the width of the symbols (or the symbol duration) T is defined as 1/B. Thus, if the bandwidth B is equal to 100 MHz, then the symbol duration T is defined by the following equation:
T= 1/ B= 1/100 megahertz (MHZ)=10 nanoseconds (ns). (1)
When a receiver receives the communication, demodulates it, and then decodes it, it will recreate a stream 104 of data symbols 106 as illustrated in FIG. 1B . But the receiver will also receive multipath versions 108 of the same data stream. Because multipath data streams 108 are delayed in time relative to the data stream 104 by delays d 1 , d 2 , d 3 , and d 4 , for example, they may combine destructively with data stream 104 .
A delay spread d s is defined as the delay from reception of data stream 104 to the reception of the last multipath data stream 108 that interferes with the reception of data stream 104 . Thus, in the example illustrated in FIG. 1B , the delay spread d s is equal to delay d 4 . The delay spread d s will vary for different environments. An environment with a lot of obstacles will create a lot of multipath reflections. Thus, the delay spread d s will be longer. Experiments have shown that for outdoor WAN type environments, the delay spread d s can be as long as 20 microseconds. Using the 10 ns symbol duration of equation (1), this translates to 2000 symbols. Thus, with a very large bandwidth, such as 100 MHz, multipath interference can cause a significant amount of interference at the symbol level for which adequate compensation is difficult to achieve. This is true even for indoor environments. For indoor LAN type systems, the delay spread d s is significantly shorter, typically about 1 microsecond. For a 10 ns symbol duration, this is equivalent to 100 symbols, which is more manageable but still significant.
By segmenting the bandwidth B into a plurality of sub-channels 202 , as illustrated in FIG. 2 , and generating a distinct data stream for each sub-channel, the multipath effect can be reduced to a much more manageable level. For example, if the bandwidth b of each sub-channel 202 is 500 KHz, then the symbol duration is 2 microseconds. Thus, the delay spread d s for each sub-channel is equivalent to only 10 symbols (outdoor) or half a symbol (indoor). Thus, by breaking up a message that occupies the entire bandwidth B into discrete messages, each occupying the bandwidth b of sub-channels 202 , a very wideband signal that suffers from relatively minor multipath effects is created.
Before discussing further features and advantages of using a wideband communication channel segmented into a plurality of sub-channels as described, certain aspects of the sub-channels will be explained in more detail. Referring back to FIG. 2 , the overall bandwidth B is segmented into N sub-channels center at frequencies f o to f N−1 . Thus, the sub-channel 202 that is immediately to the right of fc is offset from fc by b/2, where b is the bandwidth of each sub-channel 202 . The next sub-channel 202 is offset by 3b/2, the next by 5b/2, and so on. To the left of fc, each sub-channel 202 is offset by −b/2, −3b/2, −5b/2, etc.
Preferably, sub-channels 202 are non-overlapping as this allows each sub-channel to be processed independently in the receiver. To accomplish this, a roll-off factor is preferably applied to the signals in each sub-channel in a pulse-shaping step. The effect of such a pulse-shaping step is illustrated in FIG. 2 by the non-rectangular shape of the pulses in each sub-channel 202 . Thus, the bandwidth b of each sub-channel can be represented by an equation such as the following:
b= (1+ r )/ T; (2)
Where r=the roll-off factor; and
T=the symbol duration.
Without the roll-off factor, i.e., b=1/T, the pulse shape would be rectangular in the frequency domain, which corresponds to a (sin x)/x function in the time domain. The time domain signal for a (sin x)/x signal 400 is shown in FIG. 3 in order to illustrate the problems associated with a rectangular pulse shape and the need to use a roll-off factor.
As can be seen, main lobe 402 comprises almost all of signal 400 . But some of the signal also resides in side lobes 404 , which stretch out indefinitely in both directions from main lobe 402 . Side lobes 404 make processing signal 400 much more difficult, which increases the complexity of the receiver. Applying a roll-off factor r, as in equation (2), causes signal 400 to decay faster, reducing the number of side lobes 404 . Thus, increasing the roll-off factor decreases the length of signal 400 , i.e., signal 400 becomes shorter in time. But including the roll-off factor also decreases the available bandwidth in each sub-channel 202 . Therefore, r must be selected so as to reduce the number of side lobes 404 to a sufficient number, e.g., 15, while still maximizing the available bandwidth in each sub-channel 202 .
Thus, the overall bandwidth B for communication channel 200 is given by the following equation:
B=N (1+ r )/ T, (3)
or
B=M/T; (4)
Where
M =(1+ r ) N. (5)
For efficiency purposes related to transmitter design, it is preferable that r is chosen so that M in equation (5) is an integer. Choosing r so that M is an integer allows for more efficient transmitters designs using, for example, Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) techniques. Since M=N+N(r), and N is always an integer, this means that r must be chosen so that N(r) is an integer. Generally, it is preferable for r to be between 0.1 and 0.5. Therefore, if N is 16, for example, then 0.5 could be selected for r so that N(r) is an integer. Alternatively, if a value for r is chosen in the above example so that N(r) is not an integer, B can be made slightly wider than M/T to compensate. In this case, it is still preferable that r be chosen so that N(r) is approximately an integer.
2. Example Embodiment of a Wireless Communication System
With the above in mind, FIG. 5 illustrates an example communication system 600 comprising a plurality of cells 602 that each use a common wideband communication channel to communicate with communication devices 604 within each cell 602 . The common communication channel is a wideband communication channel as described above. Each communication cell 602 is defined as the coverage area of a base station, or service access point, 606 within the cell. One such base station 606 is shown for illustration in FIG. 5 . For purposes of this specification and the claims that follow, the term base station will be used generically to refer to a device that provides wireless access to the wireless communication system for a plurality of communication devices, whether the system is a line of sight, indoor, or outdoor system.
Because each cell 602 uses the same communication channel, signals in one cell 602 must be distinguishable from signals in adjacent cells 602 . To differentiate signals from one cell 602 to another, adjacent base stations 606 use different synchronization codes according to a code reuse plan. In FIG. 6 , system 600 uses a synchronization code reuse factor of 4, although the reuse factor can vary depending on the application.
Preferably, the synchronization code is periodically inserted into a communication from a base station 606 to a communication device 604 as illustrated in FIG. 6 . After a predetermined number of data packets 702 , in this case two, the particular synchronization code 704 is inserted into the information being transmitted by each base station 606 . A synchronization code is a sequence of data bits known to both the base station 606 and any communication devices 604 with which it is communicating. The synchronization code allows such a communication device 604 to synchronize its timing to that of base station 606 , which, in turn, allows device 604 to decode the data properly. Thus, in cell 1 (see lightly shaded cells 602 in FIG. 6 ), for example, synchronization code 1 (SYNC 1 ) is inserted into data stream 706 , which is generated by base station 606 in cell 1 , after every two packets 702 ; in cell 2 SYNC 2 is inserted after every two packets 702 ; in cell 3 SYNC 3 is inserted; and in cell 4 SYNC 4 is inserted. Use of the synchronization codes is discussed in more detail below.
In FIG. 4A , an example wideband communication channel 500 for use in communication system 600 is divided into 16 sub-channels 502 , centered at frequencies fo to f 15 . A base station 606 at the center of each communication cell 602 transmits a single packet occupying the whole bandwidth B of wideband channel 500 . Such a packet is illustrated by packet 504 in FIG. 4B . Packet 504 comprises sub-packets 506 that are encoded with a frequency offset corresponding to one of sub-channels 502 . Sub-packets 506 in effect define available time slots in packet 504 . Similarly, sub-channels 502 can be said to define available frequency bins in communication channel 500 . Therefore, the resources available in communication cell 602 are time slots 506 and frequency bins 502 , which can be assigned to different communication devices 604 within each cell 602 .
Thus, for example, frequency bins 502 and time slots 506 can be assigned to 4 different communication devices 604 within a cell 602 as shown in FIG. 5 . Each communication device 604 receives the entire packet 504 , but only processes those frequency bins 502 and/or timeslots 506 that are assigned to it. Preferably, each device 604 is assigned non-adjacent frequency bins 502 , as in FIG. 4A . This way, if interference corrupts the information in a portion of communication channel 500 , then the effects are spread across all devices 604 within a cell 602 . Hopefully, by spreading out the effects of interference in this manner the effects are minimized and the entire information sent to each device 604 can still be recreated from the unaffected information received in other frequency bins. For example, if interference, such as fading, corrupted the information in bins f o -f 4 , then each user 1 - 4 loses one packet of data. But each user potentially receives three unaffected packets from the other bins assigned to them. Hopefully, the unaffected data in the other three bins provides enough information to recreate the entire message for each user. Thus, frequency diversity can be achieved by assigning non-adjacent bins to each of multiple users.
Ensuring that the bins assigned to one user are separated by more than the coherence bandwidth ensures frequency diversity. As discussed above, the coherence bandwidth is approximately equal to 1/d s . For outdoor systems, where ds is typically 1 microsecond, 1/d s =1/1 microsecond=1 Mega Hertz (MHz). Thus, the non-adjacent frequency bands assigned to a user are preferably separated by at least 1 MHz. It is even more preferable, however, if the coherence bandwidth plus some guard band to ensure sufficient frequency diversity separate the non-adjacent bins assigned to each user. For example, it is preferable in certain implementations to ensure that at least 5 times the coherence bandwidth, or 5 MHz in the above example, separates the non-adjacent bins.
Another way to provide frequency diversity is to repeat blocks of data in frequency bins assigned to a particular user that are separated by more than the coherence bandwidth. In other words, if 4 sub-channels 202 are assigned to a user, then data block a can be repeated in the first and third sub-channels 202 and data block b can be repeated in the second and fourth sub-channels 202 , provided the sub-channels are sufficiently separated in frequency. In this case, the system can be said to be using a diversity length factor of 2. The system can similarly be configured to implement other diversity lengths, e.g., 3, 4, . . . , l.
It should be noted that spatial diversity can also be included depending on the embodiment. Spatial diversity can comprise transmit spatial diversity, receive spatial diversity, or both. In transmit spatial diversity, the transmitter uses a plurality of separate transmitters and a plurality of separate antennas to transmit each message. In other words, each transmitter transmits the same message in parallel. The messages are then received from the transmitters and combined in the receiver. Because the parallel transmissions travel different paths, if one is affected by fading, the others will likely not be affected. Thus, when they are combined in the receiver, the message should be recoverable even if one or more of the other transmission paths experienced severe fading.
Receive spatial diversity uses a plurality of separate receivers and a plurality of separate antennas to receive a single message. If an adequate distance separates the antennas, then the transmission path for the signals received by the antennas will be different. Again, this difference in the transmission paths will provide imperviousness to fading when the signals from the receivers are combined.
Transmit and receive spatial diversity can also be combined within a system such as system 600 so that two antennas are used to transmit and two antennas are used to receive. Thus, each base station 606 transmitter can include two antennas, for transmit spatial diversity, and each communication device 604 receiver can include two antennas, for receive spatial diversity. If only transmit spatial diversity is implemented in system 600 , then it can be implemented in base stations 606 or in communication devices 604 . Similarly, if only receive spatial diversity is included in system 600 , then it can be implemented in base stations 606 or communication devices 604 .
The number of communication devices 604 assigned frequency bins 502 and/or time slots 506 in each cell 602 is preferably programmable in real time. In other words, the resource allocation within a communication cell 602 is preferably programmable in the face of varying external conditions, i.e., multipath or adjacent cell interference, and varying requirements, i.e., bandwidth requirements for various users within the cell. Thus, if user 1 requires the whole bandwidth to download a large video file, for example, then the allocation of bins 502 can be adjust to provide user 1 with more, or even all, of bins 502 . Once user 1 no longer requires such large amounts of bandwidth, the allocation of bins 502 can be readjusted among all of users 1 - 4 .
It should also be noted that all of the bins assigned to a particular user can be used for both the forward and reverse link. Alternatively, some bins 502 can be assigned as the forward link and some can be assigned for use on the reverse link, depending on the implementation.
To increase capacity, the entire bandwidth B is preferably reused in each communication cell 602 , with each cell 602 being differentiated by a unique synchronization code (see discussion below). Thus, system 600 provides increased immunity to multipath and fading as well as increased bandwidth due to the elimination of frequency reuse requirements.
3. Synchronization
FIG. 6 illustrates an example embodiment of a synchronization code correlator 800 (shown in FIG. 7 ). When a device 604 in cell 1 (see FIG. 5 ), for example, receives an incoming communication from the cell 1 base station 606 , it compares the incoming data with SYNC 1 in correlator 800 . Essentially, the device scans the incoming data trying to correlate the data with the known synchronization code, in this case SYNC 1 . Once correlator 800 matches the incoming data to SYNC 1 it generates a correlation peak 804 at the output. Multipath versions of the data will also generate correlation peaks 806 , although these peaks 806 are generally smaller than correlation peak 804 . The device can then use the correlation peaks to perform channel estimation, which allows the device to adjust for the multipath using an equalizer. Thus, in cell 1 , if correlator 800 receives a data stream comprising SYNC 1 , it will generate correlation peaks 804 and 806 . If, on the other hand, the data stream comprises SYNC 2 , for example, then no peaks will be generated and the device will essentially ignore the incoming communication.
Even though a data stream that comprises SYNC 2 will not create any correlation peaks, it can create noise in correlator 800 that can prevent detection of correlation peaks 804 and 806 . Several steps can be taken to prevent this from occurring. One way to minimize the noise created in correlator 800 by signals from adjacent cells 602 , is to configure system 600 so that each base station 606 transmits at the same time. This way, the synchronization codes can preferably be generated in such a manner that only the synchronization codes 704 of adjacent cell data streams, e.g., streams 708 , 710 , and 712 , as opposed to packets 702 within those streams, will interfere with detection of the correct synchronization code 704 , e.g., SYNC 1 . The synchronization codes can then be further configured to eliminate or reduce the interference.
For example, the noise or interference caused by an incorrect synchronization code is a function of the cross correlation of that synchronization code with respect to the correct code. The better the cross correlation between the two, the lower the noise level. When the cross correlation is ideal, then the noise level will be virtually zero as illustrated in FIG. 8 by noise level 902 . Therefore, a preferred embodiment of system 600 uses synchronization codes that exhibit ideal cross correlation, i.e., zero. Preferably, the ideal cross correlation of the synchronization codes covers a period l that is sufficient to allow accurate detection of multipath 906 as well as multipath correlation peaks 904 . This is important so that accurate channel estimation and equalization can take place. Outside of period l, the noise level 908 goes up, because the data in packets 702 is random and will exhibit low cross correlation with the synchronization code, e.g., SYNC 1 . Preferably, period l is actually slightly longer then the multipath length in order to ensure that the multipath can be detected.
a. Synchronization Code Generation
Conventional systems use orthogonal codes to achieve cross correlation in correlator 800 . In system 600 for example, SYNC 1 , SYNC 2 , SYNC 3 , and SYNC 4 , corresponding to cells 1 - 4 (see lightly shaded cells 602 of FIG. 5 ) respectively, will all need to be generated in such a manner that they will have ideal cross correlation with each other. In one embodiment, if the data streams involved comprise high and low data bits, then the value “1” can be assigned to the high data bits and “−1” to the low data bits. Orthogonal data sequences are then those that produce a “0” output when they are exclusively ORed (XORed) together in correlator 800 . The following example illustrates this point for orthogonal sequences 1 and 2:
sequence
1
:
1
1
-
1
1
sequence
2
:
1
1
1
-
1
_
1
1
-
1
-
1
=
0
Thus, when the results of XORing each bit pair are added, the result is “0”.
But in system 600 , for example, each code must have ideal, or zero, cross correlation with each of the other codes used in adjacent cells 602 . Therefore, in one example embodiment of a method for generating synchronization codes exhibiting the properties described above, the process begins by selecting a “perfect sequence” to be used as the basis for the codes. A perfect sequence is one that when correlated with itself produces a number equal to the number of bits in the sequence. For example:
Perfect
sequence
1
:
11
-
11
11
-
11
_
1
1
1
1
=
4
But each time a perfect sequence is cyclically shifted by one bit, the new sequence is orthogonal with the original sequence. Thus, for example, if perfect sequence 1 is cyclically shifted by one bit and then correlated with the original, the correlation produces a “0” as in the following example;
Perfect
sequence
1
:
1
1
-
1
1
1
1
1
-
1
_
11
-
1
-
1
=
0
If the perfect sequence 1 is again cyclically shifted by one bit, and again correlated with the original, then it will produce a “0”. In general, you can cyclically shift a perfect sequence by any number of bits up to its length and correlate the shifted sequence with the original to obtain a “0”.
Once a perfect sequence of the correct length is selected, the first synchronization code is preferably generated in one embodiment by repeating the sequence 4 times. Thus, if perfect sequence 1 is being used, then a first synchronization code y would be the following:
y= 1 1−1 1 1 1−1 1 1 1−1 1 1 1−1 1.
Or in generic form:
y=x (0) x (1) x (2) x (3) x (0) x (1) x (2) x (3) x (0) x (1) x (2) x (3) x (0) x (1) x (2) x (3).
For a sequence of length L:
y=x (0) x (1) . . . x ( L ) x (0) x (1) . . . x ( L ) x (0) x (1) . . . x ( L ) x (0) x (1) . . . x ( L )
Repeating the perfect sequence allows correlator 800 a better opportunity to detect the synchronization code and allows generation of other uncorrelated frequencies as well. Repeating has the effect of sampling in the frequency domain. This effect is illustrated by the graphs in FIG. 9 . Thus, in TRACE 1, which corresponds to synchronization code y, a sample 1002 is generated every fourth sample bin 1000 . Each sample bin is separated by 1/(4L×T), where T is the symbol duration. Thus, in the above example, where L=4, each sample bin is separated by 1/(16×T) in the frequency domain. TRACES 2-4 illustrate the next three synchronization codes. As can be seen, the samples for each subsequent synchronization code are shifted by one sample bin relative to the samples for the previous sequence. Therefore, none of the sequences interfere with each other.
To generate the subsequent sequences, corresponding to TRACES 2-4, sequence y must be shifted in frequency. This can be accomplished using the following equation:
z r ( m )= y ( m )*exp( j* 2*π* r*m /( n*L )), (5)
for r=1 to L (# of sequences) and m=0 to 4*L−1 (time); and where:
z r (m)=each subsequent sequence; y(m)=the first sequence; and n=the number of times the sequence is repeated.
It will be understood that multiplying by an exp(j2π(r*m/N)) factor, where N is equal to the number of times the sequence is repeated n multiplied by the length of the underlying perfect sequence L, in the time domain results in a shift in the frequency domain. Equation (5) results in the desired shift as illustrated in FIG. 9 for each of synchronization codes 2 - 4 , relative to synchronization code 1 . The final step in generating each synchronization code is to append the copies of the last M samples, where M is the length of the multipath, to the front of each code. This is done to make the convolution with the multipath cyclic and to allow easier detection of the multipath.
It should be noted that synchronization codes can be generated from more than one perfect sequence using the same methodology. For example, a perfect sequence can be generated and repeated four times and then a second perfect sequence can be generated and repeated four times to get a n factor equal to eight. The resulting sequence can then be shifted as described above to create the synchronization codes.
b. Signal Measurements Using Synchronization Codes
Therefore, when a communication device is at the edge of a cell, it will receive signals from multiple base stations and, therefore, will be decoding several synchronization codes at the same time. This can be illustrated with the help of FIG. 10 , which illustrates another example embodiment of a wireless communication system 1100 comprising communication cells 1102 , 1104 , and 1106 as well as communication device 1108 , which is in communication with base station 1110 of cell 1102 but also receiving communication from base stations 1112 and 1114 of cells 1104 and 1106 , respectively.
If communications from base station 1110 comprise synchronization code SYNC 1 and communications from base station 1112 and 1114 comprise SYNC 2 and SYNC 3 respectively, then device 1108 will effectively receive the sum of these three synchronization codes. This is because, as explained above, base stations 1110 , 1112 , and 1114 are configured to transmit at the same time. Also, the synchronization codes arrive at device 1108 at almost the same time because they are generated in accordance with the description above.
Again as described above, the synchronization codes SYNC 1 , SYNC 2 , and SYNC 3 exhibit ideal cross correlation. Therefore, when device 1108 correlates the sum x of codes SYNC 1 , SYNC 2 , and SYNC 3 , the latter two will not interfere with proper detection of SYNC 1 by device 1108 . Importantly, the sum x can also be used to determine important signal characteristics, because the sum x is equal to the sum of the synchronization code signal in accordance with the following equation:
x=SYNC 1+ SYNC 2+ SYNC 3. (6)
Therefore, when SYNC 1 is removed, the sum of SYNC 2 and SYNC 3 is left, as shown in the following:
x−SYNC 1= SYNC 2+ SYNC 3. (7)
The energy computed from the sum (SYNC 2 +SYNC 3 ) is equal to the noise or interference seen by device 1108 . Since the purpose of correlating the synchronization code in device 1106 is to extract the energy in SYNC 1 , device 1108 also has the energy in the signal from base station 1110 , i.e., the energy represented by SYNC 1 . Therefore, device 1106 can use the energy of SYNC 1 and of (SYNC 2 +SYNC 3 ) to perform a signal-to-interference measurement for the communication channel over which it is communicating with base station 1110 . The result of the measurement is preferably a signal-to-interference ratio (SIR). The SIR measurement can then be communicated back to base station 1110 for purposes that will be discussed below.
The ideal cross correlation of the synchronization codes, also allows device 1108 to perform extremely accurate determinations of the Channel Impulse Response (CIR), or channel estimation, from the correlation produced by correlator 800 . This allows for highly accurate equalization using low cost, low complexity equalizers, thus overcoming a significant draw back of conventional systems.
4. Sub-Channel Assignments
As mentioned, the SIR as determined by device 1108 can be communicated back to base station 1110 for use in the assignment of channels 502 . In one embodiment, due to the fact that each sub-channel 502 is processed independently, the SIR for each sub-channel 502 can be measured and communicated back to base station 1110 . In such an embodiment, therefore, sub-channels 502 can be divided into groups and a SIR measurement for each group can be sent to base station 1110 . This is illustrated in FIG. 11A , which shows a wideband communication channel 1200 segmented into sub-channels fo to f 15 . Sub-channels fo to f 15 are then grouped into 8 groups G 1 to G 8 . Thus, in one embodiment, device 1108 and base station 1110 communicate over a channel such as channel 1200 .
Sub-channels in the same group are preferably separated by as many sub-channels as possible to ensure diversity. In FIG. 11A for example, sub-channels within the same group are 7 sub-channels apart, e.g., group G 1 comprises f 0 and f 8 . Device 1102 reports a SIR measurement for each of the groups G 1 to G 8 . These SIR measurements are preferably compared with a threshold value to determine which sub-channels groups are useable by device 1108 . This comparison can occur in device 1108 or base station 1110 . If it occurs in device 1108 , then device 1108 can simply report to base station 1110 which sub-channels groups are useable by device 1108 .
SIR reporting will be simultaneously occurring for a plurality of devices within cell 1102 . Thus, FIG. 11B illustrates the situation where two communication devices corresponding to User 1 and User 2 report SIR levels above the threshold for groups G 1 , G 3 , G 5 , and G 7 . Base station 1110 preferably then assigns sub-channel groups to User 1 and User 2 based on the SIR reporting as illustrated in FIG. 11B . When assigning the “good” sub-channel groups to User 1 and User 2 , base station 1110 also preferably assigns them based on the principles of frequency diversity. In FIG. 11B , therefore, User 1 and User 2 are alternately assigned every other “good” sub-channel.
The assignment of sub-channels in the frequency domain is equivalent to the assignment of time slots in the time domain. Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 12 , two users, User 1 and User 2 , receive packet 1302 transmitted over communication channel 1200 . FIG. 12 also illustrated the sub-channel assignment of FIG. 11B . While FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate sub-channel/time slot assignment based on SIR for two users, the principles illustrated can be extended for any number of users. Thus, a packet within cell 1102 can be received by 3 or more users. Although, as the number of available sub-channels is reduced due to high SIR, so is the available bandwidth. In other words, as available channels are reduced, the number of users that can gain access to communication channel 1200 is also reduced.
Poor SIR can be caused for a variety of reasons, but frequently it results from a device at the edge of a cell receiving communication signals from adjacent cells. Because each cell is using the same bandwidth B, the adjacent cell signals will eventually raise the noise level and degrade SIR for certain sub-channels. In certain embodiments, therefore, sub-channel assignment can be coordinated between cells, such as cells 1102 , 1104 , and 1106 in FIG. 10 , in order to prevent interference from adjacent cells.
Thus, if communication device 1108 is near the edge of cell 1102 , and device 1118 is near the edge of cell 1106 , then the two can interfere with each other. As a result, the SIR measurements that device 1108 and 1118 report back to base stations 1110 and 1114 , respectively, will indicate that the interference level is too high. Base station 1110 can then be configured to assign only the odd groups, i.e., G 1 , G 3 , G 5 , etc., to device 1108 , while base station 1114 can be configured to assign the even groups to device 1118 . The two devices 1108 and 1118 will then not interfere with each other due to the coordinated assignment of sub-channel groups.
Assigning the sub-channels in this manner reduces the overall bandwidth available to devices 1108 and 1118 , respectively. In this case the bandwidth is reduced by a factor of two. But it should be remembered that devices operating closer to each base station 1110 and 1114 , respectively, will still be able to use all channels if needed. Thus, it is only devices, such as device 1108 , that are near the edge of a cell that will have the available bandwidth reduced. Contrast this with a CDMA system, for example, in which the bandwidth for all users is reduced, due to the spreading techniques used in such systems, by approximately a factor of 10 at all times. It can be seen, therefore, that the systems and methods for wireless communication over a wide bandwidth channel using a plurality of sub-channels not only improves the quality of service, but can also increase the available bandwidth significantly.
When there are three devices 1108 , 1118 , and 1116 near the edge of their respective adjacent cells 1102 , 1104 , and 1106 , the sub-channels can be divided by three. Thus, device 1108 , for example, can be assigned groups G 1 , G 4 , etc., device 1118 can be assigned groups G 2 , G 5 , etc., and device 1116 can be assigned groups G 3 , G 6 , etc. In this case the available bandwidth for these devices, i.e., devices near the edges of cells 1102 , 1104 , and 1106 , is reduced by a factor of 3, but this is still better than a CDMA system, for example.
The manner in which such a coordinated assignment of sub-channels can work is illustrated by the flow chart in FIG. 13 . First in step 1402 , a communication device, such as device 1108 , reports the SIR for all sub-channel groups G 1 to G 8 . The SIRs reported are then compared, in step 1404 , to a threshold to determine if the SIR is sufficiently low for each group. Alternatively, device 1108 can make the determination and simply report which groups are above or below the SIR threshold. If the SIR levels are good for each group, then base station 1110 can make each group available to device 1108 , in step 1406 . Periodically, device 1108 preferably measures the SIR level and updates base station 1110 in case the SIR as deteriorated. For example, device 1108 may move from near the center of cell 1102 toward the edge, where interference from an adjacent cell may affect the SIR for device 1108 .
If the comparison in step 1404 reveals that the SIR levels are not good, then base station 1110 can be preprogrammed to assign either the odd groups or the even groups only to device 1108 , which it will do in step 1408 . Device 1108 then reports the SIR measurements for the odd or even groups it is assigned in step 1410 , and they are again compared to a SIR threshold in step 1412 .
It is assumed that the poor SIR level is due to the fact that device 1108 is operating at the edge of cell 1102 and is therefore being interfered with by a device such as device 1118 . But device 1108 will be interfering with device 1118 at the same time. Therefore, the assignment of odd or even groups in step 1408 preferably corresponds with the assignment of the opposite groups to device 1118 , by base station 1114 . Accordingly, when device 1108 reports the SIR measurements for whichever groups, odd or even, are assigned to it, the comparison in step 1410 should reveal that the SIR levels are now below the threshold level. Thus, base station 1110 makes the assigned groups available to device 1108 in step 1414 . Again, device 1108 preferably periodically updates the SIR measurements by returning to step 1402 .
It is possible for the comparison of step 1410 to reveal that the SIR levels are still above the threshold, which should indicate that a third device, e.g., device 1116 is still interfering with device 1108 . In this case, base station 1110 can be preprogrammed to assign every third group to device 1108 in step 1416 . This should correspond with the corresponding assignments of non-interfering channels to devices 1118 and 1116 by base stations 1114 and 1112 , respectively. Thus, device 1108 should be able to operate on the sub-channel groups assigned, i.e., G 1 , G 4 , etc., without undue interference. Again, device 1108 preferably periodically updates the SIR measurements by returning to step 1402 . Optionally, a third comparison step (not shown) can be implemented after step 1416 , to ensure that the groups assigned to device 1408 posses an adequate SIR level for proper operation. Moreover, if there are more adjacent cells, i.e., if it is possible for devices in a 4 th or even a 5 th adjacent cell to interfere with device 1108 , then the process of FIG. 13 would continue and the sub-channel groups would be divided even further to ensure adequate SIR levels on the sub-channels assigned to device 1108 .
Even though the process of FIG. 13 reduces the bandwidth available to devices at the edge of cells 1102 , 1104 , and 1106 , the SIR measurements can be used in such a manner as to increase the data rate and therefore restore or even increase bandwidth. To accomplish this, the transmitters and receivers used in base stations 1102 , 1104 , and 1106 , and in devices in communication therewith, e.g., devices 1108 , 1114 , and 1116 respectively, must be capable of dynamically changing the symbol mapping schemes used for some or all of the sub-channel. For example, in some embodiments, the symbol mapping scheme can be dynamically changed among BPSK, QPSK, 8PSK, 16QAM, 32QAM, etc. As the symbol mapping scheme moves higher, i.e., toward 32QAM, the SIR level required for proper operation moves higher, i.e., less and less interference can be withstood. Therefore, once the SIR levels are determined for each group, the base station, e.g., base station 1110 , can then determine what symbol mapping scheme can be supported for each sub-channel group and can change the modulation scheme accordingly. Device 1108 must also change the symbol mapping scheme to correspond to that of the base stations. The change can be effected for all groups uniformly, or it can be effected for individual groups. Moreover, the symbol mapping scheme can be changed on just the forward link, just the reverse link, or both, depending on the embodiment.
Thus, by maintaining the capability to dynamically assign sub-channels and to dynamically change the symbol mapping scheme used for assigned sub-channels, the systems and methods described herein provide the ability to maintain higher available bandwidths with higher performance levels than conventional systems. To fully realize the benefits described, however, the systems and methods described thus far must be capable of implementation in a cost effect and convenient manner. Moreover, the implementation must include reconfigurability so that a single device can move between different types of communication systems and still maintain optimum performance in accordance with the systems and methods described herein. The following descriptions detail example high level embodiments of hardware implementations configured to operate in accordance with the systems and methods described herein in such a manner as to provide the capability just described above.
5. Sample Transmitter Embodiments
FIG. 14 is logical block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a transmitter 1500 configured for wireless communication in accordance with the systems and methods described above. The transmitter could, for example be within a base station, e.g., base station 606 , or within a communication device, such as device 604 . Transmitter 1500 is provided to illustrate logical components that can be included in a transmitter configured in accordance with the systems and methods described herein. It is not intended to limit the systems and methods for wireless communication over a wide bandwidth channel using a plurality of sub-channels to any particular transmitter configuration or any particular wireless communication system.
With this in mind, it can be seen that transmitter 1500 comprises a serial-to-parallel converter 1504 configured to receive a serial data stream 1502 comprising a data rate R. Serial-to-parallel converter 1504 converts data stream 1502 into N parallel data streams 1504 , where N is the number of sub-channels 202 . It should be noted that while the discussion that follows assumes that a single serial data stream is used, more than one serial data stream can also be used if required or desired. In any case, the data rate of each parallel data stream 1504 is then R/N. Each data stream 1504 is then sent to a scrambler, encoder, and interleaver block 1506 . Scrambling, encoding, and interleaving are common techniques implemented in many wireless communication transmitters and help to provide robust, secure communication. Examples of these techniques will be briefly explained for illustrative purposes.
Scrambling breaks up the data to be transmitted in an effort to smooth out the spectral density of the transmitted data. For example, if the data comprises a long string of “1”s, there will be a spike in the spectral density. This spike can cause greater interference within the wireless communication system. By breaking up the data, the spectral density can be smoothed out to avoid any such peaks. Often, scrambling is achieved by XORing the data with a random sequence.
Encoding, or coding, the parallel bit streams 1504 can, for example, provide Forward Error Correction (FEC). The purpose of FEC is to improve the capacity of a communication channel by adding some carefully designed redundant information to the data being transmitted through the channel. The process of adding this redundant information is known as channel coding. Convolutional coding and block coding are the two major forms of channel coding. Convolutional codes operate on serial data, one or a few bits at a time. Block codes operate on relatively large (typically, up to a couple of hundred bytes) message blocks. There are a variety of useful convolutional and block codes, and a variety of algorithms for decoding the received coded information sequences to recover the original data. For example, convolutional encoding or turbo coding with Viterbi decoding is a FEC technique that is particularly suited to a channel in which the transmitted signal is corrupted mainly by additive white gaussian noise (AWGN) or even a channel that simply experiences fading.
Convolutional codes are usually described using two parameters: the code rate and the constraint length. The code rate, k/n, is expressed as a ratio of the number of bits into the convolutional encoder (k) to the number of channel symbols (n) output by the convolutional encoder in a given encoder cycle. A common code rate is ½, which means that 2 symbols are produced for every 1-bit input into the coder. The constraint length parameter, K, denotes the “length” of the convolutional encoder, i.e. how many k-bit stages are available to feed the combinatorial logic that produces the output symbols. Closely related to K is the parameter m, which indicates how many encoder cycles an input bit is retained and used for encoding after it first appears at the input to the convolutional encoder. The m parameter can be thought of as the memory length of the encoder.
Interleaving is used to reduce the effects of fading. Interleaving mixes up the order of the data so that if a fade interferes with a portion of the transmitted signal, the overall message will not be effected. This is because once the message is de-interleaved and decoded in the receiver, the data lost will comprise non-contiguous portions of the overall message. In other words, the fade will interfere with a contiguous portion of the interleaved message, but when the message is de-interleaved, the interfered with portion is spread throughout the overall message. Using techniques such as FEC, the missing information can then be filled in, or the impact of the lost data may just be negligible.
After blocks 1506 , each parallel data stream 1504 is sent to symbol mappers 1508 . Symbol mappers 1508 apply the requisite symbol mapping, e.g., BPSK, QPSK, etc., to each parallel data stream 1504 . Symbol mappers 1508 are preferably programmable so that the modulation applied to parallel data streams can be changed, for example, in response to the SIR reported for each sub-channel 202 . It is also preferable, that each symbol mapper 1508 be separately programmable so that the optimum symbol mapping scheme for each sub-channel can be selected and applied to each parallel data stream 1504 .
After symbol mappers 1508 , parallel data streams 1504 are sent to modulators 1510 . Important aspects and features of example embodiments of modulators 1510 are described below. After modulators 1510 , parallel data streams 1504 are sent to summer 1512 , which is configured to sum the parallel data streams and thereby generate a single serial data stream 1518 comprising each of the individually processed parallel data streams 1504 . Serial data stream 1518 is then sent to radio module 1512 , where it is modulated with an RF carrier, amplified, and transmitted via antenna 1516 according to known techniques.
The transmitted signal occupies the entire bandwidth B of communication channel 100 and comprises each of the discrete parallel data streams 1504 encoded onto their respective sub-channels 102 within bandwidth B. Encoding parallel data streams 1504 onto the appropriate sub-channels 102 requires that each parallel data stream 1504 be shifted in frequency by an appropriate offset. This is achieved in modulator 1510 .
FIG. 15 is a logical block diagram of an example embodiment of a modulator 1600 in accordance with the systems and methods described herein. Importantly, modulator 1600 takes parallel data streams 1602 performs Time Division Modulation (TDM) or Frequency Division Modulation (FDM) on each data stream 1602 , filters them using filters 1612 , and then shifts each data stream in frequency using frequency shifter 1614 so that they occupy the appropriate sub-channel. Filters 1612 apply the required pulse shaping, i.e., they apply the roll-off factor described in section 1. The frequency shifted parallel data streams 1602 are then summed and transmitted. Modulator 1600 can also include rate controller 1604 , frequency encoder 1606 , and interpolators 1610 . All of the components shown in FIG. 15 are described in more detail in the following paragraphs and in conjunction with FIGS. 16-22 .
FIG. 16 illustrates one example embodiment of a rate controller 1700 in accordance with the systems and methods described herein. Rate control 1700 is used to control the data rate of each parallel data stream 1602 . In rate controller 1700 , the data rate is halved by repeating data streams d( 0 ) to d( 7 ), for example, producing streams a( 0 ) to a( 15 ) in which a( 0 ) is the same as a( 8 ), a( 1 ) is the same as a( 9 ), etc. FIG. 16 also illustrates that the effect of repeating the data streams in this manner is to take the data streams that are encoded onto the first 8 sub-channels 1702 , and duplicate them on the next 8 sub-channels 1702 . As can be seen, 7 sub-channels separate sub-channels 1702 comprising the same, or duplicate, data streams. Thus, if fading effects one sub-channel 1702 , for example, the other sub-channels 1702 carrying the same data will likely not be effected, i.e., there is frequency diversity between the duplicate data streams. So by sacrificing data rate, in this case half the data rate, more robust transmission is achieved. Moreover, the robustness provided by duplicating the data streams d( 0 ) to d( 7 ) can be further enhanced by applying scrambling to the duplicated data streams via scramblers 1708 .
It should be noted that the data rate can be reduced by more than half, e.g., by four or more. Alternatively, the data rate can also be reduced by an amount other than half. For example if information from n data stream is encoded onto m sub-channels, where m>n. Thus, to decrease the rate by ⅔, information from one data stream can be encoded on a first sub-channel, information from a second data stream can be encoded on a second data channel, and the sum or difference of the two data streams can be encoded on a third channel. In which case, proper scaling will need to be applied to the power in the third channel. Otherwise, for example, the power in the third channel can be twice the power in the first two.
Preferably, rate controller 1700 is programmable so that the data rate can be changed responsive to certain operational factors. For example, if the SIR reported for sub-channels 1702 is low, then rate controller 1700 can be programmed to provide more robust transmission via repetition to ensure that no data is lost due to interference. Additionally, different types of wireless communication system, e.g., indoor, outdoor, line-of-sight, may require varying degrees of robustness. Thus, rate controller 1700 can be adjusted to provide the minimum required robustness for the particular type of communication system. This type of programmability not only ensures robust communication, it can also be used to allow a single device to move between communication systems and maintain superior performance.
FIG. 17 illustrates an alternative example embodiment of a rate controller 1800 in accordance with the systems and methods described. In rate controller 1800 the data rate is increased instead of decreased. This is accomplished using serial-to-parallel converters 1802 to convert each data streams d( 0 ) to d( 15 ), for example, into two data streams. Delay circuits 1804 then delay one of the two data streams generated by each serial-to-parallel converter 1802 by ½ a symbol. Thus, data streams d( 0 ) to d( 15 ) are transformed into data streams a( 0 ) to a( 31 ). The data streams generated by a particular serial-to-parallel converter 1802 and associate delay circuit 1804 must then be summed and encoded onto the appropriate sub-channel. For example, data streams a( 0 ) and a( 1 ) must be summed and encoded onto the first sub-channel. Preferably, the data streams are summed subsequent to each data stream being pulsed shaped by a filter 1612 .
Thus, rate controller 1604 is preferably programmable so that the data rate can be increased, as in rate controller 1800 , or decreased, as in rate controller 1700 , as required by a particular type of wireless communication system, or as required by the communication channel conditions or sub-channel conditions. In the event that the data rate is increased, filters 1612 are also preferably programmable so that they can be configured to apply pulse shapping to data streams a( 0 ) to a( 31 ), for example, and then sum the appropriate streams to generate the appropriate number of parallel data streams to send to frequency shifter 1614 .
The advantage of increasing the data rate in the manner illustrated in FIG. 17 is that higher symbol mapping rates can essentially be achieved, without changing the symbol mapping used in symbol mappers 1508 . Once the data streams are summed, the summed streams are shifted in frequency so that they reside in the appropriate sub-channel. But because the number of bits per each symbol has been doubled, the symbol mapping rate has been doubled. Thus, for example, a 4QAM symbol mapping can be converted to a 16QAM symbol mapping, even if the SIR is too high for 16QAM symbol mapping to otherwise be applied. In other words, programming rate controller 1800 to increase the data rate in the manner illustrated in FIG. 17 can increase the symbol mapping even when channel conditions would otherwise not allow it, which in turn can allow a communication device to maintain adequate or even superior performance regardless of the type of communication system.
The draw back to increasing the data rate as illustrated in FIG. 17 is that interference is increased, as is receiver complexity. The former is due to the increased amount of data. The latter is due to the fact that each symbol cannot be processed independently because of the ½ symbol overlap. Thus, these concerns must be balanced against the increase symbol mapping ability when implementing a rate controller such as rate controller 1800 .
FIG. 18 illustrates one example embodiment of a frequency encoder 1900 in accordance with the systems and methods described herein. Similar to rate encoding, frequency encoding is preferably used to provide increased communication robustness. In frequency encoder 1900 the sum or difference of multiple data streams are encoded onto each sub-channel. This is accomplished using adders 1902 to sum data streams d( 0 ) to d( 7 ) with data streams d( 8 ) to d( 15 ), respectively, while adders 1904 subtract data streams d( 0 ) to d( 7 ) from data streams d( 8 ) to d( 15 ), respectively, as shown. Thus, data streams a( 0 ) to a( 15 ) generated by adders 1902 and 1904 comprise information related to more than one data streams d( 0 ) to d( 15 ). For example, a( 0 ) comprises the sum of d( 0 ) and d( 8 ), i.e., d( 0 )+d( 8 ), while a( 8 ) comprises d( 8 )−d( 0 ). Therefore, if either a( 0 ) or a( 8 ) is not received due to fading, for example, then both of data streams d( 0 ) and d( 8 ) can still be retrieved from data stream a( 8 ).
Essentially, the relationship between data stream d( 0 ) to d( 15 ) and a( 0 ) to a( 15 ) is a matrix relationship. Thus, if the receiver knows the correct matrix to apply, it can recover the sums and differences of d( 0 ) to d( 15 ) from a( 0 ) to a( 15 ). Preferably, frequency encoder 1900 is programmable, so that it can be enabled and disabled in order to provided robustness when required. Preferable, adders 1902 and 1904 are programmable also so that different matrices can be applied to d( 0 ) to d( 15 ).
After frequency encoding, if it is included, data streams 1602 are sent to TDM/FDM blocks 1608 . TDM/FDM blocks 1608 perform TDM or FDM on the data streams as required by the particular embodiment. FIG. 19 illustrates an example embodiment of a TDM/FDM block 2000 configured to perform TDM on a data stream. TDM/FDM block 2000 is provided to illustrate the logical components that can be included in a TDM/FDM block configured to perform TDM on a data stream. Depending on the actual implementation, some of the logical components may or may not be included. TDM/FDM block 2000 comprises a sub-block repeater 2002 , a sub-block scrambler 2004 , a sub-block terminator 2006 , a sub-block repeater 2008 , and a sync inserter 2010 .
Sub-block repeater 2002 is configured to receive a sub-block of data, such as block 2012 comprising bits a( 0 ) to a( 3 ) for example. Sub-block repeater is then configured to repeat block 2012 to provide repetition, which in turn leads to more robust communication. Thus, sub-block repeater 2002 generates block 2014 , which comprises 2 blocks 2012 . Sub-block scrambler 2004 is then configured to receive block 2014 and to scramble it, thus generating block 2016 . One method of scrambling can be to invert half of block 2014 as illustrated in block 2016 . But other scrambling methods can also be implemented depending on the embodiment.
Sub-block terminator 2006 takes block 2016 generated by sub-block scrambler 2004 and adds a termination block 2034 to the front of block 2016 to form block 2018 . Termination block 2034 ensures that each block can be processed independently in the receiver. Without termination block 2034 , some blocks may be delayed due to multipath, for example, and they would therefore overlap part of the next block of data. But by including termination block 2034 , the delayed block can be prevented from overlapping any of the actual data in the next block.
Termination block 2034 can be a cyclic prefix termination 2036 . A cyclic prefix termination 2036 simply repeats the last few symbols of block 2018 . Thus, for example, if cyclic prefix termination 2036 is three symbols long, then it would simply repeat the last three symbols of block 2018 . Alternatively, termination block 2034 can comprise a sequence of symbols that are known to both the transmitter and receiver. The selection of what type of block termination 2034 to use can impact what type of equalizer is used in the receiver. Therefore, receiver complexity and choice of equalizers must be considered when determining what type of termination block 2034 to use in TDM/FDM block 2000 .
After sub-block terminator 2006 , TDM/FDM block 2000 can include a sub-block repeater 2008 configured to perform a second block repetition step in which block 2018 is repeated to form block 2020 . In certain embodiments, sub-block repeater can be configured to perform a second block scrambling step as well. After sub-block repeater 2008 , if included, TDM/FDM block 2000 comprises a sync inserter 210 configured to periodically insert an appropriate synchronization code 2032 after a predetermined number of blocks 2020 and/or to insert known symbols into each block. The purpose of synchronization code 2032 is discussed in section 3.
FIG. 20 , on the other hand, illustrates an example embodiment of a TDM/FDM block 2100 configured for FDM, which comprises sub-block repeater 2102 , sub-block scrambler 2104 , block coder 2106 , sub-block transformer 2108 , sub-block terminator 2110 , and sync inserter 2112 . As with TDM/FDM block 2000 , sub-block repeater 2102 repeats block 2114 and generates block 2116 . Sub-block scrambler then scrambles block 2116 , generating block 2118 . Sub-block coder 2106 takes block 2118 and codes it, generating block 2120 . Coding block correlates the data symbols together and generates symbols b. This requires joint demodulation in the receiver, which is more robust but also more complex. Sub-block transformer 2108 then performs a transformation on block 2120 , generating block 2122 . Preferably, the transformation is an IFFT of block 2120 , which allows for more efficient equalizers to be used in the receiver. Next, sub-block terminator 2110 terminates block 2122 , generating block 2124 and sync inserter 2112 periodically inserts a synchronization code 2126 after a certain number of blocks 2124 and/or insert known symbols into each block. Preferably, sub-block terminator 2110 only uses cyclic prefix termination as described above. Again this allows for more efficient receiver designs.
TDM/FDM block 2100 is provided to illustrate the logical components that can be included in a TDM/FDM block configured to perform FDM on a data stream. Depending on the actual implementation, some of the logical components may or may not be included. Moreover, TDM/FDM block 2000 and 2100 are preferably programmable so that the appropriate logical components can be included as required by a particular implementation. This allows a device that incorporates one of blocks 2000 or 2100 to move between different systems with different requirements. Further, it is preferable that TDM/FDM block 1608 in FIG. 15 be programmable so that it can be programmed to perform TDM, such as described in conjunction with block 2000 , or FDM, such as described in conjunction with block 2100 , as required by a particular communication system.
After TDM/FDM blocks 1608 , in FIG. 15 , the parallel data streams are preferably passed to interpolators 1610 .
After Interpolators 1610 , the parallel data streams are passed to filters 1612 , which apply the pulse shapping described in conjunction with the roll-off factor of equation (2) in section 1. Then the parallel data streams are sent to frequency shifter 1614 , which is configured to shift each parallel data stream by the frequency offset associated with the sub-channel to which the particular parallel data stream is associated.
FIG. 21 illustrates an example embodiment of a frequency shifter 2200 in accordance with the systems and methods described herein. As can be seen, frequency shifter 2200 comprises multipliers 2202 configured to multiply each parallel data stream by the appropriate exponential to achieve the required frequency shift. Each exponential is of the form: exp(j2π c nT/rM), where c is the corresponding sub-channel, e.g., c=0 to N−1, and n is time. Preferably, frequency shifter 1614 in FIG. 5 is programmable so that various channel/sub-channel configurations can be accommodated for various different systems. Alternatively, an IFFT block can replace shifter 1614 and filtering can be done after the IFFT block. This type of implementation can be more efficient depending on the implementation.
After the parallel data streams are shifted, they are summed, e.g., in summer 1512 of FIG. 14 . The summed data stream is then transmitted using the entire bandwidth B of the communication channel being used. But the transmitted data stream also comprises each of the parallel data streams shifted in frequency such that they occupy the appropriate sub-channel. Thus, each sub-channel may be assigned to one user, or each sub-channel may carry a data stream intended for different users. The assignment of sub-channels is described in section 3b. Regardless of how the sub-channels are assigned, however, each user will receive the entire bandwidth, comprising all the sub-channels, but will only decode those sub-channels assigned to the user.
6. Sample Receiver Embodiments
FIG. 22 illustrates an example embodiment of a receiver 2300 that can be configured in accordance with the present invention. Receiver 2300 comprises an antenna 2302 configured to receive a message transmitted by a transmitter, such as transmitter 1500 . Thus, antenna 2302 is configured to receive a wide band message comprising the entire bandwidth B of a wide band channel that is divided into sub-channels of bandwidth b. As described above, the wide band message comprises a plurality of messages each encoded onto each of a corresponding sub-channel. All of the sub-channels may or may not be assigned to a device that includes receiver 2300 ; Therefore, receiver 2300 may or may not be required to decode all of the sub-channels.
After the message is received by antenna 2300 , it is sent to radio receiver 2304 , which is configured to remove the carrier associated with the wide band communication channel and extract a baseband signal comprising the data stream transmitted by the transmitter. The baseband signal is then sent to correlator 2306 and demodulator 2308 . Correlator 2306 is configured to correlated with a synchronization code inserted in the data stream as described in section 3. It is also preferably configured to perform SIR and multipath estimations as described in section 3(b). Demodulator 2308 is configured to extract the parallel data streams from each sub-channel assigned to the device comprising receiver 2300 and to generate a single data stream therefrom.
FIG. 23 illustrates an example embodiment of a demodulator 2400 in accordance with the systems and methods described herein. Demodulator 2402 comprises a frequency shifter 2402 , which is configured to apply a frequency offset to the baseband data stream so that parallel data streams comprising the baseband data stream can be independently processed in receiver 2400 . Thus, the output of frequency shifter 2402 is a plurality of parallel data streams, which are then preferably filtered by filters 2404 . Filters 2404 apply a filter to each parallel data stream that corresponds to the pulse shape applied in the transmitter, e.g., transmitter 1500 . Alternatively, an IFFT block can replace shifter 1614 and filtering can be done after the IFFT block. This type of implementation can be more efficient depending on the implementation.
Next, receiver 2400 preferably includes decimators 2406 configured to decimate the data rate of the parallel bit streams. Sampling at higher rates helps to ensure accurate recreation of the data. But the higher the data rate, the larger and more complex equalizer 2408 becomes. Thus, the sampling rate, and therefore the number of samples, can be reduced by decimators 2406 to an adequate level that allows for a smaller and less costly equalizer 2408 .
Equalizer 2408 is configured to reduce the effects of multipath in receiver 2300 . Its operation will be discussed more fully below. After equalizer 2408 , the parallel data streams are sent to de-scrambler, decoder, and de-interleaver 2410 , which perform the opposite operations of scrambler, encoder, and interleaver 1506 so as to reproduce the original data generated in the transmitter. The parallel data streams are then sent to parallel to serial converter 2412 , which generates a single serial data stream from the parallel data streams.
Equalizer 2408 uses the multipath estimates provided by correlator 2306 to equalize the effects of multipath in receiver 2300 . In one embodiment, equalizer 2408 comprises Single-In Single-Out (SISO) equalizers operating on each parallel data stream in demodulator 2400 . In this case, each SISO equalizer comprising equalizer 2408 receives a single input and generates a single equalized output. Alternatively, each equalizer can be a Multiple-In Multiple-Out (MIMO) or a Multiple-In Single-Out (MISO) equalizer. Multiple inputs can be required for example, when a frequency encoder or rate controller, such as frequency encoder 1900 , is included in the transmitter. Because frequency encoder 1900 encodes information from more than one parallel data stream onto each sub-channel, each equalizers comprising equalizer 2408 need to equalize more than one sub-channel. Thus, for example, if a parallel data stream in demodulator 2400 comprises d( 1 )+d( 8 ), then equalizer 2408 will need to equalize both d( 1 ) and d( 8 ) together. Equalizer 2408 can then generate a single output corresponding to d( 1 ) or d( 8 ) (MISO) or it can generate both d( 1 ) and d( 8 ) (MIMO).
Equalizer 2408 can also be a time domain equalizer (TDE) or a frequency domain equalizer (FDE) depending on the embodiment. Generally, equalizer 2408 is a TDE if the modulator in the transmitter performs TDM on the parallel data streams, and a FDE if the modulator performs FDM. But equalizer 2408 can be an FDE even if TDM is used in the transmitter. Therefore, the preferred equalizer type should be taken into consideration when deciding what type of block termination to use in the transmitter. Because of power requirements, it is often preferable to use FDM on the forward link and TDM on the reverse link in a wireless communication system.
As with transmitter 1500 , the various components comprising demodulator 2400 are preferably programmable, so that a single device can operate in a plurality of different systems and still maintain superior performance, which is a primary advantage of the systems and methods described herein. Accordingly, the above discussion provides systems and methods for implementing a channel access protocol that allows the transmitter and receiver hardware to be reprogrammed slightly depending on the communication system.
Thus, when a device moves from one system to another, it preferably reconfigures the hardware, i.e. transmitter and receiver, as required and switches to a protocol stack corresponding to the new system. An important part of reconfiguring the receiver is reconfiguring, or programming, the equalizer because multipath is a main problem for each type of system. The multipath, however, varies depending on the type of system, which previously has meant that a different equalizer is required for different types of communication systems. The channel access protocol described in the preceding sections, however, allows for equalizers to be used that need only be reconfigured slightly for operation in various systems.
a. Sample Equalizer Embodiment
FIG. 24 illustrates an example embodiment of a receiver 2500 illustrating one way to configure equalizers 2506 in accordance with the systems and methods described herein. Before discussing the configuration of receiver 2500 , it should be noted that one way to configure equalizers 2506 is to simply include one equalizer per channel (for the systems and methods described herein, a channel is the equivalent of a sub-channel as described above). A correlator, such as correlator 2306 ( FIG. 22 ), can then provide equalizers 2506 with an estimate of the number, amplitude, and phase of any multipaths present, up to some maximum number. This is also known as the Channel Impulse Response (CIR). The maximum number of multipaths is determined based on design criteria for a particular implementation. The more multipaths included in the CIR the more path diversity the receiver has and the more robust communication in the system will be. Path diversity is discussed a little more fully below.
If there is one equalizer 2506 per channel, the CIR is preferably provided directly to equalizers 2506 from the correlator (not shown). If such a correlator configuration is used, then equalizers 2506 can be run at a slow rate, but the overall equalization process is relatively fast. For systems with a relatively small number of channels, such a configuration is therefore preferable. The problem, however, is that there is large variances in the number of channels used in different types of communication systems. For example, an outdoor system can have has many as 256 channels. This would require 256 equalizers 2506 , which would make the receiver design too complex and costly. Thus, for systems with a lot of channels, the configuration illustrated in FIG. 25 is preferable. In receiver 2500 , multiple channels share each equalizer 2506 . For example, each equalizer can be shared by 4 channels, e.g., Ch 1 -Ch 4 , Ch 5 -Ch 8 , etc., as illustrated in FIG. 25 . In which case, receiver 2500 preferably comprises a memory 2502 configured to store information arriving on each channel.
Memory 2502 is preferably divided into sub-sections 2504 , which are each configured to store information for a particular subset of channels. Information for each channel in each subset is then alternately sent to the appropriate equalizer 2506 , which equalizes the information based on the CIR provided for that channel. In this case, each equalizer must run much faster than it would if there was simply one equalizer per channel. For example, equalizers 2506 would need to run 4 or more times as fast in order to effectively equalize 4 channels as opposed to 1. In addition, extra memory 2502 is required to buffer the channel information. But overall, the complexity of receiver 2500 is reduced, because there are fewer equalizers. This should also lower the overall cost to implement receiver 2500 .
Preferably, memory 2502 and the number of channels that are sent to a particular equalizer is programmable. In this way, receiver 2500 can be reconfigured for the most optimum operation for a given system. Thus, if receiver 2500 were moved from an outdoor system to an indoor system with fewer channels, then receiver 2500 can preferably be reconfigured so that there are fewer, even as few as 1, channel per equalizer. The rate at which equalizers 2506 are run is also preferably programmable such that equalizers 2506 can be run at the optimum rate for the number of channels being equalized.
In addition, if each equalizer 2506 is equalizing multiple channels, then the CIR for those multiple paths must alternately be provided to each equalizer 2506 . Preferably, therefore, a memory (not shown) is also included to buffer the CIR information for each channel. The appropriate CIR information is then sent to each equalizer from the CIR memory (not shown) when the corresponding channel information is being equalized. The CIR memory (not shown) is also preferably programmable to ensure optimum operation regardless of what type of system receiver 2500 is operating in.
Returning to the issue of path diversity, the number of paths used by equalizers 2506 must account for the delay spread d s in the system. For example, if the system is an outdoor system operating in the 5 Giga Hertz (GHz) range, the communication channel can comprise a bandwidth of 125 Mega Hertz (MHz), e.g., the channel can extend from 5.725 GHz to 5.85 GHz. If the channel is divided into 512 sub-channels with a roll-off factor r of 0.125, then each subchannel will have a bandwidth of approximately 215 kilohertz (KHz), which provides approximately a 4.6 microsecond symbol duration. Since the worst case delay spread d s is 20 microseconds, the number of paths used by equalizers 2504 can be set to a maximum of 5. Thus, there would be a first path P 1 at zero microseconds, a second path P 2 at 4.6 microseconds, a third path P 3 at 9.2 microseconds, a fourth path P 4 at 13.8 microseconds, and fifth path P 5 at 18.4 microseconds, which is close to the delay spread d s . In another embodiment, a sixth path can be included so as to completely cover the delay spread d s ; however, 20 microseconds is the worst case. In fact, a delay spread d s of 3 microseconds is a more typical value. In most instances, therefore, the delay spread d s will actually be shorter and an extra path is not needed. Alternatively, fewer sub-channels can be used, thus providing a larger symbol duration, instead of using an extra path. But again, this would typically not be needed.
As explained above, equalizers 2506 are preferably configurable so that they can be reconfigured for various communication systems. Thus, for example, the number of paths used must be sufficient regardless of the type of communication system. But this is also dependent on the number of sub-channels used. If, for example, receiver 2500 went from operating in the above described outdoor system to an indoor system, where the delay spread d s is on the order of 1 microsecond, then receiver 2500 can preferably be reconfigured for 32 sub-channels and 5 paths. Assuming the same overall bandwidth of 125 MHz, the bandwidth of each sub-channel is approximately 4 MHz and the symbol duration is approximately 250 nanoseconds.
Therefore, there will be a first path P 1 at zero microseconds and subsequent paths P 2 to P 5 at 250 ns, 500 ns, 750 ns, and 1 microsecond, respectively. Thus, the delay spread ds should be covered for the indoor environment. Again, the 1 microsecond delay spread d s is worst case so the 1 microsecond delay spread d s provided in the above example will often be more than is actually required. This is preferable, however, for indoor systems, because it can allow operation to extend outside of the inside environment, e.g., just outside the building in which the inside environment operates. For campus style environments, where a user is likely to be traveling between buildings, this can be advantageous.
7. Sample Embodiment of a Wireless Communication Device
FIG. 25 illustrates an example embodiment of a wireless communication device in accordance with the systems and methods described herein. Device 2600 is, for example, a portable communication device configured for operation in a plurality of indoor and outdoor communication systems. Thus, device 2600 comprises an antenna 2602 for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals over a wireless communication channel 2618 . Duplexor 2604 , or switch, can be included so that transmitter 2606 and receiver 2608 can both use antenna 2602 , while being isolated from each other. Duplexors, or switches used for this purpose, are well known and will not be explained herein.
Transmitter 2606 is a configurable transmitter configured to implement the channel access protocol described above. Thus, transmitter 2606 is capable of transmitting and encoding a wideband communication signal comprising a plurality of sub-channels. Moreover, transmitter 2606 is configured such that the various sub-components that comprise transmitter 2606 can be reconfigured, or programmed, as described in section 5. Similarly, receiver 2608 is configured to implement the channel access protocol described above and is, therefore, also configured such that the various sub-components comprising receiver 2608 can be reconfigured, or reprogrammed, as described in section 6.
Transmitter 2606 and receiver 2608 are interfaced with processor 2610 , which can comprise various processing, controller, and/or Digital Signal Processing (DSP) circuits. Processor 2610 controls the operation of device 2600 including encoding signals to be transmitted by transmitter 2606 and decoding signals received by receiver 2608 . Device 2610 can also include memory 2612 , which can be configured to store operating instructions, e.g., firmware/software, used by processor 2610 to control the operation of device 2600 .
Processor 2610 is also preferably configured to reprogram transmitter 2606 and receiver 2608 via control interfaces 2614 and 2616 , respectively, as required by the wireless communication system in which device 2600 is operating. Thus, for example, device 2600 can be configured to periodically ascertain the availability is a preferred communication system. If the system is detected, then processor 2610 can be configured to load the corresponding operating instruction from memory 2612 and reconfigure transmitter 2606 and receiver 2608 for operation in the preferred system.
For example, it may preferable for device 2600 to switch to an indoor wireless LAN if it is available. So device 2600 may be operating in a wireless WAN where no wireless LAN is available, while periodically searching for the availability of an appropriate wireless LAN. Once the wireless LAN is detected, processor 2610 will load the operating instructions, e.g., the appropriate protocol stack, for the wireless LAN environment and will reprogram transmitter 2606 and receiver 2608 accordingly. In this manner, device 2600 can move from one type of communication system to another, while maintaining superior performance.
It should be noted that a base station configured in accordance with the systems and methods herein will operate in a similar manner as device 2600 ; however, because the base station does not move from one type of system to another, there is generally no need to configure processor 2610 to reconfigure transmitter 2606 and receiver 2608 for operation in accordance with the operating instruction for a different type of system. But processor 2610 can still be configured to reconfigure, or reprogram the sub-components of transmitter 2606 and/or receiver 2608 as required by the operating conditions within the system as reported by communication devices in communication with the base station. Moreover, such a base station can be configured in accordance with the systems and methods described herein to implement more than one mode of operation. In which case, controller 2610 can be configured to reprogram transmitter 2606 and receiver 2608 to implement the appropriate mode of operation.
8. High Data Rate Transmitter and Receiver
Referring now to FIGS. 26-49 , additional embodiments of the present invention are illustrated. The embodiments described below may contain some of the features and functionality as described above.
The embodiments of the present invention discussed below employ ultra-wideband communication technology. Referring to FIGS. 26 and 27 , impulse type ultra-wideband (UWB) communication employs discrete pulses of electromagnetic energy that are emitted at, for example, nanosecond or picosecond intervals (generally tens of picoseconds to a few nanoseconds in duration). For this reason, ultra-wideband is often called “impulse radio.” That is, the UWB pulses may be transmitted without modulation onto a sine wave, or a sinusoidal carrier, in contrast with conventional carrier wave communication technology. This type of UWB generally requires neither an assigned frequency nor a power amplifier.
An example of a conventional carrier wave communication technology is illustrated in FIG. 26 . IEEE 802.11a is a wireless local area network (LAN) protocol, which transmits a sinusoidal radio frequency signal at a 5 GHz center frequency, with a radio frequency spread of about 5 MHz. As defined herein, a carrier wave is an electromagnetic wave of a specified frequency and amplitude that is emitted by a radio transmitter in order to carry information. The 802.11 protocol is an example of a carrier wave communication technology. The carrier wave comprises a substantially continuous sinusoidal waveform having a specific narrow radio frequency (5 MHz) that has a duration that may range from seconds to minutes.
In contrast, an ultra-wideband (UWB) pulse may have a 2.0 GHz center frequency, with a frequency spread of approximately 4 GHz, as shown in FIG. 27 , which illustrates two typical UWB pulses. FIG. 27 illustrates that the shorter the UWB pulse in time, the broader the spread of its frequency spectrum. This is because bandwidth is inversely proportional to the time duration of the pulse. A 600-picosecond UWB pulse can have about a 1.8 GHz center frequency, with a frequency spread of approximately 1.6 GHz and a 300-picosecond UWB pulse can have about a 3 GHz center frequency, with a frequency spread of approximately 3.3 GHz. Thus, UWB pulses generally do not operate within a specific frequency, as shown in FIG. 26 . Either of the pulses shown in FIG. 27 may be frequency shifted, for example, by using heterodyning, to have essentially the same bandwidth but centered at any desired frequency. And because UWB pulses are spread across an extremely wide frequency range, UWB communication systems allow communications at very high data rates, such as 100 megabits per second or greater.
Several different methods of ultra-wideband (UWB) communications have been proposed. For wireless UWB communications in the United States, all of these methods must meet the constraints recently established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in their Report and Order issued Apr. 22, 2002. Currently, the FCC is allowing limited UWB communications, but as UWB systems are deployed, and additional experience with this new technology is gained, the FCC may revise its current limits and allow for expanded use of UWB communication technology.
The FCC April 22 Report and Order requires that UWB pulses, or signals occupy greater than 20% fractional bandwidth or 500 megahertz, whichever is smaller. Fractional bandwidth is defined as 2 times the difference between the high and low 10 dB cutoff frequencies divided by the sum of the high and low 10 dB cutoff frequencies. Specifically, the fractional bandwidth equation is:
Fractional
Bandwidth
=
2
f
h
-
f
l
f
h
+
f
l
where f h is the high 10 dB cutoff frequency, and f l is the low 10 dB cutoff frequency.
Stated differently, fractional bandwidth is the percentage of a signal's center frequency that the signal occupies. For example, a signal having a center frequency of 10 MHz, and a bandwidth of 2 MHz (i.e., from 9 to 11 MHz), has a 20% fractional bandwidth. That is, center frequency, f c =(f h +f l )/2
FIG. 28 illustrates the ultra-wideband emission limits for indoor systems mandated by the April 22 Report and Order. The Report and Order constrains UWB communications to the frequency spectrum between 3.1 GHz and 10.6 GHz, with intentional emissions to not exceed −41.3 dBm/MHz. The report and order also established emission limits for hand held UWB systems, vehicular radar systems, medical imaging systems, surveillance systems, through-wall imaging systems, ground penetrating radar and other UWB systems. It will be appreciated that the invention described herein may be employed indoors, and/or outdoors, and may be fixed, and/or mobile, and may employ either a wireless or wire media for a communication channel.
Generally, in the case of wireless communications, a multiplicity of UWB pulses may be transmitted at relatively low power density (milliwatts per megahertz). However, an alternative UWB communication system, located outside the United States, may transmit at a higher power density. For example, UWB pulses may be transmitted between 30 dBm to −50 dBm.
UWB pulses, however, transmitted through many wire media will not interfere with wireless radio frequency transmissions. Therefore, the power (sampled at a single frequency) of UWB pulses transmitted though wire media may range from about +30 dBm to about −140 dBm. The FCC's April 22 Report and Order does not apply to communications through wire media.
Communication standards committees associated with the International Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) are considering a number of ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless communication methods that meet the constraints established by the FCC. One UWB communication method may transmit UWB pulses that occupy 500 MHz bands within the 7.5 GHz FCC allocation (from 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz). In one embodiment of this communication method, UWB pulses have about a 2-nanosecond duration, which corresponds to about a 500 MHz bandwidth. The center frequency of the UWB pulses can be varied to place them wherever desired within the 7.5 GHz allocation. In another embodiment of this communication method, an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) is performed on parallel data to produce 122 carriers, each approximately 4.125 MHz wide. In this embodiment, also known as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), the resultant UWB pulse, or signal is approximately 506 MHz wide, and has approximately 242-nanosecond duration. It meets the FCC rules for UWB communications because it is an aggregation of many relatively narrow band carriers rather than because of the duration of each pulse.
Another UWB communication method being evaluated by the IEEE standards committees comprises transmitting discrete UWB pulses that occupy greater than 500 MHz of frequency spectrum. For example, in one embodiment of this communication method, UWB pulse durations may vary from 2 nanoseconds, which occupies about 500 MHz, to about 133 picoseconds, which occupies about 7.5 GHz of bandwidth. That is, a single UWB pulse may occupy substantially all of the entire allocation for communications (from 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz).
Yet another UWB communication method being evaluated by the IEEE standards committees comprises transmitting a sequence of pulses that may be approximately 0.7 nanoseconds or less in duration, and at a chipping rate of approximately 1.4 giga pulses per second. The pulses are modulated using a Direct-Sequence modulation technique, and is called DS-UWB. Operation in two bands is contemplated, with one band is centered near 4 GHz with a 1.4 GHz wide signal, while the second band is centered near 8 GHz, with a 2.8 GHz wide UWB signal. Operation may occur at either or both of the UWB bands. Data rates between about 28 Megabits/second to as much as 1,320 Megabits/second are contemplated.
Another method of UWB communications comprises transmitting a modulated continuous carrier wave where the frequency occupied by the transmitted signal occupies more than the required 20 percent fractional bandwidth. In this method the continuous carrier wave may be modulated in a time period that creates the frequency band occupancy. For example, if a 4 GHz carrier is modulated using binary phase shift keying (BPSK) with data time periods of 750 picoseconds, the resultant signal may occupy 1.3 GHz of bandwidth around a center frequency of 4 GHz. In this example, the fractional bandwidth is approximately 32.5%. This signal would be considered UWB under the FCC regulation discussed above.
Thus, described above are four different methods of ultra-wideband (UWB) communication. It will be appreciated that the present invention may be employed by any of the above-described UWB methods, or others yet to be developed.
Referring now to FIG. 29 , which illustrates a block diagram of a transmitter 5210 consistent with one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment data 5110 of interest may be provided to data interface 5040 . A number of data interfaces 5040 are known in the art and can be used to practice the current invention. The data interface 5040 may include an industry standard such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard interface, an IEEE 1394 standard interface, a Peripheral Component Interconnect standard (PCI), a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCI-Express) standard, a MILSPEC-1760 standard, and a MILSPEC-1553 standard. Non-industry standard interfaces may also be employed and the present invention is not limited with respect to the type of data interface 5040 used. Data 5110 is sent from data interface 5040 to the Medium Access Controller (MAC) 5030 . The MAC 5030 performs a number of functions on the data 5110 to form a plurality of frames 5100 .
As illustrated in FIG. 31 , a data frame 5100 comprises a medium access control header 5120 , a data section 5110 , a source ID, a destination ID, a rate field 5130 , and in some embodiments may include a Cyclical Redundancy Check 5115 (CRC) appended to the end of the frame 5100 . Referring back to FIG. 29 , the data frames 5100 are then sent to a baseband processor 5020 , which performs a number of functions (described below) and produces baseband frame 5050 , illustrated in FIG. 33 .
A “frame” as defined herein, whether a data frame 5100 , a baseband frame 5050 , or another type of “frame,” may include many different constructions and arrangements. Generally, a “frame” usually consists of a representation of the original data to be transmitted (generally comprising a specified number of bits, or binary digits), together with other bits that may be used for error detection or control. A “frame” may also include routing information, such as a source address, a destination address, and other information. A “frame” may be of different lengths, and contain variable amounts of data. It will be appreciated that the construction of baseband frame 5050 and data frame 5100 may vary without exceeding the scope of the present invention.
For example, additional bits in a “frame” may be used for routing (possibly in the form of an address field), synchronization, overhead information not directly associated with the original data, a frame check sequence, and a cyclic redundancy check (CRC), among others. CRC is an error detection algorithm that is known in the art of communications. One embodiment of a CRC may be described as follows. Given a data section 5110 having bits of length “k,” the transmitter 5210 generates an n-bit sequence, known as the Frame Check Sequence (FCS) such that by appending the FCS to the data section 5110 , the resulting data section 5110 has a length k+n. The FCS is calculated in such a way that when a receiver divides the received resulting data section 5110 by a predetermined number there is no remainder. If no remainder is found the data section 5110 is assumed to be error free.
FIG. 33 illustrates the baseband frame 5050 produced by the baseband processor 5020 . The baseband frame 5050 comprises a physical layer header 5180 , the medium access control header 5120 and a number of data packets 5200 . Each data packet 5200 includes a code block 5190 , which is used by the receiver 5220 (shown in FIG. 34 ) for synchronization of the packet 5200 . Additionally, the baseband frame 5050 may include the FCS used to decode the CRC as described above. Physical layer header 5180 may comprise a number of synchronization code blocks 5190 which are used by the receiver 5220 to synchronize its timing reference to the timing reference of the transmitter 5210 .
Generally, synchronization is used to obtain a fixed relationship among corresponding significant instants of two or more signals. Put differently, synchronization (also known as frame synchronization, frame alignment, or framing) is used by a receiver to lock onto an incoming frame so that it may receive the data contained in the frame. Generally, the receiver synchronizes its time base, or reference to the time base of the transmitter.
For example, a “frame synchronization pattern,” generally comprising a recurring pattern of bits, is transmitted that enables the receiver to align its clock, or time reference with the transmitter's time reference (i.e., synchronization). Repetition of the bit pattern helps ensure that the receiver will have an opportunity to “lock” in on the timing of the incoming signal.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the synchronization code blocks 5190 are comprised of 256 bit Golay codes. In another embodiment, one or more of the Golay codes may be inverse Golay codes. It will be appreciated that other types of synchronization codes, comprised of other bit sizes, may be employed by the present invention. One feature of the present invention is that upon reception of the synchronization sequence, the receiver may adjust its time base, its frequency base, and a setting of an automatic gain control amplifier (not shown).
Returning to FIG. 29 , the baseband frame 5050 is then sent from the baseband processor 5020 to modulator 5420 , which contains a digital circuit 5080 and local oscillator 5090 . Modulator 5420 performs modulation of the baseband frame 5050 , which includes representations of individual data bits, into a transmission signal 5070 . That is, the baseband processor 5020 outputs a signal comprised of high and low signal values, each having a time duration, or time base T 0 , shown in FIG. 30 , which represent the data comprising the baseband frame 5050 .
The local oscillator 5090 generates a clock signal 5060 at a time base T 1 , illustrated in FIG. 30 . In one embodiment of the present invention local oscillator 5090 may be a voltage controlled oscillator. As mentioned above, the signal values representing the baseband frame 5050 are at a time base T 0 . Using the clock signal 5060 , the digital circuit 5080 modulates, or changes the signal values representing the baseband frame 5050 . In the illustrated embodiment, the type of modulation is phase modulation.
As shown in FIG. 30 , the inverse of the clock signal time base T 1 is the center frequency of the transmission signal 5070 . That is, 1/T 1 =center frequency. It will be appreciated that virtually any center frequency can be employed by the present invention. For example, the local oscillator 5090 may generate a clock signal 5060 with a time base T 1 of 250 picoseconds. In this example, the digital circuit 5080 produces a transmission signal 5070 that would be centered at 4 Giga-Hertz (GHz), which is the inverse of 250 picoseconds. The inverse of the baseband frame 5050 signal values (time base T 0 ) controls the amount of occupied bandwidth around the center frequency of the transmission signal 5070 . In the above example, if the time base T 0 of the baseband frame 5050 signal values is 750 picoseconds, the transmission signal would occupy 1.3 GHz of bandwidth, around a 4 GHz center frequency. In this case the bandwidth (i.e., amount of radio frequency spectrum) occupied would extend from approximately 3.33 GHz to approximately 4.66 GHz. The fractional bandwidth of this signal, calculated by the formula given above, would be approximately 33.25%. Thus, this transmission signal 5070 would be considered UWB under the current FCC definition because its fractional bandwidth exceeds 20%.
In another example, the clock signal 5060 time base T 1 may be approximately 133 picoseconds and the time base T 0 of the baseband frame 5050 signal values may be approximately 146 picoseconds. The transmission signal 5070 in this case would have a center frequency of 6.85 GHz and the signal would occupy 7.5 GHz of bandwidth around the center frequency. In this example, the transmission signal 5070 would occupy the entire available UWB spectrum from 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz. It would have a fractional bandwidth of approximately 110% and would be considered UWB. In yet another example, a clock signal time base T 1 of approximately 2 nanoseconds with a time base T 0 of the baseband frame 5050 signal values of approximately 5300 picoseconds yields a transmission signal 5070 that occupies 500 MHz of bandwidth located around a center frequency of 3.35 GHz. The fractional bandwidth of this exemplary transmission signal 5070 is only approximately 15%. While this signal does not meet the current UWB definition in terms of fractional bandwidth, it is still considered UWB since it occupies the required minimum of 500 MHz of bandwidth. In yet another example, a clock signal 5060 time base T 1 may be approximately 100 picoseconds and the time base T 0 of the baseband frame 5050 signal values may be 200 picoseconds. In this example, the transmission signal 5070 would occupy 10 GHz of bandwidth around a center frequency of 5 GHz. The bandwidth occupied by this transmission signal 5070 would extend from Direct Current at zero Hertz up to 10 GHz. This signal would occupy a fractional bandwidth of approximately 200%. Under the current UWB definition this signal would be a UWB signal but under the current FCC regulations would not be allowed for wireless transmission as a portion of the signal would be below the FCC mandated 3.1 GHz frequency boundary.
One feature of the present invention is that by generating a clock signal at the desired center frequency used for transmission, the present invention does not need to employ a mixer to position the signal at the transmission frequency. As discussed above, the present invention can generate a signal anywhere within (or outside of) the FCC mandated UWB radio frequency band by using a high-speed clock signal at the desired frequency. This feature reduces the overall cost and complexity of the device. In one embodiment, the high-speed clock is a 10.6 Giga-Hertz (GHz) clock, but it will be appreciated that other clocks, such as 4 GHz, 8 GHz, 12 GHz, and others may be employed by the present invention.
Several embodiments of digital circuit 5080 are illustrated in FIGS. 32 a , 32 b , and 32 c . One feature of the digital circuits 5080 discussed below is that they directly generate the transmission signal, without mixing, or up-converting the signal to the radio frequency used for transmission.
Referring to FIG. 32 a , the locally generated clock 5060 and the baseband frame 5050 signal values are the inputs to an “exclusive or” function or gate. As is known in the art, and shown in TABLE I, an “exclusive or” (XOR) gate performs the following function:
TABLE I
Output:
Input:
Input:
Transmission
Signal values 5050
Clock 5060
Signal 5070
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
0
As illustrated in FIG. 30 , during time periods where signal values, or baseband data 5050 has a “low” value, the “high” values in clock 5060 will cause the transmission signal 5070 to be “high.” During time periods where the signal values 5050 are “low,” the “low” values will result in a “low” in the transmission signal 5070 . Put differently, during “low” signal value 5050 time periods T 0 , the transmission signal 5070 mirrors the clock 5060 . During time periods T 0 where signal values 5050 have a “high” value, the “high” values in clock 5060 result in “low” values in the transmission signal 5070 . Additionally during “high” signal value 5050 time periods, the “low” clock 5060 values result in a “high” transmission signal 5070 . In other words, during “high” signal values 5050 time periods, the inverse of clock 5060 becomes the transmission signal 5070 . In this manner the signal values 5050 modulate the phase of the transmission signal 5070 .
In an alternate embodiment of digital circuit 5080 , illustrated in FIG. 32 b , signal values 5050 and clock 5060 are inputs into an “and” gate. Additionally, the inverse of clock 5060 and signal values 5050 are inputs into another “and” gate. Combiner 5160 may then passively combine the outputs of the two “and” gates, or functions. As is known in the art, and shown in TABLE II, an “and” gate performs the following logical function:
TABLE II
Output:
Input:
Input:
Transmission
Signal values 5050
Clock 5060
Signal 5070
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
1
In a like manner, and as illustrated in FIG. 38 , during time periods T 0 where the signal values 5050 are high, the output of the “and” gate 5150 a follows the clock 5060 . When the signal values 5050 are low, the output of “and” gate 5150 is “low”. The inverse of signal values 5050 and the inverse of clock 5060 are inputs to “and” gate 5150 b . During time periods where the signal values 5050 are low, the inverse of signal values are “high.” During this time period the transmission signal 5070 becomes the inverse of the clock 5060 . The two outputs from “and” gates 5150 a and 5150 b may then be combined by combiner 5160 to produce transmission signal 5070 . In like manner to the “exclusive or” implementation described above, the phase of the clock 5060 is modulated by the signal values 5050 to become transmission signal 5070 . It should be noted that the transmission signal 5070 generated by the embodiment in FIG. 32 a has an inverse phase relationship to the transmission signal generated by the embodiment shown in FIG. 32 b . Either circuit may be modified by one with skill in the art to produce the other signal.
Yet another embodiment of digital circuit 5080 is illustrated in FIG. 32 c . This embodiment can produce either of the transmission signals 5070 shown in FIG. 30 and FIG. 38 , by reversing the inputs of clock 5060 and its inverse. In this embodiment, a 2:1 multiplexer 5170 is used to generate a transmission signal 5070 . The clock 5060 and its inverse are connected to the multiplexer 5170 . The signal values 5050 from the baseband frame are connected to the control S 0 . When the signal value 5050 has a low value, the signal present at input 0 , clock 5060 , is passed to the output transmission signal 5070 . When the signal value 5050 has a “high” value, the signal present at input 1 , inverse clock 5060 , is passed to the output. In this manner, the clock 5060 is phase modulated by signal values 5050 to produce transmission signal 5070 .
Many spread spectrum communications technologies are known in the art of communications. Generally, data to be transmitted is multiplied by a chipping code, where the time period of the code is referred to as a chip, or chip duration. The chipping code usually has a shorter duration time period than the signal value used to represent the data. Stated otherwise, the chip duration is usually shorter than the data symbol, or signal value duration. The resulting signal is a signal that occupies the bandwith of the chipping signal and carries the data signal. This bandwidth can be expressed as the inverse of the chip duration. The ratio of chips per data symbol is commonly referred to as the spreading factor. The process of multiplying the data signal by the chipping code is generally referred to as spreading the signal. In like manner, the process in a receiver of recovering the data signal from a spread signal may be referred to as de-spreading. In conventional spread spectrum communications systems, the spread signal is then multiplied by a carrier wave to place the signal at the radio frequency used for transmission. In some communication systems, orthogonal codes are used to enable a multiple access scheme, where multiple users can communicate simultaneously.
The spreading factor introduces generally unwanted overhead into a communications system. For example, a data symbol could be transmitted without spreading. In this case, a spreading factor of 1 is employed, implying the data has not been spread. When using a spreading factor of 256 the same data symbol would be 256 times larger than the same symbol using a spreading factor of 1. For example, if a spreading factor of 1 is used to send 1 bit of data, then 1 bit is transmitted. If a spreading factor of 256 is employed, then 256 bits are used to transmit 1 bit of data. So, as the spreading factor increases, the amount of data transmitted decreases.
One advantage of spreading the signal with a chipping code is that a receiver may use the entire chipping code to recover the signal. This process is commonly referred to as processing gain. Processing gain, expressed in dB, assists the receiver in detection of the signal, which increases communication reliability. Another advantage of spreading with a chipping code, is that when orthogonal codes are employed in different networks, the users in one network will not intercept the signals of the users in other networks.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the transmission signal 5070 is spread by a chipping code or code block 5190 , shown in FIG. 33 . In one embodiment, portions of the transmission signal 5070 have a different spreading factor. For example, the physical layer header 5180 may have a spreading factor of 256 where the medium access control header 5120 may have a spreading factor of 64. In another embodiment of the present invention, the packets 5200 may have a spreading factor that is dynamically controlled by the medium access controller 5030 that inserts the chosen spreading factor in rate field 5130 of the medium access control header 5120 .
In this fashion, the spreading factor may be dynamically adjusted to accommodate a changing communication environment. For example, if the distance the transmission signal 5070 must travel increases, the spreading factor may also increase, so that a receiver can recover the signal. Or, in a communication environment that is conducive to multipath, the spreading factor may also be increased. Alternatively, when the communication environment is favorable to communications, the spreading factor may be reduced, thereby increasing the rate at which data is transmitted.
Referring now to FIG. 35 , which illustrates some functions performed by baseband processor 5020 . Frames 5100 are received from the medium access controller 5030 by the baseband processor 5020 . The rate field 5130 in the medium access control header 5120 is evaluated to determine the data rate for the packets 5200 . Based on the rate field 5230 , FEC encoder 5300 applies a FEC (forward error correction, discussed below) encoding level to the data frame 5100 . For example, in one embodiment shown in TABLE III, the baseband processor 5020 uses the rate field 5130 to set the FEC encoding and/or the spreading factor. It will be appreciated that different spreading factors, and/or FEC encoding levels may be employed by the present invention.
TABLE III
Rate Field 5130
FEC Encoding
Spreading
Value
Level
Factor
0
1
1
1
¾
1
2
½
1
3
1
2
4
¾
2
5
½
2
6
1
4
7
¾
4
8
½
4
9
1
8
10
¾
8
11
½
8
12
1
16
13
¾
16
14
½
16
15
1
32
16
¾
32
17
½
32
18
1
64
19
¾
64
20
½
64
21
1
128
22
¾
128
23
½
128
24
1
256
25
¾
256
26
½
256
Encoding for Forward Error Correction (FEC) is a process by which redundancy is added too the data to be transmitted. With the additional redundancy the receiver may then attempt to detect and correct errors in the received data. An initial step in a FEC algorithm is to encode the data with additional bits. There are a number of FEC encoding algorithms. Of significant importance in communications are block codes and convolutional codes. Both types of encoding algorithms transform the original data set into a coded sequence of larger size. This increased size can yield a decrease in performance of information throughput for a particular data rate but may enable a more robust communication link. In convolutional encoding the coded sequence depends not only on the current data bits being encoded but also on one or more previous data bits. In convolutional coding the encoding is performed on a continuous basis. In block encoding a distinct block of data bits is encoded by a code. The FEC encoding level, otherwise known as the coding efficiency is a ratio of the original data to the encoded data. In other words, a FEC encoding level of ½ implies a 50% overhead or redundancy has been added to the data (50% more bits). Likewise, a ¾ FEC encoding level includes a 25% overhead. A FEC encoding level of 1 means that no additional bits have been added to the data. Other encoding rates are known in the art of communications and may be used. Those encoding levels include ⅛ th rate encoding, ¼ rate encoding, ⅜ th rate encoding ½ rate encoding, ⅝ th rate encoding, ⅞ th rate encoding, and ¾ rate encoding.
Referring again to FIG. 35 , after the FEC encoder 5300 has encoded the data, the data is then passed on to the interleaver 5310 . Interleaving is a process by which the order of the bits to be transmitted is changed. One purpose of interleaving bits or a block of bits is to improve a communications systems' noise immunity. For example, if bits from different portions of the data frame 5100 are interleaved, or mixed into a packet 5200 and that packet is corrupted by noise, or other factors during transmission, the impact of the corrupted packet is distributed across multiple areas of the data. This reduces the number of potential errors in any contiguous block of data, thereby increasing the probability that a receiver can correct the corrupted data.
After the data is been interleaved, the data is forwarded to scrambler 5320 . Scrambling the data reduces the probability of having long strings of similar data bits. Long strings of similar data bits may alter the distribution of transmitted power, known as the Power Spectral Density (PSD), within the spectrum. In many cases it is advantageous to have the effect of the data on the PSD be minimal. In those instances the effect of data should be random, or white, within the spectrum. A number of scrambling algorithms are known in the art and may be used to practice this embodiment of the invention.
The data is then sent to the spreader 5430 . Depending on the information in the rate field 5130 a spreading factor is applied to the data. As discussed above, the spreading factor may change based on the contents of the rate field 5130 .
The spread data is then sent to the packetizer 5340 where it is broken into discrete blocks appropriate for each packet 5200 . The synchronization generator 5350 generates synchronization code blocks 5190 for each packet. The header generator 5330 generates and forms the physical layer header 5180 . The physical layer header 5180 is then appended onto the medium access control header 5120 . A completed baseband frame 5050 is then forwarded to the modulator 5420 . It will be appreciated that the data processing order described above may be changed, and that other processing steps may be added or subtracted.
An exemplary receiver 5220 is depicted in FIG. 34 . In one embodiment, an RF signal is received from the communication media (wire or wireless) by the RF front end 5010 . The RF front end 5010 sends the received signal to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 5230 . The ADC 5230 may be a 1-bit ADC, a 2-bit ADC, a 3-bit ADC, a 4-bit ADC, a 5-bit ADC, a 6-bit ADC, a 7-bit ADC or an 8-bit ADC. Other bit densities for ADCs are known in the art of communications and may be used to practice the invention. Additionally, a number of ADC architectures are known in the art and may be used to practice the invention but will not be discussed here. In one embodiment of the present invention ADC 5230 is a 1-bit sigma delta ADC. In this embodiment, ADC 5230 samples the RF signal and creates a serial data signal. The serial data signal is sent to baseband processor 5020 which converts, or reassembles the packets 5200 from the serial data signal into data frames 5110 which are sent to the medium access controller 5030 . The medium access controller converts the data frames 5110 into data 5100 , which is sent to a data interface 5040 . Data interface 5040 may comprise a number of different data interfaces as described above.
RF front end 5010 may comprise a number of components including one or more antennas for communications in a wireless media, or coupling circuits for communication using wire media. The baseband processor 5020 , as illustrated in FIG. 36 , may comprise a poly-phase filter 5240 , a de-spreader 5250 , a channel impulse response detector 5260 , a channel matched filter 5410 , a de-scrambler 5270 , a de-interleaver 5280 and a FEC decoder 5290 .
In one embodiment RF front end 5010 may comprise two or more receive antennas (not shown). In this embodiment the receive antennas are separated by a physical distance from each other that approximates at least one wavelength of the center frequency of the signal the receiver is designed to receive. The wavelength is calculated by dividing the speed of light by the frequency. For example, a communication signal with a 4 GHz center frequency has a wavelength of approximately 7.5 cm. By separating multiple receive antennas by this distance, the receiver has a better chance of determining which received signal is a direct path signal and which is a multi-path signal. Additionally, the multiple receive antennas provide additional energy collection which may be used to detect the communication signal.
Two embodiments of poly-phase filter 5240 are illustrated in FIGS. 37 and 38 . One function of the poly-phase filter 5240 is to down-convert the serial data signal into two lower frequency signals. The two signals are commonly referred to as In-phase (I) and Quadrature (Q). This conversion is accomplished by multiplying the serial data signal by a complex sinusoid. Since the serial data signal is discrete (having been sampled) the complex sinusoid is discrete samples of a sinusoid. The real and imaginary parts of a complex sinusoid may be calculated and stored in a look-up table 5400 . The serial data signal is split into two parallel signals by serial to parallel converter 5360 . Serial to parallel converter 5360 merely outputs alternate samples onto each output. Multipliers 5370 multiply the samples by real and imaginary coefficients that represent the complex sinusoid. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 37 , the resultant product signals are filtered by filters 5380 . In one embodiment, filters 5380 are low-pass finite impulse response (FIR) filters. FIR filters are known in the art of signal processing and will not be discussed herein. It will be appreciated that other types of filters may be employed by the present invention. Decimators 5390 then decimate the filtered signals. Decimation is a process by which a number of samples are discarded. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 38 , decimation occurs prior to filtering the signals.
Returning to FIG. 36 , the poly-phase filter sends the resultant signal to the de-spreader 5250 . The process of de-spreading the signal involves correlating the signal with a synchronization code block. If the received signal contains the same, or an inverse of the synchronization code block, the de-spreader finds a strong correlation, either positive or negative. The synchronization code block may then be removed and replaced by a value. The de-spreader 5250 then sends the signal to the channel impulse response detector 5260 and the channel matched filter 5410 .
One feature of the present invention is that it provides an adaptive matched filter system that can rapidly adjust to changing communication conditions. A wireless communication channel is generally characterized as a multipath fading channel, which includes multipath signals that cause intersymbol interference. A conventional matched filter includes an estimated model of the communication channel, which is used to aid the matched filter in obtaining the strongest possible signal. However, when the estimated model does not accurately reflect the actual communication channel, the signal may be poorly recovered leading to a poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). A degraded SNR may result in an increased bit-error-rate (BER), or may reduce the effective range of the communication system.
In the present invention, a channel impulse response detector 5260 is employed to provide a real-time analysis of the actual communication channel to the channel matched filter 5410 . During the detection of the physical layer header 5180 , the channel impulse response detector 5260 measures the communication channel impulse response by “listening” for correlations at a number of time periods. Generally, the impulse response is detected from the time period in which strong correlations are found with the codes contained within the physical layer header 5180 and code blocks 5190 (in packets 5200 ). A number of codes are known in the art, but exemplary codes may include Golay, Walsh and perfect code sequences.
In the presence of multipath signal components, the de-spreader 5250 may correlate on delayed or multipath copies of the intended signal. Because of different propagation path lengths, multipath copies may show up at the receiver 5220 at a different time period than the intended signal. In this situation, the channel impulse response detector 5260 provides the time of arrival and strength of the multipath copies to the channel matched filter 5410 . The channel matched filter 5410 may then sum the received energy within the multipath copies to provide a stronger signal strength. In this way, the actual communication channel characteristics are determined and used to obtain the strongest possible signal.
Referring to FIG. 36 , the channel matched filter 5410 may also include an equalization capability, or function. Generally, the goal of equalization is to provide as accurate an estimate of the original data as possible. This “estimated” data can then be forwarded to subsequent processing blocks, such as the forward error correction (FEC) decoder 5290 . One function of the FEC is to detect and correct errors in the estimated data. If errors are detected, various remedial measures are performed. These measures will be discussed below in connection with the FEC decoder 5290 .
The channel matched filter 5410 includes a simplified decision feedback equalization (DFE) function. The multipath copies of previous signals may arrive at a time when receiver 5220 is processing a current signal. In this case the received signal may be made up of the intended signal and a number of multipath copies of previous signals. For example, the data signal may comprise the sum of 2 or more autocorrelation functions. In one case, the data signal may comprise the sum of 64 autocorrelation functions, or alternatively, the data signal may comprise the sum of 32, 128 or other sums of autocorrelation functions. As a result:
Z n =( A 0 ×d n )+( A 1 ×d 2 )+( A 2 ×d n−1 )+( A 1 *×d n+1 )+( A 2 *×d n+2 ) (8)
Where: A 1 * and A 2 * are the complex conjugates of A 1 and A 2 .
In this example the last four terms in equation (8) are what is known as Inter Symbol Interference (ISI) or Inter Chip Interference (ICI). In some cases where the symbol is substantially longer than the chip duration the interference may be intra-symbol. The first term is the data. So, in this exaple, a current data sample, or decision, actually depends on the current sample as well as two past samples and two future samples. Obtaining the two past samples should not drive the complexity of the equalizer; however, obtaining two future samples does increase complexity.
Accordingly, in one embodiment of equalizer of the present invention, the two future samples are ignored. In this embodiment, a “hard” estimation is employed. This is in contrast with most conventional equalizers, which often depend on “soft” decisions. The output from the hard decision is used to obtain the past two samples, which are multiplied by the associated amplitude factors A 1 and A 2 and combined. As shown in FIG. 40 , the A 1 and A 2 and other amplitude factors are represented by g L,L . The coefficients g L,L are determined from the channel estimations. In one embodiment, the amplitude factors are supplied to the channel matched filter 5410 from the channel impulse response detector 5260 during processing of the physical layer header 5180 and during the processing of each packet 5200 .
Thus, the DFE converts the following:
Z 0 =( A 0× d 0)+( A 1× d 1)+( A 2× d 2) (9)
Which becomes:
Z 0 −[( A 1× d 1)+( A 2× d 2)]=( A 0× d 0) (10)
The output of the DFE can then be passed onward for further processing. A general implementation of DFE is an iterative process that significantly reduces the ISI or ICI. Further, the DFE may include a parity check, or the like, in order to detect errors. If there are no errors, then there is no reason to feedback the data and perform the iteration.
As shown in FIG. 36 , in one embodiment, the channel matched filter 5410 then sends the signal to de-scrambler 5270 . In an embodiment where the transmitter 5210 scrambled the data, de-scrambler 5270 de-scrambles the data. The de-scrambler sends the de-scrambled data to the de-interleaver 5280 . In an embodiment where transmitter 5210 interleaved the data, de-interleaver 280 de-interleaves the data. FEC decoder 5290 detects and corrects errors in the recovered data 5110 . A number of decoding algorithms are known in the art and may be used to practice the invention. In one embodiment the FEC decoding algorithm is a low density parity check (LDPC) algorithm.
There are a number of error control methods known in the art of communications. Generally speaking, error control comprises two methods, error detection and error correction. In most error detection algorithms, the received data is merely checked for error. If errors are found, the transmitter may be notified and the data may be retransmitted. In error correction algorithms, the receiver attempts to correct detected errors. In one class of algorithms, known as Forward Error Correction (FEC), extra bits are transmitted with the data that can be used by the receiver to detect and correct errors in the data that was received. Depending on the implementation, the receiver can then ask that the data be re-sent if too many errors are detected.
Accordingly, as can be seen in FIG. 41 , an FEC encoder 3202 adds bits to an input data stream 3204 to create an output data stream 3206 that necessarily requires a higher data rate due to the added bits. In the example of FIG. 32 , FEC encoder 3202 is a ½ rate FEC encoder, which means that for every input bit d n , FEC encoder 3202 adds a bit that can be used to detect errors when data stream 3206 is decoded. As discussed above other rate encoders, such as full rate, or ¾ rate encoders may be employed by the present invention. Thus, in the case of a ½ rate FEC encoder, data rate of output 3206 is twice that of input 3204 . Data stream 3206 can then be modulated and transmitted to a receiver. In the receiver, an FEC decoder 3208 can be used to remove the extra bits and detect errors in the original data. Thus, FEC decoder 3208 should match FEC encoder 3202 , i.e., FEC decoder 3208 should be a ½ rate FEC decoder, in the above example.
A problem with conventional FEC encoders and decoders is that the data rates can be too high for conventional technology. This can be especially true, for example, in an ultra-wideband application, where the data rates can be extremely high. One way to overcome this problem in accordance with the systems and methods described herein is illustrated in FIG. 42 , which depicts a portion of a transmitter chain 3300 . In the example of FIG. 33 , a data stream 3302 , with a data rate (R) is first split into a plurality of parallel data streams 3306 in serial to parallel converter 3304 , each with a lower data rate (R/n) where n is the number of parallel data streams 3306 . The parallel data streams 3306 can then be encoded using a plurality of FEC encoders. Here two encoders 3308 and 3310 are illustrated. Thus, each of FEC encoders 3308 and 3310 can, depending on the implementation, encode half as much data and operate at a lower speed than required in a conventional system. More generally, FEC encoders 3308 and 3310 can be configured to assist each other with FEC encoding and reduce the overall load on each FEC encoder in the system. This, of course, requires some coordination, or message passing, between the two FEC encoders.
The outputs of FEC encoders 3308 and 3310 can then, for example, be passed through parallel to serial converters 3312 and 3314 and combined via combiner 3316 into a single data stream with FEC encoding. The single data stream can then be optional filtered and/or pulse shaped before being modulated an transmitted, e.g., via optional block 3318 ,
In another example embodiment, of an FEC encoder configured in accordance with the systems and methods described herein, a code word is generated from an input data word by adding parity bits to the data word as illustrated in FIG. 43 . In this example embodiment, FEC encoder 3402 , referred to as a Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder, takes data word 3404 and generates output code word 3406 . As can be seen, the data word and code word are illustrated in matrix form. Thus, for example, the data word is a matrix comprising p m +d k rows and 1 column.
LDPC is an error correction algorithm where the data to be sent is encoded by a generator matrix and decoded by a parity matrix. Derivation of the two matrices is seen below in equation 12. The FEC encoder 3402 , a “K” length block of data K×1 is multiplied by the generator matrix G N×K which produces a “N” length block N×1 where N>K. The additional length is attributed to the overhead described above. The parity matrix may represent a connection of two types of nodes in the decoder. The locations of 1's in the matrix represent the connection of the two types of nodes.
The decoding of the block on receipt is usually an iterative process by which the first type of node may calculate information related to the probability of the bit under consideration being a 1 or a 0. In some cases this probability may be expressed as a “log likelihood ratio” or mathematically:
l ( c ) = ln [ Pr ( c i = 0 | y ) Pr ( c i = 1 | y ) ]
where ln is the natural log, the numerator is the probability that the bit c i is a zero and the denominator is the probability it is a 1. This information is passed to the other type of nodes specified by the parity check matrix, who perform a similar calculation based on the information received from each of the first type of node. The second type of node then sends its calculation to each of the first type of nodes it is connected to. This process continues until it is stopped or reaches some figure of merit in its result. Since each node is connected to a number of nodes of the other type, each iteration improves the probability calculation at each node.
In one embodiment of an LDPC 3402 , the code word can be generated using a generator matrix as illustrated by the following equation:
N×1 =G N×K * K×1 (11)
where:
G N×K is the Generator Matrix N=M+k; R=k/N; if R=½, then M=k.
The generator matrix can, in turn, be generated from an identify matrix and a parity check matrix as illustrated in the following equation:
G=[I;P] (12)
where:
I=the identity matrix; and P=the parity matrix.
Alternatively, a parity matrix H can be used to generate the code word C according to the following:
H M×N * N×1 = M×1 (13)
The parity matrix H can then be defined as:
H M×N =[H P M×M H D M×K ] (14)
Accordingly, and dropping the subscripts for simplicity:
[
H
P
H
D
]
*
[
P
→
d
→
]
=
0
,
or
(
15
)
(
H
P
*
P
→
)
+
(
H
D
*
d
→
)
=
0
(
16
)
The goal now is to solve for , since is known, i.e., it is the input data. To facilitate finding in one embodiment, H P is configured as a dual diagonal matrix with M rows and M columns. Dual diagonal matrices are well known and will not be described here; however and exemplary one is illustrated by the following:
H
P
=
[
1
1
0
0
⋯
0
0
1
1
0
⋯
0
0
0
1
1
⋯
0
0
0
0
1
⋯
1
0
0
0
⋯
0
1
]
(
17
)
Further, H D can, depending on the embodiment, be formed from a matrix of matrices. In one embodiment, this matrix of matrices is itself block cyclic. For example, in one embodiment, 4 matrices A, B, C and D can be used as in the following:
H
D
=
[
A
B
C
D
B
C
D
A
C
D
A
B
D
A
B
C
]
(
18
)
Here, each of the matrices A, B, C, and D will have k/4 rows and k/4 columns.
Thus, an encoder and decoder configured in accordance with the systems and methods described herein can be optimized for a dual diagonal H P and a block cyclic H D , an explained below. Many methods can be used to generate matrices A, B, C, and D consistent with the systems and methods described herein. One example method, however, will be described in the following paragraphs. This example method will assume, for the time being, that k=16 and therefore k/4=4. Then an identity matrix I can be used, such as the following:
I
=
[
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
]
(
19
)
Each of matrices A, B, C, and D can then be generated from this identity matrix L For example, a permutation vector, in this example of length 4, can then be used to generate A. Of course, other methods for generating matrices A, B, C, and D can be used consistently with the systems and methods described herein. Thus, the matrix A can, e.g., have the following form, once an appropriate permutation vector is used to modify identity matrix I:
A
=
[
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
]
(
20
)
Basically, as can be seen, a permutation vector can be used to shift the positions of the 1's in identity matrix I. In one embodiment, a single permutation matrix can be required. Once the first matrix A is generated using the single permutation vector, then the other matrices B, C, and D can be generated by shifting matrix A. For example, in one embodiment, each subsequent matrices B, C, and D is generated by shifting the previous matrix, starting with A, by 90°. Thus, B would be as follows:
B
=
[
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
]
(
21
)
But as can be seen, in the example embodiment for generating matrices A, B, C, and D described above, each row has only a single 1.
In one embodiment, Galois Field algebra (GF(2)) can be used to define the following equations for use in solving for :
1+1=0;
1−1=0;
1+0=1;
0+1=1;
0+1=1; and
0−1=−1=1. (22)
Thus, even results are equal to 0, while odd results are equal to 1.
Now returning to the equation at issue:
( H P * )+( H D *d )=0 (23)
This can be rewritten as:
( H P * )=( H D *d ) (24)
But using the equations (22), −1=1, therefore:
( H P * )=( H D *d ) (25)
In one embodiment, the following equation can be used:
( H D * )= (26)
Accordingly:
( H P * )= (27)
Equation (27) can be implemented effectively if can be generated efficiently. In one embodiment, based on the examples above, if k=6, then can be determined as follows:
[
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
]
*
[
p
5
p
4
p
3
p
2
p
1
p
0
]
=
[
u
5
u
4
u
3
u
2
u
1
u
0
]
(
28
)
This will result in the following equations:
p 0 −u 0 ;
p 1 +p 0 =u 1 ;
p 2 +p 1 =u 2 ;
p 3 +p 2 =u 3 ;
p 4 +p 3 =u 4 ;
p 5 +p 4 =u 5 ; (29)
The equations of (29) define the following general equation:
p n =u n −p n−1 (30)
This equation then suggests a configuration for an LDPC encoder 3402 , such as that illustrated in FIG. 44 . As can be seen, the values are fed into Exclusive-OR (XOR) 3502 , the output of which is fed through a delay 3504 and back to the other input of XOR 3502 . A remaining issue, however, is the generation of the U terms. In other words, the equation (H P * )= as implemented by block 3506 should also be done in the most efficient manner possible.
In the example above, H D was partitioned in 4 s, therefore should also be partitioned by 4 as illustrated in the following:
u
⇀
=
[
A
B
C
D
D
A
B
C
C
D
A
B
B
C
D
A
]
*
[
d
⇀
A
d
⇀
B
d
⇀
C
d
⇀
D
]
(
31
)
The above equation can be implemented efficiently, for example, using a circuit such as the example circuit illustrated in FIG. 45 . The circuit of FIG. 45 is generalized for the situation where k=128; however, it will be appreciated that the example embodiments described herein are not limited to any particular lengths or configurations. As can be seen, the circuit of FIG. 45 uses a bank of cyclic shift registers 3606 to implement . The outputs of shift registers 3606 can then be passed to a plurality XORs 3602 as shown. Thus, XORs 3602 collect the appropriate outputs from shift registers 3606 in order to generate the U terms.
But since it is known, in the examples above, that the output of each cyclic shift register will only have one 1, due to the fact that A, B, C, and D have only one 1 in each row, the outputs of cyclic shift registers 3606 can be rearranged and fixed so that, e.g., the first outputs of each go to the first XOR 3602 , the second outputs go to the second XOR 3602 , etc. Accordingly, efficient fixed connections 3608 can be used to reduce the complexity of LDPC 3402 . The U terms can then be registered and fed to XOR 3502 as illustrated.
Accordingly, if everything is segmented by 4's as illustrated in the above examples, then the cyclic shift registers 3606 can be shifted k/4 times. On each clock cycle, k/4 of the solution would be generated, such that it takes k/4 cycles to get the entire solution. This can result in a highly parallel encoder, such as that illustrated in FIG. 36 , for high-speed operation. The result can also be a low cost encoder, because the hardware can be reduced to ¼th that required by conventional circuits through the reuse of the components.
The LDPC encoder of FIG. 44 can, therefore, be used to generate code word C, which can be modulated and transmitted. But the receiver will receive C corrupted by noise as illustrated in the following:
=(1−2 )+(noise) (32)
The job of the decoder is then to extract from the signal represented by equation 32. In one embodiment, this can be accomplished by making soft decisions as to the value of and combining it with hard decisions related to the sign such that can then be accurately determined. The soft decisions can be based on a multilevel possibility. For example, if 4 bits are used in 2's complement, then you can have up to 16 levels. In one embodiment, the levels can, for example, be from −8 to 7. Alternatively, using offset 2's complement, the levels can be from −7.5 to 7.5. An advantage of the later is that the levels are not biased, e.g., toward the negative. An advantage of the former, however, is that it includes the level 0. Of course, any level scheme can be used as long as it allows for accurate determinations of .
The levels can be used to determine the probabilities of the value of and ultimately . For example, if the level determined for is 7 or 7.5, then the decoder can be configured to see this as a high probability that the value is 1. If the level is −8 or −7.5, then this can be seen as a high probability that the value is −1.
Parity check equations can then be generated from the following:
[
1
1
0
0
…
0
0
1
1
0
…
0
0
0
1
1
…
0
0
0
0
1
…
1
0
0
0
…
0
1
]
*
[
A
B
C
D
B
C
D
A
C
D
A
B
D
A
B
C
]
*
[
x
0
x
1
x
2
x
n
-
1
]
(
33
)
This will produce a set of parity equations in which, based on the examples above, there will be 6 terms, except in the last one, because there is exactly one 1 in each row of A, B, C, and D. The first of these parity equations would then, e.g., look like the following, based on the above examples:
S 0 =x 0 +x 1 +x 2 +x 3 +x 4 +x 5 (34)
Then, if S o =+1, then the operation can be viewed as passing. If, on the other hand, it is −1, then it can be viewed as a failure. A parity node processor 3702 can be used to implement equation 34, as illustrated by the example embodiment depicted in FIG. 46 . Message passing algorithms can be used to allow each such node 3702 to make final estimations.
FIG. 48 is a diagram illustrating and example embodiment in which a plurality of parity node processors 3702 are configured in accordance with the systems and methods described herein. Thus, each node 3702 receives information as to what the values x 0 , x 1 , . . . x N are believed to be. A given node 3702 can then process this information and produce estimates as to what the node believes the output of the other nodes should be and feed this information back in such a manner that the subsequent input to the other nodes is modified. It should be noted, therefore, that in such an embodiment, a node does not produce information to be fedback to its own input related to what it believes its own output should be.
This is illustrated in FIG. 47 for a single node processor at time=0. As can be seen, information for each bit is provided to node 3702 , which processes the information and produces information related to what it determines each bit should be. These inputs and outputs can be referred to as edges (E). Each output edge is fedback to the relevant input bit. The node processors 3702 will, therefore, comprise storage to store the information being fed to it and processed as required. As a result, both storage and routing overheads can become excessive.
For example, when information related to bit x 0 is fed to node S 0 , the information from each other node related to x 0 is also added into the information provided to s 0 . This is illustrated by the following:
x 0 +E 1+1 ( s 1 →x 0 )+ E 1 +1( S 2 →x 0 )+ . . . (35)
Again, as mentioned above, in this embodiment, the edge produce by node S 0 is not fed back to bit x 0 .
FIG. 49 is a diagram illustrating an example decoder 4000 that can be configured to reduce storage and routing overhead in accordance with one embodiment of the systems and methods described herein. The basic premise behind decoder 4000 is that all the edges produced form parity node processor 4002 can be added and then the last edge for each node, produced by that node, can be subtracted out. Thus, on the right hand side of FIG. 49 , a given row can be updated for all edges and then shifted in shift registers 4004 . The appropriate edge can then be subtracted out for each row using the data provided from registers 4014 , as opposed to doing each row, storing the result and updating it with information from other nodes.
It should be noted that the output of shift registers 4004 can be rearranged and fixed to reduce routing overhead. It should also be noted that this process provides an approximation of the correct data; however, the results converge and ultimately provide the same answer. On the left hand side of decoder 4000 , each shift register 4008 gets information from only two nodes 3702 , e.g., via registers 4010 and 4012 .
One feature of the present invention is that it may be used to increase the bandwidth of wireless networks or networks that employ wired media. The present invention can be used to transmit ultra-wideband signals across any type of wired media. For example, the wired media can include optical fiber ribbon, fiber optic cable, single mode fiber optic cable, multi-mode fiber optic cable, plenum wire, PVC wire, and coaxial cable.
In addition, the wired media can include twisted-pair wiring, whether shielded or unshielded. Twisted-pair wire may consist of “pairs” of color-coded wires. Common sizes of twisted-pair wire are 2 pair, 3 pair, 4 pair, 25 pair, 50 pair and 100 pair. Twisted-pair wire is commonly used for telephone and computer networks. It comes in ratings ranging from category 1 to category 7. Twisted-pair wiring also is available unshielded. That is, the wiring does not have a foil or other type of wrapping around the group of conductors within the jacket. This type of wiring is most commonly used for wiring for voice and data networks. The foregoing list of wired media is meant to be exemplary, and not exclusive.
As described above, the present invention can provide additional bandwidth to enable the transmission of large amounts of data over an existing wired media network, whether the wired media network is a Internet service provider, cable television provider, or a computer network located in a business or university. The additional bandwidth can allow consumers to receive the high speed Internet access, interactive video and other features that are bandwidth intensive.
The present invention may be employed in any type of network, be it wireless, wire, or a mix of wire media and wireless components. That is, a network may use both wire media, such as coaxial cable, and wireless devices, such as satellites, or cellular antennas. As defined herein, a network is a group of points or nodes connected by communication paths. The communication paths may use wires or they may be wireless. A network as defined herein can interconnect with other networks and contain sub-networks. A network as defined herein can be characterized in terms of a spatial distance, for example, such as a local area network (LAN), a personal area network (PAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), and a wireless personal area network (WPAN), among others. A network as defined herein can also be characterized by the type of data transmission technology used by the network, such as, for example, a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network, a Systems Network Architecture network, among others. A network as defined herein can also be characterized by whether it carries voice, data, or both kinds of signals. A network as defined herein may also be characterized by users of the network, such as, for example, users of a public switched telephone network (PSTN) or other type of public network, and private networks (such as within a single room or home), among others. A network as defined herein can also be characterized by the usual nature of its connections, for example, a dial-up network, a switched network, a dedicated network, and a non-switched network, among others. A network as defined herein can also be characterized by the types of physical links that it employs, for example, optical fiber, coaxial cable, a mix of both, unshielded twisted pair, and shielded twisted pair, among others. The present invention may be employed in any type of wireless network, such as a wireless PAN, LAN, MAN, or WAN. In addition, the present invention may be employed in wire media, as the present invention dramatically increases the bandwidth of conventional networks that employ wire media, yet it can be inexpensively deployed without extensive modification to the existing wire media network.
One feature of the present invention is that it has a data rate and quality of service high enough to support multiple video streams. For example, one embodiment of the present invention may provide a communication channel having a data rate of 1.3 gigabits per second. This high data rate is particularly useful in hand held security devices. Such systems can provide dramatically improved national security. For example, current airport security systems involve large, stationary equipment that scans luggage and passengers. However, an individual may pass through a security checkpoint without being scanned or checked for identification. At most commercial airports it may be exceedingly difficult to locate the individual using current methods and equipment. In most cases the security personnel are relying on a verbal description of the individual, which may be inaccurate. Under current regulatory guidelines the terminal must be closed, emptied of passengers and manually searched.
With the data rates provided by the present invention, security camera access points throughout the airport may transmit one or more channels of streaming video directly to video viewers carried by security personnel, thereby allowing the search to be conducted in a more efficient manner. The data rates of conventional wireless communication systems cannot support multiple video streams, and therefore cannot provide the features and functionality of the present invention.
Thus, it is seen that systems and methods of providing a high speed transmitter and receiver are provided. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the above-described embodiments, which are presented in this description for purposes of illustration and not of limitation. The specification and drawings are not intended to limit the exclusionary scope of this patent document. It is noted that various equivalents for the particular embodiments discussed in this description may practice the invention as well. That is, while the present invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, permutations and variations will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the appended claims. The fact that a product, process or method exhibits differences from one or more of the above-described exemplary embodiments does not mean that the product or process is outside the scope (literal scope and/or other legally-recognized scope) of the following claims.
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A high-speed transmitter and receiver are provided. In one embodiment, a transmitter comprises a baseband processor structured to receive data and to convert the data into a multiplicity of high and low signal values, with each high and low signal value having a first timing interval. A local oscillator generates a clock signal at a second timing interval and a digital circuit combines the high and low signal values with the clock signal to produce a transmission signal directly at a transmission frequency. A receiver is configured to receive the signal. This Abstract is provided for the sole purpose of complying with the Abstract requirement rules that allow a reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the disclosure contained herein. This Abstract is submitted with the explicit understanding that it will not be used to interpret or to limit the scope or the meaning of the claims.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] In general, the invention relates to digging tools, and more particularly, to post-hole digging tools with footrests.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] A post-hole digger is a digging tool intended to dig deep, narrow holes for the placement of fence posts, sign posts, and other, similar structures. In a typical post-hole digger, the head of the tool includes two rounded digging blades that face one another and are connected to one another by a hinge. Each shovel head is connected to its own shaft. To use the device, the user drives the tool into the ground and then moves the handles to clamp down on some of the soil that the tool has sunk into before extracting the head, along with the soil, from the hole. The process is repeated until the hole is of sufficient size and depth.
[0005] With a typical post-hole digger, the user uses his or her arms to drive the tool into the ground. However, the typical tool does not allow the user to use his or her legs effectively in the process of driving the tool into the ground, and most people have more strength in their legs than in their arms. Thus, using a conventional post-hole digger can be tiring and inefficient.
[0006] Over the years, there have been isolated attempts to create post-hole diggers that allow a user to use his or her feet to drive the tool head into the ground, or to use other parts of the body for leverage. U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,648 to Luck is one example—the patent discloses post-hole diggers with a number of horizontal posts that are connected to the shafts with hinges, so that they can be swung up and out of the way if necessary. The horizontal posts can be used as foot rests for driving the tool head. However, the posts extend horizontally far beyond the tool itself, which may interfere with the soil when one tries to dig particularly deep holes. Moreover, the relatively long foot rests may increase the bending and tipping moments generated when pressure is applied, thus making the tool more difficult to use. Additionally, when the Luck tool is in use, dirt and soils may become lodged in the hinges of its foot rests, potentially causing the hinges to jam. If the foot rests open or the hinges jam open while the tool is in use, this could cause the foot rests to act like barbs on a hook, jamming the tool irretrievably in the hole. In fact, merely pulling the tool out of a hole may be enough to trigger the deployment of the foot rests.
[0007] The Luck patent recognizes an additional issue with post-hole diggers: when driving the tool into the ground, it is helpful if the two shafts can function as one rigid piece. Luck addresses this issue with a separate, detachable top plate assembly including a reinforcement bar that is attached between the shafts close to the top of the tool. While this may serve to rigidify the tool when it is driven, the top plate assembly and reinforcement bar prevent the tool from closing to remove soil when it is in place, and it may be inconvenient for a user to repeatedly attach and remove the top plate assembly while the tool is in use. Beyond that inconvenience, it is very easy for the user to lose a detachable piece of a tool like the top plate assembly, which would render its advantages moot.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] One aspect of the invention relates to a foot rest for a post-hole digger. The foot rest includes two portions, one attached to each shaft of the post-hole digger. The two portions have structure that allows them to engage one another when the two shafts of the post-hole digger are vertical. The foot rest does not extend beyond the bore diameter of the post-hole digger. Thus, in order to keep the user's feet on the relatively short foot rest, the contact surface of the foot rest may be angled. In some embodiments, the foot rest may be symmetrical about a bisecting horizontal plane, so that either side may be used as the upper surface.
[0009] Another aspect of the invention relates to a post-hole digger with foot rests. The post-hole digger has two rounded digging heads opposing one another and connected together at a hinge, with a shaft connected to each of the shovel heads. The post-hole digger includes at least one, and typically at least two, foot rests. The two foot rests face opposite directions and are spaced from one another along the shafts.
[0010] Other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
[0011] The invention will be described with respect to the following drawing figures, in which like numerals represent like features throughout the figures, and in which:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a post-hole digging tool according to one embodiment of the invention, shown in use;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the tool of FIG. 1 ;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a partial side elevational view of the tool of FIG. 1 , illustrating the shape of one of the foot rests;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the tool of FIG. 1 ;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the tool of FIG. 1 shown with handles apart; and
[0017] FIG. 6 is a detail perspective view of a portion of the handle of the tool of FIG. 1 , illustrating the engagement of the foot rests.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a post-hole digging tool, generally indicated at 10 , according to one embodiment of the invention. The tool 10 is shown in FIG. 1 in use, digging a hole 12 in soil 14 . The tool head 16 comprises two downwardly-extending, rounded digging blades 18 , 20 that face one another and are connected together at a hinge 22 , which pivots to allow the two digging blades 18 , 20 to move closer together and farther apart. Each of the digging blades 18 , 20 is connected to an individual shaft 24 , 26 that, in the view of FIG. 1 , extends vertically.
[0019] The tool 10 has a pair of foot rests 28 , 30 spaced from one another along the length of the shafts 24 , 26 . Each foot rest 28 , 30 extends in a different direction. The tool 10 may include any number of foot rests 28 , 30 spaced from one another along the length of the shafts 24 , 26 . In fact, if a particularly deep hole 12 is to be dug, it may be helpful to have three or four foot rests 28 , 30 present. The presence of multiple foot rests 28 , 30 may allow increased efficiency, in that the user can create an effective power stroke to drive the tool 10 regardless of its depth. With each foot rest 28 , 30 extending in a different direction, the tool 10 provides knee clearance and makes it more difficult for a user who places his or her foot on a lower foot rest 30 to bump against an upper foot rest 28 with his or her knee. As will be described below in more detail, the foot rests 28 , 30 may be provided separately and attached to the shafts 24 , 26 as necessary.
[0020] The illustration of FIG. 1 shows the tool 10 in use, with the user's left foot on an upper foot rest 28 and a lower foot rest 30 closer to the ground level. While the tool 10 may be used in many different ways, the most effective power stroke will be achieved in most cases from a position similar to that shown in FIG. 1 : one foot on the ground and the other on one of the foot rests 28 , 30 .
[0021] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the tool 10 that illustrates one particular advantage of the tool 10 : the foot rests 28 , 30 extend within the bore diameter 31 of the tool 10 (i.e., within the diameter of the tool head 16 ). This means that foot rests 28 , 30 will not interfere with the soil 14 or prevent the digging of deep holes 12 , and it also places the center of foot pressure closer to the centerline of the tool 10 , which means that less bending moment will be generated as the tool 10 is driven into the soil 14 , and the tool 10 will be less likely to tip over in use. As shown in FIG. 2 , the outer circumferential edge of each foot rest 28 , 30 is slightly curved in the illustrated embodiment, although that need not be the case in all embodiments, so long as the foot rests 28 , 30 extend only within the bore diameter 31 of the tool 10 .
[0022] For most standard-sized post-hole diggers, each foot rest 28 , 30 would be about 2.5 to 3.25 inches long, measured from the circumferential surfaces of the shafts 24 , 26 outward. Multiple foot rests 28 , 30 on the same tool 10 would typically be of the same size, although they may vary in size in some embodiments.
[0023] Because the foot rests 28 , 30 are relatively short in order to stay within the profile of the tool head 16 , the user's feet might have more of a tendency to slip off the foot rests 28 , 30 as compared with a longer foot rest. To ameliorate this potential issue and assist in retaining the feet on the foot rests 28 , 30 , the foot-contacting surface 33 of each foot rest 28 , 30 is angled slightly upwardly, for example, approximately 10° degrees, as shown in the partial side elevational view of FIG. 3 . This tends to force the foot toward the shaft 26 as pressure is applied. In other embodiments, up-angles in the range of about 5° to about 30° are suitable, with about 10° to about 20° being a particularly useful range.
[0024] Additionally, the foot rest 28 includes a surface with gripping texture 32 to increase the friction on the sole of the user's shoe or to physically interlock with the tread of a user's shoe. As shown in FIG. 4 , the foot rest 28 is symmetrical about a bisecting horizontal plane, with the foot rest 28 flaring out trapezoidally (as viewed in the side elevational view of FIG. 3 ) to create the same angle on its upper and lower surfaces. The foot rest 28 also includes gripping texture 32 on its upper and lower surfaces. These symmetrical features allow the user to install the foot rest 28 on the shaft 26 with either side facing up.
[0025] Additionally, as can be appreciated from FIG. 2 , the two foot rests 28 , 30 do not extend outwardly along the same line as the digging blades 18 , 20 . Instead, they are offset (i.e., rotated) 90°. (Compare FIG. 2 with FIG. 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,648, which was incorporated by reference above.) This arrangement of the foot rests 28 , 30 relative to the digging blades 18 , 20 potentially provides the user more space.
[0026] FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the tool 10 in the position of FIGS. 1 and 2 . Because the foot rests 28 , 30 are provided on two individual shafts 24 , 26 and those shafts 24 , 26 pivot with the hinge 22 of the tool head 16 , the foot rests 28 , 30 are each comprised of two individual portions. For example, in the view of FIG. 4 , the foot rest 28 includes portions 34 and 36 , and the foot rest 30 includes portions 38 and 40 . When the shafts 24 , 26 are moved apart to capture the soil 14 and remove it from the hole 12 , the portions 34 , 36 and 38 , 40 are able to separate from one another, as shown in the side elevational view of FIG. 5 .
[0027] As shown in FIG. 5 and the enlarged perspective view of FIG. 6 , each of the portions 34 , 36 has a collar 42 to secure it around one of the shafts 24 , 26 . The collar 42 may be secured either by set screws 44 that bear directly against the shaft 24 , 26 , or by a mechanism that tightens the collar 42 circumferentially to apply force. In some embodiments, the collars 42 may be permanently secured to the shafts 24 , 26 by fasteners like screws, bolts, or dowel pins that actually embed in or transit through the shafts 24 , 26 , but it may be more advantageous in most embodiments if the collars 42 are adjustable in position. In addition to these means of fastening the foot rests 28 , 30 to the shafts 24 , 26 , the foot rests 28 , 30 may be overmolded onto the shafts 24 , 26 , welded onto the shafts 24 , 26 , or cast in place on the shafts 24 , 26 .
[0028] The two portions 34 , 36 , 38 , 40 of each foot rest 28 , 30 interlock and engage one another when the tool 10 is in the position shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 . As shown in FIG. 6 , each portion 34 , 36 has a peg 46 , 48 that extends toward the other portion 34 , 36 . Each portion 34 , 36 also has a complementary receiving opening 50 (only one of the openings is shown in the view of FIG. 6 ) positioned to accept the peg 46 , 48 from the other portion 34 , 36 . As can be appreciated from FIG. 6 , aside from the pegs 46 , 48 , the facing surfaces of the portions 34 , 36 are essentially flat and are intended to be parallel to one another when the two shafts 24 , 26 are parallel to one another.
[0029] The engagement of the portions 34 , 36 , 38 , 40 rigidifies the foot rests 28 , 30 , making the result stronger and stiffer than two independent shafts 24 , 26 would be. The engagement of the portions 34 , 36 , 38 , 40 also maintains the alignment of the digging blades 18 , 20 during digging, and may also be helpful when the user pushes or wiggles the shafts 24 , 26 from side to side in the process of digging. As those of skill in the art will understand, driving force can be applied equally through both shafts 24 , 26 .
[0030] The manner of engagement of the portions 34 , 36 , 38 , 40 may differ from embodiment to embodiment, and other embodiments may use other forms of connectors. One advantage of the pegs 46 , 48 is that they do not require the user to manually disengage a latch before the shafts 24 , 26 will part. However, in some embodiments, latches and other mechanisms that require the user to disengage them may be used. Additionally, because the pegs 46 , 48 are permanently attached, they cannot be detached or lost.
[0031] The foot rests 28 , 30 may be made of any number of materials. For example, they may be made of a cast metal, such as aluminum or steel. They may also be molded from any number of plastics. For example, the foot rests 28 , 30 may be made of nylon, polycarbonate/ABS blends, polyethylene-polypropylene blends or copolymers, or polyphthalamide. The foot rests 28 , 30 may also be made of composite materials, including glass-filled plastics. In some cases, a layer of rubber, or another high-friction surface, may be applied to or co-molded with the upper and lower surfaces of the foot rests 28 , 30 .
[0032] As was described briefly above, tools 10 according to embodiments of the invention may be produced and sold in the form illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 , with foot rests 28 , 30 already installed at appropriate locations. Alternatively, kits including a number of foot rests 28 , 30 may be sold for later attachment to a standard post-hole digging tool. In addition, kits may be sold for attaching additional foot rests 28 , 30 to a tool that already includes them.
[0033] While the invention has been described with respect to certain embodiments, the embodiments are intended to be exemplary, rather than limiting. Modifications and changes may be made within the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims.
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A foot rest for a post-hole digger and post-hole diggers using the foot rest are disclosed. The foot rest includes two portions, one attached to each shaft of the post-hole digger. The two portions have structure that allows them to engage one another when the two shafts of the post-hole digger are vertical. The foot rest does not extend beyond the bore diameter of the post-hole digger. Thus, in order to keep the user's feet on the relatively short foot rest, the contact surface of the foot rest may be angled. In some embodiments, the foot rest may be symmetrical, so that either side may be used as the upper surface. A post-hole digger including the foot rests typically includes at least two foot rests, spaced from one another and facing different directions along the shafts of the tool.
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GOVERNMENT INTEREST
[0001] The United States Government has rights in this invention pursuant to contract DE-AC36-99G010337 between the United States Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a division of Midwest Research Institute.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to hydrogen-production by microorganisms, for example hydrogen production by green algae. More specifically, the invention relates to methods for designing and engineering hydrogenase enzymes with improved oxygen resistance, and to the methods for transforming microorganisms to express these oxygen-resistant hydrogenase enzymes for use in the production of hydrogen in) an oxygen containing environment.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Hydrogen (H2) is becoming an attractive alternative energy source to fossil fuels m due to its clean emissions and potential for cost effective production by microorganisms. As such, microorganisms that metabolize H 2 are being investigated for their potential use in H 2 -production. A microorganism of particular interest for H 2 production is the green alga, Chlaydomonas reinhardtii, which is able to catalyze light-dependent, H 2 production utilizing water as a reductant. Ghiradi et al., (2000) Trends Biotech. 18(12):506-511; Melis et al., (2001) Plant Physiol. 127:740-748. The benefits of using an algal system for H 2 -production include the use of renewable substrates (light and water) and its potential cost-effectiveness. Melis A, Int. J. Hyd. Energy 27:1217-1228. As such, there is a great deal of interest in optimizing H 2 -production by green algae to maximize the potential benefit as an alternative energy source.
[0004] Chlaydomonas reinhardtii, and other like microorganisms, are able to express a class of H 2 metabolizing enzymes called hydogenases. Members of this enzyme family function in either H 2 -uptake (as a means to provide reductant for substrate oxidation) or H 2 -production (as a means to eliminate excess reducing equivalents). Characterization of various hydrogenases from multiple organisms has identified three principle hydrogenase types, broadly classified by the chemical nature of their active sites: [Fe]-hydrogenase, [NiFe]-hydrogenase, and non-metallic (organic) hydrogenase. Vignais et al, (2001) FEMS Micro. Rev. 25:455-501; Adams M. W., Biochem. Biophys. Acta. 1020:115-145; Buurman et al., (2000) FEBS Letts. 485:200-204. More particularly, [Fe]-hyrdogenase have an active site containing a [4Fe-4S]-center bridged to a [2Fe-2S]-center (H-cluster) (Peters et al., (1998) Science 282:1853-1858; Nicolet et al., (1998) Structure 7:13-23), and the [NiFe]-hydrogenase have an active site containing a [4Fe4S]-center bridged to a [NiFe]-center (Volbeda et al., (1995) Nature 373:580-587). Coordination of the metal prosthetic groups to the active sites is made by cysteinyl, CN − , and CO ligands. Further, within each hydrogenase group are monomeric, or multimeric enzymes, that can be either cytoplasmic or membrane bound within the cell. Vignais et al., Supra.
[0005] Although there are differences within the active sites between different families of hydrogenase, as well as between the subunit composition and localization between hydrogenase families, most, if not all studied hydrogenases have exhibited some degree of sensitivity to inhibition by CO and O 2 . Adams M. W. W; Volbeda et al., (1990) Int. J. Hyd. Energy 27:1449-1461. Hydrogenase sensitivity to these inhibitors correlates to some degree to the type of prosthetic group that forms the active site, for example, [Fe]-hydrogenase is highly sensitive to O 2 . As such, for example, the activity of [Fe]-hydrogenase in C. reinhardtii is very sensitive to O 2 during H 2 -photoproduction under photosynthetic conditions. Ghirardi et al., (1997) App. Biochem. Biotech. 63-65:141-151. Oxygen inhibition of[Fe]-hydrogenases is a major drawback in the use of green alga for H 2 production.
[0006] One approach to overcoming this H 2 production limitation is to stress the C. reinhardtii under photoheterotrophic, sulfur-deprived conditions that minimize O 2 -photoproduction levels and result in sustained H 2 -production. However, this approach does not result in optimal yields and requires the use of suilir-deprived/oxygen limited production techniques. Recently, CO and O 2 inhibition of hydrogenase activity in alga has been focused on the putative role of the H 2 -channel. For example, it has been shown that the positioning of the Fe 2 -atom in the enzyme's active site is directly at the active-site/H 2 -channel interphase, where it is easily accessed by either CO or O 2 diffusing through the channel. Lemon et al., (1999) Biochem. 38:12969-12973; Bennett et al., (2000) Biochem. 39:7455-7460. Further, a naturally occurring O 2 -resistant [NiFe]-hydrogenase has been shown to have a narrower active site/H 2 -channel interphase than the naturally occurring hydrogenase counterpart. Volbeda et al. (2002), Supra.
[0007] Against this backdrop the present invention has been developed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention provides oxygen-resistant hydrogenases for use in the bulk production of H 2 in green algae cultures. In a preferred embodiment, homology modeling between known hydrogenases, eg., CpI, and target hydrogenases, e.g., HydA1, was used to design and in silico engineer an oxygen-resistant [Fe]-hydrogenase having a reduced diameter H 2 -channel. Constructed polynucleotides that encode oxygen-resistant [Fe]-hydrogenase enzymes are used to transform target host cells which were subsequently used in the photoproduction of H 2 . In preferred embodiments, the target host cells are C. reinhardtii. The invention provides a solution to the problem of H 2 production by green algae when O 2 is present in the environment.
[0009] The present invention also provides host cells expressing oxygen-resistant [Fe]-hydrogenase. Host cells expressing the oxygen-resistant [Fe]-hydrogenase have significantly increased H 2 production, in the presence of O 2 , as compared to similarly treated cells that do not express oxygen-resistant [Fe]-hydrogenase.
[0010] The present invention also provides polynucleotide molecules encoding HydA1V240W and other like oxygen-resistant hydrogenase polypeptides. The invention includes nucleic acid molecules that hybridize under high stringency conditions to the HydA1V240W polynucleotides (and other like oxygen-resistant hydrogenase polynucleotides) of the present invention. The invention also includes variants and derivatives of the oxygen-resistant [Fe]-hydrogeanse polypeptides, including fusion proteins that confer a desired function. The invention also provides vectors, plasmids, expression systems, host cells and the like, containing the oxygen-resistant [Fe]-hydrogenase of the invention.
[0011] These and various other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description and a review of the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1A shows a protein alignment using PILEUP/GENEDOC program. Amino acid residues highlighted in black represent identities between at least 5 of the iron-hydrogenases, and those highlighted in grey show similarity between at least 5 of the sequences ( 1 A). FIG. 1B shows a theoretical structure of HydA1 using homology modeling to the solved X-ray structure of CpI. The left panel shows an overlay of HydA1 and CpI, with locations of the H 2 -channels and the active sites, while the right panel shows the HydA1 structure.
[0013] FIG. 2 shows the protein sequence of HydA1 aligned to the catalytic core region of CpI. The sequences that form the H 2 -channel domain are shaded either gray (similar) or black (identical).
[0014] FIG. 3A and 3B show how mutations made to the HydA1 H 2 -channel result in predicted H 2 -channel structures. Wild type HydA1 H2-channel structure is shown in 3 B, while mutant H2-channel structures are shown in 3 A. Note that for reference purposes, the channel has been divided into four zones (black line numbered 1-4).
[0015] FIG. 4A and 4B show side-orientation views from the active site (left) to the protein surface (right) of the H 2 -channel of the wild type HydA1 ( 4 A) and mutant HydA1V240W ( 4 B).
[0016] FIG. 5 illustrates PCR products from C. reinhardtii HydA1V240W transformants mt18 and mt28. Genomic DNA isolated from cc849 (wild type), mt18, and mt28 were digested with either SacI (lanes 1-3) or EcoRI (lanes 4-6) and used as template in a PCR reaction with HydA1 specific primers. Lanes 1 and 4 are wild type, lanes 2 and 5 are mt18 and lanes 3 and 6 are mt28. Note that lane 7 is a DNA size marker and lane 8 is a pAExBle control. The upper band in the stained agarose gel corresponds to the HydA1 genomic copy, and the lower band corresponds to the HydA1 cDNA insert.
[0017] FIG. 6 illustrates hydrogenase activity as measured by the rate of H2 evolved (μmol H 2 /mg ch1 −1 /h −1 ) under variant O 2 concentrations (0 to 3.5% final O 2 concentration) and plotted relative to the activity value obtained under completely anaerobic conditions.
[0018] FIG. 7 shows the activity of O 2 -resistant [Fe]-hydrogenase as measured in a reduced MV assay. Samples of induced cells were taken and assayed for hydrogenase activity following exposure to various levels of O 2 (0-4% final O 2 concentration). Note that hydrogenase activity was measured as the rate of H2 evolved (μmol H 2 /mg ch1 −1 /h −1 ) over a 30-minute incubation period and plotted relative to the activity value obtained under completely anaerobic conditions.
[0019] FIG. 8 shows a plasmid map for the plasmid pLam91-1.
[0020] FIG. 9 shows a plasmid map for the plasmid pA1ExBle.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DEFINITIONS
[0021] The following definitions are provided to facilitate understanding of certain terms
[0022] “Amino acid” or “residues” refers to any of the twenty naturally occurring amino acids as well as any modified amino acid sequences. Modifications may include natural processes such as posttranslational processing, or may include chemical modifications which are known in the art. Modifications include but are not limited to: phosphorylation, ubiquitination, acetylation, amidation, glycosylation, covalent attachment of flavin, ADP-ribosylation, cross-linking, iodination, methylation, and alike. Amino acid residue characterization can be found in numerous citations, for example Stryer, 1995, Biochemistry, throughout the text and 17-44.
[0023] “Expression” refers to transcription and translation occurring within a host cell. The level of expression of a DNA molecule in a host cell may be determined on the basis of either the amount or corresponding mRNA that is present within the cell or the amount of DNA molecule encoded protein produced by the host cell (Sambrook et al., 1989, Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 18.1-18.88).
[0024] “Genetically engineered” refers to any recombinant DNA or RNA method used to create a host cell that expresses a target protein at elevated levels, at lowered levels, or in a mutated form. Typically, the host cell has been transfected, transformed, or transduced with a recombinant polynucleotide molecule, and thereby been altered so as to cause the cell to alter expression of the desired protein. Methods for genetically engineering host cells are well known in the art. (See Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Ausubel et al., eds. (Wiley & Sons, New York, 1988, and quarterly updates)). Genetically engineering techniques include but are not limited to expression vectors, targeted homologous recombination and gene activation (see, for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,071 to Chappel) and trans activation by engineered transcription factors (See Segal et al., 1999, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 96(6):2758-63).
[0025] “Hybridization” refers to the pairing of complementary polynucleotides during an annealing process. The strength of hybridization between two polynucleotide molecules is impacted by the homology between the two molecules, stringency of the conditions involved, and melting temperatures of the formed hybrid and the G:C ratio within the polynucleotide. For purposes of the present invention stringency hybridization conditions refers to the temperature, ionic strength, solvents, etc, under which hybridization between polynucleotides occurs.
[0026] “Identity” refers to a comparison between pairs of nucleic acid or amino acid molecules. Methods for determining sequence identity are known in the art. For example, computer programs have been developed to perform the comparison, such as the Gap program (Wisconsin Sequence Analysis Package, Version 8 for Unix, Genetics Computer Group, University Research Park, Madison Wis.), that uses the algorithm of Smith and Waterman (1981) Adv Appl Math 2:482-489.
[0027] “Isolating” refers to a process for separating a nucleic acid or polypeptides from at least one contaminant with which it is normally associated. In preferred embodiments, isolating refers to separating a nucleic acid or polypeptide from at least 50% of the contaminants with which it is normally associated, and more preferably from at least 75% of the contaminants with which it is normally associated.
[0028] The term “nucleic acid” refers to a linear sequence of nucleotides. The nucleotides are either a linear sequence of polyribonucleotides or polydeoxyribonucleotides, or a mixture of both. Examples of nucleic acid in the context of the present invention include—single and double stranded DNA, single and double stranded RNA, and hybrid molecules that have mixtures of single and double stranded DNA and RNA. Further, the nucleic acids of the present invention may have one or more modified C) nucleotides.
[0029] The term “PCR” or “polymerase chain reaction” refers to the process to amplify nucleic acids as described in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,683,105 and 4,683,202, both owned by Roche Molecular.
[0030] “Host cell” refers to cells containing a target nucleic acid molecule, for example a heterologous nucleic acid molecule such as a plasmid or other low molecular weight nucleic acid, in which case the host cell is typically suitable for replicating the nucleic acid molecule of interest. Examples of suitable host cells useful in the present E. Coli DH5α cells, as well as various other bacterial cell sources, for example the E. Coli strains: DH10b cells, XL1Blue cells, XL2Blue cells, Top10 cells, BB101 cells, and DH12S cells, yeast host cells from the genera including Saccharomyces, Pichia, and Kluveromyces and green alga, for example Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
[0031] “Hybridization” refers to the pairing of complementary polynucleotides during an annealing period. The strength of hybridization between two polynucleotides molecules is impacted by the homology between the two molecules, stringent conditions involved, the melting temperature of the formed hybrid and the G:C ratio within the polynucleotides. High stringency conditions include, for example, 42° C., 6×SSC, 0.1% SDS for 2 hours.
[0032] “Nucleic acid” or “NA” refers to both a deoxyribonucleic acid and a ribonucleic acid. As used herein, “nucleic acid sequence” refers to the order or sequence of deoxyribonucleotides or ribonucleotides along a strand. They may be natural or artificial sequences, and in particular genomic DNA (gDNA), complementary DNA (cDNA), messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), ribosomal RNA (rRNA), hybrid sequences or synthetic or semisynthetic sequences, oligonucleotides which are modified or otherwise. These nucleic acids may be of human, animal, plant, bacterial or viral origin and the like. They may be obtained by any technique known to persons skilled in the art, and in particular by the screening of libraries, by chemical synthesis or by mixed methods including the chemical or enzymatic modification of sequences obtained by the screening of libraries. They may be chemically modified, e.g. they may be pseudonucleic acids (PNA), oligonucleotides modified by various chemical bonds (for example phosphorothioate or methyl phosphonate), or alternatively oligonucleotides which are functionalized, e.g. which are coupled with one or more molecules having distinct characteristic properties. In the case of deoxyribonucleic acids, they may be single- or double-stranded, as well as short oligonucleotides or longer sequences. In particular, the nucleic acids advantageously consist of plasmids, vectors, episomes, expression cassettes and the like. These deoxyribonucleic acids may carry genes of therapeutic interest, sequences for regulating transcription or replication, anti-sense sequences which are modified or otherwise, regions for binding to other cellular components, and the like.
[0033] “Oxygen resistant” refers to any measurable decrease in oxygen sensitivity in a hydrogenase as compared to a hydrogenase having a reference oxygen sensitivity, for example, as compared to a wild type hydrogenase from which an oxygen-resistant hydrogenase enzyme has been made.
[0034] “Oxygen sensitive” refers to the wild type or reference oxygen sensitivity found in a native hydrogenase.
[0035] “Protein,” “peptide,” and “polypeptide” are used interchangeably to denote an amino acid polymer or a set of two or more interacting or bound amino acid polymers.
[0000] Green Algae and Iron Hydrogenase
[0036] Green algae, e.g., Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, cultured under anaerobic conditions synthesize an enzyme known as iron-hydrogenase ([Fe]-hydrogenase). As shown in FIG. 1A , several representative [Fe]-hydrogenase enzymes are aligned showing general sequence identity for the family of proteins. Generally, overall sequence identity for [Fe]-hydrogenase family members is usually at least 45% and sequence identity for the H 2 -channel between family members is at least 66%.
[0037] In general, [Fe]-hydrogenase enzymes characteristically possess a catalytic site consisting of a bimetallic center containing two Fe atoms (2Fe-center), bridged by cysteinyl sulfur to an electron relay [4Fe4S] center (4Fe-center). The iron atoms of the catalytic 2Fe-center are joined together by a combination of organic, sulfur, and carbon monoxide ligands. The chemistry of the [Fe]-hydrogenase catalytic core is reactive with respect to hydrogen, typically possessing very high hydrogen-production rates. However, this same catalytic core is also highly sensitive to inactivation by oxygen. As a protective measure against inactivation by oxygen or other like molecules, the catalytic core is typically buried deep within the protein, where access to the core is limited. As a result, interface of the hydrogenase catalytic site with surface surroundings is principally limited to a single channel, termed the H 2 -channel, that directs diffusion of synthesized hydrogen from the enzyme interior to the external environment. The H 2 -channel is also the primary access route of oxygen to the metallo-catalytic site within hydrogenase enzyme. Reverse diffusion of the oxygen from the surface of the enzyme into the H 2 -channel and on to the active site, allows oxygen to bind to the 2Fe-center, inactivating the enzyme. Under normal physiologic conditions this represents a fairly normal inhibitory response for the hydrogenase enzyme, however, under the artificial conditions of expressing bulk amounts of H 2 , this is a fairly major limitation.
[0038] The present invention provides for the modification of the H 2 -channel to reduce oxygen diffusion from the external environment to the enzyme's catalytic core. The present invention provides modifications to the H 2 -channel that act as oxygen filters, preventing or reducing the diffusion of oxygen to the catalytic site within the hydrogenase enzyme. These modifications are at the same time insufficient to limit the ability of H 2 to diffuse out of the enzyme through the H 2 -channel. Several mechanisms for the reduction of oxygen diffusion to the active site within the hydrogenase enzyme are provided, including targeted replacement of residues that line the H 2 -channel with bulkier residues, so as to shield the 2Fe-center and/or reduce the diameter of the H 2 -channel. In particular, the residues that line the H 2 -channel are replaced with bulkier, hydrophobic residues, for example tryptophan or phenylalanine, so as to shield the 2Fe-center, as well as to reduce the size or volume of the catalytic site-H 2 -channel interface. In addition, modifications to residues on the channel interior that approach and define the channel-solvent boundary (see portion 4 of FIG. 3 ).
[0039] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a process for designing and engineering oxygen-resistant iron-hydrogenases has been developed. The engineering scheme targets the structure and or environment of the H 2 -channel within the target hydrogenase, which is altered to be more selective in allowing the outward diffusion of hydrogen while simultaneously filtering our surface oxygen. Note that size-limited diffusion has been successfully used to generate filters for commercial use in the separation of gases, including the separation of hydrogen from oxygen. Menoff T. M.,
[0040] The present invention provides host cells for the expression of nucleic acid molecules for encoding an oxygen-resistant iron-hydrogenase, for example, C. reinhardtii that expresses an oxygen-resistant HydA1 or cyanobacteria that also expresses an oxygen-resistant HydA1. Example oxygen-resistant hydrogenases designed and engineered by the method of the present invention include V240W, A78W, A244W, A248W, G86W, and L93W. These oxygen-resistant hydrogenase enzymes have the same primary structure as HydA1 with the exception that A at residue 78 is replaced with W. Note that other residues besides W, including synthetic and derivatized amino acids, are envisioned for substitution into the H 2 -channel, as long as they limit O 2 diffusion through the channel and allow H 2 diffusion out of the channel.
[0041] In addition, the invention provides for the bulk photoproduction of H 2 using the transformed host cells of the invention.
[0000] Identification of The Residues That Form the H 2 -Channel Of A [Fe]-Hydrogenase
[0042] The iron-hydrogenase family of enzymes is a group of enzymes expressed in algae for metabolism of hydrogen. Iron-hydrogenase family members have been shown to have three distinct motifs that contain highly conserved residues, including a series of identifiable cysteine residues. Vignais et al., (2001) FEMS Micro. Rev. 25:455-501. In particular, motif 1 has the amino acid sequence PMFTSCCPxW, motif 2 has an amino acid sequence MPCxxKxxExxR and motif 3 has an amino acid sequence of FxExMACxGxCV. These three motifs have been identified in all iron-hydrogenase family members to date. The cysteine residues have been shown to either ligate the catalytic [4Fe-4S] center, or bridge the [4Fe-4S] to the [2Fe-2S] center, and there presence within the primary structure of the enzyme is highly conserved. One of the most studied iron-hydrogenase enzymes is CpI, having its primary, secondary and tertiary structures determined. Peters et al., (1998) Science 282:1853-1858. In preferred embodiments, CpI or other like known iron-hydrogenase enzymes, can be used in the design and engineering of oxygen-resistant hydrogenases (see below and FIG. 1A for potential iron-hydrogenase enzymes).
[0043] To identify the H 2 -channel within a target hydrogenase, i.e., a polypeptide containing motifs 1-3 above, the primary sequence of the target hydrogenase must be compared to the primary sequence of a known hydrogenase. Once the two sequences have been aligned a level of identity is determined (see FIG. 1A and 2 ). Stothard P., (2000) BioTechniques 28(6) 1102 (hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety). For purposes of the present invention an overall identity of approximately 40%-45% or better should be found for the target hydrogenase. Further, an analysis of the target polypeptide's primary sequence is performed to predict the sequences that share homology with the H 2 -chanel forming regions of other known iron-hydrogenases (similar patterns of residues that have been shown previously to form hydrophobic cavities). Montet et al., (1997) Nat. Struc. Biol; 4:523-526. It should be noted that because the H 2 -channel is a conserved domain within all hydrogenases, other non-iron hydrogenase sequences can be used to identify the target hydrogenase H 2 -channel. There should be at least 40%-45% identity between the known and unknown sequence between the H 2 -channel sequences of the know and unknown hydrogenases. Once the region within the target polypeptide for the H 2 -channel has been located, the channel is modeled into a three-dimensional structure showing the orientation of residues in relation to the channel and active site. Guex et al., (1997) Electrophoresis 18:27142723. (see below) In some embodiments, the analysis is extended to identify the residues corresponding to the active site within the target hydrogenase. Note that the active site of the target or unknown hydrogenase should share at least 90% homology for motifs 1-3, and in preferred embodiments shown complete identity with motifs 1-3 (see above). The combination of primary and tertiary structures of the target hydrogenase are compared to evaluate the identification of candidate regions for the final verification of the hydrogen-channel.
[0000] Methods For Designing and Engineering Oxygen-resistant Iron-Hydrogenases
[0044] As noted above, the present invention provides a model for generating a theoretical structure of a target H 2 -channel within a target hydrogenase enzyme. In one embodiment, the theoretical structure is generated by homology modeling (see above) to the solved structure of other known [Fe]-hydrogenases, for example CpI. (see hydrogenase active site and H 2 -channel, and in other embodiments the homology modeling can be limited to the known hydrogenase H 2 -channel sub-domains. A percent homology of the known hydrogenase (both identity and similarity) can be used to determined residue identity and similarity for the entire enzyme, the active site, the H 2 -channel and the H 2 -channel sub-domains (see overhead arrows in FIG. 2 and see discussion in previous section above). As such, the present invention provides a known hydrogenase based homology model that gives a reliable approximation of the target hydrogenase structure and H 2 -channel environment. In a preferred embodiment, the known hydrogenase is CpI and the target hydrogenase is HydA1. Homology modeling can be performed using Swiss-model software as described in Guex et al. Guex et al (1997) Electrophoresis 18:2714-2723. Note, however, that other like programs can be used in this aspect, as is known in the art, e.g., Modeller program designed by Marti-Renom et al., (2000) Ann. Rev. Biophy, Biomol. Struct. 29:291-325; EsyPred3D designed by Lambert C. et al., (2002) Bioinformatics 18(9):1250-1256.
[0045] Typically, the homology modeling identifies the residues that project into the H 2 -channel interior of the target hydrogenase. The channel environment is often composed of smaller hydrophobic residues, e.g., glycine, alanine, valine, but can contain phenylalanine and other like residues. For example, the H 2 -channel of HydA1 contains mostly small hydrophobic residues with the exception of the larger phenylalanines at positions 252 and 355 (see FIG. 2 , black dotted residues). A secondary structure is determined from the active site to the enzyme surface using the modeled structure above, and distances between side chain atoms of identified residues opposed to each other are determined. Guex et al., Supra An approximate average diameter of the channel over the distance from the catalytic site (Fe2-atom to the H-cluster [2Fe-2S]-center) to the protein surface is determined (see FIG. 3 , 1 - 4 ) (typically by using the distances between the side chain atoms of opposed residues within the channel). It silico mutagenesis is performed on the identified hydrogenase H 2 -channel structure to identify possible residues that can be modified to reduce the H 2 -channel diameter. Mutagenesis criteria preferably involve conservative mutation of specific residues, selection of the lowest energy rotomer and energy minimization of the resulting structure using GROMOS. van Gunsteren, W. F. et al., (1996) Biomolecular Simulation, The GROMOS96 Manual and User Guide. Vdf Hochschulverlag ETHZ. Once an energy minimized structure is obtained, the dimensions of the target in silico mutagenized hydrogenase channel is determined. In preferred embodiments, one or more locations along the H 2 -channel is designed via conservative mutation to be smaller in diameter than a corresponding non-mutated H 2 -channel, typically this reduction is to a channel size of between approximately 5.0 and 2.4 Å in diameter, and preferably between 3.5 and 2.5 Å, a diameter that either limits or eliminates the ability of oxygen to diffuse through the modified H 2 -channel. Note that the H 2 -channel is in constant flux, as such diameter measurements are averages and not meant to be held to a static standard. Note that in embodiments of the present invention, more than one residue can be in silico mutated to design an optimum oxygen-resistant hydrogenase.
[0046] In an alternative embodiment, design of oxygen-resistant hydrogenase enzymes is provided by determining what substitutions/modifications of residues within the identified H 2 -channel of a target [Fe]-hydrogenase can be performed to reduce the volume of the H 2 -channel. Volume considerations include a reduction in the flow of gasses, i.e., O 2 , through the channel in accordance with Stokes Einstein Equation and Fick's law.
[0047] Designed oxygen-resistant hydrogenases, having a reduced diameter H 2 -channel, are genetically engineered and transformed into target host cells, for example, into C. reinhardtii, and tested for hydrogenase activity in the presence of O 2 via a modified Clark electrode or other known assay(s). In preferred embodiments, the oxygen-resistant hydrogenase is generated via site-directed mutagenesis. For example, to generate HydA1 mutants, the HydA1 gene of pA1ExBle can be mutagenized in vitro using the Quick Change XL Site-Directed Mutagenesis Kit (Stratagene). Host cells that have incorporated the designed enzymes having reduced oxygen sensitivity) can be used to photoproduce H 2 in an oxygen containing environment. Note that these host cells can also be treated with mRNA interference to repress the expression of native hydrogenases, while continuing to allow expression of the inventive engineered
[0000] Steered Molecular Dynamics (SMD)
[0048] In one embodiment, the in silico designed oxygen-resistant hydrogenase enzymes can be further analyzed for changed or reduced oxygen diffusion within their H 2 -channel by applying SMD via the NAMD program. Kale L. et al., (1999) Computational Physics 151:283; Isralewitz B., (2001) Curr. Opin. Struc. Biol. 11:224. SMD analysis, therefore, provides confirmation and additional baseline data as to the efficiency of the channel modifications and their effects on O 2 diffusion within the proposed oxygen-resistant hydrogenase.
[0000] Oxygen-Resistant Hydrogenase Polypeptides
[0049] Oxygen-resistant hydrogenase enzymes of the invention include all proteins that can be constructed from the in silico mutagenesis methods discussed above. For example, any polypeptide having a predicted reduction in hydrogen-channel diameter or volume, as determined by the methods of the invention, is envisioned to be within the scope of the present invention.
[0050] In addition, oxygen-resistant hydrogenase enzymes of the invention include isolated polypeptides having an amino acid sequence as shown in FIG. 2 (Cr HydA1), and having one or more substitutions at residues V240, A78, A244, A248, G86, and L93 (note that substitution by tryptophan and other like amino acids is envisioned, including synthetic or derivatized amino acids) (also included are substitutions shown in Tables 1 and 2). The invention includes variants and derivatives of these oxygen-resistant [Fe]-hydrogenase enzymes, including fragments, having substantial identity to these amino acid sequences, and that retain both hydrogenase activity and enhanced tolerance to oxygen (see Example 3 for assays to determine hydrogenase activity in the presence of oxygen). In a preferred embodiment, the oxygen-resistant hydrogenase enzyme is HydA1V240W. Derivatives of the oxygen-resistant hydrogenases include, for example, oxygen-resistant HydA1 enzymes modified by covalent or aggregative conjugation with other chemical moieties, such as lipids, acetyl groups, glycosyl groups, and the like.
[0051] Oxygen-resistant hydrogenase enzymes of the present invention can be fused to heterologous polypeptides to facilitate purification. Many available heterologous peptides allow selective binding of the fusion protein to a binding partner, for example, 6-His, thioredoxin, hemaglutinin, GST, and the like.
[0052] Polypeptide fragments of the modified oxygen-resistant hydrogenase H 2 -channel polypeptide (that include the relevant residue modification) can be used to generate specific anti-oxygen-resistant hydrogenase antibodies (monoclonal or polyclonal). Generated antibodies can be used to selectively identify expression of oxygen-resistant hydrogenases or in other known molecular and/or biochemical techniques, for example, in immunoprecipitation or Western blotting.
[0053] Variant oxygen-resistant hydrogenase enzymes include fusion proteins formed of a oxygen-resistant hydrogenase and a heterologous polypeptide. Preferred heterologous polypeptides include those that facilitate purification, stability or secretion.
[0000] Oxygen-Resistant Hydrogena se Polynucleotides, Vectors and Host Cells
[0054] The invention also provides polynucleotide molecules encoding the oxygen-resistant polypeptides of the invention. The polynucleotide molecules of the invention can be cDNA, chemically synthesized DNA, DNA amplified by PCR, RNA or combinations thereof.
[0055] The present invention also provides vectors containing the polynucleotide molecules of the invention, as well as host cells transformed with such vectors. Any of the polynucleotide molecules of the invention may be contained in a vector, which generally includes a selectable marker, and an origin of replication, for propogation in a host. The vectors also include suitable transcriptional or translational regulatory sequences, such as those derived from algae operably linked to the oxygen-resistant hydrogenase polynucleotide molecule. Examples of such regulatory sequences include transcriptional promoters, operators, enhances, and mRNA binding sites. Nucleotide sequences are operably linked when the regulatory sequence functionally relates to the DNA encoding the target protein. Thus, a promoter nucleotide sequence is operably linked to a oxygen-resistant hydrogenase DNA sequence if the promoter nucleotide sequence directs the transcription of the oxygen-resistant hydrogenase sequence.
[0056] Selection of suitable vectors for the cloning of oxygen-resistant hydrogenase polynucleotides of the invention will depend on the host cell in which the vector will be transformed/expressed. For example, the plasmid pLam91-1 (see FIG. 8 ) was used to create a 980 bp HydA1 PstI promoter fragment cloned into a unique PstI site of pLam91-1, creating the HydA1 promoter-HydA1 cDNA fusion construct, pA1Ax. The Ble r cassette of pSP108 confers Bleomycin resistance in transformed C. reinhardtii, and was inserted into the Tfi 1 site of pA1Ax, creating pA1AxBle (see FIG. 9 ). This was particularly useful in the construction of expression oxygen-resistant [Fe]-hydrogenase vectors for use in green algae.
[0057] Suitable host cells for expression of target polypeptides of the invention include green algae, for example C. reinhardtii cells and cyanobacteria, both of which utilize water in growth, which is also a substrate for the hydrogenase enzymes. Typically, green algae cells are transformed by a glass bead method as is known in the art. Cells exhibiting the target selectable marker, for example resistance to bleomycin, are picked and patched onto fresh TAP+Ble plates and re-patched an additional 2-3 times to ensure the isolation of stable integrates.
[0000] H 2 Production
[0058] Green algal cultures that express oxygen-resistant hydrogenase of the invention may be used to photoproduce H 2 in the presence of oxygen. In one embodiment of the invention, the transformed cells are grown in a photobioreactor photoautotrophically, photoheterotrophically in TAP, or other like growth media to a concentration of 5-50 μg/ml chlorophyll, and H 2 harvested. Note that in some embodiments, the cells are grown under selective pressure that ensures that the cells maintain the oxygen-resistant hydrogenase, for example in bleomycin, where the construct used to transform the host cell confers the selective pressure.
[0059] In another embodiment, the oxygen-resistant hydrogenase of the invention may be transformed into target algae, under the control of the endogenous HydA1 promoter, for nighttime enzyme generation and daytime H 2 -production. See Boichenko et al., (2003) Photoconversion of Solar Energy, Molecular to Global Photosynthesis: In Press.
[0060] It is envisioned that the proceeding discussion on the design, engineering, and construction of oxygen-resistant hydrogenases, as well as the subsequent tansformation of host cells with the designed hydrogenases, can be expanded to any iron hydrogenase known or identified in the future having the characteristics for iron hydrogenase enzymes discussed herein.
[0061] Having generally described the invention, the same will be more readily understood by reference to the following examples, which are provided by way of illustration and are not intended as limiting.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
Computer Modeling of Hydrogenase H 2 -Channel For Design of Oxygen-Resistant Hydrogenase Enzymes
[0062] To facilitate the design and engineering of mutant oxygen-resistant HydA1 enzymes, a theoretical structure of HydA1 was generated by homology modeling to the solved X-ray structure of Clostridium pasteuraianuin [Fe]-hydrogenase, CpI ( FIG. 1B ). The theoretical model was generated by homology modeling using Swiss-model software as described by Guex et al. Guex et al., (1997) Electrophoresis 18:2714-2723. The resulting HydA1 model was subjected to several rounds of energy minimization using GROMOS. An alignment of the HydA1 and CpI amino acid sequences show they share a high degree of homology (45% identity, 58% similarity) within the essential domains, i.e., active site and H 2 -channel, that comprise the core region of [Fe]-hydrogenases (see FIG. 2 ). Stothard P., (2000) BioTechniques 28(6) 1102. Note that the degree of conservation increases for H 2 -channel sub-domains, where the two proteins share 62% identity and 92% similarity ( FIG. 2 , overhead HydA1 homology model provides a reasonable approximation of the HydA1 structure and the H 2 -channel environment.
[0063] The detailed study of the HydA1 H 2 -channel structure was performed, at least partly, to identify residues that project into the H 2 -channel interior. In general, the channel environment was primarily composed of smaller hydrophobic residues, e.g., glycine, alanine, valine, with the exception of the larger phenylalanines at positions 252 and 355 ( FIG. 2 , black dotted residues). The secondary structure of the H 2 -channel was organized into two α-helices and two β-sheets, which extend from the active site to the enzyme surface. The distance between side chain atoms of residues that oppose each other were measured to approximate the average channel diameter over the distance from the catalytic site (Fe2-atom of the H-cluster [2Fe-2S]-center) to the protein surface (1 to 4, FIG. 3 ). The channel measured 3.85 to 7.44 Å in diameter over a distance of 24 to 27 Å, making the channel diameter greater than the effective diameters of both H 2 (2.8 Å) and O 2 (3.5 Å). As a result, the predicted size of the HydA1 H 2 -channel is sufficient to function in H2 diffusion from the active site to the surface, but it is also large enough to allow for the inward diffusion of the inhibitor O 2 .
[0064] These results suggest that engineering O 2 tolerance into HydA1 might be accomplished by altering the residues that line the interior of the channel so as to reduce the diameter of the channel and thereby limit O 2 diffusion to the active site. The potential to reduce the diameter of the channel via residue substitution was initially tested in silico by mutating the H 2 -channel of the HydA1 model. The mutagenesis criteria involved conservative mutation, i.e., hydrophobic→hydrophobic, of specific residues, selection of the lowest energy rotomer, and energy minimization of the resulting structure using GROMOS. Once an energy-minimized structure was obtained, the dimensions of its channel was determined. Several of the channel residues proved to be unameanable to mutation and were left unchanged, i.e., 182, L89, F252 and F355, i.e., the Guex program determined that changes at these locations would provide only minimal (non-significant) change to the H 2 -channel diameter/volume. However, promising mutants were generated from alteration of several residues that were spaced over the entire length of the channel (see FIG. 2 and Table 1). Substantial reductions of channel diameter were obtained by mutating residues A78 and V240 (proximal to active site); AM44, A248 and G86(mid-channel);
[0065] and L93 (protein-solvent boundary, distal to active site) to bulkier amino acids (Table 1 and FIG. 3 ). The individual mutations listed in Table 1 caused reductions in diameter that ranged from 0.5 to 1.90 Å (Table 2). The HydA1 mutant that combined the A248I and L93F mutations located at the channel-solvent boundary ( FIG. 3 , zone 4) showed an average decrease in size from 5.21 to 3.34 ÅA, less than the effective diameter of O 2 (3.5 Å). When the mutations listed in Table 2 were combined into a single HydA1 mutant, the average overall channel diameter was reduced from an average 5.71 to an average of 4.31 Å (Table 2), noting however that there are several locations along the H 2 -channel with reductions in the diameter at or near the average diameter of O 2 .
TABLE 1 Predicted Effects of Selected HydA1 H2-Channel Mutations on Channel Environment Mutation Location Effects A781 Adjacent to Fe 2 -atom, Bulkier isoleucine side across from V240 chain projects closer to V240, and the [2Fe-2S]- center Fe 2 atom. V240W Adjacent to A78, above Bulkier tryptophan side Fe 2 -atom. chain reduces distance to A78, and partially shields Fe 2 -atom. A244L Mid-channel, opposes I82 Bulkier leucine side chain projects further into channel. G86I Mid-channel, opposes Isoleucine side chain adds A248 bulk, and projects into channel. A248I Mid-channel, near surface, Isoleucine extends further opposes G86 and L89 into channel, adds more bulk to hydrophobic surface. L93F Channel-Surface boundary Narrows the channel opening at protein surface- solvent boundary
[0066]
TABLE 2
Distances Between Channel Determinants In HydA1
and HydA1 Mutants Based on Modeling Studies
Distances (Å)
Average Zone Size (Å)
Determinant
HydA1
HydA1
HydA1
HydA1
Zone a
Pairs b
wild type
mutant c
wild type
mutant c
1
A(I)78::Fe 2
6.25
4.66
6.90
5.04
V(W)240::Fe 2
6.14
5.02
V(W)240::A(I)78
7.43
5.43
2
A(L)244::I82
4.50
3.90
5.30
4.87
F355::G(I)86
6.86
5.80
3
G(I)86::A(I)248
4.38
3.54
5.42
3.92
G(I)86::T247
6.01
4.39
A(I)248::L89
3.85
3.26
A(I)248::F355
7.44
4.54
4
L90::A(I)248
6.11
3.67
5.21
3.34
L(F)93::F252
4.31
3.01
a The locations of H2-channel zones are identified in FIG. 3 .
b Determinants are identified as wild-type, with corresponding mutations in parentheses.
c Measurements are averages of a HydA1 mutant possessing all the identified mutations within the designated zone.
[0067] The above results indicate that modeling of the HydA1 structure has revealed a hydrophobic channel extending from the active site to the enzyme surface. This channel would appear to be conserved in other [Fe]-hydrogenases. The channel's secondary structure is mainly a-helical, which suggests that the channel domain is fairly rigid. Perhaps the rigidity of the channel structure helps to prevent its collapse during folding. Volbeda et al., (2002) Int. J. Hyd. Energy 27:1449-1461. Rigidity would also be expected to contribute to conformational stability of the channel in the folded protein, and a static model should give reasonable approximations of shape and size. Our measurements of the HydA1 channel demonstrate that it is sufficient in diameter not only to allow for diffusion of the product H 2 but also the larger-sized inhibitors O 2 and CO. Since enzyme inhibition occurs quickly (minutes), following exposure of O 2 (Happe et al., (1994) Eur. J. Biochem. 222:769-774), the channel with our analysis. This data illustrates the utility of the present invention for engineering O 2 -resistant, [Fe]-hydrogenase by manipulation of residues within the conserved H 2 channel. This modeling approach can be used in enzymes that have one channel or multiple channels to reduce inhibitor access to an enzyme active site.
Example 2
C. reinhardtii Can Be Transformed with HydA1 H 2 -Channel Mutants
[0068] To test the ability of the predicted HydA1 H 2 -channel mutants for limiting O 2 inhibition, an algal HydA1 expression system was created using the HydA1 endogenous promoter. From the modeling discussed in Example 1, the V240W mutation was selected for further examination. In vivo expression of the V240W mutant was performed and further testing of the mutant for O 2 resistance hydrogenase activity performed. Note that the V240W mutation is predicted to cause a constriction of the channel near the active site (see FIG. 4 ). In addition, the tryptophan projects over the Fe 2 -atom, partially shielding it from the channel domain.
[0069] The Chilamydomonas reinhardtii strain cc849 (cw10, mt-) was used as the wild type parent strain throughout the remainder of this Example. Growth of liquid cultures were performed photoheterotrophically in TAP medium (Harris E, (1989) The Chlamydomonas Source Book, Academic Press, New York) with a continuous stream of 5% CO 2 under cool-white fluorescent light (150 μE/m −2 /s −1 PAR). Growth on solid medium was performed on TAP agar plates (TAP medium with 1.4% w/v agar). Note that when selection of Bleomycin resistance was performed, solid TAP medium was supplemented with 10 μg/ml Zeocin (Invitrogen).
[0070] A plasmid construct pLam91-1, containing the HydA1 cDNA and 3′-terminator regions cloned into the EcoRI-XhoI sites of pBluescript SK, was used to generate an algal HydA1 expression construct. A 980 bp HydA1 PstI promoter fragment was cloned into the unique PstI site of Lam91-1, creating the HydA1 promoter-HydA1 cDNA fusion construct, pA1Ex. The Ble r cassette of pSP108 that confers Bleomycin resistance in transformed C. reinhardtii (Stevens et al., (1996) Mol Gen Genet 251:23-30) was inserted into the TfiI site of pA1Ex, creating pA1ExBle.
[0071] Site-directed mutagenesis was performed on HydA1 to generate HydA1 mutants for expression in C. reinhardtii. The HydA1 gene pA1ExBle was mutagenized in vitro using the Quick Change XL Site-Directed Mutagenesis Kit of Stratagene. Oligonucleotides (Integrated DNA Technologies) used for mutagenesis were designed based on the kit requirements. Mutant pA1ExBle constructs were sequenced to confirm the presence of individual mutations. The HydA1 mutant, V240W, contains a valine to tryptophan substitution at amino acid position 240 of the mature protein.
[0072] C. reinhardtii cells were next transformed by the glass bead method as is known in the art (see also Harris E) using 10 μg of linearized pA1ExBleV240W DNA. Following transformation, cells were cultured overnight in 2 ml of TAP medium to allow for cell recovery and phenotypic expression of Ble r . Transformed cells were harvested by centrifugation (2000×g, 5 minutes), resuspended in 1.5 ml TAP soft agar (TAP with 0.8% w/v agar) and spread onto TAP+Ble agar plates. Plates were incubated in the light for a period of 1-2 weeks and Ble r colonies picked. Resistant colonies were patched onto fresh TAP+Ble plates, and re-patched an additional 2-3 times to ensure the isolation of stable integrates.
[0073] To ensure that the HydA1 cDNA genomic insert having the V240W mutation was present in the transformed C. reinhardtii, PCR and sequencing was performed on Ble r transformants. Total genomic DNA was isolated from individual Ble r transformants using the Plant Genomic Kit (Qiagen). A total of 0.5 to 1.0 μg of purified genomic DNA was digested with either SacI or EcoRI and used as template in a PCR reaction consisting of the HydA1 internal primers (5′-CACGCTGTTTGGCATCGACCTGACCATCATG-3′ and 5′-GCCACGGCCACGCGGAATGTGATGCCGCCCC-3′), 1 unit KOD HotStart polymerase (Novagen), 10 mM MgSO4, 25 mM of each dNTP, 2% DMSO (v/v), and water to a total volume of 50 μl. The presence of a HydA1 cDNA genomic insert results in an additional 780 bp HydA1 cDNA product together with the 1120 bp HydA1 genomic product. PCR reactions were run on 1× TAE agarose gels (1.25% agarose w/v), stained with ethidium bromide, and photographed (not shown). The 780 bp band, corresponding to the HydA1 cDNA insert, was purified and sequenced to confirm the presence of V240W mutation. Two Ble r C. reinhardtii clones, mt18 and mt28, were shown to possess the HydA1V240W construct (see FIG. 5 ).
Example 3
Green Alga, C. reinhardtii, Transformed with Oxygen-Resistant Hydrogenases Are Effective In The Bulk Production of H 2
[0074] The O 2 -sensitivity of [Fe]-hydrogenase activity in strains mt18 and mt28 carrying the HydA1V240W mutation was tested in either whole cells or whole cell extracts of anaerobically induced cultures. Hydrogenase activities were measured as H 2 gas photoproduction by whole cells as previously described. Ghirardi et al., (1997) App. Biochem. Biotech. 63-65:141-151; Flynn et al., (2002) Int. J. Hyd Energy 27:1421-1430. Briefly, cells were grown photoheterotrophically in TAP to a concentration of 15-20 μg/ml chlorophyll, harvested and resuspended at 200 μg/ml chlorophyll in phosphate induction buffer. Ghirardi et al. Clark electrode measurement of O 2 -resistant hydrogenase activity was performed by adjusting the O 2 concentration in the electrode chamber to a set level between 0% and 4%. Once the O 2 level had stabilized, a stream of Ar gas was passed over the chamber to maintain a constant O 2 concentration. A 0.2 ml sample of induced cell suspension was injected into the chamber, and the cells kept in the dark for a two minute period. Light dependent H 2 -photoproduction activity was then induced by illumination.
[0075] In addition, to measure hydrogenase activity directly, reduced methyl viologen (MV) was used as an artificial electron donor for H 2 production by solubilizing whole cells as previously described. Flynn et al. Tolerance to O 2 was measured by incubating 1 ml of induced cells in a dark, sealed glass bottle and injecting O 2 to achieve a final atmosphere of 1 to 4% (v/v). Samples were incubated for two minutes then purged with Ar gas for five minutes. A 1 ml mixture of reduced MV and Triton X-100 in a phosphate buffer was added, samples were mixed for three to five minutes, and 0.1 ml of 100 mM reduced Na-dithionite injected to start the reaction. The reaction mixtures were incubated for 30 minutes at room temperature with stirring, and reactions were stopped by the addition of 0.1 ml 20% trichloroacetic acid (TCA). The hydrogen content of a 0.2 ml headspace sample was measured by gas chromatograph. Three separate headspace samples were assayed, and the values were averaged to attain final hydrogen-production rates.
[0076] As shown in Table 3, all three strains, cc849, mt18, and mt28, exhibited similar levels of hydrogenase activity (rate of H 2 photoproduction) under completely anaerobic conditions. Note that as has been shown in previous studies (Ghirardi et al, supra; Flynn et al, supra), pretreatment of induced wild type cells with O 2 is sufficient to cause a significant decline in H2 production rate ( FIG. 6 , white bars). When induced wild-type cells were pre-treated with O 2 at a concentration of 1.7 to 3.5%, the H2 photoproduction rate declined by 90 to 100% respectively. However, the exposure of mt18 or mt28 induced cells to similar O 2 treatments showed H2 photoproduction activity had significant resistance to inactivation. After exposure to 1.7 to 2.2% O 2 concentrations, the H 2 photoproduction rates remained 3.8 to 7 fold higher in mt18, and 3.2 to 13 fold higher in mt28 compared to activities in wild-type cells under identical conditions (see FIG. 6 ). At 3.5% O 2 treatment, the H2 photoproduction rates in both mt18 and mt 28 were low, but detectable, whereas residual activity in wild-type cells was undetectable ( FIG. 6 ).
TABLE 3 Hydrogenase Activity By the Clark Electrode Assay H 2 Photoproduction Rate Strain (μmol H2/mg chl −1 /h −1 ) cc849 10.4 mt18 14.1 mt28 10.7
[0077] The light-induced production of hydrogen by whole cells is a metabolic process and depends on many electron transfer steps. Zhang et al., (2000) Trends Biotech. 18(12):506-511; Melis et al., (2001) Plant Physiol. 127:740-748; Melis et al., (2000) Plant Physiol. 122:127-135. A more direct measurement of hydrogenase activity can be accomplished in solubilized whole cells using reduced MV (Mv red ) as electron donor for H2 gas production by hydrogenase in the dark. Under completely anaerobic conditions, the Mv red →H 2 reaction rates were similar in value for either induced wild-type or mutant cells (see Table 4). As shown in FIG. 7 , a two-minute exposure of induced wild-type to various O 2 concentrations caused hydrogenase activity to decline. After exposure of O 2 concentrations of 1% to 4% hydrogenase activities in wild-type cells decreased to between 10 and 1.5% respectively ( FIG. 7 ), similar to the results shown in FIG. 6 . In comparison, both mtl6 and mt28 containing the HydA1V240W construct exhibited significant levels of O 2 resistant hydrogenase activity (see FIG. 7 ). Exposure of mt18 to O 2 at 1% to 4% concentration caused hydrogenase activities to decline by 76% to 96%, whereas mt28 activities declined only 12% to 76% ( FIG. 7 ). As a result, mt18 hydrogenase activities were 2- to 3-fold higher, and mt28 activities 8- to 15-fold higher than activities in wild-type cells after exposure to similar O 2 treatments.
TABLE 4 Hydrogenase Activity By the Methyl Viologen Assay H2 Photoproduction Rate Strain (μmol H2/mg chl −1 /h −1 ) cc849 31.3 mt18 32.9 mt28 35.5
[0078] This Example illustrated the utility of modeling residue substitutions within the H 2 -channel to constrict the channel from O 2 passage to the [2Fe-2S]-center. In particular, the Example illustrated that substitution of tryptophan for valine at position 240 of HydA1 caused an increase tolerance to O 2 in the mutant hydrogenase. The difference in the structure change made to HydA1V240W and the effects of that change are similar to the observed differences in structure and O 2 -resistance of H 2 -sensing [NiFe]-hydrogenases compared to catalytic [NiFe]-hydrogenases. Volbeda et al., (2002) Int. J. Hyd. Energy 27:1449-1461; Bernhard et al., (2001) 276:15592-15597. Active-site proximal channel residues of O 2 -resistant, H 2 -sensing [NiFe]-hydrogenases contain the bulky, hydrophobic amino acids isoleucine and phenylalanine. Identical positions in the O 2 -sensitive, catalytic [NiFe]-hydrogenases encode the smaller-sized residues valine and leucine respectively. The difference in amino acid composition is suggested to result in the shielding of the [NiFe]-cluster and constriction of the channel. Volbeda supra and Bernhard supra.
[0079] The invention has been described with reference to specific examples. These examples are not meant to limit the invention in any way. It is understood for purposes of this disclosure, that various changes and modifications may be made to the invention that are well within the scope of the invention. Numerous other changes may be made which will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and which are encompassed in the spirit of the invention disclosed herein and as defined in the appended claims.
[0080] This specification contains numerous citations to patents and publications. Each is hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
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The invention provides oxygen-resistant iron-hydrogenases ([Fe]-hydrogenases) for use in the production of H 2 . Methods used in the design and engineering of the oxygen-resistant [Fe]-hydrogenases are disclosed, as are the methods of transforming and culturing appropriate host cells with the oxygen-resistant [Fe]-hyrdogenases. Finally, the invention provides methods for utilizing the transformed, oxygen insensitive, host cells in the bulk production of H 2 in a light catalyzed reaction having water as the reactant.
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TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to methods for enriching human mesenchymal stem cells by using cell surface antigens.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Mesenchymal stem cells possess self-renewal capability as well as pluripotency to differentiate into mesenchymal cells such as osteoblasts, bone cells, adipocytes, chondrocytes, myocytes, stroma cells and tendon cells, and therefore they are expected to be applicable in regenerative medicine for bones, cartilages, muscles, and the like.
[0003] The mesenchymal stem cells have been isolated by growing cells derived from a tissue such as a bone marrow, which have been cultured for a long time and attached to the culture dish. Therefore, the differentiation capability of the mesenchymal stem cells thus obtained could vary depending on different conditions for the culture, insufficient proficiency of the experimenter, different methods to be employed, and the like. This has been causing serious problems in controlling the purity and quality of the mesenchymal stem cells.
[0004] Accordingly, several methods have been developed to isolate mesenchymal stem cells by using surface antigen markers . So far, CD10, CD13, CD73 (ecto-5′ nucleotidase, SH3, SH4), CD105 (endoglin, SH2), CD166 (ALCAM) etc. have been identified as positive markers for mesenchymal stem cells, whereas CD34, CD45 etc. have been identified as negative markers. More recently, CD271 (LNGFR), CD140b (PDGFR-β), CD340 (HER-2/erbB2), CD349 (frizzled-9) etc. are also used (Buhring Hans-Jorg, et al., “Novel markers for the prospective isolation of human MSC”, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, annals-1392-000, Haematopoietic Stem Cells VI, 10 Nov. 2006.). Still, they are not sufficient to obtain highly pure and homogeneous mesenchymal stem cells.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Technical Problem
[0005] Under these circumstances, development of methods for isolating purer and more homogeneous mesenchymal stem cells possessing all of the self-replicating capability, self-renewal capability and pluripotency has been expected.
[0006] Accordingly, the present invention is intended to provide methods for highly enriching human mesenchymal stem cells from a cell population containing human mesenchymal stem cells, as well as kits to be used therein.
Solution to Problem
[0007] As described in the undermentioned examples, the inventors of the present invention have recovered and analyzed the CD45 − CD235a − CD271 + CD90 + cells, which are not expressing CD45 nor CD235a but are expressing CD271 and CD90, isolated by a flow cytometry from a cell population contained in a human bone marrow, and discovered this cell fraction contained highly pure mesenchymal stem cells that possess high CFU-F (fibroblast colony forming unit) activity as well as the capability to differentiate into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes etc., and thus achieved the present invention.
[0008] Accordingly, a method for enriching human mesenchymal stem cells according to the present invention includes the step of selecting CD271 + CD90 + cells expressing CD271 (LNGFR) and CD90 (Thy-1) from a cell population containing the human mesenchymal stem cells. In this method, the CD271 + CD90 + cells may be selected by using an anti-CD271 (LNGFR) antibody and an anti-CD90 (Thy-1) antibody. The method may include the step of preparing the cell population from a bone marrow, or the step of preparing the cell population from a peripheral blood after administration of G-CSF. The step of preparing the cell population may include the step of treating the bone marrow by collagenase.
[0009] The method for enriching human mesenchymal stem cells according to the present invention may also include the step of selecting CD45 − CD235a − cells that are not expressing CD45 nor CD235a. In this method, the CD45 − CD235a − cells may be selected by using an anti-CD45 antibody and an anti-CD235a antibody.
[0010] In the method for enriching human mesenchymal stem cells according to the present invention, the cells may be selected by using flow cytometry.
[0011] A kit according to the present invention includes an anti-CD271 antibody and an anti-CD90 antibody. The kit may also include an anti-CD45 antibody and an anti-CD235a antibody. The kit may also include collagenase.
[0012] It should be noted that “enriching (specific) cells” as used herein means to increase the ratio of the specific cells among a cell population.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 shows results obtained by analysis of the reactivity of human myelocytes with PI, an anti-CD45 antibody, an anti-CD235a antibody, an anti-CD271 antibody and an anti-CD90 antibody using flow cytometry in one example of the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 2 shows an effect of collagenase treatment on the recovery rate of the mesenchymal stem cells recovered from human bone marrow in one example of the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 3 shows results of analysis of the pluripotency of the CD45 − CD235a − CD271 + CD90 + cells recovered by using flow cytometry in one example of the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 4 shows results of analysis using flow cytometry, which indicate that the CD45 − CD235a − CD271 + CD90 + cells are present in tissues other than the bone marrow in one example of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0017] Hereinafter the embodiments of the present invention are described more specifically and in detail by giving examples, which should not be construed as limiting the present invention.
[0018] When using a commercial kit or a measuring instrument, protocols attached to them are used unless otherwise noted.
[0019] The object, characteristics, and advantages of the present invention as well as the idea thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the descriptions given herein, and the present invention can be easily reproduced by those skilled in the art based on the descriptions given herein. It is to be understood that the embodiments and specific examples of the invention described herein are to be taken as preferred examples of the present invention. These descriptions are only for illustrative and explanatory purposes and are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments or examples. It is further apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made based on the descriptions given herein within the intent and scope of the present invention disclosed herein.
(1) Method for Enriching Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells
[0020] As used herein, mesenchymal stem cell means a cell that possesses the CFU-F (fibroblast colony forming unit) activity as well as the pluripotency to differentiate into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and adipocytes. It should be noted that the mesenchymal stem cell could differentiate also into chondrocytes, myocytes, stroma cells, tendon cells and the like, depending on the condition for inducing differentiation.
[0021] The inventors of the present invention have made it possible to highly enrich mesenchymal stem cells by selecting a fraction of CD271 + CD90 + cells from a cell population containing the human mesenchymal stem cells. If blood cells are contained in the cell population containing the human mesenchymal stem cells, the method may also include the step of selecting CD45 − CD235a − cells in order to select non-blood cells.
[0022] The specific methods for enriching human mesenchymal stem cells are hereinafter explained.
[0023] The method for enriching human mesenchymal stem cells according to the present invention includes the steps of preparing a cell population and selecting the human mesenchymal stem cells.
(i) The Step of Preparing a Cell Population
[0024] In this step, a cell population containing human mesenchymal stem cells is prepared by flow cytometry, or affinity chromatography. It is preferable that the cells in the cell population are dissociated into individual cells and unnecessary cells are removed at this preparation step, because the cells are subsequently subjected to selection on the basis of expression of surface antigens.
[0025] While the material from which the cell population is obtained is not particularly limited, bone marrow and peripheral blood (including the peripheral blood after an administration of G-CSF) are exemplified. The bone marrow that derived from a spine, a sternum, an ilium or the like may be used.
[0026] In preparing the cell population of interest from such a material, when the material is a cluster of cells containing mesenchymal stem cells like the bone marrow, it may be treated in order to dissociate the contained cells by physical treatment such as pipetting or by chemical treatment such as enzyme digestion. As for the enzyme, any enzyme commonly used such as trypsin and collagenase may be used, but treatment using the collagenase is preferred. In a case where the cells are not completely dissociated into individual cells but some cell clusters remain even after the treatment for dissociation, it is preferable to remove the cell clusters by using a mesh etc.
[0027] If some erythrocytes are contaminated in the material in such a case as obtaining the cell population of interest from peripheral blood, it is preferable to hemolyse them in advance. The method therefor is not particularly limited, but the material may be treated in a hypotonic solution (such as water).
[0028] The cell population containing human mesenchymal stem cells is thus prepared by applying an appropriate treatment depending on the material to be used.
(ii) The Step of Selecting Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells
[0029] In this step, the cell population prepared in “(i) The step of preparing a cell population” is used to select CD271 + CD90 + cells alive.
[0030] The method for selecting CD271 + CD90 + cells is not particularly limited. For example, since CD271 (LNGFR) is a receptor which binds with ligand such as neurotrophins (NGF, BDGF, NT-3 and NT-4), CD271 + cells can be selected by an affinity chromatography utilizing a protein obtained by an in vitro expression and purification of either of the ligands. However, in view of simplicity, the methods utilizing antibodies as described below are preferable.
[0031] The antibodies to be used in this step are an anti-CD271 antibody and an anti-CD90 antibody that are capable of selecting CD271 + CD90 + cells. For example, if the flow cytometry is used, live cells can be quickly selected by using a combination of an anti-CD271 antibody and an anti-CD90 antibody which are labeled with different fluorescent dyes such as FITC, PE, APC etc. Other than the flow cytometry, CD271 + CD90 + cells can be selected alive by various methods such as those using magnetic beads or those using affinity chromatography. The type of the antibody (a monoclonal antibody or a polyclonal antibody; IgG or IgM; a whole antibody molecule or an Fab fragment; etc), as well as the concentration of the antibody, may be appropriately selected by the user depending on the type of the cell population, the activity of the antibody, the method to used the antibody, and the like.
[0032] It should be noted that prior to employing any of the abovementioned methods, dead cells may be removed by allowing the cell population to react with a fluorescent dye to stain dead cells such as PI (propidium iodide) and then removing fluorescence-labeled cells.
[0033] In the case that the cell population includes blood cells, the method according to the present invention preferably includes the step of selecting CD45 − CD235a − cells. The method for this selection is not particularly limited. Similarly to the above, CD45 − CD235a − cells can be selected from the cell population by the flow cytometry utilizing fluorescence-labeled antibodies, as well as by the methods utilizing magnetic beads or affinity chromatography. The selection of CD45 − CD235a − cells may be conducted before, after, or at the same time of the selection of CD271 + CD90 + cells.
[0034] The CD271+CD90 + cells are thus selected from the cell population containing the human mesenchymal stem cells.
(2) Usefulness of the Method for Enriching Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells According to the Present Invention
[0035] Currently in the fields of regenerative medicine, where a tissue to be transplanted is provided by another individual (a donor), shortage of donors as well as rejections against the transplanted tissues are causing problems. In contrast, the method for enriching human mesenchymal stem cells according to the present invention can highly enrich the mesenchymal stem cells which are derived from the tissue of the subject himself, such as bone marrow, peripheral blood, or peripheral blood after administration of G-CSF. Therefore, by using the method for enriching human mesenchymal stem cells according to the present invention, the mesenchymal stem cells of the subject himself can be selected efficiently from a small amount of the tissue of the subject himself. The cells thus obtained can be autotransplanted to a desired site for differentiation into osteoblasts, bone cells, adipocytes, chondrocytes, myocytes, stroma cells, tendon cells or the like, thereby allowing regeneration of the desired cell or tissue efficiently, as well as solving the problems of the shortage of donors, the rejections, etc.
(3) Kit
[0036] A kit for easily enriching human mesenchymal stem cells in accordance with the method of the present invention may include an anti-CD271 antibody and an anti-CD90 antibody. If blood cells should be removed while enriching the human mesenchymal stem cells, the kit may also include an anti-CD45 antibody and an anti-CD235a antibody. Further, for efficient preparation of a cell population from a desired material, the kit may also include an enzyme such as collagenase. Commercially available antibodies may be used, or a new antibody may be prepared by any technique known to those skilled in the art.
EXAMPLES
[0037] Hereinafter embodiments of the present invention as explained above are specifically described by giving examples, which should be construed as being presented for only illustrative purpose but not to limit the present invention.
Example 1
Selection of CD45 − CD235a − CD271 + CD90 + Cells
(1) Preparation of Cell Populations
[0038] Human costal pieces left over in respiratory surgeries were used as a starting material. When the material was insufficient, bone marrows purchased from Cambrex (Cat. Nos. 2M-125C and 2M-125D) were also used.
[0039] First, costal pieces (1 cm×1 cm) were washed with PBS, chopped by using surgical scissors, and suspended in HBSS + (calcium- and magnesium-free Hanks-balanced salt solution supplemented with 2% FCS, 10 mM HEPES, and 1% penicillin/streptomycin), from which liquid phase was removed by aspiration.
[0040] The remaining bony pieces were further shredded by the scissors, placed in 0.2% collagenase solution (Wako 032-10534) in 10 mM HEPES with 1% P/S and incubated at 37° C. for 1 hour on a shaker. As control experiments, the same procedures were conducted without the 0.2% collagenase solution using the remaining bony pieces.
[0041] Finally, the collagenase-treated samples were filtered through cell strainers (Falcon 2350) to remove debris of bones. The cell suspensions thus obtained were centrifuged (×1200 rpm) at 4° C. for 7 min. For removal of erythrocytes contaminated in the cell populations, the pellets after the centrifugation were added with 1 ml of water (Sigma W3500) and agitated for 5 to 10 seconds, then resuspended in the Rescue solution (4% FBS, 2×PBS, Sigma D1408). These samples were filtered again through the cell strainers to remove debris of the erythrocytes, and the suspensions of human myelocytes were thus obtained.
[0042] The bone marrows purchased from Cambrex were kept frozen in liquid nitrogen until thawed prior to each experiment. First, a HBSS + solution supplemented with DNaseI (hereinafter referred to as DNaseI HBSS + solution) was warmed in a constant temperature bath at 37° C. The vials containing the frozen bone marrow (2M-125C or 2M-125D) were placed in the 37° C. bath to quickly thaw them until a small frozen piece remains (for 1 to 2 min). The myelocytes were suspended in the DNaseI HBSS + solution and transferred to 15 ml centrifuge tubes. After addition of DNaseI HBSS + solution up to a total volume of 10 ml, they were centrifuged (×1200 rpm) at room temperature for 7 min. Supernatants after the centrifugation were removed by gentle pipetting not to disturb the cell pellets, which were then resuspended in 1 ml of fresh DNaseI HBSS + solution to obtain the suspensions of the human myelocytes.
[0000] (2) Reaction with Antibodies
[0043] The human myelocyte suspension obtained by the method described above was diluted in HBSS + to the concentration of 2.5 to 5×10 7 cells/ml.
[0044] Then, 2.5 to 5×10 7 cells of the human myelocytes, 50 μl of an undiluted FITC-labeled anti-human CD45 antibody (DAKO), 50 μl of an undiluted FITC-labeled anti-human CD235a (Glycophorin A) antibody (DAKO), 50 μl of an undiluted PE-labeled anti-human CD271 (low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor) antibody (Miltenyi Biotec), and 50 μl of an undiluted APC-labeled anti-CD90 (Thy-1) antibody (BD Biosciences Pharmingen) were added, and incubated on ice for 30 min.
[0045] After the reaction, 10 ml of HBSS+ was added to the cell suspension and centrifuged (×1200 rpm) at 4° C. for 7 min. After the supernatant was discarded, HBSS+ containing 2 μg/ml propidium iodide (PI) (Sigma Chemical Co.) was added to the resultant pellet and the cells were suspended at a concentration of 1×10 7 cell/ml. The suspension was filtered by using a sterile nylon-mesh filter of 60 mm or less (Miltenyi Biotec) to remove cell clusters, and the cell suspension thus obtained was used in the following analysis utilizing the flow cytometry (FACS analysis).
[0046] In the control experiments for examining non-specific binding of the abovementioned antibodies to the cells, an FITC-labeled anti-MouseIgG1 kappa antibody (eBioscience), a PE-labeled anti-Mouse IgG1 antibody (eBioscience), and an APC-labeled anti-MouseIgG1 kappa antibody (eBioscience) were used.
(3) Fractionation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells
[0047] The myelocytes reacted with the antibodies were fractioned by using FACS on the basis of the reactivity of each antibody. For the FACS, MoFlo and FACS Vantage, equipped with an argon laser at 488 nm and a RED laser at 600 to 650 nm, were used.
[0048] First, data from 1×10 5 events were taken and PI-positive cells were gated out ( FIG. 1( a )). Then, a CD45 − CD235a − fraction was gated ( FIG. 1( b )). Finally, a fraction was gated, which was co-positive for CD90 (Thy-1) as the abscissa and for CD271 (LNGFR) as the ordinate. Afterwards, each of CD45 − CD235a − CD271 + CD90 + cells, CD45 − CD235a − CD271 + CD90 − cells, CD45 − CD235a − CD271 − CD90 + cells, CD45 − CD235a − CD271 − CD90 − cells, CD45 − CD235a − CD271 + cells, CD45 − CD235a − CD271 − cells, CD45 − CD235a − CD90 + cells, and CD45 − CD235a − CD90 − cells were fractionated and recovered. With respect to the numbers of non-blood cells, the CD45 − CD235a − CD271 + CD90 + cells, the CD45 − CD235a − CD271 + CD90 − cells, the CD45 − CD235a − CD271 − CD90 + cells and the CD45 − CD235a − CD271 − CD90 − cells accounted for 0.04%, 1.73%, 0.1%, and 98%, respectively (see FIG. 1( c )).
Example 2
Functional Analysis of CD45 − CD235a − CD271 + CD90 + Cells
(1) Effect of Collagenase Treatment
[0049] First, by using the cell suspensions obtained either with or without the collagenase treatment, the cells sorted into the CD45 − CD235a − CD271 + CD90 + fraction were suspended in a culture medium (DMEM: GIBCO 11885+20% FBS:Hyclone+bFGF+10 mM HEPES+1% P/S), from which 5×10 3 , 1×10 4 and 1×10 5 cells were seeded into respective wells of a 96-well culture dish and then cultured at 37° C. in a 5% CO 2 incubator. After 4 days, the culture supernatants were removed and fresh media were added; afterwards, the media were exchanged every 3 to 4 days. On Day 10, the numbers of the wells where cells became confluent were counted and their ratios were plotted as in FIG. 2 .
[0050] As a result, it was found that if the bone marrow was treated with the collagenase, the CD45 − CD235a − CD271 + CD90 + cells could be recovered with higher yield at any cell densities.
(2) Effect of Selection of CD271 + CD90 + Cells
[0051] Each of the cell fractions described in Example 1 was suspended in the medium (DMEM: GIBCO 11885+20% FBS:Hyclone+bFGF+10 mM HEPES+1% P/S), from which 100 to 8000 cells were seeded in 35 mm culture dishes, and incubated at 37° C. under 5% CO 2 . After 4 days, the culture supernatants were removed and fresh growth media were added. The media were changed every 3 to 4 days. On Day 10, the culture dishes were observed under a phase-contrast microscope to count the number of colonies consisting of 50 cells or more. By calculating a ratio of the cells which formed colonies among the number of seeded cells, a frequency of the cells having CFU-F (fibroblast colony forming unit) activity was obtained, and compared as shown in the following table. It should be noted that WBM (whole bone marrow) means the total of the myelocytes.
[0000]
TABLE 1
Comparison of CFU-F Frequencies among Cell Fractions
WBM
CD90+
CD271+
CD90−
CD271−
1/100000
8/4000
15/4000
0/300000
0/240000
15/4000
0/300000
0/240000
CD271−CD90−
CD271−CD90+
CD271+CD90−
CD271+CD90+
0/8000
0/8000
1/533
9/100
10/100
13/100
[0052] As shown in Table 1, the selection of the CD271 + CD90 + cells could enrich the cells having CFU-F (fibroblast colony forming unit) activity by about 50 times and about 27 times more than the selection of CD90 + cells only and the selection of CD271 + cells only, respectively. In contrast, in neither of the selection of WBM, the selection of CD90 − cells only, nor the selection of CD271 − cells only, a cell having CFU-F activity was observed. In addition, a similar experiment as above was performed by seeding 100000 of WBM in a 100 mm culture dish, 300000 of CD90 − cells in a T75 culture flask, and 240000 of CD271 − cells in a T75 culture flask, but no cell having the CFU-F activity was observed either.
[0053] Further, by comparing the present results with data described in the literatures, the selection of the CD271 + CD90 + cells were found to achieve the enrichment of the cells having the CFU-F activity much more efficiently than the selection of CD105 + cells only (Aslan H, et al., Stem Cells. 2006; vol. 24: p. 1728-1737) or the selection of CD271 + cells only (Quirici N et al. Exp Hematol. 2002; vol. 30: p. 783-791). It should be noted that the anti-CD105 antibody recognizes endothelial cells, early B lymphocytes and monocytes.
[0000]
TABLE 2
Comparison of CFU-F Frequencies among Sepration Methods
CD271+
WBM
CD105+
CD271+
CD90+
10 5 ~10 6 *
15873*
120~5000*
9~20
*Documented Values
(2) Differentiation Assay
[0054] (i) Differentiation into Osteoblasts
(a) Induction of Differentiation
[0055] The CD271 + CD90 + cells after conducting the CFU-F assay were transferred to new plates; when they became confluent, the culture medium was changed from the growth medium to an osteoblast-inducing medium (CAMBREX PT-4120); and then the cells were incubated at 37° C. under 5% CO 2 . The medium was changed to the fresh differentiation-inducing medium every 3 to 4 days and the differentiation was induced for two weeks.
(b) Staining
[0056] The cells thus induced to differentiate were fixed with 4% PFA at room temperature for 10 min, and washed 3 times with PBS for 5 min. each. The osteoblasts were then stained with Histofine (Nichirei Biosciences, Code.415161), a kit of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) substrate.
[0057] In a result as shown in FIG. 3 , osteoblasts stained in pinkish to reddish colors (corresponding to gray to black colors in FIG. 3 ) were observed, indicating that the cells could differentiate into the osteoblasts.
(ii) Adipocyte Differentiation Assay
(a) Induction of Differentiation
[0058] The CD271 + CD90 + cells remaining after the CFU-F assay were transferred to new plates; when they became confluent, the culture medium was changed from the growth medium to an adipocyte-inducing medium (CAMBREX PT-4135); and then the cells were incubated at 37° C. under 5% CO 2 . After 3 days, the medium was changed to an adipocyte-maintaining medium (CAMBREX PT-4122), and such alternating exchanges of the medium between the adipocyte-inducing medium and the adipocyte-maintaining medium were repeated every 3 to 4 days and differentiation was induced for 2 weeks.
(b) Staining
[0059] The cells thus induced to differentiate were fixed with 4% PFA at room temperature for 10 min, and washed 3 times with PBS for 5 min each. The adipocytes were then stained with Oil Red O Staining Solution (Muto Pure Chemicals, Lot No. 060822).
[0060] In a result as shown in FIG. 3 , oil droplets of adipocytes stained in reddish colors (corresponding to gray to black colors in FIG. 3 ) were observed, indicating that the cells could differentiate into the adipocytes.
[0000] (iii) Chondrocyte Differentiation Assay
(a) Induction of Differentiation
[0061] The CD271 + CD90 + cells remaining after the CFU-F assay were transferred to new plates; when the cell number became 2×10 5 , the cells were suspended in a chondrocyte-inducing medium (CAMBREX PT-4121), transferred to 15 ml centrifuge tubes, and centrifuged for 5 min at ×150 g. After removing the supernatant, cells were resuspended in a chondrocyte-inducing medium supplemented with TGF-β3 (CAMBREX PT-4124) and BMP-6 (R&D Systems 507-BP/CF), and centrifuged for 5 min at ×150 g. The cells obtained in the form of a pellet were incubated as they are at 37° C. under 5% CO 2 . The medium was changed to the fresh chondrocyte-inducing medium every 3 to 4 days and differentiation was induced for 3 weeks.
(b) Staining
[0062] Clusters of the cells thus induced to differentiate were fixed with 4% PFA at room temperature for 1 hr, and washed 3 times with PBS for 5 min each. The cell clusters were paraffin-embedded and sliced into 6 μm sections. The sections were the stained with 0.05% toluidine blue solution (pH4.1, Wako 209-14545).
[0063] In a result as shown in FIG. 3 , polysaccharides typical for chondrocytes stained in purplish colors (corresponding to gray to black colors in FIG. 3 ) were observed, indicating that the cells could differentiate into the chondrocytes.
[0064] To summarize, the CD45 − CD235a − CD271 + CD90 + cells are capable of differentiating into osteoblasts, chondrocytes and adipocytes, which are all mesenchymal cells. Thus, by selecting the CD45 − CD235a − CD271 + CD90 + cells from a cell population contained in a human bone marrow, human mesenchymal stem cells can be highly enriched.
Example 3
Exploration of Tissues where Mesenchymal Stem Cells are Present
[0065] This example demonstrates that the mesenchymal stem cells are present in a bone marrow, a peripheral blood, and a peripheral blood after an administration of G-CSF, but not in a cord blood.
[0066] A human cord blood, a peripheral blood, and a peripheral blood after an administration of G-CSF, obtained from specimens to be discarded from a patient, were used. From the human cord blood, the peripheral blood, and the peripheral blood after the administration of G-CSF, cell populations were prepared by following the method described in Example 1, and subjected to FACS analysis.
[0067] In a result as shown in FIG. 4 , when a fraction negative for CD45 and negative for CD235a was gated, the obtained CD45 − CD235a − CD271 + CD90 + cells accounted for 0.01 to 0.04% in the bone marrow, 0 to 0.015% in the peripheral blood after the administration of G-CSF, and 0 to 0.008% in the peripheral blood. On the other hand, no CD45 − CD235a − CD271 + CD90 + cell was present in the cord blood.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0068] In accordance with the present invention, methods for highly enriching human mesenchymal stem cells from a cell population containing the human mesenchymal stem cells, as well as kits to be used therein can be provided.
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The present invention is intended to provide methods for highly enriching human mesenchymal stem cells from a cell population containing the human mesenchymal stem cells. To highly enrich human mesenchymal stem cells, CD271 + CD90 + cells are recovered by using flow cytometry etc. from a cell population containing the human mesenchymal stem cells. If the cell population contains blood cells (as in the case of a cell population prepared from a bone marrow, a peripheral blood etc.), CD45 − CD235a − CD271 + CD90 + cells are recovered. These cell fractions contain with high purity the mesenchymal stem cells having self-renewal capability, self-replicating capability and pluripotency. Therefore, human mesenchymal stem cells can be highly enriched by recovering CD271 + CD90 + cells from the cell population containing the human mesenchymal stem cells.
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CROSS-REFERENCE
[0001] This application claims priority to German patent application no. 10 2016 213 613.5 filed on Jul. 25, 2016, the contents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD
[0002] The disclosure relates to a seal assembly as well as a method for manufacturing the seal assembly.
[0003] Seal assemblies are known in various embodiments and are used, for example, for sealing an interior filled with liquid in a transmission or engine of a motor vehicle, but also in numerous comparable situations. Here a rotating shaft is often used for force transmission, which shaft extends from the interior into the environment. For sealing purposes, known seal assemblies, for example, radial shaft seal rings, usually include a round retaining ring, for example, made from steel, to which a seal element is attached by vulcanization. The retaining ring is placed in a corresponding seat on the housing in a friction-fit manner such that a seal lip of the seal element surrounds the shaft and thus seals the interior with respect to the environment. In order to ensure a friction fit, the support ring can also be surrounded at the radially outer-lying end by a plastic.
[0004] The seal elements often include an annular groove on a radially outer portion for receiving a spring. The contact pressure of the seal lip on the shaft is thereby increased by the spring generating a torque on the seal lip. However, there are also embodiments known wherein no spring is used. Seal elements of known radial shaft seal rings are typically comprised of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or an elastomer material.
[0005] Such seal assemblies are often articles that are manufactured in mass production and sold in correspondingly large quantities. In this respect comparatively complex production steps, such as vulcanizing or injection molding in corresponding molds, can also be used here, and the support rings can be produced in the required amount.
[0006] In addition, seal assemblies are known in which a retaining ring and a seal element are manufactured one-piece by machining from a plastic-ring or -tube. A precise producing of the seal assembly according to required dimensions of a prescribed installation situation is advantageous here. Here, above all in the case of radial shaft seal rings, the outer diameter is adaptable for the housing seat, as well as the inner diameter of the seal lip. The material of the plastic ring must be sufficiently soft to ensure a sufficient sealing effect of the seal lip on the shaft. Such seal assemblies are used, for example, in the case of small quantities, including for the replacement of defective seals. These can be single-unit productions.
[0007] For stabilizing the retaining ring, another steel ring is often used in such seal assemblies, since the plastic does not have the necessary stability for securely retaining the seal assembly in the housing seat. However, the disadvantage thereby arises that due to the large number of possible dimensions, matching steel rings must be kept available in a wide variety of dimensions or be manufactured individually corresponding to the dimensions, which greatly complicates either warehousing or manufacturing.
[0008] Alternatively a stabilizing ring made from a stiffer plastic than that of the seal element and support ring can be used for stabilizing the retaining ring. Here polyoxymethylene (POM) or polyamide (PA) are typically used. In comparison to the use of steel rings it is advantageous that such stabilizing rings made from plastic can also be manufactured by machining from a blank. It is disadvantageous here that due to the different thermal expansion coefficients of the two plastics, the stabilizing ring expands or contracts during heating and cooling to a greater degree than the retaining ring. Loss of the stabilizing effect can thereby occur, with the result that the seal assembly is no longer securely held in the housing seat. It can then rotate together with the shaft or fall out of the housing. Consequently such seal assemblies are not as universally usable as seal assemblies having a supporting steel ring.
SUMMARY
[0009] It is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide a seal assembly that can be used in many ways, wherein the disadvantages mentioned above are avoided. It is a further aspect of the disclosure to provide a method for manufacturing the seal assembly.
[0010] A seal assembly according to the present disclosure comprises the following features:
a base body, the base body includes a seal element, the base body includes a retaining element opposite the seal element and connected to the seal element; the retaining element includes a support surface facing the seal element, a support element abutting on the support surface, and the support element is manufactured from a base support element that includes two ends that are fixed at such a distance to each other that the support element thus formed is adapted to a dimension of the support surface.
[0016] Such a seal assembly can be manufactured in a simple manner adapted to the respective installation situation. Support elements adapted to the respectively required support surface can be produced from the base support element by corresponding fixing of the ends, so that only a small number, in the simplest case even only one type of base support element must be provided in order to be able to manufacture a large number of seal assemblies of different dimensions. This is particularly advantageous with the production of small quantities that are generated by machining of a blank, since the above-described disadvantages are thus avoided.
[0017] In the case of a round seal assembly, the support surface preferably also has a round contour having a diameter and preferably lies radially inwardly on the retaining element. The support element has a corresponding radially outwardly lying round contour. A supporting effect can thus be achieved along the circumference of the support surface in a simple manner.
[0018] In one advantageous embodiment of the disclosure the base support element includes at least two connecting units corresponding to each other, using which the two ends of the base support element are fixable to each other at different distances. A particularly simple possibility is thereby provided to adapt the dimension of the support element to the dimension of the support surface. By fixing the two ends relative to each other, the support element is formed from the base support element such that the support element is adapted to the dimension of the support element. The support element thus formed has the necessary stability to stabilize the retaining element.
[0019] In one advantageous embodiment of the disclosure one of the connecting units is embodied as a fixing element. The other of the connecting units includes a plurality of engaging elements that are configured such that the ends are fixable at various distances to each other by bringing the fixing element into engagement with at least one of the engaging elements. Due to this design an easy-to-handle arrangement is provided for fixing the ends at different distances to each other, with the result that an adapted support element can be particularly simply manufactured.
[0020] In one advantageous embodiment of the disclosure the seal assembly further has the following features:
the fixing element includes at least one projection associated with the first end of the base support element, the engaging elements are formed by the recesses associated with the second end of the base support element, which recesses are bringable into engagement with the at least one projection.
[0023] A base support element designed in this manner is particularly simple to manufacture and makes possible the manufacturing in a simple manner of the support element with adapted dimension. By selectively bringing the projection into engagement with one of the recesses the dimension adapted to the support surface is easily adjustable. A readjusting by releasing the engagement and renewed bringing into engagement with a different recess is also possible, with the result that errors in the manufacturing are easily remedied.
[0024] Here exactly one end projection can be associated with the first end, which projection is bringable into engagement with exactly one of the recesses. This embodiment is particularly simple to manufacture. Alternatively also two or more projections can be associated with the first end, which projections are then brought into engagement with a corresponding number of recesses. An improved, in particular a more stable fixing of the two ends is thereby achieved. Here in one possible embodiment the projections are spaced in a manner analogous to the recesses.
[0025] Alternatively the projections can also have larger spacings than the recesses, wherein then, for example, the spacing is selected such that a first of the projections is brought into engagement into a first of the recesses and a second of the projections into a second of the recesses. At least one recess that is not in engagement with a projection then lies between the two recesses. The fixing can thereby be further improved.
[0026] Also in an alternative embodiment of the disclosure, wherein as described a plurality of projections are provided on the base support element, the projections are removable in a simple manner in order to form the fixing of the two ends corresponding to the requirements. For this purpose the projections have, for example, a predetermined break point. Thus with the removal of all projections down to one, for example, a relatively compact support element can be generated wherein the stiffness of the fixing is of less importance. Larger support elements can then also be generated from the same base support element by using a plurality of projections, which then have an increased stiffness of the fixing.
[0027] In one advantageous embodiment of the disclosure the recesses are spaced such that by selective bringing into engagement of the at least one projection with a number of the recesses corresponding to the number of projections an essentially round support element is manufacturable having a circumference adapted to the dimension. Here support elements of various circumferences can be manufactured in a simple manner from the same type of support element by selecting the appropriate recesses, which support element is then adapted to the circumference of the support surface.
[0028] In one advantageous embodiment of the disclosure the at least one projection is formed as at least one tab and the recesses as holes. In this manner the projection and the recess can be particularly simple to manufacture and are simple to bring into engagement with each other. In this embodiment there is a size difference between the dimensions of the generatable support elements, which size difference is established by the distance of the holes to one another. If the distance between two holes, for example, is approximately 3.14 mm, i.e., approximately π mm, then the difference in diameter of two support elements generated by holes, selected adjacent, brought into engagement with the tab is approximately 1 mm. Thus by choosing the next respective hole the diameter of the support element generated can respectively be increased by 1 mm. Accordingly the dimension of the support surface is then to be generated with the machining.
[0029] In one advantageous embodiment of the disclosure the base support element comprises a flat metallic band. Metallic support elements have advantageous properties with respect to stability and thermal expansion. In addition, they are simple to manufacture and can easily be processed into adapted support elements.
[0030] In one advantageous embodiment of the disclosure the metallic band is made from spring steel, which has particularly good properties with respect to stability and manufacturability. A metal plate is preferably considered here.
[0031] In one alternative embodiment of the disclosure, the fixing element comprises a rotatable screw element. The engaging elements are formed by openings, perforations, or embossments, wherein the screw element is bringable into engagement with at least one of the openings, perforations, or embossments. Due to the rotatability of the screw element a nearly stepless enlarging and shrinking of the base support element is made possible for adapting to the dimension of the support surface.
[0032] In one preferred embodiment of the disclosure the screw element is held in a housing which housing includes a tunnel opening through which the end of the base support element including the openings, perforations, or embossments is guidable. The tunnel opening is disposed in the housing such that with guiding of the end through the tunnel opening the screw element is in engagement with the openings, perforations, or embossments. In this manner a simple mechanism can be provided that makes possible nearly stepless enlarging and shrinking of the base support element for adapting it to the dimension of the support surface.
[0033] In one alternative embodiment of the disclosure two ends of the base support element each have a holding unit. The two holding units are connected by a connecting element, wherein the holding units and the connecting element are designed such that a spacing of the two ends is variable.
[0034] In one preferred embodiment of the disclosure the holding elements are embodied as pins that each include a receptacle for a screw. The connecting element is embodied as a screw, using which the ends are fixable at a defined distance to each other. By rotating the screw the distance can be varied so that a support element adapted to the dimension of the support surface is generatable.
[0035] In another embodiment, the disclosure comprises a seal assembly that has a base body including a seal element and a retainer radially spaced from the seal element, the retainer including a support surface facing the seal element. The assembly also includes a support ring abutting on the support surface of the retainer. The support ring has a first end and a second end circumferentially spaced from the first end, and a portion of the first end extends into a recess of the second end to connect the first end to the second end.
[0036] Still another aspect of the disclosure comprises a method for manufacturing a seal assembly that includes manufacturing a base body including a seal element and a retainer radially spaced from the seal element, the retainer including a support surface facing the seal element. The method also includes providing an adjustable diameter support ring, adjusting the diameter of support ring to correspond to a diameter of the retainer, and installing the adjusted support ring in the retainer.
[0037] A method for manufacturing a seal assembly is a further aspect of the disclosure, and includes the following method steps:
manufacturing of a base body including a seal element and a retaining element having dimensions adapted to a given installation situation, generating of a support surface of a dimension defined such that the manufacturing of a support element from a provided base support element is made possible, manufacturing of a support element from the base support element by adapting of the dimension to the support surface, abutting of the support element on the support surface of the base body.
[0042] This simple-to-perform method is characterized in particular by a high flexibility. Thus even small series or even individual seal assemblies can be manufactured cost-effectively. With few manufacturing steps a stable seal assembly can be manufactured that is stabilized by an individually adapted support element. A loss of stability, for example, due to thermal effects, can thus be effectively prevented.
[0043] With the generating of the support surface corresponding to the support element, care is taken to define the corresponding dimension such that a suitable support element can be manufactured from the provided base support element. This is necessary in particular with the use of base support elements whose dimensions cannot be changed in a stepless manner. In particular in the described embodiments of the disclosure wherein a tab is brought into engagement with holes, there is a size difference between the generatable dimensions of the support elements, which size difference is established by the distance of the holes to each other. If the distance between two holes is, for example, approximately 3.14 mm, i.e., approximately π mm, then the difference in diameter of two support elements generated by holes, selected adjacent, brought into engagement with the tab is approximately 1 mm. Thus by choosing the next respective hole the diameter of the support element generated can respectively be increased by 1 mm. Accordingly the dimension of the support surface is then to be generated with the machining.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0044] Further advantages, features, and details of the disclosure result from the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure described below with reference to the Figures.
[0045] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0046] FIG. 2 shows a base support element according to the embodiment of the disclosure.
[0047] FIG. 3 shows a detail view of a support element according to the embodiment of the disclosure.
[0048] FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of a closure mechanism of a support element according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0049] FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of a support element according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0050] FIG. 6 shows a further alternative embodiment of a support element according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0051] FIG. 7 shows a schematic depiction of a manufacturing method for the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 6 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0052] FIG. 1 shows, as a preferred embodiment of the disclosure, a radial shaft seal ring 10 in a sectional view. The radial shaft seal ring 10 comprises a base body 12 made from a plastic, which base body 12 includes a plurality of partial regions. In the radially outer region of the base body 12 a retaining element 14 is formed that is, for example, inserted in a housing seat in a not-depicted installation situation. In a radially inner region, the base body 12 comprises a seal element 16 including a seal lip 18 formed on an arm-like extension, which seal lip 18 in the installed state abuts on a not-depicted shaft. Opposite the seal lip 18 a groove 20 is provided into which a spring (not depicted here) is insertable. The spring induces a torque defined by the choice of the spring constant on the arm-like extension, with the result that a contact force of the seal lip 18 on the shaft is generated. The seal effect of the seal lip 18 is thereby ensured.
[0053] The radially inner lying side of the retaining element 14 includes a support surface 22 on which a support ring 24 is inserted. The support ring 24 is comprised of a material of higher strength than the base body, for example, of a metal such as steel or aluminum. Spring steel is preferably used. Its outer diameter is adapted to the diameter of the support surface 22 . The support ring 24 stabilizes the retaining element 14 . Due to its use a torque exerted on the retaining element 14 cannot lead to a bending or deforming of the same, with the result that in the installed state the retaining element is securely held in the housing seat.
[0054] The retaining element 14 is connected on an axial end to the seal element 16 by a connecting element 26 . On the axially opposing end the retaining element 14 has a shaping 28 that is directed radially inward and partially comprises the support element 24 . The support element 24 is thereby prevented from slipping axially.
[0055] The retaining element 14 , the seal element 16 , and the connecting element 26 are preferably formed one-piece in the base body 12 and manufactured from a plastic blank, for example, in the shape of a cylinder or ring by machining. Here a blank of suitable dimensions is selected and, for example, processed in a lathe. Thus the retaining element 14 , the seal element 16 , and the connecting element 26 , as well as the seal lip 18 , the groove 20 , the support surface 22 , and the shaping 28 are developed by ablation of material. The dimensioning of these elements occurs corresponding to the planned installation situation of the radial shaft seal ring 10 . The inner diameter of the support surface 22 is generated such that a support element 24 adapted to this inner diameter can be produced from a base support element, which is described based on the following Figures.
[0056] FIG. 2 shows a base support element 100 that is comprised of a flat metal band 102 made from a spring steel. The metal band 102 includes on one side a tab 104 that is slightly bent radially inward. On the opposite end of the metal band 102 numerous recesses 106 in the form of holes are introduced that are preferably disposed equidistant. The dimensions of the recesses 106 are chosen such that the tab 104 is introducible from outside into one of the recesses 106 . Due to this connection an essentially circular stable ring can be generated that is then inserted as the support element 24 into the retaining element 14 . The axial dimension of the support surface 22 is generated according to the width of the support element 24 .
[0057] In the embodiment described herein the spacing of the recesses 106 on the metal band 102 is approximately 3.14 mm, which corresponds to approximately π mm. This is depicted in the detail view of FIG. 3 . Thus by introducing the tab 104 into one of the recesses 106 , different support elements 24 having different diameters and circumferences can be manufactured from identical base support elements. Here a support element 24 having a minimum circumference U 0 is manufactured by selection of the recess lying farthest from the end of the metal band 102 . The possible circumferences of the further manufacturable support elements 24 are given by the formula:
[0000] U n =U 0 +n ·π,
[0000]
d
n
=
U
n
π
[0058] wherein n is a natural number. The diameter or me support element 24 is given by transformation to:
[0000]
d
n
=
U
0
π
+
n
mm
.
[0059] Consequently due to the spacing thus defined of the recesses 106 by selection of the respective adjacent recess 106 , the diameter of the finished support element 24 can increase by approximately 1 mm. For establishing other increases of the diameter by selection of adjacent recesses 106 , in other embodiments of the disclosure they can be formed at different spacings on the metal band.
[0060] In FIG. 3 a finished support element 24 is also depicted sectionally. The tab 104 is introduced into one of the recesses 106 ′, whereby the ends of the base support element 100 are connected. A possibly still protruding end of the metal bland 102 can be cut to length after introducing of the tab 104 into the recess 106 . Among other things the weight of the finished radial shaft seal ring 10 is thereby reduced.
[0061] In FIG. 4 an improved manner of connecting tab 104 and recess 106 is depicted. Like the tab 104 , the end 110 of the metal band 100 , which end 110 includes the recess 106 and is possibly already cut to length, is bent radially inward. The offset of the two ends, which offset arises radially outwardly, visible in FIG. 3 , is thereby reduced, with the result that the support element 24 is better abuttable on the support surface 22 . The radially inward portion of the support element 24 does not abut on the base body 12 , with the result that the tab 104 and the end 110 do not influence the functionality of the radial shaft seal ring 10 .
[0062] In FIG. 5 an alternative embodiment of a base support element 500 in the form of a metal band 502 is shown. It is designed similar to the metal band depicted in FIG. 2 ; however, it has a different mechanism to vary the diameter or the circumference. A receptacle 504 is formed on each of the two ends of the metal band 502 , into each of which a pin 506 is inserted. The two pins 606 have a thread in their center into which a screw 508 is inserted. These connect the two pins 506 . For free mobility and accessibility of the screw 508 , the metal band 502 respectively has a slot 510 on both ends. By rotating the screw, the pin 506 and thus the ends of the metal band 502 can move toward each other or away from each other. The diameter of the base support element 500 can thereby vary and generate a support element 24 adapted to the support surface 22 . The maximum change in the diameter or circumference of the base support element 500 is established by the length of the screw 508 .
[0063] In FIG. 6 a further alternative embodiment of a base support element 600 in the form of a metal band 602 is depicted. Similar to the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2 , the metal band 602 includes numerous recesses 604 in the form of holes emanating from one end. These can alternatively also be embodied as embossments or perforations. On the other end 606 an adjusting element 608 is attached that comprises a housing 610 . A screw element 612 is rotatably held in the housing 610 . Between the screw element 612 and end 606 of the metal band 602 a tunnel opening 610 is provided through which the end 603 of the metal band 602 can be guided. The screw element 612 then engages into the recesses 604 such that by rotating the screw element 612 , the end 603 can be moved against the end 606 . Thus support elements of different diameters or circumferences for the radial shaft seal ring 10 can also be generated in this exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. Here it is even possible to vary the circumference in a nearly stepless manner and also in the already-installed state.
[0064] The embodiments depicted in FIGS. 1 to 6 can be, for example, manufactured according to the method described in the following and schematically depicted in FIG. 7 . Here the manufacturing of the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1 to 4 is described in an exemplary manner. First in a method step 701 the outer contour of the base body 12 including the retaining element 14 , the seal element 14 including the seal lip 18 , and the connecting element 26 is manufactured. The base body 12 is generated by machining a cylindrical blank made from plastic. The outer diameter of the retaining element 14 and the inner diameter of the seal lip, as well as the angle of the arm-like extension of the seal element 14 , are manufactured in a manner adapted according to the given installation situation.
[0065] In a second method step 703 , the inner contour of the base body 12 including the shaping 28 , the groove 20 , and the support surface 22 is generated by machining. The inner diameter and the axial width of the support surface 22 are selected such that in the following method step 705 a suitable support element 24 can be manufactured from a base support element 100 . In this third method step 705 a base support element 100 is provided and the tab 104 is introduced into one of the recesses 106 . Here the recess 106 ′ is selected wherein the outer diameter of the thus formed support element 24 corresponds to the inner diameter of the support surface 22 .
[0066] In a fourth method step 707 the end of the metal band 102 projecting over the tab 104 is cut to length, with the result that a new end arises near the recess 106 ′ brought into engagement with the tab 104 . In a fifth method step 709 the newly generated end of the metal band 102 is deformed radially inward in the region of the recess 106 ′ in engagement with the tab 104 such that a course nearly symmetric to but opposite to the obliquely inwardly directed tab 104 . A nearly stepless outer diameter of the support element 24 thereby arises that can thus abut on the support surface 22 almost completely along its circumference.
[0067] In a sixth method step 711 the generated support element 24 is inserted in the base body 12 so that it abuts on the support surface between the connecting element 26 and the shaping 28 . A spring of suitable length is subsequently inserted into the groove 20 .
[0068] The depicted embodiments of the disclosure can be transferred in a simple manner to other seal types so that these also benefit from the simplified and more flexible manufacturing method and the flexible usability. Exemplary embodiments according to the disclosure also increase the range of use of seals manufactured by machining, with the result that replacement parts and small production runs are also cost-effectively manufacturable even individually.
[0069] Representative, non-limiting examples of the present invention were described above in detail with reference to the attached drawings. This detailed description is merely intended to teach a person of skill in the art further details for practicing preferred aspects of the present teachings and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Furthermore, each of the additional features and teachings disclosed above may be utilized separately or in conjunction with other features and teachings to provide improved seal assemblies.
[0070] Moreover, combinations of features and steps disclosed in the above detailed description may not be necessary to practice the invention in the broadest sense, and are instead taught merely to particularly describe representative examples of the invention. Furthermore, various features of the above-described representative examples, as well as the various independent and dependent claims below, may be combined in ways that are not specifically and explicitly enumerated in order to provide additional useful embodiments of the present teachings.
[0071] All features disclosed in the description and/or the claims are intended to be disclosed separately and independently from each other for the purpose of original written disclosure, as well as for the purpose of restricting the claimed subject matter, independent of the compositions of the features in the embodiments and/or the claims. In addition, all value ranges or indications of groups of entities are intended to disclose every possible intermediate value or intermediate entity for the purpose of original written disclosure, as well as for the purpose of restricting the claimed subject matter.
REFERENCE NUMBER LIST
[0000]
10 Radial shaft seal ring
12 Base body
14 Retaining element
16 Seal element
18 Seal lip
20 Groove
22 Support surface
24 Support element
26 Connecting element
28 Shaping
100 Base support element
102 Metal band
104 Tab
106 , 106 ′ Recess
500 Base support element
502 Metal band
504 Receptacle
506 Pin
508 Screw
510 Slot
600 Base support element
602 Metal band
603 End
604 Opening
606 End
608 Adjusting element
610 Housing
612 Screw element
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A seal assembly includes a base body having a seal element and a retainer radially spaced from the seal element. The retainer includes a support surface facing the seal element, and a support ring abuts on the support surface of the retainer. The support ring has a first end and a second end circumferentially spaced from the first end, and a portion of the first end extends into a recess of the second end to connect the first end to the second end. Also a method of manufacturing the seal assembly.
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CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/859,757 filed Aug. 19, 2010, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/334,813 filed Jan. 18, 2006, which further claims priority from German Application Serial No. 10 2005 002 390.8 filed on Jan. 19, 2005, wherein the disclosures of each of the above applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to an aluminum alloy that is not sensitive to quenching, and which is used for the production of high-strength forged pieces low in inherent tension, and high-strength extruded and rolled products. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for the production of a semi-finished product from such an aluminum alloy.
[0003] High-strength aluminum alloys are needed for the aeronautics and space industry, in particular, bearing hull, wing, and chassis parts which demonstrate high strength both under static stress and under dynamic stress. The required strength properties can be achieved, in the case of the aforementioned semi-finished products, by using alloys from the 7000 group (7xxx alloys), in accordance with the classification of aluminum alloys prepared by the Aluminum Association (AA).
[0004] Die-forged pieces for parts that are subject to great stress in the aeronautics and space industry, for example, parts made from the alloys AA 7075, AA 7175, AA 7475 and, particularly preferably, from the alloys AA 7049 and AA 7050, in America, and made from the alloys AA 7010, AA 7049A, and AA 7050A in Europe.
[0005] A high-strength aluminum alloy of the aforementioned type is known from WO 02/052053 A1, or U.S. Pat. No. 6,972,110 issued on Dec. 6, 2005 to Chakrabarti et al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. That reference discloses an alloy having an increased zinc content as compared with earlier alloys of the same type, coupled with a reduced copper and magnesium content. The copper and magnesium content in the case of this previously known alloy amounts to less than 3.5%, in total. The copper content itself is indicated as being 1.2-2.2 wt.-%, preferably 1.6-2.2 wt.-%. In addition to the elements zinc, magnesium, and copper, this previously known alloy necessarily contains one or more elements from the group zirconium, scandium, and hafnium, with maximum proportions of 0.4 wt.-% zirconium, 0,4 wt.-% scandium, and 0.3 wt.-% hafnium.
[0006] The semi-finished products should be subjected to a special heat treatment to produce the semi-finished products from one of the aforementioned alloys. These products can be in the form of forged pieces, wherein with this heat treatment, the extruded profiles, or the rolled sheets are treated to have the desired strength. This treatment includes quenching from solution heat temperature, in most cases combined with subsequent cold forming at medium thickness values of more than 50 mm. The cold forming serves to reduce the tensions induced during quenching. The step of cold forming can occur by means of cold upsetting or also by means of stretching the semi-finished product, typically by 1-3%. The semi-finished products produced should be as low in inherent tension as possible, to minimize any undesirable drawing during further processing. In addition, the semi-finished products and also the finished parts produced from them should be low in inherent tension, to give the designer the possibility of utilizing the entire material potential. For this reason, the method steps to be used for the production of parts for aeronautics and space technology from the alloys AA 7050 as well as AA 7010, and also the maximum thickness of the semi-finished products used for the production of the parts, are standardized and/or prescribed. The maximal permissible thickness is 200 mm and presupposes that after quenching, the semi-finished product is necessarily subjected to a cold forming step, for the reasons indicated above. With extruded and rolled products, cold forming can be achieved in a fairly simple manner, because of the geometry, which is generally simple, via stretching in the longitudinal direction. With geometrically complicated forged pieces, on the other hand, it is only possible to achieve a uniformly high degree of upsetting with great effort and expense, if it is even possible at all. In the course of designing larger aircraft, larger and larger and, in particular, thicker and thicker forged parts are constantly required.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The invention relates to a high-strength aluminum alloy that is not sensitive to quenching, having the same or better strength properties as the alloys AA 7010 and AA 7050 which, at the same time, has lower inherent tensions due to quenching after cold forming, and from which semi-finished products having a medium thickness can be produced having great strength and fracture resistance, without the need for a cold forming step to reduce inherent tensions induced by quenching.
[0008] The invention further relates to a method for the production of a semi-finished product having the desired properties from this alloy.
[0009] A high-strength aluminum alloy that is not sensitive to quenching according to an embodiment of the invention, comprises an alloy consisting of: 7.0-10.5 wt. % zinc, 1.0-2.5 wt. % magnesium, 0.1-1.15 wt. % copper, 0.06-0.25 wt. % zirconium, 0.02-0.15 wt. % titanium, at most 0.5 wt. % manganese, at most 0.6 wt. % silver, at most 0.10 wt. % silicon, at most 0.10 wt. % iron, at most 0.04 wt. % chrome, and at least one element selected from the group consisting of: hafnium, scandium, strontium and/or vanadium with a summary content of at most 1.0 wt. %. The alloy can also contain contaminants at proportions of at most 0.05 wt. % per element and a total proportion of at most 0.15 wt. %, wherein the remaining component includes aluminum. In addition, the sum of the alloy elements zinc and magnesium and copper is at least 9 wt. %
[0010] The invention can also relate to a process for treating the above alloy. That process can include a series of steps including hot forming a plurality of homogenized bars via forging, extrusion and/or rolling in the temperature range of 350-440 degrees C. Next there can be a step of solution heat treating of a hot-formed semi-finished product at temperatures that are sufficiently high to bring the alloy elements necessary for hardening into solution uniformly distributed in the structure, preferably at 465-500 degrees C. Next, there can be the step of quenching of the solution heat treated semi-finished products in water, in a water/glycol mixture, or in a salt mixture at temperatures between 100 degrees C. and 170 degrees C. Next there can be the step of cold forming of the quenched semi-finished product to reduce the inherent tensions that occurred during quenching in the quenching medium. Next there can be the step of artificial aging of the quenched semi-finished product, in at least one stage, whereby the heating rates, holding times, and temperatures are adjusted for optimization of the properties.
[0011] The terms used within the scope of these explanations with regard to thickness are defined as follows: Semi-finished products having a medium thickness have temper hardening thickness values of 50-180 mm. Semi-finished products having a greater thickness have a temper hardening thickness of >180 mm.
[0012] Even semi-finished products having a thickness of more than 200 mm, particularly of 250 mm or more can be produced with the alloy according to the invention that is not sensitive to quenching, having the desired great static and dynamic strength properties and, at the same time, good fracture resistance and good stress crack corrosion behavior. Only at these greater thickness values is a cold forming step carried out to reduce quenching-induced inherent stresses, for practical reasons.
[0013] Furthermore, for medium thickness values, semi-finished products produced from the alloy can be mildly cooled, for example in a glycol/water mixture, without any noteworthy negative influence on the very good material properties, after subsequent warm settling. For this reason, the step of cold forming is not necessary for medium thickness values, since the inherent stresses induced with the mild cooling are non-critically low. Therefore it is possible to produce semi-finished products in the medium thickness range with this alloy, in a simple and inexpensive manner, namely without a cold-forming step that would otherwise be necessary.
[0014] The advantageous properties of the alloy as described above can also be utilized to simplify the production process of a part for the production of which a semi-finished product having a greater starting thickness is required, and which part has a medium thickness after being processed. Such a semi-finished product having a greater thickness, for example a forged one, is pre-processed by cutting, after the step of hot forming. The pre-processing is designed so that the semi-finished product, which will then be quenched within the course of hot forming, undergoes a reduction in thickness. This reduction in thickness is necessary for the production of the finished part, in any case, wherein the pre-processed semi-finished product can be subjected to heat treatment with mild quenching (glycol/water mixture), without performing a cold forming step that is otherwise necessary for greater thickness values.
[0015] Using an alloy according to an embodiment of the invention, semi-finished products having a medium thickness can therefore be quenched in mild manner, by means of glycol/water mixtures. With semi-finished products having a greater thickness, such mild quenching is not practical because of the minimum cooling speed that is required. Accordingly, semi-finished products having a greater thickness are quenched in water. As a result of this, these semi- finished products are subsequently subjected to cold forming, for example upsetting or stretching by 1-5%.
[0016] The aforementioned properties of the semi-finished product produced from this alloy, as mentioned above, are unexpected, since contrary to the default values that result from the state of the art, the copper content is clearly lower than was the case for previously known high-strength aluminum alloys. According to a preferred exemplary embodiment, the copper content is only 0.8-1.1 wt. %. At this value, the copper content is only about 50% of the preferred copper content of the aluminum alloys known from WO 02/052053 A1 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,972,110. It is surprising that very high strength values are achieved despite this. It is assumed that these properties are based on the balanced composition of the alloy components, which also includes the relative high zinc content values and the magnesium content that is adapted to this. In the balanced composition of the alloy elements, which are only allowed in narrow limits, the sum of the elements magnesium, copper, and zinc are at least 9 wt. %. It has been shown that the desired strength properties can only be achieved if the elements magnesium, copper, and zinc in total are more than 9 wt. %. This characteristic of the alloy is a measure of the fact that the products have the desired strength properties. This rule also determines the heat treatability of the semi-finished products produced with the alloy.
[0017] Particularly great static and dynamic strength properties and particular non-sensitivity to quenching are obtained, along with simultaneous great fracture resistance, if the copper content is 0.8-1.1 wt. % and the magnesium content is 1.6-1.8 wt. %. This corresponds to a zinc : magnesium ratio of 4.4-5.2. Thus, the copper content clearly lies below the maximal solubility for copper in the presence of the aforementioned magnesium content. This has the result that the proportion of insoluble phases that contain copper is very low, even taking into consideration the other alloy elements and accompanying elements. This directly results in an improvement of the dynamic properties and the fracture resistance.
[0018] To further increase the strength of the alloy, it can be advantageous to add silver. For economic reasons, the content will be limited to 0.2-0.7 wt. %, particularly to 0.20-0.40 wt. %
[0019] The manganese content of the alloy was limited to a maximum 0.5 wt. %. Manganese precipitates in the form of finely distributed manganese aluminides, which can furthermore contain part of the iron present in the alloy as a contaminant, in Al—Zn—Cu—Mg alloys, during the homogenization of the extruded bars. These manganese aluminides are helpful in controlling recrystallization of the structure during heat treatment of the formed semi-finished product. Experience has shown that the ability to through-harden an Al—Zn—Cu—Mg alloy decreases with an increasing manganese content. For this reason, the manganese content is limited.
[0020] The reduced effect of the manganese with regard to controlling the structure is balanced out by means of adding zirconium. According to a preferred exemplary embodiment, the latter amounts to 0.14-0.20 wt. %. Zirconium also precipitates from the structure during homogenization of the extruded bars, in the form of zirconium aluminides. These aluminides are generally configured to be more micro-dispersed than the manganese aluminides. For this reason, they are particularly helpful with regard to controlling recrystallization. The zirconium aluminides that are formed are not made more coarse by the heat treatment that is provided, and are stable in the selected temperature ranges, in contrast to manganese aluminides. For this reason, zirconium is a necessary component of the alloy.
[0021] The titanium contained in the alloy primarily serves for making the grain fine during extrusion molding. A value of 0.03-0.1 wt. % titanium is preferred, particularly 0.03-0.06 wt. % titanium added to the alloy.
[0022] The desired properties are achieved if the alloy components are used in the proportions of the range indicated. Semi-finished products having the required properties can no longer be produced with an alloy in which one or more alloy components have a proportion that lies outside the range indicated.
[0023] The semi-finished products are produced from this alloy with the following steps:
[0024] Casting of Bars of the Alloy;
[0025] Homogenization or homogenizing of the cast bars at a temperature that lies as close as possible below the starting melt temperature of the alloy, for a heating and holding time that is sufficient to achieve as uniform and as fine a distribution of the alloy elements in the cast structure as possible, preferably at 460-490 degrees C.;
[0026] Hot forming of the homogenized bars by means of forging, extrusion and/or rolling, in the temperature range of 350-440 degrees C.;
[0027] Solution heat treating of the hot-formed semi-finished product at temperatures that are sufficiently high to bring the alloy elements necessary for hardening into solution uniformly distributed in the structure, preferably at 465-500 degrees C.; Quenching of the solution heat treated semi-finished products in water, at a temperature between room temperature and 100 degrees C., or in a water/glycol mixture, or in a salt mixture at temperatures between 100 degrees C. and 170 degrees C.; and
[0028] Artificial aging of the quenched semi-finished product, in one stage or multiple stages, wherein the heating rates, holding times, and temperatures are adjusted for optimization of the properties.
[0029] There can be a method in which the artificial aging of the quenched semi-finished product occurs in two stages. In the first stage, the semi-finished product is heated to a temperature of more than 100 degrees C. and held at this temperature for more than eight hours, and in the second stage, it is heated to more than 130 degrees C. and heated for more than five hours. These two stages can be performed directly following one another. The semi-finished product treated with the first stage can also cool off, and the second stage of artificial aging can be performed at a later point in time, without having to accept any disadvantages with regard to the desired properties of the semi-finished product.
[0030] With greater thickness values, despite the non-sensitivity of the alloy to quenching, it may be necessary to subject the semi-finished product to a cold forming step after the step of quenching, to reduce the inherent stresses that occurred during quenching. It is practical if this occurs by means of upsetting or stretching of the semi-finished product by typically 1-5%.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0031] Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, which disclose one embodiment of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that the drawings are designed for the purpose of illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.
[0032] In the drawings wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:
[0033] FIG. 1 is a graph representing the strength behavior of various AA 7xxx alloys as a function of the average cooling speed during quenching from solution heat treatment temperature; and
[0034] FIG. 2 is a flow chart for a process for producing the alloy.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0035] The following are examples of different embodiments of the invention.
EXAMPLES
[0036] To produce sample pieces to carry out the required strength studies, two typical alloy compositions of the claimed aluminum alloy were produced. The two alloys Z1, Z2 have the following composition:
[0000]
TABLE 1
Si
Fe
Cu
Mn
Mg
Cr
Zn
Ti
Zr
Ti + Zr
Alloy Z1
0.05
0.05
0.95
0.390
1.700
0.002
8.350
0.035
0.120
0.155
Alloy Z2
0.04
0.07
0.90
0.004
1.650
0.001
8.500
0.025
0.120
0.145
[0037] The alloys Z1, Z2 were cast to produce extrusion blocks having a diameter of 370 mm, on an industrial scale. The extrusion blocks were homogenized to balance out the micro-segregation resulting from solidification. The blocks were homogenized in two stages, in a temperature range of 465 degrees C.-485 degrees C., and cooled.
Example 1
[0038] After the casting skin of the blocks produced in this manner had been lathed off, the homogenized blocks were pre-heated to 370 degrees C. and formed multiple times to produce free-form forged pieces having a thickness of 250 mm and to a width of 500 mm.
[0039] Subsequently, the free-form forged pieces of alloy Z1 and Z2 were solution heat treated at 485 degrees C. for at least 4 hours, quenched in water at room temperature, and subsequently artificially aged between 100 degrees C. and 160 degrees C., wherein the artificial aging was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, the semi-finished product was heated to more than 100 degrees C. and held at this temperature for more than eight hours. The second stage, which was carried out immediately after the first stage, took place at a temperature of more than 130 degrees C. for more than five hours.
[0040] Drawing samples were taken from the artificially aged free-form forged pieces, on which the strength properties at room temperature were determined in the sample positions “long” (L), “long-transverse” (LT), and “short-transverse” (ST). The average strength properties of the alloy Z1 and Z2 for a thickness of 250 mm with water quenching are shown in the following table:
[0000]
TABLE 2
Stress
Alloy
Direction
Rp02 (MPa)
RM (MPa)
A (%)
Z1
Z1
Z1
Z2
Z2
Z2
[0041] Alloy Stress Direction R .sub.p02 (Mpa) Rm (Mpa) A .sub. 5(%) Z1 L 504 523 11.2 LT 502 533 5.2 ST 498 522 8.0 Z2 L 520 528 8.6 LT 508 530 4.0 ST 511 525 5.1
[0042] The results show that the R.sub.p02 and R.sub.m values are almost identical for all three stress directions, and lie above 490 MPa for the stretching limit (R p02 ) and above 520 MPa for tensile strength. The A 5 values are highest for the L direction, and reach at least 4% breaking elongation (A 5 ) for the two transverse directions. The fracture resistance K IC of the sample positions L-T and T-L was determined using compact drawn samples (W=50 mm) from the same free-form forged pieces, according to ASTM-E 399. The K.sub.IC values are listed as follows: TABLE-US-00003 Alloy Test Direction Position K.sub.IC (MPa m) R.sub.p0.2 (MPa) Z1 L-T Edge 30.5 529 L-T Core 32.9 504 T-L Edge 23.1 516 T-L Core 20.4 502 Z2 L-T Edge 30.3 514 L-T Core 35.9 520 T-L Edge 23.6 514 T-L Core 21.8 508
[0043] The stress crack corrosion resistance was determined on round samples for the LT and the ST position, according to ASTM G47 (alternating immersion test). The results are listed below for the alloy Z1: TABLE-US-00004 Electrical Stress Direction Stress Mpa Duration (Days) Conductivity LT 320>30 34.7 ST 320>30 34.7
[0044] For both test directions, lifetimes of more than 30 days are obtained at stresses of 320 MPa. In typical specifications for high-strength Al alloys, such as for AA 7050, for example, these lifetimes are demanded at minimum stresses of 240 MPa. This means that-the new alloy, despite clearly greater strength as compared with the alloy AA 7050, at the same time has a stress crack corrosion resistance that clearly lies above the minimum value for AA 7050.
[0045] Analogously, forged pieces having the same parameters were produced from the alloy Z1. In addition, the forged pieces were cold-upset in the short transverse direction (ST) after solution heat treatment and quenching, to reduce the inherent stresses resulting from quenching. After the subsequent hardening, which was performed in two stages, in accordance with the parameters indicated above, the strength properties were determined at room temperature, in the sample positions “long” (L), “long-transverse” (LT), and “short-transverse” (ST). The results for the alloy Z1 are listed in the following table: TABLE-US-00005 R .sub.p02 R.sub.m Alloy Stress Direction (MPa) (MPa) A.sub.5 (%) Z1 L 504 523 11.2 LT 502 533 5.2 ST 498 522 8.0 Z1+Cold Upsetting L 448 501 11.1 LT 468 516 6.7 ST 417 498 10.8
[0046] The results show that the R.sub.p02 and R.sub.m values for all three stress directions are less, and that the lowest value was found for the short-transverse direction (ST). The A.sub.5 values are highest for the L direction, and reach-at least 6% breaking elongation (A.sub.5) for the two-transverse directions. The decrease in strength can be reduced by shortening the second hardening stage. The fracture strength K.sub.IC in sample positions L-T and T-L was determined according to ASTM-E 399, using compact drawn samples (W=50 mm) from the same free-form forged pieces. The K.sub.IC values are listed in the following table: TABLE-US-00006 Alloy Test Direction Position K.sub.IC (MPa m) R.sub.p0.2 (MPa) Z1 L-T Edge 30.5 529 L-T Core 32.9 504 T-L Edge 23.1 516 T-L Core 20.4 502 Z1 +Cold L-T Edge 38.9 485 Upsetting L-T Core 42.2 448 T-L Edge 23.9 474 T-L Core 21.9 468
Example 2
[0047] In another series of experiments, free-form forged pieces having a thickness of 150 mm and a width of 500 mm were produced from alloy Z1 and, after solution heat treatment, were quenched in water or a water/glycol mixture with approximately 20% and approximately 40%, respectively, and warm settled as described above. One forged piece was additionally cold upset after being quenched in water. The influence of the various cooling media was determined on drawn samples that were taken from the forged pieces in the directions “long” (L), “long-transverse” (LT), and “short-transverse” (ST). The average strength properties of the alloy for a thickness of 150 mm for various cooling treatments are shown as follows: TABLE-US-00007 Quenching R.sub.p0.2 R.sub.m A.sub.5 Medium Stress Direction (MPa) (MPa) (%) Water(RT) L 551 573 10.3 LT 515 544 7.5 ST 505 549 8.0 Water (RT)+L 491 537 12.8 Cold upsetting LT 465 520 8.7 ST 430 513 8.5 Water/Glycol L 545 566 12.5 (16-20%) LT 520 547 7.2 ST 512 548 8.3 Water/Glycol L 503 529 12.2 (38-40%) LT 493 525 5.0 ST 487 526 5.6
[0048] The results show that a reduction in the cooling speed by adding glycol has hardly any influence on the strength properties of the alloy. The ductility decreases only minimally with a decreasing cooling speed, i.e. an increasing glycol content.
[0049] The fracture resistance K.sub.IC was determined in the sample positions L-T and T-L, according to ASTM-E 399, using compact drawn samples (W=50 mm) from the same free-form forged pieces. The K.sub.IC values are contained in the following table: TABLE-US-00008 Quenching Medium Test Direction K.sub.IC (MPa m) R.sub.p.02 Water (RT) L-T 36.8 551 T-L 23.8 515 Water (RT)+Cold L-T 39.1 491 Upsetting T-L 24.1 465 Water/glycol L-T 28.2 545 (16-20%) T-L 20.7 520 Water/glycol L-T 35.4 503 (38-40%) T-L 18.5 493
[0050] No clear dependence on the cooling speed is evident for the L-T position, but for the T-L position, a trend towards slightly lower values with decreasing cooling speed can be seen.
Example 3
[0051] To determine the strength properties, the alloy Z1 was also cast in another example, analogous to the first example, and blocks for extrusion were produced.
[0052] After the casting skin had been lathed off, the homogenized blocks were pre-heated to over 370 degrees C. and pressed into extrusion profiles having a rectangular cross-section, with a thickness of 40 mm and a width of 100 mm.
[0053] Subsequently, the profiles were solution heat treated for at least 4 hours at 485 degrees C., quenched in water at room temperature, and subsequently artificially aged between 100 degrees C. and 160 degrees C., in two stages (first stage: >100 degrees C., >8 h; second stage: >130 degrees C., >5 h).
[0054] Drawn samples were taken from the artificially aged extrusion profiles, on which the strength properties were determined at room temperature, in the sample positions “long” (L), “long-transverse” (LT), and “short-transverse” (ST). The average strength properties of the alloy Z1 for an extruded rectangular. profile (40.times.100 mm) for water quenching with subsequent stretching are listed in the following table: TABLE-US-00009 R.sub.p0.2 R.sub.m A.sub.5 Stress Direction (MPa) (MPa) (%) L 600 609 9.3 LT 554 567 7.1 ST 505 561 7.5
[0055] The results show that the R.sub.p02 and R.sub.m values are highest in the L direction, at values of 600 MPa and 609 MPa, respectively, and lowest in the ST direction, at values of 505 MPa and 561 MPa, respectively. The A.sub.5 values are highest for the L direction, and reach at least 7% breaking elongation (A.sub.5) for the two transverse directions. The fracture resistance K.sub.IC in the sample positions L-T and T-L was determined according to ASTM-E 399, using compact drawn samples (W=50 mm) from the same free-form forged pieces. The average fracture mechanics properties of the alloy Z1 and Z2 for a thickness of 250 mm and water quenching are contained in the following table: TABLE-US-00010 R.sub.p0.2 Test Direction K.sub.IC (MPa m) (MPa) L-T 50.9 50.9 T-L 30.7 30.7
[0056] FIG. 1 shows a diagram representing the strength behavior of various AA 7xxx alloys as a function of the average cooling speed during quenching from solution heat treatment temperature. It is clearly evident in this representation that the loss in strength when using the claimed aluminum alloy is significantly less, even at low cooling speeds, than in the case of the comparison alloys AA 7075, AA 7010, and AA 7050.
[0057] The strength values of the products/semi-finished products produced with the claimed alloy, determined within the scope of the description of the invention, are significantly improved, in particular with regard to stress crack corrosion resistance, as compared with products of previously known alloys, which represents a result that was not foreseeable in the form that occurred. The results shown are also interesting in that the strength values described can be particularly presented with artificial aging that is carried out in only two stages.
[0058] FIG. 2 shows a flow chart for a process for producing the alloy. For example, step 1 comprises providing the alloy which is disclosed in the above examples. In step 2 , the alloy is hot formed as described above, and in step 3 , the alloy is solution heat treated as described above. In step 4 , the alloy is quenched, while in step 5 , the alloy is optionally cold formed, while in step 6 , the alloy is artificially aged as described above.
[0059] Accordingly, while a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
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An aluminum alloy that is not sensitive to quenching, for the production of high-strength forged pieces that are low in inherent tension, and high-strength extruded and rolled products, consisting of: 7.0-10.5 wt. % zinc, 1.0-2.5 wt. % magnesium, 0.1-1.15 wt. % copper, 0.06-0.25 wt. % zirconium, 0.02-0.15 wt. % titanium, at most 0.5 wt. % manganese, at most 0.6 wt. % silver, at most 0.10 wt. % silicon, at most 0.10 wt. % iron, at most 0.04 wt. % chrome, and at least one element selected from the group consisting of: hafnium, scandium, strontium and/or vanadium with a summary content of at most 1.0 wt. %. The alloy can also contain contaminants at proportions of at most 0.05 wt. % per element and a total proportion of at most 0.15 wt. %, wherein the remaining component includes aluminum.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for managing printing data including parts data representing pictures and photographs image reproduction data representing a one-page image used in prepress process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A computer-aided prepress system consists of various devices, which generally include a reading scanner, an text editing device, a block-copy production apparatus, and a page make-up apparatus. Desirable printed matter is created with such devices according to the following process. Various parts data including picture data and character data are generated with the reading scanner and the text editing device. The parts data are then integrated to image reproduction data representing a one-page image with block-copy production apparatus and page make-up apparatus. Printing plates are produced from the image reproduction data, and the desired printed matter is printed with the printing plates by a printing machine. In such a prepress system, some devices have a storage unit which stores printing data in an off-line medium such as a magnetic tape or an optical disk. Printing data, or parts data, generated with a reading scanner is immediately stored in a magnetic tape of the storage unit, and the magnetic tape is successively transferred to other devices for editing, lay-out, or further processing. Namely, transfer of printing data is attained through the off-line media like magnetic tapes.
Picture image data, especially of a full-color image, has a large data volume and thereby requires a large capacity of a storage unit. For example, image data representing one full-color picture image of size A4 requires the capacity of 60 MB (Mega Bites). Any device in the printing system which treats the printing data including a picture image requires a storage unit of a large capacity, even if the device does not change the printing data itself. This results in the increased price of each device in the system and sometimes prevents desirable extension of the system.
Incidentally, in the current prepress system, an operator checks the progress of the prepress process without reading the printing data stored in a magnetic tape with a prepress device. Such direct access method is troublesome and time-consuming.
Some printing data needs to be stored for a certain time period so that they can be used in reprinting, reimpression, or partial use for other prints. Such printing data stored in magnetic tapes are classified according to a register book including names of clients and dates of prints, and held in a cabinet. Printing data required for reprinting or reimpression is retrieved manually according to the contents of the register book. This data management system is also troublesome and consumes much time for information storage and retrieval.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is thus to reduce the capacity of data storage units in a prepress system.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method of and an apparatus for readily controlling the progress of prepress processes.
A further object of the invention is to improve information storage and retrieval in a prepress system.
The present invention is directed to a printing data management system for producing desired printing data representing an image to be printed, comprising:
plural prepress devices, each executing at least one of prepress jobs;
a long-term storage unit for storing printing data including parts image data and assembled image data
a communication network for data transfer; and
a data management device, connected to the plural devices and the long-term storage unit via the communication network, comprising:
(1) process control data editing means for editing process control data including:
(A) identification data for identifying the desired printing data to be produced; and
(B) data being generated for each of the plural prepress jobs including:
(B-1) instruction data indicating a certain process performed by each prepress device;
(B-2) file management data comprising a first file name of printing data to be used in each prepress job, permanent storage data specifying printing data to be permanently stored after each job, and a second file name of the printing data to be permanently stored; and
( B-3) individual progress data representing the progress of each prepress job;
(2) process control data storage means for storing the process control data edited by the process control data editing means;
(3) a working memory unit for temporarily storing printing data required for producing the desired printing data with the plural prepress devices;
(4) control means for, in response to the identification data which is given from one of the plural prepress devices, supplying the process control data stored in the process control data storage means and the printing data stored in the working memory unit to the corresponding prepress device, storing an end mark which is set in the individual progress data by each prepress device on completion of each job, and outputting the individual progress data on demand; and
(5) storage data management means for transferring the printing data specified to be permanently stored by the permanent storage data and stored in the working memory unit, to the long-term storage unit and storing the printing data therein with the second file name.
According to an aspect of the present invention, the process control data editing means further comprises an output unit for displaying a list of the instruction data and file management data on display means.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the control means comprises output means for displaying a list of the individual progress data on display means.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, the control means comprises store protection means for keeping the file management data unchanged through processing with each of the plural prepress devices.
According to a preferred embodiment, the file management data includes attribute data defining whether printing data is parts data or final printing data.
According to another preferred embodiment, the first file name is identical with the second file name.
According to another preferred embodiment, the storage data management means successively transfers the printing data to be permanently stored from the working memory unit to the long-term storage unit when end marks for all the prepress jobs are set in the individual progress data.
According to a preferred embodiment, the storage data management means comprises elimination means for eliminating the printing data to be permanently stored from the working memory unit after transfer of the printing data from the working memory unit to the long-term storage unit is completed.
The present invention is directed to a printing data management method for producing desired printing data representing an image to be printed with a prepress system, comprising: plural prepress devices, each executing at least one of prepress jobs; a long-term storage unit for storing printing data including parts image data and assembled image data; a communication network for data transfer; and a data management device, the method comprising the steps of:
(1) preparing process control data including:
(A) identification data for identifying the desired printing data to be produced; and
(B) data, being generated for each of the plural prepress jobs, including:
(B-1) instruction data indicating a certain process performed by each prepress device;
(B-2) file management data comprising a first file name of printing data to be used in each prepress job, permanent storage data specifying printing data to be permanently stored after each job, and a second file name of the printing data to be permanently stored; and
(B-3) individual progress data representing the progress of each prepress job;
(2) storing the process control data in the data management device;
(3) temporarily storing, the data management device, printing data required for producing the desired printing data with the plural prepress devices;
(4) in response to the identification data which is given from one of the plural prepress devices to the data management device, supplying the process control data stored in the data management device and the printing data stored in the data management device to the corresponding prepress device, storing an end mark which is set in the individual progress data by each prepress device on completion of each job, and outputting the individual progress data from the data management device on demand; and
(5) transferring the printing data specified to be permanently stored by the permanent storage data and stored in the data management device, to the long-term storage unit and storing the printing data therein with the second file name.
According to the printing data management system of the invention, desired printing data is produced according to the following steps.
First, process control data is edited with the data management device. Here the process control data includes: identification data for identifying the desired printing data to be produced; and instruction data, file management data, and individual progress data, generated for each of plural prepress job. In the following step, printing data to be processed is stored in the working memory unit. Each prepress device extracts required printing data from the working memory unit and processes the printing data according to the process control data of each prepress job. When each prepress job is concluded, an end mark is set in the individual progress data. Completion of all the prepress job finishes the process of the desired printing data.
The instruction data is made with respect to each prepress job. Each prepress device can thereby selectively load printing data required for a certain prepress job. Namely, the prepress device does not require a large capacity of a storage unit.
The individual progress data is information of representing the progress of each prepress job. When a certain prepress job is concluded in each prepress device, an end mark is set in the individual progress data. An operator can check the progress of each prepress job according to the individual progress data.
The file management data .includes permanent storage data specifying whether printing data in the working memory unit is to be permanently stored. The storage data management means reads the permanent storage data on completion of the whole editing process, and transfers the printing data to the long-term storage unit. An operator does not need to individually specify the printing data to be stored in each prepress job but can centrally manage the printing data specified by the file management data.
The above and further objects and features of the invention will more fully be apparent from the following detailed description with accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a printing data management apparatus embodying the invention;
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an opening menu displayed on the display unit of the process control data editing device;
FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an example of discrimination data displayed on the display unit of the process control data editing device;
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view illustrating a function I of the process control data editing device;
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view illustrating a final print based on which process control data are generated;
FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing an example of instruction data;
FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing an example of file management data;
FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing another function of the process control data editing device;
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing reproduction process executed by the apparatus of the embodiment; and
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing storage process of printing data executed by the apparatus of the embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a printing data management apparatus 1 embodying the invention. The printing data management apparatus 1 includes: plural prepress devices 20 connecting to one another via a communication network 10; a data management device 30 for storing various printing data and controlling and managing the whole prepress process; and a long-term storage unit 40 for storing and managing printing data according to instructions from the data management device 30.
Typical examples of the prepress devices 20 are: a design system 21; an reading scanner 23; an recording scanner 25; an automatic precision drafting system 27; and a page make-up system 29.
The design system 21 generates comprehension layout data (hereinafter referred to as Comp data) Dcp indicating layout of a one-page image according to the planning and design of prints.
The data management device 30 includes: an interface element 31 communicating with the prepress devices 20 via the communication network 10; a control unit 32 being connected with the interface element 31 for processing various data; a working memory unit 33 for temporarily storing printing data Dtem under processing; a process control data editing device 36 with a display unit 36a for editing process control data Dpc with a keyboard or mouse; and a process control data storage unit 37 for temporarily storing the process control data Dpc edited with the process control data editing device 36.
The working memory unit 33 includes: a magnetic disk element 34 for storing the printing data Dtem; and a file management element 35 for managing the printing data Dtem stored in the magnetic disk element 34.
The long-term storage unit 40 includes: an optical disk memory unit 41 with an automatic changing mechanism for automatically exchanging plural optical disks 42; and a data base control unit 43 for managing permanent storage printing data Dps stored in the optical disks 42 of the optical disk memory unit 41.
The following is the prepress process with the printing data management apparatus 1 of the embodiment.
First, the Comp data Dcp was generated by a designer with the design system 21. The Comp data Dcp represents a rough draft of design consisting of lineworks and characters, which is generally used for presentation. The Comp data Dcp under a given file name is transferred from the design system 21 to the data management device 30 via the communication network 10. The control unit 32 of the data management device 30 stores the Comp data Dcp in the magnetic disk element 34 of the working memory unit 33. The given file name of the Comp data Dcp is registered in the file management element 35 of the working memory unit 33.
An operator then inputs the process control data Dpc into the process control data editing device 36. More concretely, the operator specifies the given name of the Comp data Dcp, transfers the Comp data Dcp to the process control data editing device 36, and edits the process control data Dpc required for production of the desired printed matter based on the Comp data Dcp. The process control data Dpc includes discrimination data Dds, instruction data Din, file management data Dfm, and progress data Dip, Dtp.
The discrimination data Dds identifies a target print to be produced from other prints, and includes information representing the name of a client, the type of a print, the order number, the date of order, and the deadline.
The instruction data Din, made for each job for the target print, includes with a job number (for example, Job No. 1, Job No. 2, etc.), and information representing instructions for the job and layout.
The file management data Dfm is used to manage printing data required for each job. The data Dfm includes information representing a work file name of parts data used in the job and of the resultant printing data, the attribute of data (parts or resultant data), the storage file name, and a permanent storage mark showing whether permanent storage is required or not.
The progress data includes individual progress data Dip representing the progress of each job and total progress data Dtp representing the progress of the whole prepress process.
Detailed steps of creating such process control data Dpc for a catalog are explained by way of example.
FIG. 2 shows an opening menu displayed on the display unit 36a of the process control data editing device 36, FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an example of the discrimination data Dds, and FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the process control data Dpc displayed on the display unit 36a.
The opening menu displayed on the display unit 36a includes the choices of `creation of new process control data`, `change of existing process control data`, and `exhibition of progress data` as seen in FIG. 2.
When an operator selects the `creation of new process control data` with a keyboard or a mouse, the screen of the display unit 36a is changed to show an input list for `creation of new discrimination data`. The operator then inputs discrimination data Dds including the name of a client and the type of a print as shown in FIG. 3.
After completing input of the new discrimination data Dds, the operator creates new process control data Dpc for each job, which is individually executed by each prepress device 20. Here the screen of the display unit 36a displays an input list for creating new instruction data Din and file management data Dfm as seen in FIG. 4. The display on the screen includes a job number given by an automatic numbering mechanism, a window Wd2 showing the Comp data Dcp, an instruction window Wd1 showing a list of information of given instructions and layout. The operator first places a cursor (not shown) in an "INSTRUCTION" box of the window Wd1 and selects a choice out of a preset selection menu Wd4 pulled down under the menu "INSTRUCTION" with a mouse. When the operator clicks the command `file specification` on the menu bar, a file window Wd3 is displayed for input of the work file name or other data. The whole prepress process is divided into a number of jobs, and instruction data Din and file management data Dfm are created for each job.
Process control data Dpc representing the page 1 of the catalog shown in FIG. 5 is created in the following steps.
When the operator starts editing of the process control data Dpc, the display unit 36a shows a screen page for input of data representing Job No. 1 as seen in FIG. 4. First, the instruction window Wd1 used for input of instruction data Din is displayed on the screen. The operator specifies a certain file name and makes the layout, which is represented by the Comp data Dcp, displayed on the screen. The operator refers to the window Wd2 of the Comp data Dcp, specifies instruction data Din representing instructions and layout as shown in FIG. 6, and inputs the instruction data Din into the instruction window Wd1. In FIG. 6, A001 and A002 represent the names of work files containing photograph data to be processed, and A1 and A2 denote cut-in positions of the photographs.
When the operator clicks the `file specification` command during creation of instruction data Din, the file window Wd3 is displayed on the screen. The operator then specifies the file management data Dfm representing the work file names, the attribute of data, and the permanent storage mark as shown in FIG. 7, and inputs the file management data Dfm into the file window Wd3. Here the work file name represents the name of parts data Dpt such as pictures and photographs. The attribute of data shows whether the printing data Dpt is parts data or final data. The name of the storage file shows the file name of printing data stored in the optical disk memory unit 41. The storage file name is registered in the data base control unit 43. The permanent storage mark represents information showing whether the parts data Dpt is to be permanently stored under the storage file name in the long-term storage unit 40.
When the process control data Dpc is created for all the jobs, a program stored in the process control data editing device 36 proceeds to produce the individual progress data Dip and the total progress data Dtp. The individual progress data Dip and the total progress data Dtp are changed between the initial state, `not concluded` and the final state, `concluded`. The operator can input an end mark `concluded` into the corresponding job through input into each prepress device 20. A list of the progress data as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed on the screen when the operator clicks the `exhibition of progress data` in the opening menu of FIG. 2.
After all the required process control data Dpc is created, the operator inputs printing data including photograph data and document data required for production of a target print. When the printing data used for reproduction is new data, photograph data is read with the reading scanner 23 and the photograph data is transferred to the magnetic disk element 34 of the working memory unit 33. For example, photograph data representing Mt. Fuji and a car are scanned with the reading scanner 23, are respectively given the work file names A001 and A002, and are loaded into the magnetic disk element 34.
When the printing data Dps stored in the long-term storage unit 40 is used for reproduction, the operator retrieves the printing data Dps in the long-term storage unit 40 with the process control data editing device 36. The control unit 32 transfers the printing data Dps to the optical disk memory unit 41 via the data base control unit 43 of the long-term storage unit 40, and loads the data Dps to the working memory unit 33, where the work file name of the process control data Dpc is given to the printing data Dps. Printing data Dtem to be processed is now prepared.
After creation of the printing data Dtem, each job in the prepress is executed. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing steps of each job (Job No. 1, Job No. 2, . . . , Job No. n). Here a page make-up process of Job No. 1 1 explained by way of example.
At step 100, the operator specifies discrimination data Dds for the page make-up system 29, and reads the process control data Dpc stored in the process control data storage unit 37 via the communication network 10 to display the process control data Dpc on a display unit of the page make-up system 29. At the following step 110, the worker loads printing data, for example, parts data Dpt, which corresponds to the discrimination data Dds and is to be processed with the page make-up system 29, into a working memory unit of the page make-up system 29 according to the instructions of the process control data Dpc displayed on the display unit. The printing data is processed with the page make-up system 29 according to the instruction data Din in the process control data Dpc at step 120. When the operator completes the page make-up process step 130, the program proceeds to step 140 at which the operator gives a preset file name (A000) in the file management data Dfm to the processed data, and temporarily stores the processed data in the working memory unit 33. The worker then clicks `concluded` on the local screen of the page make-up system 29 at step 150. Namely, an end mark `concluded` is input into the Job No. 1 of the individual progress data Dip stored in the process control data storage unit 37.
As described above, prepress process is divided into plural jobs defined by the process control data Dpc. Once one job is completed, and the end mark `concluded` is input into the individual progress data nip, the processed printing data can be further processed in the next job.
The operator can check the progress of each job and the whole process through operation of the process control data editing device 36. When the operator clicks the `exhibition of progress data` in the opening menu of the process control data editing device 36 shown in FIG. 2 and selects a desired target print corresponding to the discrimination data Dds, a list of the individual progress data Dip and the total progress data Dtp are displayed as shown in FIG. 8. Whenever the end mark `concluded` is input in each prepress device 20, the individual progress data Dip stored in the process control data storage unit 37 is renewed. The operator can thus readily check the progress of individual and total processing.
After confirming end marks in all the individual progress data Dip, the operator clicks `concluded` for the whole process on the screen. Here the end mark `concluded` is input into the total progress data Dtp.
When the operator inputs the end mark into the total progress data Dtp, the process control data editing device 36 outputs a signal to the control unit 32, where storage of printing data is executed according to a program stored in the control unit 32. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the storage process.
At step 200, file management data Dfm is read according to the discrimination data Dds.
At the following step 210, it is successively determined whether files of printing data are to be permanently stored based on permanent storage data in the file management data Dfm. Here determination is executed in the order of job numbers. The permanent storage data represents information whether printing data is to be permanently stored and is set during edition of the process control data Dpc.
When permanent storage of a first file, for example, job No. 1, is `required` at step 210, the program proceeds to step 220 at which the file name of the printing data is changed from the work file name to the storage file name. For example, the file name for printing data of Job No. 1 is changed from A001 to "Mt. Fuji".
At step 230, the printing data with the storage file name is transferred to the optical disk memory unit 41 of the long-term storage unit 40.
At the following step 240, the printing data stored in the working memory unit 33 is eliminated.
The program then proceeds to step 250 at which an address of the transferred printing data in the optical disk memory unit 41, the discrimination data Dds, and the file management data Dfm including the storage file name and the attribute of data are stored in the data base control unit 43.
When the permanent storage is `not required` at step 210, on the other hand, the program proceeds to step 270 at which the printing data stored in the working memory unit 33 is immediately eliminated.
The program then goes to step 260 at which printing data of the next job number, for example, Job No. 2, is read and proceeds to step 280.
At step 280, it is determined whether all the printing data files have been processed. The program repeats steps 210 to 270 until all the files are processed according to the program. When processing of all the files is completed, the program exits from the routine.
The following effects are attained by the above structure embodying the invention.
(1) An operator previously specifies printing data which requires permanent storage during creation of process control data Dpc, and stores such printing data with discrimination data Dds and a storage file name in the long-term storage unit 40. The operator can therefore centrally manage and control permanently stored printing data and extract desired printing data from the storage unit 40 through a simple retrieval process with key words in the discrimination data Dds or the storage file name.
(2) A block of printing data required for a certain job is selectively extracted and loaded to the assigned prepress device 20 each time when the job is executed. Since the apparatus of the embodiment includes the working memory unit 33 and the process control data storage unit 37 which communicate with the prepress devices, each prepress device 20 requires only a relatively small capacity of storage unit and the whole system is thus favorably extensible.
(3) The apparatus creates individual progress data Dip corresponding to each job. An operator can check the progress of each job and the whole prepress process only by clicking `exhibition of progress data` in the opening menu of the process control data editing device 36. Namely, the operator can readily manage and control the process.
The invention may be embodied in several other forms without departing from the scope of the invention, and the above embodiment is thus only illustrative and not restrictive in any sense.
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The invention provides a printing data management system which realizes unitary control and management of printing data including parts data like pictures and photographs used in reproduction and assembled data so as to improve the efficiency of prepress process. The system is provided with an edit device for editing various process control data, which includes: discrimination data for identifying a target print from other prints; and instruction data, file management data, and individual progress data generated corresponding to each of plural jobs. An operator can readily control the progress of each job throughout the prepress process based on this process control data. The system of the invention also allows efficient information storage and retrieval.
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This invention was made with government support under grants A126649 and 32615 awarded by the National Institute of Health. The government has certain rights of the invention.
This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. Ser. No. 08/273,962 filed on Jul. 12, 1994.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention provides methods for transfecting enteric parasites, transformed enteric parasites and vaccines generated from said transformed enteric parasites.
2. Discussion of the Background
Enteric protozoa cause a variety of diseases in humans. For example, Entamoeba histolytica is the cause of amebiasis, a disease which is surpassed only by malaria and schistosomiasis as a parasitic cause of death (Walsh, J. A. (1986) Rev. Infect. Dis. 8: 228). The parasite's distribution is worldwide, while the preponderance of morbidity and mortality is experienced in Central and South America, Africa and India. Groups at increased risk for severe disease include the very young and old, the malnourished and pregnant women (Armon, P. J., (1978), Brit. J. Ob. Gyn. 85: 264; Walsh, J. A., (1986), Rev. Infect. Dis. 8: 228). For example in Dhaka Bangladesh invasive amebiasis is more common in children of 2-3 years of age and in adults older than 40. The overall malnutrition of the patients may have contributed to the 29% fatality rate despite hospitalization and antiamebic chemotherapy (Wanke, C. et al, (1988), Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 38: 335. E. histolytica is also an important cause of nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infection in developing countries. E. histolytica was found to be the second most common cause of nosocomial diarrhea in a prospective study from the Instituto Nacional de la Nutricion in Mexico City. Mortality in patients with nosocomial diarrhea was 18%, compared to 5% in controls. The preponderance of disease in the developing world is due to fecal-oral spread of infection resulting from complex socioeconomic problems for which there are no immediate solutions. As the improvements in sanitation necessary to prevent the fecal-oral spread of enteric protozoa in the developing world are only slowly being made, control of amebiasis and other diseases is dependent upon advancements in diagnosis, treatment, and immunoprophylaxis.
The pathogenesis of amebiasis begins with cyst formation in the bowel lumen, where unicellular trophozoites undergo nuclear division to form the 4-nucleated cyst. Infection occurs when the cyst is ingested via fecally contaminated food or water. Cysts undergo further nuclear division during excystation leading to the formation of 8 trophozoites. Trophozoites multiply by binary fission. Amebic trophozoites can colonize the bowel lumen, encyst, and/or invade through the intestinal epithelium to cause colitis or liver abscess.
Entamoeba histolytica was named by Schaudinn in 1903 for its ability to destroy human tissues. E. histolytica trophozoites in vitro will kill a wide variety of tissue culture cell lines as well as human neutrophils, T lymphocytes and macrophages. Trophozoite killing of target cells is contact-dependent and extracellular. Killing of host cells by E. histolytica trophozoites in vitro occurs only upon direct contact, which is mediated by an amebic adhesin which recognizes N- and O-linked oligosaccharides (reviewed in McCoy et al, (August 1994) Infect. Immun. 62: in press). This adhesin is specifically inhibited by millimolar concentrations of galactose and N-acetyl-D-galactosamine-(Gal/GalNAc), and has been named the Gal/GalNAc lectin. This lectin is a heterodimer of heavy and light subunits which are encoded by multigene families designated hgl and lgl respectively.
The mechanism of contact-dependent killing by E. histolytica has been the subject of intensive investigation. Intracellular calcium in target cells rises approximately 20-fold within seconds of direct contact by an amebic trophozoite and is associated with membrane blebbing (Ravdin et al, (1988) Infect. Immun. 56: 1505). Cell death occurs 5-15 minutes after the lethal hit is delivered. Extracellular EDTA and treatment of the target cells with the slow sodium-calcium channel blockers verapamil and bepridil (Ravdin et al, (1982) J. Infect. Dis. 154: 27) significantly reduce amebic killing of target cells in suspension. Isolation of amebic pore-forming proteins similar in function to pore-forming proteins of the immune system has been reported by a number of laboratories. (Young et al, (1982) J. Exp. Med. 156: 1677; Lynch et al, (1982) EMBO J 7: 801; Young & Cohn, (1985) J. Cell Biol. 29: 299; Rosenberg et al, (1989) Molec. Biochem. Parasit. 33: 237; Jansson et al, (1994) Science 263: 1440). A purified 5 kDa amoebapore and a synthetic peptide based on the sequence of its third amphiphatic alpha helix have recently been shown to have cytolytic activity for nucleated cells at high concentrations (10-100 μM) (Leippe et al, (1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 91: 2602). Proteolytic activities of E. histolytica are also believed to be involved in damage of cells and the extracellular matrix of the host. Secreted amebic cysteine proteases cause a cytopathic (as opposed to cytotoxic) effect manifest by cells being released from monolayers in vitro without cell death (Reed et al, (1989 J. Clin. Microbiol. 27: 2772; Tannich et al, (1991) J. Molec. Evol. 34: 272; McKerrow et al, (1993) Ann. Rev. Microbiol. 47: 821).
There are a number of interesting molecules implicated in pathogenesis of enteric protozoan that could be targets for vaccines or therapeutics. The development of DNA transfection methodologies promises to enable genetic validation of their importance in pathogenesis via forward and reverse genetics, enable the production of avirulent enteric protozoa (for use a live vaccines) via genetic "knock-out" of virulence factor genes, as well as set the stage for an understanding of the genetic regulation of the expression of virulence factors during infection and invasion.
To date, little is known about regions required for proper transcription and translation of enteric protozoan genes. While the function of conserved regions identified in the flanking domains of reported genes could be postulated to be involved in regulation of transcription or translation, the lack of a transfection system blocked any attempt to definitively determine the flanking sequences required for gene expression. Thus, the development of a transfection system is required before the genetic elements responsible for proper regulation, promotion, polyadenylation, and ribosomal binding of enteric protozoan genes can be determined.
The development of vaccines against enteric protozoa has been hampered by an incomplete understanding of their pathogenesis. Although several proteins have been identified which appear to be involved in colonization and virulence, in most cases their specific functions and roles in pathogenesis are poorly defined. Enteric protozoa presents a challenge to genetic analysis because there is no known sexual cycle or method to introduce foreign DNA. The ability to manipulate the parasite genome via DNA transfection would allow a more detailed analysis of the factors responsible for virulence as well as enable the production of "attenuated" or avirulent parasites for use as vaccines.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide methods for manipulating an enteric protozoan genome via DNA transfection.
A second object of the present invention is to provide transformed enteric protozoan, especially less virulent forms of such protozoan.
A third object of the present invention is to provide vaccines generated from such transformed enteric protozoan.
A fourth object of the present invention is to enable the production of foreign or altered proteins in E. histolytica or other enteric parasites for therapeutic uses.
A fifth object of the present invention is to provide DNA sequences which provide maximal expression of proteins in E. histolytica.
The present inventors have now discovered that these and other objects can be achieved by a transfection system that maximizes foreign DNA internalization and expression without destroying the fragile trophozoite. In particular, the present inventors have found that constructs containing (i) a foreign gene to be expressed (ii) flanked by at least a 5' and ideally also a 3' flanking DNA sequence(s) from a protein-encoding gene of an enteric protozoa contain the necessary elements for proper gene expression in enteric parasites.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1. Plasmid constructs used to transiently transfect E, histolytica. , SV40 PROMOTER; , SV40 polyadenylation signal; V, intron; , SV40 enhancer; , luciferase coding region; , 5' flanking region of hgl1; coding region of hgl1; , 3' flanking region of hgl1; --, plasmid sequence; H, HindIII; B, BamHI; A, ClaI; X, XhoI; L, SalI; C, SacI; E, EcoRI.
FIG. 2. Optimal voltage and capacitance for electroporation. Amoebae in log growth phase were electroporated at various combinations of voltage and capacitance in the presence of 40 μg of BΔ1R8.D3. They were harvested after 6 hours and assayed for luciferase activity. Results are expressed as luciferase light units/2.1-2.3×10 6 amebae transfected. Each determination is representative of between three to five similarly performed experiments. ◯, 960 μF; □, 500 μF; ▪, 250 μF.
FIG. 3. Time course of luciferase expression post-electroporation. Amebae in log growth phase were electroporated at 500 μF and 500 V/cm with 40 μg of BΔ1R8.D3 or pGEM-luc, then harvested at various time points and assayed for luciferase activity. Results are expressed as luciferase light units/2.1-2.3×10 6 amebae transfected. Each point represents three assays. ▪, BΔ1R8.D3; ◯, pGEM-luc.
FIG. 4. 5' deletion analysis of the BΔ1R8.D3 plasmid construct. The endpoints of all deletions were confirmed by sequencing. Luciferase activity is expressed as percent of the expression (mean±S.E.; n=3) of the intact BΔ1R8.D3 plasmid measured simultaneously at 12 h after electroporation.
FIG. 5. Restriction map of the rDNA episome of E. histolytica. The locations of the EcoRI fragments that exhibit ARS activity in yeast (HMe and HMd) are shown inside the circle. E (EcoRI), H (HindIII).
FIG. 6. 5' deletion analysis of the lectin-luciferase transfection vector. Luciferase activity resulting from the electroporation of E. histolytica with plasmid constructs containing a progressively shorter 5' flanking sequence was assayed for luciferase activity 10 hours after transfection. The number of bases remaining 5' of the start codon was determine by sequence analysis and is indicated in parentheses. Reported activity is expressed as a percent of the activity of BΔ1R8.D3 (mean±SE). , 5' flanking region of hgl1; ▪, coding region of hgl1; uciferase coding region.
FIG. 7. Linker-scanner mutational analysis of the upstream regulatory region in between bases 201 and 287. Constructs differ from BΔ1R8.D3'41 in only a 10 base pair section (indicated in parentheses) that has been replaced with an EcoRI site. Reporter activity is expressed as a percent of the activity of BΔ1R8.D3'41 (mean±SE). Each data point represents four separate determinations. , 5' flanking region of hgl1; , area of mutation; ▪, coding region of hgl1; , luciferase coding region.
FIG. 8. Plasmid constructs used for stable transfection of E. histolytica. □, putative ARS-containing HMd fragment of rDNA episome; , 5' flanking region of hgl1; , neo gene; , 3' flanking region of hgl1; , β-lactamase gene. H, HindIII; B, BamHI; L, SalI; C, SacI.
FIG. 9. Southern blot analysis of transfected E. histolytica. Genomic DNA from E. histolytica was isolated from cells growing in 75 cm 2 flasks as described and digested with restriction enzymes and electrophoresed on an 0.8% agarose gel. The gel was transferred to a nylon membrane and hybridized with the BamHI--SalI fragment of pTCV1 (which contains the entire coding region of the neogene) labeled by random priming. Molecular weight markers (in kilobases) are shown at the left. (A) Restriction enzyme map of pTCV1. , 5' flanking region of hgl1; , neo gene; , 3' flanking region of hgl1; ,β=lactamase gene; H, HindIII; B, BamHI; L. SalI; E. EcoRI; C, SacI. (B) DNA digested with HindIII. Lane 1: untransfected HM-1:IMSS amebae. Lane 2: pTCV1-transfected amebae grown in G418 (6 μg/ml). Lane 3: purified pTCV1 from E. coli (C) Replication of pTCV1 in E. histolytica. DNA was digested with Sau3A in lanes 1 and 2 (a methylation-insensitive enzyme) or its isoschizomer MboI in lanes 3 and 4 (a methylation-sensitive enzyme). Lanes 1 and 3: genomic DNA from transfected E. histolytica. Lanes 2 and 4: purified pTCV1 from E. coli.
FIG. 10. Rescue of transfected pTCV1 in E. coli. Genomic DNA from pTCV1-transfected amebae was used to transform E. coli. DNA from ampicillin-resistant bacteria generated by transformation with the amebic DNA was subjected to restriction enzyme digestion, electrophoresed on an 0.8% agarose gel and visualized by ethidium bromide staining. Molecular weight markers (in kilobases) are shown at the left. Lanes 1, 3, and 5: pTCV1 in E. coli after passage through amebae. Lanes 2, 4 and 6: original pTCV1 plasmid from E. coli used to transfect E. histolytica. Lanes 1 and 2: uncut. Lanes 3 and 4: HindIII digested. Lanes 5 and 6: SaII, EcoRI double digested.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the first embodiment, the present invention provides a method for transforming an enteric protozoa. The method comprises introducing an expression vector containing a construct of at least (i) a 5' and ideally also a 3' flanking DNA sequence(s) surrounding (ii) a foreign gene to be expressed in said enteric protozoa. This embodiment is based on the inventor's discovery that the flanking DNA sequence of an enteric protozoa gene which is expressed natively in an enteric protozoa can be used to confer the ability to express a gene linked thereto.
Suitable enteric parasites which can be transformed according to the present invention include any enteric protozoa such as amebae (Rhizopodea), Ciliatea such as (Balantidium coli) and flagellates (Mastigophora). Suitable ameba include Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar, Entamoeba coli, Endolimaz nana, Entamoeba gingivalis, Iodamoeba butschlii, Dientamoeba fragilis Cyclospora species, Cryptosporidium parvum, Isospora belli and Microsporidic species. Of these, Entamoeba histolytica is preferred. Suitable flagellates include Giardia lamblia, Chilomastix mexnili, Trichomonas tenax, Trichomonas hominis and Trichomonas vaginalis.
These enteric protozoa are suitably transfected with an expression vector containing a construct containing (i) at least a 5' flanking sequence operably linked to (ii) a foreign gene to be expressed. In a preferred embodiment, the construct comprises both a 5' and a 3' flanking DNA sequence operably linked to said gene.
As used herein, "expression vector" means any DNA which can be transfected and expressed into an enteric protozoa. Suitable expression vectors include a single piece of DNA in linear or circular form and may include, in addition to the construct of the present invention, selectable marker genes and/or features which assist translation such as promoters, inducible elements, etc. These additional genes/features may be heterologous or homologous to the 5' flanking DNA sequence. Reporter genes such as chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT), G418 resistance gene, luciferase, β-galactosidase and the green fluorescent protein (Chalfie et al, (194) Science 263: 802) can also be included.
As used herein, "flanking DNA sequence" means a sequence of DNA which is native to an enteric protozoa and is natively found flanking a protein-encoding gene. The 5' flanking DNA sequences of the present invention contain a TATA-like sequence at approximately -30 bp from the initiation codon of the adjacent gene as well as a conserved sequence at approximately -10 bp. Suitable 5' flanking DNA sequences contain at least 0.5 kb (see construct BΔ1R8.D3'4B, FIG. 4), preferably at least 1 kb, of nucleotide sequence. Examples of 5' flanking sequences that may be used are shown in Table 1.
The 5' flanking DNA sequence of hgl1, the 5' flanking DNA sequence from actin and the 5' flanking sequence of pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase (PNK) gene are particularly preferred.
A construct containing only the 5' flanking DNA sequence is useful for obtaining transient transfection but is suboptimal (see construct AΔ2R8 and BΔ1R8, FIG. 1).
The 3' flanking DNA sequences of the present invention contain a conserved sequence near the termination codon of the gene to be expressed. Preferably the 3' flanking DNA sequence contains at least 0.5 kb of nucleotide sequence. Suitably, the 3' flanking DNA sequences may contain one of the following sequences shown in Table 1 (SEQ ID Nos: 1-16).
TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________3' Flanking Sequences__________________________________________________________________________TAAgaacaaTAATTaagagaattgaataacattt Purdy et al. (1993) Mol. Biochem. Parasitol. 62: 53-60TAActtttggAAATTaagTTATTttgttttcttt Tannich et al. (1992) J. Mol. Evol. 34: 272-273TAActtttggAAATTaagTTATTtttgtttcatt lg12 McCoy et al. (1993) Infect. Immun. 62: .sub.--TAAgcgtttTAATTtactttctcattt Actin 1 Edman et al. (1987) J. Exp. Med. 172: 879TAAgtCATTTttagttt Actin 2 Huber et al. (1987) Molec. Biochem. Parasitol. 32: .sub.--TAAgtcataagTGATTttttcattgat Ferredoxin Huber et al. (1988) [ref.]TAAacgtTAATTgaagaTATTTcatttt Edman et al. (1990) J. Exp. Med. 172: 879-888TAAatgagtTATTTgacttt SREHP Stanley et al. (1990) [ref.]TAG . . . . aaaTAATTaataaaatTAATTatttcttctttcc Elongation factor De Meester (1991) [ref.]TAAtTAATTTAATTatcttattattt hg12 Tannich et al. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266: 4798TGAaTATTTcacagttaaatcacttctttttatg Eh-CPp Tannich et al. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266: 4798TAAaacaaacaagaTAATTtaatacaaattatttt Eh-30 Tachibana et al. (1991) [ref.]TAAgtgaagtttCACTTttcccctc Eh-FeSODp Tannich et al. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266: 4798TAAatTAATTgatctctttgggtg Zinc Finger Stanley et al. (1992) [ref.]TAAgttttaagctactCAATTgagtaaattttcatac Eh-APp Leippe et al. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91: 2606TAA . . . . catccttttgTAATTgatttttaaccttt Ubiquitin Wostmann et al. (1992) [ref.]__________________________________________________________________________
Suitable 5' and 3' flanking DNA sequences can be isolated by screening genomic enteric protozoa libraries with oligonucleotide probes based on their published sequences. These flanking sequences are found flanking the open reading frames of the protein encoding genes. The sequences shown above in Tables 1 and 2 are examples of such flanking sequences (the lengths of the flanking sequences shown should be understood to be partial sequences which are shorter than the recommended lengths).
A particularly preferred 5' flanking sequences is the 1 kb of 5' flanking sequence with 16 base pairs of coding sequence isolated from the hgl1 gene. A particularly preferred 3' flanking sequence is the 2.3 kb of 3' flanking sequence from hgl1.
Progressively larger deletions of the 5' flanking DNA of the hgl1 luciferase construct can be generated using restriction enzymes, for example using exonuclease III. Sequences from -287. to -201 and from -201 to -110, when absent result in greatly decreased levels of luciferase expression, while deletion from -489 to -289 increase expression 2-fold (FIG. 6). Primer extension analysis of the endogenous and transfected hgl1 mRNAs map the start of transcription to approximately -7 bases from the start of translation. Because the -489 to -287, the -287 to -201, and -201 to -110 sequences are 5' of the start of transcription, these elements contain regulatory elements for transcription.
A scanning 10 base pair substitution (containing an EcoRI site) was introduced into the 5' flanking DNA of the hgl1-luciferase construct region from bases -270 to -210 using a two step Pfu polymerase PCR amplification technique. Replacement of the sequences from -230 to -220 with the linker resulted in reduction of luciferase expression to levels seen with deletion of the entire -287 to -201 region; replacement of the -220 to -210 region resulted in partial loss of luciferase expression (FIG. 7) demonstrating that the region from -230 to -210 contains a positive regulatory element for transcription.
Thus, preferably base pairs -287 to -0 of the 5' flanking sequence isolated from a protein-encoding gene of enteric protozoa are used as 5' flanking sequence.
In accordance with the invention, the 5' and 3' flanking DNA sequences are used in conjunction with a gene of natural or synthetic origin, or a combination of the two. Suitable genes to be expressed include luciferase, hygromycin, methotrexate and neomycin resistance genes. The drug resistance genes function as selectable markers, as enteric protozoa are sensitive to these antibiotics; for example, E. histolytica is sensitive to neomycin, with 100% kill at concentrations ≧3 μg/mn. These genes can be obtained from Promega Inc. The use of selectable marker genes will enable stable transformation of enteric protozoa.
A fragment of, or the intact enteric protozoan ribosomal DNA (rDNA) episome, will be ligated to the expression vector and transfected into the parasite. For example, the ribosomal RNA gene of E. histolytica is located in a circular extrachromosomal 24.5 kB molecule present in approximately 200 copies/trophozoite (Bhattcharya et al, (1989) J. Protozool. 36: 455; Huber et al, (1989) Molec. Biochem. Parasitol. 32: 285). Each episome contains two copies of the ribosomal genes and repetitive elements which occur in spacer regions, have tandem repeats, are variable between strains. Replicative intermediates of the rDNA episome have been detected in the 6.8 kB EcoRI fragment (HMe) of the ribosomal DNA episome by its anomalous migration on two dimensional agarose gel electrophoresis, suggesting that this fragment is near the origin of replication. The 4.4 kB EcoRI fragment (pHMd) of the rDNA contains a stretch of tandem DraI repeats which are downstream of the rRNA transcription units and which also have sequence similarities to yeast and Paramecium ARS, and which also have been shown to function as an ARS in the yeast S. cerevisiae. The restriction map of the rDNA episome of E. histolytica is shown in FIG. 5. Fragments of the intact rDNA episome, preferably HMd and/or HMe, can be included in the expression vector. The advantage of using rDNA episome sequences in the expression vector is that these sequences will allow multi-copy stable episomal expression of the expression vector.
The flanking sequences of the present invention can be linked to the genes to be expressed using conventional recombinant DNA techniques. Suitable techniques are described in Sambrook, J. et al., (1989) "Molecular Cloning. A Laboratory Manual", second edition, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. The gene to be expressed can be linked directly to the flanking sequence(s) or can be linked via intervening nucleotides. Preferably, the gene to be expressed is linked in an uninterrupted manner to the 5' flanking DNA sequence by approximately 16 bases of any Entamoeba protein encoding region (open reading frame starting at the AUG start codon) fused in frame to the open reading frame of the foreign gene to be expressed. The open reading frame of the foreign gene to be expressed should be followed 14 bases downstream of the foreign gene stop codon by the 3' flanking region of the Entamoeba protein encoding gene. "Operably linked" as used herein, means that the flanking sequence(s) and gene are linked in such a manner that the construct can be stably maintained in the host enteric protozoa and the gene is expressed.
The construct of the present invention can be inserted into plasmids. These constructs can be inserted into plasmids using conventional recombinant DNA techniques. Suitable techniques are described in detail in Sambrook, J. et al, (1989), "Molecular Cloning. A Laboratory Manual", Second Edition, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.
The plasmids of the present invention comprise a 5' flanking DNA sequence (containing upstream regulatory regions, the promoter and the ribosome binding sequence) fused to the beginning of the open reading frame of an Entamoeba gene (allowing protein translation to begin with amebic codons which are very A-T rich) followed by the foreign gene's open reading frame. Preferably the plasmid contains 3' flanking DNA sequence at the 3' end of the construct ligated very close (within 14 bases) of the stop codon of the foreign gene, since this 3' flanking DNA contains the Entamoeba transcription termination and mRNA polyadenylation sequences required for the production of stable amebic mRNA.
The plasmids of the present invention can further comprise a selection marker to determine if stable transfection has occurred. Preferred selection markers include the neomycin resistance gene or the hygromycin resistance gene.
The plasmids of the present invention may contain other features as the plasmid backbone is relatively unimportant for expression of the gene. Any conventional plasmid is suitable. For example, suitable plasmids can be purchased from Promega Corporation Madison, Wis.).
Plasmid BΔIR8.D3 containing a construct in accordance with the present invention was deposited as E. coli strain MC 1061 under the provisions of the Budapest Treaty on Jul. 6, 1994 at the American Type Culture Collection, 12301 Parklawn Drive, Rockville, Md. 20852 under accession number 69653. Plasmids pTCV1 and pTCV2 according to the present invention were likewise deposited with the ATCC on Feb. 10, 1995 under accession numbers 97050 and 97051, respectively.
The plasmids of the present invention can be introduced into the enteric protozoa by any standard technique used to introduce foreign DNA into cells including electroporation, lipofection (Felgner et al, (1987) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84:7413), DEAE dextran (Sambrook et al, (1989) "Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual", 2 ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York) etc. Preferably electroporation is used.
Electroporation is suitably conducted in accordance with the procedures of Van den Hoff et al (Nucleic Acid Res. (1992) 20: 2902). To obtain optimal insertion of the plasmid into the enteric parasites, the Van den Hoff et al procedure is modified such that incomplete cytomix can be made with the following formula: 120 mM KCl, 0.15 mM CaCl 2 , 10 mM K 2 HPO 4 /KH 2 PO 4 , pH 7.5; 25 mM HEPES, 2 mM EGTA, 5 mM MgCl 2 , total pH 7.8-7.9. Incomplete cytomix is preferred because it appears to be more effective than complete cytomix due to the unique biochemistry of the enteric parasites which appear to lack glutathione and utilize pyrophosphate and several steps of glycolysis (Petri and Ravdin, (1987) Eur. J. Epidemiol. 3: 123). Incomplete cytomix containing DEAE-dextran, preferably 3.1 μg/ml DEAE-dextran, provide the best system for electroporation. Plasmid concentrations of 10-80 μg/cuvette are particularly preferred for obtaining insertion of the plasmid to the host cell. Transfection is achievable using a capacitance of 250 μF-960 μF, preferably 500 μF, and a voltage of 250-1000 v/cm, preferably 500 v/cm resulting in a time constant of 5-15 msec, preferably about 10 msec. For best results the electroporation is repeated once.
Transfection of an enteric protozoa with a plasmid containing the construct of the present invention allows identification of amebic genes that may be therapeutic targets or useful in vaccines by "gene knockouts" and/or genetic complementation of avirulent or mutant ameba. Gene knockouts are accomplished by homologous recombination between the parasite chromosome and an expression vector which contains the 5' and 3' flanking DNA from a virulence factor-encoding gene surrounding a selectable marker. It also allows the production of avirulent ameba for vaccine use by knockouts of virulence genes. Targets for such knockouts include, but are not limited to, the genes encoding amebic adhesion, amebic pore-forming proteins, and amebic proteases.
The DNA constructs of the present invention, once introduced into the host cell, can exist either as chromosomal DNA or as episomal DNA. Use of rDNA episome sequences in the expression vector will enable episomal maintenance and expression. Expression vectors, such as the aforementioned plasmids, containing rDNA can be used to shuttle DNA between various hosts. For example, a plasmid in accordance with the present invention which contains a foreign gene to be expressed from E. histolytica can be transfected into E. coli, mutagenized using known techniques, reisolated and subsequently transfected into E. histolytica.
Host cells which are transfected with the construct of the present invention can be screened using conventional techniques. For example, when the gene to be expressed is a gene which confers resistance to a particular antibiotic, screening can be accomplished by gradually or immediately increasing the concentration of that particular antibiotic.
Confirmation that gene knockout or gene complementation has occurred can be obtained by Southern blots of restriction enzyme-digested DNA from the transformed parasite (see Sambrook et al, (1989) "Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual", 2 ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York ).
In a second embodiment, the present invention provides transformed enteric protozoa. These enteric protozoa can be less virulent than wild-type enteric protozoa.
In a third embodiment of the present invention, the transformed enteric protozoa can be used to generate vaccines against enteric protozoa-mediated diseases. Since the transformed enteric protozoa are less virulent, these transformed microorganisms can be used as "modified" forms. Conventional techniques can be used to generate live vaccines using the modified forms of the enteric protozoa. Alternatively, the transformed enteric protozoa can be destroyed and used to formulate killed vaccines using conventional techniques. In yet another embodiment, polypeptides or fragments thereof from the transformed enteric proeozoa can be isolated and formulated into synthetic vaccines using conventional techniques. Conventional techniques for preparing vaccines can be used such as those described in New Generation Vaccines, Woodrow and Levine, Eds., Marcel Dekker, Inc.: New York, 1990.
In a fourth embodiment, the transformed enteric protozoa of the present invention can also be used to provide systems for the expression of altered or foreign genes in E. histolytica and other enteric parasites. These expressed products could be used therapeutically.
Having generally described this invention, a further understanding can be obtained by reference to certain specific examples which are provided herein for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to be limiting unless otherwise specified.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
Expression of firefly luciferase in E. histolytica
Cell Culture Conditions. E. histolytica strain HM-1:IMSS trophozoites were grown in TYI-S-33 medium containing penicillin (100 U/ml) and streptomycin sulfate (100 μg/ml) in 75 cm 2 flasks at 37° C. (Diamond, L. S. et al. (1978) Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg. 72: 431). Amebae in log phase growth were used for transfection experiments after they had grown to 5.3-6.6×10 4 trophozoites/ml.
Plasmid Construction. Plasmid pGEM-luc, which contains the luciferase gene, and plasmid pGL2-Control, which contains the luciferase gene flanked by an SV40 promoter, polyadenylation signal, and enhancer, are commercially available (Promega Corp. Madison, Wis.). To make plasmid ΔR8 (all constructs are illustrated in FIG. 1), the 3' portion of the luciferase gene from pGEM-luc was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using the primers 94 and 95 (all nucleotides used for plasmid construction are described in Table 2) which added a synthetic XhoI site in the amplified product two bases 3' of the stop codon of luciferase (SEQ ID Nos: 17-23).
TABLE 2__________________________________________________________________________Oligonucleotide primers used in the construction of plasmids shown inFIG. 1Name Sequence Description__________________________________________________________________________94 TGGCCCCCGCTGAATTG Nucleotides 393 to 409 of luciferase coding region of pGEM-luc95 gcgcgc ctcgagTTTTACAATTTGGACTT Nucleotides 116 to 100 of luciferase coding region of pGEM-luc, XhoI site, reverse primer96 gcgcgc aagcttTTTGATAAGTCATGAGT Approximately -1000 bases 5' of hgl1 start codon, HindIII site98 gcgcgc ggatccCTTTCTAGTTCATTGTC Nucleotides -9 to -25 relative the start codon of hgl1, BamIII site, reverse primer99 gcgcgc gagctcACGATGTAACTCAATAA Approximately 2300 bases 3' of the hyl1 stop codon, SacI site, reverse primer118 gcgcgc ggatccATAATAATAATTTCATAT Nucleotides +16 to -2 relative to the start codon of hgl1, BamHI site, reverse primer131 gcgcgc gtcgacGAACAATAATTAAGAGAATT Nucleotides 1 to 18 3' of the hgl1 stop codon, SalI site__________________________________________________________________________ All nucleotides are in 5' to 3' orientation. Primers which are reverse antisense to the coding strand are referred to as ' reverse primers.' Lower case letters indicate nonhomologous sequences with restriction site underlined and listed under description.
The amplified product and pGEM-luc were digested with ClaI and XhoI and ligated together with T4 DNA ligase (Gibco-BRL). By effectively deleting 53 bases between the stop codon of the luciferase gene and the XhoI site in the multicloning site of pGEM-luc, 3' amebic sequences could be ligated in close proximity to the 3' terminus of the reporter gene. A short 3' untranslated region in amebic mRNA is typical and may prove critical to message stability. To make the AΔ2R8 construct, approximately 1 kb of the 5' flanking region of hgl1 was PCR amplified from a genomic clone containing the 5' coding region and flanking region of hgl1 (Purdy, J. E. et al. (1993) Mol. Biochem. Parasitol. 62: 53), using the primers 96 and 98. The amplified product and ΔR8 were digested with BamHI and HindIII and subsequently ligated producing plasmid AΔ2R8. This placed the 5' non-coding region of hgl1 5' of the reporter gene at the expense of replacing bases -1 through -8 of the hgl1 gene with the restriction site BamHI. Plasmid BΔ1R8 was constructed by PCR amplification of approximately 1 kb of the 5' flanking region of hgl1 as well as the first 16 bases of the hgl1 coding region using the primers 96 and 118. This product and ΔR8 were digested with HindIII and BamHI and ligated. This construct contained in order 5' to 3': an unaltered 5' non-coding region of hgl1, the first 5 codons of hgl1, 3 in frame codons created by the ligation of the synthetic BamHI restriction site to hgl1 and luciferase DNA, and the in frame methionine codon of luciferase. Not only is the 5' flanking region unaltered in this construct, but a hgl1/luciferase fusion protein should result allowing the amebic ribosome to initiate using the amebic codon bias before beginning translation of the foreign protein. To construct BΔ1R8.D3, the 3' flanking region of hgl1 was PCR amplified from a genomic clone containing the 3' coding and flanking region of hgl1 (Purdy, J. E. et al. (1993) Mol. Biochem. Parasitol. 62: 53) using the primers 131 and 99. The product and BΔ1R8 were digested with SalI and SacI and ligated together. This placed the 3' non-coding region of hgl1 14 bases 3' of the reporter gene. Plasmid AΔ2R8.1 was constructed by restriction digestion of BΔ1R8.D3 and AΔ2R8 with SalI and SacI. The 2.3 kb insert (3' flanking region of hgl1) from BΔ1R8.D3 and the AΔ2R8 plasmid were purified on an agarose gel and ligated together.
The structures of all constructs were confirmed by restriction digestion and all points of ligation were confirmed by DNA sequence analysis. Plasmids used for electroporation were isolated via alkaline lysis followed by purification on an anion exchange column (either Maxi tip-500 or Mega tip 2500) according to the manufacturers instructions (Qiagen, Chatsworth, Calif.). All preparations were assayed for purity and plasmid concentration by spectrophotometer. No luciferase activity was detectable in the purified plasmid preparations prior to transfection.
Electropotation. Log phase trophozoites were incubated on ice for 15 minutes in TYI-S-33 medium, centrifuged at 200×g for 5 minutes, and washed one time in incomplete cytomix [120 mM KCl; 0.15 mM CaCl 2 ; 10 mM K 2 HPO 4 KH 2 PO 4 , pH 7.5; 25 mM. Hepes; 2 mM EGTA; 5 mM MgCl 2 ; total pH 7.8-7.9]. Complete cytomix, containing 2 mMATP and 5 mM glutathione (van den Hoff, et al. (1992) Nucleic Acids. Res. 20: 2902) was used for comparison. Trophozoites were resuspended in incomplete cytomix at a concentration of 2.6-2.8 10 6 /ml and 0.8 ml was placed into 0.4 cm electroporation cuvettes (Bio-Rad, Melville, N.Y.) on ice. 40 μg of plasmid or distilled water and 2.5 μl of 1 mgl DEAE-dextran (Gauss, G. H. et al. (1992) Nucleic Acids Res. 20: 6739) were added and the media mixed immediately prior to electroporation. Standard electroporation conditions were 500 μF and 500 V/cm with a Gene Pulser augmented with a capacitance extender (Bio-Rad), resulting in a time constant of 9.7-10.6 msec. Cuvettes were placed back on ice for 15 minutes after which the electroporated trophozoites were added to 11 ml of TYI-S-33 medium containing penicillin, streptomycin sulfate, and 8 μM (2S, 3S)-trans-epoxysuccinyl-L-leucylamido-3-methyl-butane (E-64c, Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.) in capped glass tubes. 100-150 μl of pre-electroporated cytomix and post-electroporated trophozoites were spread on a Luria broth (LB) bacterial plate and aliquots of cytomix were added to LB-broth and TYI-S-33 media to confirm the lack of bacterial contamination.
For control experiments, 18-36 units of RNase (Boehringer Mannheim Biochemica, Indianapolis, Ind.) were added prior to electroporation, cycloheximide (Sigma) was added (100 μg/ml) to culture media (Soldati, D. et al. (1993) Science 260: 349), amebae were treated the same without electroporation, or cytomix was electroporated alone. In each case, cefotaxime (Claforan, Hoeschst-Roussel Pharmaceuticals, Somerville, N.J.) was added (100 μg/ml) to culture media.
Luciferase Assay. Transfected trophozoites in TYI-S-33 medium were centrifuged at 200×g for 5 minutes and washed one time in PBS, pH 7.5. The trophozoite pellet was resuspended in an equal amount of 1×lysis buffer [25 mM Tris-phosphate, pH 7.8; 2 mM 1,4-dithiothreitol (DTT); 2 mM 1,2-diaminocyclohexane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid; 10% glycerol, 1% Triton X-100] containing 75 μM trans-epoxysuccinyl-L-leucylamido-(4-guanidino)butane (E-64, Sigma) and 0.75 μg/ml leupeptin (Sigma). Samples were immediately frozen at -20° C. for a minimum of one hour, thawed on ice for 10 minutes, centrifuged briefly to pellet debris, and returned on ice for an additional 10 minutes. After warming to room temperature for 10 minutes, 20 μl of the amebic lysate was assayed in 100 μl of luciferase assay reagent [20 mM Tricin, 1.07 mM (MgCO 3 ) 4 Mg(OH) 2 .5H 2 O, 2.67 mM MgSO 4 , 0.1 mM EDTA, 33.3 mM DTT, 270 μM coenzyme A, 470 μM luciferin, 530 μM ATP, final pH 7.8] (Promega) using a Turner Luminometer Model TD-20e (Promega). Background luminescence on the luminometer was calibrated to zero immediately prior to all assays with E. histolytica electroporated without plasmid. The luciferase activity was calculated from a standard curve obtained before each experiment using the same substrate and exogenous firefly luciferase (ca. 1×10 7 luciferase light units/mg luciferase, Boehringer Mannheim Biochemica). To assay for luciferase secretion, growth media was assayed for luciferase activity with negative results.
Optimal Electrical Conditions of Electropotation. Amebic trophozoites harvested from log-phase growth cultures were electroporated with the BΔ1R8.D3 plasmid (40 μg/2.1-2.3×10 6 trophozoites) under a wide variety of electrical settings to determine the conditions yielding maximal luciferase expression. The optimal voltage and capacitance were determined to be 500 μF and 500 V/cm (200 V/0.4 cm cuvette) (See FIG. 2). At these conditions, the average time constant (related to capacitance and resistance) was 10.0 msec with the trophozoite rate of survival based upon visual inspection 25-35%. Electroporation with 125 μF, 25 μF, and 3 μF capacitances resulted in suboptimal levels of luciferase activity at all voltages assayed.
Optimal Electropotation Buffer. The amebae were resuspended in incomplete cytomix for all electroporation experiments reported. Electroporation using complete cytomix (van den Hoff, M. et al. (1992) Nucleic Acids Res. 20: 2902) resulted in luciferase activity 10-15% of that seen when incomplete cytomix was used (data not shown). DEAE-dextran, which is thought to increase the local concentration of DNA at the cell surface (Gauss, G. H. et al. (1992) Nucleic Acids Res. 20: 6739), was added to each cuvette prior to electroporation (3.1 μg/ml) as it resulted in luciferase activity 58% greater than the activity observed when no DEAE-dextran was present. Final DEAE-dextran concentrations of 10 μg/ml and 5 μg/ml decreased luciferase activity by 96% and 5% respectively from the activity observed when no DEAE-dextran was present. Luciferase activity increased linearly with plasmid concentrations of 10 μg/cuvette to 60-80 μg/cuvette using the described conditions.
Time Course of Luciferase Expression. Amebae were electroporated at the optimal electrical and buffer conditions and the luciferase activity assayed at different time points. The pGEM-luc plasmid which lacked amebic sequences resulted in background levels of luciferase activity at each assay (see FIG. 3). Luciferase activity after electroporation with the BΔ1R8.D3 construct was not detectable prior to 3 hours, peaked at 9 to 12 hours post-electroporation with luciferase activity 200 to 5000-fold greater than that seen with the pGEM-luc plasmid, and decreased to 20-fold over background by 24 hours.
Protease Inhibitors. E. histolytica produces significant amounts of cysteine proteases (Keene, W. E. et al (1986) J. Exp. Med. 163: 536). The addition of up to 40 μg of exogenous luciferase to amebic lysate resulted in only background levels of activity due to rapid digestion of luciferase (data not shown). Protease inhibitors were tested to determine the concentration that would maximally inhibit amebic proteases while minimally inhibiting luciferase. This was accomplished by resuspending trophozoites in lysis buffer, adding protease inhibitors alone, in combination, and at different concentrations, adding exogenous luciferase, and assaying for activity. Of the protease inhibitors assayed [phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, p-hydroxymercuribenzoic acid, ethylene glycol-bis(β-aminoethyl ether)N,N,N'N'-tetraacetic acid, trypsin inhibitor, p-chloromercuriphenyl-sulfonic acid, N-ethylmaleimide, E-64, 4-(2-aminoethyl)benzenesulfonyl fluoride, and leupeptin], it was found that concentrations of 37.5 μM of E-64 and 0.375 μg/ml of leupeptin were optimal, retaining approximately 50% of the exogenous luciferase activity.
As these protease inhibitors were not present prior to lysis, it was reasonable to assume that luciferase degradation was also occurring in the trophozoites prior to this step. Thus E-64c, an inhibitor similar to E-64 but able to cross cellular membranes, was added to the TYI-S-33 medium in which the amoebae were placed immediately after electroporation. Concentrations of E-64c between 1.4 μM and 10.6 μM increased luciferase activity after electroporation, with the optimal concentration of 8 μM increasing luciferase activity by 550%.
Control Transfections. The addition of the broad-spectrum antibiotic cefotaxime (100 μg/ml) to amebic culture media after transfection of BΔ1R8.D3 resulted in no decrease in luciferase activity, suggesting that electroporation of contaminating bacteria was not an explanation for observed luciferase activity. Additionally, bacteria were not detected when the electroporation buffer was spread on rich bacterial plates or inoculated into rich bacterial media. The addition of RNase (18-36 units/cuvette) prior to transfection of amoebae with BΔ1R8.D3 did not decrease luciferase activity indicating this activity was not due to contamination of plasmid DNA by E. col-produced luciferase mRNA transcripts. In fact, the addition of RNase increased luciferase activity from 86.3 mU±12.3 (x±S.E., n=3) to 79.6 mU±152.5 due to glycerol in the RNase stock which increased amebic survival. When glycerol alone was added to amoebae prior to electroporation, luciferase activity increased by a similar amount. The addition of cycloheximide (100 μg/ml) after transfection of B×1R8.D3 resulted in luciferase activity of 0.0 mU±0.2 indicating that luciferase is dependent upon eukaryotic protein synthesis machinery. Unelectroporated amoebae or cytomix electroporated without amoebae resulted in only background levels of activity (1.6 mU±0.1 and 0.6 mU±0.3 respectively) indicating that bacterial contamination of buffers or contamination of plasmid or amoebae with luciferase protein was unlikely.
Dependence on Amebic Flanking Sequences for nuciferase Expression. To determine which regions of hgl1 were required for expression of the luciferase gene, 2.1-2.3×10 6 amoebae/cuvette were electroporated with 40 μg of each plasmid construct at the optimal electropotation conditions and harvested after 9 hours. The resultant luciferase activity is shown in Table 3.
TABLE 3______________________________________Expression of transfected plasmid constructs.Plasmid mU/transfection S.E. n______________________________________pGL2-Control 0.0 0.1 3pGEM-luc 0.0 0.1 3AΔ2R8 0.8 2.4 3BΔ1R8 8.5 7.5 3AΔ2R8.1 1171.3 180.9 6BΔ1R8.D3 2619.4 291.0 6______________________________________
Amoebae were electroporated in cytomix containing 0.375% glycerol and assayed for luciferase activity. Activity is expressed as luciferase light units/2.1-2.3×10 6 amoebae transfected. S.E., standard error; n, number of determinations.
The pGL2-control construct which contains an SV40 promoter, enhancer, and polyadenylation signal is readily expressed in most eukaryotic systems. However, this construct resulted in no detectable luciferase activity in E. histolytica. The construct that lacked any promoter or polyadenylation sequences, pGEM-luc, also resulted in background levels of luciferase activity. The addition of the 5' flanking region of hgl1 to the pGEM-luc construct (AΔ2R8), resulted in luciferase activity slightly over background (see Table II). As this construct required the replacement of hgl1 bases -1 through -8 with a restriction site, which destroyed part of a conserved region (Edman, U. et al (199) J. Exp. Med. 172: 879), plasmid BΔ1R8 was constructed that contained all of the 5' flanking region of hgl1 present in AΔ2R8, the conserved sequence which had been altered in AΔ2R8, and 16 based of hgl1 coding region 5' of the start codon of luciferase. This effectively moved the restriction site out of the 5' flanking region of hgl1 and placed it 5 amino acids into an hgl1/luc fusion protein. Transfection with BΔ1R8 resulted in an average luciferase activity 10-fold greater than that observed for AΔ2R8 (see Table II).
In an attempt to further increase luciferase expression, 2.3 kb of the 3' flanking region of hgl1 was ligated 3' of the stop codon of luciferase in the construct AΔ2R8, creating construct AΔ2R8.1. When this construct was electroporated into amoebae, luciferase activity increased to 1171.3 mU/reaction or more than 2000-fold greater than background levels of luminescence. A similar finding was observed when the same 2.3 kb of hgl1 3' flanking sequence was ligated 3' of the luciferase stop codon in construct BA1R8 creating construct BΔ1R8.D3. Luciferase activity resulting from transfection of amoebae with BΔ1R8.D3 was over 300-fold greater than that observed from BΔ1R8 plasmid in amoebae.
Example 2
Production of a stable transfection system using a selectable marker (G418)
The antibiotic G418 can be used as a selectable marker for E. histolytica
To determine if the G418 resistance gene (neo) could be used as a selectable marker for stable transfection, G418 (0-50 μg/ml) was added in serial dilutions to a cloned HMI:IMSS E. histolytica strain grown in TYI-S33 medium. After 72 h of growth at 37° C., G418≧3 μg/ml killed 100% of the trophozoites. This demonstrates that E. histolytica is quite sensitive to G418, and neo is a suitable selectable marker for stable transfection.
Stable transfection of E. histolytica has been achieved using hgl1 neo constructs:
Ligation of neo in frame, and in place of the luciferase coding region in construct AΔ1R8.D3, resulting in the stable transfection vector pTCV1 (FIG. 8). A second construct with the HMd fragment of the rDNA episome (containing a putative origin of replication and repetitive DraI repeats to target integration into the rDNA episome) was also produced (pTCV2, FIGS. 5 & 8). The correct ligations were confirmed by sequencing over the sites of ligation. These two plasmid constructs express neo under the control of amebic cis-acting sequences, and when electroporated as circular plasmids have conferred stable resistance to G418 at concentrations of 12 μg/ml, which is 4 times the concentration required to kill nontransfected amebae. Electroporation of amebae with a construct containing a frame shift at +97 base pairs into the open reading frame of neo has not (in multiple attempts) resulted in resistance to G418. These experiments demonstrate that the G418 resistance observed in amebae transfected with pTCV1&2 is due to stable expression of neo.
Location of neogene in stably transfected amebae:
The neogene has been detected by PCR and by Southern blot analysis 1 month after transfection. DNA was purified from the total population (not clones) of amebae selected with G418 after transfection. Southern blots of amebic DNA digested with NdeI (which cuts both pTCV vectors once) and probed with neo demonstrated major bands of 7.4 kB and 19 kB for pTCV1 and pTCV2-transfected amebae respectively. The 7.4 kB NdeI band is the expected size for pTCV1 remaining episomal in pTCV1-transfected amebae. The 19 kB NdeI band for pTCV2-transfected amebae is the expected size for supercoiled pTCV2 plasmid and suggests that pTCV2 is also in an episomal location in the transfected amebae.
DNA was also analyzed from pTCV1-transfected amebae after digestion with restriction enzymes. On southern blots, aneo probe hybridized to a 7.2 kb HindIII fragment in pTCV1-transfected amebae. This band co-migrated with a band produced by HindIII digested pTCV1 isolated from E. coli (FIG. 9B). The copy number of pTCV1 from amebae growing in 6 μg/ml of G418 was estimated to be between 1-10 copies/amebae. RepliCation of pTCV1 is amebae was assayed with restriction enzyme isoschizomers that are differentially sensitive to methylation (FIG. 9C). The methylation-insensitive enzyme Sau3A cleaved pTCV1 from transfected amebae and pTCV1 from bacteria yielding bands of the same size, as shown in lanes 1 and 2. The methylation-sensitive enzyme MboI cleaved pTCV1 from transfected amebae, but was unable to cleave the pTCV1 propagated in bacteria. These data provided evidence for episomal replication of pTCV1 in transfected amebae.
Further evidence of the episomal nature of pTCV1 in transfected amebae was provided by the reintroduction of pTCV1 isolated from amebae back in E. coli (FIG. 10). Genomic DNA from pTCV1-transfected amebae was introduced into E. coli by transformation, producing ampicillin-resistant bacteria. Plasmid DNA recovered from these bacteria co-migrated with the original pTCV1 plasmid used to transfect E. histolytica when undigested (lanes 1 and 2), HindIII digested (lanes 3 and 4), or SalI, EcoRI double digested (lanes 5 and 6). G418-resistant amebae were not obtained when the amebae were transfected with aneo gene containing a frame shift at amino acid 33, indicating that a functional neo product was required for stable transfection. To date, we have grown pTCV1-transfected amebae in the presence of G418 for several months at concentrations of up to 24 μg/ml. Stable transfection was also obtained using a construct which contained neo flanked by actin sequences. With the ability to stably transfect E. histolytica it will now be possible to employ a genetic approach to study of virulence in an epteric parasite. The pTCV1 vector permits the shuttling of DNA between E. coli and E. histolytica and will enable genetic complementation studies to be performed by virtue of its episomal expression.
E. histolytica trophozoites can be cloned in Petri dishes.
The method of Gillin & Diamond (1978), for cloning E. histolytica trophozoites in tubes of soft agar, was adapted to a system where the colonies can be grown in Petri dishes as follows:
Trophozoites of E. histolytica (strain HM-1: IMSS) were chilled on ice for 10 minutes and diluted to a concentration of 10 3 trophozoites/mL with fresh TYI-S-33 medium (Diamond et al., 1978). A 5% (w/v) solution Bacto-agar® (Difco, Detroit, Mich., U.S.A.) TYI-S-33 medium base (prepared fresh weekly without serum, vitamin mixture or antibiotics) was autoclaved for 15 minutes and equilibrated at 55° C. in a waterbath. 30 mL of TYI-S-33 medium (containing 250 units/mL penicillin and 250 μg/mL streptomycin) were equilibrated to 42° C. for 10 minutes in 50 mL conical tubes. E. histolytica trophozoites/mL suspension) were added to the 30 mL of TYI-S-33 medium at 42° C. and the tubes inverted 5 times to mix. The 5% agar solution at 55° C. was added to the amoebic suspension (one tube at a time) to produce a final agar concentration of 0.3-0.8%. The final volume was adjusted to 40 mL with TYI-S-33 medium. The agar and amoebae were mixed by inverting the tube 10 times and the contents were then immediately poured into a Petri dish (plastic, 100 33 15 mm, Fisher Scientific Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S.A.). The Petri dishes were placed in a -20° C. 20 freezer for 10 minutes to allow the agar to set and were then placed in a 100% anaerobic environment at 37° C. (BBL Gas-Pak® Pouch, Becton Dickinson Microbiology Systems, Cockeysville, Md., U.S.A.). The colonies were visible to the naked eye after 3 d and were easily isolated and cultured at day 5. The colony forming efficacy (number of colonies formed/number of cells inoculated) was on average 50% when 100-500 amoebae were plated (Table).
Efficiency of colony formation by E. histolytica on agar plates
______________________________________Amoebae/ Colony formingplate Colonies formed Average efficiency______________________________________100 40 52 50 47 47%200 139 95 98 111 56%500 272 252 223 249 50%______________________________________
The best results were obtained with amoebic cultures less than 72-hours old, freshly made agar/TYI mixture and an agar concentration of 0.55%. The colonies are easily removed from the agar the growth and analysis with a Pasteur pipette. If needed, tens of hundreds of separate neomycin resistant colonies after transfection can be isolated and analyzed.
Having now fully described the invention, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many changes and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth herein.
__________________________________________________________________________SEQUENCE LISTING(1) GENERAL INFORMATION:(iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 23(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 34 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:1:TAAGAACAATAATTAAGAGAATTGAATAACATTT34(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 34 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:2:TAACTTTTGGAAATTAAGTTATTTTGTTTTCTTT34(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:3:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 34 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:3:TAACTTTTGGAAATTAAGTTATTTTTGTTTCATT34(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:4:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 27 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:4:TAAGCGTTTTAATTTACTTTCTCATTT27(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:5:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 17 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:5:TAAGTCATTTTTAGTTT17(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:6:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 27 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:6:TAAGTCATAAGTGATTTTTTCATTGAT27(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:7:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 28 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:7:TAAACGTTAATTGAAGATATTTCATTTT28(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:8:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 20 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:8:TAAATGAGTTATTTGACTTT20(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:9:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 37 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:9:TAGAAATAATTAATAAAATTAATTATTTCTTCTTTCC37(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:10:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 26 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:10:TAATTAATTTAATTATCTTATTATTT26(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:11:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 34 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:11:TGAATATTTCACAGTTAAATCACTTCTTTTTATG34(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:12:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 35 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:12:TAAAACAAACAAGATAATTTAATACAAATTATTTT35(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:13:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 25 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:13:TAAGTGAAGTTTCACTTTTCCCCTC25(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:14:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 24 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:14:TAAATTAATTGATCTCTTTGGGTG24(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:15:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 37 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:15:TAAGTTTTAAGCTACTCAATTGAGTAAATTTTCATAC37(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:16:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 32 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:16:TAACATCCTTTTGTAATTGATTTTTAACCTTT32(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:17:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 17 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:17:TGGCCCCCGCTGAATTG17(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:18:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 29 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:18:GCGCGCCTCGAGTTTTACAATTTGGACTT29(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:19:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 29 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:19:GCGCGCAAGCTTTTTGATAAGTCATGAGT29(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:20:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 29 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:20:GCGCGCGGATCCCTTTCTAGTTCATTGTC29(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:21:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 29 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:21:GCGCGCGAGCTCACGATGTAACTCAATAA29(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:22:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 30 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:22:GCGCGCGGATCCATAATAATAATTTCATAT30(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:23:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 32 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:23:GCGCGCGTCGACGAACAATAATTAAGAGAATT32__________________________________________________________________________
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The invention provides methods for expressing foreign genes in enteric protozoa. This transfection system was established using a gene ligated to the 5' and 3' flanking DNA regions of a protein-encoding gene from an enteric protozoa. The present invention also provides such transformed enteric protozoa, vaccines produced therefrom and foreign or altered proteins expressed in the same. The ability to introduce and express genes in amebae will now permit both genetic analysis and modification of the virulence of this organism, which remains a serious threat to world health and will facilitate basic research towards the control of this parasite.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/058,911, filed Aug. 13, 1997.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for generating electricity in an electric vehicle. More particularly, the invention pertains to improvements over existing wind-driven electrical generation systems for vehicles, and especially for automobiles.
2. Description of Related Art
A growing need exists for an automobile designed to operate with a minimal consumption of energy and a nominal impact on the environment. The exigencies created by the shortage of energy supplies and the growing air pollution problem demand a vehicle that can effectively utilize the mechanical energy of the air flow generated by the forward movement of the vehicle. Various systems have been proposed in response to this urgent need. Examples of systems generally related to the present invention include U.S. Pat. No. 3,621,930 issued November 1971 to Dutchak (System of Electricity Generation for Motor-Driven Vehicles); U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,425 issued February 1979 to Treat (Means for Generating Electrical Energy for Vehicle); U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,759 issued September 1979 to Hull (Automobile with Wind Driven Generator); U.S. Pat. No. 4,423,368 issued December 1983 to Bussiere (Turbine Air Battery Charger & Power Unit); U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,827 issued January 1994 to Taylor et al. (Venturi Effect Charging System for Automobile Batteries); U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,004 issued February 1994 to Finley (Automobile Air and Ground Effects Power Package); U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,233 issued February 1997 to Davis (System for Generating Electricity in a Vehicle); German Pat. No. DT 31 39 165 issued April 1983 to Arnold (Auxiliary Charging Device for Battery Driven Vehicle); German Pat. No. DE 35 00 141 A1 issued July 1986 to Fassman (Air Roller and Generating Set for Electric Vehicle); and German Pat. No. DE 41 38 898 A1 issued June 1993 to Gode (Auxiliary Power Source in Motor Vehicle Operated by Air Resistance When Travelling).
Existing wind-powered vehicle systems, generally include the following elements. Air ducts are disposed upon or within a vehicle body. The air ducts are positioned so that air flow generated by the forward movement of the vehicle channels air past rotation of the impellers at least. The rotating impellers drive a generator to produce an electric current. The electric current charges the vehicle's battery which in turn provides the source of energy to activate the electric motor.
Many such wind-powered electricity generating systems are intended for use as the sole power supply for electric cars. Other wind-powered systems are intended to assist other charging sources such as solar collectors, battery chargers for electric cars and alternators for conventionally-fueled vehicles. While the existing systems achieve varying degrees of success, a need exists for improvements in this technology. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention includes various improvements over existing wind-powered systems for generating electricity in a vehicle. The improvements include a multi-stage impeller system, an improved means for increasing the velocity of the air entering the multi-stage impeller system and a method for an electric air compressor to initiate the impeller system when all other means fail to charge the battery. These improvements may be employed individually, or in combination. Further, the present wind-powered electricity generation system may be utilized as a sole power supply or as an auxiliary electrical power supply. Moreover, although the system herein described is primarily directed towards use in an automobile, the principles and merits may also be applied to other vehicles and other power consumption units such as vans, trucks, boating vessels, airplanes, and power plants for residences and businesses.
The multi-stage impeller system includes a high-speed impeller designed for maximum efficiency in response to high velocity air flow in combination with a low-speed impeller, also designed for maximum efficiency in response to low velocity air flow. Whereas various units of the existing or conventional wind-powered vehicles employ multiple impellers to drive one or more generators, none disclose the use of multiple impellers designed for maximum efficiency in response to air flows of different velocities.
Use of a multi-stage impeller system is an improvement for the following reasons. It is well known that the response of an impeller blade depends upon factors such as the blade's shape and pitch and particularly the velocity of the air striking the blade. Wind striking the impeller blade rotates the impeller by imparting a portion of its kinetic energy. The impeller is attached to a generator of electric power which charges the battery. When the wind velocity decreases or increases, a flap valve of a bypass unit is operated in response to a sensor, the flap valve changing position thereby causing the wind to be redirected to the low-speed impeller or the high-speed impeller chamber, respectively. Thus, the low-speed or the high-speed impeller chambers will operate at maximum efficiency throughout the forward movement of a vehicle.
Another improvement over current systems relates to an improved start-up/back-up air compressor. Various current systems provide an air compressor to pressurize an air accumulator. Upon start-up of the stationary vehicle, the air accumulator discharges pressurized air upstream of the impellers to create an initial air flow. The accumulator delivers sufficient air flow to the impellers to propel the vehicle forward until adequate airflow develops within the air duct of the forward moving vehicle. However, the presence of the accumulator poses a problem because its additional weight decreases the efficiency of the wind-powered system. The present system solves this problem by not incorporating the air accumulator. Instead, the present invention incorporates a start-up/back-up air compressor which discharges pressurized air to the top, rearward portion of the impeller so as not to obstruct the air flowing through the wind tunnel. Thus, by discharging pressurized air to rear of the impeller blade, the start-up/back-up air compressor has a direct impact on the system. Moreover, this mini-amp pressurized air compressor reduces excessive weight otherwise incurred with use of the air accumulator and also saves valuable space. Depending upon the specific design of the start-up/back-up air compressor, it may be connected to discharge air to the rear portion of the impellers of either the low-speed impellers or the high-speed impellers.
Another improvement over current systems relates to an improved air duct. Various current systems provide air ducts with axially-narrowing passages which decrease into venturi tubes. The narrow diameter of the venturi tube causes air passing therethrough to drop in pressure and increase in velocity. Increasing the air's velocity is desirable because it increases the air's kinetic energy for more efficient rotation of the impellers. The present invention improves upon the existing air ducts by incorporating a specially-shaped air scoop at the front portion of the air duct. This specially-shaped opening is simulative of a vortex, namely, a rotating, small mass of controlled and regulated air in the form of a spiral configuring to a partial vacuum. In addition to narrowing axially in a rearward direction, the air scoop wall has an aerodynamic, funnel shape for spiraling the incoming air passing through the air scoop. The spiraling of the air further increases the velocity of the air passing into the venturi wind tunnels at the rear of the air duct.
Additionally, it is preferable that heating coils circumscribe the air scoop or, as referred to herein, vortex. The heating coils heat the incoming air passing through the air scoop to further increase the energy and velocity of the air through thermodynamic function. The heating coils can increase or decrease the velocity of the air passing through the vortex and the wind tunnels by a thermostatic sensor located at the air scoop/vortex. This sensor is responsive to the power condition of the batteries. If the charging condition of the batteries are low, the heating coils will heat the system around the vortex and the wind tunnel thus increasing wind velocity. If the charging condition of the batteries are near full charge, the heating coils decrease in temperature or the heating coils will disengage completely. By increasing the velocity of the wind/air striking the impellers, even greater energy will be transferred to the impellers to power the generator. The vortex and wind tunnel may be proportionally conformed in size to any automobile regardless of its specific design, dimension, or fabrication.
Another improvement relates to the wind tunnel or channel extending from the rearward of the vortex to the beginning of the impeller activation housing. Existing wind-driven electricity generating devices accomplish this task inertly or with a system which gradually has a loss of air velocity through obstructions in the channel. The present innovation will be a straight channel or tube. The tube will have a "rifling" action by means of cut, spiral grooves on the interior of the wind tube/tunnel, through the span or distance. The "rifling" (as with a firearm) will transform and redirect the air current to substantially increase the forces striking the impeller by increasing the velocity of the air, thus, conferring more energy onto the impellers to generate electricity. Moreover, the wind tunnel includes a continuation of the heat coils from the vortex to further increase the velocity of the air/wind in the system as previously described.
Another improvement over existing wind-driven electricity generating systems is the front grill. The front grill will deter debris, fragments and other airborne elements from entering the air duct system itself. The grill will be heated by fine wires attached to the forward end of the grill. This will immediately begin to heat air passing through the air duct system to an increased velocity. The heated grill will also serve to deter ice and snow accumulation in colder climates.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide an improved wind-power system for generating electricity in a vehicle or the power consumption units.
It is another object of the invention to improve the efficiency of a wind-powered system by incorporating a multi-stage impeller arrangement.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved efficiency wind-powered system by incorporating a multi-stage impeller arrangement with a high-speed or low-speed impeller bypass.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved efficiency wind-powered system by incorporating a start-up/back-up air-compressor which does not use utilize an air accumulator.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved efficiency wind-powered system by incorporating air scoops, comparable to a vortex, which spiral the incoming air to increase the velocity thereof.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved efficiency wind-powered generator system by incorporating a heating means to increase the kinetic energy and therefor, the velocity of air passing through the air scoops/vortex and wind tube/tunnel or the air duct of the system.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved efficiency wind-powered system by incorporating a heated grill to initiate heating the air, to impede debris and fragments from the air conduit and act as a deterrent for snow and ice.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved efficiency wind-powered electric generator system by incorporating a rifling wind tunnel which will act as a continuation of the thermodynamic process in the air scoops/vortex.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an efficiency wind-powered electric generator system by incorporating three backups to the principal which is wind power, namely, 1) thermodynamic heating coils located in the vortex and wind tube; 2) a thermostat regulating the heating coils and the amount of heat provided to the air duct system; and 3) multi-stage impellers, including low-speed and high-speed impellers, responsive to a sensor; 4) a start-up or back-up air compressor to initiate impeller movement; and four back-ups which are regulated by a battery sensor which communicates the condition of one or more batteries.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a large, high velocity impeller at the front, by the front grill, or at the rear, by the muffler/exhaust, to push air or to pull out air in order to create a forward moving vehicle, whereby a high velocity draft is obtained from rotation of the impellers so as to generate electricity.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes. These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side diagrammatic view of a wind-powered vehicle according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the wind-powered vehicle depicting the air scoops/vortex disposed in the vehicle grille.
FIG. 3 is a top view of the wind-powered vehicle depicting a cutaway view of the air scoops/vortex.
FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the major components of the wind-powered vehicle according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic side view of the impeller housing according to the present invention.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention is directed to a system for generating electricity in a vehicle or a power consumption unit. The major components include an air duct, a multi-stage impeller system which drives an electric generator, and a battery for empowering the electric motor.
FIG. 1 though FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawings depict the position and interconnection of the air-flow components disposed within a vehicle body V. Two air ducts 10 each have an inlet forming an air scoop/vortex 11 positioned at the front of the vehicle V for receiving air as the vehicle V moves forward, the air scoop/vortex 11 has an axially-narrowing passage 12 extending rearward. The walls of the axially-narrowing passage 12 are formed in an aerodynamic funnel-shape for spiraling the incoming air. Each air duct 10 has an outlet forming a wind tube/tunnel 15. The venturi wind/tube tunnel 15 is in communication with the air scoop/vortex 11.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, a multi-stage impeller system 20 is in communication with each of the wind tubes/tunnels 15 to receive velocitized air exiting therefrom. Each multi-stage impeller system 20 includes an impeller activation housing 21 having an activation housing passage 22, and an activation housing muffler 29. A high-speed impeller 30 is supported within the impeller activation housing 21 for rotation in response to high velocity air passing through the impeller activation housing 21. A low-speed impeller 40 is shown slightly offset behind the forward impeller for clarity of illustration in FIG. 1, but which is also supported within the impeller activation housing 21 in a parallel passage for rotation in response to low velocity air passing through the impeller activation housing 21. The high-speed impeller 30 and the low-speed impeller 40 are each connected to a different shaft 50 passing axially through an impeller 30,40, which rotate with the impeller 30,40, respectively, to drive an electric generator 455 and 456, respectively (shown diagrammatically in FIG. 4). Air leaving the low-speed impeller 40 or the high-speed impeller exits out of the activation housing muffler 29 to the atmosphere.
Furthermore, as seen in FIG. 5, the activation housing 21 includes a small circular hole 24 directed toward the impeller activation passage 22, located about 220°, and positioned in a direction directly facing the activation housing 21 on the exterior surface. The orifice 24 will be 11/2 inches in diameter and have a flat hanging appendage or integument 25 to open or close the aperture. Thus the velocity of the impeller can be increased or decreased by opening or closing the orifice 24.
Furthermore, the area surrounding the orifice 24 is heated via heating coils (shown in FIG. 5, element 413A). Thus, a higher air speed will enter the impeller housing 21 to cause an increase in the impeller speed. The acceleration of the impeller by means of the air entering via the impeller housing is subsequently calibrated by a sensor. The battery 60, although shown in FIG. 3 located under the front hood (for illustrative purposes only), is preferably placed under the rear seat of the wind powered vehicle "V".
FIG. 4 of the accompanying drawings is a diagrammatic view of the major components of the system for generating electricity in a wind-powered vehicle V according to the present invention. Each of the numbered blocks correspond with component parts of the embodiment showing a wind powered automobile as seen in FIGS. 1-3, by prefacing each numeral there shown with the digit "4". Air enters the air duct 410 through the heated grill 409 via the air scoop/vortex 411 which is positioned at the front of the vehicle "V" for receiving air as the vehicle moves forward. The air scoop/vortex 411 has an axially-narrowing passage extending rearward (not shown) to the wind tube/tunnel 415. Air scoop/vortex heating elements 413 are disposed surrounding the air scoops/vortex 411 and the wind tube/tunnel heating elements 413A (See FIG. 5). The elements 413A surround the wind tube/tunnel 415 to heat the air passing therethrough.
A wind speed sensor 416 is disposed at the rearward end of the wind tube/tunnel 415, just before the activation housing 420. The wind speed sensor 416 senses the wind velocity entering the activation housing 420 and sends an electric signal in sequence to 1) the high-speed impeller flap/bypass 417 or the low-speed impeller flap/bypass 419, 2) the air scoop and the wind tube/tunnel heating element 413, 413a, respectively 3) or the thermostat 414 for directing the air scoop 413 and wind tunnel 413a heat coils on a designed, measured basis. Air exiting the wind tube/tunnel 415 passes into the multi-stage activation housing 420.
Upon receipt of a predetermined signal from the wind speed sensor 416, the air passing through the wind tube/tunnel 415 will be selectively directed to the high-speed impeller 430 or the low-speed impeller 440 which are disposed in the multi-stage activation housing (20) upon separate shafts, including a high-speed impeller shaft 451 and a low-speed impeller shaft 450. Wind striking either the high-speed impeller 430 or the low-speed 440 causes rotation of the impellers 430, 440 and the shafts 450 and 451, respectively, therewith. One end of each shaft, 450 or 451, is connected to a generator, either the low-RPM generator 455 or the high-RPM generator 456, which generates an electric current in response to the rotation of the shaft 450 or 451 to power one or more batteries 460. The one or more batteries 460 provide electricity to the electric loads of the vehicle "V".
In a reciprocal fashion, each impeller within the impeller system 20 will have an orifice 435 which will increase or decrease the response of the impellers by either selective heat around the aperture or an integument over the aperture, opening or closing depending on the action of the sensor.
The one or more batteries 460 power 1) the wind speed sensor 416, 2) the battery sensor 425 for monitoring electric charge (amperage), 3) the electric grill 409 which initially heats the air coming into the system, 4) the controller of the low-speed impeller flap/bypass 417, 5) the controller of the high-speed impeller flap/bypass 419, 6) the air scoop and wind tube/tunnel heating coils 413,414, 7) the start-up/back-up mini-amp air compressor 418, and 8) the electric motor 421 which imparts to the vehicle forward or backward motion.
A signal from the battery sensor unit 425, set at a predetermined electric charge (amperage), selectively activates or deactivates the air scoop heating coils 413 and/or the wind tube/tunnel heat coils 413a, the start-up/back-up mini-amp air compressor 418. Upon activation, the start-up/back-up mini-amp air compressor 418 directs compressed air to the top, rearward section of the activation housing 420, just before the muffler 29. The start-up/back-up mini-amp air compressor 418 may be designed to discharge compressed air either towards the blades to form a clockwise motion on the low-speed impeller 440 or the high-speed impeller 430.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
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A wind-powered system for generating electricity in a vehicle or other power consumption unit generally having a multi-stage impeller system for driving an electric generator/alternator, an improved air channel, and an improved start-up/back-up air compressor. The multi-stage impeller system includes high-speed impellers and low-speed impellers for efficient energy conversion throughout the entire range of a vehicle's operating speeds or forward motion. The improved start-up/back-up air compressor discharges air directly to the multi-stage impellers, abolishing the need for heavy air accumulators. The improved air channel includes a specially formed air scoop/vortex, a wind tube/tunnel and a heating element to increase the velocity of the air passing therethrough.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 60/601,011 filed 12 Aug. 2004 and 60/522,205 filed 31 Aug. 2004. Said applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to afterburners for jet engines; and more particularly, the invention relates to afterburner fuel-feed arrangements for such engines which may be exemplarily employed on aircraft.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Afterburner spraybars for jet engines are well appreciated assemblies by those persons skilled in the relevant art. An example of such spraybars is found in International Publication Number WO 2004/033966 A1 which designates the United States, and in the corresponding United States Provisional Patent Application having Application No. 60/319,601; each of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference for purposes of disclosure.
In general, afterburner fuel spray arrangements are utilized to boost the thrust of jet engines during limited high-demand periods. Relevant to aircraft engines, such times can include, for instance, take off from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier.
The afterburner spraybars are located in the core gas flow of the jet engine, and are therefore subjected to extremely high temperatures, which can also be quite variable. This can present challenges, especially to configurations such as that shown in WO 2004/033966 A1 in which fuel pipes are directly exposed to the hot core gases behind the turbine section of the engine. Another problem with such fuel-pipe-exposed configurations is that the unsupported, relatively long length of the fuel pipes can make the assembly susceptible to eigenfrequencies (natural or harmonic frequencies) falling within engine range frequencies which is also viewed as detrimental.
For these reasons, it is generally known to provide protective heat shield structures for such afterburner fuel pipes, and even to distribute cooling bypass air thereto. One particular example is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,391 wherein a fuel distributing pipe 52 is preceded (with respect to core gas flow) by a shielding tubular enclosure 54. Through the illustrations of FIGS. 4-6 of the '391 patent, however, it is clear that the overall length of the fuel pipe 52 remains substantially unbraced with regard to the enclosure 54. In fact, as depicted in FIG. 5 of the '391 patent, it is clear that a slit 70 must be maintained therebetween in order for cooling air to pass therethrough. Even though it could be said that it appears from FIG. 6 that a distal or bottom end of the fuel pipe could be anchored in a wall end 66 of the enclosure 54, it is not represented that the predominantly unsupported length of the fuel pipe 52 is braced against assuming harmonic oscillation, with the engine. This detrimental performance can obviously cause extreme vibration of the fuel pipe 52 and/or enclosure 54 resulting in unacceptable vibrations of, and friction and wear between, the several constituent components. Still further, each fuel pipe is individually enclosed, and no fuel pipes are arranged adjacent or abreast to one another in a crosswise orientation to the engine's core gas flow as defined by the present invention, and as will be described in greater detail hereinbelow. These individual assemblies disclosed in the '391 patent are not only costly, but their required frequency of radial distribution within the core gas flow can compromise the throughput of the engine.
For these reasons, as well as others that will become evident to those persons skilled in the art from the descriptive disclosure provided herein, the present invention has been developed to address these problems and provide additional benefits to users.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As disclosed herein, the present invention is described with respect to three primary embodiments: (1) the afterburner fuel-feed arrangement alone; (2) the arrangement installed in a turbo-combustion engine; and (3) the arrangement installed in a turbo-combustion engine and mounted on an aircraft. In that the commonality between these several embodiments is the spraybar of the afterburner fuel-feed arrangement, and the other components of the developed embodiments are generally known, at least as utilized in the present disclosure, the invention is summarized on the basis of the spraybar.
Therefore, in one embodiment, the present invention takes the form of an afterburner fuel-feed arrangement comprising (including, but not necessarily limited to) an elongate fuel spraybar for distributing fuel to the afterburner section of a turbo-combustion engine. The spraybar has a longitudinal axis and includes a fuel-receiving spray head in fluid communication with a plurality of elongate fuel pipes surrounded by an elongate, aerodynamic-shaped shroud. The spray head is configured to be mounted in a casing of a turbo-combustion engine (which is contemplated to include both turbo-jet and turbo-fan engine configurations) and thereby project the surrounded fuel pipes into an interior through-core of the engine in cross-wise orientation to a core gas flow therein to establish an installed configuration of the spraybar.
In this embodiment, the shroud has an interior lateral sidewall that includes a pipe-receiving portion. The pipe-receiving portion is configured to abuttingly engage a corresponding shroud-engaging portion of an exterior surface of one of the plurality of elongate fuel pipes. The pipe-receiving portion is configured to substantially maintain the position of a fuel pipe, received therein, relative to the shroud. In this manner, the fuel pipes are supported along their length, and when the pipes are abuttingly engaged with the shroud, the thereby braced configuration is stiffened which raises the eigenfrequencies of the assembly (arrangement) into ranges higher than those of the incorporating engine. Each such feature serves and functions to minimize vibration, reduce wear, and increase operational life of the elongate fuel spraybar assembly.
In a further development (variation), the shroud has an elliptically tubular cross-sectional shape, taken perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the spraybar, along a predominance of a length of the shroud. Furthermore, the elliptical cross-sectional shape defines a long and short cross-axis of the shroud, the long cross-axis of the shroud being substantially aligned, in a preferred installed configuration, with a direction of core gas flow of the engine.
In an optional development, at least two of the several elongate fuel pipes are arranged adjacent and substantially parallel to one another, and with a longitudinal axis of each perpendicularly intersecting the short cross-axis of the shroud. As may be best appreciated in FIG. 9 , this orientation places the fuel pipes (in the illustrated case, a pair of fuel pipes) abreast of one another, and oriented long-wise (the combined width of the adjacent pipes, plus two thickness of the shroud) across the core gas flow. Heretofore, such orientations have been avoided in order present as little resistance to the core flow as possible by the fuel pipes. The unique configuration of the present adjacent fuel pipes, however, within the aerodynamic, elliptically shaped shroud, facilitates such an advantageous orientation. Still further, such a configuration reduces the total number of spraybar assemblies (compared to previously known configurations) necessary to adequately feed an engine's afterburner.
In a complementary development, the shroud and all of the elongate fuel pipes have a longitudinal axis oriented substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of spraybar.
As a further optional complement, the two elongate fuel pipes are adjacently and abuttingly arranged one to the other, and the so paired fuel pipes are in abutting contact with opposite interior lateral sidewalls of the shroud. In this manner, the elongate fuel pipes constitute a brace in the shroud against bending moments about the long cross-axes of the shroud.
As intimated above, another beneficial feature of the present invention is that accordingly configured spraybars have eigenfrequencies greater than eigenfrequencies of receiving engines thereof.
In a further development, the shroud further includes multiple (a plurality of) pipe-receiving portions, each of which includes an elongate recessed portion (i.e., a groove) flanked on each of two lateral sides thereof by an elongate raised-ridge portion. It is this configuration that presents the “wave” or fluted interior surface of the shroud.
In one example, a tight friction-fit exists between each of the plurality of pipe-receiving portions and a respective fuel pipe received therein when the spraybar is in an inactive state without fuel being fed through the fuel pipes (see FIG. 9 ). A comparatively reduced friction-fit exists therebetween when the spraybar is in an active state with fuel being fed through the fuel pipes (see FIG. 10 ).
It is preferred that each of the fuel pipes be tubular, and more preferably cylindrical in shape (having a circular cross-section) and that each respective pipe-receiving portion of the shroud be concavely configured (e.g., as a groove) and sized to establish an abutting conformance fit with a respective fuel pipe received therein when in the inactive state. In this manner, relative motion (or resistance thereto) between the fuel pipes and shroud provides mechanical damping to the spraybar and thereby decreases stress caused by vibrations.
Conversely, but in a complementary manner, in the active state in which the fuel pipes are being cooled (but the shroud is obviously still being heated by the core gas flow), a spaced-apart, but trapped configuration is established for the cylindrical fuel pipes received within the recessed portion (bounded by the raised-ridge portions) of the pipe receiving configuration at the interior lateral wall of the shroud. It should be appreciated that in this configuration a gap space can at least intermittently exist between the fuel pipes and shroud. Benefits that are derived therefrom are that the transfer of heat (given the buffering air gap) between the pipes and shroud is drastically reduced, and that the thermal stress of the shroud is also reduced.
Because of the fluted configuration presented by the pipe receiving portion(s) on the interior lateral sidewall(s) of the shroud, these receiving portions, and particularly the raised-ridge portions, brace against bending moments about long cross-axes of the shroud.
As may be best appreciated in FIGS. 6 and 8 , an expanding transition portion is interposed between the spray head and the shroud. An interior wall of the expanding transition portion is provided with a plurality of recesses therein, each of such recesses being aligned with an elongate recessed portion of a respective pipe-receiving portion of the interconnected shroud.
In still a further development of the invention, the long cross-axis of the shroud (see FIG. 9 ) is substantially aligned, in the installed configuration, with a longitudinal axis of the engine. In this orientation, the shroud acts as a directing vane for the core gas flow of the engine. In a preferred embodiment, the direction imparted to the gas flow is aligned with the longitudinal axis of the engine thereby easing throughput.
In yet a further development, a cooling air inlet opening is provided in the spraybar for receiving relatively cool engine bypass air into an interior space of the shroud at a location proximate a head-end of the spraybar. At a distal end of the spraybar, a cooling air outlet opening is provided for exhausting cooling air therefrom. As may be best appreciated from FIG. 5 , the cooling air outlet is of an elongated elliptical shape, dictated at least in partial dependence upon the elliptical shape of the shroud, which is effectively cut at an angle to a longitudinal axis thereof to provide such an outlet opening. In a complementary manner, it can be said that the cooling air outlet has an opening area greater than an interior cross-sectional area within the shroud taken perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the spraybar at a lengthwise location of the spraybar proximate the cooling air outlet (compare FIGS. 5 and 10 ).
As may be further appreciated from FIG. 5 , the configuration of the cooling air outlet can be described in terms of a plane that is coincident with the opening area of the cooling air outlet being transversely oriented to the longitudinal axis of the spraybar.
Due to the preferred orientation of the spraybar relative to the core gas flow as depicted at least in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the cooling air outlet forms a negative air-scoop relative to the core gas flow in the engine through-core in the installed configuration. In this manner, an effectively negative pressure is instituted outside the cooling air outlet thereby tending to draw the cooling air from the shroud, and at a minimum does not present back pressure thereto.
Several beneficial features have been described hereinabove regarding the presently disclosed invention(s). It should be appreciated that these observations are not exhaustive, and further advantages and benefits will become obvious to those persons skilled in the art in view of the present disclosure. Still further, the embodiment and examples described herein should not be considered as limiting, but are provided to assist persons skilled in the art to implement the inventions, but the meets and bounds of which are delimited exclusively by the patented claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an exemplary aircraft, with engines adapted according to the present invention, mounted thereto;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view, shown in partial cutaway, illustrating an installed configuration of a pair of elongate fuel spraybars on an engine and configured according to the teachings of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic view, taken as a radial section, showing details of the installed configuration of one spraybar;
FIG. 4 is a detailed perspective view of an elongate fuel spraybar shown in fluid communication with a fuel source;
FIG. 5 is a detailed perspective of the elongate fuel spraybar of FIG. 4 , but taken from the opposite direction, and illustrating details of the negative air-scoop cooling air outlet of the spraybar;
FIG. 6 is a partial-cutaway perspective view of the spraybar illustrating an exemplary embodiment of the pipe receiving portion of the shroud;
FIG. 7 is a partial-cutaway, perspective view similar to FIG. 6 , but showing a pair of elongate fuel pipes installed within the shroud;
FIG. 8 is a cutaway perspective view illustrating an interior half of a spraybar, and more particularly showing interior details of the shroud;
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a spraybar illustrating an inactive fuel-feed state (configuration) in which no fuel is being fed through the fuel pipes;
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the spraybar as illustrated in FIG. 9 , but in an active, feel-feeding state in which the fuel pipes have been cooled relative to the configuration of FIG. 9 ;
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the spraybar taken at a top location or portion of the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 14 and 15 below the spray head and where the fuel pipes are spaced apart, one from the other;
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the spraybar taken at a lower location or portion of the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 14 and 15 showing the paired fuel pipes welded together and in an inactive state;
FIG. 13 corresponds to FIG. 12 , but in an active state;
FIG. 14 is a perspective, cutaway view of an exemplary embodiment of the spraybar in which the paired fuel pipes are welded together along a majority of their length; and
FIG. 15 is a detailed cutaway, perspective view showing details of the paired fuel pipes adjacent the spray head of the spraybar.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are depicted in the accompanying drawings; the primary and unique common component being the configuration and orientation of an elongate fuel spraybar 28 for a turbo-combustion engine 12 , which is contemplated to take the form of either a turbo-jet or turbo-fan configuration.
FIG. 1 illustrates an actual utilization embodiment of the invention wherein an aircraft 10 is shown with a pair of turbo-combustion engines 12 mounted thereupon.
FIG. 2 illustrates in detail, one of the engines 12 depicted as being mounted on the aircraft 10 in FIG. 1 . In FIG. 2 , the engine 12 is shown having a longitudinal axis 14 centrally located through a casing 16 of the engine 12 . Defined within the casing 16 is an interior through-core 18 which is generally divided into a gas turbine section 23 preceding an afterburner section 24 . Through the core 18 , and the turbine and afterburner sections 23 , 24 , a core gas flow 20 passes.
An afterburner fuel-feed arrangement 26 is shown generally interposed between the turbine and afterburner sections 23 , 24 , and ahead of a flame holder 21 supported on flame holder struts 22 . In FIG. 2 , the spraybar 28 is shown in an installed configuration 30 with a longitudinal axis 32 thereof generally radially oriented with respect to the longitudinal axis 14 of the engine 12 .
It may be further appreciated in FIG. 2 that the casing 16 defines a bypass air annulus 19 through which bypass air is directed during the engine's 12 operation. The bypass annulus 19 is exteriorly bounded by an outer sleeve 17 and interiorly bounded by an inner sleeve 15 . Bypass air is diverted into the annulus 19 downstream of the intake fan of the engine 12 . A cooling air inlet 86 of the afterburner fuel-feed arrangement 26 is located in the bypass annulus 19 with its opening directed forwardly into the oncoming bypass air 19 . In this manner, bypass air is diverted through the afterburner fuel-feed arrangement 26 as described in greater detail hereinbelow. It should also be appreciated that a majority of the bypass air 19 flows past the spray head 34 of the afterburner fuel-feed arrangement 26 and is redirected back into the interior through-core 18 at the afterburner section 24 of the engine 12 . An exemplary course of bypass air 19 that is diverted through the spraybar 28 is shown in FIG. 3 utilizing a solid outlined arrow in the casing annulus, and then with a dashed-line outlined arrow in the afterburner fuel-feed arrangement 26 .
The radial section view of FIG. 3 schematically depicts the installed configuration 30 of a spraybar 28 in an engine 12 . The spraybar 28 , in this instance, constitutes an afterburner fuel-feed arrangement 26 . The spraybar 28 includes a spray head 34 , which in this illustration is connectable to a fuel source 35 (see FIG. 4 ). The location of the spray head 34 designates a head-end 36 of the spraybar 28 . In FIG. 3 , an elongate fuel pipe 38 , preferably cylindrical shaped, is depicted. As can be best appreciated from FIG. 7 , the visible fuel pipe 38 in FIG. 3 is a front pipe (from the perspective of the drawing) of a pair 46 of elongate fuel pipes housed within a shroud 50 and oriented crosswise to the core gas flow 20 .
The fuel pipe 38 includes fuel outlets 39 , exemplarily shown in FIG. 3 to number three, through which fuel from the source 35 is spray-ejected. From FIG. 3 , it may be appreciated that each fuel pipe 38 has a longitudinal axis 40 and an exterior surface 42 . As will be discussed in greater detail herebelow, and is more clearly illustrated in FIGS. 7 , 9 and 10 , a portion of the exterior surface 42 of the fuel pipe 38 constitutes a shroud-engaging portion 44 .
FIG. 3 also illustrates a preferred embodiment of the afterburner fuel-feed arrangement 26 wherein a spraybar 28 is mounted in the casing 16 of the engine 12 , independently from the flame holding arrangement. In the illustration, the flame holding arrangement is schematically depicted as comprising a flame holder 21 supported upon struts 22 which are fixed to the casing 16 .
It should also be mentioned that FIG. 3 schematically illustrates an installed orientation, or configuration 30 of the spraybar 28 in which a cooling air outlet 88 is located at the distal end thereof, and oriented to form a negative air-scoop 94 . This negative air-scoop 94 can be considered to be akin to conventional air-scoops employed, for example, as air rams on airplanes. The “negative” aspect is achieved by effectively twisting the scoop one-hundred and eighty degrees with respect to oncoming-flow, which in the instance of the present invention, is the core gas flow 20 . Therefore, the cooling air outlet 88 faces predominantly away from the oncoming core gas flow 20 so that a low-pressure zone or region is developed about the open area 90 of the outlet 88 so that cooling air is effectively withdrawn therefrom, without the possibility of backpressure. Still further, the aerodynamic characteristics of the elliptically shaped shroud assure very little wake-effect, downstream therefrom.
The open area 90 of the air outlet 88 is illustrated in FIG. 5 , where a reference plane 92 which contains (is coincident with) the open area 90 is provided for establishing relative orientations and configurations of outlet 88 with respect to the balance of the spraybar 28 .
As intimated hereinabove, FIG. 4 provides a perspective view of the embodiment of the present invention in which the afterburner fuel-feed arrangement 26 is constituted exclusively by the elongate spraybar 28 , which in this illustrated embodiment is shown fluidly connected with a fuel source 35 (which is not necessarily a required component of the instantly described embodiment of the invention). Here, however, exemplary placement of a cooling air inlet 86 into the spraybar 28 is shown proximate the spray head 34 , and the elliptical, elongate nature of the shroud 50 is illustrated. Still further, the longitudinal axis 32 of the spraybar 28 is shown, as is the length 56 of the shroud 50 . Fuel outlets 51 through the shroud 50 are also shown, and should be understood to align with fuel outlets 39 of at least one of the fuel pipes 38 in the assembled configuration of the afterburner arrangement 26 .
FIGS. 6-8 provide various cutaway views of the spraybar 28 . FIG. 6 illustrates the spraybar 28 without fuel pipes 38 installed therein, and as well indicates the longitudinal axis 54 of the shroud 50 . The interior space 52 of the shroud 50 can be best appreciated from the cross-section of FIG. 9 .
The spray head 34 is generally cylindrically shaped, while the shroud 50 is generally elliptically shaped. Therefore, an expanding transition portion 82 is interconnectively interposed therebetween. A groove or recess 84 is shown in an interior surface of the transition portion 82 which serves as a lead-in to an elongate recessed portion 70 of the pipe receiving portion 68 of the shroud 50 . Details of the interior lateral sidewall 66 of the shroud 50 are clearly depicted in FIGS. 8 and 9 . Therein, a “wave” or fluted configuration of the lateral sidewall 66 is shown as being collectively constituted by the elongate, concave, groove or recessed portion 70 that is flanked on each lateral side thereof by an elongate raised-ridge portion 72 .
Particularly suitable methods for manufacturing the shroud 50 include cold-drawing a tube through a slotted mold or die having a shape corresponding to the desired cross-sectional shape of the shroud, including the “wave” or fluted configuration of the pipe-receiving portions 68 located on the shroud's lateral sidewall 66 . Benefits of such manufacture includes the production of a relatively rigid shroud having high thermal strength. As an alternative, it is also contemplated that the shroud 50 may be produced by extrusion methods.
It will be appreciated by those persons skilled in the art, especially when taken together with the illustrations of FIGS. 9 and 10 , that the wave-configuration of the pipe receiving portion 68 acts and serves as a brace 74 to the shroud 50 . The bracing action of this configuration resists bending moments in the shroud 50 , and consequently the spraybar 28 , in directions substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 76 of symmetry of the pipe receiving portion 68 .
FIG. 7 is also a cutaway view of the spraybar 28 , but with a pair 46 of elongate fuel pipes 38 installed within the shroud 50 . From this Figure, especially when taken together with FIG. 9 , it can be appreciated that the pair 46 of elongate fuel pipes serve as a brace to the spraybar 28 against bending moments, particularly those directed across the paired fuel pipes 38 (aligned with the short axis 64 ).
FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate cross-sectional views of the elongate spraybar 28 , taken along the length 56 of the shroud 50 . In each, the elliptically tubular cross-sectional shape 58 of the shroud 50 , and consequently a predominance of the spraybar 28 is shown. An interior cross-sectional area 60 of the shroud 50 is depicted in FIG. 10 . Furthermore, the elliptical shape also defines long cross-axis 62 and short cross-axis 64 . Still further, the alignment of fuel outlets 39 , 51 can be appreciated from these figures.
FIG. 9 illustrates an inactive state of the afterburner fuel-feed arrangement 26 . In this configuration, no afterburner fuel is being fed through the fuel pipes 38 . In contrast, FIG. 10 illustrates an active state in which fuel is being fed through the fuel pipes 38 . By comparison, the fuel pipes 38 are relatively cooler in the active state and experience a certain degree of radial contraction. In the inactive state of FIG. 9 , a tight friction fit 78 is established between the fuel pipes 38 and shroud 50 at the engaging portion 44 . Conversely, in the active state of FIG. 10 , due to the constriction of the cooled fuel pipes 38 , a reduced friction fit 80 is established with the shroud 50 . It is contemplated that the abutting fit between the pipes 38 and shroud 50 may be merely reduced in the active state, or as depicted in FIG. 10 , a gap air space may be created therebetween. In either event, the location of the fuel pipes 38 relative to the shroud 50 is maintained by the raised-ridge portions 72 of the pipe receiving portion 68 formed on the interior of the shroud 50 .
One particularly preferred and exemplary embodiment of the elongate fuel spraybar 28 is illustrated in FIGS. 11-15 . FIG. 14 provides a cut-away perspective view of the entire length of the spraybar 28 , with the interior thereof exposed to reveal a pair of associated fuel pipes 38 . A detailed cut-away, perspective view of the spray head 34 is provided in FIG. 15 where the manifold for the distribution of fuel to each pipe 38 is shown. As depicted, at the spray head 34 , the two fuel pipes 38 are separated from one another, but converge toward each other at a top portion 47 thereof into an adjacent and parallel orientation. As illustrated, the adjacent portions of the fuel pipes 38 are joined together by a braze-weld connection 49 along a majority of their extension length. A cross-section depicting the fuel pipes 38 in their separated configuration adjacent the spray head 34 is illustrated in FIG. 11 . An example of the two pipes' orientation along their welded-together length is depicted in FIG. 12 regarding an inactive state in which fuel is not flowing through the pipes 38 and therefore abutting engagement exist between those pipes 38 and the shroud 50 . FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an active state of the spraybar 28 taken at a similar location to that shown in FIG. 12 except the welded together pipes 38 are slightly separated from the shroud 50 .
As intimated above, the described embodiments of the present invention are disclosed for illustration purposes of exemplary implementations of the unique afterburner fuel-feed arrangement 26 . It should be appreciated, however, that these examples are in no way limiting with respect to the afforded patent protection which is defined by the following patented claims.
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An afterburner fuel-feed arrangement including an elongate fuel spraybar for distributing fuel to the afterburner section of a turbo-combustion engine. The spraybar includes a fuel-receiving spray head in fluid communication with a plurality of elongate fuel pipes, which are surrounded by an elongate, aerodynamic-shaped shroud. The surrounded fuel pipes project into an interior through-core of the engine. The shroud has an interior lateral sidewall that includes a pipe-receiving portion configured to abuttingly engage a corresponding shroud-engaging portion of an exterior surface of one of the fuel pipes. The pipe-receiving portion is configured to substantially radially fix a fuel pipe received therein relative to the shroud, thus supporting and bracing the pipe and raising the eigenfrequencies of the assembly into ranges higher than those of the incorporating engine.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a clutch mechanism through which a machine may be driven, and more particularly, to such a mechanism which will disengage upon occurrence of an overload in the driven machine, the clutch mechanism including means for varying its torque output during operation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Overload clutches are known which are capable of disengaging upon the occurrence in the driven machine of an overload requiring a clutch torque output which exceeds a predetermined value, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,781,118 and 3,132,730, for example. However, as far as we are aware, such known clutches offer inadequate protection in respect of a great number of commercial applications wherein the driven machine has a high starting inertia but a relatively low running torque since the clutch must be able to accommodate the starting inertia, thus establishing the maximum torque value at which the clutch will respond in the event of an overload. Thus, if during running at low torque an overload occurs in the driven machine which does not reach the level of the starting inertia, the clutch will not disengage, thereby offering no protection for that condition.
An additional disadvantage of known overload clutches is their inability to accommodate conditions wherein the driven machine develops different torque levels during its running cycle. Thus, in some instances, while normal running generally is at relatively low torque, temporary high torque levels will occur as part of the normal running cycle, and such temporary high torque levels may cause known overload clutches to disengage, thus undesirably interrupting the normal operation cycle.
Additionally, when the driven machine is intentionally shut down by shutting down the prime mover, the inertia in the driven machine causes a high torque to be applied to the clutch. In this condition, disengagement will occur if that torque exceeds the torque for which the clutch is set; but continued engagement under this condition is desired so that the prime mover, clutch and driven machine will be set for start-up for the next operational cycle.
Those persons skilled in the art will appreciate the need for a clutch of the class described which can (1) accommodate high starting inertia; (2) respond to an overload at low running torque; (3) adjust its output torque during operation of the driven machine to accommodate normal running torque variations while at all times providing rapid overload protection; and (4) accommodate stopping torque without disengaging.
We have actually constructed a successfully operating and commercially desirable overload clutch based upon those requirements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In essence, our invention contemplates an overload clutch mechanism comprising a housing member, a rotor member, means mounting the members for relative rotation, means associated with the members for effecting transmission of rotary movement of one of the members to the other of the members by effectively engaging the members, the last-mentioned means being effective to disengage the members upon application of a torque exceeding a predetermined value to one of the members, and means operative at any time during the operating cycle of the mechanism to vary the torque level at which disengagement occurs.
According to one aspect of our invention, the means for effecting transmission of rotary movement of one of the members to the other includes at least one pawl formed with cam means and carried by one of the members for radial movement relative thereto, cam means associated with the other of the members and adapted to cooperate with the cam means of the pawl. One of the cam means may be in the form of a notch and the other may be in the form of a projection adapted to mate with the notch. At least one pin is carried by said one of the members for movement at an angle, preferably 90°, relative to the direction of movement of the pawl, the pawl and pin having engageable cam surfaces whereby the pin is effective normally to retain the pawl in rotary movement transmitting position, the pawl being effective to shift the pin to disengage the engageable cam surfaces when the pawl moves radially upon application of a torque exceeding a predetermined value to one of the members thus to terminate cooperation between the pawl cam means and the cam means of said other of the members.
Our invention also contemplates control means for controlling the effectiveness of the rotary movement transmission means to maintain the members effectively engaged, the control means being responsive to fluid under pressure for determining the torque level at which the rotary movement transmitting means disengages the members. The control means may include a piston adapted to contact the pin or pins, as the case may be, normally to maintain engagement of the engageable cam surfaces, and means applying fluid at a predetermined pressure to the piston. Actually, one of the members, such as the housing member, may include a cylinder and a piston moveable in the cylinder and adapted to contact the pin, or pins, to maintain the cam surfaces engaged.
The cylinder may be formed with vent means normally closed to the fluid under pressure and we provide valve means to vent the cylinder to release the fluid pressure on the piston upon application to one of the members of a torque exceeding the torque level established by the fluid under pressure acting on the piston. More specifically, the vent means may include a passage extending from the cylinder to the valve means which is opened by a solenoid to effect communication between the cylinder and atmosphere when an overload occurs, i.e., upon application of a torque value exceeding the torque level established by the fluid under pressure acting on the piston.
We also provide second normally closed valve means including means adapted to sense relative movement between the housing and rotor members when an overload torque is applied to one of them. In one embodiment of the invention, this second valve means further includes a passage extending through the piston and a valve member adapted to seat against the piston to close the passage and shift to open position upon relative movement between the housing and rotor members as occurs due to an overload condition. When this valve means is open, communication is established between the cylinder and atmosphere through the passage in the piston and a suitable vent opening. The valve means of this embodiment preferably take the form of a triangular-shaped stem moveable axially in the piston passage and having an enlarged head at one end adapted to seat against a mating surface formed on the piston for that purpose. The opposite end of the stem extends beyond the piston and is shaped with a cam surface and fits into a recess in one of the members, such as the rotor member. When an excessive torque or overload occurs, the housing and rotor members rotate relatively to one another and the recess walls cam the valve stem to unseat the head and open the valve, effecting communication between the cylinder and atmosphere through the piston passage.
The valve stem is partially bored from the head end, a spring is positioned at the base of the bore and a pin extends from the spring to the surface of the housing member forming the head of the cylinder. The stem is thus urged to seated or closed position with its stem projecting beyond the piston to position its cam surface in the recess of the rotor member. We also provide means such as springs to urge the piston away from the pin means when the cylinder is vented.
In many applications, it is important that the rotor and housing members be in a particular phase alignment during running. For this purpose, the second valve member functions to assure proper phase alignment of these members at start-up. Thus, in the event that, after disengagement, these members are not in phase, one of them, the rotor for example, may be jogged or indexed by means which will later be described to effect proper phase alignment. If after disengagement, the members are out of alignment, the valve stem will be out of alignment with its cooperating recess in the rotor, as described, and will bear against the unrecessed surface of the rotor so that it will not be able to close the piston passage, wherefore even if fluid pressure is applied to the piston, it will not urge the pins and pawls into position effectively to engage the rotor and housing members. However, by jogging or indexing the rotor, its recess will be brought to position facing the valve stem which will enter the recess under the force of its spring, thus to seal the piston passage and allow fluid pressure in the cylinder to drive the piston against the pins to cam the pawls into clutch engaing position.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the torque output of our clutch mechanism can readily be varied as required during operation of the driven machine to accommodate any number of variations in torque requirements simply by varying the air pressure acting against the cylinder. Such variations can be achieved by any convenient means such as by timed control of suitable pressure regulation apparatus, for example.
The control means that we have already alluded to include means that may conveniently take the form of a plate or ring exterior of the cylinder, but moveable with the piston to actuate appropriate circuitry for indexing, starting and running, and stopping and for indicating the condition of the clutch mechanism.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures for carrying out the several purposes of the invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions as do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Specific embodiments of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description, and are shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification wherein:
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an overload release clutch mechanism illustrating an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a detail view, partly in section, illustrating part of the second valve means and the rotor recess;
FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram illustrating one embodiment of a basic control circuit for operating the clutch mechanism;
FIGS. 6 and 7 are similar to FIGS. 1 and 2 but illustrate a second embodiment of our invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a tubular rotor 10 arranged for connection to the output shaft of a prime mover by means of a keyway 11. The rotor is flanged at 12, is formed with a recess 13 in its right hand end as viewed (see also FIG. 4), and is mounted for relative rotation in respect of a housing 14 by means of ball bearings 15 retained against shoulders conveniently formed on the exterior surface of the rotor by snap-rings 16 set in grooves provided for that purpose. The flange 12 is formed with a series of annularly equidistantly spaced V-shaped notches or cam surfaces 18 facing radially outwardly of the rotor 10.
The housing 14 comprises a ring portion 17 and a head 19 bolted together by cap screws 20, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
The ring portion 17 of the housing 14 is provided with a plurality of annularly equidistantly spaced radial bores 21 (six such bores being employed in the present embodiment), and an equal number of through bores 22 parallel to the longitudinal axis of the mechanism and each communicating with a respective bore 21.
Within each of the radial bores 21, we position a pawl 24 (FIGS. 1 and 3) each of which is formed with a pointed cam surface 25 at its inner end and a V-shaped notch or cam surface 26 facing its respective bore 22; and within each of the bores 22 we position a pin 27 having a pointed cam surface 29 adapted to engage the cam surface 26 of a respective pawl 24.
The ring portion 17 of the present embodiment is also provided with three annularly equidistantly spaced bores 30 opening towards the head 19 and in each of which is seated a helical spring 31 for a purpose later to be described. We also form mounting bores 32 and a shoulder 32a in the left hand end of the ring portion 17 of the housing for mounting a sprocket or the like by which drive power may be transmitted from the housing to the driven machine although it will be understood that the housing may be arranged to transmit driven power by any convenient means.
The head 19 of the housing 14 is bored and counterbored to provide an internal shoulder 34 and a cylinder 35, the closed end of which is recessed at 36 and is provided with a central through bore 37. Moreover, the cylinder 35 is vented through its side by an opening 38.
A piston 39 is disposed for reciprocating movement in the cylinder 35, and is formed with an annular recess for reception of a sealing O-ring 40, an annular shoulder 39a adapted to cooperate with the shoulder 34 to limit the movement of the piston under the influence of the springs 31 which bear against the face of the piston, and a through bore 41 opposite the recesses 13 and 36.
The end of the bore 41 facing the recess 36 in the head 19 is chamfered to form a valve seat and a valve member 42, comprising an elongate stem 44 and a valve head 45, is disposed for axial movement in the bore 41. The valve member 42 is formed with a bore 46 extending through the valve head and partially into the stem, and a spring 47 is disposed at the base of this bore to bear against the end of a pin 49 in the bore 46 to urge the pin against the base of the recess 36 formed in the head 19 of the housing 14. In the position of the parts as shown, the valve head 45 is seated and the stem 44 extends beyond the bore 41 into the recess 13 formed in the end of the rotor 10. As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the ends of the recess 13 and the corresponding end of the stem 44 are beveled to form cooperating cam surfaces; and as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the stem is generally triangular in cross-section while the bore 41 is circular.
From the description thus far, it will be appreciated that the clutch mechanism is shown in coupled or engaged position, that is, with the pawls 24 in their radially inward positions so that the pointed cam surfaces 25 thereof are engaged with a respective V-shaped cam surface of the rotor flange 12. The pawls are maintained in this position by the pins 27, the cam surfaces 29 of which are engaged with respective cam surfaces 26 of the pawls. The pins 27 are prevented from shifting out of engagement with the pawls by the piston 39 bearing against the opposite end surfaces of the pins, and the piston is in turn maintained in this position by fluid pressure, such as air pressure, admitted into the cylinder 35 through the bore 37.
It will be noted that, in the position shown, the stem 44 of the valve member 42 extends into the recess 13 of the rotor and the valve head 45 is seated against the piston thus preventing the flow of fluid from the cylinder through the bore 41 to the vent opening 38. The clutch mechanism is in normal operation condition and its torque output is determined by the air pressure in the cylinder 35 acting on the piston 39.
In the event that, while starting or running, an overload develops in the driven machine requiring a greater torque output than that for which the clutch is set by the air pressure acting on the piston 39, the overload torque will be transferred to the rotating housing 14 which will tend to stop rotating while the prime mover continues to drive the rotor. The cooperating cam surfaces 18 and 25 of the rotor and pawls, respectively, will act to shift the pawls radially outwardly camming the pins 27 to the right, as viewed, by the cooperative action of the cam surfaces 26 and 29. Thus, the piston 39 will start to move away from the rotor, the extent of its movement being limited by the shoulder 34, and a trip plate 43 will shift the piston to actuate a solenoid valve to vent the cylinder in a manner later to be described. Meanwhile, the beveled surface of the recess 13 in the rotor acting on the beveled end of the valve stem 44 will shift the valve member 42 to the right to unseat the head 45. The springs 31 maintain the piston 39 in its last position.
The clutch mechanism is thus disengaged so that rotation of the rotor 10 is not transferred to the housing 14 and the driven machine.
It will be noted that the pawls 24 are each provided with an annular recess for maintaining an O-ring in engagement with the wall of its respective bore 21. These O-rings seal the bores against dirt and dust and retain the pawls in disengaged position so that their cam ends do not bear against the rotor which continues to rotate until the prime mover is shut down.
When it is desired to re-engage the clutch mechanism, the valve stem 44 may be out of alignment with the recess 13 of the rotor wherefor the valve cannot close so that any air under pressure admitted to the cylinder would simply be vented and would not act on the piston, and the springs 31 would prevent the piston from acting on the pins 27. This feature assures that the device can operate only when the rotor and housing are in desired alignment thus in turn assuring synchronous operation of driven machines, when synchronism is necessary. This alignment is achieved by jogging the rotor until the recess 13 aligns with the valve stem 44, whereupon the spring 47 causes the valve to seat and air pressure admitted to the cylinder is effective to force the piston against the springs 31 to shift the pins 27 axially towards the pawls 24. The cam surfaces 29, acting on the pawl cam surfaces 26, shift the pawls radially inwardly to mate with the notches 18 in the rotor flange 12, whereupon the clutch mechanism is again engaged.
The piston 39 is connected to the aforementioned trip plate 43 which may be of any suitable configuration but is shown as a ring exterior of the cylinder, by means of cap screws 48 extending through bushed and sealed bores in the cylinder head. Thus, the plate 43 moves with the piston and can be used for control purposes such as actuation of switch means to operate the solenoid valve to vent the cylinder.
Since the housing rotates during normal operation, the bore 37, through which air is admitted to the cylinder, is fitted with a rotary union which may be of the type manufactured and sold by Deublin Co. of Northbrook, Illinois under Model No. 1102, for example.
As mentioned earlier, the initial starting torque necessary to overcome the inertia of the driven machine may be of a different and higher value than that required for running, and during running, the normal cycle of the driven machine may require varying clutch torque outputs to assure complete protection. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the torque output of the present clutch mechanism can be varied as necessary, according to the needs of each application, by varying the fluid pressure acting on the cylinder 39; and that such variations can be effected by any suitable pressure regulating means while the machine is running.
Turning now to FIG. 5, we illustrate a circuit for basic control of the clutch mechanism. The power supply is shown as a single phase F1, F2 three wire circuit, the third wire being grounded. A power switch 50 is operative to energize the primary coil of a transformer 51 to provide the desired voltage to an operating circuit which includes a lamp Y connected in parallel with the secondary coil of the transformer to indicate the availability of power in the operating circuit. A second lamp G is serially connected with a single pole double throw micro-switch 52, shown in position to energize lamp G, these in turn being connected across the transformer output. In a first sub-circuit we connect a solenoid 54 in parallel with the lamp G, and in a second sub-circuit we serially connect a normally open switch 55 and a solenoid 56, in parallel with the lamp G. In its position shown in broken lines the micro-switch 52 energizes a lamp R and a relay R1 connected as shown, and de-energizes the lamp G and both sub-circuits. A normally open jog switch 57 is connected from one side of the transformer through a normally open switch 59 to the second sub-circuit at a point between the switch 55 and the solenoid 56.
When the power switch 50 is moved to an on position, the lamp Y is energized to indicate that power is available and the lamp G is energized to indicate that starting may be effected by closing switch 55 if the rotor and housing members are in phase. If not in phase and jogging is necessary, the plate 43 will have shifted the switch 52 into the dotted line position and will be holding it there so that the lamp G is off and the lamp R is on. When the jog button 57 is intermittently closed, the rotor 10 rotates by energizing the prime mover through suitable contactors (not shown). Also, current passes to start and index relay 56 through switch 59 held closed by relay R1, and this process is continued until valve member 42 enters the recess 13, the valve closes, thus readying the cylinder and piston 39 to receive and hold fluid under pressure, and the plate 43 shifts switch 52 to solid line position, de-energizing lamp R and relay R1 to open switch 59, and to energize lamp G. The switch 55 is closed by relay R2 when energized by manual start switch 58 and in turn operates solenoid valve 56 to admit air at starting pressure to the cylinder so that normal running commences.
The solenoid 54 controls a valve supplying air to the cylinder at running pressure. As stated, when the housing and rotor members are in phase, relay R1 is de-energized, the switch 52 being in solid line position. It should be understood that relay R1 also controls normally closed switch 53 so that when that relay is energized, the clutch being disengaged and switch 52 being in dotted line position, the switch 53 is opened to prevent current from back feeding to the lamp G to indicate that the clutch is engaged when in fact it is not.
When an overload occurs, the piston and its plate 43 shift to the right as viewed in FIG. 1, the switch 52 is shifted to dotted line position by the action of the plate 43 de-energizing solenoid 54 and 56 venting the cylinder through a valve (not shown) controlled by solenoid 56 to de-energize the lamp G and to energize the lamp R to indicate that the clutch is disengaged, and the valve 42 opens.
In certain cases, an unusually high starting torque may be required and emergency energizing power is needed to start the driven machine. Accordingly, we provide an energizing circuit across the transformer comprising a normally open switch 60, a solenoid 61 and a normally closed switch 62, all serially connected. In such a case, the clutch will have disengaged after completion of the previous operation. The operator jogs the clutch as described above until the clutch is in phase, at which time the emergency circuit is actuated. Thus, upon closing the switch 60, the solenoid 61 will act to admit high pressure to the cylinder 35. The switch 62 is closed at this time because the relay R1 which controls that switch is de-energized since the clutch is engaged and micro-switch 52 is in the solid line position by reason of the position of the trip plate 43 which controls its position. Meanwhile, the switch 55 is maintained closed by the relay R2. The emergency circuit is thus employed to provide emergency power for starting under these conditions.
We also provide for running the machine when the clutch is disengaged from the power source. Thus, if the clutch is on a branch line of a machine, for instance, and it is desired to disconnect the branch, the power switch 50 is turned off disconnecting the drive through the clutch and effectively closing the machine power switch 92 to the starting coil 90 of the machine and the micro-switch 91 is shifted to the dotted line position by the trip plate. The operator may then operate the driven machine by closing the switch 94, which is an automatic reset switch that also is opened when the clutch disengages, thus delivering operating power to the machine start coil through source P1 P2. It will therefore be appreciated that we incorporate into our overload release clutch mechanism a feature permitting operation of the driven machine when the clutch is disengaged.
As indicated, one of the principle advantages of our clutch is its ability automatically and precisely to vary the overload torque value at which disengagement occurs. Thus, the driven machine will require a high starting torque, a relatively low normal running torque, a high stopping torque, and it may require running torque variations. If the clutch can respond only to a single torque value during operation, it must be set for the highest anticipated torque; but while running at a low torque, no protection is offered for torques which may occur at a value between running and starting torque. Since the present clutch employs the pressure of a fluid such as air to determine its torque output, that output may be varied on the fly, i.e., during operation by varying the fluid pressure acting on the piston. This can be achieved by the use of a fluid pressure controlling timer 95 in lieu of the relay R2. The timer can be pre-set to vary the pressure in the cylinder as needed during the operating cycle by operating pressure regulating solenoid valves. Thus, for example, when switch 58 is engaged, time relay 95 starts to time out and at the end of its adjustable time cycle it moves switch 55 to the open position cutting off the high pressure air being delivered to the cylinder under the control of solenoid 56 and forcing the air to pass through the low pressure line being supplied under the control of solenoid 54 effectively to vary the pressure to the cylinder 35.
Turning now to FIGS. 6 and 7, a second embodiment of the clutch mechanism is disclosed. The rotor 10' and housing 14' are mounted for relative rotation by bearings 15' and housing is bored to receive pawls 24' and pins 27' as in the first embodiment. In the present case however, the pins 27' are secured by cap screws to a pressure plate 70 which is rotatable relative to an annular piston 39' through bearing 71. The piston is mounted in a cylinder 72 formed in a head 19' and carries an exterior trip plate 43' by means of screws 48' extending through bushed and sealed bores in the head 19'. The piston is in the shape of an annulus which permits a shaft to enter the clutch from the right, as viewed, in axial alignment with a shaft keyed to the rotor. In this way, the clutch mechanism may be employed in a shaft-to-shaft arrangement as when it is desired to locate it between a drive motor and reduction mechanism.
In this embodiment, it will be seen that the pins 27' pass through a bored flange of a generally cylindrical hub drive member 75 of the housing, this member and the head 19' being mounted for relative rotation by bearing 76. The rotor 10' is formed with recess 13' in its right end, as viewed, and a trip out pin 77 extending through a suitable bore in the drive member has an enlarged end adapted to enter the recess 13' under the influence of a spring 79 bearing between a shoulder on the pin 77 and an opposing shoulder in the member 75. The pin extends through the member 75 and bears against the trip plate 43'. This pin 77 serves the same purpose as the pin 49 in the embodiment of FIG. 1.
In the present case, the piston 39' does not rotate but reciprocates axially in the cylinder with the trip plate to which it is attached, as already mentioned; and the cylinder 72 is provided with a fluid inlet 80.
The parts, as shown in FIG. 6, are in engaged position. When an overload occurs, the piston and plate 43' are shifted to the right by the pins 27' acting through the pressure plate 70, the plate 43' shifting switch 52 (FIG. 5) to dotted line position to vent the cylinder as already described in connection with the first embodiment. As shown, one of the screws 48' extends through a bushing sealed by an O-ring 81 in a bore extending through the head 19'. This bore is counterbored at 82 to a depth such that when disengagement occurs and the piston shifts to the right, the seal 81 overrides the base of the bore 82 allowing the cylinder to open to atmosphere along the outside of the bushing and through counterbore 82, the bore being internally slotted as at 82a to facilitate same. Thus, the pin 77 and the elements 48', 82 and 82a serve a purpose similar to pin 49 and valve 42 of the previously described embodiment.
From the foregoing description it will be seen that we provide an overload release clutch mechanism which can adjust its output torque during operation so that it can, for example, accommodate high starting inertia, respond to an overload at low running torque, accommodate normal running torque variations and accommodate stopping torque without disengaging. Our clutch can also provide emergency operating torque and can permit running of the driven machine when the clutch is disengaged.
We believe that the construction and operation of our novel overload release clutch mechanism will now be understood and that the several advantages thereof will be fully appreciated by those persons skilled in the art.
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An overload release clutch mechanism which includes a housing member and a rotor member mounted for relative rotation and means associated with said members for effecting transmission of rotary movement from one of said members to the other end being effective to disengage said members upon the application of a torque exceeding a predetermined value to one of said members is equipped with means operative at any time during the operating cycle of the mechanism to vary the torque level at which disengagement occurs. The members are held in engagement to transmit such rotary movement by fluid under pressure and the means operative to vary the torque level at which disengagement occurs control the pressure of said fluid.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to injection molding machines and, more particularly, to a hydraulic actuator assembly driving the die closing unit of an injection molding machine of the type in which the injection molding die is pushed closed and the closing pressure is produced by a single axially aligned power cylinder.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various push-type die closing units with axially aligned power cylinders are known from the prior art. Also known is an arrangement of a power cylinder which has a power piston with bypass passages for rapid opening and closing movements of the die closing unit during which the power piston moves through the hydraulic fluid in the power cylinder, rather than displacing fluid from one axial side, while replacement fluid enters the cylinder from the other axial side.
While the bypassable power piston is thus "neutralized" during the rapid opening and closing movements of the die closing unit, its piston rod may be arranged to act as a differential piston for one of the two travel movements. A single-acting auxiliary cylinder extending in the same axis as the power cylinder will then provide the opposite travel movement.
Die closing units with a hydraulic actuator assembly of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,047,871 and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,390. This hydraulic actuator assembly has a piston rod which extends through the power cylinder and into an attached auxiliary cylinder, or travel cylinder, carrying an auxiliary piston at its distal extremity. The power piston has a number of internal axial bypass channels which are surrounded by a circular valve seat. Cooperating with the latter is an axially movable annular valve plunger which, under the influence of a pressure space arranged between the valve plunger and a piston rod shoulder, can be pressed against the valve seat to close the bypass channels, when the power piston is to be pressurized for the creation of an elevated die closing pressure.
The piston rod of the power piston extends forwardly from the power cylinder, into engagement with a movable die carrier frame. The piston rod portion which extends rearwardly into the auxiliary cylinder is of smaller diameter. Accordingly, the piston rod itself is a differential piston, producing a die closing movement, when the power piston bypass is open and the power cylinder is pressurized. The coaxial travel cylinder produces the die closing movement.
This configuration of a hydraulic actuator assembly has the disadvantage of requiring considerable space in the axial direction. Both the power cylinder and the coaxial closing travel cylinder must accommodate a longitudinal stroke which corresponds to the maximum opening movement of the die closing unit, with the result that the axial length of the die closing unit is more than three times the maximum distance of the opening stroke of the die closing unit.
It is also known from the prior art to arrange a multicylinder hydraulic actuator assembly in such a way that smaller drive cylinders extend parallel to, and on diametrally opposite sides of a main cylinder, all three cylinders having their piston rods connected to a transverse plate member to produce a cumulative die closing pressure. Such an arrangement is disclosed in the German Offenlegungsschrift (Published Application) No. 1 529 937.
This publication suggests a hydraulic actuator assembly which has a conventional double-acting main cylinder arranged in the axis of the die closing unit and two smaller clamping cylinders arranged parallel and on diametrally opposite sides of the main cylinder. The die opening and closing movements are produced by the main cylinder, and the two clamping cylinders enter into action only, when the injection molding die is to be clamped shut under high pressure.
This is accomplished by means of clampable pistons in the clamping cylinders which, when subjected to an elevated hydraulic pressure, develop a clamping action between the pistons and their otherwise freely movable piston rods, thereby adding the forces created by the pressure spaces of the clamping cylinders to the force of the main cylinder. A solenoid valve controls two hydraulic lines which connect the high pressure space of the main cylinder with the pressure space of the clamping cylinders.
This arrangement, aside from its complexity in terms of the hydraulically clampable pistons in the lateral clamping cylinders, utilizes the main piston to produce the opening and closing travel of the die closing unit, thus requiring the displacement of large quantities of hydraulic fluid during each machine cycle, if the main cylinder is to be large enough to produce the necessary die closing pressure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Underlying the present invention is the primary objective of creating a compact hydraulic actuator assembly which, while retaining the advantages of the bypassable power piston and separate travel cylinder, suggests a novel, compact arrangement of the travel cylinder that does not double the length of the hydraulic actuator assembly, as has been the case in the past.
The present invention proposes to attain this objective by suggesting an improved hydraulic actuator assembly for a push-type die closing unit of an injection molding machine which has a central power cylinder with a bypassable power piston and two laterally and diametrally oppositely arranged travel cylinders with transversely connected piston rods for a rapid die opening travel, as well as a centrally arranged stationary plunger which cooperates with a bore of the power piston rod to produce a rapid die closing travel.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the power cylinder is so arranged that, during the opening travel, the power piston is being bypassed internally, as the fluid from the larger high-pressure space flows through axial bypass channels of the piston into the smaller low-pressure space, and the excess fluid is displaced from the low-pressure space of the power cylinder into the pressure spaces of the two single-acting travel cylinders.
For this purpose, the invention suggests a permanent internal communication between the low-pressure space of the power cylinder and the pressure spaces of the two travel cylinders. The combined displacement volume of the latter is preferably somewhat larger than the volume of excess fluid which is displaced out of the power cylinder in an opening travel with bypassed power piston. This means that the actuator assembly requires only a relatively small volume of pressurized fluid to execute the opening stroke. The same small volume of hydraulic fluid is displaced out of the assembly during the closing travel, provided the power piston is again being bypassed.
The preferred embodiment of the invention further suggests the arrangement inside the piston rod of the power piston of a cylinder bore which cooperates with a stationary hollow plunger, so as to create a small pressure space between the piston rod bore and the plunger. This plunger pressure space, when supplied with pressurized fluid, produces a forward displacement of the piston rod and power piston, for a die closing travel which requires a comparatively small volume of hydraulic fluid. As in the die opening travel, the power piston is being bypassed during the die closing travel. The fluid volume required by the plunger pressure space for the closing travel is preferably approximately the same as the fluid volume which is required by the pressure spaces of the combined power cylinder and travel cylinders for the opening travel.
In the closed position of the injection molding die, the pressure in the plunger pressure space can be augmented by the supply of pressurized fluid to the high-pressure space of the power piston, following the hydraulic closing of the bypass channels in the power piston. The total effective pressure space for the die closing pressure then corresponds exactly to the full cross section of the power cylinder bore.
The proposed hydraulic actuator assembly thus offers a dual advantage, inasmuch as it requires only approximately one-half the axial space of the prior art hydraulic actuator, and inasmuch as the entire cross-sectional area of the power piston bore is being used as a pressure space for the generation of the closing pressure. This compact arrangement not only means a weight reduction for the hydraulic actuator assembly, it also offers the possibility of providing a pivotability of the die closing unit into a vertical orientation, under constraints which would not have previously permitted such a pivotability. Obviously, the reduction in weight of the proposed hydraulic actuator assembly is particularly advantageous for all die closing unit configurations in which the hydraulic actuator assembly is supported in a cantilever-type mounting arrangement.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Further special features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description following below, when taken together with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, an embodiment of the invention, represented in the various figures as follows:
FIG. 1 is a frontal elevational view of a die closing unit featuring a compact hydraulic actuator assembly as an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 shows the die closing unit of FIG. 1 in a plan view;
FIG. 3 represents an enlarged horizontal longitudinal cross section through the hydraulic actuator assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2;
FIG. 3a shows a further enlarged portion of the assembly cross section of FIG. 3, with minor modifications;
FIG. 4 shows the die closing unit of FIGS. 1-3 in an elevational end view, as seen from the rear side; and
FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of the die closing unit of the invention and its major hydraulic control components.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 show a die closing unit mounted on the machine base 10 of an injection molding machine. The die closing unit includes a stationary die carrier plate 11 and a stationary cylinder head plate 12 arranged at a considerable axial distance from each other and bolted to the machine base 10 by means of mounting bolts 11a. The stationary die carrier plate 11 carries the stationary half of an injection molding die 78. Four parallel tie rods 16 extend axially between the die carrier plate 11 and the cylinder head plate 12, their extremities being rigidly clamped to these plates by means of special preloaded tie rod connections 17. The plates 11 and 12 and the tie rods 16 thus form a rigid frame structure for the die closing unit.
The four tie rods 16 support and guide a movable die carrier frame 13 which carries a movable die half in axial alignment with the stationary die half on the die carrier plate 11. The movable die carrier frame 13 consists of a transverse die mounting wall 13a on its forward side, a transverse pressure transfer wall 13b on its rear side, and a number of reinforcing ribs which extend axially between the transverse walls 13a and 13b. In the case of a die closing unit which has comparatively long tie rods, as is the case in the example shown, the die mounting wall 13a of the movable die carrier member 13 may be equipped with an auxiliary support in the form of a pair of sliding shoes 15 which engage sliding ledges 19 on opposite sides of the machine frame 10.
The opening and closing movements of the movable die carrier frame 13 are produced by means of a hydraulic actuator assembly which is mounted in a cantilever-type support on the rear side of the cylinder head plate 12, in alignment with the longitudinal center axis of the die closing unit. This hydraulic actuator assembly is shown in greater detail in FIGS. 3 and 3a.
FIG. 3 shows that the actuator assembly includes a power cylinder 20 in the center axis of the die closing unit and two parallel travel cylinders 21 which are arranged on diametrally opposite sides of the power cylinder 20. The piston rods 27 and 28 of the cylinders 20 and 21, respectively, extend through the stationary cylinder head plate 12 and are rigidly connected to the pressure transfer wall 13b of the movable die carrier frame 13. The power piston rod 27 includes, for this purpose, an enlarged piston base plate 14 with an axial centering extension engaging a centering bore 76 of the pressure transfer wall 13b. The piston rods 28 of the two travel cylinders 21 are simply clamped into centering recesses of the wall 13b by means of clamping bolts 60.
FIG. 3 also shows that the central power cylinder 20 and the two lateral travel cylinders 21 are cylinder sleeves of identical axial length. The forward extremities of the three cylinder sleeves are centered in appropriate centering recesses of the cylinder head plate 12, and their rearward extremities are similarly engaged in centering recesses of a cylinder cover 22 which forms the opposite axial end of the hydraulic actuator assembly. Eight cylinder tie bolts 23 clamp the cylinder cover 22 to the cylinder head plate 12 by means of threaded shaft portions 23a engaging threaded bores of plate 12. The heads 23b of the tie bolts are visible in FIG. 4.
Where the three piston rods extend through the cylinder head plate 12, the latter has enlarged throughbores inside which are mounted two lateral guide covers 29 for the travel piston rods 28 and a central guide cover 29 for the power piston rod 27. The guide covers are secured in place by means of bolts 31, and in their bores are arranged suitable gaskets 37, 39 and 40 which form seals for the piston rods 28 and 27.
The lateral travel cylinders 21 cooperate with travel pistons 26 on the piston rods 28 to form single-acting hydraulic cylinder assemblies. When pressurized fluid is pumped into their pressure spaces 51, they produce an opening travel of the die closing unit by pulling the movable die carrier frame 13 in the rearward direction. On the rear sides of the travel pistons 26 are pressureless spaces 53 which are open to the atmosphere. Appropriate piston rings 38 provide a seal between the travel pistons 26 and the cylinder bores of the travel cylinders 21.
On the much heavier power piston rod 27 of the power piston 20 is seated a power piston 25 which separates the interior space of the power cylinder 20 into a high-pressure space 52 on the rear side of the power piston 25 and a low-pressure space 50 on the forward side of the power piston 25. Connecting channels 54 in the cylinder head plate 12 form permanently open passages between the pressure spaces 51 of the two travel cylinders 21 and the low-pressure space 50 of the power cylinder 20. Rearward portions of the annular gaps formed by the enlarged throughbores for the guide covers 29 and 30 in the cylinder head plate 12 form a part of the connecting channels 54.
The rear extremity of the power piston rod 27 rides on a stationary plunger 47 which is attached to the cylinder cover 22, as can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 3a. By sealingly reaching into an axial bore of the power piston rod 27, the stationary plunger 47 forms a plunger pressure space 48 which, when pressurized, produces an opening travel of the movable actuator subassembly consisting of the three piston rods 27 and 28, their three pistons 25 and 26, and the movable die carrier frame 13.
The stationary plunger 47 is seated in a centering bore of the cylinder cover 22, being clamped against a shoulder 77 of cover 22 by means of a clamping nut 24 which engages a shaft portion 47a of plunger 47. A hydraulic supply line 48c in the cylinder cover 22, an aligned short radial channel portion 48b, and a long axial channel portion 48a in the plunger 47 lead to the plunger pressure space 48.
In the forward end portion 27a of the power piston rod 27 is arranged still another cylinder assembly which serves as a hydraulic drive for an ejector device (not shown). In the cylinder bore 32 of this assembly is arranged a small piston 33 on a piston rod 34 which reaches axially forwardly through the piston base plate 14, into the movable die carrier frame 13. A hub portion of the piston base plate 14 serves as a guide cover and seal for the piston rod 34. Bores 56 and 57 in the piston base plate 14 and an aligned axial bore in the piston rod portion 27a supply pressurized fluid to the rear side of the ejector piston 33.
The power piston 25 on the power piston rod 27 features a controllable bypass between the low-pressure space 50 and the high-pressure space 52 on its opposite axial sides. This bypass takes the form of a number of axial bypass channels 42 in the power piston 25. The openings of the bypass channels 42 on the high-pressure side of piston 25 are arranged inside the annular valve seat which forms part of a bypass valve. The movable member of this bypass valve is an annular valve plunger 43 which opens and closes the power piston bypass by moving axially away from or into contact with the valve seat on the high-pressure side of the power piston 25.
The annular valve plunger 43 has a flange 43a with which it cooperates with the valve seat and which has a first bore in sliding engagement with a first surface portion of the power piston rod 27, at a diameter which is considerably smaller than the diameter of the valve seat. A larger rearward portion of the valve plunger 43 forms a second bore in sliding engagement with a second surface portion of the power piston rod 27, at a diameter which is slightly larger than the diameter of the valve seat. Transitional shoulders between the two cylindrical surfaces of the power piston rod 27 and the two cooperating bores of the annular valve plunger 43 form opposing axial walls of a valve plunger pressure space 61 (FIG. 3a).
The two sliding surfaces of the power piston rod 27 which carry the annular valve plunger 43 are actually surface portions of a collar extension 25a of the power piston 25 and of a piston rod head 44. The collar extension 25a, while being an integral part of the power piston 25, forms an axial extension of the piston rod 27. The power piston 25 engages the rearward extremity of the power piston rod 27 with a centering recess, and its collar extension 25a, in turn, is centered inside a centering recess of the piston rod head 44. A number of bolts 80 reach through the piston rod head 44 and the power piston 25 into threaded bores of the power piston rod 27, to form a rigid connection between these parts.
A bore in the piston rod head 44 conveniently serves as a guide bore and seal for the stationary plunger 47. A long axial bore 74 in the power piston rod 27 forms a portion of a hydraulic supply channel which extends from a channel connection 58 in the piston base plate 14 to the valve plunger pressure space 61.
FIG. 5 shows a schematic arrangement of a set of hydraulic control valves and supply lines which control the operation of the hydraulic actuator assembly of the invention. The main control valve 64 is movable between a closed position and two open positions for opposite flows in the lines 48c and 68 which control the supply of pressurized fluid to, and conversely, the discharge of fluid from the pressure space 48 of the stationary plunger 47 and the pressure spaces 51 of the two travel cylinders 21 which communicate with the low-pressure space 50 of the power cylinder 20. A return valve 67 in the low-pressure supply line 62, 68 produces a throttling and damping action.
A closing pressure shutoff valve 65 in a line branch 63 controls the supply of pressurized fluid to the high-pressure space 52 of the power cylinder 20, in conjunction with the supply of pressurized fluid to the pressure space 48 of the stationary plunger 47. Lastly, a simple reversing valve 66 supplies pressurized fluid to the valve plunger pressure space 61. For the sake of clarity, FIG. 5 shows a dotted supply line 59 to the pressure space 61, in the place of the actual supply line which runs to the movable die carrier frame 13 and from there, axially through the power piston rod 27.
Assuming an initially closed position of the die closing unit, the hydraulic actuator assembly proposed by the present invention operates as follows.
In the assumed closed position of the injection molding die 78, the movable die carrier frame 13 and its attached piston rods 27 and 28, with their respective pistons 25 and 26, are positioned in their forward end position which is determined by the particular dimensions of the injection molding die 78. An opening travel involves the rearward movement of the entire movable actuator subassembly. For this purpose, the main control valve 64 in FIG. 5 is displaced to the right, so that pressurized fluid is supplied to the cylinder head plate 12 through the low-pressure supply line 62. At the same time, the supply channel 48c is connected with the fluid reservoir 71. The reversing valve 66 is in the position shown in FIG. 5, signifying a pressureless valve plunger pressure space 61.
The supply of pressurized fluid to the connected pressure spaces 50 and 51 on the forward side of the pistons 25 and 26, respectively, produces a rearward movement of the latter, as the travel pistons 26 advance against the pressureless spaces 53 and the power piston 25 moves through the fluid inside the power cylinder 20, thanks to its bypass channels 42 and an open valve plunger 43. The latter opens automatically, when the pressure in the high-pressure space 52 exceeds the pressure in the valve plunger pressure space 61, due to the fact that the second guide diameter between the valve plunger 43 and the piston rod head 44 is larger than the diameter of the valve seat of the power piston 25.
However, as the power piston rod 27 moves rearwardly towards the cylinder cover 22, a greater volume of fluid is diaplaced out of the larger high-pressure space than is allowed to enter the smaller low-pressure space. Consequently, a volume of fluid corresponding to the difference between the two pressure space areas will flow from the power cylinder 20 into the connected pressure spaces 51 of the two travel cylinders 21.
To the extent that the combined area of the two travel cylinder pressure spaces 51 is only moderately larger than the difference between the two pressure spaces of the power cylinder 20, the supply of a relatively small volume of pressurized fluid through the low-pressure supply line 62 will produce a rapid opening travel of the movable actuator subassembly. At a given area differential between the high-pressure space and the low-pressure space of the power cylinder, a larger combined area of the travel cylinder pressure spaces will produce a slower, but more powerful opening travel. As the three piston rods and their pistons move in the rearward direction, hydraulic fluid is displaced out of the pressure space 48 of the stationary plunger 47, returning through the supply channel 48c and the open main control valve 64 to the fluid reservoir 71.
The closing travel of the actuator assembly involves correspondingly inverted hydraulic flow conditions, as pressurized fluid is pumped into the pressure space 48 of the stationary plunger 47 and a certain volume of fluid is discharged from the assembly through the low-pressure supply line 62. The bypass valve of the power piston 25 is again open.
It may be desirable to have identical effective pressure space areas for identical force levels in the opening and closing travels of the movable actuator subassembly. In this case, the area of the plunger pressure space 48 would have to be equal to the net pressure space area which creates the force for the opening travel. This net pressure space area is the area by which the combined travel cylinder pressure spaces 51 exceed the difference between the two pressure spaces of the power cylinder 20. And, in view of the fact that this difference is exactly equal to the area of the plunger pressure space 48, the combined area of the travel cylinder pressure spaces 51 would have to be twice as large as the area of the plunger pressure space 48. In other words, identical opening and closing forces are produced by the actuator assembly, when the effective area of the pressure space 51 of each travel cylinder 21 is the same as the effective area of the pressure space 48 of the stationary plunger 47.
Following the closing travel of the moving parts of the die closing unit, the hydraulic actuator assembly is switched to a closing pressure mode in which an elevated closing pressure is applied to the movable die carrier frame 13, and, through the latter and the supporting stationary members of the die closing unit, to the closed halves of the injection molding die 78. This is accomplished by opening the shutoff valve 65 in the high-pressure supply line 63, at the same time as the reversing valve 66 for the power piston bypass valve is switched to its pressure-supply position. The latter action causes the annular valve plunger 43 to close the bypass of the power piston 25. The simultaneous application of pressure to the high-pressure space 52 of the power piston 25 and to the pressure space 48 of the plunger 47 means that the total effective area for the die closing pressure corresponds exactly to the cross-sectional area of the bore of the power cylinder 20.
It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosure describes only a preferred embodiment of the invention and that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of this example of the invention which fall within the scope of the appended claims.
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A hydraulic actuator assembly for a push-type die closing unit of an injection molding machine capable of producing rapid die opening and closing movements with a small volume of pressurized fluid and an elevated die closing pressure in the closed die position, the assembly comprising a central power cylinder with a selectively bypassable power piston and two parallel, diametrally oppositely arranged single-acting travel cylinders. The low-pressure space on the forward side of the power piston is open to the pressure spaces of the two travel cylinders, and the total effective area of these pressure spaces is larger, by a relatively small amount, than the area of the high-pressure space to the rear of the power piston, said small amount determining the fluid volume necessary for the opening travel. A stationary plunger cooperates with a central bore in the rear portion of the power piston rod to produce a small pressure space for the closing travel. An elevated die closing pressure is obtained by pressurizing the high-pressure space of the power piston and the plunger pressure space, with the power piston bypass closed.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the priority, under 35 U.S.C. §119, of German application DE 10 2008 018 015.7, filed Apr. 9, 2008; the prior application is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a method of detecting a pressure loss of a tire in a vehicle equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system. The invention further relates to a tire pressure monitoring system, a vehicle, and a computer product program.
[0003] The field of the present invention is systems for monitoring or determining tire-specific parameters. Such systems are generally referred to as tire information systems, tire monitoring systems or tire pressure monitoring systems.
[0004] As vehicle safety and reliability are central factors in automotive engineering, for safety reasons alone the tire pressure of motor vehicles has to be regularly checked. As this is often neglected, modern motor vehicles increasingly have tire pressure monitoring systems, which are intended to automatically measure the tire pressure and provide early detection of a critical deviation of the measured tire pressure from a tire pressure setpoint value.
[0005] A tire pressure monitoring system typically contains at least one electronic wheel device per wheel, which is disposed for example in the region of the wheel rim and contains a sensor for acquiring tire-specific parameters of the respective wheel and sending out information derived from this measured value of the parameters. The electronic wheel device is equipped with a sending aerial, by which the acquired information may be sent to a vehicle-side receiving device. On the vehicle side the tire pressure monitoring system contains at least one receiving device, by which the radio signals emitted from the electronic wheel device are picked up and routed to a central processing unit of the vehicle for further evaluation.
[0006] A special functionality of a tire pressure monitoring system relates to so-called parked monitoring. With parked monitoring, the electronic wheel devices are activated also in the parked state and in this case determine tire-specific parameters, such as for example the tire pressure. During the parked state these collected tire-specific parameters are sent to the central control and evaluation device, where they are evaluated. The particular advantage of this parked monitoring functionality is that, when the vehicle is next started up, the actual tire-specific parameters are immediately available.
[0007] In a tire pressure monitoring system without this parked monitoring functionality the requisite tire-specific parameters are determined only after start-up of the vehicle and are therefore available to the driver only at the start or shortly after the start of a fresh journey. While for most passenger vehicles this delay in the availability of the tire-specific parameters is substantially tolerable, it poses a problem particularly for commercial vehicles, such as heavy goods vehicles (HGV) of a haulage company. Often such HGVs are loaded before the start of a fresh journey. The wheels of the vehicle are accordingly subjected to extreme stress. As a result of this stress it may happen that for example the tire pressure of one or more wheels falls below a minimum threshold value, thereby making it necessary to change this wheel in order to guarantee that the vehicle is in proper working order. As this could not be detected before the start of the journey, the cargo would either have to be unloaded from the HGV or its trailer in order to change the defective tire or tires or the cargo would have to be reloaded onto a different HGV. Both measures entail a loss of time and with it a temporary vehicle failure that particularly in the case of heavy goods vehicles, which should have as little time laid-up as possible, is especially serious.
[0008] For these reasons, it is particularly advantageous above all especially for such commercial vehicles if they have the previously described parked functionality for the tire pressure monitoring system.
[0009] Generally known tire pressure monitoring systems with such a parked monitoring functionality are, on the one hand, permanently activated in the parked state and hence even in the parked state determine the appropriate tire-specific parameters and send corresponding signals to the vehicle-side evaluation device. Because during parked monitoring these functional units are permanently activated, this method is relatively energy-intensive and, as the vehicle and the electronic wheel devices are supplied with energy only from local energy sources, use of this method over a prolonged period is impossible or possible only to a qualified extent.
[0010] In another, generally known method the electronic tire device determines the tire pressure continuously, for example at preset intervals. The electronic tire device sends information about the tire pressure to the vehicle-side evaluation device only if the tire pressure falls below a defined threshold. This occurs also in the parked state. The advantage of this solution is that the information about the tire pressure is available immediately after a fresh start-up of the vehicle. With this method, however, the local energy supply of the electronic tire device is in particular very quickly exhausted. What is more, this method does not take account of the laden state and hence of the stress acting upon the vehicle wheel that is to be monitored. With this method, moreover, it is impossible to detect from the electronic tire device whether the signal it has sent has also actually been received at the vehicle side.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a method of detecting a pressure loss of a tire, a tire pressure monitoring system, a vehicle, and a computer product program that overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art methods and devices of this general type, which detects the tire pressure of a vehicle situated in the parked state in an energy-optimized manner.
[0012] There is accordingly provided a method of detecting a pressure loss of a tire in a vehicle equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system. The method includes the following steps carried out in the parked state of the vehicle: deactivate the tire pressure monitoring system, which contains at least one electronic wheel device disposed in a vehicle wheel, activate the tire pressure monitoring system after a first defined period of time or upon a vehicle-side request, determine tire-related information of the vehicle wheels associated with the electronic wheel devices by use of the respective electronic wheel device and generate status signals containing the tire-related information, communicate the status signals to an evaluation device, return to the first method step at the latest after a second period of time.
[0013] A tire pressure monitoring system for or in a vehicle, contains at least one electronic wheel device, which is disposed in a vehicle wheel of the vehicle having a parked monitoring device, which is configured to implement a method according to the invention in the parked state of the vehicle.
[0014] A vehicle, in particular a tractor and/or the trailer of a lorry, which has a plurality of vehicle wheels each containing a wheel rim and a tire fitted thereon and which is equipped with the tire pressure monitoring system according to the invention.
[0015] In addition, a computer program product, which defines an algorithm that contains the method according to the invention, is provided.
[0016] The present invention presupposes that the tire pressure monitoring system of a vehicle is equipped with a so-called parked monitoring functionality, whereby the central control and evaluation device of the vehicle may be activated at least intermittently also in the parked state of the vehicle. In the parked monitoring mode the control and evaluation device of the vehicle has a reduced functionality, which is however at least capable of “waking up” the electronic wheel devices associated therewith by a corresponding signal so that these electronic wheel devices in the parked state may determine tire-specific parameters and send them back to the control and evaluation device. This has the particular advantage that even before the start of a fresh journey and hence still in the parked state the actual tire information and in particular the actual tire pressure of the various wheels of the vehicle may be displayed for a vehicle driver.
[0017] This is particularly advantageous for vehicles, for which it is important to be informed about a possible defect in a vehicle wheel and in particular about a pressure loss in a vehicle wheel before the start of a journey. This applies above all, but not exclusively, to commercial vehicles such as HGVs and tractor-trailers. In this way possible defects of the vehicle wheel, such as for example too low a tire pressure, may be detected and eliminated before, for example, such a vehicle is loaded for the next journey. As a result, extended periods laid-up because of a final loading and/or reloading of the cargo of the commercial vehicle are reduced to a minimum.
[0018] The underlying idea of the present invention is that during a parked state of a vehicle first to deactivate the parked monitoring. The parked monitoring is however activated regularly after a defined period of time in order to be able to determine the appropriate tire-related information. The tire-related information is then sent in the form of a status signal to a vehicle-side receiving device in order to enable vehicle-side evaluation of this information. Subsequently or at least after a further defined period of time the parked monitoring mode is deactivated again.
[0019] The first and the second defined period of time are so dimensioned that on the one hand the requisite tire-related information may be obtained, sent out in the form of a status signal and also received at the vehicle side. On the other hand, the energy resources both of the energy source of the electronic wheel device and of the vehicle are to be conserved as much as possible. For this reason, the first defined period of time is typically selected relatively long compared to the second defined period of time, i.e. in the range of several hours to one or a few days, while the second defined period of time is in comparison shorter, typically in the region of one hour or less.
[0020] The particular advantage of the present invention is that in the parked state of the vehicle the parked monitoring mode does not remain continuously switched on. Rather, the parked monitoring mode is activated regularly, i.e. at regular intervals in each case for a relatively short duration in order then to be able to determine the appropriate tire-related information and send it to a vehicle-side evaluation device. Subsequently or after a defined time the parked monitoring mode is then deactivated again and also remains deactivated for a comparatively longer period of time. Because the parked monitoring mode is activated only for a short time and then deactivated for a longer time, the energy requirement for supplying the parked monitoring function of the tire pressure monitoring system is reduced to a minimum. Equally, however, it is thereby ensured that this tire-specific information and in particular the tire pressure is made available to the driver of the vehicle before the start of a fresh journey so that, particularly in the event of a fault, he may initiate the appropriate countermeasures before setting out on a journey.
[0021] In a typical refinement, the second period of time is markedly shorter than the first period of time. Markedly shorter, in this connection, means that the second period of time is shorter for example at least by the factor 10 and in particular by the factor 25 than the first period of time. For example, the first period of time is at least 6 hours and in particular at least 12 hours. Preferably, the first period of time is at most 24 hours. The second period of time is for example at most 90 minutes and in particular at most 30 minutes. The second period of time depends for example upon the intervals, at which the electronic wheel device sends.
[0022] The electronic wheel device in the parked state is preferably always activated and is therefore configured to pick up tire-specific information also in the parked state and send it out in the form of status signals. Alternatively, the wheel electronic device may be “woken up” by the vehicle-side control device. The generated status signals are sent from the electronic wheel device in the parked state at intervals, i.e. in each case after a third defined period of time. This third defined period of time is preferably at least shorter than the second defined period of time. In this way it may be ensured that within the second period of time, during which at the vehicle side the tire pressure monitoring system is activated, a status signal is sent also at least once from the respective electronic wheel device to the vehicle-side receiving device. In case the electronic wheel device sends out the appropriate status signals in a time interval of for example 30 minutes (i.e. third period of time), the second period of time would therefore have to be at least 30 minutes.
[0023] In a particularly preferred refinement, the second period of time is lengthened if from at least one electronic wheel device no status signal was able to be received at the vehicle side. In particular, the second period of time is lengthened in such a way that from the various electronic wheel devices a total of two or more status signals may then be sent out within the second period of time. If however after a correspondingly lengthened period of time it is still not possible to receive a status signal from the electronic wheel device or devices at the vehicle side, then the tire monitoring system is deactivated again, even though a status signal has not been received from all of the electronic wheel devices. In this case, it is assumed for example that even with a further lengthened period of time not all of these electronic wheel devices are possibly able to send a status signal to the vehicle-side receiving device because they are situated for example in a send and/or receive dead spot. It may be assumed for example that, if an electronic wheel device sends out 2 to 4 status signals but these cannot be received at the vehicle side, then such a state of a send and/or receive dead spot exists. This is to be taken into account in the case of lengthening of the second period of time, i.e. in this case the second period of time should be at least two to four times the third period of time. This prevents excessive demands being placed on the energy source of the tire pressure monitoring system.
[0024] In a particularly preferred refinement, the tire pressure monitoring system is immediately deactivated as soon as all of the electronic wheel devices have sent their status signals and these status signals have also been received by a vehicle-side receiving device. In this situation the tire pressure monitoring system need not continue to maintain the parked monitoring mode as the objective thereof, namely the sending and receiving of the status signals, has in this case already been prematurely achieved. This is likewise an energy-saving functionality. In addition, it may also be provided that the premature deactivation occurs only after the status signals received at the vehicle side have also been acknowledged and optionally already evaluated at the vehicle side.
[0025] In a likewise preferred refinement, the method is terminated after a predetermined number of returns in accordance with the method step (e), provided that the parked state is not interrupted during this time, i.e. in this case the parked monitoring mode remains deactivated during the parked state also after the first period of time. This is likewise an energy-saving functionality as it may for example be assumed that after the predetermined number of returns and hence after the predetermined number of activated parked monitoring modes there is a specific probability that the tire-related information will no longer vary further. A further monitoring of this tire-related information is therefore also obsolete.
[0026] In a particularly preferred refinement, an electronic wheel device, which in the method step (c) was unable to determine appropriate tire-related information and/or for which in the method step (d) it was not possible to send the status signals to the evaluation device, remains deactivated after a renewed activation in a subsequent method step (b). This procedure occurs in particular after a return in the method step (e) and after a fresh activation of the tire pressure monitoring system. Here, it is assumed that the electronic wheel device that remains deactivated is either situated in a send and/or receive dead spot or is at any rate defective. In these situations a fresh attempt to determine tire-related information with this electronic wheel device would very probably lead to the same negative results, i.e. the result here would once more be that there was no tire-related information to determine and/or appropriate status signals to be received at the vehicle side.
[0027] In a likewise preferred refinement, the status signal is sent from the electronic wheel device to a vehicle-side receiving device, wherein the status signal is sent via a telematic device provided in the vehicle to a vehicle-external evaluation device. Additionally or alternatively, the status signal may be sent to the central control and evaluation device inside the vehicle in order to display the tire-related information directly to the driver. What is more, the company, to whose fleet the vehicle belongs, may therefore initiate countermeasures early, particularly given tire-related information that indicates for example a defect or fault in the vehicle wheel. These countermeasures may for example provide for a change of the inferior tire or, in the case of too low a tire pressure, for a re-inflation of this tire in order to minimize the risk of a flat or burst tire and the cost-intensive interruption of the journey that this would entail.
[0028] In a typical refinement, the electronic wheel devices in the parked state are first deactivated and are not activated until a wake-up signal is sent from the vehicle side. This prevents the electronic wheel devices in the parked state from continuously sending signals, which places excessive demands on the vehicle side owing to the deactivated tire pressure monitoring system and hence the receiving device thereof.
[0029] In a likewise preferred refinement, immediately after termination of the parked state a determination of the tire-related information is carried out afresh even in electronic wheel devices, which during the parked state were not able to determine tire-related information and/or from which the status signals generated by the electronic wheel device were not able to be received on the vehicle side. This tire-related information may then, i.e. after termination of the parked state, be sent in the form of corresponding status signals to the vehicle-side receiving device and evaluation device. Thus, for the sake of completeness, even electronic wheel devices that could not be monitored during the parked state for example because of a send and/or receive dead spot may send their status signals.
[0030] In a particularly preferred refinement, the status signal contains information about the tire pressure. In particular, the vehicle-side evaluation device outputs an error signal if the determined tire pressure falls below a defined pressure threshold. This error signal is available to the vehicle driver and/or a control centre of the fleet, to which the vehicle belongs, even before the start of a fresh journey. In a particularly preferred refinement, this defined threshold is adjustable, for example in dependence upon the loaded state of the vehicle. In this way, it is possible to take account of the loaded state of the vehicle and the stress acting upon a respective tire in the unladen and laden state.
[0031] In a particularly preferred refinement, the first defined period of time is shortened and/or the second defined period of time is increased if in the course of evaluation it emerges that the tire-related information contains an error or at least a deviation of the respective tire-related information from a defined standard range. In this way too, a faulty deviation may be counteracted early.
[0032] In a particularly preferred refinement, the electronic wheel device contains a sensor for determining the tire-related information. Such tire-specific information is for example the tire temperature, the tire pressure, the rotational speed of a tire, the tread thickness etc. In particular the electronic wheel device contains a pressure sensor, which also in the parked state is configured to determine the tire pressure of the wheel associated with this electronic wheel device.
[0033] In a preferred development, the monitoring device contains a telematic device, by which the status signals may be sent as radio signals to a vehicle-external evaluation device. The telematic device may be for example a component part of the navigation system and/or of a radio telephone in the motor vehicle. These devices are naturally in communicative connection with base stations and in this way may be connected by a simple function extension also to a vehicle-external control centre, for example within a haulage company.
[0034] It is likewise preferred if the parked monitoring device contains an electronic-wheel-side memory device, in which the status signals and/or the wheel-specific information may be stored at least for the duration of the parked state. Preferably, the memory device and/or a vehicle-side evaluation device is reset to its initial state after termination of the parked state and before a fresh parked state.
[0035] In a particularly preferred refinement, the parked monitoring device contains a time generator, which defines the first and/or the second defined period of time. This time generator may for example take the form of a clocked counter.
[0036] The refinements and developments of the invention described in detail above may—unless otherwise stated—be combined freely with one another.
[0037] Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
[0038] Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a method of detecting a pressure loss of a tire, a tire pressure monitoring system, a vehicle, and a computer product program, 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.
[0039] The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
[0040] FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a vehicle for the purpose of explaining an embodiment of a tire pressure monitoring system according to the invention;
[0041] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary layout of an electronic wheel device of a tire pressure monitoring system according to the invention;
[0042] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram for explaining a first embodiment of the method according to the invention; and
[0043] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram for the purpose of explaining a second embodiment of the method according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0044] In the figures of the drawing, unless otherwise indicated, identical and functionally identical elements, features and signals are provided with the same reference characters. Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first, particularly, to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown an extremely simplified schematic representation of a vehicle for the purpose of explaining an embodiment of a tire pressure monitoring system according to the invention. In FIG. 1 reference character 10 denotes a vehicle, for example a heavy goods vehicle (HGV). The vehicle 10 here has merely by way of example six wheels 11 . The vehicle 10 further has a tire pressure monitoring system according to the invention, which contains wheel-side electronic wheel devices 13 , vehicle-side receiving devices, a bus 17 , and a control unit 18 . One electronic wheel device 13 is associated with each individual wheel 11 . The electronic wheel device 13 is disposed in a manner known per se in the region of the valve or the rim of the respective wheel 11 .
[0045] FIG. 2 shows in a block diagram a schematic layout of an electronic wheel device 13 . The electronic wheel device 13 in the case of the present embodiment contains a pressure sensor 21 , a processing device 22 connected to the pressure sensor 21 , an internal memory 24 , and a transmitter 23 connected to the processing device 22 . These elements 21 - 24 are supplied with electrical energy in each case from a local energy supply 25 , for example an accumulator or a battery. The wheel sensor 21 is configured to determine tire-specific parameters, such as for example the tire pressure. The processing device 22 of the electronic wheel device 13 carries out a pre-evaluation of the information obtained by the wheel sensor 21 . The wheel-specific information determined by the electronic wheel device 13 is modulated and/or encoded in a transmission signal X, which here is referred to also as status signal X and is sent via a wireless communication link to the vehicle 10 . For this purpose, each electronic wheel device 13 contains a sending aerial 20 as a component part of the transmitter 23 .
[0046] For receiving the sent transmission signals X the tire pressure monitoring system contains at the vehicle side at least one and in the present case two receiving devices 15 , each of which contains a receiving aerial 16 . The receiving device 15 is supplied in a manner not represented here with electrical energy from an energy source 12 of the HGV 10 , for example the vehicle battery, and contains in each case a receiving aerial 16 and a receiving stage 26 .
[0047] The tire pressure monitoring system further contains at the vehicle side a microprocessor 19 as an example of a central control and evaluation device 19 . The microprocessor 19 and optionally also the receiving stage with the receiving aerial 16 are component parts of the control unit 18 for the tire pressure monitoring. The control unit 18 , the receiving devices 15 and the electronic wheel devices 13 are provided for the purpose of measuring the respective tire pressures in the various wheels 11 , evaluating the measured tire pressures and visually or audibly informing a person driving the HGV, who is not represented in detail, if one of the tires for example has too low a tire pressure.
[0048] The tire pressure monitoring system further contains a bus 17 , for example a single- or two-wire CAN bus (CAN=controller area network) or a LIN bus (LIN=local interconnect network), to which the receiving devices 15 and the control unit 18 are connected by respective connection lines.
[0049] The tire pressure monitoring system according to the invention further has a parked monitoring device. The functionality of the parked monitoring device is implemented i.e. in the electronic wheel devices 13 and the central control and evaluation device 19 . The electronic wheel device 13 here is merely by way of example configured in such a way that it is or may be activated also in a parked mode of the vehicle 10 . In this parked mode the central control and evaluation device 19 of the vehicle 10 may be in a so-called parked monitoring mode, in which it is activated for the purpose of parked monitoring at least intermittently and in particular at regular intervals.
[0050] The HGV further contains a telematic device 29 , which is connected for example to the control unit 18 and via which the picked-up status signals X may be sent also to a vehicle-external central evaluation device (not represented in FIG. 1 ). The vehicle-external central evaluation device may be for example a central computer of a company, to whose fleet the lorry belongs.
[0051] There now follows a detailed description of this mode of operation of the parked monitoring device according to the invention with reference to the sequence diagram in FIG. 3 .
[0052] It is assumed that at the start of the method according to the invention the vehicle is in a parked mode V 1 .
[0053] In the parked mode, the tire pressure monitoring system is first deactivated in the method step V 2 , i.e. initially the electronic wheel devices 13 do not send any status signals X to the vehicle-side evaluation device 19 .
[0054] This deactivated state of the tire pressure monitoring system is maintained for the first defined period of time Δt 1 (step V 3 ). This defined period of time Δt 1 is preferably adjustable and, depending on the application, user requirement, existing energy resources etc., is in the region of a few hours to a few days. A typical value of the first period of time Δt 1 is: Δt 1 =6 h-24 h.
[0055] After the first defined period of time Δt 1 , at least the parked monitoring functionality of the tire pressure monitoring system is activated (step V 4 ). In the activated state measurement signals relating to tire-specific parameters, for example the tire pressure, are picked up by the electronic wheel device 13 (step V 41 ). From these measurement signals the electronic wheel device 13 generates a status signal X (step V 42 ) that contains information about the measured tire-specific parameter or parameters. The status signal X is sent out in the next sub-step V 43 and is picked up in the sub-step V 44 by a vehicle-side receiving device 15 specifically provided for this purpose. After corresponding routing of this status signal X to the evaluation device 19 , the status signal is then evaluated in the sub-step V 45 .
[0056] In the step V 5 the information thus evaluated is displayed for example for the vehicle driver. This may occur preferably even before the start of a fresh journey, i.e. while still in the parked state, or alternatively upon or shortly after the start of a fresh journey. It would additionally or alternatively be possible to display the tire-specific information obtained in the step V 4 via a telematic device to a vehicle-external user.
[0057] The parked monitoring mode remains activated for a second defined period of time Δt 2 (step V 6 ). The second period of time Δt 2 corresponds at least to the time, during which an electronic wheel device 13 is typically intermittently activated, i.e. picks up measurement signals and sends out status signals X derived therefrom.
[0058] After the second defined period of time Δt 2 the method returns (step V 7 ). As a result, the tire pressure monitoring system and in particular its parked monitoring functionality are deactivated again in the step V 2 . This return after the second defined period of time Δt 2 (steps V 6 , V 7 ) occurs even if in the step V 4 status signals X have not been generated by all of the electronic wheel devices 13 and/or been received by the vehicle-side receiving device.
[0059] In an extension it may also be provided that the method returns already some time before achieving the second defined period of time Δt 2 (step V 7 ), if for example at the vehicle side corresponding status signals X have been received from all of the electronic wheel devices 13 of the tire pressure monitoring system. In this situation, there is therefore no longer any need to continue to maintain the parked monitoring mode. This is therefore an energy-saving extended function.
[0060] FIG. 4 shows a method according to the invention that is extended compared to the first embodiment in FIG. 3 .
[0061] In contrast to the embodiment in FIG. 3 , in FIG. 4 after the second defined period of time Δt 2 in step V 6 it is checked whether at the vehicle side status signals X have been received from all of the electronic wheel devices 13 . If status signals X have been received from all of the electronic wheel devices 13 , then the method returns as in FIG. 3 (step V 7 ). If, on the other hand, in the step V 8 it is identified that at the vehicle side there are not status signals X from all of the electronic wheel devices 13 , then the method returns in the step V 9 to the method step V 4 . As a result, for a further second period of time Δt 2 an attempt is made to obtain status signals X from the respective electronic wheel devices 13 . This may be effected at all of the electronic wheel devices 13 , regardless of whether status signals have already been obtained from these, or alternatively only at the electronic wheel devices 13 , from which status signals have still not been obtained.
[0062] This return in the step V 9 may be effected until corresponding status signals have been obtained from all of the electronic wheel devices 13 . If an electronic wheel device 13 is defective or is situated in a send and/or receive dead spot, it may from time to time be impossible to receive corresponding status signals X from this electronic wheel device 13 at the vehicle side. In order therefore not to place excessive demands on the limited energy resources 12 , 25 of the electronic wheel device 13 and the vehicle 10 , according to the invention it is provided that after a defined number of returns V 9 , which are counted in the step V 10 , this method and therefore the attempt to obtain corresponding status signals X from all of the electronic wheel devices 13 is aborted. The method then returns in the step V 7 , so that the tire pressure monitoring system and/or the parked monitoring mode may then be deactivated again.
[0063] It may additionally also be provided that after a defined number of returns V 7 , which are counted in the step V 11 , the method according to the invention, i.e. the activating and deactivating of the parked monitoring mode at regular intervals, is aborted. In this case, in the method step V 12 the tire pressure monitoring system and hence also its parked monitoring functionality is permanently deactivated, wherein in this case the deactivated state is maintained until the parked state is terminated.
[0064] For determining the various periods of time Δt 1 -Δt 3 and intervals the vehicle-side tire pressure monitoring system comprises a time generator 27 .
[0065] The invention is suitable for any vehicles, such as for example buses, tractor-trailers, HGV trailers, passenger cars and the like.
[0066] The previously described tire monitoring systems further refer to concrete devices in a vehicle.
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A method for detecting a pressure loss of a tire in a vehicle equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system. The method includes the following steps carried out in the parked state of the vehicle: deactivate the tire pressure monitoring system, which contains at least one electronic wheel device disposed in a vehicle wheel, activate the tire pressure monitoring system after a first defined period of time or upon a vehicle-side request, determine tire-related information of the vehicle wheels associated with the electronic wheel devices by the respective electronic wheel device and generate status signals containing the tire-related information, communicate the status signals to an evaluation device, return to the first method step at the latest after a second period of time.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO COPENDING APPLICATION
This is a division of application Ser. No. 462,006 filed Apr. 18, 1974 which in turn is a continuation-in-part of copending application Ser. No. 383,007, filed July 26, 1973 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,302.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The prostaglandins are a group of hormone-like substances which may be viewed as derivatives of prostanoic acid. Several prostaglandins are found widely distributed in mammalian tissue and have been isolated from this source. These prostaglandins have been shown to possess a variety of biological properties such as bronchodilation, the ability to reduce gastric secretion, to modify muscle tone, as well as the ability to raise or lower blood pressure.
Various derivatives of prostaglandins have also been synthesized and reported. 9,15-Dihydroxy prost-15-enoic acid and methods of synthesis thereof are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,432,541 and 3,455,992. 9-Oxo-15-hydroxy-15-methyl-prostanoic acid, 15-oxo-9-hydroxy-prostanoic acid, and 9,15-dioxo prostanoic acid are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,671,570.
The present invention concerns a number of new intermediates useful in the synthesis of 9-oxo-15-hydroxy-15-methyl-prostanoic acid as well as new unsaturated 15-methyl derivatives which are themselves useful. In addition 9-oxo-15-hydroxy-15-ethynyl prostanoic acids and new intermediates thereto are included.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention sought to be patented in a first composition aspect resides in the concept of a chemical compound which is prostanoic acid of the structure: ##STR1## wherein R is methyl, A is cis--CH=CH-- and B is trans--CH=CH--; R is ethynyl, A is --CH 2 --CH 2 -- and B is CH 2 --CH 2 --; R is ethynyl, A is --CH 2 --CH 2 -- and B is trans--CH=CH--; or R is ethynyl, A is cis--CH=CH-- and B is trans--CH=CH--; and R 1 is hydrogen, alkyl of from 1 to about 6 carbon atoms, alkali metal, or a pharmacologically acceptable cation derived from ammonia or a basic amine.
The tangible embodiments of the first composition aspect of the invention possess the inherent general physical properties of being clear to yellow oils, or crystalline solids, and when R 1 is hydrogen are substantially insoluble in water and are generally soluble in organic solvents such as ethyl acetate and ether. Examination of the compounds produced according to the hereinafter described process reveals, upon infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, and mass spectrographic analysis, spectral date supporting the molecular structures herein set forth. The aforementioned physical characteristics, taken together with the nature of the starting materials, the mode of synthesis, and the elemental analyses, confirm the structure of the compositions sought to be patented.
The tangible embodiments of the first composition aspect of the invention possess the inherent applied use characteristic of exerting bronchodilating effects upon administration to warm-blooded animals as evidenced by pharmacological evaluation according to standard test procedures.
The invention sought to be patented in a second composition aspect resides in the concept of a chemical compound which is a prostanoic acid of the structure: ##STR2## wherein A is --CH 2 --CH 2 -- and X is ##STR3##
The tangible embodiments of the second composition aspect of the invention possess the inherent general physical properties of being clear to yellow oils, are substantially insoluble in water and are generally soluble in organic solvents such as ethyl acetate and ether.
Examination of the compounds produced according to the hereinafter described process reveals, upon infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, and mass spectrographic analysis, spectral data supporting the molecular structures herein set forth. The aforementioned physical characteristics, taken together with the nature of the starting materials, the mode of synthesis, and the elemental analyses, confirm the structure of the compositions sought to be patented.
The embodiments of the second composition aspect of the invention possess the inherent applied use characteristics of being useful as intermediates for the synthesis of other compositions of the invention having bronchodilating activity, and, in addition, those compounds having a cis-5-en, a trans-13-ene, a 9-hydroxy group and having in the 15-position either a keto group or a hydrogen and hydroxy substituent, or those having hydroxy and methyl substituents at the 15-position are intermediates for the synthesis of 9-oxo-15-hydroxy-15-methyl-prostanoic acid.
The invention sought to be patented in its process aspect resides in the concept of a method of relieving bronchial spasm and facilitating breathing in warm-blooded animals which comprises administering to a warm-blooded animal in need thereof an amount sufficient to relieve bronchial spasm and facilitate breathing in said warm-blooded animal of a prostanoic acid of the formula: ##STR4## wherein R is methyl, A is cis--CH=CH-- and B is trans--CH=CH--; R is ethynyl, A is --CH 2 --CH 2 -- and B is --CH 2 --CH 2 --; R is ethynyl, A is --CH 2 --CH 2 -- and B is trans--CH=CH--; or R is ethynyl, A is cis--CH=CH-- and B is trans--CH=CH--; and R 1 is hydrogen, alkyl of from 1 to about 6 carbon atoms, alkali metal, or a pharmacologically acceptable cation derived from ammonia or a basic amine.
The invention sought to be patented in a third composition aspect resides in the concept of a chemical compound which is a prostanoic acid of the structure ##STR5##
The tangible embodiments of the third composition aspect of the invention possess the inherent general physical properties of being clear to yellow oils, are substantially insoluble in water, and are soluble in organic solvents such as ethylacetate and ether.
Examination of the compounds produced according to the hereinafter described process reveals, upon infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrographic analysis, spectral data supporting the molecular structure herein set forth. The aforementioned physical characteristics, taken together with the mode of synthesis, and the elevated analyses, confirm the structure of the compositions sought to be patented. The embodiments of the third composition aspect of the invention possess the inherent applied use characteristic of being intermediates in the synthesis of compounds of Formula I wherein R is ethynyl, A is cis--CH=CH--, and B is trans--CH=CH--.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In describing the synthesis of the compositions of the invention reference will be made to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 wherein the formulae representing the various embodiments of the invention have been assigned Roman numerals for purposes of identification. FIG. 1 illustrates the synthesis of a specific embodiment of Formula I namely; 7-(2β-[(3RS)-3-hydroxy-3 -methyl-trans-1-octenyl]-5-oxo-1α-cyclopentyl)-cis-5-heptenoic acid (IX) and the synthesis of specific embodiments of Formula II namely: 7-(5α-hydroxy-2β-[(3R)-3-hydroxy-trans-1-octenyl]-1α-cyclopentyl)-cis-5-heptenoic acid (VI); 7-(5β-hydroxy-2β-[(3R)-3-hydroxy-trans-1-octenyl]-1α-cyclopentyl)-cis-5-heptenoic acid (VII); 7-(5α-hydroxy-2β-[3-oxo-trans-1-octenyl]-1α-cyclopentyl)-cis-5-heptenoic acid (V); 7-(5α-hydroxy-2β-[(3RS)-3-hydroxy-3-methyl-trans-1-octenyl]-1.alpha.-cyclopentyl)-cis-5-heptenoic acid (VIII); 5α-hydroxy-2β-[(3RS)-3-hydroxy-3-methyl-trans- 1-octenyl]-1α-cyclopentane-heptanoic acid (X); and the synthesis of the known compound 2β-[(3RS)-3-hydroxy-3 -methyl-octyl]-5-oxo-1α-cyclopentaneheptanoic acid (XII).
FIG. 2 illustrates the synthesis of other embodiments of Formula I namely 2β-[(3RS)-3-ethynyl-3-hydroxy-trans-1-octenyl]-5-oxo-1α-cyclopentane heptanoic acid (XVI); 2β-[(3RS)-3-ethynyl-3-hydroxy-octyl]-5-oxo-1α-cyclopentane heptanoic acid (XXII); and 7-(2β-[3-ethynyl-3-hydroxy-trans-1-octenyl]-5-oxo-1α-cyclopentyl)-cis-5-heptenoic acids (XIX); and of other embodiments of Formula II namely: 7-(5β-hydroxy-2β-[3-oxo-trans-1-octenyl]-1α-cyclopentyl)-cis-5-heptenoic acid (XVII); 2β-[(3RS)-3-ethynyl-3-hydroxy octyl]-5β-hydroxy-1α-cyclopentane heptanoic acid (XXI); 2β-[(3RS)-3-ethynyl-3-hydroxy-trans-1-octenyl]-5β-hydroxy-1.alpha.-cyclopentane heptanoic acid (XV) and 7-(2β-[(3RS)-3-ethynyl-3-hydroxy-trans-1-octenyl]-5β-hydroxy-1.alpha.-cyclopentyl)-cis-5-heptenoic acid (XVIII).
FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative synthesis of XIX utilizing the embodiments of Formula XXIII, namely 7-(7β-[(3RS)-3-ethynyl-3-hydroxy-trans-1-octenyl]-1,4-dioxaspiro[4,4]non-6α-yl)-cis-5-heptenoic acid (XXIII).
The starting materials in the synthesis of the compositions of the invention, namely 15-epi PGA 2 (III), and PGA.sub. 2 (IV) are well-known in the art. For example, 15-epi PGA 2 may be obtained from the coral Plexaura homomalla by a procedure as described by A. Weinheimer and R. Spraggins in Tetrahedron Letters, 59, 5185 (1969), and PGA 2 may, if desired, be prepared from 15-epi PGA 2 by an epimerization procedure as described by Bundy et al. in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 180, 76, (April 30, 1971). Sodium borohydride reduction of either III or IV yields a mixture of compounds VI and VII wherein the hydroxyl group at the C-15 position will have an orientation corresponding to that of the starting material selected. Compounds VI and VII may, if desired, be separated by chromatography. Oxidation of VI with dichlorodicyanoquinone (DDQ) gives the enone V. Treatment of V with methyl magnesium bromide gives VIII which may be converted to IX by a Jones oxidation, or hydrogenated using tris(triphenylphosphine)rhodium (I) chloride to give X Jones oxidation of X gives XI which may be hydrogenated using a palladium on charcoal catalyst to give XII.
If desired, compounds VII may be monohydrogenated using tris-(triphenyl-phosphine)-rhodium (i) chloride to give compound XIII. Oxidation of XIII using DDQ gives XIV. Reaction of XIV and ethynyl magnesium bromide gives XV. Jones oxidation of XV gives compound XVI.
DDQ oxidation of compound VII gives compound XVII. Reaction of XVII with ethynyl magnesium bromide gives XVIII which is converted, if desired, to XIX. Upon chromatography of XIX two products are isolated which are C-15 isomers, and which exhibit identical infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, and mass spectra.
Hydrogenation of XVII using a palladium on charcoal catalyst gives compound XX which when treated with ethynyl magnesium bromide is converted to XXI. Jones oxidation of XXI gives XXII.
It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that compound VII or mixtures of compounds VI and VII may be substituted for compound VI as starting intermediate in the synthesis of IX and XII and that the intermediates thereto which correspond to V, VIII, and X will have the ring-hydroxyl group in a spatial orientation corresponding to that of the starting intermediate selected.
Similarly compound VI or mixtures of compound VI and VII may be substituted for compound VII as starting intermediate in the synthesis of XVI, XIX, and XXII, and the intermediates thereto namely those corresponding to XIII, XIV, XV, XVII, XVIII, XX, and XXI will similarly have the ring-hydroxyl group in a spatial orientation corresponding to that of the starting intermediate selected.
Jones oxidation of compound VI or VII or mixtures thereof gives 7-[2β-(3-oxo-trans-1-octenyl)-5-oxo-1α-cyclopentyl]-cis-5-heptenoic acid (XXIV). If desired, XXIV may be isolated by standard techniques. Chromatography on silica gel is a convenient method. Treatment of XXIV with ethylene glycol in the presence of an acid catalyst and inert solvent, while removing the water formed gives 7-(7β-[3-oxo-trans-1-octenyl]-1,4-dioxaspiro[4,4]non-6α-yl)cis-5-heptenoic acid (XXV). If desired, XXV may be isolated by standard techniques. Chromatography on silica gel is a convenient method. Ethynylation of XXV gives XXIII. XXIII may, if desired, be separated by standard techniques. Chromatography on silica gel is a convenient method and enables the separation of C-15 isomers, which are formed by the synthesis reaction. Treatment of XXIII with aqueous acid gives XIX. The orientation of the C-15 isomer of XIX so obtained will correspond to that of XXIII used. If desired, XIX may be isolated by standard techniques. Chromatography on silica gel is a convenient method.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art of chemistry that the carbon atoms on the octane side chain to which hydroxyl substituents are attached are asymmetric carbon atoms, and as a consequence these positions can be either of two epimeric configurations. The symbol ˜ where used in this specification is to indicate that both possible configurations at each particular position is intended and is included within the scope of the invention.
The esters of formula I (R 1 is alkyl) are prepared by standard methods, such as for example, by treating a solution of the free acids with diazomethane or other appropriate diazohydrocarbons, such as diazoethane, 1-diazo-2-ethylpentane, and the like. The alkali metal carboxylates of the invention can be prepared by mixing stoichiometrically equivalent amounts of the free acids of formula I, preferably in aqueous solution, with solutions of alkali metal bases, such as sodium, potassium, and lithium hydroxides or carbonates, and the like, then freeze drying the mixture to leave the product as a residue. The amine salts can be prepared by mixing the free acids, preferably in solution, with a solution of the appropriate amine, in water, isopropanol, or the like, and freeze drying the mixture to leave the product as a residue.
The term "alkyl of from about 1 to about 6 carbon atoms" when used herein and in the appended claims includes straight and branched chain hydrocarbon radicals, illustrative members of which are methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, i-propyl, n-butyl, t-butyl, n-pentyl, n-hexyl, 3-methylpentyl, 2,3-dimethylbutyl, and the like. "Alkali metal" includes, for example, sodium, potassium, lithium, and the like. A "pharmacologically-acceptable cation derived from ammonia or a basic amine" contemplates the positively charged ammonium ion and analogous ions derived from organic nitrogenous bases strong enough to form such cations. Bases useful for the purpose of forming pharmacologically-acceptable non-toxic addition salts of such compounds containing free carboxyl groups form a class whose limits are readily understood by those skilled in the art. Merely for illustration, they can be said to comprise, in cationic form, those of the formula: ##STR6## wherein R 1 , R 2 , and R 3 , independently, are hydrogen, alkyl of from about 1 to about 6 carbon atoms, cycloalkyl of from about 3 to about 6 carbon atoms, monocarbocyclicaryl of about 6 carbon atoms, monocarbocyclicarylalkyl of from about 7 to about 11 carbon atoms, hydroxyalkyl pharmacologically-acceptable from about 1 to about 3 carbon atoms, or monocarbocyclicarylhydroxyalkyl of from about 7 to about 15 carbon atoms, or, when taken together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached, any two of R 1 , R 2 , and R 3 form part of a 5 to 6-membered heterocyclic ring containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, or nitrogen, said heterocyclic rings and said monocarbocyclicaryl groups being unsubstituted or mono- or dialkyl substituted, said alkyl groups containing from about 1 to about 6 carbon atoms. Illustrative therefore of R groups comprising pharmacologicall-acceptable cations derived from ammonia or a basic amine are ammonium, mono-, di-, and trimmethylammonium, mono-, di- and triethylammonium, mono-, di-, and tripropylammonium (iso and normal), ethyldimethylammonium, benzyldimethylammonium, cyclohexylammonium, benzylammonium, dibenzylammonium, piperidinium, morpholinium, pyrrolidinium, piperazinium, 1-methylpiperidinium, 4-ethylmorpholinium, 1-isopropylpyrrolidinium, 1,4-dimethylpiperazinium, 1-n-butyl-piperidinium, 2-methylpiperidinium, 1-ethyl-2-methylpiperidinium, mono-, di- and triethanolammonium, ethylidiethanolammonium, n-butylmonoethanolammonium, tris(hydroxymethyl)methylammonium, phenylmonoethanolammonium, and the like.
In practicing the method of the invention, the instant compositions can be administered in a variety of dosage forms, the oral route being used primarily for maintenance therapy while injectables tend to be more useful in acute emergency situations. Inhalation (aerosols and solution for nebulizers) seems to be somewhat faster acting than other oral forms but slower than injectables and this method combines the advantages of maintenance and moderately-acute stage therapy in one dosage unit.
The daily dose requirements vary with the particular compositions being employed, the severity of the symptoms being presented, and the animal being treated. The dosage varies with the size of the animal. With large animals (about 70 kg. body weight), by the oral inhalation route, with for example a hand nebulizer or a pressurized aerosol dispenser the dose is from about 5 micrograms to about 100 micrograms, and preferably from about 10 to about 50 micrograms, approximately every four hours, or as needed. By theoral ingestion route, the effective dose is from about 1 to about 20 mg., preferably from about 5 to about 15 mg. up to a total of about 40 mg. per day. By the intravenous route, the ordinarily effective dose is from about 50 micrograms to about 300 micrograms, preferably about 200 micrograms per day.
For unit dosages, the active ingredient can be compounded into any of the usual oral dosage forms including tablets, capsules and liquid preparations such as elixirs and suspensions containing various coloring, flavoring, stabilizing and flavor masking substances. For compounding oral dosage forms the active ingredient can be diluted with various tableting materials such as starches of various types, calcium carbonate, lactose, sucrose and dicalcium phosphate to simplify the tableting and capsulating process. A minor proportion of magnesium stearate is useful as a lubricant. In all cases, of course, the proportion of the active ingredient in said composition will be sufficient to impart bronchodilating activity thereto. This will range upward from about 0.0001% by weight of active ingredient in said composition.
For administration by the oral inhalation route with conventional nebulizers or by oxygen aerosolization it is convenient to provide the instant active ingredient in dilute aqueous solution, preferably at concentrations of about 1 part of medicament to from about 100 to 200 parts by weight of total solution. Entirely conventional additives may be employed to stabilize these solutions or to provide isotonic media, for example, sodium chloride, sodium citrate, citric acid, sodium bisulfite, and the like can be employed.
For administration as a self-propelled dosage unit for administering the active ingredient in aerosol form suitable for inhalation therapy the composition can comprise the active ingredient suspended in an inert propellant (such as a mixture of dichlorodifluoromethane and dichlorotetrafluoroethane) together with a co-solvent, such as ethanol, flavoring materials and stabilizers. Instead of a co-solvent there can also be used a dispersing agent such as oleyl alcohol. Suitable means to employ the aerosol inhalation therapy technique are described fully in U.S. Pat. No. 2,868,691 and 3,095,355, for example.
The following examples further illustrate the best mode contemplated by the inventor of making the compositions of the invention.
EXAMPLE 1
7-(5α-Hydroxy-2β-[(3R)-3-Hydroxy-Trans-1-Octenyl]-1α-Cyclopentyl)-Cis-5-Heptenoic Acid
and
7-(5β-Hydroxy-2β-[(3R)-3-Hydroxy-Trans-1-Octenyl]-1α-Cyclopentyl)-Cis-5-Heptenoic Acid
An ice-cooled solution of 4.0 g. of 7-(2β-[(3R)-3-hydroxy-trans-1-octenyl]-5-oxo-1α-cyclopent-3-enyl)-cis-5-heptenoic acid in 110 ml. of a 10:1 mixture methanol water is treated with 2.2 g. of sodium borohydride, and stirred at 25° for 7 hours. The mixture is concentrated under vacuum at 40°, the residue diluted with water, acidified with acetic acid and the mixture partitioned with ether. After washing and drying, the extract is evaporated and the residue chromatographed on silica. Elution with 35% ethyl acetate-hexane affords the first title product as an oil, λ max film 2.95, 3.4, 5.8, 7.1, 8.1, 8.8, 9.7, 10.3 μ. NMR: δ 5.48 (M, 4, olefinic H), 4.62 (2, OH), 4.28 (M, 2, 9 and 15-H) ppm. Mass spectrum: M + at m/e (theory 338), M +-H 2 O at m/e 320.2331 (theory 320.2350).
Further elution with 40% ethyl acetate-hexane gives the second title product as an oil, λ max film 3.0, 3.4, 5.8, 7.1, 8.1, 9.35, 10.3 μ. NMR: δ 5.55 (M, 4, olefinic H), 4.58 (s, OH), 4.05 (M, 2, 9 and 15-H) ppm. Mass spectrum: M + at m/e 338 (theory 338). M +-H 2 O at m/e 320.2384 (theory 320.2350).
EXAMPLE 2
7-[5α-Hydroxy-2β-(3-Oxo-Trans-1-Octenyl)-1α-Cyclopentyl]-Cis-5-Heptenoic Acid
A solution of 3.63 g. of 7-(5α-hydroxy-2β-[(3R-3-hydroxy-trans-1-octenyl]-1α-cyclopentyl)-cis-5-heptenoic acid in 250 ml. of dioxane is treated with 3.63 g. of 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone and stirred at 55° for 40 hours under nitrogen. The solution is concentrated under vacuum at 40° and the residue chromatographed on silica. Elution with 30% ethyl acetate-hexane yields 1.8 g. of the title product as an oil, λ max film 3.0 (shoulder), 3.4, 5.8, 6.0 (shoulder), 6.15 (shoulder), 7.1, 8.1, 10.2 μ. UV: λ max EtOH 232 mμ (ε 12,000). NMR: δ 6.72 (dd, l, J=5.3 and 15, 13-H), 6.08 (d, l, J=15, 14-H), 5.40 (M, 2,5 and 6-H), 4.25 (M, 1, 9-H) ppm. Mass spectrum: QM + at m/e 337 (theory 337), QM +-H 2 O at m/e 319 (theory 319).
EXAMPLE 3
7-(5α-Hydroxy-2β-[(3RS)-3-Hydroxy-3-Methyl-Trans-1-Octenyl]-1.alpha.-Cyclopentyl)-Cis-5-Heptenoic Acid
An ice-cooled solution of 1.7 g. of 7-[5α-hydroxy-2β-(3-oxo-trans-1-octenyl)-1α-cyclopentyl]-cis-5-heptenoic acid in 150 ml. of tetrahydrofuran is treated with 15 ml. of 3 M methyl magnesium bromide in ether dropwise over 10 minutes, under nitrogen. After stirring at 0° for 45 minutes, the mixture is added to ammonium chloride solution, acidified with acetic acid and extracted with ether. After washing and drying, the extract is evaporated and the residue chromatographed on silica. Elution with 35% ethyl acetate-hexane affords 1.07 g. of the title product as an oil, λ max film 3.0, 3.4, 5.8, 8.1, 10.3 μ. NMR: δ 5.42 (M, 4, olefinic H), 5.12 (s, 3, OH), 4.20 (M, 1, 9-H), 1.28 (s, 15--CH 3 ) ppm. Mass spectrum: QM +--H 2 O at m/e 335 (theory 335).
EXAMPLE 4
7-(2β-[(3RS)-3-Hydroxy-3-Methyl-Trans-1-Octenyl]-5-Oxo-1α-Cyclopentyl)-Cis-5-Heptenoic Acid
An ice-cooled solution of 1.02 g. of 7-(5α-hydroxy-2β-[(3RS)-3-hydroxy-3-methyl-trans-1-octenyl]-1.alpha.-cyclopentyl)-cis-5-heptenoic acid in 80 ml. of acetone is treated dropwise with Jones reagent until the orange color persists. After stirring at 0° for 1/2 hour, the mixture is treated with 5 ml. of methanol and dilute sodium bicarbonate until basic. The mixture is diluted with water, acidified with acetic acid and extracted with ether. After washing and drying, the extract is evaporated and the residue chromatographed on silica. Elution with 30% ethyl acetate-hexane gives 0.12 g. of the title product as an oil, λ max film 3.0, 3.4, 5.75, 7.1, 8.15, 8.65, 10.3 μ. NMR: δ 6.80 (s, 2, OH), 5.72 (M, 2, 13 and 14-H), 5.52 (M, 2, 5 and 6-H), 1.30 (s, 15-CH 3 ) ppm. Mass spectrum: QM + at m/e 351 (theory 351).
EXAMPLE 5
5α-Hydroxy-2β-[(3RS)- -Hydroxy-3-Methyl-Trans-1-Octenyl]-1α-Cyclopentane Heptanoic Acid
A solution of 2.5 g of 7-(5α-hydroxy-2β-[(3RS)-3-hydroxy-3-methyl-trans-1-octenyl]-1.alpha.-cyclopentyl)-cis-5-heptenoic acid in 35 ml. of 1:1 benzene-ethanol is added to a prehydrogenated solution of 0.63 g of tris-(triphenylphosphine) rhodium (I) chloride in 115 ml. of 1:1 benzene-ethanol and the mixture hydrogenated at 25° and atmospheric pressure until 1 equivalent of hydrogen is absorbed. Evaporation of the solvent and silica chromatography of the residue with 45% ethyl acetate-hexane gives 1.878 g. of the title product as an oil, λ max film 3.0, 3.5, 5.85, 6.85, 8.95, 10.3 μ. NMR: δ 5.55 (M, 2, 13 and 14-H), 4.98 (s, 3, OH), 4.32 (M, 1, 9-H) ppm. Mass spectrum: QM +-2H 2 O at m/e 319.2636 (theory 319.2636).
EXAMPLE 6
2β-[(3RS)-3-Hydroxy-3-Methyl-Trans-1-Octenyl]-5-Oxo-1α-Cyclopentaneheptanoic Acid
An ice-cooled solution of 1.795 g. of 5α-hydroxy-2β-[(3RS)-3-hydroxy-3-methyl-trans-1-octenyl]-1.alpha.-cyclopentaneheptanoic acid in 120 ml. of acetone is treated dropwise with Jones reagent until the orange color persists. After stirring at 0° for 25 minutes, the mixture is treated with 10 ml. of methanol and dilute sodium bicarbonate until basic. Following dilution with water, the mixture is acidified with acetic acid and extracted with ether. The extract is washed, dried, evaporated and the residue chromatographed on silica. Elution with 30% ethyl acetate-hexane affords 0.33 g. of the title product as an oil, λ max film 2.95 (shoulder), 3.4, 5.75, 6.8, 8.6, 10.25 μ. NMR: δ 6.22 (OH), 5.62 (M, 13 and 14-H), 1.28, 1.28 (15-CH 3 ) ppm. Mass spectrum: QM +-H 2 O at m/e 335 (theory 335).
EXAMPLE 7
2β-[(3RS)-3-Hydroxy-3-Methyloctyl]-5-Oxo-1α-Cyclopentaneheptanoic Acid
A solution of 0.29 g. of 2β-[(3RS)-3-hydroxy-3-methyl-trans-octenyl]-5-oxo-1α-cyclopentaneheptanoic acid in 20 ml. of ethyl acetate is added to a prehydrogenated mixture of 0.09 g. of 10% Pd/C in 10 ml. of ethyl acetate and the mixture hydrogenated at 25% and atmospheric pressure for 16 hours. The mixture is filtered, evaporated and the residue chromatographed on silica. Elution with 40% ethyl acetate-hexane gives 0.16 g. of the title product as an oil, λ max film 3.0, 3.4, 5.72, 6.8, 8.65 μ. NMR: 6.02 (s, OH), 1.18 (s, 15-CH 3 ) ppm. Mass spectrum: M + at m/e 354.2729 (theory 354.2768).
EXAMPLE 8
5β-Hydroxy-2β-[(3R)-3-Hydroxy-Trans-1-Octenyl]-1α-Cyclopentaneheptanoic Acid
A solution of 4.4 g. of 7-(5β-hydroxy-2β-[(3R)-3-hydroxy-trans-1-octenyl]-1α-cyclopentyl)-cis-5-heptenoic acid in 50 ml. of 1:1 benzene-ethanol is added to a prehydrogenated solution of 1:1 g. of tris-(triphenylphosphine) rhodium (I) chloride in 200 ml. of 1:1 benzene-ethanol and the mixture hydrogenated at 25° and atmospheric pressure until 1 equivalent of hydrogen is absorbed. Evaporation of the solvents and silica chromatography of the residue with 40% ethyl acetate-hexane affords 2.7 g. of the title product as an oil, λ max film 3.05, 3.4, 5.85, 6.8, 8.1, 9.8, 10.3 μ. NMR: δ 5.58 (M, 2, 13 and 14-H), 3.95 (M, 2, and 15-H) ppm. Mass spectrum: M + at m/e 340 (theory 340), M +-H 2 O at m/e 322.2195 322.2493 (theory 322.2507).
EXAMPLE 9
5β-Hydroxy-2β-(3-Oxo-Trans-1-Octenyl)-1α-Cyclopentane Heptanoic Acid
A solution of 2.7 g. of 5β-hydroxy-2β-[(3R)-3-hydroxy-trans-1-octenyl]-1α-cyclopentane heptanoic acid in 150 ml. of dioxane is treated with 2.7 g. of 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone and the mixture stirred at 75° for 18 hours under nitrogen. After cooling to 25°, the mixture is filtered, diluted with ether, filtered again and washed with water. The ether solution is then extracted 4 times with aqueous saturated sodium bicarbonate and the aqueous extracts acidified with acetic acid and extracted with ether. The ether extract is combined with the original ether solution, evaporated and the residue chromatographed on silica. Elution with 40% ethyl acetate-hexane gives 1.42 g. of the title product as an oil, λ max film 3.0 (shoulder), 3.4, 5.85, 6.0 (shoulder), 6.15, 8.4, 9.35, 10.2 μ. UV: λ max EtOH 230 mμ (ε 13,200). NMR: δ 6.8 (dd, l, J=7.5 and 15, 13-H), 6.0 (d, l, J=15, 14-H), 3.95 (M, 1, 9-H) ppm. Mass spectrum: QM + at m/e 339 (theory 339).
EXAMPLE 10
2β-[(3RS)-3-Ethynyl-3-Hydroxy-Trans-1-Octenyl]-5β-Hydroxy-1.alpha.-Cyclopentane Heptanoic Acid
A solution of 1.42 g. of 5β-hydroxy-2β-(3-oxo-trans-1-octenyl)-1α-cyclopentane heptanoic acid in 30 ml. of tetrahydrofuran is added to an ice-cooled solution of ethynyl magnesium bromide (made from 13.3 ml. of 3 M methyl magnesium bromide and excess acetylene) in 170 ml. of tetrahydrofuran and the mixture stirred at 0° for 15 minutes and at 25° for 3 hours. The mixture is diluted with aqueous ammonium chloride solution, acidified with acetic acid and extracted with ether. After washing and drying, the extract is evaporated and the residue chromatographed on silica. Elution with 40% ethyl acetate-hexane affords 1.03 g. of the title product as an oil, λ max film 3.05, 3.4, 5.8, 9.3, 10.3 μ. NMR: δ 5.95 (dd, l, J=7.5 and 15, 13-H), 5.4 (d, l, J=15, 14-H), 3.92 (M, 1, 9-H - , 2.58 (s, 1, acetylenic H) pm. Mass spectrum: QM + at m/e 365 (theory 365).
EXAMPLE 11
2β-[(3RS)-3-Ethynyl-3-Hydroxy-Trans-1-Octenyl]-5-Oxo-1α-Cyclopentane Heptanoic Acid
An ice-cooled solution of 1.0 g. of 2β-[(3RS)-3-ethynyl-3-hydroxy-trans-1-octenyl]-5β-hydroxy-1.alpha.-cyclopentaneheptanoic acid in 75 ml. of acetone is treated with Jones reagent (3.9 ml.) over 20 minutes until the orange color persists. After stirring at 0° for 1/2 hour, under nitrogen, the mixture is treated with 10 ml. of methanol and dilute sodium bicarbonate until basic. Following dilution with water and acidification with acetic acid, the mixture is extracted with ether and the extract washed, dried and evaporated. Silica chromatography of the residue with 30% ethyl acetatehexane gives 0.27 g. of the title product as an oil, λ max film 3.05, 3.45, 5.8, 7.1, 8.65, 10.3 μ. NMR: δ 5.98 (dd, l, J=7.5 and 15, 13-H), 5.55 (d, l, J=15, 14-H), 2.60 (s, 1, acetylenic H) ppm. Mass spectrum: QM + at m/e 363 (theory 363).
EXAMPLE 12
7-[5β-Hydroxy-2β-(3-Oxo-Trans-1-Octenyl)-1α-Cyclopentyl]-Cis-5-Heptenoic Acid
A solution of 0.51 g. of 7-(5β-hydroxy-2β-[(3R)-3-hydroxy-trans-1-octenyl]-1α-cyclopentyl)-cis-5-heptenoic acid in 40 ml. of dioxane is treated with 0.51 g. of 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone and the mixture stirred at 55° for 24 hours under nitrogen. The mixture is evaporated and the residue chromatographed on silica with 40% ethyl acetate-hexane to obtain 0.38 g. of the title product as an oil, λ max film 3.0 (shoulder), 3.4, 5.85, 6.0 (shoulder), 6.15 (shoulder), 8.1, 9.3, 10.2 μ. UV: λ max EtOH 231 mμ (ε 14,050). NMR: δ 6.85 (dd, l, J=7.5 and 16, 13-H), 6.08 (d, l, J=16, 14-H), 5.50 (M, 2, 5 and 6-H), 4.00 (M, 1, 9-H) ppm. Mass spectrum: M + at m/3 336.2299 (theory 336.2299).
EXAMPLE 13
5β-Hydroxy-2β-(3-Oxo-Octyl)-1α-Cyclopentaneheptanoic Acid
A solution of 2.68 g. of 7-[5β-hydroxy-2β-(3-oxo-trans-1-octenyl)-1α-cyclopentyl]-cis-5-heptenoic acid in 50 ml. of ethyl acetate is added to a prehydrogenated mixture of 0.67 g. of 10% Pd/C in 50 ml. of ethyl acetate and hydrogenated at 25° and atmospheric pressure until 2 equivalents of hydrogen are absorbed. The mixture is filtered, evaporated and the residue chromatographed on silica. Elution with 35% ethyl acetate-hexane affords 1.96 g. of the title product as an oil, λ max film 3.0 (shoulder), 3.4, 5.8, 6.8, 7.05, 8.2 μ. NMR: δ 6.35 (s, 2, OH), 3.95 (m, 1, 9-H), 2.2-2.6 (M, 5, CO-CH) ppm. Mass spectrum: QM +-H 2 O at m/e 323 (theory 323).
EXAMPLE 14
2β-[(3RS)-3-Ethynyl-3-Hydroxyoctyl]-5β-Hydroxy-1α-Cyclopentaneheptanoic Acid
A solution of 1.86 g. of 5β-hydroxy-2β-(3-oxo-octyl)-1α-cyclopentane heptanoic acid in 30 ml. of tetrahydrofuran is added to a solution of ethynyl magnesium bromide (made from 18.0 ml. of 3 M methyl magnesium bromide in ether and excess acetylene) in 220 ml. of tetrahydrofuran and the mixture stirred at 25° for 2 hours under nitrogen. Following dilution with aqueous ammonium chloride solution and acidification with acetic acid, the mixture is extracted with ether. After washing and drying, the extract is evaporated and the residue chromatographed on silica. Elution with 40% ethyl acetate-hexane gives 1.54 g. of the title product as an oil, λ max film 3.05, 4.5, 5.8, 6.8, 9.0, 10.7 μ. NMR: δ 5.32 (s, 3, OH), 3.95 (M, 1, 9-H), 2.48 (s, 1, acetylenic H), 2.35 (M, 2, CO-CH) ppm. Mass spectrum: QM +-2H 2 O at m/e 331.2633 (theory 331.2336).
EXAMPLE 15
2β-[(3RS)-3-Ethynyl-3-Hydroxyoctyl]-5-Oxo-1α-Cyclopentane Heptanoic Acid
An ice-cooled solution of 1.45 g. of 2β-[(3RS)-3-ethynyl-3-hydroxyoctyl]-5β-hydroxy-1α-cyclopentaneheptanoic acid in 50 ml. of acetone is treated with Jones reagent (4.0 ml.) until the orange color persisted and the mixture stirred at 0° for 1/2 hour under nitrogen. The mixture is treated with 10 ml. of methanol, dilute sodium bicarbonate until basic and diluted with water. After acidification with acetic acid, the mixture is extracted with ether and the extract washed, dried and evaporated. Silica chromatography of the residue with 30% ethyl acetate-hexane gives 0.32 g. of the title product as an oil, λ max film 3.05, 3.4, 4.7 (weak), 5.75, 6.8, 7.05, 8.6 μ. NMR: δ 6.02 (M, OH), 2.48 (s, acetylenic H) ppm. Mass spectrum: QM +-H 2 O at m/e 347 (theory 347).
EXAMPLE 16
7-(2β-[(3RS)-3-Ethynyl-3-Hydroxy-Trans-1-Octenyl]-5β -Hydroxy-1α-Cyclopentyl)-Cis-5-Heptenoic Acid
A solution of 9.95 g. of 7-[5β-hydroxy-2β-(3-oxo-trans-1-octenyl)-1α-cyclopentyl]-cis-5-heptenoic acid in 20 ml. of tetrahydrofuran is added to a solution of ethynyl magnesium bromide (made from 18.9 ml. of 3 M methyl magnesium bromide and excess acetylene) in 270 ml. of tetrahydrofuran and the mixture stirred at 25° for 1 hour under nitrogen. The mixture is diluted with aqueous ammonium chloride solution, acidified with acetic acid and extracted with ether. Following washing and drying, the extract is evaporated and the residue chromatographed on silica. Elution with 35% ethyl acetate-hexane affords 1.55 g. of the title product as an oil, λ max film 3.05, 3.4, 5.8, 10.25 μ. NMR: δ 6.00 (dd, l, J=7.5 and 15, 13-H), 5.52 (M, 2, 5 and 6-H), 5.48 (d, J=15, 14-H), 4.00 (M, 1, 9-H), 2.58 (s, 1, acetylenic H) ppm.
EXAMPLE 17
7-(2β-[(3R)-3-Ethynyl-3-Hydroxy-Trans-1-Octenyl]-5-Oxo-1α-Cyclopentyl)-Cis-5-Heptenoic Acid
and
7-(2β-[(3S)-3-Ethynyl-3-Hydroxy-Trans-1-Octenyl]-5-Oxo-1α-Cyclopentyl)-Cis-5-Heptenoic Acid
An ice-cooled solution of 1.415 g. of 7-(2β-[(3RS)-3-ethynyl-3-hydroxy-trans-1-octenyl]-5β-hydroxy-1.alpha.-cyclopentyl-cis-5-heptenoic acid in 80 ml. of acetone is treated with Jones reagent until the orange color persists and the mixture stirred at 0° for 1/2 hour under nitrogen. The mixture is treated with 10 ml. of methanol, dilute sodium bicarbonate until basic and diluted with water. Following acidification with acetic acid, the mixture is extracted with ether and the extract washed, dried and evaporated. The resulting residue is chromatographed on silica with 30% ethyl acetate-hexane to obtain 0.11 g. of a first product as an oil, λ max film 3.05, 3.4, 5.75, 7.05, 8.1, 8.6, 10.25 μ. NMR: δ 7.22 (s, 2, OH), 5.3-6.4 (M, 4 olefinic H), 2.60 (s, acetylenic H) ppm. Mass spectrum M + at m/e 360 (theory 360), M +-C 2 H 2 at m/e 334.2143 (theory 334.2193).
Continued elution afforded 0.04 g. of a second product, as an oil, which exhibits spectra identical to that of the first product. On the basis of relative mobility in thin layer chromatography the second product is assigned the 3S configuration and the first product is assigned the 3R configuration.
EXAMPLE 18
Anesthetized (Dial-urethane) guinea pigs were artificially respired at a constant positive air pressure (Starling miniature pump) and changes in tidal air during inspiration were recorded, according to the method of Rosenthale et al., Int. Arch. Pharmacol., 172, 91 (1968). The bronchoconstrictor agent acetylcholine (ACH) was administered at doses of 10 to 40 mcg/kg. depending on each animal's sensitivity to this compound, and control responses to acetylcholine were thus established. Bronchoconstrictor agents raise the resistance of the lungs to inflation thereby decreasing the tidal air flow. 7-(2β-[(3S)-3-ethynyl-3-hydroxy-trans-1-octenyl]-5-oxo-1α-cyclopentyl)-cis-5-heptenoic acid was then administered by aerosol, and the animals were then challenged again with acetylcholine, and the degree of inhibition of bronchoconstriction was thus determined. A minimum of two animals was used at each dose.
______________________________________Results.sup.a Mean % Protection VSTotal Aerosol Dose (mcg) ACH Bronchoconstriction______________________________________1.5 × 10.sup.-.sup.4 32 10.sup.-.sup.3 53 10.sup.-.sup.2 79 10.sup.-.sup.1 92______________________________________ .sup.a Minimum of 2 animals per dose.
EXAMPLE 19
7-[2β-(3-Oxo-Trans-1-Octenyl)-5-Oxo-1α-Cyclopentyl]-Cis- 5-Heptenoic Acid
A solution of 20.0 g. of 15-epi-PGA 2 in 500 ml. of methanol and 50 ml. of water is cooled in an ice bath and treated with 11.0 g. of sodium borohydride in portions (some foaming) with stirring. After addition of sodium borohydride, the ice bath is removed and the mixture stirred at 25° for 6 hours. The mixture is acidified with acetic acid and the solvent removed under vacuum (water aspirator) at 40°. The residue is diluted with water and extracted thrice with ether. The extract is washed thrice with brine, dried and evaporated (aspirator/40°) to yield 22 g. of oil, a mixture of C-9 alcohols. TLC (silica, 65:15:2 Bz:Diox:HAc) shows starting ketone at Rf 45 and alcohol products at Rf 42 and 48.
The above crude alcohol mixture is dissolved in 1.5 liters of acetone, cooled in an ice bath and treated with 120 ml. of 1.4 M Jones reagent. After stirring at 0° for 40 minutes, the mixture is treated with 50 ml. of methanol to destroy excess Jones reagent, neutralized with dilute sodium bicarbonate solution and acidified with acetic acid. The solvent is removed (aspirator/40°) and the residue diluted with water and extracted thrice with ether. The extract is washed thrice with brine, dried and evaporated (aspirator/40°). The residue (24 g.) is chromatographed on 1.2 Kg of silicar CC-4 starting with 15% EtOAc-hexane and the oily title product (13.4 g.) is eluted with 30% EtOAc-hexane. TLC (silica 65:15:2 Bz:Diox:HAc) Rf 55. UV: λ max .sup. 95% EtOH 228 mμ (ε 13,000). λ max film 3.45, 5.75, 5.9, 6.0, 6.15, 7.1, 8.7, 10.2 μ. NMR: δ 10.7 (s, 1, OH), 6.86 (dd, l, J=7.5 and 15, 13-H), 6.2 (d, l, J=15, 14-H), 5.4 (m, 2, 5 and 6-H) ppm.
Analysis for: C 20 H 30 O 4 ; Calculated: C, 71.82; H, 9.04; Found: C, 72.01; H, 9.00.
EXAMPLE 20
7-(7β-[3-Oxo-Trans-1-Octenyl]-1,4-Dioxaspiro[4.4]non-6α-yl)-Cis-5-Heptenoic Acid
A solution of 4.8 g. of 7-[2β-(3-oxo-trans-1-octenyl)-5-oxo-1α-cyclopentyl]-cis-5-heptenoic acid, 50 ml. of ethylene glycol and 80 mg. of p-toluenesulfonic acid is refluxed under nitrogen with a Dean Stark water separator for 1.5 hours. The mixture is cooled, diluted with 300 ml. of ether, washed thrice with brine and dried. The solvent is removed (aspirator/40°) and the residue (5.5 g.) chromatographed on 300 g. of silicar CC-4. The crude product is put on the column with 15% ethyl acetate-hexane, allowed to stand for 4 hours and then eluted to obtain the oily title product (3.1 g.) with 20% EtOAc-hexane. TLC (silica 65:15:2 Bz:Diox:HAc) shows starting diketone at Rf 50, desired C-9 monoketal at Rf 55 and C-9, 15 diketal at Rf 60. UV: λ max 95%EtOH 230 mμ (ε 12,840). λ max film 3.45, 5.75, 5.85, 6.0, 6.15, 8.7, 9.65, 10.2 μ. NMR: δ 10.2 (s, 1, OH), 6.82 (dd, l, J=7.5 and 16.5, 13-H), 6.1 (d, l, J=16.5, 14-H), 5.42 (m, 2, 5 and 6-H), 3.92 (s, 4, ketal H) ppm. Mass spectrum: M + at m/e 378.2423 (theory 378.2405).
EXAMPLE 21
7-(7β-[(3S)-3-Ethynyl-3-Hydroxy-Trans-1-Octenyl]-1,4-dioxaspiro[4.4]non-6α-yl)-Cis-5-Heptenoic Acid
Dry tetrahydrofuran is saturated at 25° by bubbling acetylene (through 2 dry ice-acetone traps and alumina drying tube) through with stirring for approximately 1/2 hour. A solution of 50 ml. of 3 M methyl magnesium bromide/ether in 50 ml. of dry tetrahydrofuran is added dropwise and stirring continued for 1 hour with acetylene continuously bubbling through the mixture. A solution of 9.0 g. of 7-(7β-[3-oxo-trans-1-octenyl]-1,4-dioxaspiro[4.4]non-6α-yl)-cis-5-heptenoic acid in 120 ml. of dry tetrahydrofuran is added and the mixture stirred for 1 hour with acetylene continuously bubbling through the mixture. The mixture is added to ammonium chloride solution, acidified with acetic acid, and extracted thrice with ether. The extract is washed thrice with brine, dried and evaporated (aspirator/40°). Chromatography of the residue (11 g.) on 1 Kg of silicar CC-4 with 25% ethyl acetate-hexane first gives 3.9 g. of the 15-epi isomer followed by 5.2 g. of the desired oily title product. TLC (silica 65:15:2 Bz:Diox:HAc) shows starting ketal at Rf 55, title product at Rf 48. λ max film 3.0, 3.4, 4.7 (weak), 5.75, 8.6, 10.2 μ. NMR: δ 5.3-6.1 (m, 4, olefinic), 3.9 (s, 4 ketal H), 2.58 (s, C.tbd.CH) ppm. Mass spectrum: M + at m/3 404.2561 (theory 404.2558).
EXAMPLE 22
7-(2β-[(3S)-3-Ethynyl-3-Hydroxy-Trans-1-Octenyl]-5-Oxo-1α-Cyclopentyl)-Cis- 5-Heptenoic Acid
A solution of 5.2 g. of 7-(7β-[(3S)-3-ethynyl-3-hydroxy-trans-1-octenyl]-1,4-dioxaspiro[ 4.4]non-6α-yl)-cis-5-heptenoic acid in 150 ml. of acetic acid is treated with 75 ml. of water and stirred at 25°/N 2 /1 hour. The solution is diluted with brine, extracted thrice with ether and the extract washed 5 times with brine, dried and evaporated (aspirator/40°). The crude product (5.4 g.) is chromatographed on 520 g. silicar CC-4 and the title product (3.9 g. of oil) eluted with 30% EtOAc-hexane. [α] D 25 ° (-) 58.5 (1% CHCl 3 ). λ max film 3.0, 3.35, 5.7, 7.0, 8.55, 10.2μ. NMR: δ 6.1 (dd, l, J=7.5 and 15, 13-H), 5.65 (d, l, J=15, 14-H) 5.48 (m, 2, 5 and 6-H), 2.65 (s, C.tbd.CH) ppm. Mass spectrum: M + at m/e 360.
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9-Oxo-15-Substituted prostanoic acids, and intermediates for their preparation and for the preparation of other known prostanglandins are disclosed. The final products have bronchodilatory activity.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to medical diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly to indicator circuitry included in an electrocardiograph (ECG) system for indicating whether one or more skin electrodes is properly connected to a patient.
II. Discussion of the Prior Art
Electrocardiography is the recording, usually from electrodes on the body surface, of the electrical activity of the heart during the cardiac cycle. Before each part of the heart contracts, there is a change in the membrane potential of the cardiac muscle cells, thus depolarization precedes contraction while repolarization follows and precedes relaxation. The potential differences can be recorded from electrodes on the body surface and the appearance of the recorded ECG depends on the sequence of depolarization and repolarization of the cardiac muscle mass and the position of the recording electrodes. A typical ECG utilizes 12 leads, such that 12 samples may be recorded with standard connections between the patient and the ECG machine. Interpretation of an ECG can provide a very detailed picture of heart function but, obviously to do this, requires considerable skill and experience. To properly understand and interpret ECG recordings, one must be able to understand the origin of the cardiac vectors, know the axes of the 12 ECG leads and appreciate the convention of normal vectors of depolarization and repolarization.
At rest, during diastole, the resting membrane potential cannot be detected without puncturing the cell with a microelectrode in that it does not cause any current to flow in the extracellular fluid. When the cardiac action potential propagates through the tissue, current flows in the extracellular fluid and the intracellular fluid, driven by the difference between membrane potentials in resting and depolarized zones. The potential difference recorded is a vector quantity in that it has both magnitude and direction and conventionally may be represented by an arrow pointed towards the resting membrane, i.e., in the direction of spread of electrical activity. The length of the arrow, of course, indicates the magnitude of the potential. By convention, if the electric vector is oriented toward the positive recording electrode, it is represented by an upward deflection of the ECG.
A triangle (Einthoven's Triangle) with the heart at its center is formed by placing recording limb electrodes on both arms and the left leg. The Einthoven's Triangle is generally represented as an equilateral in that the trunk of the patient is a uniform volume conductor and the heart acts a point source of electric vectors situated at its center. Vector I is defined as the potential difference between the right arm (RA) electrode and the left-arm (LA) electrode. Vector II is the potential difference between the RA electrode and the left-leg (LL) electrode. Vector III is the potential difference between the LA and the LL electrodes. According to Einthoven's Law, only two such leads are independent in that the third lead can be simply calculated from the other two.
An ECG system also employs chest leads. More particularly, in clinical routine use, six chest leads are used to record cardiac events under a single electrode with respect to an “indifferent” electrode. This reference point is formed by connecting the RA, LA and LL electrodes together with resistors, with the reference potential being appropriately the middle point of the Einthoven's Triangle, sometimes referred to as the Wilson Potential. Three additional vectors referred to as “augmented limb lead vectors” are based upon the Wilson Potential. The three limb electrodes, the six chest electrodes and three augmented limb electrodes total the twelve leads.
Many ECG machines incorporate a “lead-off indictor” to help identify a high-impedance ECG electrode patch. By providing such an indicator, a medical professional is able to quickly locate the source of a noisy signal and take appropriate steps to secure the lead patch to the skin of the patient. This reduces the amount of set-up and trouble-shooting time involved with an ECG measurement. Most conventional leads-off indicators use simple impedance measurements to determine whether an electrode is attached to the patient. Typically, the ECG machine applies a relatively high frequency (e.g., 30 KHz) drive signal to the patient through the electrode affixed to the patient's right-leg (RL) electrode. The ECG machine then measures this signal through the other input electrodes to determine whether the electrodes are properly attached by comparing the amplitude of the transduced 30 KHz signal to a predetermined reference.
This conventional approach of applying a high frequency drive signal to the RL electrode has drawbacks when several medical devices are used in conjunction with a given patient. Often several ECGs and monitors are connected to the patient at once, potentially causing errors in the leads-off indication if several such machines utilize the standard 30 KHz excitation signal. This problem can be significantly worse with certain pacemaker patients. Pacemakers from several manufacturers also utilize an excitation frequency near 30 KHz for deriving a rate-adaptive control signal based upon minute ventilation. The 30 KHz drive signal is applied by the pacemaker pulse generator circuitry as a carrier signal that is modulated by respiratory activity. The modulation signal is proportional to minute ventilation which is a parameter that varies predictably with the level of patient activity.
When ECG machines with prior-art style leads-off indicators are used with pacemaker patients having a minute ventilation-based rate adaptive pacemaker, the leads-off indicator can cause pacing at the upper-rate limit. In October 1998, the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health issued an alert, warning physicians of this interaction.
In addition to the affects on the device, telemetry interference at 30 KHz can be significant and may cause the leads-off indicator to provide erroneous results. Thus, a need exists for a leads-off indicator for use in ECG equipment that can operate without interference from or with other medical devices being used with a given patient.
The present invention provides a leads-off indicator that does not require a 30 KHz excitation signal, but instead, utilizes information from the common-mode input noise to determine whether an electrode is connected to the patient. Nearly all ECG equipment operates in electrical environments with high levels of power line noise, 60 Hz being the dominant common-mode signal on the input electrodes for equipment used in the United States and 50 Hz in Europe. By comparing the relative noise between vectors, the RL output, and the common-mode input voltage, the noise level can be triangulated to reveal a high impedance electrode. By using the common-mode input noise instead of a 30 KHz drive signal, compatibility of the ECG leads-off indicator with minute ventilation-based rate adaptive pacemakers is provided, as is a high immunity to interference from telemetry or other monitors.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a leads-off indicator for an ECG machine may comprise a plurality of leads, each having a skin-contacting electrode at one end thereof adapted for attachment to a patient's body at predetermined locations to thereby define a plurality of ECG sensing vectors therebetween. One of the plurality of electrodes is selectively connectable to the patient's right leg as a reference. Sense amplifiers are connected to receive ECG signals and common-mode noise picked up by the skin-contacting electrodes, other than the RL electrode. Circuitry is provided for comparing a difference between an average of output signals from the sense amplifiers associated with the RA, LA, LL limb electrodes and signals derived from the RL electrode with a predetermined reference voltage for producing an output indicative of whether the RL electrode is properly connected to the patient. When it is determined that the RL electrode is properly connected to the patient, the circuitry is operative to apply a negative feedback signal as a drive to the RL electrode, where the feedback signal is proportional to the level of common-mode noise present on the electrodes other than the RL electrode. When it is determined that the RL electrode is not properly affixed to the patient, the resulting noise signal picked up by the RL electrode is used by the aforementioned circuitry used to compare the difference between an average of output signals from the sense amplifiers. Once the state of the RL electrode is confirmed, it is possible to identify which, if any, of the limb and chest electrodes are not properly secured to the patient.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram illustrating the input stage for an ECG leads-off indicator;
FIG. 2 depicts by means of a circuit diagram the decision circuitry used to determine if the right-leg electrode is properly connected to the patient;
FIG. 3 is a similar circuit diagram of the decision circuitry used to determine if the right-leg electrode is not properly connected to the patient;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a leads-off algorithm for ECG sensing leads;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the decision circuitry used to detect the status of a chest electrode;
FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of the impedance balancing circuitry used with the ECG inputs when the ECG system does not utilize a right-leg electrode;
FIG. 7 is a logic diagram of identification circuitry used with the impedance balancing circuitry of FIG. 6 to provide an indication of a particular electrode that is not in proper contact with the skin of the patient; and
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an arrangement for use in ECG equipment for eliminating a contribution of a disconnected electrode to the right leg feedback path.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Typical ECG machines use the right-leg (RL) electrode to provide negative feedback to the patient to greatly improve common-mode rejection. If the RL electrode is not properly attached to the patient, multiple channels can become noisy and corrupt the ECG traces. Leads-off indicators that rely upon excitation signals to determine lead status can develop an intermediate state if the RL electrode is not attached to the patient. If the excitation signal does not reach the patient, it will not be received by the input electrodes and will therefore improperly indicate that all of the input electrodes have a high impedance condition. The present invention improves over such prior art designs by determining when only the RL electrode is removed from the patient. This aids the user by providing a clear indication of the particular electrode that needs adjustment.
As will be further explained, the leads-off indicator of the present invention utilizes two criteria to detect the status of the RL electrode, depending on whether it is currently properly attached to the patient or not. Indicated generally by numeral 10 in FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of the ECG's input stage. A plurality of electrodes 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 are adapted to be attached to the patient, namely to the LL, LA, RA and RL, respectively. Each of the electrodes is connected by a lead to the non-inverting input of an operational amplifier. The LL electrode is connected to the non-inverting input of amplifier 20 , the LA electrode to amplifier 22 , the RA electrode to amplifier 24 and the RL electrode to a single-pole, double-throw electronic switching device 26 . Depending upon the state of the switch 26 , the RL electrode functions either as an input to operational amplifier 28 or as an output from an inverting amplifier 30 .
Amplifiers 20 , 22 and 24 have their output terminals coupled by resistors 32 , 34 and 36 of equal value to a node 38 , such that an average value of the outputs from the amplifiers 20 , 22 and 24 is developed at that node and is applied as an input to the inverting amplifier 30 .
When RL electrode 18 is not attached to the patient, the switch 26 disconnects the electrode from the output of inverting amplifier 30 and, instead, connects the RL electrode to the input of the sensing amplifier 28 . As can be further seen from FIG. 1, the amplified input signals from electrodes LL, RA, LA and RL are applied as inputs to the leads-off decision circuitry illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.
Consider first the case where the ECG system is configured to operate without the RL electrode, but senses when the RL electrode is attached to the patient. The switch 26 (FIG. 1) automatically disconnects the RL electrode from the output of drive amplifier 30 and connects it to the sensing amplifier 28 when the RL electrode is not in use. The output from amplifier 28 is applied to the inverting input of a differential amplifier 40 , while the sum of the outputs from amplifiers 20 , 22 and 24 is applied by the summing circuit 42 to the non-inverting input of the differential amplifier 40 . It can be seen that under these circumstances, the RL input voltage is subtracted from the average of the LL, LA and RA signals. This average is commonly referred to as the “Wilson Potential” (V W ). When the RL electrode is not properly connected to the patient, 60 Hz noise on the RL lead and V W will not be correlated in phase and amplitude due to the differences in skin-electrode impedances and coupling strengths. The amplitude differences between these two signals are often an order of magnitude or greater. However, once the RL electrode is properly attached to the patient, the 60 Hz signals will be very similar in terms of amplitude and phase, thus decreasing the difference between the inputs to the difference amplifier 40 to a small value. The 60-cycle noise emanating from a 60 Hz band pass filter 43 is converted to a DC signal by circuit 44 and then low pass filtered at circuit 46 to isolate the DC offset. The resulting DC signal level is applied to the inverting input of a comparator 48 which has a predetermined voltage reference value from a reference source 50 connected to its non-inverting input.
Once the difference between RL and V W drops below the threshold level established by reference 50 , the output of the comparator is low indicative that the RL electrode is, in fact, properly attached to the patient. When this condition prevails, the system automatically throws the switch 26 to the output of the amplifier 30 and thereafter the decision circuit of FIG. 3 is employed to detect when and if the RL electrode becomes disconnected.
Referring, then, to FIG. 3, considering the RL electrode as being connected to the patient and functioning as an output driver, the level of average 60 Hz noise is extremely small, typically below 10 μv, in any of the input leads LA, RA or LL. Removing the RL electrode connection to the patient results in a drastic increase in the value of the output from the RMS-to-DC converter 44 causing the DC offset voltage at the output of the low pass filter 46 to exceed the reference voltage applied to the comparator 48 , resulting in its output going high, indicating that the RL electrode is not connected to the patient. At this point, the RL electrode connection is configured by the switch 26 as a sensing input.
With the assumption that the RL electrode is properly connected to the patient, the circuit arrangement of FIG. 4 can be used to identify a particular one of the three limb electrodes, RA, LL or LA that is not properly connected to the patient. As already mentioned, with the RL electrode properly attached and thereby providing a negative feedback drive signal, the input 60 Hz noise is typically less than 10 μv in amplitude. If one of the sensing electrodes is removed from the patient, and thus removed from the RL negative feedback, the noise transduced on the disconnected electrode will be significantly greater than the noise present on the other electrodes that are properly affixed. This causes greater 60 Hz noise on the vectors associated with the detached electrode, leaving one valid ECG vector. For example, first consider the case where the LA electrode comes loose from the patient while the LL, RA and RL electrodes maintain a good connection. Vector II (LL-RA) remains substantially free of noise since both electrodes defining Vector II are attached to the patient. Correspondingly, Vectors I (LA-RA) and III (LL-LA) become noisy.
The circuit of FIG. 4 shows on implementation for identifying the particular electrode that is not properly attached. The potential difference between the LA electrode and RA electrode comprises Vector I. The ambient noise is band pass filtered at 51 and the resulting noise signal is converted to a DC level by an RMS-to-DC converter 52 with any vestiges noise being removed by the low-pass filter 54 , before being applied to the non-inverting input of a comparator circuit 56 . Likewise, the potential difference between electrodes LL and RA define Vector II and the noise signal present is passed by band pass filter 57 and is converted to a DC level by RMS-to-DC converter 58 . The output from converter 58 is low-pass filtered by circuit 60 and the resulting filtered output signal is applied to the non-inverting input of a comparator 62 . The potential difference between electrodes LL and LA define Vector III and it, too, is band pass filtered by circuit 63 and converted to a DC level by RMS-to-DC converter 64 . Its output signal is low-pass filtered by circuit 66 with the DC signal output from the filter 66 being applied to the non-inverting input of comparator 68 . Each of the comparators 56 , 62 and 68 have the same reference or threshold value applied over conductor 70 to the inverting inputs thereof If the outputs from comparators 56 and 62 are each high, AND gate 72 will be enabled and its output signal will be indicative that the electrode RA is not properly affixed to the patient. If the outputs from comparators 62 and 68 are simultaneously high, gate 74 is enabled which is indicative that electrode LL is not positively affixed to the patient. When the outputs from comparators 56 and 68 are simultaneously high, AND gate 76 will output a signal indicating that electrode LA is not properly attached to the patient.
While FIG. 4 illustrates a simple implementation of the detection algorithm in an analog domain, those skilled in the art will recognize that this algorithm may also be implemented in the digital domain. The algorithm can further be improved by incorporating a variable threshold for the comparators 56 , 62 and 68 or by utilizing a digital signal processor to compare the magnitude values of each of the vectors.
Experiments have shown that if the disconnected electrode connects into the feedback network to the RL electrode (see FIG. 1 ), any phase difference between the noise picked up on the disconnected electrode and the noise transduced from the patient may cause an error in the feedback to the RL electrode, creating interference on a valid vector. However, the noise on the valid vector has been found to always remain much less than that on the other two vectors. Thus, by looking at the raw magnitude values, triangulation using the two highest magnitudes above a certain threshold level improves the detection criteria.
Once it is determined that the RA, LA and LL electrodes are properly affixed to the skin of the patient, the leads-off indicator of the ECG system can also indicate whether a chest electrode (V) is properly secured to the patient. ECG systems create a chest vector (V) by measuring the difference between the chest electrode V and the average signal at electrodes RA, LA and LL. Once the leads-off indicator confirms that all three limb electrodes are connected, the chest electrode can be detected by comparing the 60 Hz noise on each individual vector to a fixed threshold. FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a circuit capable of making the determination for one chest electrode. This circuitry can be duplicated for as many chest vectors as are available in the system.
Referring to FIG. 5, the potential difference defining the chest vector V is band pass-filtered by filter circuit 78 that has a pass-band centered on 60 Hz. It should be understood, however, that if the ambient noise present in the environment is of a different frequency, e.g., 50 Hz as it is in Europe, then the filter 78 would be designed to pass that particular frequency and attenuate frequencies above and below the center value. The output from the band pass filter 78 is converted to a DC signal by RMS-to-DC converter 80 and, again, the output of that circuit is low pass filtered by circuit 82 , allowing the DC signal proportional to noise level to be applied to the non-inverting input of operational amplifier 84 configured as a comparator. If the output from the comparator 84 exceeds the threshold potential applied to the non-inverting input of the comparator, the output from the comparator will be high indicative that the particular chest electrode is not properly affixed to the patient's chest.
It is desirable in equipment, such as pacemaker programmers, to provide an operational mode where the ECG feature thereof can function in the absence of a RL electrode being attached to the patient while still producing clean, relatively noise-free ECG signals. As will be explained in greater detail below, any skin-electrode impedance mismatch can be compensated for by incorporating an impedance balancing circuit into the system that automatically maximizes the common-mode rejection without requiring an RL electrode connection. Because the present invention provides for automatically detecting whether the RL electrode is properly attached to the patient, the ECG circuitry can automatically switch between two modes of operation for optimal performance under both conditions.
FIG. 6 illustrates an impedance balancing circuit designed to minimize common mode noise between two ECG electrodes by effectively adjusting the resistive and reactive components of the input impedance associated with one of the two electrodes so as to effectively match the input impedance of the other. This circuit is similar in many respects to the automatic input impedance balancing circuit described in currently copending application Ser. No. 09/561,063, filed Apr. 28, 2000, and entitled “Improved Automatic Input Impedance Balancing For Electrocardiogram (ECG) Sensing Applications”, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. A first ECG electrode connects through a current limiting resistor 100 and a phase lead network comprising the parallel combination of resistor 102 and capacitor 104 to the non-inverting input of operational amplifier 106 . Semiconductor diodes 108 and 110 provide voltage surge protection to the ECG electrodes by clamping noise to a predetermined reference potential applied to those diodes. The output V 1 appearing at node 112 is fed back through a feedback resistor 114 and an input resistor 116 to the non-inverting input of the operational amplifier 106 . An input capacitance 117 is coupled between the non-inverting input of amplifier 106 and a source of reference potential (ground).
In a similar fashion, a second ECG electrode is coupled through a current limiting resistor 118 and a series phase lead network comprising resistor 120 in parallel with capacitor 122 to the non-inverting input of a second operational amplifier 124 . Again, diodes 126 and 128 are included for voltage surge protection of the downstream electronics.
In the case of the operational amplifier 124 , its feedback circuit includes a variable gain operational amplifier 126 whose output is coupled, via input resistor 128 , to the non-inverting input of amplifier 124 . The inverting input of voltage-controlled amplifier 126 is connected to ground. A second voltage controlled amplifier 130 is also connected in the feedback circuit of operational amplifier 124 and its output is coupled through input capacitance 132 to the non-inverting input of operational amplifier 124 .
A differential amplifier 134 has its non-inverting input connected to the node 112 at the output of operational amplifier 106 . The inverting input of differential amplifier 134 is tied to the output of amplifier 124 , via conductor 136 . A voltage divider, including series connected resistors 138 and 140 , is coupled between the output terminals of the amplifiers 106 and 124 . The common terminal 142 between the voltage divider resistors 138 and 140 is directly connected to the inverting input of a buffer amplifier 144 whose non-inverting input is tied to ground. A feedback resistor 146 connects the output terminal of amplifier 144 to its inverting input.
The outputs from the differential amplifier 134 and the buffer amplifier 144 are connected through high-pass filters 148 and 150 , respectively, with the resulting filtered output signals being applied to a multiplier circuit 152 .
The output from the high-pass filter 148 is applied, via conductor 154 , to a second multiplier circuit 156 . Multiplier circuit 156 receives its second input through a 90° phase shift circuit that includes a phase shift capacitor 158 , a feedback amplifier 160 , oppositely polled clamping diodes 162 and 164 . The output from the amplifier 160 is high-pass filtered by filter circuit 166 and then applied to a second input of the multiplier circuit 156 . The circuit 156 multiplies a 90° phase shifted version of the common mode signal developed at the output of buffer amplifier 144 by the high-pass filtered ΔV signal at node 149 .
The output from multiplier 152 is low-pass filtered by circuit 168 whose output is then applied to an integrator circuit 170 . The resulting output signal V r is fed back over conductor 172 to the control input of the voltage controlled amplifier 126 . Likewise, the phase shifted version of the common mode signal outputted by multiplier 156 is low-pass filtered by circuit 174 and the resulting DC offset signal is integrated by circuit 176 whose output passes over conductor 178 to the control input of the voltage-controlled amplifier 130 .
The impedance balancing circuitry illustrated in FIG. 6 is configured to match any series impedance mismatches that may be present between electrode 1 and electrode 2 . The circuit attempts to adjust the effective resistance and reactance of impedance elements 128 and 132 so that the attenuation and phase shift at the non-inverting input of amplifiers 106 and 124 will be equal for common mode noise. As an example, let it be assumed that the series impedance on electrode 1 is greater than that of electrode 2 . This causes a greater attenuation of the voltage applied to the non-inverting input of amplifier 106 than at the corresponding input of amplifier 124 . Hence, when the outputs from these two amplifiers (V 1 and V 2 ) are measured differentially by differential amplifier 134 , a negative going signal ΔV will be outputted by the differential amplifier 134 . Likewise, if it is assumed that there is a common mode 60 Hz noise signal on electrodes 1 and 2 , the differential amplifier 134 will be a 60 Hz signal that is 180° out of phase with respect to the common mode signal.
The feedback circuitry coupling the output from the differential amplifier 134 to the voltage controlled amplifier 126 takes an average of the input signals V 1 and V 2 which is the common mode signal that is developed across the voltage divider 138 - 140 and which is buffered by amplifier 144 to become the signal V cm .
The common mode signal, V cm , is high-pass filtered at 150 to remove any DC offset, and is multiplied by the differential signal ΔV. In the case of 60 Hz noise, in that it is 180° out of phase, the output from the multiplier 152 will be of a 120 Hz frequency with a negative DC offset.
The DC offset is low-pass filtered at 168 to remove the AC signal component leaving only the DC offset which is integrated by circuit 170 to yield the control signal V r . With a negative DC input signal to the integrator, V r will begin moving toward the negative rail with a slope depending on the magnitude of the DC voltage input. This signal drives the voltage-controlled amplifier 126 which is essentially configured in a boot strap relation with the input resistor 128 so that the voltage controlled amplifier 126 is varying the attenuation of amplifier 124 . Recalling that the original assumption has been that the skin electrode impedance or series impedance is greater on electrode 1 than on electrode 2 , there would be greater attenuation on the output from amplifier 106 than that on amplifier 124 . So that the common mode amplitudes at each input will be equal, the effective resistance of resistor 128 must be decreased. The effect of the feedback signal V r is to decrease the gain of amplifier 126 , which functions to attenuate or decrease the effective resistance of input resistor 128 to cause it to become matched to the input resistance 116 of amplifier 106 .
The feedback circuitry producing the control signal V c at the output of integrator 176 performs a similar function to the quadrature signal by altering the effective reactance of capacitor 132 . Hence, for any complex impedance that is present at the inputs of amplifiers 106 and 124 , the feedback network described functions to balance the two.
Having described the impedance balancing network of FIG. 6, consideration will next be given as to how it may be used to provide a leads-off indication when the ECG system does not employ a RL electrode. If one of electrode 1 or electrode 2 is not properly connected to the patient, there is an infinite impedance to the common mode signal and the feedback circuit in the impedance balancing network will be unable to produce a balance. The feedback signals V r and V c will go all the way to the rail voltage of the integrators 170 and 176 and will remain at that level. Further, it will be unable to null out the 60 Hz noise. If either the V r and V c goes to either its minimum or maximum value, it is indicative that a lead is off
The impedance balancing circuit is duplicated. Electrode 1 in FIG. 6 may be the RA electrode while electrode 2 may be the LL electrode. In the duplicated circuit, electrode 1 may be the RA electrode and electrode 2 , the LA electrode. Under the assumptions made, the respective signals V r and V c feedback signals are driving the LL and LA electrodes. Thus, if either signals V r and V c that is driving the LL electrode goes to its rail, it would be known that vector II cannot be nulled out. Similarly, if signals V r and V c for the LA is also sitting at the rail, then vector I cannot be nulled out. By triangulation, then, the particular unattached electrode is identified.
FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of the decision circuitry used to determine which electrode impedance is out of range and, therefore, which of the electrodes is not properly affixed to the patient. The decision circuitry includes a plurality of comparators 180 - 187 , with the even numbered comparators having their non-inverting inputs connected to a minimum reference voltage 188 . The odd numbered comparators in FIG. 7 have their inverting input terminals connected to a reference source 190 which is the maximum rail voltage for the integrator circuits of FIG. 6 . The signal developed at the output of the integrator 170 associated with the LL electrode is connected to the inverting input of comparator 180 and to the non-inverting input terminal of comparator 181 . The signal output from integrator 176 in FIG. 6 for the LL electrode is connected to the inverting input of comparator 182 and the non-inverting input of comparator 183 . The output from integrator 170 associated with the LA electrode is applied to the inverting input of comparator 184 and to the non-inverting input of comparator 185 . Finally, the output of integrator 176 of FIG. 6 for the LA electrode is connected to the inverting input of comparator 186 and to the non-inverting input of comparator 187 . The outputs from comparators 180 - 183 are connected as inputs to an OR gate 192 while the outputs from the comparators 184 - 187 are connected to inputs of an OR gate 194 . Thus, if the signal signals V r or V c reaches the rail potential established by reference sources 188 and 190 , one of the OR gates 192 or 194 will output an out-of-range signal. A translator shown enclosed by broken line box 196 is then used to identify the particular electrode that is not properly connected to the patient. If OR gates 192 and 194 are both outputting high signals, AND gate 197 is enabled and it is the RA electrode that is improperly secured to the patient. If only OR gate 192 is producing a high output signal, then AND gate 198 will be enabled to indicate that the LL electrode is disconnected. If only OR gate 194 is producing an out-of-range signal, AND gate 200 will output a high signal indicating that the LA electrode is not properly attached.
While the cardiac rhythm management device programmer for which the present invention has been developed permits up to four sensing electrodes (RA, RL, LL and V), clinicians may sometimes opt to use a limited subset of available electrodes. In a case where only two of the three limb electrodes and the RL electrode are attached to the patient, the non-attached third limb electrode can couple noise into a displayed vector, via the RL feedback path. Besides alerting the clinician of a disconnected electrode, the ECG system can utilize the leads-off indicator to automatically eliminate the contribution of the disconnected electrode to the RL feedback path, thereby maintaining optimum performance regardless of the electrode configuration. To better understand how this is achieved, reference is made to the block diagram of FIG. 8 . Here, the input amplifiers 20 , 22 and 24 associated respectively with the LL electrode 12 , the LA electrode 14 and the RA electrode 16 have their output terminals adapted for connection through resistors 202 , 204 and 206 of equal value by way of an electronic single-pole, single-throw switch 208 to the input of the feedback amplifier 30 . Consider first the case where a clinician only wishes to display vector II, i.e., the potential difference between the LL and RA electrodes. If the ECG system is set up to allow viewing of multiple vectors, say, the three limb leads that provide vectors I, II and III, the switches 208 are closed such that the average of the LL, LA and RA inputs are fed back through amplifier 30 and the RL electrode to the patient so as to provide attenuation of the common mode signal. In a case where the clinician only wants one ECG vector, he/she may only connect up the LL and RA electrodes to the patient. This would leave the LA electrode unattached and it would not be at the same potential as the LL and RA electrodes. Hence, there will be a large voltage difference. This would be due to the fact that the LA electrode could be coupling noise into the RL feedback signal thereby increasing the level of noise on the ECG output. Since under the assumed conditions, LL and RA electrodes now will not see the same level of noise, there is no longer a common mode signal between them. In an automatic ECG configuration, the leads-off indicator of the present invention functions to determine that a lead is not properly connected and removes the contribution of the non-connected electrode to the RL feedback. Where the LA electrode is not being used, the connection between the unused electrode and the RL feedback is interrupted by one of the switches 208 so that the noise performance is maintained automatically.
This 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 and operating procedures, can be accomplished without departing from the scope of the invention itself.
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A “leads-off indicator” for an ECG apparatus for indicating that one or more of a plurality of ECG electrodes is not properly affixed to a patient and that that obviates the need for a conventional high frequency drive signal, but instead, employs common mode input noise as a drive signal to a reference electrode such that if one of the electrodes defining an ECG vector is not properly affixed, an increase in the ambient noise on an ECG vector associated with the detached electrode occurs as a detectable event. A first algorithm is used to identify whether or not the reference electrode itself is properly affixed to the patient's right leg and, if so, the common mode signal presented to the remaining limb electrodes becomes unbalanced should one of the limb electrodes not be properly connected to the patient. An impedance balancing circuit is provided for developing signals allowing identification of a lose electrode when the ECG system does not utilize a right leg electrode as a reference.
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BACKGROUND
Known internal combustion engines include valves that control the flow of intake air into a combustion chamber and the flow of exhaust gases out of the combustion chamber. A valve assembly, part of which is positioned within a rocker box of the engine, includes a spring configured to bias the valve to a closed position. A valve stem seal is provided on a stem of the valve to prevent oil within the rocker box from entering the combustion chamber and conversely, to prevent exhaust gases from entering the rocker box. Typically, valve springs and valve stem seals are subject to conduction heating from the heat of combustion absorbed into a cylinder head. High temperatures and repeated temperature cycling (between periods of operation and periods of non-operation) of the valve springs and valve stem seals can lead to decreased closing force on the valve, valve stem seal degradation, and increased oil consumption by the engine.
SUMMARY
In one embodiment, the invention provides a cylinder head assembly for an internal combustion engine. The cylinder head assembly includes a cylinder head at least partially defining a flow path through the engine. The flow path includes an intake port, an exhaust port, and a combustion chamber disposed between the intake port and the exhaust port. A valve is coupled to the cylinder head and movable relative to the cylinder head to selectively open the combustion chamber to one of the intake port and the exhaust port. A valve spring is positioned between the valve and the cylinder head and biases the valve to a closed position. A thermally insulating washer is positioned between the cylinder head and the valve spring.
Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view of an internal combustion engine including a cylinder head assembly according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is perspective view of a portion of the cylinder head assembly of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the portion of the cylinder head assembly shown in FIG. 2 .
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the cylinder head assembly, taken along line 4 - 4 of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a valve assembly removed from a cylinder head of the cylinder head assembly.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 illustrates a motorcycle engine 20 (e.g., a V-twin type internal combustion engine). The motorcycle engine 20 includes cylinders 24 defining a pair of cylinder bores (not shown). Each of the cylinders 24 receives a piston, which reciprocates therein to compress fuel and air prior to combustion within a combustion chamber 28 ( FIG. 4 ). A cylinder head assembly 32 is positioned above each one of the cylinders. The cylinder head assemblies 32 include cylinder heads 36 ( FIG. 2 ) that combine with the pistons to define the combustion chambers 28 . A cylinder head cover 40 of each cylinder head assembly 32 is coupled to each cylinder head 36 .
FIG. 2 is a partial view of one of the cylinder heads 36 having the cylinder head cover 40 removed to illustrate a valve assembly 44 . As shown in FIGS. 3-5 , the valve assembly 44 includes a valve such as an exhaust valve 48 . FIG. 4 is a section view illustrating the valve assembly 44 assembled in the cylinder head 36 with the exhaust valve 48 in a closed position. The exhaust valve 48 is axially movable to selectively open the combustion chamber 28 to an exhaust port 52 in the cylinder head 36 to allow exhaust gases to escape the combustion chamber 28 . A valve spring 56 , such as a coil spring, of the valve assembly 44 biases the exhaust valve 48 to the closed position, shown in FIG. 4 , in which the exhaust valve 48 seals against a valve seat 60 in the cylinder head 36 . Although not shown, the cylinder head 36 also defines an intake port in selective fluid communication with the combustion chamber 28 (via an intake valve similar to the exhaust valve 48 ) to provide intake air and/or fuel into the combustion chamber 28 .
During operation of the engine 20 , and after the power stroke of the piston is completed in one of the cylinders, the exhaust stroke commences to expel the exhaust gases out of the cylinder. During the exhaust stroke, the exhaust valve 48 is actuated (i.e., by a cam—not shown) to an open position. The exhaust valve 48 is moved from the closed position to the open position against the bias of the valve spring 56 . As described in further detail below, the valve assembly 44 is provided with additional components for fluidly and thermally isolating the valve spring 56 from the combustion chamber 28 and the exhaust port 52 .
In addition to the valve spring 56 , the valve assembly 44 includes a valve guide 64 that contacts an outer surface of a valve stem 68 of the exhaust valve 48 , as shown in FIG. 4 . The valve guide 64 guides the exhaust valve 48 for axial sliding movement between the closed and open positions. A valve stem seal 72 is coupled to an end of the valve guide 64 adjacent the valve spring 56 and remote from the combustion chamber 28 . The valve stem seal 72 provides a sliding seal with the valve stem 68 . The valve stem seal 72 fluidly separates the exhaust port 52 from the area surrounding the valve spring 56 . For example, the valve stem seal 72 prevents lubricant in the area of the valve spring 56 from reaching the exhaust port 52 and combustion chamber 28 , and further prevents exhaust gases from reaching the area surrounding the valve spring 56 .
A lower collar 76 of the valve assembly 44 is coupled to the valve stem seal 72 . The lower collar 76 is formed to fit an irregular outer surface 72 A of the valve stem seal 72 ( FIG. 4 ). In this way, the valve stem seal 72 is axially positioned by the lower collar 76 . The lower collar 76 includes a lower flange 80 that extends radially outward between the valve spring 56 and a support surface 84 of the cylinder head 36 ( FIGS. 3 and 4 ). The bias force of the valve spring 56 presses the lower collar 76 towards the support surface 84 so that the lower collar 76 is fixed in one position. Thus, the lower collar 76 defines a substantially stationary position of the valve stem seal 72 during movement of the exhaust valve 48 . As the valve stem 68 moves, the valve stem seal 72 remains stationary, and a fluid seal is maintained therebetween.
The valve spring 56 is constrained between a first surface of the lower flange 80 on a lower end of the valve spring 56 (closest to the exhaust port 52 ) and an upper collar 88 at a second, upper end of the valve spring 56 . The upper collar 88 includes an upper flange 92 that extends radially outward to support the upper end of the valve spring 56 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the upper collar 88 is coupled to an upper end 96 of the valve stem 68 . One or more retainers 98 are positioned to mutually engage the upper end 96 of the valve stem 68 and the upper collar 88 . In this way, the upper collar 88 moves with the valve stem 68 . When the cam actuates the exhaust valve 48 to the open position, the upper collar 88 moves towards the support surface 84 of the cylinder head 36 , compressing the valve spring 56 . When the cam ceases actuation of the exhaust valve 48 , the valve spring 56 returns the exhaust valve 48 to the closed position by acting upon the upper flange 92 of the upper collar 88 , which is fixed to the valve stem 68 via the retainers 98 .
A thermally insulating element, such as a washer 100 , is positioned between the lower collar 76 and the cylinder head 36 . Specifically, the thermally insulating washer 100 is positioned between the lower flange 80 of the lower collar 76 and the support surface 84 of the cylinder head 36 , the washer 100 having a generally planar surface facing each of the lower flange 80 and the support surface 84 . The lower flange 80 includes a second surface (opposite the first surface of the lower flange 80 that faces and supports the valve spring 56 ) facing the washer 100 .
The washer 100 is constructed of a material having relatively low thermal conductivity and a relatively high melting point. The washer 100 thermally insulates the valve spring 56 and the valve stem seal 72 from the high temperatures of the cylinder head 36 in the area of the exhaust port 52 . In some embodiments, the thermally insulating washer 100 is as little as 1.0 millimeter thick, although greater thicknesses provide increased insulating effect.
In some embodiments, both the cylinder head 36 and the lower collar 76 are constructed of metallic materials and have relatively high thermal conductivity. For example, the cylinder head 36 may be aluminum and the lower collar 76 may be steel. The thermally insulating washer 100 provides a barrier of high resistance for the conduction of heat from the cylinder head 36 to the lower collar 76 and has a thermal conductivity less than the material used for the cylinder head 36 and the valve spring 56 . By limiting heat conduction to the lower collar 76 , heat conduction to the valve spring 56 and to the valve stem seal 72 is limited. The presence of the washer 100 lowers the respective material temperatures of the valve spring 56 and the valve stem seal 72 during normal operation of the engine 20 . All of the engine components are subject to temperature cycles between periods of operation and periods of non-operation. By limiting the high end of the material temperatures, the magnitude of each temperature cycle and the effects thereof are reduced. Particularly, the valve spring 56 maintains a higher, more consistent closing force upon the exhaust valve 48 when it is thermally insulated by the washer 100 . Thermal degradation to the valve stem seal 72 and engine oil consumption are also reduced or prevented by the use of the thermally insulating washer 100 between the lower collar 76 and the cylinder head 36 .
In addition to the benefits above, the washer 100 provides a layer of frictional protection between the base of the valve spring 56 and the support surface 84 of the cylinder head 36 . Repeated compression and release of the valve spring 56 causes torsional instability, which can lead to erosion of the cylinder head 36 as the bottom end of the valve spring 56 twists. The erosion of the support surface 84 by the valve spring instability is vastly reduced or prevented by use of the washer 100 between the lower collar 76 and the support surface 84 .
Although illustrated in the figures as being a simple wafer or washer disposed below the lower flange 80 of the lower collar 76 , it is conceived that the washer 100 may be fixed or coupled with the lower collar 76 prior to assembly in the cylinder head 36 (e.g., by inter-engaging recesses and protrusions, adhesive, etc.). Alternatively, the washer 100 may be integrally formed with the lower collar 76 , for example by overmolding a thermally insulating material onto the lower flange 80 of the lower collar 76 . In order to reduce the number of parts in the valve assembly 44 , the lower collar 76 may be primarily constructed of a thermally insulating material rather than providing the separate washer 100 . The thickness of the lower flange 80 of the lower collar 76 may be sized accordingly to thermally insulate the valve spring 56 and the valve stem seal 72 from the heat present at the combustion chamber 28 and the exhaust port 52 during operation of the engine 20 .
In some embodiments, the thermally insulating washer 100 is constructed primarily of a polyimide material. For example, the washer 100 is constructed of a polyimide material sold under the registered trademark VESPEL of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, available from DuPont Engineering Polymers, Newark, Del. In some embodiments, the washer 100 may be constructed of polyimide with a graphite filler or additive of between about 15 percent and about 40 percent by weight, which provides increased wear resistance and reduced friction compared to an unfilled polyimide base resin. However, in some embodiments, the washer 100 may be constructed of an unfilled polyimide base resin, having a lower thermal conductivity than a graphite-filled polyimide. In some embodiments, the washer 100 has a thermal conductivity less than 0.5 W/m*K. The above-described washer 100 has a thermal conductivity of about 0.3 W/m*K in some embodiments.
Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
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A cylinder head assembly for an internal combustion engine including a cylinder head at least partially defining a flow path through the engine, including an intake port, an exhaust port, and a combustion chamber disposed between the intake port and the exhaust port. A valve is coupled to the cylinder head and movable relative to the cylinder head to selectively open the combustion chamber to one of the intake port and the exhaust port. A valve spring is positioned between the valve and the cylinder head and biases the valve to a closed position. A thermally insulating washer is positioned between the cylinder head and the valve spring.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic communications systems and methods, and particularly to an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) power allocation method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Radio resource management (RRM) procedures for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems have to consider two main resources in the network: the frequency band and the power. The frequency band is typically divided into a number of sub-channels that must be distributed amongst users. Typically, in OFDMA, multiple user transmitters are transmitted simultaneously on different frequencies in the same time slot to make maximum use of the allocated bandwith. The different frequencies are referred to as sub-carriers. Sub-carriers may be grouped together to form sub-channels. The sub-carriers in a given sub-channel may be adjacent frequencies, or may be grouped together using other criteria. Scalable OFDMA is the OFDMA mode that is used in Wi-MAX. Scalability is achieved by adjusting the FFT size while fixing the sub-carrier frequency spacing at 10.94 kHz.
The RRM must also assign a specific amount of transmit power for each of the allocated sub-channels so that the sum of all power allocations does not exceed the total available power budget for the system. The process of allocating the sub-channels and power assignments is referred to in the literature as the sub-channel (or sub-carrier) power allocation problem for OFDMA systems. The RRM procedure performing this allocation problem plays a central role in the performance of the network. Modern wireless air interface technologies, such mobile WiMAX and Long-Term Evolution (LTE), depend heavily on such procedures to provide their high-speed data services.
Thus, an OFDMA power allocation method solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The OFDMA power allocation method provides a means for supporting absolute proportional rate constrains for scalable OFDMA systems. Network scheduling procedures implementing the prescribed method can provide absolute guarantees for satisfying the specified rate constrains while maximizing the throughput of the network.
These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a typical wireless communication system configuration managed by the OFDMA power allocation method according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a radio resource management system including the OFDMA power allocation method according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing steps in the OFDMA power allocation method according to the present invention.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The OFDMA power allocation method provides RRM 5 in communications systems, such as the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 1 , which illustrates a hypothetical scenario where the RRM 5 manages the frequency sub-channels denoted by {f 1 , f 2 , . . . , f 10 } communicating to cell-site 7 , and the total cell-site power budget of 10 Watts. As shown in FIG. 1 , user 1 has a wireless device 9 c allocated the sub-channel set Ω 1 ={f 1 , f 6 , f 7 , f 8 } where the RRM decides to use 0.5 Watts, 0.5 Watts, 1 Watt, and 1 Watt, respectively, on the sub-channels in Ω 1 . This means that the total transmit power allocated for user 1 is equal to 2 Watts. For user 2 's wireless device 9 b , the allocated sub-channels are given by Ω 2 ={f 3 , f 4 , f 5 }, and the corresponding transmit powers are 1.5 Watts, 0.5 Watts, and 0.5 Watts, respectively. Lastly, for user 3 's device 9 a, Ω 3 ={f 9 , f 10 } and the corresponding transmit powers are 1 Watt, and 1.5 Watts, respectively.
This means the total transmit powers for user 2 and user 3 are 2.5 Watts each. Therefore, the total utilized power budget is 2+2.5+2.5=7 Watts. In this scenario, the RRM procedure does not utilize the sub-channel f 2 , nor does it use all the available transmit power of 10 Watts. The number of assigned sub-channels, their quality, and the amount of allocated transmit power are all determined by the user's bit rate.
Since the channel conditions change with time, the process of allocating the sub-channels and the power assignment may be done by an algorithm on a frame-by-frame basis in order to satisfy some prescribed criteria. Typical criteria that are of interest for network operators and system designers are: (1) to maximize the overall system throughput, and (2) to satisfy the quality of service (QoS) guarantees promised for the users.
Let the overall system frequency bandwidth be divided into N sub-channels, and let there be K users to serve. Furthermore, let H n,k denote the n th sub-channel power gain relative to noise power as received by the k th user, where n=1, 2, . . . , N, and k=1, 2, . . . , K. The RRM algorithm typically distributes the N sub-channels amongst the K users using a typical sub-channel allocation algorithm or some derivative algorithm. The sub-channel allocation algorithm determines the set of sub-channels, denoted by Ω k , that is allocated for the k th user where k=1, 2, . . . , K. The RRM procedure must now utilize the sub-channel allocations Ω k 's and the channel power gain information H k,n , and compute the corresponding sub-channel power allocation p n,k for every H n,k . The power allocations should maximize the overall network throughput as specified by:
max p k , n ∑ k = 1 K ∑ n ∈ Ω k 1 N log 2 ( 1 + p k , n H k , n ) ( 1 )
subject to the following constraints:
∑ k = 1 K ∑ n ∈ Ω k p k , n ≤ P total and p k , n ≥ 0
Ω k are disj o int for all k , and ( 2 ) Ω 1 ⋃ Ω 2 ⋃ … ⋃ Ω K ⊆ { 1 , 2 , … N } ( 3 ) and finally , R 1 γ 1 = R 2 γ 2 = … = R K γ K ( 4 )
where R k is the k th user bit rate after the allocation process is completed, and is computed by:
R
k
=
∑
n
∈
Ω
k
1
N
log
2
(
1
+
p
k
,
n
H
k
,
n
)
(
5
)
The constants γ 1 , γ 2 , . . . , γ k in (4) are the proportional rates constraint. The proportional rates constraint is set by the operator, depending on the specified QoS parameters promised for the users. In other words, the proportional rates constraint specifies the relative bit rates enjoyed by the users. The constraint in (2) is simply that the sum of all power allocations be less or equal to the total system power, P total and that, of course, each allocation p k,n be a positive quantity. The constraint in (3) emphasizes that the allocated sets of sub-channels be all disjoint and that their union is equal to the overall set of all sub-channel indices {1, 2, . . . , N}. The RRM procedure must find the sub-channel power allocations, p k,n for all k and all n, so that the overall system throughput specified by (1) is maximized, and so that the total system power constraint and rate proportional constraint are satisfied, as specified by (2) and (4). The RRM procedure is summarized in FIG. 2 , which depicts RRM frequency sub-channel allocation 8 , and RRM sub-channel power allocation 10 . The OFDMA power allocation method 10 performs the sub-channel power allocation, calculating the required power allocation p k,n for a particular sub-channel. Moreover, the OFDMA power allocation method can also modify the allocated sets of sub-channels Ω k 's by dropping some unwanted sub-channels. This is reflected by the output Ω k ′, which should be a partial set from the original Ω k .
The above power allocation problem has been addressed in the literature for the field. However, the OFDMA power allocation method provides higher capacity than methods known to the inventors, and, more importantly, provides absolute or hard proportional rate guarantees, as opposed to soft guarantees. This means that the method developed herein satisfies the constraint (4) in the strictest sense.
A conventional method for solving the optimization problem specified by (1) and the constraints (2), (3), and (4), is to use the Lagrange multipliers, as in (2), and that are given by:
L = ∑ k = 1 K ∑ n ∈ Ω k 1 N log 2 ( 1 + p k , n H k , n ) + λ 1 ( ∑ k = 1 K ∑ n ∈ Ω k p k , n - P total ) + ∑ k = 2 K λ k ( ∑ n ∈ Ω 1 1 N log 2 ( 1 + p 1 , n H 1 , n ) - γ 1 γ k ∑ n ∈ Ω k 1 N log 2 ( 1 + p k , n H k , n ) ) ( 6 )
where the constants (Lagrange multipliers) λk for k=2, 3, . . . , K are to be determined. To maximize (1), we differentiate (6) with respect to the variable of interest, p k,n , and set the derivative to zero. This yields:
1 γ 1 N 1 N ( log 2 ( 1 + H 1 , 1 P 1 , total - V 1 N 1 ) + log 2 W 1 ) = 1 γ k N k N ( log 2 ( 1 + H k , 1 P k , total - V k N k ) + log 2 W k ) ( 7 )
for k=2, 3, . . . , K. The term P k,total is the total power allocated to the k th user and should be given by:
P k , total = ∑ n = 1 N k p k , n ( 8 )
The constants V k and W k are given by:
V k = ∑ n = 2 N k H k , n - H k , 1 H k , n H k , 1
and ( 9 ) W k = ( ∏ n = 2 N k H k , n H k , 1 ) 1 N k ( 10 )
respectively. The quantities V k and W k are a manifestation of the sub-channel frequency allocation procedure and depend only on the allocated sub-channels sets Ω k only. The above formulation assumes that the channel power gains for the k th user have been ordered such that H k,1 ≦H k,2 ≦ . . . ≦H k,N k , where N k is the number of sub-channels allocated for the k th users. That is, the number of elements in the set Ω k is equal to N k . This means the quantity V k is always positive.
If the relation in (7) is solved for total power allocated for a particular user, P k,total , then the power allocation for the individual sub-channels, p k,n , for that particular user can be found using:
p
k
,
1
=
(
P
k
,
total
-
V
k
)
N
k
and
(
11
)
p
k
,
n
=
p
k
,
1
+
H
k
,
n
-
H
k
,
1
H
k
,
n
H
k
,
1
(
12
)
The relations (11) and (12) completely specify the final output required by the system, which are the individual power allocations, p k,n for all k=1, 2, . . . , K, and n εΩ k . It should be noted that if the power allocation procedure does not want to utilize a particular sub-channel, then the sub-channel is dropped from the corresponding allocated sub-channel frequency set.
The relation in (7) specifies a set of K−1 simultaneous non-linear equations that must be solved for P k,total 's (or equivalently the power allocations p k,n 's) that achieves the maximum throughput and satisfies the constraints. A simplified version of the equations, i.e., a special case, may be solved, in which the channel power gains H k,n are assumed to be very large and the provided solution does not necessarily satisfy the proportional rates constraint (4) for the general case. However, such a solution may only be valid for systems where the signal level is much higher than that for the noise. The present OFDMA power allocation method solves the original K−1 non-linear equations specified by (7) without making assumptions in regard to the channel power gains. Therefore, the provided solution is valid for general systems, regardless of the noise power level relative to the transmitted signal power. Furthermore, we augment the provided solution with a procedure to ensure that the final output, p k,n 's, will also satisfy the proportional rates constraint specified by (4) in the strictest sense.
To solve the K−1 non-linear equations specified by (6), let the quantity X k be defined as X k =1+H k,1 (P k,total −V k )/N k , this means the k th user power allocation, P k,total can be computed, given X k , using:
P k , total = V k + N k H k , 1 ( X k - 1 ) ( 13 )
Substituting X k in (7) and rearranging terms, one can write:
( X i W i ) N i γ i = ( X k W k ) N k γ k
for any i and k=1, 2, . . . , K. This mean a particular X k can be computed using:
X
k
=
(
X
i
W
i
)
N
i
γ
k
γ
i
N
k
W
k
(
14
)
The relation (14) relates any two quantities X i and X k . In other words, it is sufficient to find one quantity X i for some i=1, 2, . . . , K, and then all the rest of X k 's where k≠i can be computed using (14). To solve for X i , we use (14) and invoke the total power constraint specified by (2) to yield the following:
∑
k
=
1
K
[
(
N
k
H
k
,
1
)
(
(
X
i
W
i
)
N
i
γ
k
γ
i
N
k
W
k
-
1
)
+
V
k
]
-
P
total
=
0
(
15
)
The relation (15) specifies one non-linear equation in X i that can be solved using conventional methods known in the literature, or simply by utilizing Matlab's fsolve routine. The algorithm then utilizes (14) and (13) to compute all X k 's and the corresponding total power allocations for the users. Finally, to calculate the individual power allocations for sub-channels p k,n , the relations (11) and (12) are utilized. Unfortunately, a solution for (7) and for (15), since it is based on (7), can not be guaranteed to exist for any given set of sub-channel frequency allocations. This means the set of sub-channels, Ω k 's, produced by the sub-channel frequency allocation method may not be utilized as is. The OFDMA power allocation method includes a procedure for modifying the Ω k 's by dropping the weak channels until (7), or equivalently (15), has a valid solution. This procedure guarantees that the valid solution found optimizes the system throughput, as specified by (1), meets the constraints (2), (3) and satisfies the proportional rates constraint (4) in the strictest sense.
The proposed method is depicted in the flowchart of FIG. 3 . The key observation related to existence of a solution is the fact that for the given k th user, its sub-channel frequency allocations, Ω k , should be such that the corresponding V k is smaller to or equal than its final total user power allocation P k,total . This is evident from relation (11). It follows that quantity X k should be always greater than 1. Therefore, to ensure the existence of a valid solution, the method must first ensure that
∑ k = 1 K V k ≤ P total ,
and using the iterative procedure, we ensure that V k is less than or equal to the corresponding total user power allocation P k,total . The iterative procedure is as follows.
As shown in step 13 of FIG. 3 , the inputs are acquired, including the sub-channel frequency allocations sets Ω k for k=1, 2, . . . , K. At step 16 , Equations (9) and (10) are used to compute the corresponding V k and W k , respectively.
At step 18 , check the following inequality:
∑ k = 1 K V k ≤ P total .
If the inequality is not satisfied, go to step 20 , otherwise go to step 22 .
At step 20 , select the set Ω k that correspond to the largest V k where k=1, 2, . . . , K; and drop the channel with the smallest power gain H k,n . Update set Ω k , then recalculate the corresponding V k and W k .
At step 22 , select the user index i such that the corresponding
( W i ) N i γ i
is greater than or equal to
( W k ) N k γ k
for all k≠i and k=1, 2, . . . , K. As shown in step 24 , the theoretical possible range for X i (refer to the definition used for (13)) is all values between 1 and 1+H i,1 (P total −V i )/N i . At step 26 , check if (15) has different signs when X i assumes the two extreme values of its range. If (15) has a sign change, then there is a valid solution X i between the corresponding extreme values, and then go to step 28 . Otherwise, we need to update the sub-channel frequency allocation sets, so go to step 20 .
At steps 28 and 30 , a valid solution for (15) is guaranteed. Solve (15) for X i .
Use (14) to compute all X k for k≠i and k=1, 2, . . . , K.
Compute the corresponding total user power allocation P k,total for k=1, 2, . . . , K using (13).
For the k th user where k=1, 2, . . . , K, compute the individual sub-channel power allocations p k,n using (11) and (12) for nεΩ k .
The above iterative procedure specified in the aforementioned procedure ensures that the sub-channel frequency allocation sets are updated so that a valid solution for (15) can be found. This solution maximizes the system throughput and also guarantees that the provided users' rates R k 's satisfy the proportional rates constraint such that R 1 :R 2 :R 3 : . . . R K =γ 1 :γ 2 :γ 3 : . . . γ K .
In practice, the OFDMA power allocation may be implemented by various hardware configurations, depending upon the particular application and the size of the communications network. Generally, the method applies to a wireless communications network having a central communications hub or base station and a plurality of subscribers or users accessing the network remotely. The base station implements the method to determine power allocation according to the relative nearness or farness of the remote user, the signal-to-noise ratio, the type of communication (digital video, VoIP, FTP, etc.), the proportional rate constraint for the type of communication (the ratio of the bit rate permitted the user to the quality of service or guaranteed bit rate for the type of communication), etc.
In a cellular telephone base station, e.g., the station has a receiving antenna(s) for receiving multiple signals, which are decoded by conventional receiver hardware, processed by conventional hardware to filter noise and amplify or reduce power accordingly, and processed by appropriate port according to the type of protocol. Data from the multiple subscriber access requests may be processed by a microcontroller, digital signal processor, microprocessor, custom-built application specific integrated circuit, or other dedicated electronic circuits configured or programmed to periodically determine power allocation according to the current subscriber access requests. The base station then transmits the power allocation and other parameters to the subscriber units (which may be in the header of at least one frame of digital data transmitted on a downlink from the base station to the subscribers/users of the wireless communications system), which automatically adjust their transmitter parameters to the base station's allocations.
Alternatively, for a large network with numerous users or subscriber's, the method may be implemented by one or more computers at the base station that have been programmed in software to perform the calculations required by the method. The computer may be any computing device, e.g., a personal computer. The computer may have a display for displaying a user interface. A processor (i.e., a central processing unit or microprocessor) executes computer program or software instructions loaded into an area of main memory. The program or software may be stored in RAM or ROM memory. The display, the processor, main memory, and RAM or ROM memory are connected by a data bus. The software may be stored on any computer readable media, including magnetic media (a hard disk drive, a floppy disk, a magnetic tape, etc.), an optical disk (a DVD, DVD-RAM, CD-ROM, CD-R/RW, laser disk, etc.), a magneto-optical disk, or semiconductor memory (RAM or ROM). The computer(s) may be connected to the radio receiving/transmitting hardware by any suitable cabling, ports, USB or RS-232 devices or modems, or other suitable computer/transceiver interface.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
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The OFDMA power allocation method provides for supporting absolute proportional rate constrains for scalable OFDMA systems. Network scheduling procedures implementing the prescribed method can provide absolute guarantees for satisfying the specified rate constrains while maximizing the throughput of the network.
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This is a continuation of U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 08/848,829 which was filed May 5, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,641.
The present invention relates to a controller for pumps used in oil wells and a method for controlling a pump operation.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In recovery of oil from oil wells, pumps are used to draw crude oil from the well bore to the surface well head. The crude oil extracted generally consists of a combination of oil, natural gas, grit, wax and water. The pumps generally comprise two types, namely, continuous flow or on-off pumps, and are powered by either electrical or natural gas motors. Upon emerging at the well head, the crude oil is passed via a pipe to separation tanks where the oil is removed from the mixture extracted from the well bore. The oil may also be temporarily stored in the separation tanks.
The maximum obtainable production rate for a well depends on the rate of migration of crude oil from its geological formation to the well bore. The well bore is unique in having both an inflow and an outflow. The inflow represents the quantity of crude oil that a local formation can deliver to the well bore, whereas the outflow (or rate capacity) represents the quantity of crude oil that can be delivered to the surface (or well head). Typically, the quantity of oil that a pump is able to extract from a well bore (or rate capacity) exceeds the rate of flow of the crude oil from the local formation into the well bore. This situation in normally exacerbated with age of the well. Also, the actual flow rate of crude oil into the well bore can deviate significantly at any particular point in time from an average flow rate for that well.
Thus, it may be seen that if the rate capacity of a pump exceeds the rate capacity of the well, the pump is then operating below maximum efficiency. As the cost of operating the pump is relatively high, this reduced efficiency translates into a wasted cost. Furthermore, sever pump degradation may be caused by having a pump operate above the well production rate. Conversely, if the pump rate falls below the wells production rate, oil accumulates in the well bore resulting in an equilibrium established between oil flowing into the well bore from the formation and causing a resultant drop in production. Furthermore, for progressive cavity type pumps or continuous flow pumps, it is necessary to always maintain fluid in the well bore. Thus, control of the pump rate is relatively more critical in this case.
Thus, there exist the need for a method and apparatus to control pump rates in response to changing rates of oil flow. There have been many attempts in the prior art to mitigate some of these problems, and in particular, the reader is referred to the applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,040 which describes prior art attempts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention seeks to provide an oil pump controller which may be utilized to control various types of oil pumps in differing environments.
A controller for controlling the pump unit of an oil well comprising:
a) a sensor having a first and second probe for placement in the flow of oil from the well bore; b) power generation means for generating a substantially constant power; c) a first heater in said first probe adapted to be connected to said power generation means; d) temperature-sensing means at each of said first and second tips respectively for generating a signal indicative of the temperature measured at each said first and second probes; e) control means for receiving said signals from said temperature sensing means and determining a flow rate therefrom and generating a pump control signal in response to said flow rate, said pump control signal for continuously varying a predetermined parameter of the pump unit during operation of the pump unit.
A further aspect of the invention provides for the predetermined parameter being the pump speed.
A still further aspect of the invention provides for a processor means including
a) means for determining a temperature difference between said first and second temperature sensing means said temperature difference being indicative of a flow rate in said well; b) means for generating said output signal being indicative of a pump speed; c) means for storing a table of flowrates versus said predetermined pump speeds; d) means for determining a rolling average of said flowrates; e) means for comparing said current rolling flow average to a stored flowrate and either incrementing said pump speed if said stored flowrate exceeds said average, or decrementing said pump speed if said flowrate is less than said average; f) means for updating said table.
A further aspect of the invention provides for the temperature-sensing means to be a linear RTD.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A better understanding of the invention will be obtained by reference to the detailed description below in conjunction with the following drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a controller according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a probe according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the controller unit shown in FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 4 is a diagram of an RTD response curve;
FIG. 5 is detailed circuit diagram of the controller unit of FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 6 ( a ) is a flow chart of a variable speed control algorithm;
FIG. 6 ( b ) is a detailed flow chart of the set-speed step of FIG. 6 ( a ); and
FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an on-off speed control algorithm.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIG. 1 , a block diagram of a pump controller is shown generally by numeral 10 . A variable speed pumping unit 12 extracts crude oil from a well bore 14 , which is then pumped via a conduit 16 to a holding tank 18 , or the like. The pump control system includes a sensor 20 which is placed in the path of the oil flow in the conduit 16 , in a manner to be described below. The sensor 20 provides an electrical signal indicative of flow via a cable 22 to a main control unit 24 . The control unit 24 provides a control signal 26 to control the variable speed pump unit 12 . The control signal 26 maintains the pump speed at an optimal level in order to ensure efficient extraction of crude oil from the well bore 14 . An external computer 28 may be connected to the controller unit 24 in order to download or control parameters of the controller. Furthermore, the computer 28 includes a graphical display system for displaying information on the controller performance. Each of these elements will be discussed in detail below.
Referring to FIG. 2 , a cross-section of the sensor 20 in FIG. 1 , is shown. The sensor 20 is a passive device in that it must be powered from the controller 24 . The sensor includes a cylindrical body section 30 and a lower threaded section 32 for installing in a bore of a T-pipe section 15 in the conduit 16 . Generally, the sensor is installed relatively close to the well head. A pair of probes 34 and 36 project from one end of the body 30 so that when the sensor is inserted into the conduit 16 , oil can flow over each of the probes uniformly. The actual orientation of the probes within the conduit is not critical, however, the probes should project generally perpendicularly to the direction of flow in the conduit. The probes 34 and 36 are each comprised of a hollow polished stainless steel tube and each contain a heating element 38 , 42 and a temperature sensing element 40 , 44 , respectively. A heating current derived from the controller 24 is provided to the heating element 38 and 42 via a suitable electrical conductor 46 and temperature measurement signals are returned from the temperature sensing elements to the controller via a pair of conductors 48 . The conductor 46 and 48 are attached to a connector 49 which may be attached to cable 22 .
The sensor operates on a thermal dispersion principle based on Newton's law of cooling. One of the probes is selected and its heating element is supplied with a constant energy, which radiates out as heat. We generally refer to this probe as the energized probe. Its counterpart probe or unheated probe is generally called the ambient probe. Both the probes provide a temperature signal from their respective temperature sensing elements. Thus, it may be shown that the heat input rate into a medium may be expressed by the equation Q=hΔt, where h is the convection heat transfer co-efficient and At is the temperature difference between the heat source and the medium. In this case, At is the temperature difference between the heated and ambient probes. The value h is a function of the flow rate of the medium. Hence, h is not constant. Thus it may be seen that the temperature differential between the probes is inversely proportional to the flow rate of the medium for a given heat input rate Q.
It may be more accurately stated that the velocity of the fluid is a function of the inverse of the square of the difference in temperatures between the two probes. By heating one of the probe tips at a constant rate, the difference in temperature between the probe tips provides a relative temperature measurement independent of the ambient temperature of the fluid.
The calculated velocity of the fluid is proportional to the square of the energy transfer into the probe. Therefore, it is important that the energy supplied to the probe is stable over a wide range of ambient conditions. Furthermore, in situations were high flow exist, most of the radiated heat is absorbed by the passing fluid and carried down stream. The temperature thus recorded at either of the energized or ambient probe is approximately the same. How ever, with reduced fluid movement across the probes, residual heat builds up along the tip of the energized probe thus resulting in a higher temperature measurement relative to the ambient probe. By comparing the energized probe temperature to the ambient probe temperature, the flow rate can be estimated to produce a value which is substantially independent of the temperature of the oil flowing past the probe. Additional compensation for the variation of constant fluid properties from well to well with temperature is implemented in the controller 24 .
Referring now to FIG. 3 , the controller 24 is shown in greater detail. The sensor electronics is shown schematically by block 20 . The controller 24 , includes a heater constant current source supply 51 which provides a constant current to the heater elements 38 and 42 located in the sensor 20 . Each of the heater elements 38 and 42 are connected to a respective switch 54 and 56 . These switches 54 and 56 are selectively controlled via a micro-controller 58 for selecting either one of the heater elements 38 or 42 to be heated.
As described earlier, each of the heater elements has in close proximity thereto a temperature sensing element 40 and 44 . The temperature sensors in this case are platinum RTDs (resistance-to-temperature devices). As may be seen in FIG. 3 , each of the RTDs 40 and 44 have one of their inputs 59 connected via a switching multiplexer 60 to an RTD constant current source 66 . The output of the temperature sensor resistors 40 and 44 are connected via the multiplexer 60 to the analog input of an analog-to-digital converter 64 through a buffer amplifier 65 . The analog-to-digital converter 64 provides a digital input to the micro-controller 58 which is indicative of the temperature; measured by a respective RTD 40 or 44 . As seen in FIG. 4 , the RTD devices are linear devices and are capable of exhibiting a linear resistance change over an approximate temperature range of −19° C. to 150° C. The micro-controller 58 then processes this input data described with reference to FIGS. 6 ( a ), 6 ( b ) and FIG. 7. A digital-to-analog converter 67 has its digital inputs driven by an output of the micro-controller 58 to produce an output analog signal indicative of a speed control signal 26 for control of the pumping unit 12 shown in FIG. 1 .
In addition, an RS232 interface and driver support circuitry 72 is provided for communication with the micro-controller 58 by the external computer 28 . Additional E 2 PROM 73 is provided for storage of constants and additional parameters.
Referring to FIG. 4 , a resistance-to-temperature graph 74 illustrating the relationship between the resistance and temperature of the RTD is shown generally by numeral 80 . It may be seen that the relationship is relatively linear over a large temperature range. This has the advantage in that over a period of time, the temperature of the resistor may be sampled by the analog-to-digital converter 64 and an integer interpolation routine may be used to determine values of resistance between the sampled points. Thus, it is not required that a large amount of memory be utilized in the micro-controller in order to store a lookup table, as for example, when a non-linear thermistor is used as temperature sensing element.
By providing heating elements in each of the probes of the sensor 20 , allows for each of the probes to be periodically made the energized probe. In the case of oil wells with high paraffin wax content, if only one of the probes is heated, then over a long period of time, wax would tend to accumulate on the unheated probe. This would result in skewed temperature readings. However, by providing heaters in both probes and providing a means for switching between the heaters in the probes reduces wax build up on the probes. Furthermore, the lifespan of the sensor is extended by switching the heating elements between the probes since constant heating of only one of the probes results in sever degradation of the lifespan of that probe.
FIG. 5 is a detailed circuit diagram of the controller 24 , wherein the micro-controller is a type 68HC705.
Referring now to FIGS. 6 a and 6 b , an algorithm implemented by the micro-controller 58 for controlling the output signal 26 to the pump, is indicated generally by numeral 90 . The micro-controller switches the constant power source 57 to one of the heaters 30 or 42 by activating one of the switches 54 or 56 . The micro-controller then obtains a first T 1 and second T 2 digitalized temperature measurement from the input signal received from the analog-to-digital converter 64 by sending a signal to the multiplexer 60 to select in sequence the temperature probe 40 or 44 . The difference between these temperatures ΔT is calculated and is indicative of a flow measurement These flow measurements or temperature differentials are combined into an average of most recent samples called a rolling flow average. The micro-controller samples the temperature approximately once ever second. The controller stores a sixteen element rolling window of samples. Once sixteen samples have been included in a rolling window, the newest sample replaces the older sample prior to the latest average being calculated. That is, a rolling average is calculated over a sample of sixteen elements every second with each element being discarded after 16 seconds. The process of obtaining flow measurements is continuous and proceeds in parallel with other processing by the micro-controller.
Once this flow is obtained by the micro-controller, the oil flow at the well head is controlled in accordance with the sequence of steps illustrated in FIGS. 6 ( a ) and 6 ( b ). Initially, an auto reset clock 92 is set to count time down from 48 hours or any other convenient time. This clock serves to reset the parameters of the controller in order to accommodate drops in motor efficiency over time and to switch the heated probe.
The micro-controller maintains a speed table of entries having rows of measured flow rates M i and pump speed S i . Thus, at a step 94 , this table is initialized. An initial wait time is then set at step 96 . This period is initially set between 8 to 12 minutes.
It may be noted that for variable speed control applications, the digital-to-analog converter delivers 4 to 20 milliamps output signal. By convention, 4 milliamps represents the lowest speed setting S 0 of the pump, while 20 milliamps represents the highest speed S n setting of the pump. An increment or step in speed is generally designated as 1 milliamp representing the least step up or step down for change in speed.
In implementing the variable speed control, it is assumed that each increase in speed corresponds to some increase in the maximum potential delivery rate of the pump. Thus it is the goal to operate the pump at the lowest speed with the delivery rate above the current production rate measured for the well. Thus, in order to achieve this, the speed table, as described earlier, keeps track by way of the rolling flow average of the maximum delivery rate obtained thus far for each selected speed of the pump.
Changes in speed occur on the basis of time intervals. The length of each interval is called the settled time T 5 . Its purpose is to allow changes in the pump speed and the well's production rate to be reflected in the rolling flow average. By default, the length of the settle time is 2 minutes. At the end of each interval, depending on whether the rolling average has increased, decreased or stayed the same, a corresponding change in speed is initiated. These changes in speed may be made as a single increment or as an arbitrary number of increments per interval.
Thus, referring back to step 98 in FIG. 6 , an initial speed S i of the pump is set. The controller waits a predetermined time at step 99 . A new speed is then set at step 100 according to the algorithm of FIG. 6 ( b ). The table is initially built from the lowest speed S 0 upward, first, the speed is set to S 0 and an initial flow M 0 is obtained for speed S 0 . The speed is then stepped up to S 1 and a corresponding flow M 1 is obtained. This is repeated for successive values of speed increments. It is assumed, however, that each step between a speed S 1 and a speed S i−1 corresponds to a corresponding step in the maximum potential flow rate. Therefore, if upon obtaining M i+1 at speed S i+1 , it is recognized that M i+1 ≦M i , then it is clear that the well's current production rate is below what the pump can deliver at speed S i+1 . For example, if M i+1 is equal to M i , it indicates that the well at this time is producing at a constant rate which corresponds to a speed S i . Otherwise, if M i+1 is less than M i , it indicates that during the settle interval at S i+1 , production from the well has decreased. In this case, S i may represent a greater speed than is required to support the lowered production rate. Therefore, a search of the table is performed beginning at S i down to S 0 until the lowest speed having a maximum delivery rate above the current production rate is found.
It may therefore be seen that building the speed control table occurs in conjunction with varying the pump speed. When production levels or flow rates from the well increase, the table is refined while the speed is increased. Conversely, when lower flow rates are measured from the well, the table is searched for the minimum speed required to sustain that flow rate.
To illustrate how the process of building a table is performed after a drop in flow rate is detected, let S p represent the last speed prior to detecting a drop in flow rate, and let S i be the current speed. For example, S p might be 12 mA and S i might be 9 mA. As flow rate from the well increases, the production rate at speed S i as measured by the rolling flow average will begin to approach M i , which is the estimated maximum flow rate at S i . At the end of an interval, if the production rate is found to be closer to M i , then the speed is incremented up to S i+1 . Assuming production levels continue to improve, the speed is successively increment up to S p . As this point, the table is continued to be built until either flow rate decreases or the maximum speed S n is reached.
Alternatively, if at the end of the interval at speed S i , the production rate may be greater than M i . In this case, M i is no longer the best estimate to the maximum flow rate at S i . The new flow rate is then substituted for the old value of M i . The change to M i can also impact M i+1 , if the new value for M i is also greater than M i+1 . Therefore, the table is rebuilt for S i+1 . Thus, it may be seen that changes can precipitate through entries in the table thus allowing the controller to constantly fine tune its estimates based on better information over time. This is illustrated more clearly in FIG. 6 ( b ). Once the new speed S i is set at step 100 , a new settle time is set at step 102 .
Besides the settled time, there are two other timing intervals involved in variable speed control. These are the initial wait and automatic reset time. The initial wait time is simply the settling time for the very first interval in building the table. As such, it only occurs once just after the instrument is reset or powered on. The initial wait is typically longer than the settled time.
The automatic reset time is not directly related to variable speed control. Instead, it is simply a background timer which upon time out at step 104 initiates an automatic reset of the controller. This causes the speed table to be rebuilt. The automatic rest serves several purposes as described earlier.
Referring now to FIG. 7 , a process flow for controlling an on/off type pump is shown generally by numeral 170 . In this case, the micro-controller 58 may send a signal to the digital-to-analog converter 67 one of two signals, namely, a value corresponding to a pump-off signal or a value corresponding to a pump-on signal. Alternatively, a relay 67 may be provided which turns the pump 12 on or off. The process is divided into four steps, namely, establish flow 172 , regulate flow 174 , timing-out 176 and shut-in 178 . It is to be noted that each step is associated with a single control parameter which directs the process of that step. A default setting is assigned to each control parameter. However, these parameters may be easily changed via the external computer 20 . The parameters associated with these steps are establish flow period, regulate flow cutoff point, timing-out period and shut-in period. Generally, these parameters are set at a default value of 15 minutes, 25%, 1 minute and 30 minutes, respectively.
The establish flow step 172 starts the pump and settles into an interval of time called the establish flow period 173 . This establish flow period is indicative of a flow of the current state of the well. For example, this interval generally covers the time required for oil to make its way to the surface and past the probes. Although flow samples are obtained by the controller during this period, output signals to control the pump are not provided during the establish flow period. Once the establish flow period has expired at step 173 , the process moves onto the regulate flow step 174 .
In the regulate flow period 174 , an ongoing flow sample is combined into a rolling average called the rolling flow average as described earlier. However in this case, a rolling flow average is compared against a regulated flow cutoff point 175 . If the rolling flow average remains above the cutoff point, a process control cycle remains at this step. However, should the rolling flow average drop below the regulated flow cutoff point, this signals a pumpoff has occurred and the process moves on to the timing-out step 176 .
In the time out step 176 , a short period called the time out period is provided to confirm whether or not the well has actually pumped off. This avoids instances where trapped gas pockets are within the line or short segments of dry pumping have occurred. During timing out, the ongoing rolling flow average continues to be compared against the regulated flow cutoff point 177 . If the rolling average moves back above the cutoff point before timing out period expires, then the process moves back to the regulate flow step 174 . Otherwise, at the end of the timing out period, the process moves to the next step which is the shut-in step 178 .
In the shut-in step 178 , the pump is stopped and the well enters an idle state allowing time for the well bore to be refilled from the surrounding formation. The length of time the well remains idle is determined by the shut in period. Once the shut in period expires, the process control begins at the establish flow step 172 .
While the invention has been described in connection with a specific embodiment thereof and in a specific use, various modifications thereof will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as set out in the claims.
The terms and expressions which have been employed in the specification are used as terms of description and not of limitations, there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions to exclude any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention as set out in the claims.
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A controller for controlling the pump unit of an oil well includes a sensor having a first and second probe for placement in the flow of oil from the well bore. Each of the probes contains a heater. A constant power source is selectively connected to one of the heaters. Each of the probes also include a linear RTD at each of their tips respectively for generating a signal indicative of the temperature measured at each of the first and second probes. A control unit receives signals from the RTD's and determines a flow rate therefrom. A pump control signal is generated in response to the flow rate, wherein pump control signal continuously varies a predetermined parameter of a pumping unit during operation of the pumping unit.
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BACKGROUND
[0001] A continuing goal is to have more energy saving and a lower energy bill amount for buildings (both for residential and commercial), which has an added benefit of reducing the emissions that cause global warming. One way is to reduce the amount of energy escaping/exchanging through windows. A method of measuring the efficiency of insulation for heat transfer is R-value. An R-value indicates the insulation's resistance to heat flow. (A higher R-value would indicate a greater insulating effectiveness.) The R-value generally depends on the type of insulation (e.g. material, thickness, and density). To find the R-value of a multilayered system, one would add the R-values of the individual layers.
[0002] In the current invention, press-fit storm windows are installed on existing frames or windows, without the hassle and expense of replacing the whole window (to save time, cost, and inconvenience), to increase R-value for the windows (i.e. reduce energy waste).
[0003] In the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 7,481,030 teaches methods and structures for sealing air gaps in a building. It teaches a seal structure for sealing an air gap between a framing member and a wallboard, the seal structure being formed on a framing member from a curable, flowing material and comprising: a body having first and second opposing surfaces, the first surface of the body being bonded to the framing member; and at least one flexible seal member integral with and extending generally transversely with respect to the second surface of the body, the seal member; wherein the body and the at least one seal member are formed from air curable silicone caulk on said framing member defines a seal between the framing member and the wallboard, when the wallboard engages a distal end of the seal member.
[0004] In the U.S. Pat. No. 7,546,793 (dated Jun. 16, 2009) (titled “Window component notching system and method”), LaSusa teaches: A system and method for producing window components using polymer based, metallurgy based, extruded, injection molded, or wooden lineal material. The lineal material is notched at intervals calculated to include a stretch treatment and folded to form window components, such as window sashes, frames, and the like. Internal reinforcing members may be welded within the joints formed by folding at the notches. The notching system and method provide low cost, highly reliable, low defect production of multi-sided window components from a continuous piece of lineal material.
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 7,490,445, Steffek et al., dated Feb. 17, 2009, titled “Integrated window sash”, teaches: An integrated window sash, which includes a sash frame having a first sheet supporting surface, a second sheet supporting surface spaced from the first sheet supporting surface, and a base between the first and second sheet supporting surfaces, the base defining an opening; a first sheet having a first major surface and an opposite second major surface with marginal edge portions of the first surface of the first sheet secured to the first sheet supporting surface, the first sheet sized to pass through the opening toward the first sheet supporting surface; a second sheet having a first major surface and an opposite second major surface with marginal edge portions of the first surface of the second sheet secured to the second sheet supporting surface, the second sheet sized to be larger than the opening, wherein the first major surface of the second sheet faces the second major surface of the first sheet and is spaced therefrom to provide a compartment between the sheets; and a retainer mounted on the base between the sheets and having a first end portion engaging surface portions of the second surface of the first sheet and an opposite second end portion secured to the base.
[0006] Embodiments of the invention address these and other problems in the prior art.
SUMMARY
[0007] Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to easily and inexpensively adding a primary or secondary panel to an existing framed opening in a building. New demands emerging on the energy or audio characteristics of buildings are requiring increasingly expensive and difficult-to-install devices (and related methods). This particularly applies to historic buildings, but can apply to recent structures built before the awareness of the importance of energy and audio efficiency. At present, there is no device or method that is well accepted as adequately low in cost, outstanding in appearance and performance, and simultaneously easy to install.
[0008] Therefore, an advantage of the preferred embodiments of the present invention is to provide energy and/or sound isolating panels suitable for use in any building.
[0009] In embodiments of the current invention, we introduced an easy way (and less expensive) of installing the press-fit storm window, on existing frames or windows, without the hassle and expense of replacing the whole window (to save time, cost, and inconvenience), to increase R-value for the windows (i.e. reduce energy waste).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 shows the extrusion to put around edge of a press fit storm window to allow a pressure fit into window frames (profile view).
[0011] FIG. 2 shows the extrusion to put around edge of a press fit storm window to allow a pressure fit into window frames (Front or rear view).
[0012] FIG. 3 shows the extrusion to put around edge of a press fit storm window to allow a pressure fit into window frames (Installation view).
[0013] FIG. 4 shows the view of the upper corner, as installed.
[0014] FIG. 5 shows the view of the upper corner, as un-installed or removed.
[0015] FIGS. 6( a ), 6 ( b ), and 6 ( c ) show silicon molded corner piece, in 3 different views/angles.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0016] In one embodiment of the inventive press-fit storm window, a transparent panel of acrylic glass, such as PLEXIGLAS, glass, or other clear rigid material is held in place by the spring action created by a continuous (or partial, conceivably) round gasket (or other spring-like gasket), that creates outward pressure around the entire exterior edge of the clear panel (or the top, left, and right sides).
[0017] The panel is held securely in place through a combination of this outward pressure and friction. The press-fit storm window can be installed on the interior or exterior of a structure. The windows are not designed to replace existing windows, but rather to supplement them by creating a tight seal between the interior space or exterior space and the existing window.
[0018] The benefits of the device are much greater insulation (R value, technically) for an existing window (energy-efficient or lower energy bills), as well as a significant reduction in noise passing through the window or portal into which the press-fit storm window is placed. The device will be dramatically less expensive than upgrading an existing single pane window to a more efficient dual pane window, without any real cutting the walls, which entails construction of the outside and inside, which means inconvenience and expense (reluctance to upgrade), for the home owners.
[0019] Another benefit is that these press-fit windows will preserve the architectural integrity of the existing windows, in older homes. Customers will be able to install the windows in a matter of minutes with no screws, nails, or adhesives, which points to a third major benefit of the windows: They provide dramatic environmental and efficiency improvements, while preserving the architectural integrity of homes.
[0020] FIG. 1 shows the extrusion to put around edge of a press fit ( 440 ) storm window to allow a pressure fit into window frames (profile view). FIG. 1 displays round or oval shaped tube formed from a springy material with ‘hollow’ interior ( 102 and 104 , or 402 and 410 , or 502 and 510 ). ‘Hollow’ space could be air or foam. ‘Channel groove’ connects bulb to clear panel ( 106 , 108 , and 110 ). It also shows ‘spring’ plastic extrusion, which is UVA resistant. (It will be exposed to sunlight, heat, and cold.) As an example, ⅛″ clear acrylic glass panel (PLEXIGLAS) is used, but other material can be used, as well ( 130 or 530 ).
[0021] FIG. 2 shows the extrusion to put around edge of a press-fit storm window to allow a pressure fit into window ( 560 ) frames ( 540 and 542 ) (Front or rear view) ( 210 , 212 , 214 , and 220 ). FIG. 2 shows that the spring tube extrusion is fitted around the panel. Corners are cut at 45 degree angle ( 216 and 218 ) and sealed with thermal sealer or glue, as an example, but it can be any other form/angle and any adhesive method. It shows ⅛″ acrylic glass, front or rear view ( 230 ). FIG. 2 shows the bottom extrusion, possibly of a different material, formed into a similar profile. Material could be of a semi-rigid and non compressing tube to prevent ‘droop’, as an example of embodiments, but not limiting the scope of the invention.
[0022] FIG. 3 shows the extrusion to put around edge of a press-fit storm window to allow a pressure fit ( 350 , 352 , and 354 ) into window frames (Installation view), at the edges ( 322 and 324 , or 522 ) and sides ( 310 , or 408 , 312 , 314 , and 320 , or 508 ). FIG. 3 shows the plastic tube is fitted ( 516 ) around acrylic glass panel ( 330 or 430 ). Corners are cut at 45 degree angle ( 316 and 318 or 418 ) and sealed with a thermal sealer.
[0023] These are just some examples for one embodiment, and can be any other angle and any other sealant or adhesive, commonly known and used for windows. It displays ⅛″ acrylic glass, front or rear view. It shows the plastic extrusion, when compressed by after being pressed into the window frame ( 340 ), which creates an outward pressure that holds the acrylic glass into place.
[0024] The other figures display various views and configurations for the setup described above. FIG. 4 shows the view of the upper corner, as installed. FIG. 5 shows the view of the upper corner, as un-installed or removed.
[0025] FIGS. 6( a ), 6 ( b ), and 6 ( c ) show silicon molded corner piece, in 3 different views/angles, which is another embodiment, with some different features. The shape shown in FIG. 6 makes it easier to fit the window, and seal it better, with better flexibility, for minor adjustments, and accommodating imperfections in the original frame or window. Note the shape at the corner, and also the layered structure (with tube and skin, or shell, plus a narrow fin on the back), as shown in FIG. 6 , for better flexibility and coverage. The typical distances are: 1.25″ for a, (⅜)″ for b and c, (⅝)″ for d, and 0.5″ for e, as distances shown in FIG. 6( b ). However, these values can range from 10 percent of these typical values to 500 percent of these typical values, and this invention would still work.
[0026] In an example, item 603 or 607 or 637 in FIG. 6 represents outer layer or shell; 601 or 609 or 639 or 631 is the inner layer, with inner cross section 611 , and a gap 613 ; 619 is the angled cut to attach the pieces 603 and 607 together; 615 and 605 or 635 are parallel plates, with a gap 617 between them; 643 is a notch for better coverage and flexibility; and 641 is the fin at the corner of 637 , for better coverage/adhesion/insulation and flexibility; variously shown at different angles, in three figures, FIGS. 6( a ), 6 ( b ), and 6 ( c ).
[0027] In one of the embodiments, a rubber bulb is added around all edges of a rigid plastic sheet cut to fit inside a window frame. It was intended that metal clips be used to ensure that the panel would stay in place. The assembled panel was first pressed tightly inside the frame. To their surprise, when attempting to remove the panel from the frame, it was found to be necessary to use a prying device. This indicated that the use of the metal clips would unexpectedly not be required, thereby greatly simplifying installation. Thus, this embodiment is very simple, practical, and yet, still, strong.
[0028] However, other methods can be combined here, as well: For example, in another embodiment, the panel can also be attached with glues, mechanical clamps, screws, or spring-like o-rings, or combinations of the above. The pressure can be exerted on all sides, one or more sides, locally at the corners, at a selected points only, or by suction (due to pressure difference between the two sides). For example, by a slight variation of the pressure on both sides, the difference on the pressure can partially or fully hold the panel in place.
[0029] In another embodiment, the panel can be in place using hangers, belts, chains, ribbons, frames, railings, or gap in frame of the window. In another embodiment, the panel can be hung through a metal or plastic rebar perpendicular to the surface of the panel.
[0030] In another embodiment, the panel can be held using its own weight or gravity, partially or fully supported, by using the slight inclined surface, with respect to the ground and a plane perpendicular to the ground. That is, we held the panel not exactly perpendicular to the ground or 90 degrees, but slightly off, say e.g. at the 85 degree angle, with respect to the ground (instead of 90 degrees). It can vary in the range of 80 to 89 degrees, for example.
[0031] In another embodiment, the panel can be curved, rather than flat, to stand on it own, based on its center of gravity. This way, the panel can stand on its own by its weight, fully or partially, as long as the center of gravity for the panel is within the boundary of the shadow of the window's frame, to have a stable system, holding up on its own. Of course, we can combine the embodiments above, to make the panel better attached to the window or frame, in the case of snow, fast wind, or storm.
[0032] Additional embodiments are, in combination or not-in-combination to above:
i. Use trim with multiple slots or openings to accept the panels. This would allow multi-pane windows. ii. Use separate corner pieces of trim and bulb, to eliminate bevel cuts and improve appearance. iii. Use stiffeners before installing trim.
[0036] The material used for frames can be plastic, metal, elastic, man-made, natural, or a combination of the above. The shape of windows can be square, rectangular, circle, ellipse, polygon, curved, irregular, symmetric, or not-symmetric, as an example.
[0037] Here are more variations and examples:
1. Panel(s) (fills framed opening in building): a. Materials:
[0000]
i.
Plastic
ii.
Glass
iii.
Wood
iv.
Metal
v.
Other
b. Purposes:
[0000]
i.
Light transmission
ii.
Thermal Insulation
iii.
Sound isolation
iv.
View
v.
Privacy
vi.
Security
vii.
Bulletproofing
c. Light Transmission:
[0000]
i.
Clear, Transparent
ii.
Translucent
iii.
Opaque
iv.
Reflective
v.
Colorless
vi.
Colored
d. Shape:
[0000]
i.
Rectangular
ii.
Square
iii.
Polygon of any description
iv.
Round
v.
Oval
vi.
Elliptical
vii.
Irregular
viii.
Angled to vertical or Curved
ix.
Any other
2. Trim (fastens over and frames edge of panel):
a. Material:
[0000]
i.
PVC
ii.
EPDM
iii.
Silicone
iv.
Plastic
v.
Rubber
vi.
Metal
vii.
Other
viii.
None
b. Shape:
[0000]
i.
“C”
ii.
“U”
iii.
“V,”
iv.
“L”
v.
Other
3. Internal Clip (internal to and stiffens trim):
a. Material:
[0000]
i.
Aluminum
ii.
Steel
iii.
Plastic
iv.
Rubber
v.
Other
vi.
None
b. Shape:
[0000]
i.
“C”
ii.
“U”
iii.
“V”
iv.
“L”
v.
Other
vi.
None
4. Bulb (fastened to or same extrusion as trim):
a. Material:
[0000]
i.
PVC
ii.
EPDM
iii.
Silicone
iv.
Other
v.
None
[0000]
i.
“C”
ii.
“U”
iii.
“V”
iv.
“L”
v.
Circular
vi.
Spiral
vii.
Oval
viii.
Elliptical
xi.
Square
x.
Triangular
xi.
Other
xii.
Square
5. Corner Pieces (eliminates necessity of beveling trim/bulb):
a. Material:
[0000]
i.
Plastic
ii.
Rubber
iii.
Metal
vi.
Identical to bulb
v.
Identical to trim
vi.
Combined bulb material and trim and clip material
vii.
Other
viii.
None
b. Shape (cross-section)
[0000]
i.
Identical with bulb only
ii.
Identical with trim only
iii.
Identical with combined trim and bulb
vi.
Larger than trim, bulb, or combination
v.
Smaller than trim, bulb, or combination
vi.
Exemplifying aesthetic of building
vii.
Other
6. Stiffeners (applied at panel edges to improve overall panel stiffness)
a. Material:
[0000]
i.
Plastic
ii.
Rubber
iii.
Metal
vi.
Other
v.
None
b. Shape:
[0000]
i.
“C”
ii.
“U”
iii.
“V”
vi.
“L”
v.
Open Circular
vi.
Open Spiral
vii.
Open Triangular
viii.
Open Square
ix.
Other
[0057] Any variations of the teachings above are also meant to be covered and protected by this current application.
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Described are a new type of storm windows, along with an easy way (and less expensive) of installing the press-fit storm window, on existing frames or windows, without the hassle and expense of replacing the whole window (to save time, cost, and inconvenience), to increase R-value (insulation efficiency) for the windows (i.e. reduce energy waste). This relates to the construction and installation and use of easily installed low cost interior or exterior storm windows, which are attractive and effective in reducing heat and noise transmission. Different approaches and variations to implement this are shown here.
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BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY
The present invention relates to handrails for seating systems; and more particularly it relates to a handrail for use with a telescoping seating system wherein the rail members are quickly and easily installed for use or removed and placed on the deck of a row for storage.
A telescoping seating system is one in which a plurality of rows are movable individually between a closed or storage position in which all of the rows are in superimposed relation, and an extended use position in which the rows are in stepped relation. One such system is disclosed in co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,171, of McClelland and Raymond, issued June 6, 1972.
In efforts to enhance the safety of occupants of such seating systems during use, there have been many efforts to provide handrails for the systems.
Briefly, because of the need to accommodate the handrail when the rows are both in the extended and the retracted positions, early attempts to provide handrails for telescoping seating systems required removal of the handrails. Many of these early systems required so much labor for assembly and disassembly, or, in the case where the handrail was stored in a separate room, so much labor for transporting the rails, that they frequently were not used. One system designed to overcome the problem of transportation of the handrail from a different room is disclosed in co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 3,788,608, of Raymond, Lewis and Quigley, issued Jan. 29, 1974. In this system, upper and lower wooden guardrails were pivotally attached respectively to upper and lower support posts mounted to the decks of the system. For storage, a threaded fastener was unloosened for each post, the upper post removed from its mounting socket, and the rail was then folded vertically and then sideways onto a deck for storage. This system never achieved commercial acceptance.
A second type of handrail for telescoping seating systems, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,401,981, of Harold Wiese, issued Dec. 17, 1968, employed a series of interconnected telescoping tubes between upright posts, and the tubular sections of a handrail telescoped between open and closed positions with the seating rows. This system has achieved commercial acceptance, but it is somewhat expensive to manufacture.
There is a need for a handrail for telescoping seating systems which is economical, requires a minimum of hand labor for assembly, and permits the rails to be stored on the deck of a row. The present invention is directed to such a system.
Briefly, the present invention provides for a plurality of posts which are secured to the rows at a predetermined spacing. Preferably, these posts are inclined slightly forwardly. Upper and lower handrail members are mounted to the posts by a clamp assembly which includes a locking bolt rotatably received in a post and a clamp nut which defines a clamping surface conforming to the shape of the handrail member. The handrail members may themselves be formed of individual tubular elements which are coupled together by means of a swaged connection.
The clamp nut includes a pair of ears which straddle the post and prevent rotation of the clamp nut relative to the post. This maintains the nut in its upright position even when unlocked, and facilitates assembly of the rail members to the clamp nut. When the clamp assembly is in the unlocked position, the clamp nut is loose, and free to extend laterally relative to the post, to permit assembly or disassembly of the rail members. When the locking bolt is turned a quarter-turn, it forces the clamp nut to clamp the rail against the post to hold it securely to the post. The clamp assembly is tamper-proof in that occupants cannot unlock it without the use of tools.
Thus, by a simple quarter-turn of the locking bolt, each of the clamp assemblies can be unlocked, but they continue to support the handrail as the maintenance man moves from post to post. With all of the clamp assemblies unlocked, he may then remove the handrail, disassemble the swaged connection, and lay the sections on the deck for storage. All of the fastening hardware remains on the post even in the unlocked state. For assembly, these steps are followed in reverse order. The present invention thus provides an economical and safe handrail system for telescoping seating, yet one which requires a minimum of hand labor for assembly and disassembly.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment accompanied by the attached drawing wherein identical reference numerals will refer to like parts in the various views.
THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a side view of a telescoping seating system including a handrail incorporating the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the system of FIG. 1 showing the various parts in exploded relation;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary close-up side view of a clamping assembly for a handrail member; and
FIGS. 4 and 5 are vertical close-up front views of the clamping assembly shown in the locked and unlocked positions, respectively.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring first to FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 generally designates a handrail assembly including four posts 11. The posts are mounted to a telescoping seating system of the type described in the above-identified U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,171.
Briefly, the telescoping seating system includes a plurality of rows, each generally designated 13, which are supported by understructures generally designated 14. The understructures include upright posts, one of which is shown for each row and designated 15. The posts 15 are mounted to movable carriages 16.
At the top of each row is a deck generally designated 18. Each deck includes a rear riser 19 mounted to the posts 15, a platform 20, a forward riser 21, and a seat board 22.
In FIG. 1, the rows 13 are shown in the extended or use position, in which the decks are in stepped or tiered relation. If the handrail members are removed from the posts 11, as will be described, the posts and rows may be telescoped to the storage position in which decks are generally vertically aligned, as is known in this art.
Turning now to the handrail system, it includes an upper handrail member 25 and a lower handrail member 26, each connected to the post 11 by clamping assembly 27. Each of the handrail members are similar, as are each of the clamping assemblies 27, so that only one need be described for a complete understanding of the invention.
The upper handrail member, then, includes an upper section 30 and a lower section 31 coupled together by a swaged fitting at 32. The lower end of the upper section 30 is swaged to a reduced diameter and is inserted into the upper open end of the lower handrail member 25.
Turning now to FIG. 2, the post 11 is a tubular member of generally square cross section, and it is mounted to the deck 18 by means of a lower bracket 35. The bracket 35 is a single piece including an L-shaped horizontal upper section 36, a vertical section welded to the inside of the post 11 (and not seen in FIG. 2) and a lower section 37. The upper section of the bracket is bolted beneath the seat board 22, and this connection is strengthened with a plate 38 on top of the seat board. The lower bracket section 37, in turn, is bolted to the platform 20. Additional details concerning the post/deck connection may be obtained from said U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,215.
Turning now to the clamping assembly 27, it includes a clamp nut generally designated 40 and a locking bolt generally designated 42. The bolt 42 includes a threaded shank portion 43 which fits to an aperture 44 in the clamp nut 40, and through an aperture 45 in the post 11. The distal end of the shank 43 is threaded, and a lock nut 47 is received on the threaded portion.
Turning now to FIG. 4, the end of the shank 43 contains a groove 49 which receives a snap ring 50 so that the nut 47 cannot be removed. The locking bolt 42 includes a head 52 in which a transverse bore is formed, and a lever member or finger 53 is inserted and welded. The finger 53 is bent inwardly at 55. The clamp nut 40 includes an upwardly extending, curved arm 58 which defines an inner surface 59 conforming to the shape of the tubular rail section 31 for clamping the rail section against the post 11, as seen, when the locking nut is in the locked position (seen in FIG. 4 and in solid line in FIG. 3).
Extending inwardly of the body of the clamp nut 40 are a pair of elongated fingers 61, 62 (see FIG. 2) which are spaced apart so as to straddle the post 11 and prevent turning of the clamp nut relative to the post. The fingers 61, 62 are long enough relative to the placement of the ring 50 on the bolt so that the clamp nut cannot turn when the bolt is in the unlocked position (see FIG. 5). Thus, the nut remains upright even when unlocked; and this facilitates assembly of the rails by a single workman.
Still referring to the clamp nut, the body portion defines a cylindrical wall 65 (FIG. 3) which provides an inwardly extending recess 66 for receiving the finger 53 of the locking bolt in the unlocked or release position of FIG. 5. The cylindrical wall 65 of the clamp nut 40 also defines a cam surface 68 against which the finger 53 is firmly pressed to secure the rail in the locked position. The turning of the locking bolt 42 is limited in the unlocked position by a first stop surface 70 formed in the cylindrical side wall 65 of the clamp nut 40 and partially defining the recess 66, and in the locked position by a second stop surface 71. As seen best in FIG. 3, the stop surfaces 70, 71 are located approximately ninety degrees apart relative to the axis of the locking bolt 42, thereby limiting the motion of the locking bolt to a quarter-turn between the locked position shown in solid line, and the unlocked position shown in dashed line in FIG. 3.
OPERATION
The posts 11 are not disassembled from the decks of the individual rows when the system is retracted for storage. However, the upper and lower rail members are disassembled, and the individual sections of each rail member may be separated and stored on the decks, resting on the platform between rows. With the locking bolts in the unlocked position (that is, the finger 53 received in the recess 66) as seen in FIG. 5, the clamp nuts may be extended laterally relative to the post 11 so as to receive the rail members. Even in this extended position for receiving a rail, the clamp nuts are held upright because the ring 50 limits withdrawal of the nut and in the limit position, the fingers 62 remain straddling the post. When the rail members are all being supported by the clamp nuts and the individual rail sections are coupled together by means of the swaged connection, the nuts 47 are turned a quarter-turn so that the pin 53 engages the cam surface 68 and forces the clamp nut 40 to securely engage the rail and force it against the post in clamping relation. The nut 47 is frictionally coupled to the threads of the shank 43 of the locking bolt 42 so that the bolt turns when the nut is turned. This may be accomplished by a commercially available fiber lock nut. At the same time, this construction permits the nut 47 to be tightened onto the locking bolt to achieve the desired clamping of the rail. A slight clearance is maintained between the body of the clamp nut and the rail in the locked position, as at 75, to insure the arm 58 will tightly engage and hold the rail. The clamp nut is permitted limited rotation relative to the post, even in the locked position, to accommodate an inclination of the rail relative to the rail slightly off 90°, as seen in FIG. 3.
To disassemble the rail members for storage, the nuts 47 are turned a quarter-turn in the opposite direction so that the pin 53 engages the stop surface 70 and is aligned with the recess 66, thereby loosening the clamp nut 40.
It will be appreciated that the nut 47 is preferably located on the outside of the rail 11--that is, remote from the occupants of the seating system. This, together with the fact that it requires a tool to unlock the clamp assembly reduces the chance that an occupant would tamper with the clamp assembly.
Having thus disclosed in detail a preferred embodiment of the invention, persons skilled in the art will be able to modify certain of the structure which has been illustrated and substitute equivalent elements for those disclosed while continuing to practice the principle of the invention; and it is, therefore, intended that all such modifications and substitutions be covered as they are embraced within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
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In a telescoping seating system, handrail support posts are mounted at the sides of the telescoping rows. Upper and lower handrail members are releasably clamped to the posts by a clamp assembly which includes a locking bolt received in an associated post, and a clamp nut received on an associated locking bolt and including means preventing rotation of the nut relative to the post. A quarter-turn motion of the bolt cams the clamp nut to securely hold the rail against the post, while a reverse quarter-turn motion of the bolt loosens the clamp nut and permits removal of the rail members only.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an auger type icemaker and, more particularly, to an improvement of the extrusion head thereof.
An auger type icemaker is well known in which a water inlet is connected to a refrigeration cylinder having an evaporator of the refrigeration system disposed therearound, a rotatable auger is disposed in the interior of the cylinder and an extrusion head is attached to the upper end thereof. In this icemaker, slush ice formed on the inner wall surface of the refrigeration cylinder is scraped off by said rotatable auger and is guided upward in succession. In the extrusion head, a plurality of bosses are formed to extend axially downward and radially outward, and ice compressing passages are formed between adjacent bosses. Accordingly, said slush ice is compressed together through ice compressing passages and is directed out through discharge ports. However, in such an icemaker, the radial cross sections of the compressing passages disposed in the extrusion head are formed to become small as they approach the discharge ports so as to obtain, by increasing the ice compression ratio, a good quality of less watery ice chunks ordinarily called chip ice.
Therefore, a great pushing force is needed when slush ice is carried into the ice compressing passages and passes through them. However, when the quantity of the carried ice is slightly more than that of the compressed ice, such as in winter, an additional pushing force is needed for passing the ice through the compressing passages of the extrusion head, and ice particles are apt to rotate with the rotatable auger in the circumferential direction, leading to stoppage of the rising ice particles, i.e., choking of the ice.
To remove the above disadvantages, the auger type icemaker shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 has been heretofore presented. In this icemaker, a single rib or a plurality of ribs 22 extending downward at a predetermined length and spacing are embedded in the inner wall surface of the refrigeration cylinder 10 just below the extrusion head 18 attached inside the upper end of the cylinder 10 by means of, for example, set screws. The diameter of the part of spiral edge of the rotatable auger 20 corresponding to said ribs is formed to be slightly smaller than the diameter remaining lower portion of the spiral edge of the auger, so as to rotate free contact with ribs 22. Thus, the rotation of ice particles with the rotatable auger 20 is prevented by ribs 22, and the ice particles are forced to move upward thereby to obtain a much greater pushing force than the one needed when they pass through ice compression passages 16 of the extrusion head 18, leading to prevention of the condition where ice cannot pass through passages 16 of the extrusion head 18, i.e., the occurrence of choking. The above conventional auger type icemaker has a very excellent advantage in that the occurrence of ice choking is effectively prevented. However, since the ribs 22 embedded in the inner surface of the refrigeration cylinder 10 are constituent elements for obtaining the above advantages, there exist the following problems in the manufacture of the cylinder.
(1) Notches 23 must be formed so as to embed ribs in the refrigerated cylinder, and a troublesome cutting operation is needed to form the notches since they are not through grooves.
(2) The ribs must have a magnitude large enough to prevent rotation of ice particles, so that a difficult welding-in operation is needed in the interior of the refrigeration cylinder after the ribs are embedded therein. Furthermore, there is the possibility of ribs falling out due to poor welding or fatigue of the welding portions.
(3) There are cases where distortion occurs in the refrigeration cylinder due to the rib welding.
The object of the present invention is to provide an improved auger type icemaker which removes the above problems of the conventional auger type icemaker without inducing choking of the ice particles.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An auger type icemaker according to the present invention in general comprises a refrigeration cylinder having an evaporator disposed therearound and a water inlet connected thereto in fluid association with the interior of the cylinder to form slush ice on the inner surface of said cylinder, an auger including a rotary shaft rotatably disposed in the cylinder and a coiled scraper blade fixedly mounted around the shaft to scrape off and guide the slush ice upwardly, an extrusion head fixedly mounted at the upper end of the cylinder with a plurality of axially downwardly and radially outwardly extending bosses disposed around the periphery of the extrusion head to form ice compressing passages between the adjacent bosses, the passages receiving the scraped slush ice from the auger and discharging it therefrom after it is compressed during its passing through the passages, each of said bosses having an extension of a predetermined axial length positioned below the lower end surface of the extrusion head and over a portion of the auger, and structure for preventing interference of the extension with the portion of said auger said interference preventing structure being provided by selecting the diameter of the auger so that the portion of the auger over which said extensions are positioned is smaller in diameter than the other portions of the auger.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional auger type icemaker;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the refrigeration cylinder of the auger type icemaker of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the auger;
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the extrusion head and auger of the auger type icemaker according to the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the extrusion head of the conventional auger type icemaker.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the conventional auger type icemaker. An icemaker according to the present invention is similar to that of FIG. 1 in the general structure of the auger type icemaker. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, an evaporator 12 of a refrigerating system is disposed on the circumferential portion of a refrigeration cylinder 10 and the circumference of the cylinder is surrounded by an insulating material 14. An extrusion head 18 is disposed in the upper end of the refrigeration cylinder 10 and has ice compressing passages 16 whose cross sections gradually descrease as they go upward. An auger 20 comprising a spiral blade 20' and a shaft 30 extends through the refrigeration cylinder 10. The lower portion of the shaft 30 is rotatably supported by a bearing 28 and the upper portion thereof extends further upward and enters into an ice hopper 21. At the top of shaft 30 is an agitator 25 for stirring the ice. A water inlet 26 is connected to the bottom portion of cylinder 10 and the shaft 30 is connected to a driving motor 32 through a suitable reduction mechanism.
In the auger type icemaker having the above structure, water supplied from the lower portion of the refrigeration cylinder 10 through the water inlet 26 is cooled by the evaporator 12 and is formed into a thin ice layer on the inner wall surface of cylinder 10. The thin ice layer is scraped off by the spiral edge (blade) 20 and is pushed upward in succession while being rotated and is guided to ice compressing passages 16 formed in the extrusion head 18. The particles are further compressed in these passages into less watery ice chunks of good quality and are stored in the ice hopper 21.
According to the present invention as shown in FIG. 4, in place of the ribs embedded in the inner surface of the refrigeration cylinder in conventional icemakers (FIGS. 1-3), lower ends 17a of the bosses 17 forming ice compressing passages 36 extend further downward by a predetermined length long enough to prevent rotation of ice particles together with the auger 42, preferably a length corresponding to the conventional rib length, and are positioned below the lower end surface 38a of extrusion head 38. In assembly, the extrusion head 38 is inserted into the shaft upper end 30b in the direction of the arrow A until the lower end surface 38a touches or approximates the shoulder portion 30a of shaft 30' of auger 42. Then, the extrusion head is fixed into the refrigeration cylinder in the conventional manner. Accordingly, a spiral blade 40 is provided such that a spiral blade is not formed near the shoulder portion 30a of shaft 30' so as to prevent the boss lower end 17a of refrigeration cylinder 38 from entering into the rotation area of the spiral blade 40 and creating mutual interference.
Furthermore, another extrusion head and spiral edge as shown in FIG. 5 may be formed as a modification of FIG. 4. That is, although the radially inner surface 17b of lower end 17a in each boss 17 of the extrusion head 38 extends straight downward parallel to the axis center from the lower end surface 38a of the extrusion head in the case of the embodiment of FIG. 4, the radially inner face 37b extends slanting radially outward toward the lowest end of the radially outward surface 37c of lower end 37a in the care of boss 48 of the embodiment of FIG. 5. Accordingly, the space surrounded by the lower ends 37a of the four bosses 37 is of such a shape that the radius thereof becomes large as it becomes distant from the lower end surface 48a. A part 50a near the shoulder portion 60a in the spiral blade 50 disposed in the shaft 60 below shaft upper end 60b is formed to gradually decrease in radial size, i.e., in height of the edge, so as to fit the part into the above space. Thus, the spiral blade part 50a and the boss lower ends 37a do not interefere with each other.
Next, the operation of the embodiment constituted as above will be explained. In the case of the embodiment of FIG. 4, when flake shaped ice particles rotating and ascending due to the auger spiral blade 40 reach the lowest end of boss 17, their spiral movement is prevented by the lower end 17a and they move straight upward without causing ice choking. Subsequently, the ice particles enter into ice compressing passages 36 of the extrusion head 38 and finally become ice bars and are discharged into the hopper 21 from delivery ports of ice compressing passages 36, i.e., upper openings.
Alternatively, in the case of the embodiment of FIG. 5, boss lower ends 37a that ice particles first reach are radially positioned much away from the shaft center, and the blade height of the spiral edge part 50a corresponding to lower ends 37a generally complete. Therefore, in this position, a sufficient compressing force is not yet applied to the ice particles so that the component force making ice particles run idle is small. However, since the radial size of the lower end 37a, i.e., the thickness thereof, increases as the ice particles ascend, lower ends 17a can reliably prevent idle running even though the component force of the idle running increases as compressing force increases. Accordingly, idle running is prevented as a whole. On the other hand, the edge height of the spiral edge part 50a gradually decreases. Ice particles are still completely in the shape of flakes in the lowest end of the boss and are solidified as they ascend and become solid almost completely about the middle of the ice compressing passages so that their propulsive force are maintained in the intermediate process even though the edge height becomes low as the ice particles ascend.
In particular, in both embodiments of the present invention, the axial length of the ice compressing passages, at least from the lower end surface of the extrusion head to the lowest end of the boss, is long compared with the extrusion head of FIG. 1 or compared with the extrusion head shown in FIG. 6 in which the lowest ends 19a of the boss 19 are on the same plane as the lower end surface 27a of the extrusion head 27). Therefore, the sides of bosses 17 and 37 defining the ice compressing passages can draw natural curves and extend downward in the shape of an unfolded fan so that ice particles can be more smoothly compressed.
According to the structure mentioned above for the present invention, the following various effects are obtained.
(1) The ice compressing passages virtually become longer and compression can be performed more smoothly.
(2) There is no need to cut grooves in the refrigeration cylinder and the auger.
(3) The number of parts is reduced by the number of ribs.
(4) There is no need for weld-processing of the ribs and finishing thereof after the welding.
(5) There is no distortion of the refrigeration cylinder by welding.
(6) Falling out of the ribs is eliminated.
It will be understood that although the extrusion head has four bosses in the embodiments, the present invention is not confined to the above number, and the length of the extensive portions of the boss ends and the boss shape are not confined to the embodiments shown in the Figures, but may be suitably determined.
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In an auger type icemaker comprising an auger in a refrigeration cylinder, an extrusion head disposed in the upper end of the auger, and a plurality of bosses disposed in the extrusion head ice compressing passages and extending axially downward and radially outward, to prevent choking of ice particles in the refrigeration cylinder, the bosses extending further downward at a predetermined distance from the lower end surface of the extrusion head and partially overlap the auger. The diameter of the auger corresponding to the overlapping portion is smaller than that of the other portions.
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TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to resonators used to reduce noise emanating from the induction system of an engine, and more particularly relates to a resonator having an unconventionally long cavity and two necks for coupling to an air intake of an automobile engine induction system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Side branch resonators have been used for many years to reduce radiated induction noise in automobile engine compartments. In one common application, a resonator having a cavity includes a neck interconnecting the cavity to the air intake duct of the engine induction system. The compartment and hence cavity are typically tube or rectangular shaped and there may be one or more necks (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,489). The parameters of cavity, neck length and neck diameter dictate at what frequency the resonator will resonate. The resonating frequency is chosen to match the frequency of the induction noise. Thus, when designing a resonator, the engineer will choose the cavity and neck diameter and length to achieve a resonating frequency that will match and cancel the frequency of the induction noise it is desired to attenuate.
The strength of the resonator is proportional to the square root of the cavity volume for a constant neck size. Thus, strong resonators require a large resonator cavity, however, large cavity size may not be feasible due to space constraints in the engine compartment. In other words, the available space dictates how large the engineer can make the cavity in terms of length, width and depth. Another potential problem is that making one dimension much larger than the other two will cause the resonator cavity to exhibit plane wave behavior and the resonator will thus not resonate at the predicted frequency. The engineer is thus forced to reduce this dimension size until the plane wave behavior ceases, however, this reduces the resonator strength as well. It will thus be appreciated that resonator design has been limited by space availability and attempts to increase resonator strength through an increase in linear dimensions of the cavity are typically futile.
There therefore exists a need for an improved resonator and method for reducing induction noise emanating from an engine that provides strong attenuation while occupying a small space in the engine compartment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention addresses the above need by providing a resonator and method for attenuating induction noise in an engine that is both strong in attenuation and relatively small in size, particularly when compared to conventional resonators of similar strength.
In one aspect, the invention comprises a resonator having a cavity defined by a compartment that has a characteristic length that is longer than the characteristic length in conventional resonators. In conventional resonator theory, any linear dimension or characteristic length cannot exceed the maximum allowable length which is equal to the wavelength “λ” divided by 8. Knowing that wavelength equals the speed of sound “c” divided by the tuning frequency “Fr”, no linear dimension can exceed the speed of sound divided by the product of 8 times the frequency (maximum allowable length <c/(8×Fr). For example, in a conventional resonator, an engineer designing a 200 Hz resonator would know that the cavity will have a maximum allowable length of 0.7 ft. or 8.4 inches where c=1125 ft/sec.
In a second aspect, the invention comprises a resonator having first and second necks that interconnect the cavity to the air intake duct. Since the inventive resonator exceeds the maximum allowable length of conventional side branch resonators, a standing wave is formed in the cavity. This standing wave has an anti-node or high pressure zone that forms at an end of the cavity. One neck is positioned adjacent the anti-node and acts to eliminate the standing wave. The position of the other neck may be almost anywhere along the length of the cavity but preferably is no greater than the wavelength divided by 16 along the length of the induction system, or a quarter the length of the cavity, from the other neck. Importantly, since the inventive resonator cavity exceeds the maximum allowable length of conventional resonators and corresponding theory, the resonance frequency (f r ) of the inventive resonator is not predictable using the conventional resonator equation, which is as follows:
f r =180√( A o ÷( L e V )) (Eq. 1)
where:
A o is total neck area
V is compartment cavity
L e is effective neck length
One method of predicting the resonance frequency of the inventive resonator is using three-dimensional finite elements which are used to describe the resonator and transmission loss is calculated with a finite element code. Three dimensional acoustic theory may be performed using computational vibro-acoustic software such as SYSNOISE by LMS Corporation). Another method is to use one-dimensional acoustic waves to calculate transmission loss. Characteristic dimensions such as tube length, tube area, neck length, neck area, neck separation distance and neck location are modeled with acoustic waves according to the acoustic wave equations explained more fully below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mesh form of a prior art side branch resonator used to reduce induction noise of an engine;
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a mesh form of one possible embodiment of the inventive resonator;
FIG. 3 is an acoustic wave schematic of the resonator of FIG. 2 ; and
FIG. 4 is a pipe area/length schematic of the resonator of FIG. 2 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG. 1 , a prior art conventional side branch resonator 10 is shown which is used for attenuating induction noise from an automobile engine (not shown). Prior art resonator 10 has two basic components: a compartment defining an internal cavity 12 and a neck 14 in fluid communication with cavity 12 . The opposite end of the neck 14 connects to the intake duct 16 which leads to the induction system of the engine. Noise generated by the engine can travel and escape through the intake duct 16 . Resonator 10 is operable to reduce this undesirable “induction noise” by resonating at the frequency of the induction noise (the “induction frequency”), thereby creating pressure waves which, through the principle of interference, cancel the majority of the induction pressure waves at the resonance frequency. The strength (i.e., noise attenuation ability) of resonator 10 is limited by its size which, in turn, is limited by the available space in the engine compartment (not shown) as well as the diameter of the intake duct 16 to which neck 14 attaches.
The basic configuration of cavity 12 is a rectangular box-like structure and the resonance frequency is predicted according to the known equation:
f r =180√( A o ÷( L e V )) (Eq. 1)
where:
A o is total neck area;
V is compartment cavity; and
L e is effective neck length.
The space constraints imposed on a resonator designer as explained above means that the resonator 10 will inevitably have a limited strength, i.e., resonator 10 may not be able to attenuate the entire induction noise being targeted. There frequently is limited space on top of the engine to attach a conventional shaped resonator volume due to low hood lines on modern cars. Smaller resonator volumes are less effective at attenuating noise, as is having to relocate the resonator further from the engine air intake due to space constraints.
The present invention provides a uniquely configured resonator which is stronger and more adaptable to fit into the available space than that possible with the design provided by prior art resonator 10 . More particularly, as seen in FIG. 2 , one possible embodiment of the invention is seen to comprise a resonator 20 for attaching to an air intake duct 30 . Resonator 20 includes a cavity 22 defined by a compartment that has a characteristic length L that is longer than the characteristic length L in conventional resonators. Resonator 20 further includes first and second necks 24 and 26 that fluidly connect the cavity 22 at first ends 24 a , 26 a thereof, and to the air intake duct 30 at the opposite second ends 24 b , 26 b thereof, respectively.
The overall shape of the cavity 22 is unimportant and the designer thus has a large degree of freedom in shaping the cavity as needed or as dictated by the space constraints of the area where the resonator is required. Thus, in the embodiment of FIG. 2 , the cavity is curved into a hook shape such that it extends around the air intake duct 30 . This particular cavity shape effectively uses available space while at the same time having a relatively long cavity.
Since resonator 20 has a length L which exceeds the maximum allowable length of conventional side branch resonators, a standing wave is formed in the cavity 22 . This standing wave has a high pressure zone or anti-node 28 that forms adjacent an end 22 a of the cavity. One neck 24 is thus positioned adjacent the anti-node 28 and acts to eliminate the standing wave. The position of the other neck 26 may be almost anywhere along the length of the cavity as long as the neck ends 24 b , 26 b join the air intake duct along the same flow path plane. If neck ends 24 b , 26 b will not be positioned along the same flow path plane, they preferably are no greater than the wavelength λ divided by 16 along the length of the induction system, or about a quarter the length of the cavity, from each other.
As explained above, since the inventive resonator cavity 22 exceeds the maximum allowable length of conventional resonators and corresponding theory, the resonance frequency (f r ) of the inventive resonator is not predictable using the conventional resonator equation. There are two methods that can be used for calculating transmission loss (attenuation) of the resonator and both require computational analysis as is well understood to those skilled in the art.
One method of predicting the resonance frequency of the inventive resonator is using three-dimensional finite elements which are used to describe the resonator and transmission loss is calculated with a finite element code. In this method, three dimensional acoustic analysis is performed using well known computational vibro-acoustic software such as SYSNOISE by LMS International.
Another method is to use one-dimensional acoustic wave analysis to calculate transmission loss. Characteristic dimensions such as tube length, tube area, neck length, neck area, neck separation distance and neck location are modeled with acoustic waves according to the following acoustic wave equation:
p ( x, t )= Ae i(wt+kx) +Be i(wt+kx) (Eq. 2)
where the resonator is modeled with acoustic wave coefficients as shown in FIG. 3 . The transmission loss is calculated according to the equation:
Attenuation=20×LOG 10 ( P A1 /P A8 ) (Eq. 3)
where the resonator is modeled with the pipe area and pipe length as seen in FIG. 4 .
In this method, one dimensional acoustic analysis is performed, again, using well known computational vibro-acoustic software such as SYSNOISE by LMS International. It is noted that the three dimensional analysis method described above will generally give more accurate and reliable results due to the complex three dimensional configurations that are possible according to the present invention.
Using either of the above methods for calculating transmission loss, an iterative process is used to tune the resonator to the desired resonance frequency as understood by those skilled in the art.
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A resonator and method of designing a resonator including a cavity having an effective length that exceeds λ/8 such that a standing wave having an anti-node will form in the cavity. First and second necks each having first ends are attached to and in fluid communication with the cavity, the first neck being positioned adjacent the anti-node and thereby operable to interfere with said standing wave.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a device for determining the existence of faults in a vehicle ignition system.
PRIOR ART
Various apparatus and methods are known for testing vehicle ignition systems. For example, known methods have included examining the spark plug firing voltage pulse for a pulse peak, a zero crossing of voltage amplitude and a pulse time duration. Other known methods have included determining if a pulse occurred when it should occur and if a pulse occurred when it should not occur.
Some of these known ignition system testers are portable external units which are relatively difficult to hook-up for testing. Often it is necessary to establish a connection to the distributor and to all of the signal inputs to the vehicle ignition module which controls the firing of the spark plugs. Such signals typically include the control signal inputs to the ignition module and the power line inputs to the ignition module. The requirement for such connections produces a relatively expensive and complicated system. After these connections are made, the signals which are detected must be processed. Often such processing requires relatively expensive and complicated microprocessors. These are some of the problems this invention overcomes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention recognizes that use of the time integral of the spark plug firing voltage pulse taken over a time period when spark should occur is useful in determining proper operation of a primary ignition system and the existence of faults in that system.
An ignition system tester in accordance with an embodiment of this invention can detect both intermittent and fixed faults present in the primary ignition system. It can be used during normal driving operation or in a service garage. It provides a relatively quick means of separating primary ignition system problems from fuel, carburetion, exhaust gas recirculation, or other system problems causing similar vehicle symptoms.
In accordance with an embodiment of this invention, a voltage related to the spark plug firing voltage pulse is measured and integrated over time to evaluate the magnetic flux in the primary ignition coil which ultimately generates the spark. This flux is related to the energy of the spark plug firing voltage pulse. Advantageously, in order to determine when an integration should be processed, a phase locked loop circuit is used to predict the occurrence of an ignition firing pulse. To compensate for changes in engine speed and yet disregard extraneous spark plug firings, the phase locked loop contains two loop filters, one of which is automatically selected to minimize response to erroneous firings and maximize response to actual engine RPM changes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ignition system tester in accordance with an embodiment of this invention including the connection of the phase locked loop and the differential integrator;
FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c are a schematic diagram of the blocks of FIG. 1 entitled differential integrator and tachometer signal conditioning and shaping, reference comparator, and phase locked loop, respectively; and
FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c are graphical representations with respect to time of the primary coil voltage, the integral of the primary coil voltage and a comparator output comparing the integral of the primary voltage to a reference threshold, respectively.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIG. 1, an ignition system tester 10 monitors the primary ignition voltage waveform (at a coil tach terminal 12) and determines if a fault condition exists. A fault condition exists if (1) a preset number of consecutive tach pulses is missing, (2) a preset number of extra tach pulses occurs, or (3) a preset number of tach pulses exhibits energy below an acceptance threshold. When a fault is detected, a fault indicator can activate a light and sound an alarm. The fault indicator can remain activated until reset.
The test criteria applied to the primary ignition voltage waveform by the circuitry of tester 10 include two features in accordance with an embodiment of this invention. First, internal tester timing strobes allow determination of extra and missing tachometer pulses and are generated using a phase locked loop circuit 14 with automatically switchable loop filters. Second, an "energy" parameter is determined from the time integral of the difference between the primary voltage and the vehicle's battery voltage using a differential integrator 16.
In FIG. 1, a vehicle battery 20 has a positive terminal connected through ignition switch 22 to the primary side of an ignition coil 24. The negative terminal of vehicle battery 20 is grounded as is an input of the voltage regulation and protection circuit 28. Voltage regulation and protection circuit 28 also has an input from the positive terminal of vehicle battery 20. The output of regulation and protection circuit 28 is applied to a reference voltage supply 30 and to a low vehicle battery logic circuit 32. The output of reference voltage supply 30 is applied to a reference comparator 34. Differential integrator 16 has an input from the positive terminal of vehicle battery 20 and from the primary of the ignition coil 26. The output from differential integrator 16 is applied to reference comparator 34. The output of reference comparator 34 is applied to control logic 36. Voltage from the primary of the ignition coil 26 is also applied to a tachometer signal conditioning and shaping circuit 38. The outputs from circuit 38 are applied to an extra pulse logic circuit 40 and phase locked loop circuit 14. Phase locked loop 14 also receives an input from a self testing and reset logic circuit 18. An output from phase locked loop circuit 14 is applied to a testing logic circuit 42. The outputs from circuits 34, 40, 14, 42 and 18 are applied to control logic circuit 36. An output from control logic 36 and the low vehicle battery logic circuit 32 is applied to display unit 44.
The following discussion addresses the specific circuits implementing the features of the detection of erroneous tachometer pulses and the determination of the energy of the spark plug firing pulse. In an appendix the theory behind the "energy" parameter is discussed.
DIFFERENTIAL INTEGRATOR AND REFERENCE COMPARATOR CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG. 2a, an input to differential inegrator block 16 is applied to the series combination of resistors R103, R104 and R105. Resistor R105 is connected as a feedback resistor from the output of an operational amplifier (op-amp) 201 to the inverting input of op-amp 201. A tachometer signal from the primary side of ignition coil 26 is applied to the series combination of resistors R106, R107 and R108. Resistor R108 is connected as a feedback resistor from the output of op-amp 201 to the non-inverting input of op-amp 201. An integrating capacitor C104 is connected from the non-inverting input of op-amp 201 to ground. A resistor R109 is connected in parallel with capacitor C104. Resistor R109 prevents capacitor C104 from charging due to operational amplifier offsets. Diode CR116 is connected between a reference voltage to the non-inverting input of op-amp 201 to limit this op-amp input voltage to the reference voltage. A diode CR103 is connected from between resistors R106 and R107 to ground. Similarly, a diode CR102 is connected from between resistors R103 and R104 to ground.
Differential integrator 16 provides the approximate ##EQU1## The following assumptions are made: (R103+R104)=(R106+R107)
(R105=R108)<<(R106+R107)
Op amp 201 input bias currents and offset voltage are zero
Diode reverse leakage currents are zero
The errors introduced into the function when the values of the above assumptions are included are negligible for integration intervals of less than 1/2 second. The integration function has endpoints at zero and at V REF plus one diode voltage drop. The zero endpoint is due to the unipolar supply voltage to operational amplifier 201. The V REF endpoint is due to diode CR116 clamping the voltage of capacitor C104 to V REF . This is necessary to prevent a common-mode latch-up of operational amplifier 201.
The output of integrator 16 is supplied to a reference comparator 34 (FIG. 2b) which consists of comparator 202 and resistors R110, R111, R112 and R113. Reference comparator 34 as a whole determines if the ignition system has enough "energy" to reliably fire a spark plug, on a cycle by cycle basis. The inverting input of comparator 202 is coupled to the output of differential integrator 16. The non-inverting input of comparator 202 has an input through feedback resistor R113 from the output of comparator 202 and a variable resistance R111 coupled between a reference supply voltage and ground. The adjustment of variable resistance R111 determines the threshold which, when exceeded, initiates the change of state of the comparator output, as shown in FIG. 3c. When the integral shown in FIG. 3b exceeds the threshold there is an output from comparator 202 indicating that the "energy" is sufficient. The output of comparator 202 goes to a logic low level if the output of differential integrator 16 reaches the reference threshold.
PHASE LOCKED LOOP CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG. 2c, phase locked loop (PLL) circuit 14 includes circuitry to produce a strobe output. The strobe pulses are used to reset and clock portions of the control logic at precise times. Strobe pulses occur coincident with actual tachometer pulses or at a time when tachometer pulses should have been present and are missing due to an ignition system problem. In essence, PLL circuit 14 keeps track of tachometer pulses, by generating a strobe pulse each time that a tachometer pulse occurred or should have occurred, and thereby detects a tachometer signal which has spurious transitions, oscillations, or stops abruptly due to a failure of the primary ignition signal.
Inputs to the phase locked loop circuit 14 are: (1) the filtered and limited TACH signal output of FIG. 2A and (2) a signal from a test and reset logic 18 which forces a self-test. Outputs from PLL circuit 14 are a timing strobe signal and a D.C. level which enables the testing logic.
Referring to FIG. 2c, PLL circuit 14 can be broken down into several components: A phase locked loop (PLL) integrated circuit 230, an external dual loop filter 231, a loop frequency multiplier 232 and a strobe logic circuit 233. Resistor R117 and capacitor C107 associated with integrated circuit 230 provide a frequency lock range of two hertz to five hundred hertz, or 30 RPM to 7500 RPM of engine speed for an eight cylinder engine. Loop filter 231 is a variable rate, multiple pole low pass filter. The basic nonvariable filter consists of resistors R119, R123 and R124 and capacitors C109 and C110. This filter is in operation during steady state frequency inputs, or slowly varying-frequency inputs.
To provide proper timing during fast frequency changes such as acceleration, an electrically variable resistance is supplied in parallel with resistor R119. Resistor R120 and a MOS transistor U9c form the electrically variable resistor. The gate voltage is generated by inverters U6d and U9b, resistors R121 and R122, and capacitor C108. The input to this circuit at inverter U6d is from a lock signal at pin 1 of PLL integrated circuit 230. This lock signal, when low, indicates that PLL integrated circuit 230 is not phase locked with the PLL circuit 14 input signal. This occurrence causes the voltage on the gate of MOS transistor U9c in the loop filter to be reduced, effectively reducing the transistor's channel resistance. This reduced resistance shunts resistor R119 and speeds up the PLL integrated circuit 230 tracking response. Once PLL integrated circuit 230 regains lock, transistor U9c again turns off, restoring the normal filter. That is, resistor R120 is excluded from the functioning of the filter. Resistor R179 is coupled to PPL integrated circuit 230 and can provide PLL frequency offset from zero to further stabilize the circuit during rapid acceleration or deceleration.
The loop frequency multiplier 232, including an integrated circuit U11, forces PLL circuit 14 to operate at seven times the input frequency and sets the timing strobe very near the midpoint between rising edges of the TACH waveform, as well as allowing for smaller valued capacitors for the PLL and the loop filter. Logic gates U6c and U3a form strobe logic circuit 233 which provides a very narrow strobe pulse for the control logic block.
Referring to FIG. 3a, a graphical representation of the primary coil voltage versus time indicates that a firing voltage peak occurs before a series of oscillatory voltage fluctuations. The shaded area above vehicle battery voltage (12 volts) is the portion that is integrated. FIG. 3b shows the integral of the shaded portion of FIG. 3a. That is, this is the operation performed by differential integrator 16 of FIGS. 1 and 2b. The rapid firing voltage (first spike of FIG. 3a) is indicated by a rapid rise in the integral of FIG. 3b. The subsequent smaller oscillations and voltage level of FIG. 3a are indicated by a gradual increase in the total integral. The integral is computed during a predetermined spark duration. At the end of the computation, a determination is made whether the integral has reached an acceptable, pre-set threshold or not. If the pre-set acceptable threshold has been reached, the available spark "energy" is assumed to be sufficient. This comparison is made in reference comparator 34, the output of which is illustrated in FIG. 3c. That is, the comparator output remains high until the threshold is reached whereupon it drops. The indication of a capital A (low sensitivity) and capital B (higher sensitivity) reflects the possibility of adjusting the threshold as indicated in FIG. 2b in connection with variable resistor R111.
Various modifications and variations will no doubt occur to those skilled in the various arts to which this invention pertains. For example, the particular choice of circuit components may be varied from that disclosed herein. These and all other variations which basically rely on the teachings through which this disclosure has advanced the art are properly considered within the scope of this invention.
APPENDIX
ENERGY PARAMETER THEORY
The tester derives "energy" data about the primary ignition system by integrating the ignition coil primary (TACH) voltage greater than the vehicle battery voltage for each ignition pulse. The output of the differential integration, as a function of time, is equal to (1/CR)∫(V tach -V bat ) dt, where (1/CR) is the gain of the integrator, V tach is the coil primary voltage, and V bat is the vehicle battery voltage.
The integrator output has the units of volt-seconds. Since volt-seconds are the units for a Weber, the integrator output is a measure of primary coil magnetic flux φ. Flux of the primary coil is related to the flux of the secondary in the coil by the coupling coefficient, k.
k=(φ2/φ1) where, φ2 is the flux of the secondary and φ 1 is the flux of the primary. Flux can be related back to energy in the following manner:
Maxwell's equation (in integral form) for current, I, is:
I=∫H·dL (Ampere's law)
This equation, in essense, states that in an inductor, the magnetic field intensity, H, multiplied by the magnetic path length is equal to the current, I. Stated differently, the current in a coil of wires produces a certain magnetic field intensity, H. The magnetic field intensity, H, can be related to the flux density, B and the permeability, μ, of the inductor core material by B=μH. Flux density, B, is flux per area or Webers/(Meter 2 ) and H is ##EQU2## Also, φ=BA, where A=magnetic cross-sectional area. Energy density is W v =1/2 μH 2 or ##EQU3## From this result, magnetic flux has a direct relationship to the energy density, W v . To obtain the actual value for energy, W, multiply Wv by the volume of the magnetic material. ##EQU4## wherein N is the number of turns of wire in the inductor. By substituting L=(Nφ/I) into equation (1), the standard form of magnetic energy stored in an inductor is obtained. That is:
W mag =1/2LI 2 , where L is inductance. To further prove that the integrator output is a measure of magnetic flux, the integrator output voltage can be related to the induced primary and secondary voltages and currents of the ignition coil by the equation for mutual inductance. ##EQU5## where: subscript 1=primary
subscript2=secondary
V=voltage
I=current solving for V 1 , ##EQU6## is simply a ratio of the rate of change of secondary current to the rate of change of primary current. For a given ignition coil design, this ratio is constant and is directly related to the flux, φ. Since it is the primary current, I, which produces the secondary flux, φ 2 , and secondary current, I 2 , which produces φ 1 , (according to Faraday's Law and Lenz's law) equation (2) can be rewritten as: ##EQU7## Integrating both sides, ##EQU8## but V 1 t has the units of volt-seconds.
Equation (3) now becomes ##EQU9## which is again, the definition of the coupling coefficient, k for a transformer, such as an ignition coil.
This verifies that the integrator output is actually a measure of the primary magnetic flux which has been directly related to the stored energy of the ignition coil. By measuring this primary flux and comparing its value to an established reference (acceptance), a decision can be made as to the integrity of each individual spark cycle in the vehicle ignition system.
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This specification discloses testing vehicle primary ignition systems by taking the integral of the primary spark plug firing voltage versus time over a time period when the spark should occur. To determine when an integration output should be evaluated, a phase locked loop circuit is used to predict the occurrence of an ignition firing pulse. To compensate for changes in engine speed and yet disregard extraneous spark plug firings, the phase locked loop circuit contains two loop filters having different response times which are automatically selected to minimize response to erroneous or missing spark plug firings and maximize response to actual engine RPM changes.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims the benefit of priority of Provisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 61/170,366, filed Apr. 17, 2009, entitled “FASTENER TIP COATING CHEMISTRY”.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to fastener coatings. More particularly, the present invention relates to chemistry for fastener tip coatings for ease of drive.
Powered drivers are used to drive fasteners in today's construction industries. In the home construction industry, use of engineered lumber, such as laminated veneer lumber (LVL), is on the rise. LVL is a very hard material and as such is a difficult material into which to power drive a fastener, such as a nail. Powered nailers (combustion, cordless, and the like) have to be sufficiently powerful to drive nails into these materials. This is exaggerated by the use of longer nails, which use is on the rise for improved construction quality and in order to meet building code requirements.
Coated fasteners (e.g., nails) are known and these coated nails do in fact provide ease of driving for powered nailers. However, the power required to drive nails is still high and in the case of cordless nailers, tool power is reduced with increased tool temperature which results in incomplete nail drive—that is, the nail remains standing above the surface of the substrate.
Accordingly, there is a need for a tip coating chemistry that further reduces the force needed to drive a fastener, such as a nail, into a substrate. Desirably, such a coating does not adversely effect the holding power of the fastener.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An ease of drive coating for a fastener is formulated from a resin, such as an acrylic resin, preferably a number of (e.g., two) resins. A preferred coating is formulated from an amine salt of modified acrylic copolymers present in a concentration of about 0 percent to about 10.0 percent by weight of the coating, an ammonia salt of modified styrene acrylic polymers present in a concentration of about 15.0 percent to about 25.0 percent by weight of the coating and water present in a concentration of about 60.0 percent to about 70.0 percent by weight of the coating.
The coating includes at least two different friction reducing components. Two preferred components are silicone and graphite. In a present coating the silicone is present in a concentration of about 0.12 percent to about 2.8 percent by weight of the coating and the graphite is present in a concentration of about 0.5 percent to about 5.0 percent by weight of the coating.
The coating can further include one or more of solvents or coalescents, such as glycol ethers, present in a concentration of about 0 percent to about 10.0 percent by weight of the coating, surfactants present in a concentration of about 0 percent to about 5.0 percent by weight of the coating and a pigment present in a concentration of about 0 percent to about 5.0 percent by weight of the coating.
The coating can still further include primary or multi-functional amines, such as ammonium hydroxide, present in a concentration of about 0 percent to about 1.0 percent by weight of the coating and a rust inhibitor present in a concentration of about 0 percent to about 1.0 percent by weight of the coating. The coating can include a black pigment.
A coated fastener includes a fastener having a tip and a coating on the fastener, at least at the tip. A strip of collated fasteners includes a plurality of fasteners connected to one another by a strip, such as a tape strip or a plastic collation. The tape strip can be such as that disclosed in Shida, U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,085 and a plastic strip can be such as that disclosed in Shelton, Published U.S. Patent application, Publication No. US 2007-0264102, both of which are commonly assigned with the present application and are incorporated herein by reference. A coating is provided on each of the fasteners in the strip of fasteners, at least at the tip. A method for easing the drive of a fastener into a substrate includes coating the fastener, at least at the tip, with a coating formulated from an acrylic resin modified with at least two different friction reducing components.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, in conjunction with the appended claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be described a presently preferred embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiment illustrated.
It should be further understood that the title of this section of this specification, namely, “Detailed Description Of The Invention”, relates to a requirement of the United States Patent Office, and does not imply, nor should be inferred to limit the subject matter disclosed herein.
Various ease-of-drive nail coating formulations are known. These formulations all have the goal of reducing the force needed to drive a nail into a substrate while at the same time not adversely affecting the holding power of the nail.
One known nail coating that has been observed to be quite successful in reducing the force needed to drive nails is a resin, such as an acrylic resin formulation of an amine salt of modified acrylic copolymers present in a concentration of about 0 percent to about 10.0 percent by weight, an ammonia salt of modified styrene acrylic polymers present in a concentration of about 15.0 percent to about 25.0 percent by weight of the coating. Other suitable resins include polyurethane, polyester, alkyd, epoxy, phenolic, various amino, and vinyl or vinyl copolymers. The formulation further includes water present in a concentration of about 60.0 percent to about 70.0 percent by weight, solvents or coalescents, such as glycol ethers, present in a concentration of about 0 percent to about 10.0 percent by weight, surfactants present in a concentration of about 0 percent to about 5.0 percent by weight, a pigment, such as carbon black pigment, present in a concentration of about 0 percent to about 5.0 percent by weight, primary or multi-functional amines, such as ammonium hydroxide, present in a concentration of about 0 percent to about 1.0 percent by weight and a rust inhibitor present in a concentration of about 0 percent to about 1.0 percent by weight. Although a water-borne carrier is disclosed, it will be appreciated that a solvent-borne carrier can also be used. All percentage by weight are by weight of the coating.
The coating can be applied by dipping, spraying, brushing or other methods as will be recognized by those skilled in the art.
A present ease of drive coating includes the addition of graphite and silicone to the nail coating formulation. It has been found that this modified or enhanced coating significantly increases nail penetration compared to a standard (non-additive enhanced coating) when the nail is driven into LVL and other substrates. Various concentrations of graphite and silicone were investigated ranging from about 0 percent to about 10.0 percent and preferably 0.12 percent to about 2.8 percent and most preferred about 0.30 percent by weight (of the coating composition) of silicone and about 0 percent to about 5.0 percent and preferably 0.5 percent to about 5.0 percent and most preferred about 1.4 percent by weight (of the coating composition) of graphite. Graphite particle size preferred range is up to about 25 microns.
Nine samples of nails with a non-modified or non-enhanced coating and twenty two samples of nails (shown as two rows of 11 samples in TABLE 1) of each of five modified coatings were tested to determine the ease of drive of conventional 3¼ inch long×0.131 inch diameter nails. The modified coatings are identified as F-034, F-036, F-038, F-040 and F-042. The tests were conducted with the tool at about 180° F. (which is considered a “hot” tool). Testing was conducted using a PASLODE® CF325 cordless framing nailer to drive nails into two layer of LVL lumber. The test results are presented below in Table 1, below.
TABLE 1
STANDING HEIGHT OF NAILS IN 2 LAYERS OF LVL LUMBER
FOR VARIOUS GRAPHITE AND SILICONE CONCENTRATIONS
Coating
Sample Number
form.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
AVG.
F-034
2
3
3.5
3.5
3
3.5
6.5
2.5
2
2
2
3.5
3.5
4
4
4
3.5
3
3.5
1
2.5
2.5
3.11
F-036
3
10
9
5
4
3
8
8
1.5
0.5
1.5
3.5
14
6
6
11
5.5
10
2
1.5
1
1
5.23
F-038
4
11
5.5
3.5
6.5
7
7.5
5.5
2
1.5
2
7
6
3
5
7.5
8.5
10
6.5
1.5
2
2.5
5.25
F-040
6
5
5
4.5
9.5
5
11
6
2
1
2.5
7
4
6
6
3.5
4.5
12
8
1
0.5
5
5.23
F-042
8.5
17
6.5
11
2
4.5
7.5
5
1
3
2.5
5
10
8
3.5
8
8
3
5
2
2
5
5.82
Non-Enhanced
13.7
15.8
12.0
12.5
17.5
15.0
11.5
11.1
13.0
13.6
The measurements shown above in Table 1 are the standing height, or the height of the nail head as measure in millimeters (mm) from the surface of the substrate, after being driven by the PASLODE® powered nailer. It will be appreciated that the height correlates to the difficulty of drive. That is, the greater the height, the more difficult it was to drive that nail. Conversely, of course, the smaller the height, the greater the ease of driving that nail.
The formulations (F-034 through F-042) represent identical resin compositions with varying concentrations of silicone and graphite. Table 2 below shows the various additive concentrations
TABLE 2
PERCENT BY WEIGHT OF THE COATING OF SILICONE AND
GRAPHITE ADDITIVE TO STANDARD NAIL COATING
COMPOSITION
Percent by
Percent by weight
Formula
weight silicone
graphite
F-034
0.24
1.2
F-036
0.24
0.5
F-038
0.12
1.2
F-040
0.06
0.5
F-042
0.06
1.2
It is readily seen that there is a significant and substantial decrease in the standing height of the additive coated nail generally, and a more significant and substantial decrease with an additive composition of 0.24 percent silicone and 1.2 percent graphite. With this composition, the range of greatest standing heights was about 1.0 mm to a maximum of about 6.5 mm. This compares to a range of 0.5 mm to 14 mm for a coating additive composition of 0.24 percent silicone and 0.5 percent graphite and a range of 1.5 mm to 11 mm (with a clustering at about 5.0 to 7.5 mm) for a coating additive composition of 0.12 percent silicone and 1.2 percent graphite. The standard deviations for the various formulations F-034 to F-042 are 1.101, 3.851, 2,789, 3.027 and 3.766. As will be appreciated, the lower standard deviation represents a more consistent standing height (or drive) with a preferred formulation of about 0.24 percent silicone and 1.2 percent graphite.
It will be appreciated that the “hot” tool values are worst case values in that there are additional challenges faced by the use of “hot” tools due to the reduced efficiencies of higher temperatures. Accordingly, even less standing height values are anticipated with the use of a “cold” tool (e.g. temperatures at about 74° F.). It was also noted that, although data is not specifically provided, increasing the concentration of silicone to about 4.0 percent and graphite to about 20.0 percent resulted in decreased nail drive performance.
It should also be noted that withdrawal test results were not adversely effected by the additives. In fact, the withdrawal resistance (e.g., holding power) can be increased using the present coating by up to as much as 20 percent over conventional coated fasteners. This is quite surprising and the advantages not adversely effecting the withdrawal strength will be readily appreciated.
It will also be appreciated that although silicone and graphite are presented as the combined additives, other additives are also contemplated by the present invention, including, but not limited to Teflon, waxes such as paraffin, polyethylene, ethylene bis-stearamide (EBS), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), micronized polyolefin, carnauba (organic and synthetic), boric acid, silica. Zinc stearate, fluorosurfactants, amorphos silicates, alumina silicates, magnesium silicates (talc), metallic stearates, molybdenum disulfide and the like.
All patents referred to herein, are incorporated herein by reference, whether or not specifically done so within the text of this disclosure.
In the disclosure, the words “a” or “an” are to be taken to include both the singular and the plural. Conversely, any reference to plural items shall, where appropriate, include the singular.
From the foregoing it will be observed that numerous modification and variations can be effectuated without departing from the true spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the present invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific embodiments presented is intended or should be inferred. The disclosure is intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims.
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An ease of drive coating for a fastener is formulated from a resin having at least two different friction reducing components, such as silicone and graphite. A fastener and fastener strip include a resin formulation with at last two different friction reducing components.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to apparatus for scraping the inner surface of a wellbore.
This invention relates to apparatus for scraping the inner surface of a wellbore.
It is well known in the gas and oil drilling industry to run a scraper assembly down a wellbore so as to clean the inner surface of the wellbore casing wall. This operation is typically undertaken when there is a need to grip the inner surface of the wellbore casing with apparatus such as an inflatable packer. Naturally, the effectiveness of the apparatus gripping the casing is improved if the portion of casing to be gripped is substantially clean and free of loose fragments. In a conventional operation, a scraper assembly is attached to the bottom of the gripping apparatus so that cleaning of the casing may be completed as the gripping apparatus is run to the required depth. The scraping and gripping functions may be thereby executed in a single run.
A conventional scraper assembly is shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings. Typically, a prior art assembly incorporates a plurality of scraper elements mounted with compression springs about a mandrel. The scraper elements are arranged in such a way as to ensure full circumferential scraping of the casing when the assembly is run downhole without rotation. In the assembly of FIG. 1, this is achieved with the use of three longitudinally spaced pairs of scraper elements which are circumferentially offset relative to each other. A small degree of circumferential overlap is provided between the pairs of scraper elements so as to ensure uninterrupted circumferential scraping. Each scraper element covers approximately 60° of the circumference of wellbore casing to be scraped. The scraper elements of each pair are located on opposite sides of the mandrel and are biased radially into scraping engagement with the wellbore casing by means of compression springs.
A number of problems are associated with the conventional scraper assembly described above. Firstly, the assembly is undesirably long due to the longitudinal spacing of the scraper element pairs. This longitudinal spacing is necessitated by the spring biasing system employed and the need to circumferentially overlap the pairs of scraper elements so as to ensure full scraping of the wellbore. Secondly, the multiple scraper element arrangement results in an item of downhole equipment which is relatively complex and expensive to manufacture.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a downhole scraper assembly which has a relatively short length whilst providing a full circumferential scraping capability.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a scraper assembly which is relatively convenient and inexpensive to manufacture.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a scraper assembly which is reliable and which is sufficiently inexpensive to manufacture for it to be considered as readily disposable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a scraper assembly for use in a wellbore, the scraper assembly comprising a scraper element incorporating: a generally cylindrical member defined by a wall having a slot extending through the wall thickness; and at least one tooth member provided on the outer surface of the wall for scraping engagement with a wellbore, the scraper assembly being characterised in that the slot extends helically along the length of the cylindrical member.
The scraper assembly of the present invention may thereby incorporate only one scraper element to ensure full circumferential scraping. The slot in the wall of the generally cylindrical member allows for radial deflection of the scraper element as the at least one tooth member engages the wellbore. The scraper element is sized so that the maximum diameter of the scraper element (as determined by the at least one tooth member), when in its relaxed state prior to use, is greater than the inner diameter of the wellbore casing to be scraped. Thus, as the scraper assembly of the present invention is pressed downhole, the at least one tooth member is deflected radially inward. The slot allows the radial deflection without undesirable buckling of the scraper element. Furthermore. the arrangement is such that the deflection is elastic. This results in the at least one tooth member applying an appropriate radial force on the wellbore casing during the scraping process.
Preferably, four tooth members are provided on the outer surface of the wall for scraping engagement with a wellbore. It is desirable for the or each tooth member to extend helically about the longitudinal axis of the scraper element. Furthermore, it is preferable for the slot to extend from one end of the generally cylindrical member to the opposite end of the generally cylindrical member. The slot may also extend helically along the length of the generally cylindrical member. It is also desirable for the or each tooth member to be defined on a central portion of the generally cylindrical member so as to provide end portions of the generally cylindrical member for mounting the scraper element adjacent a body member. The mounting of the scraper element adjacent the body member preferably permits radial deformation of the full length of the scraper element.
Furthermore, it is preferable for the scraper element to be configured so that, when radially deformed by a wellbore casing in use, the or each tooth member has a circular or part circular profile when viewed along the longitudinal axis of the scraper element and the outer diameter of this profile is equal to the inner diameter of the wellbore casing.
It is also desirable to provide the scraper element with at least one further slot which extends through the wall thickness, a portion of the at least one further slot extending helically along the scraper element and a portion of the at least one further slot extending in a circumferential direction at each end of the helically extending portion. It may also be preferable to provide at least one groove on the outer surface of the wall, the at least one groove extending helically along the length of the scraper element from one end of the scraper element to the opposite end of the scraper element. This at least one groove provides a fluid way which allows the passage of wellbore fluid past the scraper assembly when in use.
Thus, the scraper assembly of the present invention has the advantage of being relatively short in comparison to conventional scraper assemblies whilst providing a full circumferential scraping capability. Furthermore, since the inherent resilience of the scraper element is harnessed so as to obviate the need for discrete compression springs and since full circumferential scraping is provided by a single scraper element, the scraper assembly of the present invention is relatively convenient and inexpensive to manufacture and may be considered as a disposable item of downhole equipment.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view of a prior art scraper assembly;
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-section view of a first scraper assembly according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a side view of a scraper element provided in the scraper assembly of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is an end view of the scraper element of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a partial longitudinal cross-section view of the scraper element of FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is a large scale cross-section view of portion X identified in FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a cross-section view of the scraper assembly of FIG. 2 in a downhole location in combination with an inflatable packer; and
FIG. 8 is a longitudinal cross-section view of a second scraper assembly according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In the following description, the longitudinal position of features will be indicated in comparative terms by reference to uphole and downhole locations as interpreted when the described equipment is positioned downhole and orientated for use.
A first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 2. A scraper assembly 2 is shown as having a mandrel 4 , a scraper element 6 , a retaining sleeve 8 and a retaining end cap 10 . The mandrel 4 is generally cylindrical in shape and has a longitudinal bore 12 extending therethrough. At the uphole end 14 of the scraper assembly 2 , the bore 12 is provided with internal screw threads 16 for engagement with downhole equipment such as an inflatable packer or whipstock assembly. The diameter of the bore 12 is reduced by means of an internal shoulder 18 which provides an abutment surface for locating against any equipment engaged with the internal screw threads 16 . An arrangement is thereby provided which allows the scraper assembly 2 to be conveniently and rigidly incorporated into a string.
The outer diameter of the mandrel 4 in the region of the uphole end 14 of the scraper assembly 2 is reduced by a first external shoulder 20 and further reduced by a second external shoulder 22 . The second external shoulder 22 provides an abutment surface for assisting in locating the retaining sleeve 8 in the correct axial position. When in the correct axial position, the retaining sleeve 8 and the first external shoulder 20 define a recess 24 for receiving a circumferential weld 26 . This weld 26 rigidly fixes the retaining sleeve 8 to the mandrel 4 .
The axial location of the first and second external shoulders 20 , 22 is such that, when the retaining sleeve 8 has been welded in position, two diametrically opposed countersunk bores 28 , 30 may be laterally drilled through the retaining sleeve 8 and the mandrel 4 so as to open on the region of the mandrel bore 12 provided with the internal screw threads 16 . Each countersunk bore 28 , 30 is tapped. In this way, setting screws (not shown) may be received within the countersunk bores 28 , 30 so as to abut downhole equipment engaged with the internal screw threads 16 . Rotation of said downhole equipment relative to the scraper assembly 2 is thereby prevented.
The outer diameter of the mandrel 4 is reduced still further by a third external shoulder 32 located downhole of the counter bores 28 , 30 but uphole of the downhole end of the retaining sleeve 8 . The retaining sleeve 8 is a cylinder having a wall of uniform thickness. Consequently, the portion of the retaining sleeve 8 located downhole of the third external shoulder 32 is radially spaced from the mandrel 4 . In the assembled scraper 2 , the space 34 receives an uphole end 36 of the scraper element 6 .
In the region of the downhole end 38 of the scraper assembly 2 , the outer diameter of the mandrel 4 is again reduced by means of a fourth external shoulder 40 . The fourth external shoulder 40 provides a surface against which the retaining end cap 10 abuts when in the correct axial position. This position is maintained by means of a weld 42 between the end cap 10 and the mandrel 4 . An uphole portion 44 of the end cap 10 defines a cylindrical member having the same wall thickness and outer diameter as that of the retaining sleeve 8 . As a result, said end portion 44 is radially spaced from the mandrel 4 and thereby provides a space 46 for receiving a downhole end 48 of the scraper element 6 .
A side view of the scraper element 6 is shown in FIG. 3 . The scraper element 6 is generally cylindrical in shape, having an inner diameter greater than the outer diameter of the portion of the mandrel 4 located between the third external shoulder 32 and the fourth external shoulder 40 . In the region between the uphole and downhole ends 36 , 48 of the scraper element 6 , the outer surface of the scraper element 6 is provided with a set of helical scraper blades or teeth 50 . The precise configuration of these teeth 50 will be described below in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. A view of the downhole end 48 of the scraper element 6 is shown in FIG. 4 wherein a number of different types of slot are clearly illustrated. Firstly, a single full depth/full length slot 52 is provided. This slot 52 is in the form of a helical cut which completely penetrates the wall thickness of the scraper element 6 and extends the entire length of the element 6 , cutting across the blades or teeth 50 . Thus, a radial compression force applied to the scraper element 6 will resiliently deform the element 6 and effectively reduce the outer diameter of the element 6 . In more precise terms, the scraper element 6 has a lobed shape cross-section rather than a circular cross-section when in a relaxed and undeformed state. It is only when the scraper element 6 is deformed in use so as to partially close (or, depending on the geometry, fully close) the slot 52 that the scraper element 6 forms a cylinder with a generally circular cross-section. In this way, the scraper element 6 conforms to the inner dimensions of the wellbore casing and full circumferential engagement of the teeth 50 with the casing is ensured.
In addition to the full depth/full length slot 52 , the scraper element 6 is provided with two “H” shaped slots 54 . The two “H” shaped slots 54 are circumferentially offset relative to one another by 120°. Each of these slots 54 penetrates the full wall thickness of the scraper element 6 . The cross bar portion 56 of the “H” shape profile extends helically through the region between the uphole and downhole ends 36 , 48 of the scraper element 6 . At each end of the cross bar portion 56 , a circumferential portion 58 extends in both circumferential directions to sweep an angle of approximately 60°. The “H” shaped slots 54 function to provide a leaf spring effect when the scraper element 6 is radially deformed in use. The flexibility and resilience of the scraper element 6 is thereby improved.
The scraper element 6 is also provided with three partial depth/full length slots 60 . These slots 60 are equispaced about the circumference of the scraper element 6 and are each in the form of a helical groove merely penetrating an outer portion of the wall thickness of the element 6 . Each of these slots 60 extends the full length of the scraper element 6 . The purpose of the three partial depth/full length slots 60 is to provide fluid ways for wellbore fluid to flow along during use. The helical form of all the slots 52 , 54 , 60 is such that the full circumference of the wellbore is scraped by the teeth 50 with mere longitudinal movement of the scraper assembly 2 without the need for rotation.
For a 7.0 inch wellbore casing, the process of manufacturing the scraper element 6 ideally includes the step of turning the scraper element 6 whilst holding the element 6 in a deformed state wherein the full depth/full length slot 52 is sufficiently closed to reduce the outer diameter of the portion of the scraper element 6 provided with the scraper teeth 50 by 0.176 inches. This process ensures a circular profile of the scraper blades 50 when the scraper assembly 2 is downhole in scraping engagement with a wellbore.
The region of the scraper element 6 located between the uphole and downhole ends 36 , 48 is provided with four scraper teeth 50 which are each arranged helically about the longitudinal axis of the scraper element 6 . The helical arrangement of the teeth 50 assists in allowing wellbore fluid to flow past the scraper assembly 2 when in use. A longitudinal cross-section view of the teeth 50 is shown in FIG. 5 and a large scale view of the portion X circled in this figure is shown in FIG. 6 . Both FIGS. 5 and 6 show the teeth 50 as having a trailing surface 62 arranged-at an angle 64 to the scraper element 6 longitudinal axis of 25°. These figures also show the teeth 50 as having a leading surface 66 arranged at 90° to the scraper element 6 longitudinal axis. For operation in a 7.0 inch casing, the pitch 68 of the scraper teeth 50 is 1.0 inch. An alternative configuration of the scraper teeth 50 will be apparent to a reader skilled in the art.
When in use, the scraper assembly 2 may be threadedly connected to the downhole end of equipment such as an inflatable packer 70 by means of the internal threads 16 . The scraper assembly 2 is shown located downhole in combination with an inflatable packer in FIG. 7 . In its relaxed state, the scraper element 6 has an outer diameter defined by the teeth 50 which is greater than the inner diameter of the wellbore casing 72 . When the scraper assembly 2 and inflatable packer 70 are run downhole, the scraper element 6 is radially deformed by the casing 72 . Deformation without undesirable buckling is ensured by means of the slots 52 , 54 , 60 provided in the scraper element 6 . Furthermore, the scraper element 6 deforms elastically so that the scraper teeth 50 apply radial force on the inner surface 74 of the casing 72 . Also, the radial deformation is such that the lobed cross-section of the relaxed scraper element 6 becomes circular. The maximum diameter of the scraper element 6 (i.e. the diameter defined by the scraper teeth 50 ) thereby becomes equal to the inner diameter of the casing 72 . Thus, the scraper teeth 50 engage the full circumference of the casing inner surface 74 . Consequently, the entire inner surface 74 of the casing 72 is scraped clean as the scraper assembly 2 is moved down the wellbore. Since the discontinuities in the teeth 50 resulting from the slots 52 , 54 , 60 have a helical form, it is not necessary to rotate the scraper assembly 2 to ensure full circumferential scraping. Furthermore, since the scraper assembly 2 is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, the assembly 2 may be discarded once withdrawn from the wellbore or left in the wellbore as part of an inflatable packer or whipstock assembly.
A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 8 . The components of the scraper assembly 2 ′ shown in this figure differ from the scraper assembly 2 shown in FIG. 2 only in respect of the mandrel 4 ′ and the retaining end cap 10 ′. The mandrel 4 ′ has an extended uphole portion with conventional female connecting means 80 . The end cap 10 ′ has an extended downhole portion with conventional male connecting means 82 . These connecting means 80 , 82 may be employed to integrate the scraper assembly 2 ′ into a string for independent use without an inflatable packer. The retaining end cap 10 ′ is fixed to the mandrel 4 ′ by means of a screw connection 84 . The connection 84 is locked by means of a locking screw 86 extending radially through the end cap 10 ′ so as to abut the mandrel 4 ′. This arrangement is in contrast to the fixing arrangement (i.e. the weld 42 ) provided in the scraper assembly 2 shown in FIG. 2 .
Suitable materials for the construction of the present invention will be apparent to the skilled reader. The invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. Alternative arrangements will be apparent to a reader skilled in the art.
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This invention relates to apparatus for scraping the inner surface of a wellbore. A scraper assembly ( 2 ) is provided comprising a scraper element ( 6 ) incorporating: a generally cylindrical member defined by a wall having a slot extending through the wall thickness; and at least one tooth member provided on the outer surface of the wall for scraping engagement with a wellbore. The present invention thereby provides a scraper assembly which is relatively convenient and inexpensive to manufacture and which may be considered as a disposable item of downhole equipment.
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COPYRIGHT MATERIAL
The disclosure of this patent contains material which is the subject of copyright protection. Reproduction of the patent document as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office is permitted in furtherance of the United States Patent Laws (Title 35 United States Code). The copyright owner reserves all other rights under the United States Copyright Laws (Title 17 United States Code).
This is a continuation-in-part of copending application(s) Ser. No. 07/554,371 filed on Jul. 19, 1991.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
U.S. application Ser. No. 07/509,174, filed Apr. 16, 1990 titled "A Barometer Neuron for a Neural Network" by Leon K. Ekchian, David D. Johnson, and William F. Smith, and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
A vector neural network (VNN) is a network of interconnected neurons with a topology which supports the propagation of activations in several different directions through the network. The network topology is determined by the transition mapping. The weight associated with each interconnect represents the neuron's contribution to the activation level of a downstream or subsequent neuron. The transfer function can be linear or non-linear.
The above-identified cross-reference disclosed applying neural network technology to a plot/track association problem. Plot/track association in a track-while-scan operation consists of assigning radar plots to predicted track positions; an important feature of all track-while-scan systems.
It is necessary, however, prior to assigning the radar plots to predicted track positions that the targets first are detected.
The present invention applies neural network technology to detect a target by utilizing mosaic sensors and a track-before-detect approach. This is particularly necessary for low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) detection of point source targets. The general concensus in the literature is that very dim targets (SNR<1) cannot be detected by merely assembling trajectories based on threshold frames, even after using optimal SNR-enhancement filtering. Applying thresholding separately to each frame irreversibly discards extremely valuable information, and post-assembling trajectories cannot recoup the lost information (see Y. Barniv, "Dynamic Programming Algorithm for Detecting Dim Moving Targets"; Multi-Target Multi-Sensor Tracking: Advanced Applications, Y. Bar-Shalom (Editor), Artech House, 1990). One alternative is to postulate the entire trajectory of the target, integrate the target's signal along its entire trajectory, and threshold the integrated signal which would have significantly higher SNR. The complexity of the problem lies in the fact that the trajectories are unknown and the number of targets is unknown. The optimal detection solution is an exhaustive search of all possible trajectories. For example, assuming that all trajectories move in a straight line, the optimal detection could be performed by passing the data contained in all frames through a bank of matched filters (templates) which describe all possible straight lines. However, the exhaustive trajectory search, although optimal, is computationally intractable.
2. Description of the Related Art
Artificial neural networks are extremely powerful processing systems comprised of a plurality of simple processing elements often configured in layers and extensively interconnected. Artificial neural networks are attempts at processing architectures similar to naturally occurring, biological ones which solve problems that have not yielded to traditional computer methodologies and architectures. The name "neural network" derives from the biological "neuron" which is what each simple processor is called. Each artificial neuron operates in some fashion analogous to its biological counter part, namely generating an output signal which is a function of the weighted sum of the input signals it receives from neighboring neurons, with which it is interconnected. The weighted sum is passed through a "transfer" function to form the neuron's output. The weight of each input link describes the relative contribution of the line's input in computing the neuron's next state. A zero weight indicates that there is effectively no contribution. A negative weight indicates an inhibitory relationship. A positive weight shows an excitatory relationship.
In recent years, the prior art reveals a plethora of different neural network architectures that have been propounded by researchers; the most popular being backward propagation or "back-prop". Back-prop networks consist of an input layer, an output layer and one or more hidden layers to account for non-linearities. The prior art network "learns" by receiving a succession of known inputs and corresponding outputs, and by measuring the difference between the known output it should generate and what it actually produced. This difference is considered to be the error which the network seeks to minimize through appropriately adjusting the internal weights by propagating these errors backward. Thus by repeated "training" sequences, the neural network is "trained" and it converges on a set of appropriate weights and thresholds to be utilized in actual applications; those where the corresponding outputs are no longer known.
The vector neural network (VNN) of the present invention has an architecture which does utilize neurons but it is other than that of back-prop neural network. The VNN is not "trained". The weights in the VNN are control parameters which are selected depending on SNR. The prior art "back-prop" network propagates errors backward during the "training" process, while the VNN utilizes backflow to integrate energy in order to perform energy balancing (for example, to detect maneuvers) during actual implementation. The VNN has a linear transfer function and an extremely sparse interconnected network. Further, there are no hidden layers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly, in accordance with the invention, a vector neural network (VNN) provides a means for significantly reducing the optimal trajectory match filter test by utilizing a recursive state-space realization. The VNN effectively acts as an efficient database management system by recursively accounting for all "reasonable" straight-line motion through multiframe space, integrating signal amplitude along these postulated trajectories, and declaring a detection whenever the optimally selected threshold is exceeded. The test is repeated every update at every pixel. Maneuvering target motion is accounted for by an energy balancing technique which allows for performing a contour integration where the contour is determined in real-time. The VNN's output is target declarations which are forwarded to a downstream tracker. The VN plots contain not only the standard positional information, but also target velocity information. To emphasize the additional information contained in the VNN declarations, they are referred to as "vector" plots and the neural network topology is referred to as "Vector" Neural Networks.
Further objects, features, and the attending advantages of the invention will be apparent when the following description is read in view of the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of one form of PRIOR ART tracking system in which the vector neural network (VNN) of the present invention can find use.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a schematic array of PRIOR ART tracking frames as developed by the tracking system of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a selected portion of the tracking frames of FIG. 2 as these relate to transition mapping with VNN.
FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a selected portion of the transition mapping step of FIG. 3 with VNN.
FIG. 5 is another schematic plan view which illustrates a progressive replication of the transition mapping of FIG. 4 using VNN.
FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of transition mapping using of a selected VNN for velocity quantization.
FIG. 7 is visual display screen showing a simulated VNN track-before-detect scenario at Frame 6.
FIG. 8 is the visual display screen showing the simulated scenario of FIG. 7 having progressed to Frame 8.
FIG. 9 is the visual display screen showing the scenario of FIG. 7 at Frame 9.
FIG. 10 is the visual display screen and the scenario of FIG. 7 having progressed to Frame 12.
FIG. 11 is a geometric and schematic representation of potential target trajectories.
FIG. 12A is a schematic of a maneuver pixel of FIG. 4 using another form of VNN for maneuver detection and energy adjustment.
FIG. 12B is a schematic of a single maneuver detected and energy adjusted by the VNN maneuver pixel of FIG. 12A.
FIG. 13A is the DECLARED-TRACK-HISTORY portion of the visual display screen of FIG. 10 showing a VNN with backflow.
FIG. 13B is the DECLARED-TRACK-HISTORY portion of FIG. 13A showing a VNN without backflow.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A VNN can find use in various known tracking systems. One tracking system where the present invention finds particular use is in a PRIOR ART form of an Infrared (IR) tracking system 16 as is shown by FIG. 1.
In FIG. 1, several sensor inputs 18 which can include IR targets, clutter, and background are received by a focal plane 20 and directed to a signal processor unit 22. The output signals from the signal processor are inputted to a target detector unit 24 where the VNN of the present invention finds particular use. The target detector extracts targets and directs corresponding target input signals to a tracker unit 26 which then outputs the desired IR tracks from the system 16.
The VNN of the present invention as will be described is housed in the target detector 24. Its output consists of declarations of where the targets are located and their velocity. This is used by the tracker unit 26 for track maintenance and track initiation/deletion.
A track-before-detect approach is needed for detection of low, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), sub-pixel targets. FIG. 2 depicts the basic concept of track-before-detect. Under low SNR conditions, one cannot merely threshold a single frame of data (k) to declare target positions, since the false alarm rate will be prohibitive. It is necessary to enhance the SNR by integrating energy over multiple frames (k+1, k+2, k+3, k+4, . . ., k+n). This is achieved by postulating massive numbers of hypotheses or tracks, such as track 30, and propagating them over the multiple frames. Data frame (k) is defined by a plurality of pixels, such as pixel 32, arranged in a row-and-column orientation. Assuming that all targets are sub-pixel, then pixel 32 schematically represents an energized pixel. The level of activation of a given pixel is a function of the time, between frames, that a target or targets spend inside the pixel. Thresholding is deferred to latter stages, when higher SNR conditions are prevalent, so as to mitigate the loss of information.
FIG. 3 depicts the transition mapping for a target as represented by energized pixel 32 of frame (k) that is moving less than one pixel a frame and the applicability of the vector neural network (VNN) of the present invention. In using the VNN for transition mapping of a target, the VNN is constructed as follows: The target as represented by pixel 32 of frame (k) has moved from frame (k-1) and is expected to continue, assuming straight-line flight, into frame (k+1). Assigning a field of neurons 34 in the following frame for each pixel in frame k results in a 3×3 row-and-column orientation of nine neurons that reflect the possible target directions of movement from every pixel frame-to-frame.
For ease of description and understanding, the numbering order for this 3×3 orientation of nine neurons for each pixel, such as pixel 32 of frame (k) as shown by FIG. 3, is illustrated by transition mapping window 40 of FIG. 4. The possible target directions from pixel 32 of frame (k) are illustrated by the directionally encoded interconnects V1 through V9 from these nine neuron sites to the corresponding neuron sites in pixels 41 through 49. The encoding of directional flow between pixels that lie along the i th direction, where iε{1,2,. . .9}, is achieved by connecting the respective i th neurons. For example, the VNN has one and only one directional interconnect between paired neurons, as defined by the transition mapping of the instant scenario Thus, V1 interconnects neuron site 1 (see the transition mapping window 40 for these neuron site number locations) of pixel 32 in frame (k) and neuron site 1 of pixel 41 in frame (k+1). This interconnect pattern holds true for all neurons and their respective interconnects.
How this directional interconnect rule is progressively replicated on all pixels is illustrated by FIG. 5. With the VNN of the present invention, there is a unique one-to-one mapping (interconnect) between any two neuron sites.
The elemental pixel intensity can be defined by ##EQU1##
While the integrated energy in the 1th direction corresponding to pixel (i,j) at frame k is given by ##EQU2## The parameter α and β are control parameters which are adjusted as a function of SNR and serve as the weights of the neural network. The contribution of the upstream neurons in captured by α, while β represents the weight associated with the sensor input.
The vector neural network (VNN) of the present invention accommodates different velocity targets through a process of pixel quantization and in turn allows for a means of estimating the speed of the targets. Pixel quantization is illustrated by FIG. 6 by description of a scenario where targets move either 0,1,2 or 3 sub-pixels a frame. The dashed single pixel 50 is a square delimiting the nine sub-pixels 51 through 59. Like the VNN interconnect description in view of FIGS. 3 and 4, directional interconnections (14 directional interconnects are illustrated but it is understood that the total number of such interconnects can be more or less than these 14) are made between respective neuron sites in each sub-pixel to accommodate target flow in each possible direction as specified by the adopted transition mapping. FIG. 6 is based upon each sub-pixel having not nine but 49 neuron sites as shown by transition mapping window 60, with pixel 50 identified as a square pixel bounded by the solid line. Thus, neuron site 31 of transition mapping window 60 equates to motion from sub-pixel site 55 to sub-pixel site 57 of pixel 50, etc.
In the VNN of the present invention, the tertiary quantization method of FIG. 6 has been implemented on a Symbolics® (Symbolics, Inc., Burlington, MA) computer utilizing a PLEXI® neural network emulator (Plexi, Inc., Belmont, CA). To allow for quasi real-time implementation, the field of view is assumed to be 10×10 as portrayed in FIGS. 7 through 10. Target-truth history is provided by box 70 labeled TARGET-TRUTH while the instantaneous declared target position is provided by box 72 labeled CURRENT-TARGET POSITION. The TARGET-DETECTION box 74 is the representation of the VNN. The activation level in each sub-pixel is the maximum value of the 49 neuron activations corresponding to each sub-pixel as has been described in view of FIG. 6.
In FIG. 7, three target tracks 70A, 70B and 70C, are displayed in the target-truth box 70. The instantaneous target positions are the heads of the track. By the eighth frame as represented by FIG. 8, the VNN has sufficient confidence such that two of the three targets, 70B and 70C, can be declared as targets as recorded by the DECLARED-TRACK-HISTORY box 76. And this is reinforced by the immediately following frame nine which is shown by FIG. 9. Then as the VNN continues in FIG. 10, the present invention identifies a target 78 with a first lock-on within the CURRENT-TARGET-POSITION box 72. Note that for each of these declared targets, a corresponding pixel-target track is created within the DECLARED-TARGET-HISTORY box 76.
The information concerning each of the detected targets in box 72 is forwarded to the downstream tracker, such as tracker 26 of FIG. 1 for track maintenance and track initiation. The information forwarded to the tracker are referred to as "vector" plots, in lieu of the standard nomenclature-plots, to underscore that additional attribute information is being generated by the VNN, namely speed and heading. (The vector plot output of the VNN is the basis for naming the neural network of the invention as described herein as "Vector Neural Networks".)
Targets do not necessarily move in a co-linear, pixel path. As illustrated in FIG. 11, targets do maneuver; targets do change path direction.
For example, a target represented by track 90 on the pixel geometry of FIG. 11 evidences a change in path direction within a 2×4 pixel rectangle. Since it is imperative that the VNN be capable of detecting target maneuvers, the VNN invokes energy balancing of hypotheses. Recall that integrating energy over multiple frames is achieved in the VNN of the present invention by postulating a number of hypothesis (tracks) and propagating them recursively over multiple frames. For batch processing of multiple frames of data, it is possible to integrate data both in a forward sweep and a backward sweep. Thus, at every pixel and at every iteration, it is possible to compare the ordering of the energy values of the positive flow hypotheses downstream of the pixel to the ordering of the values of the negative flow hypotheses upstream of the pixel. In situations where a reordering is observed, a maneuver is declared and the energy is exchanged amongst positive flow hypotheses so as to match the ordering of the upstream negative flow hypotheses.
It is important to point out that in lieu of utilizing backflow, one can also "look-forward", whereby the ordering of positive flow hypotheses upstream of the subject pixel is compared against the ordering of the downstream positive flow hypotheses "looking-forward". The number of frames needed to be integrated "looking-forward" is determined by the SNR; the higher the SNR, the fewer frames are needed.
In FIG. 12A and 12B, for illustrative purposes consider the simplified case. Assuming that a target can move only in three directions and that only one target is present, then it follows that at the instant the target is traversing the "starred" pixel 92 the positive "3" direction energy, i.e., y 3 k-1 , will dominate: y 3 k-1 >y k- and y 2 k-1 >y 1 k-1 , since the target has moved along the "3" direction prior to k-1, as illustrated in FIG. 12. With only one target, the energies y 2 k-1 and y 1 k-1 are solely the result of integrating noise.
Under nominal conditions, if the target was to move in a straight line motion through the "starred" pixel 92 and continue moving in the "3" direction for a reasonable number of frames, then the negative "3" direction energy would dominate; n 3 1-1 >n 2 1-1 and n 3 1-1 >n 1 1-1 . Under these conditions the aforementioned recursive energy update equations would be utilized. However, if the target does in fact maneuver in the "starred" pixel 92, then n 3 1-1 would not dominate. As illustrated in Figure 12, it is expected that n 2 1-1 would dominate since the target is shown to in fact move in the "2" direction subsequent to frame k.
Thus, so as to preserve the information contained in y 3 k-1 , it is desirable to "swap" the energy y 3 k-1 with y 2 k-1 . Thereafter, the energy update equations described above can be applied.
Thus, by recursively invoking an energy balancing at each sub-pixel, the VNN of the invention can ensure that tract continuity is preserved in a track-before-detect setting as illustrated in the DECLARED-TRACK-HISTORY box 100 of FIG. 13A. The VNN augmented with backflow successfully detected the V-maneuver of a target, properly switching energy from the hypothesis in the northwesterly direction (North being at the top of box 100 for purposes of description) to the southwesterly direction. There was no loss of information, and track continuity was achieved through the maneuver.
Without backflow, the VNN would not be able to detect the target maneuver and would continue to blindly propagate energy straight ahead in the northwesterly direction. As can be seen in the DECLARED-TRACK-HISTORY box 100 of FIG. 13B., this results in the loss of information since all energy along the original flight path in the northwesterly direction slowly dissipates as a result of the alpha decay control parameter. Thus, there is loss of continuity until the VNN hypothesis for the southwesterly direction corresponding to the flight path in successive frames builds up sufficient energy to again cross the threshold. This is best illustrated by the loss of target track at pixels 102 and 104 of FIG. 13B when compared to these same pixels of FIG. 13A. Clearly, such loss of continuity could be disastrous in dense environments. Furthermore, for lower SNR scenarios, insufficient energy may be collected to achieve a threshold crossing, prior to maneuver. In such a case, the target may never be detected without backflow.
In the previous scenario as illustrated by FIG. 13A, the VNN with backflow handled a target changing direction. The VNN (with backflow) can also accommodate targets which change speeds. This is particularly important in that it delimits the complexity of the VNN brought forth by sub-pixel quantization. Since it is unknown at what speeds the targets will be moving, the full regime of potential target velocities must be quantized in terms of both heading and speed. This is accomplished by subdividing each pixel into smaller and smaller subpixels. One drawback of this approach is that the number of neurons grows as N-squared, where N is the quantization level of each pixel.
Fortunately, the VNN with backflow, obviates the need for extremely fine quantization. It is possible to utilize a coarser grain quantization and rely on the backward flow maneuver detection logic to effectively provide an interpolation or smoothing between quantized velocity values.
For example, the VNN would be capable of detecting a target moving at 1.5 sub-pixels per frame, even though only hypotheses assuming 1 and 2 sub-pixel per frame motion are postulated. Effectively, the VNN intermittently switches between the hypotheses of 1 and 2 sub-pixels per frame, as called for by the backflow detection logic, and thus capturing the energy corresponding to a 1.5 sub-pixel per frame target.
Energy balancing for maneuver detection also has broader applicability than IR track-before-detect. It can be readily applied for any multiple hypothesis tracking schemes which would allow for batch processing of a nominal number "L" of subsequent frames (scans) of input data, which is equivalent to accepting a delay of "L" frames (scans).
It can be observed and understood from the foregoing that the vector neural network (VNN) of the present invention provides for the encoding of directional information into the neural network which occurs by the one-to-one mapping between paired neurons, as defined by the transition mapping of the instant scenario.
Thus, by recursively invoking an energy balancing at each pixel one can ensure that integration along an unknown maneuver trajectory, in a track-before-detect setting is achieved. Thus detection of dim maneuvering targets can be ensured and track continuity in the tracker preserved.
The VNN of the invention accomplishes, inter alia, the following:
Significant reduction in the exhaustive numbers of hypotheses postulated by only postulating straight-line flight (frame-to-frame) and accounting for maneuvers with backflow and associated switching of integrated energies, so as to in effect allow for contour integration along trajectories which are determined in real-time.
Capable of detecting maneuvering, crossing and different velocity targets. Furthermore, the processing load is not a function of the number of targets. The hypotheses are postulated, a priori, as set forth by the transition map which accounts for all target motion of interest for a given application.
Significantly higher "virtual" sensor resolution provided by sub-pixelization and integration. Sub-pixelization is introduced so a to be able to account for sub-pixel velocity targets. However, in addition, it provides knowledge as to where in the pixel, i.e., which sub-pixel, is the most likely location of the detected target. Thus, based merely on data processing, the "resolution" of the sensor can be enhanced.
Vector plot output of the VNN alleviates plot/track association function in the tracker. One of the major computational burdens of the tracker is resolving contention between potential pairings of established tracks and new detections The velocity information embedded in the vector plot output significantly reduces the numbers of contentions.
An emulation of the VNN is readily implementable on currently available, massively parallel computers, even for large focal planes requiring very large (millions) of neurons. This is a result of the unique topology of the network which makes it extremely sparse. In a recursive implementation, a neuron is connected to at most one other neuron corresponding to the direction and speed postulated by the underlying hypothesis. Such a topology greatly simplifies the emulation of the VNN. The VNN can be expected to be readily implemented in analog VLSI or optical computers to achieve higher throughput.
As will be evidenced from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the invention ar not limited to the particular details of construction and of function as illustrated and described. It is contemplated that modifications and other applications will occur to those skilled in this art. However, it is intended that the appended claims shall cover such modifications and applications which do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
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A vector neural network (VNN) of interconnected neurons is provided in transition mappings of potential targets wherein the threshold (energy) of a single frame does not provide adequate information (energy) to declare a target position. The VNN enhances the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by integrating target energy over multiple frames including the steps of postulating massive numbers of target tracks (the hypotheses), propagating these target tracks over multiple frames, and accommodating different velocity target by pixel quantization. The VNN then defers thresholding to subsequent target stages when higher SNR's are prevalent so that the loss of target information is minimized, and the VNN can declare both target location and velocity. The VNN can further include target maneuver detection by a process of energy balancing hypotheses.
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CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/197,667 entitled “SUPPORT STRUCTURE” filed Aug. 3, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,753,298, which is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/491,881 entitled “SUPPORT STRUCTURE” filed Jun. 25, 2009, now abandoned, which is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/105,054 entitled “RIGID SUPPORT STRUCTURE ON TWO LEGS FOR CPR” filed Mar. 21, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,569,021, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
FIELD
The present invention relates generally to a support structure for fixating a patient to a treatment unit, and especially to a support structure for fixating the patient to a cardiopulmonary resuscitation unit.
BACKGROUND
When a person suffers from a cardiac arrest, the blood is not circulating to nourish the body, which can lead to death of or cause severe bodily damages to the person. To improve the person's chances to survive or to minimize the damages at cardiac arrest it is essential to take necessary measures as quickly as possible to maintain the person's blood circulation and respiration, otherwise the person will succumb to sudden cardiac death in minutes. Such an emergency measure is cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), which is a combination of “mouth-to-mouth” or artificial respiration and manual or automatic cardiac compression that helps the person to breathe and maintains some circulation of the blood.
However, CPR does normally not restart the heart but is only used for maintaining the oxygenation and circulation of blood. Instead, defibrillation by electrical shocks is usually necessary to restart the normal functioning of the heart. Thus, CPR has to be performed until the person has undergone electrical defibrillation of the heart. Today, CPR is often performed manually by one or two persons (rescuers), which is a difficult and demanding task, i.e. different measures have to be taken correctly at the right time and in the right order to provide a good result. Further, manual cardiac compression is quite exhausting to perform and especially if it is performed during an extended period of time. Furthermore, it is sometimes necessary to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation when transporting the person having a cardiac arrest, for example when transporting the person by means of a stretcher from a scene of an accident to an ambulance. In such a situation it is not possible to perform conventional CPR using manual CPR and the apparatuses today providing automatic CPR are not stable enough or easy to position to provide CPR on a person laying on for example a stretcher.
PRIOR ART
There are today several apparatuses for cardiopulmonary resuscitation available. For example, a cardiopulmonary resuscitation, defibrillation and monitoring apparatus is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,114. The apparatus comprises a reciprocal cardiac compressor provided for cyclically compressing a patient's chest. U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,114 discloses further a support structure comprising a platform (12) for supporting the back of a patient, a removable upstanding column (13) and an overhanging arm (14) mounted to the column support (13) with a releasable collar (15). A drawback with the disclosed apparatus is that the patient is not secured to the apparatus and it is for example possible for the patient to move in relation to a compressor pad (19) whereby the treatment accuracy decreases.
Another example of an apparatus for cardiopulmonary resuscitation is disclosed in the FR patent document FR 1,476,518. The apparatus comprises a back plate (X) and a front part (Y), the height of which front part (y) can be adjusted by means of two knobs. A drawback with this apparatus is that the front part (Y) may be obliquely fixated to the back plate (X), since the height of each leg of the front part (Y) is adjusted one by one using one of the knobs. Thus if the height of the leg is not equal, an oblique compression of the chest is provided. Yet another drawback is that the patient is not fixated to the apparatus whereby it is possible for the patient to move in relation to the compression means, which in the worst scenario causes a not desired body part to be compressed.
Yet another example of an apparatus for cardiac massage is disclosed in the UK patent document GB 1,187,274. The cardiac massage apparatus comprises a base (1), two guide bushes (2) fixed in the base (1) and two upright members (3), the lower ends of which are mounted in the bushes (3). Further, a cross-piece (6) extends between the two upright members (3), to which cross-piece (6) a bar (9) is mounted. Furthermore, the height of the cross-piece (6) and the bar (9) is adjusted by means of a spring-loaded pin (8) and a stop (11), respectively. A drawback with the disclosed apparatus is that it is not easy to handle and position to provide a quick start of the cardiac massage.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to improve the accuracy when providing external treatment to a patient by means of a treatment unit. An aspect of the object is to provide fixation of the patient in relation to a treatment unit. Another aspect of the object is to enable treatment to a patient when the patient is transported on for example a stretcher. Yet another aspect of the object is to enable simple, accurate and effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation of a person suffering from a cardiac arrest.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable equipment. An aspect of the object is to provide a space-saving equipment requiring minimal space when not in use.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
These and other objects and aspects of the objects are fulfilled by means of a support structure according to the present invention as defined in the claims.
The present invention relates generally to a support structure for fixating a patient to a treatment unit, and especially to a support structure for fixating the patient to a cardiopulmonary resuscitation unit. An embodiment of the support structure comprises a back plate for positioning behind said patient's back posterior to said patient's heart and a front part for positioning around said patient's chest anterior to said patient's heart. Further, the front part can comprise two legs, each leg having a first end pivotably connected to at least one hinge and a second end removably attachable to said back plate. Said front part can further be devised for comprising a compression/decompression unit arranged to automatically compress or decompress said patient's chest when said front part is attached to said back plate.
In another embodiment of the invention, the support structure comprises a treatment unit, for example a compression and/or decompression unit.
An embodiment of the invention refers further to a support structure for external treatment of a patient's body part. The support structure comprises a back plate for positioning posterior of said body part, a front part for positioning anterior of said body part, said front part comprising two legs having a first end pivotably connected to a hinge of said front part and a second end removably attachable to said back plate. The front part is further devised for comprising a module or treatment unit arranged to automatically and externally perform treatment of said patient's body part when said front part is attached to said back plate.
The present invention refers also to a front part for use in a support structure for cardiopulmonary resuscitation of a patient having a cardiac arrest, comprising two legs each of which comprising a first end pivotably connected to at least one hinge of said front part and a second end removably attachable to a back plate, wherein said front part is arranged for positioning around said patient's chest anterior to said patient's heart and devised for comprising a compression/decompression unit arranged to automatically compress or decompress said patient's chest when said front part is attached to said back plate.
Further, the invention refers to a back plate for use in a support structure for cardiopulmonary resuscitation of a patient having a cardiac arrest, comprising a shaft-like member arranged to be engaged by means of a claw-like member of a front part.
The invention refers also to a compression/decompression unit for use in a support structure for cardiopulmonary resuscitation of a patient having a cardiac arrest, comprising a pneumatic unit arranged to run and control the compression and decompression, an adjustable suspension unit to which a compression/decompression pad is attached and a handle by means of which the position of said pad can be controlled.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures in which:
FIG. 1 a schematically shows a front view of an embodiment of the support structure according to the invention;
FIG. 1 b schematically shows a top view of an embodiment of the support structure according to the invention;
FIG. 2 schematically shows a front view of an embodiment of a front part of the support structure according to the invention;
FIG. 3 a schematically shows an embodiment of a securing member in an open position;
FIG. 3 b schematically shows an embodiment of a securing member in a closed position;
FIG. 3 c schematically shows another embodiment of a securing member in an open position;
FIG. 3 d schematically shows another embodiment of a securing member in a closed position;
FIG. 4 schematically shows a view from above of an embodiment of a back plate of the support structure according to the invention;
FIG. 5 shows a side view of an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 6 shows schematically a top view in perspective of an embodiment of the invention;
FIGS. 7 a and 7 b shows schematically side views of embodiments of the invention;
FIG. 8 shows schematically a treatment unit, which can be arranged at an embodiment of the support structure according to the invention;
FIG. 9 shows an exemplifying situation of an embodiment of the invention in use;
FIG. 10 shows schematically an embodiment of the upper part of the leg of the support structure according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 11 shows schematically an embodiment of a hinge comprised in an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 12 shows schematically an embodiment of the front part comprising two wedges or heels and an embodiment of the leg comprising two grooves or recesses;
FIG. 13 a shows schematically a cut away view of an embodiment of the leg rotated an angle of alpha degrees;
FIG. 13 b shows schematically a cut away view of an embodiment of the leg of the support structure in its minimum position; and
FIG. 14 schematically shows an embodiment of a torsion spring.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying figures.
FIGS. 1 a and 1 b show a front view and a top view, respectively, of an embodiment of a support structure 10 according to the invention. The support structure 10 comprises a base or back plate 100 arranged to be positioned posterior of the patient, e.g. behind the back of a patient to be treated. More specifically, the back plate 100 is arranged to be positioned posterior to the body part to be treated. The support structure 10 comprises further a front part or upper part 200 arranged to be positioned around the patient anterior of the body part to be treated. Further, the front part 200 of the support structure 10 comprises a central part 205 and two legs 210 , 220 , which legs are arranged to be removably attached or secured at the base plate 100 by means of snap locking or spring latch.
An embodiment of a back plate 100 is schematically shown in FIG. 4 . The back plate 100 comprises two shafts 130 , 140 or shaft-like members arranged for securing the front part 200 to the back plate 100 . The back plate 100 can further comprise one or several handles 110 .
In an embodiment of the invention, the legs 210 , 220 of the front part 200 are pivotably or turnably attached to the central part 205 of the front part 200 by means of a hinge 230 , 240 or the like, confer FIG. 2 . However, as understood by the person skilled in the art, it is also possible to pivotably attach the legs 210 , 220 at the front part 200 by means of only one hinge or the like.
In one embodiment of the invention, a first end 212 , 222 of the legs 210 , 220 are pivotably arranged at the hinges 230 , 240 in such a way that the legs 210 , 220 resiliently pivot or turn due to a resilient member 232 , 242 of the hinges 230 , 240 . In an embodiment of the invention, the resilient member 232 , 242 is comprised in the inside of the hinge 230 , 240 and comprises a torsion spring, cf. FIGS. 11 and 14 . Further, when the legs 210 , 220 are not forced together, the legs 210 , 220 resiliently pivot, by means of a resilient member, from a minimum position having a minimal distance between second ends 214 , 224 of the legs 210 , 220 to a maximum position having a maximal distance between the second ends 214 , 224 of the legs 210 , 220 .
In an embodiment of the invention, the front part 200 of the support structure 10 is arranged in such a way that the second end 214 of the leg 210 abut against the second end 224 of the leg 220 when the legs 210 , 220 are in their minimum positions, i.e. when the support structure 10 is in its folded position. Due to this arrangement of the folded position, the durability of the support structure 10 is increased since the ability of the legs 210 , 220 to stand up to an external force is increased. Further, this folded arrangement also protects a possible comprised treatment unit 300 .
In one embodiment of the invention, the maximum positions of the second ends 214 , 224 of the legs 210 , 220 are controlled by means of a stop means provided at the hinge 230 , 240 , e.g. by means of heels arranged at the first ends 212 , 224 of the legs 210 , 220 and at the axis of the hinge 230 , 240 , which heels will stop the legs 210 , 220 from turning further apart.
In an embodiment of the invention, the hinge 230 , 240 is arranged as a through shaft passing through the first end 212 , 222 of the leg 210 , 220 . The through shaft as well as the first ends 212 , 222 is provided with heels arranged to stop the turning of the legs 210 , 220 .
In FIG. 12 an embodiment of a through shaft 231 , 241 is shown. The through shaft 231 , 241 is provided with two heels or wedges 233 , 243 arranged at the ends of the through shaft 231 , 241 . Further, the through shaft 231 , 241 comprises one or several channels or passages 235 , 245 arranged for fixating the through shaft 231 , 241 to the central part 205 by means of for example pins.
An embodiment of a first end 212 , 222 of a leg 210 , 220 is also shown in FIG. 12 , which first end 212 , 222 comprises two cavities or openings 211 , 221 and two grooves or recesses 213 , 223 constituting a rotation limiting structure. The grooves 213 , 223 can be arranged to be wedge-shaped. Further, when the leg 210 , 220 is mounted on the central part 205 of the front part 200 , the ends of the through shaft 231 , 241 is arranged to be positioned in said cavities 211 , 221 in such a way that the heels 233 , 243 are positioned in the recesses 213 , 223 .
In FIGS. 13 a and 13 b , a cut away view of the hinge 230 , 240 , as previously described with reference to FIG. 12 , is schematically shown. The turning of the leg 210 , 220 is delimited by means of the recess 213 , 223 . As illustrated in FIG. 13 a the leg 210 , 220 has turned an angle alpha corresponding to its unfolded position and in FIG. 13 b the leg 210 , 220 is in its folded position.
In another embodiment of the invention, the hinge 230 , 240 is configured of two shafts, wherein a first shaft having a heel is arranged at the first end 212 , 222 of the leg 210 , 220 and second shaft having a heel is arranged at the central part 205 of the front part 200 . Further, when the leg 210 , 220 is mounted on the central part 205 of the front part 200 , the first and second shaft will be mounted to each other to form the hinge 230 , 240 in such a way that the heels will control the maximum position of the leg 210 , 220 .
In FIG. 10 an embodiment of a first end 212 , 222 of a leg 210 , 220 is shown. In this embodiment, a first part of the hinge 230 , 240 is comprised in the leg 210 , 220 , which part comprises a first shaft 216 , 226 , a first shaft supporting structure 217 , 227 and a heel 218 , 228 .
FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of a hinge 230 , 240 when the leg 210 , 220 is mounted to the central part 205 of the front part 200 . In this embodiment, the hinge 230 , 240 comprises a first shaft 216 , 226 , and a first shaft supporting structure 217 , 227 and a heel 218 , 228 . Further, the hinge 230 , 240 comprises a second shaft 234 , 244 , a second shaft supporting structure 238 , 248 and a heel 236 , 246 .
In this embodiment, the first shaft 216 , 226 is pivotably attached to the first shaft supporting structure 217 , 227 , which is rigidly attached to the first end 212 , 222 of the leg 210 , 220 . Further, the first shaft 216 , 226 is rigidly attached to the central part 205 of the front part 200 by means of a pin 219 , 229 or the like. However, the first shaft 216 , 226 can also be rigidly attached to the central part 205 by means of a groove or a recess (not shown) in the first shaft 216 , 226 and a rib or a protrusion (not shown) in the surface of the central part 205 facing the shaft 216 , 227 . The second shaft 234 , 244 is rigidly attached to the second shaft supporting structure 238 , 248 , which is pivotably attached to the first end 212 , 222 of the leg 210 , 220 . Further, the second shaft 234 , 244 is pivotably attached to the central part 205 of the front part 200 . Furthermore, the first 218 , 228 and second 236 , 246 heels are arranged in such a way that they abut against each other when the leg 210 , 220 has turned to its maximum position. Heels can also be arranged to abut against each other when the leg 210 , 220 has turned to its minimum position. That is, the heels are arranged in such a way that they delimit the turning of the legs 210 , 220 .
In FIG. 11 , an embodiment of a resilient member 232 , 242 is also shown, which resilient member 232 , 242 for example is arranged as a torsion spring, cf. FIG. 14 .
Further, the hinge 230 , 240 is configured in such a way that the maximum position of the legs 210 , 220 , i.e. the maximum distance between the second ends 214 , 224 of the legs 210 , 220 , corresponds or approximately corresponds to the distance between the shaft-like members 130 , 140 of the back plate 100 , cf. FIGS. 2 and 4 . Thus, in for example an emergency situation when the support structure 10 is removed from its folded position in a bag or when securing means securing the folded position is withdrawn, the legs 210 , 220 turn to their maximum position and the front part 200 can quickly and easily be attached to the back plate 100 by means of the snap locking without requiring any manual securing measures.
As schematically shown in FIG. 1 b an opening or a cut-out 202 is provided at the central part 205 of the front part 200 for enabling arrangement of a treatment unit 300 , cf. FIG. 5 , at the central part 205 of the front part 200 . The treatment unit 300 can for example be a unit providing compression and/or decompression of the chest or sternum of a patient suffering from a cardiac arrest. Further, the treatment unit 300 can comprise or be realized as a monitoring unit, such as an electrocardiograph registering the cardiac activity. Such a unit can comprise necessary electrodes, a control unit and interaction means such as a display unit and/or a command unit. The treatment unit 300 can further comprise or be realized as a sphygmomanometer arranged to measure the blood pressure. The treatment unit can in this case comprise necessary cuffs, pressure means, a control unit and an interaction means. The treatment unit 300 can further comprise or be realized as a means for measuring the oxygen saturation in blood.
When fastening or securing the legs 210 , 220 of the front plate 200 to the back plate 100 , the shaft-like member 130 , 140 will exert a force on a heel 286 of a claw-like member 280 of the second end 214 , 224 of the leg 210 , 220 , as illustrated in FIG. 3 a , causing the claw-like member 280 to turn or rotate around its suspension axis 282 until a hook 284 partly or totally encircles the shaft-like member 130 , 140 and a pin or cotter 288 falls down to secure the position of the claw-like member 280 , as illustrated in FIG. 3 b , whereby the front part 200 is secured to the back plate 100 . The second end 214 , 224 of the leg 210 , 220 comprises further a locking support structure 285 having a locking protrusion 287 arranged to further secure the shaft 130 , 140 . However, the locking protrusion 287 can also be integrated with the second end 214 , 224 of the leg 210 , 220 . In the shown embodiment, the pin 288 is spring-loaded by means of a resilient member 289 , e.g. a spring or the like, to enable a quicker fall down and to provide a quick fastening of the front plate 200 to the back plate 100 .
In another embodiment of the invention, the pin 288 is arranged to fall down into a hole or recess 281 of the claw-like member 280 when the hook 284 totally or partly surrounds the shaft-like member 130 , 140 , cf. FIGS. 3 c and 3 d.
Further, the support structure 10 comprises a disengagement member 290 , 292 , as schematically illustrated in FIGS. 6 , 7 a and 7 b , which is arranged at said leg 210 , 220 to disengage said legs 210 , 220 from said back plate 100 . In an embodiment of the invention, the disengagement member 290 , 292 is arranged to draw up or lift the pin 288 , whereby the claw-like member 280 is caused to turn back to its open position, i.e. the claw-like member 280 is disengaged from the shaft-like member 130 , 140 , and whereby said leg 210 , 220 is removable from said back plate 100 . The disengagement member 290 can further be arranged to stretch the resilient member 289 .
As illustrated in the FIGS. 4 , 6 , 7 a and 7 b , an embodiment of the support structure 10 can also be provided with a handle 110 comprised in the back plate 100 and a handle 226 comprised in the front part 200 , which handles 110 , 226 provide an easy way of carrying the parts of the support structure 10 . In an embodiment of the invention the handles 110 , 226 are preferably provided by means of openings or cut-outs whereby the weight of the support structure 10 is decreased. However, other embodiments of the invention can also comprise a handle in the shape of a belt, a knob, a strap or the like.
FIG. 9 shows schematically a patient lying in the support structure 10 comprising a treatment unit 300 according to an embodiment of the invention. In the figure an arm fastening means 250 is also shown, which arm fastening means 250 is arranged for fixating the patient's arm or wrist when for example the patient is transported on a stretcher, whereby it is almost impossible for the patient to move in relation to the treatment unit 330 . Thus it is possible to provide for example CPR with a negligible or reduced risk of providing treatment on a not desired body part. Further, when the patient's arms are secured by means of the arm fastening means 250 , the patient can more easily be transported on e.g. a stretcher from a scene of an accident to an ambulance or from an ambulance to an emergency room at a hospital, since the arms will not be hanging loose from the stretcher. Furthermore, the patient can more easily be transported through doorways or small passages.
In an embodiment of the invention, the arm fastening means 250 is arranged at the front part 200 and more specifically an arm fastening means 250 is arranged at each leg 210 , 220 . In one embodiment of the invention, the arm fastening means 250 is arranged at the legs 210 , 220 at a distance approximately corresponding to the length of a forearm from the second end 214 , 224 . Further, to enable quick and simple fastening and unfastening of the patient's arms, the arm fastening means 250 is configured as straps 250 manufactured of Velcro tape. But another suitable fastening means 250 can of course also be used.
In FIG. 8 an embodiment of a treatment unit 300 for compression and/or decompression is shown. The treatment unit or the compression/decompression unit 300 comprises a pneumatic unit 310 or another unit arranged to run and control the compression and/or decompression, an adjustable suspension unit or bellows unit 320 to which a compression and/or decompression pad 330 is attached. Further, the treatment unit 300 comprises a handle or a lever 340 by means of which the position of said pad 330 can be controlled, i.e. by means of which handle 340 the pad 330 can be moved towards or away from for example the chest of a patient. The suspension unit 320 is thus adjustably arranged to provide positioning of said pad 330 . Further, the suspension unit 320 can comprise a sound absorbing material whereby the sound due to the compression and/or decompression is reduced.
The compression/decompression unit 300 is further arranged to provide a compression of the chest or sternum of the patient. In an embodiment of the invention, the treatment unit 300 is arranged to provide compression having a depth in the range of 20-90 millimeters, preferably in the range of 35-52 millimeters.
Furthermore, an embodiment of the invention comprises a compression pad 330 which is attachable to the chest, for example a compression pad 330 in the shape of a vacuum cup or a pad having an adhesive layer, the compression/decompression unit 300 can then also be arranged to provide decompression. That is the treatment unit 300 is able to expand the patient's chest to improve induced ventilation and blood circulation. In such an embodiment, the treatment unit 300 is configured to provide decompression having a height in the range of 0-50 millimeters, preferably in the range of 10-25 millimeters.
An embodiment of the treatment unit 300 is further arranged to provide compression and/or decompression having a frequency of approximately 100 compressions and/or decompressions per minute.
Due to the increased stability and the improved the fixation of the patient provided by the support structure 10 according to the invention, increased treatment accuracy is accomplished.
The compression force is in an embodiment of the invention in the range of 350-700 Newton, preferably approximately 500-600 Newton. The decompression force is in the range of 100-450 Newton depending on the kind of pad 330 used. That is, the need decompression force depends on for example if a vacuum cup or a pad having an adhesive layer is used but it also depends on the type of vacuum cup or adhesive layer. In an embodiment of the invention the decompression force is approximately 410 Newton but in another embodiment a decompression force in the range of 100-150 Newton is used.
The support structure 10 according to the invention is preferably manufactured of a lightweight material whereby a low weight of the support structure 10 is achieved. However, the material should be rigid enough to provide a support structure 10 that is durable, hard-wearing and stable. In some embodiments of the invention it is also desirable that the material of the support structure 10 is electrically insulating. To decrease the weight further, the support structure 10 can be provided with a selectable number of cavities or recesses.
In an embodiment of the support structure 10 according to the invention, the front part 200 are manufactured of a material comprising glass fibre and epoxy and has a core of porous PVC (polyvinyl chloride). The back plate 100 is in this embodiment manufactured of material comprising PUR (polyurethane) and has a core of porous PVC. In an embodiment of the invention comprising a treatment unit 300 , the housing of the treatment unit is manufactured of PUR.
An embodiment of the support structure 10 comprising a compression and/or decompression unit 300 has a weight less than 6.5 kilogram. In an embodiment, the diametrical dimension in folded position is approximately 320×640×230 millimeters (width×height×depth) and in unfolded position approximately 500×538×228 millimeters (width×height×depth).
The present invention has been described by means of exemplifying embodiments. However, as understood by the person skilled in the art modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
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An embodiment of the support structure includes a back plate, a central part adapted to recite an automatic compression/decompression unit, and a front part. The front part includes two legs coupled between the central part and the back plate. The support structure is arranged to automatically compress or decompress a patient's chest when the front part is attached to the back plate and when the compression/decompression unit is received in the central part.
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BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to an internet-protocol (IP) phone. More particularly, the present invention relates to an internet-protocol (IP) phone having a built-in gateway with three terminals capable of cascading with each other to form a telephone network.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Information exchange has become an indispensable part in our daily life ever since the rapid development of information technology and equipment. Nowadays, a ‘plain old telephone service’ (POTS) phone is still one of the major channels for the transmission of information. However, the cost of making a long distance call through a conventional telephone line is quite expensive. With the development of network technologies, internet-protocol (IP) phones have become popular. Due to the potential for great monetary earnings through subscriptions, a few companies often negotiate a deal to monopolize the use of such a network.
[0005] Video conferencing is another arrangement that can be carried out through a telephone network at whatever time one desires. Because the parties involved in a teleconferencing session need not assemble together in a designated location, considerable traveling time and cost are saved. Nevertheless, most IP phones have to conduct a communication session through an IP interface. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the connections of a conventional telephone network. As shown in FIG. 1 , the telephone network has a POTS telephone interface 100 . A conventional telephone 102 may connect with the POTS telephone interface 100 . The POTS telephone interface 100 is connected to an IP interface 106 through an acoustic network gateway 104 . Thereafter, the IP interface 106 may connect with a voice telephone 110 , a broadband audio/video telephone 112 or a multiple-conferencing unit (MCU) 108 . To initiate a conference session, for example, an initiator may pick up a phone 102 and call for a conference through the multiple-conferencing unit 108 .
[0006] However, due to some intrinsic functional limitations of the multiple-conferencing unit, the number of people that can take part in a given conference is restricted. Furthermore, if the POTS telephone line is too long, insertion loss may lead to the frequent occurrence of communication errors. Consequently, the provision of an IP phone design capable of increasing the efficiency and clarity of a teleconferencing session is a major target for network researchers.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0007] Accordingly, at least one objective of the present invention is to provide an internet-protocol (IP) phone with a built-in gateway such that any number of the IP phone can be connected to form a telephone network structure. Hence, a conference can be carried out through the telephone network.
[0008] At least a second objective of this invention is to provide a cascade connected wireless telephone network system with three-way communication function.
[0009] To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention provides an IP phone with a built-in gateway. The IP phone comprises a built-in gateway with an IP terminal, a plain old telephone service (POTS) terminal and a local telephone terminal. A signal entering from one terminal can be simultaneously converted and transmitted to the other two terminals.
[0010] This invention also provides a telephone network structure. The telephone network structure comprises a multiple of the aforementioned IP phones cascaded together through an identical type of IP or POTS terminal. In addition, at least another telephone can be optionally coupled to the telephone network. The other telephone can be different from the aforementioned IP phones. As a result, all users connected to the telephone network can hold a conference.
[0011] In the aforementioned telephone network structure, the internal connection point is connected to at least a local telephone.
[0012] In the aforementioned telephone network structure, the front and back terminals are both IP mode terminals.
[0013] In the aforementioned telephone network structure, the front and back terminals are both POTS mode terminals.
[0014] In the aforementioned telephone network structure, the front and back terminals are POTS mode terminal and an IP mode terminal respectively.
[0015] This invention also provides a multiple-point conference system having multiple connections that permit simultaneous communication between a number of users. The multi-point conference system comprises at least an IP phone. Each IP phone provides at least an IP terminal, a POTS terminal and a local telephone terminal. A signal entering from any one of the three terminals can be simultaneously converted and transmitted to the other two terminals. Furthermore, neighboring IP phones are connected through identical IP terminals or POTS terminals to form a telephone network. Hence, participants in a conference may use the telephone network to conduct a conference.
[0016] In the aforementioned multi-point conference system, at least one of the IP phones can be connected to another telephone.
[0017] In the aforementioned multi-point conference system, at least one of the IP phones can be connected to another telephone exchange system.
[0018] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0019] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
[0020] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the connections of a conventional telephone network.
[0021] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the connection of a conventional telephone network.
[0022] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a gateway design according to this invention.
[0023] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a telephone network connection according to this invention.
[0024] FIGS. 5 through 8 are schematic diagrams showing various types of telephone network connections according to this invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0025] References will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.
[0026] This invention provides an internet-protocol (IP) phone with a built-in gateway. Any number of these IP phones can be connected together to form a telephone network structure so that a teleconference between people holding the IP phones may proceed.
[0027] First, an IP phone with a built-in gateway is provided. The gateway has an IP terminal, a POTS terminal and a local telephone terminal. A signal is permitted to enter from any one of the three terminals and transmitted to the other two terminals with the necessary signal conversion. This type of gateway differs from a conventional gateway (refer to FIG. 2 ). FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a gateway design according to this invention. As shown in FIG. 3 , the gateway 200 combines the three terminals together to form a node. For example, a signal entering from the IP terminal can be simultaneously converted into POTS signal format for outputting to the POTS terminal as well as local telephone signal format for outputting to the local telephone terminal.
[0028] A hardware circuit with the aforementioned gateway functions can be designed by engineers who are familiar with circuit designs.
[0029] In general, an unlimited number of the aforementioned IP phones may be stringed together in cascade to form a telephone network for conducting a teleconference.
[0030] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a telephone network connection according to this invention. Obviously, permissible telephone network structures are not limited to the one in FIG. 4 . However, a system using POTS telephones incur the least operating cost. For example, inside a company, typical telephone communication is conducted through an internal telephone exchange system. Yet, outside and remote telephone communication is conducted in an IP mode. Hence, two IP phones 402 , 404 each with a built-in gateway may be combined to form an integrated unit 400 A. For the two IP phones within the unit 400 A, their POTS terminal are joined together to form an internally connected terminal. The internally connected terminal may connect with a local or a company exchange system 406 . Thus, the IP phones 402 and 404 as well as the other POTS telephones of the company are joined together to form an integrative communication system.
[0031] Furthermore, one of the IP terminals of the IP phones 402 and 404 in the integrative unit 400 A may be connected to an external device while the other IP terminal may be connected to another integrative unit 400 B. Similarly, the integrative unit 400 B may be connected to yet another integrated unit 400 C and so on. In this way, a cascade of units are joined together to form a telephone network. The number of units that can be stringed together is unlimited. However, the number of units in the cascade depends on the actual requirements. Furthermore, the front and back IP terminal of the telephone network, that is, the terminal on the far right and far left, may connect with a conventional IP phone or an IP phone designed according to this invention.
[0032] In addition, the POTS terminals need not be the internally connected terminal in the connective structure of the unit 400 A. Moreover, the number of IP phones in a single unit within the telephone network is not limited to two either.
[0033] After forming a cascade of IP phones in this way, each telephone user may participate in a teleconference simultaneously with all other users.
[0034] FIGS. 5 through 8 are schematic diagrams showing various types of telephone network connections according to this invention. First, as shown in FIG. 5 , IP phones with a built-in gateway according to this invention, for example, broadband video phones labeled BVP 8775 are connected to an Internet interface. Conventional POTS telephones are connected to the POTS interface externally. Similarly, conventional IP phone labeled BVP 8770 are connected to the Internet interface externally. With this type of connection, the basic pattern of connection is: POTS-(POTS-IP)-(IP-POTS)-(POTS-IP) . . . (IP-POTS)-(POTS-IP)-IP. Here, (POTS-IP) or (IP-POTS) represents the IP phones with built-in gateway according to this invention. Furthermore, the telephone connected to the very front and back terminal of the telephone network can be a conventional telephone or a telephone designed according to this invention. In FIG. 5 , the direction of arrows gives an example of the direction of communication inside the telephone network starting from an external POTS phone. Furthermore, the Internet interface may also connect with at least any one type of IP phone including, for example, a conventional IP phone or an IP phone of this invention.
[0035] FIG. 6 shows another telephone network connection similar to the one in FIG. 5 . The initiator is a conventional LR 8770 telephone. The POTS interface may further connect with at least a POTS telephone. However, the initiator of the telephone network can also be an IP phone with built-in gateway according to this invention. The basic pattern of connection is:IP (IP-POTS) (POTS-IP) (IP-POTS) (POTS-IP) . . . (IP-POTS) POTS. Here, the starting IP phone can be a conventional IP phone or an IP phone with built-in gateway.
[0036] FIG. 7 shows yet another telephone network connection. The initiator is a conventional IP phone LR8770, for example. Through the Internet interface and the POTS interface, a number of IP phones with built-in gateway are stringed together in cascade. Finally, another IP phone that can be a conventional IP phone or an IP phone with built-in gateway is connected to the Internet interface. The basic pattern of connection is:IP (IP-POTS)-(POTS-IP)-(IP-POTS) . . . (POTS-IP) IP. Here, the two IP phones at the very front and at the very back of the string can be a conventional IP phone or an IP phone according to this invention.
[0037] FIG. 8 shows yet another telephone network connection. The initiator is a conventional POTS telephone, for example. Through the POTS interface and the Internet interface, a number of IP phones with built-in gateway are stringed together in cascade. Finally, another POTS telephone is connected to the POTS interface. The basic pattern of connection is: POTS (POTS-IP) (IP-POTS)-(POTS-IP) . . . (IP-POTS) POTS. In other words, the telephone network of this invention at least uses an IP phone with built-in gateway. The IP terminal and the POTS terminal of the IP phone may connect with any type of telephone having an identical connective mode, in particular, another IP phone with built-in gateway. Hence, the aforementioned telephone network structures may also be linked together through the IP interface or the POTS interface, for example: IP (IP-POTS) POTS (POTS-IP) (IP-POTS) . . . (POTS-IP) IP (IP-POTS) POTS. Therefore, the IP terminals and the POTS terminals of the IP phones can be utilized to form various types of telephone network connections. In this way, the number of users no longer limits the teleconferencing function.
[0038] Furthermore, the IP phones with built-in gateway along the telephone network may also connect with a local telephone exchange system such as the telephone network system within a company.
[0039] In addition, if economics is a major consideration, local or telephone network system within a company may deploy the POTS mode. The IP mode is activated only when external communication is required. For example, a company only has to provide a unit such as the unit 400 A in FIG. 4 in preparation for connecting with some other units such as the unit 400 B.
[0040] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
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An internet-protocol (IP) phone having a built-in network gateway with three terminals is provided. A signal entering from one terminal can be simultaneously converted and transmitted to the other two terminals. The three terminals include an IP terminal, a POTS terminal and a local phone terminal. Moreover, a multiple of the aforementioned IP phones can be cascaded together through common IP terminals or POTS terminals to form a telephone network. In addition, at least one other telephone can be optionally coupled to the telephone network. The other telephone can be different from the IP phone with the built-in gateway. As a result, all users connected to the telephone network can hold a conference.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a centrifugal governor for use with an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to a centrifugal governor of this kind which has a function of increasing the quantity of fuel to be supplied to the engine at the start of same.
A conventional centrifugal governor adapted to increase the fuel supply quantity at the start of the engine is known, e.g. from Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-7814, which comprises a control rack for regulating the quantity of fuel to be supplied to the engine, flyweight members radially displaceable in response to the rotational speed of the engine, a tension lever pivotable about a stationary shaft in response to the radial displacement of the flyweight members, a torque cam having a cam surface determining a fuel increment to be applied at the start of the engine, a sensor lever having one end engaged by the control rack and another end disposed for engagement with the cam surface of the torque cam, the sensor lever being adapted to engage with the cam surface of the torque cam when the engine is in a starting condition, to cause displacement of the control rack inito a fuel increasing positin for the start of the engine, and spring means interposed between the torque cam and the tension lever and urging the torque cam with a force dependent upon the angularity of the tension lever in a direction of disengaging the sensor lever from the cam surface of the torque cam. In the centrifugal governor of this type, the urging force of the spring means is determined by the angularity of the tension lever dependent upon radial displacement of the flyweight members, i.e. the rotational speed of the engine. Therefore, if the engine speed increases while the engine is still in a starting condition requiring increase of the fuel supply quantity, the sensor lever can become disengaged from the torque cam, resulting in interruption of the fuel increasing action. This can degrade the startability of the engine particularly when the engine is started in a low temperature condition.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the invention to provide a centrifugal governor for use with an internal combustion engine, which can prevent the fuel increasing action of the governor from being interrupted by disengagement of the sensor lever from the torque cam when the engine is still in a warming-up condition after starting the engine particularly in a low temperature condition, to thereby ensure prompt warming-up of the engine and smooth and positive startability of same.
According to the invention, a centrifugal governor includes spring means comprising first and second springs, one of the which is formed of a thermosensitive material having a smaller spring constant at a temperature below a predetermined value, and a larger spring constant at a temperature above the predetermined value.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the ensuing detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the internal arrangement of a centrifugal governor according to the invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view, showing a torque cam and a sensor lever in FIG. 1, in engagement with each other; and
FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, showing the torque cam and the sensor lever in a state disengaged from each other due to the urging force of spring means.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings showing an embodiment thereof.
Referring first to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a centrifugal governor for use in a fuel injection pump, according to the present invention. A camshaft 1 of the fuel injection pump is coupled to flyweight members 2, only one of which is shown, and which are responsive to changes in the rotational speed of an engine to move radially about pins 3 supported by a flyweight holder, not shown. A sleeve 4 engages the flyweight members 2 so that it is displaced rightward as viewed in FIG. 1, along the axis of the camshaft 1 as the flyweight members 2 move radially outwardly. An idling spring 5 is interposed between a right end face 4a of the sleeve 4 and a governor casing, not shown, to apply its force against rightward displacement of the sleeve 4. Connected to the sleeve 4 is a lower end portion 7a of a tension lever 7 which is pivotably supported at its intermediate portion by a shaft 6 supported by the governor casing. A pair of brackets 8a and 8b project integrally from an upper end portion of the tension lever 7 in a manner spaced from each other, and carry pins 10a and 10b, respectively, for holding a spring seat 9 therebetween. A governor shaft 11 extends through the spring seat 9 and has another spring seat 12 at its one end portion close to the flyweight members 2. A governor spring 13, formed of a coiled spring, is interposed between these spring seats 12 and 9. Thus, during operation, the tension lever 7 is displaced to a position where equilibrium is established between the force of the sleeve 4 urging the lower end portion 7a of the tension lever 7 in the rightward direction due to radially outward displacement of the flyweight members 2, and the combined force of the idling spring 5 and the governor spring 13 counteracting the urging force of the sleeve 4.
A guide lever 14 is pivotably supported at its lower end portion 14a by the tension lever shaft 6 and has an upper end 14b supported by a bifurcated end portion 20a of a floating lever 20, hereinafter referred to. An arm 14c extends integrally from the lower end 14a of the guide lever 14 at right angles thereto and parallel with the axis of the shaft 6, and is engaged by a return spring 14' disposed around the shaft 6. Thus, the guide lever 14 is pivotable about the shaft 6 in unison with the tension lever 7 with its side surface in urging contact with the pin 10b by the force of the return spring 14'.
The floating lever 20 engages at its other bifurcated end portion 20b with a base 21a of a control rack 21, and is pivotably supported at its intermediate portion 20c by one end 19a of a supporting lever 19. The supporting lever 19 has its other end 19b pivotably supported by a shaft 15a of a control lever 15 which in turn is supported by the governor casing. An L-shaped lever 17 is secured to the control lever shaft 15a for urging engagement with the supporting lever 19. The supporting lever 19 is acted upon by a return spring 18 provided at its other end 19b for pivotal displacement about the shaft 15a into urging contact with the L-shaped lever 17. When the supporting lever 19 is thus engaged with the lever 17, it is pivotally displaced in unison with the control lever 15. The control rack 21 is pulled by a starting spring 22 connected to the base 21a of the control rack 21, in the leftward direction as viewed in FIG. 1, i.e. in such a direction as to cause the fuel injection pump to increase the quantity of fuel to be supplied to the engine.
Referring now to FIG. 2, the pin 10a supported by the bracket 8a of the tension lever 7 has an integral spring seat 23 into which a threaded end 25a of a rod 25 is fitted. The rod 25 has its other end pivoted to a torque cam. The torque cam 24 is arranged at a location slightly lower than the rod 25 and pivotable about a pin 26 supported by the governor casing. A cancelling spring 28 is interposed between a spring seat 27 formed on the other end of the rod 25 and the spring seat 23, to urge the torque cam 24 in the counterclockwise direction. An adjusting nut 38 is threadedly fitted on the threaded end 25a of the rod 25 to set the effective length of the rod 25 to a predetermined value.
The torque cam 24 has a cam surface 24a with its tip cut off to form a nose or engaging portion 29 which is engageable with an engaging tip 31 of a lower end of the sensor lever 30. The sensor lever 30 is pivotably supported by a pin 32 at its longitudinally intermediate portion and has a U-shaped groove 33 formed in its upper end portion. The groove 33 is engaged by an engaging pin 34 projecting from a side surface of the control rack 21 so that displacement of the control rack 21 causes pivotal movement of the sensor lever 30 about the pin 32. The pin 32 supporting the sensor lever 30 is in turn supported by a lever 36 which is disposed for pivotal movement in unison with a full load setting lever 39 through a shaft 37 supported by the governor casing. The full load setting lever 39 has its angular position adjusted by a full load setting screw 35. Therefore, by adjusting the full load setting screw 35, the center of pivotal movement of the sensor lever 30 can be set to a desired position to thereby set an extreme position of the control rack 21 at full load operation of the engine.
Fuel increasing action of the centrifugal governor takes place at the start of the engine, in the following manner:
While the engine is at rest, no centrifugal force is produced by the flyweight members 2, and accordingly the force of the idling spring 5 alone acts upon the lower end 7a of the tension lever 7 in the leftward direction as viewed in FIG. 1, to urge same toward a position corresponding to no lifting of the flyweight members 2. Therefore, the torque cam 24 is then pulled upward by the rod 25 as shown in FIG. 2. With this governor position, if the control lever 15 is operated in a direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 1 to a full speed position, the supporting lever 19 follows the control lever 15 due to the force of the return spring 18, to cause pivotal displacement of the floating lever 20 about its one end 20a engaging with the upper end 14b of the guide lever 14, thereby moving the control rack 21 in a fuel increasing direction. On this occasion, the pin 34 projecting from the control rack 21 causes counterclockwise displacement of the sensor lever 30 about the pin 32. Since the torque cam 24 is then in a pulled-up position as stated before, the sensor lever 30 has its engaging portion 31 engaged in the cut-off portion 29 formed in the tip of the torque cam 24, as shown in Fig. 2. Thus, by moving the control lever 1 to the full speed position at stoppage of the engine, the control rack 21 can be displaced to a fuel increasing position for the start of the engine, beyond the extreme position at full load operation of the engine, hereinafter referred to, which is determined by the cooperation of the torque cam 24 and the sensor lever 30.
As the rotational speed of the engine increases after the start of the engine, the flyweight members 2 move radially outwardly so that rightward movement of the sleeve 4 causes pivotal displacement of the tension lever 7 in the counterclockwise direction. This pivotal displacement of the tension lever 7 causes large compression of the spring means 28 through the spring seat 23 to increase the urging force of same acting upon the torque cam 24 to move same in the counterclockwise direction. The increased urging force of the spring means 28 is applied to the engaging portion 31 of the sensor lever 30 as a force F in FIG. 2, through the engaging portion 29 of the torque cam 24. Part of the force F creates a moment to pivotally displace the sensor lever 30 in a direction of disengaging the sensor lever 30 from the torque cam 24. That is, the force F can be divided into a component Fy acting in a direction along a line 1 passing the point of application Pf and the center of pivotal displacement of the sensor lever 30, and a component Fx acting in a direction perpendicular to the line 1. When the force component Fx acting to pivotally displace the sensor lever 30 surpasses the counteracting force imparted by the starting spring 22 and the return spring 18, the sensor lever 30 becomes disengaged from the torque cam 24, into a position as shown in FIG. 3 wherein the cam surface 24a of the torque cam 24 urges the lower end portion of the sensor lever 30 to pivotally displace same in the clockwise direction about the pin 32. Accordingly, the control rack 21 is moved back in the rightward or fuel decreasing direction, to terminate the fuel increasing action for the start of the engine, followed by control of the fuel supply quantity in a normal manner by the governor. Once the sensor lever 30 is disengaged from the torque cam 24, the engaging portion 31 of the sensor lever 30 does not engage in the cut-off portion 29 of the torque cam 24 so long as the engine continues rotating, thereby preventing the control rack 21 from moving to the fuel increasing position for the start of the engine.
According to the present invention, the spring means 28 urging the torque cam 24 comprises a pair of coiled springs 28a and 28b concentrically disposed around the rod 25, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. One of the coiled springs, i.e. the spring 28a, is formed of an elastic material generally used for coil springs and has a spring constant of Ka, while the other spring 28b is formed of a thermosensitive material such as a shape memory alloy, which has a spring constant variable between a value Kb at a normal temperature and a value K0 smaller than the value Kb and almost equal to zero at a low temperature below its transformation point Tz. The springs 28a, 28b are so designed as to satisfy the relationship of Ka+Kb=K, where K represents a conventional spring constant of the spring means 28 at a normal temperature. Therefore, the relationship of Ka+K0<K stands at a low temperature below the transformation point Tz. As the engine rotational speed increases after starting of the engine in a low temperature condition, the tension lever 7 moves close to the torque cam 24, to largely compress both the springs 28a, 28b in the same manner as described hereinbefore. However, since in a low temperature condition, the spring 28b formed of a shape memory alloy has the spring constant K0 which is close to zero, the combined force of the springs 28a, 28b is not sufficient to cause counterclockwise displacement of the torque cam 24 to such a degree as to disengage the engaging portion 29 of the torque cam 24 from the engaging portion 31 of the sensor lever 30, against the combined force of the starting spring 22 and the return spring 18. Therefore, the fuel increasing action of the governor for the start of the engine is not interrupted in a low temperature condition until the engine speed becomes high, to thereby facilitate the startability of the engine.
While in a normal temperature condition, the force of the spring 28b becomes so large that the relationship of Ka+Kb=K stands. Therefore, when the rotational speed of the engine exceeds a predetermined speed, the fuel increasing action for the start of the engine is interrupted, followed by ordinary control of the fuel supply quantity by the governor as well as by the control lever.
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A centrifugal governor for an internal combustion engine, which includes a sensor lever adapted to engage a cam surface of a torque cam determining a starting fuel increment, at the start of the engine, to displace the control rack into a fuel increasing position, and spring means interposed between the torque cam and the tension lever and urging the torque cam with a force dependent upon the angularity of the tension lever in a direction of disengaging the sensor lever from the cam surface for interrupting the starting fuel increasing action of the governor. The spring means comprises first and second springs, one of which is formed of a thermosensitive material having smaller and larger spring constants at a low temperature below a predetermined value and a temperature above the predetermined value, respectively.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a road finishing machine with diesel-hydraulically driven main wheels and at least one set of steerable wheels and, more particularly, to an apparatus for powering the driven wheels of such a vehicle.
A known road finishing machine has the driver's seat approximately above the powered main wheel set. Two pairs of steerable wheels are located in the direction of travel in front of the powered main wheel set, above which there is a container for the materials to be applied. These materials can be bituminous products, bonded or free mineral mixtures. The material to be applied is moved from the container to the rear and spread on the road surface. Behind the powered main wheel set, the road finishing machine has a set of components consisting of a vibrating tamping plank for tamping down the applied material. The effective width of the plank can be widely varied by extending it sideways. In operation, the wheels roll on the road surface which has been prepared for applying the material. Under unfavorable conditions, the traction on the road surface may be insufficient and this causes the powered wheels to spin. Therefore, a road finishing machine of this type is unsuitable. Instead, track or caterpillar type finishing machines are then used. However, track-type machines are considerably more expensive than wheel-type machines.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to improve a road finishing machine of the wheel-type described above such that its traction approaches that of a track-type road finishing machine.
This and other objects of the invention are attained by a road finishing machine having driven main wheels. A source of hydraulic power is coupled to a hydraulically driven set of such main wheels. Hydraulic component means transfers a driving force from the power source to at least one set of steerable wheels. Means are provided for automatically adapting the peripheral speed of the steerable wheels to that of the main wheels.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The drawing shows a schematic plan view of the essential parts of the road finishing machine of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A single diesel engine 10 supplies the hydraulic power for all the driven wheels and other driven components. The road finishing machine includes rear wheels 20 and front wheels 26. Engine 10 powers an axial piston pump 12 feeding an axial piston motor 14. Pump 12 is designed to output a substantially constant volume of oil to motor 14. Downstream of motor 14 is disposed a gear box 16 with a locking differential, from which planetary gears 22, built into the hubs of main driven rear wheels 20, are driven via synchronizing cardan shafts 18. The speed of wheels 20 is varied by selectively changing the setting of gear box 16 with a conventional shift lever (not shown).
In accordance with a principle aspect of the invention, a further pump 24 is powered by the engine 10 and supplies oil under pressure for driving a pair 26 of the steerable tandem front wheel set 28. Pump 24 is preferably an axial piston variable displacement pump. As is conventional, its piston stroke is selectively variable and determines the volume of circulating oil which, in turn, affects rotational speed of a hydraulic motor driven thereby. Supply and return lines 31 and 33, respectively, run through a conventional free-wheel valve 30. When valve 30 is in the open position, it short-circuits the hydraulic path to wheels 26 so that the drive to the wheels 26 is turned off. Feeding of the wheel hub motors 32, which are preferably radial piston motors, takes place via a conventional flow divider 34. Differing amounts of oil under pressure are supplied in a conventional manner to motors 32 depending on the steering lock of the two motors. The total oil volume supplied to flow divider 34 is determined by the output of pump 24. The piston stroke of pump 24, and therefore its output volume, is controlled by the setting of gear box 16, as represented by link 35. In this manner, the output volume of pump 24 to flow divider 34 is set depending on the rpm of the main driven wheels 20 such that the wheels 26 automatically turn at the same peripheral speed, aside from the differences caused by steering lock, as the main driven wheels 20. The torque transferred to the wheels 26 can be selected infinitely variable by means of an adjustment device 36. Device 36 can be a conventional pressure choke such as a variable flow restrictor. Since the road construction material is carried in a container (not shown) atop wheels 26, it is advantageous to vary the torque to wheels 26 depending on the actual load in the container.
As can readily be seen from the above description, the present invention provides a road finishing machine of the wheel type wherein both the front and rear wheels are power driven. This is in contrast to the previous approach which powers only the rear wheels. By adopting the approach of the present invention, it is possible for the performance of a wheel-type machine to approach that of a track type.
Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail above, various modifications thereof will readily occur to anyone with ordinary skill in the art. For example, instead of two wheels 20 four such wheels can be provided. Also all four wheels of the tandem set 28 can also be powered. All such modifications are meant to be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.
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A road finishing machine comprising a diesel-hydraulically driven set of main wheels and at least one set of steerable wheels. An additional hydraulic companent is provided which transfers a driving force to the steerable wheels, and the peripheral speed of the steerable wheels is automatically adapted to that of the main wheels.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, particularly a liquid crystal display (LCD), and especially, to a driver circuit including type LCD in which a thin film transistor (TFT) is formed in a display section and a peripheral section of a panel.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] In recent years, because advantage of the small size and thickness and low power consumption, an LCD (liquid crystal display) has been put into practice in the field of OA and AV devices. In particular, an active matrix type provided with a TFT, as a switching element for controlling timings for rewriting image data on pixels, realizes motion animation display with a large screen and high resolution, and is therefore used in displays of various television systems, personal computers, and the like.
[0005] A TFT is a field effect transistor obtained by forming a semiconductor layer together with a metal layer in a predetermined form, on an insulating substrate. In an active matrix type LCD, a pair of opposing substrates are arranged so as to sandwich liquid crystal therebetween, and one electrode of each of a plurality of capacitors for driving liquid crystal formed between the pair of substrates is connected with a corresponding TFT.
[0006] An LCD using polycrystal silicon (p-Si) as a semiconductor layer of TFTs in place of amorphous silicon (a-Si), which had frequently been adopted has been developed, and annealing using a laser beam for growth of grains has been put to use. In general, p-Si has a higher mobility than a-Si so that TFTs can be down-sized and a high aperture ratio and high resolution can be realized. In addition, since it is possible to adopt a gate self-aligning structure by means of using p-Si, fine TFT element is achieved and the parasitic capacitance can be reduced so that higher speed TFTs can be achieved. Consequently, an electrically complementary connection structure, e.g., a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) can be constructed using an n-ch TFT and a p-ch TFT so that a high-speed drive circuit can be formed by adopting p-Si TFT. Since a driver circuit section can therefore be formed to be integral with a display area on the same substrate, the manufacturing costs can be reduced and the LCD module realizes a small size.
[0007] As a method of forming a p-Si film on an insulating substrate, there are a recrystallization method by annealing a-Si formed under a low temperature or a solid phase growth method under a high temperature. In any case, the process must be carried out under a high temperature of 900° C. or more. Therefore, it is not possible to use a low price glass substrate in view of heat resistance, but a quartz glass substrate of a high price is required, resulting in a high manufacturing cost. In contrast, developments have been made to a method which allows use of a low price glass substrate as an insulating substrate by performing silicon polycrystallization processing at a relatively low temperature of 600° C. or less, with use of laser annealing. This kind of method in which the processing temperature is thus 600° C. or less throughout all the steps of manufacturing TFTs is called a low-temperature process, and is necessary for mass-production of LCDs at low costs.
[0008] [0008]FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a relationship between a substrate 1 to be processed and directions of excimer laser irradiation and scanning, in excimer laser annealing (ELA). The substrate 1 to be processed is a popular non-alkaline glass substrate, and a-Si layer is formed on the surface of the substrate. An active matrix substrate 5 include a part of an LCD which includes display area 2 having a parality of pixels arranged in a matrix and gate drivers area 3 and drain drivers area 4 formed in peripheral portions of the display area 2 . The substrate 1 is a mother glass substrate including a plurality of the active matrix substrates 5 . At each of the display area 2 , a pixel electrode as one of the electrodes of a pixel capacitor for driving liquid crystal will be formed such that the electrodes will be formed and arranged in a matrix, and TFTs will be formed so as to be respectively connected with the electrodes. The gate driver 3 will be mainly constructed of a shift register, and the drain driver 4 will be mainly constructed of a shift register and a sample-and-hold circuit. These drivers 3 and 4 will be formed by a TFT array such as CMOS or the like.
[0009] The substrate 1 is subjected to ELA to polycrystallize a-Si to form p-Si. The ELA is carried out by irradiating a line beam obtained from a predetermined optical system and by providing the line beam to scanning. Scanning is performed by shifting every laser pulse by a predetermined pitch such that the laser beams runs and draws edge lines as indicated by broken lines C in FIG. 4. However, a p-Si film formed thus by ELA has a problem that a linear region attaining only a low crystallinity where the grain size has not become sufficiently large is formed along a beam line direction. Here, each of TFTs formed on the substrate 1 has a channel length direction and a channel width direction which correspond to either the vertical direction V or the horizontal direction H with respect to the substrate 1 .
[0010] As shown in FIG. 2, the TFT formed on the substrate 1 is constituted such that a gate electrode 13 is provided on an island-like channel region CH of a p-Si film with a gate insulating film inserted therebetween. Regions LD where impurities are doped at high and low densities in P-Si are provided respectively on both sides of the channel region CH. Further, source and drain regions S and D are respectively formed outside the LD regions. A defective crystallization region linearly extending along the longitudinal direction of the line beam as described above will be positioned in the channel length direction L or the channel width direction W where an island-like TFT is formed. In particular, when such a defective crystallization region extends in the channel width direction W, the defective crystallization region remains in the direction, as indicated by reference R in FIG. 2, perfectly crossing a carrier path connecting the source and drain regions S and D with each other. Since the defective crystallization region R has a high resistance, the ON current is lowered if it exists between the source and drain regions S and D. As a result, problems appear in that the contrast ratio is lowered at the display areas and erroneous operations are caused at the drive circuit sections.
[0011] [0011]FIG. 3 shows an irradiation light intensity distribution with respect to positions in the line beam as described above. An optical system for generating a line beam is provided with a slit for adjusting the line width and a slit for adjusting the line length, to form a band-like line beam. Thus, since the line width [a] of the line beam is defined by the slits for adjusting the line width, the irradiation light intensity distribution of the line beam has substantially sharp edges and a flat intensity peak portion, as shown in FIG. 3. However, at regions A and B in FIG. 3, the intensity is very high or low and is thus quite different from the intensity at the flat portion.
[0012] Regions B where the intensity distribution has a positive or negative inclination other than right angles are considered to have been caused since short wavelength components of laser light are diffracted at the edge portions of the slit for adjusting the line width. In addition, the region A where the intensity shows a sharp peak is considered to have occurred since laser light is shielded, diffracted, or interfered with due to foreign material or the like sticking to lenses forming part of the optical system, so that unevenness in light intensity is caused and the uneven light is converged in the line width [a] direction and expanded in the line length direction. Even a slight amount of foreign material which may thus cause unevenness in light intensity, if it exists in a clean room, will be a factor which influences optical characteristics and damages the flat characteristic of the intensity distribution.
[0013] [0013]FIG. 4 shows a relationship between the laser energy and the grain size where a-Si is crystallized to form p-Si by ELA. It is apparent from this figure that the grain size is smaller if the energy is smaller or greater than an optimal energy Eo as a peak. Where the grain size of at least r or more is desired, the energy must be within the range of Ed to Eu. In FIG. 3, the light intensity is Io When the energy is Eu, and the light intensities are Id and Iu when the energy is Ed and Eu, respectively. Therefore, in the region denoted at A where the light intensity is higher than the light intensity Iu or in the region denoted by B where the intensity is lower than Id, the grain size attained is not sufficiently large and it is thus impossible to obtain a desired value r.
[0014] For example, in the example of FIG. 1, a line beam irradiated has a line width of 0.5 to 1.0 mm and a line length of 80 to 150 mm. Hence, laser light can be irradiated over the entire area by scanning the substrate 70 to be processed with this line beam a so that a large area can be processed. At the same time, however, a defective crystallization region is linearly formed along the line length direction of the beam at such a portion of the semiconductor film of the substrate which corresponds to the region A or B shown in FIG. 3. As a result, a plurality of defective crystallization regions appear like stripes on the entire substrate 1 .
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0015] The present invention has been made to solve the problems as described above and is constructed so as to provide a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising a plurality of transistors each including: a polycrystal semiconductor film patterned like an island and obtained by polycrystallizing an amorphous semiconductor film formed on a substrate, by irradiating a laser beam onto the amorphous semiconductor film; an insulating film formed on a channel region of the polycrystallized semiconductor film; a gate electrode formed corresponding to the channel region with the insulating film therebetween; a source region and a drain region formed in the polycryatallized semiconductor film, such that the channel region is formed between the source and drain regions; a source electrode connected to the source region; and a drain electrode connected to the drain region,
[0016] wherein the laser beam is irradiated onto the amorphous semiconductor film such that the laser beam has edge line directions on an irradiated region on the amorphous semiconductor film, which are not perpendicular to a channel length direction and a channel width direction of the channel region.
[0017] In this structure, even if a linear region not sufficiently crystallized appears in the semiconductor film due to unevenness in intensity of the irradiated laser beam, such a defectively crystallized region does not perfectly cross carrier paths in a channel of a TFT, and it is therefore possible to prevent the ON-current of the TFT from being decreased due to formation of a high-resistance region in the channel section of the TFT.
[0018] In addition, according to the present invention, the laser beam is a line beam obtained by shaping laser light emitted from a laser oscillation source, into a belt-like line, by means of a predetermined optical system consisting of a combination of a plurality of lenses.
[0019] In this structure, a linear defective crystallization region formed at a portion within a line beam where the intensity distribution of the line beam is not formed crossing the channel region. Therefore, a high-resistance region does not exist in the carrier path of the TFT, and the ON-current of the semiconductor element is prevented from being decreased.
[0020] Consequently, it is possible to prevent problems such as lowered contrast at the display area of an LCD, operation errors in the peripheral circuit section, and the like.
[0021] The line beam has a line length direction extending at an angle of 45° to at least one of the channel length direction and the channel width direction of the channel region.
[0022] Hence, a linear defective crystallization region generated due to unevenness in intensity of the line beam is always positioned at an angle of 45° to the carrier path so that the defective crystallization region does not cross the polycrystal semiconductor layer. The carrier path is therefore prevented from being completely divided to increase resistance using the defective crystallization region.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
[0023] [0023]FIG. 1 is a view explaining a conventional positional relationship between a substrate to be processed and a line beam.
[0024] [0024]FIG. 2 is a plan view explaining a defective crystallization region of a TFT subjected to annealing by ELA as shown in FIG. 1.
[0025] [0025]FIG. 3 is a graph showing an intensity distribution of irradiated laser.
[0026] [0026]FIG. 4 is a graph showing a relationship between laser energy and grain size.
[0027] [0027]FIG. 5 is a view showing a positional relationship between a substrate to be processed and a region to be irradiated with a line beam, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0028] [0028]FIG. 6 is a view schematically showing the structure of a laser irradiation apparatus.
[0029] [0029]FIGS. 7 and 8 are views showing the structure of an optical system of the laser irradiation apparatus shown in FIG. 6.
[0030] [0030]FIG. 9 is a view showing a positional relationship between a TFT channel region and a defective crystallization region, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0031] [0031]FIG. 10 is a view showing a cross-section of a TFT according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0032] [0032]FIGS. 11 and 12 are views each showing a relationship between a direction in which a channel of a TFT formed on a substrate extends and a direction in which a defective crystallization region extends.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0033] [0033]FIG. 5 shows a positional relationship between a substrate 7 to be processed and irradiating and scanning directions of a line beam. The substrate 7 to be processed is a popular non-alkaline glass substrate, and an a-Si film is formed on the surface of the glass substrate. An active matrix substrate 25 is a substrate forming one substrate of an LCD, and includes a display area 22 where a plurality of display pixels are arranged in a matrix, and gate and drain drivers area 23 and 24 each provided in around the display area 22 . The substrate 7 is a mother glass substrate comprising six active matrix substrates 25 as described above. In the display area 22 , pixel electrodes, each being an electrode of a pixel capacitor for driving liquid crystal, will be arranged in a matrix, and TFTs will be formed so as to be connected with the pixel electrodes. The gate driver 23 will be mainly constructed of a shift register, and the drain driver 24 will be mainly constructed of a shift register and a sample-and-hold circuit. These drivers will be constituted by a TFT array such as CMOS or the like.
[0034] The substrate 7 is subjected to ELA to polycrystallize a-Si on the substrate to form p-Si. ELA is carried out by irradiating a line beam obtained from an optical system shown in FIG. 6 and by scanning the substrate with the line beam. The region to be irradiated has a belt-like linear shape whose edge lines extending in a direction S 1 or a direction S 2 perpendicular to the direction S 1 , as indicated by broken lines C′, and the direction S 1 extend at an angle of 45° with respect to each of the vertical direction V and the horizontal direction H on the substrate plane. An excimer laser is a pulse laser. A line beam of this excimer laser is intermittently irradiated on the substrate 7 to be processed and scanning is performed in a direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 5 (which corresponds to the direction V in the figure). As shown in FIG. 5, the line beams are controlled such that irradiation regions of any two successive pulse beams are overlapped on each other by a predetermined amount.
[0035] In the following, a structure of a laser beam irradiation apparatus used for laser annealing as described above will be explained with reference to FIG. 6. In this figure, a reference 51 denotes a laser oscillation source. References 52 and 61 denote mirrors. References 53 , 54 , 55 and 56 denote cylindrical lenses. References 57 , 58 , 59 , 62 , and 63 denote convergence lenses. A reference 60 denotes a slit for defining the beam width, and a reference 64 denotes a stage for supporting a substrate 7 to be processed which has a surface where a-Si is formed. A reference 65 denotes a slit for defining the line length of the beam and the slit 65 extends in the line length and is provided close to the stage 64 .
[0036] Laser light is an excimer laser and the laser light irradiated from the laser oscillation source 51 is shaped by two pairs of condenser lenses consisting of a pair of cylindrical lenses 53 and 55 and a pair of cylindrical lenses 54 and 56 , into parallel light whose intensity has a flat output distribution in the longitudinal and lateral directions. This parallel light is converged in one direction by lenses 58 , 59 , 62 and 63 and is expanded in another direction by a lens 57 , to be a strip-like line and irradiated on the substrate 7 to be processed. The slit 60 for defining the line width and the slit 65 for defining the line length respectively define edge portions extending in the line width and line length directions, so that the region to be irradiated has a definite shape and the intensity on the effective irradiation region is maintained constant.
[0037] The stage 64 mounting a substrate 7 to be processed is movable in X- and Y-directions and is rotation in the horizontal plane.
[0038] In this embodiment, a line beam is irradiated onto the substrate 7 to be processed in a direction inclined at an angle of 45° to the vertical direction V or horizontal direction H.
[0039] The line beam thus generated has an irradiation light intensity distribution along the direction of the line width [a] as shown in FIG. 3. Therefore, a defective crystallization region R′ is formed along the line length direction (or the line longitudinal direction) of the line beam if the line beam is irradiated onto the substrate 7 by setting the line length direction of the line beam at an angle of 45° with respect to the vertical direction V or horizontal direction H of the substrate, with use of the optical apparatus shown in FIG. 6. Thus, a defective crystallization region R′ occurs in the direction oblique to aside of the substrate 7 at 45° in the semiconductor film of the substrate 7 .
[0040] Meanwhile, in each TFT formed on the substrate 7 , a non-doped channel region CH, lightly-doped regions LD, and heavily-doped source and drain regions S and D are formed in an island-like p-Si film 11 . On the channel region CH, a gate electrode 13 is formed with a gate insulating film inserted therebetween.
[0041] [0041]FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view where a LCD is completed. An island-like p-Si film 11 , a non-doped channel region CH, regions LD respectively positioned on both sides of the channel region CH, and source and drain regions S and D positioned outside the regions LD are formed on a non-alkaline glass substrate 10 as a substrate to be processed. A gate insulating film 12 is formed on the p-Si film 11 , and a gate electrode 13 formed by a doped p-Si film 13 p , tungsten silicide 13 s , and the like is formed at a region corresponding to the channel region. An implantation stopper 14 for preventing counter-doping when implanting ions of a different conductive type in the CMOS structure is formed on the gate electrode. Previously prepared margins are formed corresponding to the side walls 15 so that the regions LD do not extend from the under region of the gate electrode 13 when impurities implanted into the p-Si film 11 are diffused in the lateral direction by annealing. A first inter-layer insulating film 16 is formed on the entire surface so as to cover the above components. Drain and source electrodes 17 and 18 made of low-resistance metal are formed on the first inter-layer insulating film 16 and are respectively connected with drain and source regions D and S through contact holes formed in the gate insulating film 12 and inter-layer insulating film 16 . Further, a second inter-layer insulating film 19 with planarization effect is formed on the entire surface so as to cover the above components. In the display area, a pixel electrode for driving liquid crystal is formed on the second inter-layer insulating film 19 and is connected with a source electrode 18 through a contact hole formed above the source electrode 18 . The drain and source regions S and D are brought into contact with the drain and source electrodes 17 and 18 , by contact holes CT indicated and surrounded by broken lines in FIG. 2. In the display area, a substrate is disposed so as to oppose the substrate 7 as shown in FIG. 10, and a liquid crystal (LC) layer is provided between the substrate. A common electrode is formed on the opposing substrate, and a plurality of pixel capacitors for driving the liquid crystal are constructed between above the common electrode and a plurality of pixel electrodes. However, the pixel electrode and LC layer are not disposed in the driver circuit section arranged in the peripheral of the display area on the substrate 7 .
[0042] The TFT as described above is formed such that the channel length direction L or the channel width direction W complies with the vertical direction V or the horizontal direction H in the substrates 1 and 5 . Therefore, a defective crystallization region R′ extending along the edge lines of the irradiated region or in the longitudinal direction of the line beam is positioned at an angle of 45° with respect to the channel length direction L or the channel width direction W of the TFT as shown in FIG. 9, by setting the directions S 1 and S 2 of edge lines C′ of an irradiated region with a line beam, as shown in FIG. 5. Accordingly, the defective crystallization region R′ obliquely crosses, at 45°, a carrier path connecting the source and drain regions S and D to each other, with the channel region CH and regions LD formed therebetween. Consequently, a defective crystallization region R formed as shown in FIG. 2 does not perfectly separate the carrier path, so that the defective crystallization region R′ is positioned to be oblique at 45° to the channel length direction L or channel width direction W of the TFT, as shown in FIG. 9 . In this embodiment, thus, there is no defective crystallization region R′ perfectly separating the carrier path connecting the source and drain regions S and D sandwiching the channel region CH and the regions LD.
[0043] For example, in a conventional case as shown in FIG. 2, a defective crystallization region R generated at a source region S, a drain region D or channel region in a semiconductor film perfectly separates a contact portion CT of the source region and a contact portion CT of the drain region from each other. However, in the present embodiment, a defective crystallization region R is inclined with respect to the channel length direction L and channel width direction W of the TFT. Taken into consideration a defective crystallization region R, as shown in FIG. 9, an end of this region reaches the a contact portion CT of a source or drain region, while another end of this region reaches a channel region. However, in this case, a carrier path CP is securely maintained between the source and drain regions without being separated by a defective crystallization region R′ having a high resistance, as indicated by an arrow in the figure. Since a carrier path is thus maintained, reductions in the ON-current of the TFT are restricted.
[0044] Particularly, in the case of TFTs in a peripheral drive circuit, the channel width is 100 to 500 μm which is much larger than the channel length which is 5 to 10μm. Therefore, if the direction of the edge lines is set to an angle of 45° with respect to the channel length L (or the channel width W), one defective crystallization region R′ reaches either one of the contact portions CT of the drain and source regions and does not perfectly separate the carrier path. Accordingly, a carrier path CP connecting contact portions CT of source and drain regions to each other can be securely maintained without passing through a defective crystallization region having a high resistance, so that reductions in ON-current are prevented in a peripheral drive circuit for which an operation speed is significant.
[0045] In the above description, the longitudinal direction of edge lines C is set to an angle of 45° with respect to any edge of the substrate 7 . This is particularly because TFTs in which the direction of the channel length L or the direction of the channel width W is oriented in the horizontal direction H of the substrate 7 and TFTs in which the direction of the channel length L or the direction of the channel width W is oriented in the vertical direction V exist at substantially equal ratios of number, in the driver sections 3 and 4 whose operations are greatly influenced by an increase in ON-resistance. Therefore, according to the setting as adopted in the present embodiment, any of the TFTs can achieve the same results as in the case of FIG. 9.
[0046] Another embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-description. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the longitudinal direction of edge lines C is set to a direction ranging between a direction defined by a value θ1 of tan −1 (W 1 /L 1 ) obtained by the channel length L 1 and channel width W 1 of TFTs in which the channel is oriented in a certain direction, and a direction defined by a value θ2 of tan −1 (L 2 /W 2 ) obtained by the channel length L 2 and channel width W 2 of TFTs in which the channel is oriented in a direction perpendicular to the certain direction. As a result of this, in any of the TFTS, the defective crystallization region R″ does not separate the carrier path CP in the channel regions. Here, since the source and drain regions S and D are doped with impurities at a high density, a high mobility is obtained regardless of the crystallization condition of the p-Si film 11 . Therefore, according to the setting as described above, a carrier path extending from the source region S to the drain region D is always securely maintained, so that ON-currents are prevented from being lowered.
[0047] In particular, as shown in FIG. 11, much greater effects than obtained in the above case can be attained if setting of the channel lengths L 1 and L 2 is carried out not only for a non-doped channel region CH but also for a light-doped region LD. Specifically, the impurity density of the source region S is different by two orders of magnitude from that of the LD region, and therefore, the effect of preventing an ON-current from being lowered sufficiently is obtained by securely maintaining a carrier path connecting the source and drain regions S and D.
[0048] In a case where the ratio in number of the group of TFTs shown in FIG. 11 to another group of TFTS shown in FIG. 12 is extremely large, the effect can be improved much more by setting the direction of edge lines C at an angle which is advantageous for only one group of TFTs. Specifically, as for the defective crystallization region R″ crossing the channel region CH (and the region LD), the greater the angle of the region R″ to the channel length direction is, the higher the probability at which carriers moving between the source and drain regions S and D pass through the defective crystallization region R″ is, resulting in an increase in ON-resistance. Therefore, the characteristics of TFTs can be improved and the performance of the entire drivers 5 and 6 can accordingly be improved, by setting the angle of the defective crystallization region R″ to a small angle with respect to the channel length direction, for the group of TFTs existing at a higher ratio.
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A line beam is irradiated such that edge lines of the beam extend in a direction at an angle of 45° with respect to the vertical direction or the horizontal direction. As a result, a laser defective crystallization region R′ where the grain size has not become sufficiently large due to unevenness in intensity of the line beam passes at 45° across the carrier path connecting source and drain regions S and D to each other. The defective crystallization region R′ thus does not completely divide between the contact region CT, i.e., the carrier path between the source and drain regions. Therefore, a carrier path CP can be securely maintained without passing through the defective crystallization region R′, so that the ON-current is prevented from being reduced. Deterioration or unevenness in transistor characteristics caused by unevenness in intensity of laser irradiation can thus be prevented.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to weaving machines wherein the weft supply is provided from stationary packages located outside the shed. Specifically, the present invention relates to improvements to the weft inserters of the type of weaving machines noted.
It is known in the art that in such weaving machines, the weft, which is provided by at least one package, is presented to a weft feed inserter outside the shed and thereupon seized by the inserter, which in turn transports it by its free end inside the shed. The inserter either continues to carry the weft to the other side of the shed or, more often, transfers the weft to a secondary pulling inserter that operates in opposition phase from the other side of the shed.
The seizing, holding, and disengagement operations on the weft by the inserter are carried out in a resilient fashion. In particular, the front end of the inserter is provided with a gripper having at least one resilient portion and which, when non-operative, is in a closed position.
During the gripping, or seizing operation, the weft is presented to the feed inserter in a manner known in the art on the path of travel of the inserter until it penetrates into the gripper. The holding of the weft during the insertion in the shed is accomplished by the resilient gripping action of the gripper on the weft. The disengagement operation on the weft is carried out by an external action applied to the weft and/or by a controlled opening operation on the gripper, for example, by a disengagement blade that drives between the two opposing portions of the gripper.
For ensuring a sufficient hold on the weft by the gripper, the gripper must at least provide a minimum resilient gripping force having a given value; the gripping force, however, must have a maximum value in order to allow the primary feed inserter, after the taking up of the weft by way of deformation of the opposing portions of the gripper to disengage the weft for transfer to the gripper of the secondary pulling inserter. That is, the force exerted by the gripper on the weft must have both a minimum value that allows a normal hold on the weft and a maximum value that allows the transfer of the weft from the primary inserter to the secondary inserter.
In the present state of the art, the gripping force provided by inserter grippers is between the extreme limits as defined above.
If there is, however, an inadvertent over-tensioning of the weft during the insertion operation, for example because of an irregularity of the yarn of a fault in the package, the holding force applied on the weft by the gripper may be insufficient. In such an event, the weft becomes disengaged, thereby causing a stoppage of the machine in order to remove the faulty weft.
If, in order to avoid such incidents, the gripping force of the gripper is increased, there is a risk that the weft will not be able to penetrate between the gripping portions of the gripper and thus will not be correctly seized.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to avoid the disadvantages of the present art and to provide an improved insertion having a gripper in which the gripping force applied to the weft is established to an extent as a function of the weft tension.
In order to accomplish this object, the inserter according to this invention comprises a rigid head and first, second and third weft ramps on said head positioned in approximate parallel relationship. The second ramp is located between the first and third ramps. The first, second, and third ramps have respective first, second, and third ramp front portions, or tips, the first and third tips being positioned at an elevation above said second ramp tip. The first and the third ramps are downwardly inclined and the second ramp is upwardly inclined relative to their respective tips and to the head. The second weft ramp includes a first weft guiding position and the third weft ramp includes a second weft guiding position. The invention further includes a resilient weft gripping means including a resilient first weft ramp, the gripping means being formed by the converging lower surface of the first weft ramp and the upper surface of a lower member maintained on the head. The weft is movable relative to the moving inserter from a first weft position to a second weft position. The first, second, and third weft ramps define a weft seizing and directing means for seizing the weft in the first position wherein the weft is maintained transverse to the movement of the inserter at an elevation below the first and third ramp tips and above the second ramp tip; and for directing the weft downward under the first and third ramps and upward over the second weft ramp to a position of seizure by said gripper and to said first and second weft guiding positions wherein the weft ceases movement relative to the inserter and is positioned in a state of tension by said inserter. In accordance with the invention, a novel feature includes a resilient second ramp which includes an element capable of resiliently bearing downwards on the upper surface of said first weft ramp, whereby when the weft is in the second weft position in the state of tension, the element bears, or is borne, downward upon the first weft ramp and partially transmits the force of the tension against the first ramp and in turn against the weft in the gripper.
The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description and with reference to the following drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a three dimensional view of the primary feed inserter according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the primary feed inserter according to the invention;
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the inserter of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view along lines 4--4 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the secondary pulling inserter according to the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a plan view of the secondary pulling inserter according to the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of the inserter of FIG. 6; and
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Reference is now made in greater detail to the drawings:
A weft inserter 1 is illustrated in perspective in FIG. 1 and in plan, side, and sectional views in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, respectively. As illustrated, FIGS. 1-4 show a simplified rendering of a preferred embodiment of the invention. Inserter 1 is a primary feed type inserter. Feed inserter 1 receives a stationary tensioned weft yarn 2 provided from a stationary package (not shown) positioned outside the shed (not shown) and thereupon transports yarn 2 inside the shed, either to the opposite side of the shed, or to a secondary pulling inserter to be described later. As is well-known in the art, the shed is formed by upper and lower sheets of warp yarns.
Inserter 1 includes a rigid head, or housing having upper and lower sections. For purposes of clarity of pictoral representation, the upper section of the housing has been removed and only the lower section of the housing, labeled as numeral 3 is shown. Rear portion 4 of housing 3 is mounted on a needle body (not shown); the needle body in turn is driven by a perforated flexible driving ribbon.
Tensioned weft 2 is shown both in its initial position as it is mounted transverse to the movement of inserter 1 outside the shed and in a second position labeled as 2' where it has been moved to a stationary position relative to the moving inserter 1 from its first position but where in fact it is being moved in direction A relative to the shed.
As feed inserter 1 moves in direction A toward weft 2, the weft is seized by inserter 1 in a manner to be described and directed to a non-moving position relative to inserter 1 in a state of tension.
Inserter 1 includes first weft ramp 5, second weft ramp 6, and third weft ramp 7 all positioned on housing 3 in approximately parallel relationship. Ramps 5, 6, and 7 include first, second, and third tip portions 8, 9 and 10, respectively. First and third ramps 5 and 7 are downwardly inclined relative to housing bottom 3 and second ramp 6 is upwardly inclined relative to housing bottom 3. First weft ramp 5 is formed as a part of elongated lower mounting member 12, while in turn is attached to a rigid plate member 13, which in turn is attached to housing bottom 3. Second weft ramp 6 is formed as a part of elongated upper member 14, which is resiliently and slidably connected to lower member 12 in a known manner via pins 15 and 16, which in turn are preferably attached to base plate 13.
According to the present invention, upper member 14 forks at its forward end into second weft ramp 6 and pressing extension or finger, 18; second weft ramp 6 and finger 18 form the forward portion of upper elongated member 14, which is resiliently movable upwardly or downwardly within a range of movement as dictated in a known manner by pins 15 and 16 shown schematically in FIGS. 2 and 3. Pin 17 shown schematically in FIG. 3 fastens plate 13 to housing 3. In its normal position, finger 18 is preferably in touching contact with the forward end of lower resilient member 12 specifically at upper surface 20 of first weft ramp 5. Second weft ramp 6 and finger 18 form prong gap 21 between them. As stated, first weft ramp 5 has a resilient range of movement. Lower surface 22 of first weft ramp 5 and upper surface 23 of base member 13 form weft gripper 24 between them. Gripper 24 is resilient because of the resilient capability of first weft ramp 5, which in turn is capable of movement toward base plate 13. Finger 18 when pressured downwardly against upper surface 20 of first ramp 5 causes first ramp 5 in turn to move toward base member 13. When the pressure against first ramp 5 is removed, ramp 5 will resiliently move upwardly. Likewise, when the pressure against finger 18 is removed, the forward portion of upper member 14 will likewise resiliently move upwardly to assume its former position. Thus, the forward portions of both upper and lower members 12 and 14 are biasable between normal upward positions and biased downward positions. References herein to the forward portion of lower member 12 and first weft ramp 5 are interchangeable. Gripper 24 is formed between the rear area of first ramp 5, which, as stated, form the forward area of lower member 12.
The base of third weft ramp 7, which is preferably an elongated ramped finger, is preferably connected to base plate 13 as shown in FIG. 2, although it can be alternatively connected to the side of upper member 14 at the rear area of second ramp 6. As indicated previously, front portions 8 and 10 of first and third ramps 5, 7 are positioned at elevations above weft 2 and front portion 9 is positioned at an elevation below weft 2. First and third weft ramps 5 and 7 including their front portions or tips 8 and 10 are preferably positioned at the same elevations and have the same profiles when viewed from the side, so that first weft ramp 5 blocks out third weft ramp 7 in the side elevation of FIG. 3.
Lower housing 3 forms a longitudinal, elongated recess, or channel 26 adjacent to third weft range 7 and which runs approximately parallel to the direction of the three weft ramps and upper and lower mounting members 12 and 14. Channel 26 is capable of receiving and guiding the secondary pulling inserter to be described below. Channel 26 is formed only in those feed inserters that transfer the weft to a pulling inserter. Such a feed inserter is illustrated and discussed here as the preferred embodiment for purposes of illustration only, and it is to be understood the invention is not to be limited to such a type of feed inserter as here expounded upon. Channel 26 is formed by flat bottom wall 27, uprighted side wall 28 positioned adjacent to base member 13, and upright far side wall 29, which stands independently. Weft support, or guide, post 31 is positioned on the top of far wall 29 for a purpose to be described below. Weft cutting blade 32 is preferably mounted on lower housing section 3 distanced from first weft ramp 5. Post 31 and blade 32 are positioned on opposite sides of the three weft ramps at positions approximately opposite one another relative to the weft ramps.
In operation, a weft 2, stationary relative to the shed, is presented to the inserter 1 moving from outside the shed on a path of travel indicated by arrow A in FIGS. 1 and 2. Weft 2 is positioned initially transverse to the path of movement of feed inserter 1 at an elevation below first and third ramp front portions 8 and 10 and above second ramp front portion 9. Weft 2 is seized by the ramp front portions and is then directed downwards under first and third ramps 5 and 7 and upwardly over second weft ramp 6. As the inserter continues to move in direction A, weft 2, which moves from its first stationary position relative to inserter 1 assumes a second position relative to the inserter where it is stationary relative to the moving inserter and moving relative to the shed. This second position is shown as weft 2' in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4. Weft 2' has slid into resilient gripper 24 between plate 13 and lower surface 22 of first weft ramp 5. Simultaneously, weft 2' has moved upward to a final position at the top of second ramp 6 from where it extends downwardly on either side. On one side it extends downward through gap 21 to gripper 24 and on the other side downward to a point under third weft ramp 7. From ramp 7 weft 2' extends horizontally across recess 26 to guide post 31, from where the weft extends to the weft package (not shown) alongside and outside the inserter. On the opposite side weft 2' extends from gripper 24 to cutting blade 32. Thus, the weft is resiliently gripped at gripper 24 and guided at its positions at the top of second ramp 6, the bottom of third ramp 7, and guide post 31, which act as first, second, and third guiding posts, or means, respectively, for the weft as weft 2' in its final position prior to being cut at blade 32. First, second, and third weft ramps 5, 6 and 7 including their front portions, or tips, 8, 9 and 10, act as weft seizing and guiding means whereby stationary weft 2 is seized by the moving inserter between the front portions of the ramps and thereupon guided by the weft ramps to final seized positions.
In accordance with the present invention, weft 2', which is in a state of tension in its second position because of its seizure at gripper 24 and the weft guiding points, exerts a downward bearing force on resilient finger 18. Weft 2' forms an angle downwards from each side of its second position at the top of second ramp 6 to gripper 5 and to the undersurface of third ramp 7. At least a part of the bearing force exerted by weft 2' downward at finger 18 in turn bears finger 18 downward against upper surface 20 of first weft ramp 5. Since ramp 5 is the upper gripping portion of gripper 24 and is also resiliently movable, it bears downwardly on weft 2' which has been seized between the first ramp and base plate 13. The direction of the bearing force on finger 18 by weft 2' is the direction of the inner bisectrix of the weft angle formed by weft 2' as it extends downwardly on either side of its second position on second ramp 6. The amplitude of the force exerted by weft 2' at its first guide position on second ramp 6 is dependent on the amount of tension in weft 2' and also on the measure of the angle formed by weft 2'. For a definite measure of the angle, the force is directly proportional to the tension in weft 2'. The bisectrix of the weft angle can besides being parallel to the force exerted by the weft at finger 18 be inclined relative to the direction of that force, since the gripper and the second guide position may be positioned at different distances from the first guide position.
It is apparent that if there is an inadvertent increase in tension of weft 2' in its second position, for example, because of an over-thickness defect in the weft or a fault in the package, the downward pressure exerted by the weft at its first guide position, and thus the downward pressure exerted by the weft on finger 18, increases and the gripping pressure exerted by gripper 24 also increases. The inventive feature of finger 18 provides gripper 24 with a moderate initial downward gripping pressure that is sufficient in normal operation and also provides an immediate increase in pressure on gripper 24 if the weft tension increases, thereby avoiding disengagement of the weft from the gripper.
As feed inserter 1 continues in direction A, weft 2' is cut by blade 32 carried by the inserter.
Recess 26, as described, is adapted to slidingly receive a second pulling inserter in a manner known in the art. As described, third weft ramp 7 and weft guide post 31 are on opposite sides of recess 26. The second pulling inserter moves in a direction opposite to direction A of feed inserter 1 and takes up the weft extending across recess 26 in order to transfer it to the other selvedge, thus completing the inserting operation.
An arrangement of the second pulling inserter according to this present invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment in perspective in FIG. 5 and in plan, side, and cross-sectional views in FIGS. 6, 7, and 8, respectively.
In particular, pulling inserter 101 is shown intercepting weft yarn 2' from feed inserter 1. Weft yarn 2' is designated as weft 102 in FIGS. 5-8. Pulling inserter 101 as shown is moving in direction A as was feed inserter 1 in order to intercept the yarn. Pulling inserter is adapted to be slidingly received in elongated recess 26 formed in feed inserter 1 as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4. Inserter 101 includes a base 103 and first, second, and third weft ramps 104, 105, and 106, respectively. Second and third weft ramps 105 and 106 are preferably formed of one piece 110 that is connected to the top of base 103 as is best shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. First, second, and third weft ramps 104, 105, and 106 are analagous in operation to first, second, and third weft ramps 5, 6, and 7 of feed inserter 1. FIGS. 5-8 show pulling inserter 101 oriented similarly to feed inserter 1. Inserters 1 and 101 operate together but in phase opposition. Thus, the term forward as applied to inserter 101 is used to designate the right side of FIG. 5, although the forward movement of inserter 101 is to the left. An area 112 in front of inserter 101 is forward of first, second, and third ramps 104, 105, and 106. Pulling inserter 101 is slidingly mounted in recess 26 so that it can move either in direction A or in opposite direction B. When moving in direction A, the cut weft 2' stretched across the recess of inserter 1 is picked up by the weft ramps 104, 105, and 106. First and third weft ramps 104 and 106 have front portions or tips 107 and 108, respectively. Second weft ramp 105 located between ramps 104 and 106 has a front portion 109 that is part of single piece 110. Analagous to feed inserter 1, first, second, and third ramps 104, 105, and 106 define a weft seizing and directing means for seizing weft 102 in its transverse position mounted transversely across recess 26. First and third ramps 104 and 106 are downwardly inclined relative to base 103 and ramp 105 is upwardly inclined relative to base 103. Front portions 107 and 108 are positioned at elevations above weft 102 and front portion 109 is at an elevation below weft 102. First and third weft ramps 104 and 106 including their front portions or tips 107 and 108 are preferably positioned at the same elevations and have the same profiles when viewed from the side, so that first weft ramp 104 blocks out third weft ramp 106 in the side elevation of FIG. 7.
Both first weft ramp 104 and second weft ramp 105 are formed of one piece member 110 and an open "C" portion 111 is formed facing forward with respect to pulling inserter 101. "C" portion includes an upper leg segment 124 tapered rearwardly as at ramp 123 toward the base of the "C". "C" portion 111 functions both to receive weft 102' and to stop its movement at the base of the "C".
First weft ramp 104 is resilient and has undersurface 113 which meets base 103 to form resilient weft gripper 114. First weft ramp 104 at the area where it leaves its connections to base 103 forms the resilient upper portion of gripper 104 and base 103 forms the rigid lower portion of gripper 114.
Third weft ramp 106 is preferably formed of a second piece 116 which is fitted to the rear 117 of inserter 101 as can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6. Second piece 116 forms a receiving aperture 118 for the weft at the level of base 103 and includes stop portion 119 for the weft located at the rear of the aperture. Weft passages 121 and 122 are positioned between first and second weft ramps 104, 105 and between second and third weft ramps 105 and 106 to allow free passage of weft 102 to "C" portion 111 and aperture 118, respectively.
In operation, pulling inserter 101 first moves in a direction B opposite direction A of feed inserter 1 so that weft 2' meets ramps 123. Weft 2' is raised upwardly over top 124 of piece 110 and then downwardly over second ramp 105. Simultaneously, weft 2' is then raised upwardly over first and third ramps 104 and 106 until it passes beyond tips 107 and 108 and then falls once again transverse to recess 26 below tips 107 and 108 and assumes the position designated as weft 102 in FIGS. 5-8. At this time the direction of movement of inserter 101 reverses from direction B to direction A.
At this time, when the operative direction of pulling inserter 101 is reversed to direction A (and feed inserter 1 likewise reverses from direction A to direction B), pulling inserter 101 proceeds to act to take up weft 102. Weft 102 is simultaneously raised upward on second weft ramp 105 and is pressed downward under first and third ramps 104 and 106. Weft 102 penetrates into gripper 114, into "C" portion 111, and into aperture 118. Movement of weft 102 is stopped by gripper 114 and stop portion 119 of aperture 118 so that it assumes the position designated as weft 102' in FIGS. 5-8. The pressure exerted by gripper 24 of feed inserter 1 is sufficiently low enough to allow the penetration of weft 102' into gripper 114 of pulling inserter 101 and subsequent transfer of weft 102' (weft 2') from gripper 24. After this exchange, weft 102' (weft 2') is totally disengaged from feed inserter 1 and is then held only by pulling inserter 101, which operation completes the insertion to the other side of the shed.
It is apparent from the foregoing description of the present invention that it is possible to remedy inadvertent overtensions of the weft in the feed inserter without having to provide the feed gripper with a high initial pressure.
The embodiment of the invention particularly described here is presented merely as an example of the invention. Other embodiments, forms, and modifications of the invention coming within the proper scope of the appended claims will, of course, readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. For example, pulling inserter 101 can include certain features of feed inserter 1 including finger 18 of second weft ramp 6 pressing upon resilient first weft ramp 5 so as to increase gripper pressure on the weft during increase of weft tension.
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A weft inserter for weaving machines wherein the weft supply is provided from a stationary package located outside the shed including a hand and a weft gripper having a rigid lower portion and a resilient upper portion. Ramp guiding means are provided for guiding the weft into an angle over a center ramp having a finger that bears downward upon the resilient upper portion of the gripper with the result that when tension increases in the weft, at least a portion of the increased tension is transmitted to the weft gripper in the gripping direction.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for removing stakes which are deeply embedded in the ground or in asphalt pavement. More particularly, the invention relates to a stake pulling apparatus for removing tent and awning stakes from the ground or from asphalt paving and underlying terrain, under circumstances where the stakes are deeply embedded in the ground and/or asphalt paving. The stake pulling apparatus of this invention is characterized by an upward-standing box-frame or tubular member which serves as a reservoir for hydraulic fluid, a bifurcated base plate welded or otherwise attached to the frame for supporting the frame in upright position and a hydraulic cylinder pivotally attached to the frame and adapted for positioning over a stake to be removed from the ground or from the asphalt paving. The apparatus is maneuvered to locate the stake in the slot provided in the base plate and a hydraulic pump, pump motor and control system are provided on the frame for controlling the flow of hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic cylinder and operation of the cylinder piston responsive to operation of the controls.
One of the problems realized in the erection of tents, canopies and other temporary structures which are secured in position by stakes, ropes and cables is that of removing the deeply embedded stakes from ground or asphalt surfaces. Under circumstances where the tent, canopy or other structure to be erected is relatively large, the stakes must be long and deeply embedded in the ground or asphalt and are therefore very difficult to remove. Because of the difficulty of removing these stakes, in many cases, the stakes must be left embedded in the ground and in some instances, are simply driven further into the ground or asphalt flush with the surface of the ground or asphalt after use, to prevent injury. In the case of large canopies such as circus tents, these stakes may be steel spikes 2 to 4 feet in length and 1 to 1/2 inches in diameter and may be driven into the ground or asphalt to within about 5 or 6 inches of the top end thereof. The difficulty of removing such stakes from the ground or asphalt paving after striking the tent can be readily appreciated. Since many such tent stakes or spikes are necessary to secure a circus tent or other large canopy, failure to remove these stakes after the performance or event is completed results in a considerable loss of revenue.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various devices are known in the art for removing embedded railroad spikes from cross ties in railroad maintenance operations. Typical of these machines is the "spike pulling machine" disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,691,505, dated Oct. 12, 1954, to S. R. Hursh. The spike pulling machine detailed in this patent includes a compact, light-weight and readily portable machine for withdrawing spikes from objects such as railroad ties, which device is fluid-operated and is braced against a track rail to effect withdrawal of the spikes from the ties of the track bed. The spike pulling machine includes a base, a rigid frame slidably mounted on the base, a grapple suspended from the frame and oriented in position to engage and disengage a spike to be pulled, a jack element located on the base for sliding the rigid frame up and down relative to the base, operating means for operating the jack element, control means for activating and inactivating the operating means and limit means connected to the jack element and operative in response to the movement of the frame for operating the control means and thereby inactivating the jack-operating element when the frame and base reach predetermined positions relative to one another. U.S. Pat. No. 2,732,173, dated Jan. 24, 1956, to S. R. Hursh, discloses a "Spike Pulling Apparatus". The device detailed in this patent includes a truck provided with wheels constructed to move along a railroad track with additional adjustable wheels normally supported above the first set of wheels. The upper adjustable wheels are movable up and down to and from a lower, ground-engaging position and an elongated body member is pivoted to the track for swinging movement in an arc above the track at an angle extending upwardly with respect to the horizontal. The body member includes two body portions pivoted together by means of a substantially universal pivot, a spikepulling grapple carried by the body member and spaced along the body member from the truck, power means supported by the truck and flexible connecting means extending along the body member for connecting the power means to the grapple and operating the grapple. A "Pneumatic Spike Extractor" is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,735,649, dated Feb. 21, 1956, to S. A. Swallert. The extractor device detailed in this patent includes a pair of jaws which are pivotably mounted on the outer end of a rod fixed to a pressure-operated piston. The piston is enclosed in a cylinder provided with devices for alternately connecting the chambers on both sides of the piston with a source of pressurized air. A locking member is arranged to lock the jaws in a position gripping the head of a nail when the piston rod is in an outer configuration. U.S. Pat. No. 2,797,889, dated July 2, 1957, to H. H. Talboys, discloses a "Hydraulic Spike Puller". The spike pulling implement detailed in this patent includes an elongated frame, a spike-gripping claw mounted for reciprocating movement at one end of the frame, the frame also including a portion adapted to bear against a surface external to an embedded spike, along with means for reciprocating the claw with respect to the frame to remove a spike from an embedded position. An opening is provided on one side of the frame adjacent the claw, the opening being generally co-extensive with the range of movement of the claw and a resilient arm is mounted on the other side of the frame for contact with the spike engaged by the claw and forcing the spike through the opening. U.S. Pat. No. 2,846,187, dated Aug. 5, 1958, to I. Sublett, et al, details a "Hydraulic Spike Pulling Apparatus". The device disclosed in this patent includes a movable, hydraulically-operated element for effecting movement of an object upon actuation of the element in one direction and a hydraulic pressure accumulator operatively connected to the element, with the hydraulic pump communicating with and supplying pressure to the element and the accumulator. The pressure provided by the pump effects initial actuation of the element in the one direction and the pressure accumulated within the accumulator supplements that of the pump in effecting final actuation of the element in the same direction. A "Machine For Pulling Pins" is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,911,190, dated Nov. 3, 1959, to F. Creason. This patent details a pin-extracting mechanism for removing forms located at the sides of concrete slabs in road and similar construction, the machine including a mobile frame adapted to be moved upon the slab alongside the form. A first fluid pressure-actuated mechanism is located on the frame for engaging and pulling the pins and a separate fluid pressure-actuating mechanism is also provided on the frame for engaging and applying a downward pressure on the form during actuation of the pin pulling means. A mechanism is also provided on the frame for manually controlling the fluid pressure to and from the fluid pressure-actuated mechanisms.
It is an object of this invention to provide a stake pulling apparatus which is designed to quickly, easily and efficiently remove wood and metal stakes driven into bare ground or asphalt-covered terrain.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved stake pulling apparatus which is portable in construction and is capable of being located above a stake to be removed from the ground or from asphalt paving, which apparatus can then be attached to the stake and operated to quickly and efficiently remove the stake from the ground or asphalt.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved embedded stake pulling apparatus which is characterized by a hydraulic cylinder pivotally mounted on an upright frame fitted with an engine, a hydraulic motor and a control system for operating the hydraulic cylinder and removing stakes from the ground.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a stake pulling apparatus which is portable in construction and includes a frame provided with a hydraulic fluid reservoir, a hydraulic cylinder pivotally attached to the frame, a hydraulic motor mounted on the frame and provided in fluid communication with the hydraulic cylinder and the reservoir, a two-cycle engine mounted on the frame for operating the hydraulic motor and a control system for selectively applying hydraulic pressure to the hydraulic cylinder and removing a stake embedded in the ground or asphalt paving and located beneath the hydraulic cylinder.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a stake pulling apparatus for removing stakes which are deeply embedded in the ground or in asphalt paving and in underlying terrain, which apparatus includes an upright box-frame or tubing designed to contain a quantity of hydraulic fluid and a base welded to the box-frame or tubing and having a slot for receiving an embedded stake. A hydraulic pump is mounted on the frame, along with a hydraulic cylinder, an engine adapted for operating the hydraulic pump and a control system for controlling the flow of hydraulic fluid from the box-frame or tubing to the hydraulic cylinder and removing the stake from the ground or asphalt responsive to retraction of the hydraulic cylinder piston.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These and other objects of the invention are provided in a new and improved portable stake pulling apparatus which is characterized by an upright, closed length of square tubing containing a supply of hydraulic fluid, a base resting on the ground and supporting the tubing, a hydraulic cylinder pivotally attached to the frame, a chain for connecting the cylinder piston to the stake, a hydraulic motor provided in fluid communication with the hydraulic fluid reservoir and the hydraulic cylinder, a small gasoline engine for operating the hydraulic pump and a control system for controlling application of hydraulic pressure to the hydraulic cylinder and removing a stake embedded in the ground or asphalt paving located beneath the hydraulic cylinder.
The invention will be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the stake pulling apparatus of this invention;
FIG. 2 is a front view, partially in section, of a preferred stake pulling apparatus frame;
FIG. 3 is a top sectional view taken along line 3--3 of the stake pulling apparatus frame illustrated in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the stake pulling apparatus frame illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3;
FIG. 5 is a top view of an engine mount plate used to support and mount a gasoline engine in the stake pulling apparatus frame;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view, partially in section, of a preferred hydraulic control valve element of the stake pulling apparatus;
FIG. 7 is a side view, partially in section, of the lower end of a hydraulic pump illustrated in close proximity to the hydraulic fluid reservoir of the stake pulling apparatus of this invention;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a preferred means for attaching a chain to the lower end of the hydraulic cylinder piston, in order to secure the piston to a stake to be removed from the ground; and
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the flow of hydraulic fluid through the stake pulling apparatus of this invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring initially to FIGS. 1-5 of the drawings, the stake pulling apparatus of this invention is generally illustrated by reference numeral 1. The stake pulling apparatus 1 is characterized by a frame 2, having an upwardstanding hydraulic fluid reservoir 3, terminated at one end by a top plate 4 and at the bottom end by a supporting base plate 7. A handle 5 is attached to the extending end of the top plate 4 for maneuvering the stake pulling apparatus 1 and a dip stick 6 extends from the top plate 4 with an indicating portion (not illustrated) projecting into the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3, in order to indicate the hydraulic fluid level in the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the base plate 7 is characterized by a pair of plate fingers 7a which extend outwardly of the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3, with a base plate slot 8 located between the plate fingers 7a, for a purpose which will be hereinafter described. A pair of gussets 9 project outwardly from fixed attachment to the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3 and the plate fingers 7a, in order to strengthen the weld attachment between the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3 and the base plate 7. An axle mount plate 10 is also welded to the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3 in spaced, substantially parallel relationship with respect to the base plate 7 and is further welded or otherwise attached to an axle 12 which receives a pair of wheels 21, one of which wheels 21 is illustrated in FIG. 1. An axle brace plate 11 is further welded to the rear edge of the base plate 7 and extends upwardly in angular relationship with respect to base plate 7. The opposite edge of the axle brace plate 11 is welded or otherwise secured to the axle 12, in order to further support the axle 12 on the base plate 7 and the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3. An engine mount plate 13 is further illustrated in FIG. 5 of the drawings and is fitted with a reservoir slot 18 for engaging and seating on the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The engine mount plate 13 extends from welded or otherwise fixed attachment to the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3 at the reservoir slot 18 and projects in parallel relationship with respect to the base plate 7 above the axle 12, to provide a flat base for mounting a gasoline engine 22. The engine mount plate 13 is further fitted with a hose opening 19 and spaced mount openings 20, which mount openings 20 are designed to receive engine plate bolts 24 and cooperating nuts 25, which extend through the mount openings 20 and matching openings (not illustrated) provided in a cooperating engine plate 23, to secure the gasoline engine 22 on the engine mount 13, as illustrated in FIG. 1. A generally L-shaped plate brace 26 is oriented with one edge welded to the extending edge of the engine mount plate 13 and the opposite edge welded to a pump mount plate 14 welded to the axle 12, as more particularly illustrated in FIG. 4, to support the hydraulic pump 27, as illustrated in FIG. 1. As further illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 6 of the drawings, a cylinder mount bracket 15 is welded or otherwise secured to the front face of the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3 and is provided with a bracket eye 16 for pivotally mounting one end of the cylinder body 38 of the hydraulic cylinder 35, as illustrated in FIG. 1. Furthermore, a valve mount bracket 17 is welded or otherwise attached to the rear face of the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3 beneath the top plate 4 and the handle 5 for receiving a hydraulic control valve 64, as further illustrated in FIG. 6.
Referring again to FIG. 1 of the drawing, the hydraulic cylinder 35 is characterized by a cylindrically-shaped cylinder body 38, capped by a top plate 36 and a bottom plate 37, which are connected by threaded connecting rods 39 and cooperating rod nuts 40. A top plate clevis 36a extends from the top plate 36 and is designed to engage the cylinder mount bracket 15, welded to the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3. A clevis pin 55 extends through registering openings (not illustrated) provided in the top plate clevis 36a and the bracket eye 16 located in the cylinder mount bracket 15, to pivotally secure the cylinder body 38 of the hydraulic cylinder 35 to the cylinder mount bracket 15. One or more cotter pins 47 are projected through the ends of the clevis pin 55 adjacent the pin washers 56, in order to prevent the clevis pin 55 from exiting the top plate clevis 36a and the cylinder mount bracket 15. A hydraulic fluid-operated piston 42 is mounted in conventional reciprocating fashion inside the cylinder body 38 of the hydraulic cylinder 35 at the piston collar 41 and the piston 42 is fitted with a piston clamp 43, mounted on the extending end of the piston 42 by means of a clamp collar 44. The piston clamp 43 further includes a vertical clamp slot 45, which pivotally receives a chain mount block 49 by means of a clamp pin 46 that extends transversely through the clamp washer 34, the piston clamp 43 and the clamp slot 45. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the chain mount block 49 further includes a chain slot 51 and a pin opening 50, spaced from and extending parallel to the chain slot 51, for receiving the clamp pin 46. The clamp pin 46 is further provided with a pair of pin grooves 48, located at the extending ends thereof for receiving a pair of cotter pins 47 and maintaining the clamp pin 46 in the piston clamp 43 and the pin opening 50 of the chain mount block 49, as illustrated in FIG. 1. A chain bolt opening 53 extends transversely through the chain mount block 49 and the chain slot 51 and receives a chain bolt 52, which is secured in place by a nut 25, as further illustrated in FIG. 1. Accordingly, it will be recognized that the chain bolt 52 can be removed from, and subsequently replaced in, the chain bolt opening 53 and the piston clamp 43 to secure one link of a chain 54 in the chain slot 51 and facilitate wrapping the chain 54 around a stake (not illustrated) for removing the stake from the ground pursuant to operation of the stake pulling apparatus 1, as hereinafter further described.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 7 of the drawings, the hydraulic pump 27 is mounted on the pump mount plate 14 and is characterized by a pump housing 31, fitted with a fluid chamber 28 at the lower end thereof. A reservoir line 29 extends from the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3 to the fluid chamber 28 and is secured in position on cooperating nipples (not illustrated) extending from the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3 and the fluid chamber 28, respectively, by means of a pair of hose clamps 30, as illustrated in FIG. 7. Similarly, a pump discharge line 32 is connecting to the opposite side of the fluid chamber 28 of the hydraulic pump 27 by means of pump discharge fittings 33, in order to facilitate pumping hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3 through the reservoir line 29 and the fluid chamber 28 of the hydraulic pump 27 and through the pump discharge line 32, as hereinafter further described.
Referring now to FIG. 6 of the drawings, the hydraulic control valve 64 is further characterized by a valve housing 65, which includes a pump discharge line nipple 66 projecting from one side thereof and a return line nipple 79 projecting from the opposite side thereof. A piston extension line nipple 67 and a piston return line nipple 68 project from the front face of the valve housing 65 in spaced relationship and a fulcrum 74 is secured to the top face 62 of the valve housing 65, as illustrated. The fulcrum 74 further includes a pair of fulcrum mount fingers 75, which project upwardly and are fitted with aligned finger openings 76 to receive a fulcrum pin 77, as hereinafter described. A valve stem 71 is spaced from the fulcrum 74 and projects upwardly from the valve housing 65 in reciprocating relationship and includes a vertical stem slot 73, which defines a pair of parallel stem fingers 71a, fitted with a transversely mounted, removable stem pin 72. An actuating lever 69 is provided with a grip ball 63 on one end and is flattened and curved on the opposite end, with a stem pin opening 70 and a fulcrum pin opening 70a provided in spaced relationship in the flattened, extending end of the actuating lever 69, as illustrated in FIG. 6. Accordingly, it is understood that the flattened, extending end of the actuating lever 69 is designed to fit in the stem slot 73 of the valve stem 71 and between the fulcrum mount fingers 75 of the fulcrum 74. The stem pin 72 is then extended through the projecting fingers 71a in the valve stem 71 and the registering stem pin opening 70. Furthermore, the fulcrum pin 77 extends through the finger openings 76 in the fulcrum mount fingers 75 and the registering fulcrum pin opening 70a, to facilitate reciprocation of the valve stem 71 upwardly and downwardly in the valve housing 65 by manipulation of the actuating lever 69.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 9 of the drawings, one end of a piston extension line 58 is attached to the top plate 36 of the cylinder body 38 of the hydraulic cylinder 35 by means of companion piston extension fittings 59, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The opposite end of the piston extension line 58 is secured to the piston extension line nipple 67, projecting from the valve housing 65, by means of appropriate fittings (not illustrated), as illustrated in FIG. 9. Similarly, one end of the piston return line 60 is secured to the bottom plate 37 of the cylinder body 38 by means of cooperating piston return fittings 61. The opposite end of the piston return line 60 is secured to the piston return line nipple 68 of the hydraulic control valve 64 by means of additional fittings (not illustrated) as illustrated in FIG. 9. As heretofore described, one end of the pump discharge line 32 is attached to the fluid chamber 28 of the hydraulic pump 27 by means of the pump discharge fittings 33. The opposite end of the pump discharge line 32 extends through the hose opening 19 provided in the engine mount plate 13 and is secured to the pump discharge line nipple 66, projecting from the valve housing 65, as illustrated in FIG. 9. A fluid return line 78 is designed to facilitate the flow of hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic control valve 64 back to the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3 and extends from the return line nipple 79, located in the valve housing 65 of the hydraulic control valve 64, to the return line fitting 80 provided in the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3, as illustrated in FIG. 2.
Referring again to FIGS. 1, 6 and 9 of the drawings, in operation, the stake pulling apparatus 1 is initially located with a stake 57 (illustrated in phantom) to be removed positioned in the base plate slot 8 beneath the hydraulic cylinder 35, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The stake pulling apparatus is easily maneuvered into this position by grasping the handle 5 and maneuvering the wheels 21 such that the stake 57 is located well within the base plate slot 8 between the plate fingers 7a of the base plate 7. One end of the chain 54 is then attached to the chain mount block 49 by initially removing the nut 25 from the chain bolt 52 and the chain bolt 52 from the chain mount block 49, inserting a link of the chain 54 into the chain slot 51 and replacing the chain bolt 52 and the nut 25 in the chain mount block 49, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The opposite end of the chain 54 is then wrapped around the stake 57 and the actuating lever 69 in the hydraulic control valve 64 is manipulated to facilitate a flow of hydraulic fluid from the reservoir 3 through the reservoir line 29 and the fluid chamber 28 of the hydraulic pump 27 by operation of the hydraulic pump 27. Hydraulic fluid continues to flow from the hydraulic pump 27 through the pump discharge line 32 and into the pump discharge line nipple 66, through the valve housing 65 and the piston extension line nipple 67 and finally, through the piston extension line 58 into the top plate 36 of the cylinder body 38, to effect downward extension of the piston 42, such that piston clamp 43 is located in close proximity to the top of the stake 57 be removed. The free end of the chain 54 is then wrapped around the stake 57 and the piston 42 is reversed in operation by again manipulating the actuating lever 69 to cause hydraulic fluid to flow through the valve housing 65 and the piston return line nipple 68 and further through the piston return line 60 into the bottom plate 37 of the cylinder body 38. The hydraulic fluid returns to the hydraulic fluid reservoir 3 through the fluid return line 78, extending from the return line nipple 79 to the return line fitting 80. The retraction action of the piston 42 forces the plate fingers 7a and the base plate 7 downwardly against the ground as the stake 57 is extracted. If the stake 57 is longer than the travel of the piston 42 in the hydraulic cylinder 35, the stake pulling apparatus 1 can be manipulated such that the head 57a of the stake 57 extends alongside the piston clamp 43 and the free end of the chain 54 again wrapped around the stake near the midpoint thereof. The extraction procedure is then repeated to complete the stake-removing operation.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the stake removing apparatus of this invention offers a quick, efficient and simple solution to the removal of deeply embedded, metal or wood tent awning and mount stakes of all description. It will be further appreciated from a consideration of FIG. 1 that removal of such stakes from asphalt poses little danger of damage to the surface of the asphalt, since the plate fingers 7a and the base plate 7 of the frame 2 are pressed tightly against the asphalt surface as pressure is applied upwardly to the stake 57, thereby preventing extensive damage to the surface of the asphalt.
Furthermore, referring again to the drawings, while the overall dimensions and size of the stake pulling apparatus 1 of this invention can be varied according to the application desired, in a most preferred embodiment the frame 2 stands about 48 inches high and the stake pulling apparatus 1 weighs about 220 pounds. The hydraulic fluid reservoir 3 is characterized by a 4 inch by 4 inch square steel tubing and the base is 14 inches wide and 18 inches long. The wheels 21 are most preferably pneumatic in design and a 4-horsepower, two-cycle gasoline engine 22 is used to power the stake pulling apparatus 1. A two-stage hydraulic pump 27, which is capable of pumping eleven gallons of hydraulic fluid per minute in a pressure range of from about 650 to about 2,500 psi, is used in the stake pulling apparatus 1. The hydraulic cylinder 35 is typically of the clevis-type, to facilitate mounting the cylinder body 38 to the cylinder mount bracket 15 and is characterized by a 3 1/2-inch bore with a 12-inch stroke. The hydraulic cylinder 35 is double-action in design and is capable of maintaining a pulling force of from about 8,400 to about 21,000 pounds. Furthermore, a 60-inch length of 3/8-inch high test steel chain 54 is normally used in cooperation with the stake pulling apparatus 1 to connect the piston 42 to the stake 57.
While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above, it will be recognized and understood that various modifications may be made therein and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications which may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.
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A stake pulling apparatus which is characterized by an upright box-frame adapted to contain a quantity of hydraulic fluid, a bifurcated base plate attached to the bottom of the frame for supporting the frame, a hydraulic cylinder pivotally suspended from the frame over the slot provided in the base, a hydraulic pump provided in fluid communication with the box-frame hydraulic fluid reservoir, a gasoline engine for powering the apparatus and a hydraulic control system for controlling the introduction of hydraulic fluid into the hydraulic cylinder to remove a stake embedded in the ground and located in the slot beneath the hydraulic cylinder. In a preferred embodiment, a chain is wrapped around the stake and attached to the cylinder piston, in order to secure the piston to the stake and effect extraction of the stake from the ground.
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